Early Autumn Colors in Summit County, Colorado

Trees in Early Autumn

Location:  Summit County, Colorado, USA

It is still September, but many of the trees in the Colorado high country already are sporting their Autumn colors.  Most of the trees on this hillside are aspens, famous for bright gold foliage at this time of year.  The photo was taken outside the little town of Blue River, Colorado.

Rose Hips - Fruit of the Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii)

Rose Hips - Fruit of the Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii)

Location:  Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder County, Colorado, USA

This is the fruit of the Wild Rose (Rosa woodsii).  Called Rose Hips, the fruits are edible, although I did not try them.  The entry for this species on the Southwest Colorado Wildflowers website says:

Lovely flowers are replaced by dark red fruits ("rose hips") that range from mealy to sweet depending on the amount of rain and sun the plant receives and the time they are picked.  The fruits are usually best after several frosts.

These rose hips were photographed in early September. The color darkens later in the season.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Location:  Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

I was on my belly in the grass, inching along, trying to sneak up on a certain Canada Goose so I could take its picture.  I glanced off to my left just in time to see this other goose sneaking up on me!   I quickly decided to photograph this curious onlooker instead of the bird I had been tracking.

Principal Peaks of the Teton Range

The Teton Range

Location:  Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

The peaks that form the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains are located in western Wyoming.  This photo of the central massif was shot facing west from a spot in the Jackson Hole valley known as Windy Point. The peaks in this image, from left to right, are:

• South Teton -- summit elevation 12, 514 ft   (3,814 m)
• Middle Teton -- summit elevation 12,804 ft  (3,903 m)
• Grand Teton -- summit elevation 13,770 ft  (4,200 m)
• Mount Owen -- summit elevation 12,928 ft  (3,940 m)
• Teewinot Mountain -- summit elevation  12,325 ft (3,757 m)

The Teton range is situated within the borders of Grand Teton National Park.

American Pika (Ochotona princeps)

American Pika (Ochotona princeps)

Location:  Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

This cute little critter, which somewhat resembles a guinea pig in size and body shape, is a threatened species residing in rocky areas of the Colorado mountains.  We saw this one scurrying about on a steep rocky bank near the Rainbow Curve Overlook on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pikas do not hibernate, so they must gather and store food to sustain them during the harsh Rocky Mountain winters.  During the summer, they collect bunches of grasses and other plants and set them out on rocks to dry into hay.  They store the hay in piles under boulders.

Scientists from the University of Colorado recently assessed "69 historical sites known to host pikas in a swath of the Southern Rockies ranging from southern Wyoming through Colorado and into northern New Mexico. The results showed that 65 of the 69 historical sites that had hosted pikas — some dating back more than a century — were still occupied." Here is the link to an article about that study of the Pikas' habitat.

Here is a YouTube video about the University of Colorado team's study of the Pikas.

Museum of Science, Boston

Museum of Science

Location:  Boston, Massachusetts, USA

I photographed this image of Boston's Museum of Science from a boat on the Charles River.  This is not a new photo, but I still like it -- perhaps because it evokes the memory of a clear October day spent in the company of good friends.

Wild Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Location:  Big Dry Creek Trail, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA

Close your eyes and imagine a flower.  What does it look like?  For me, it is something like the flower in this photo.  To me, the sunflower is the prototypical flower.

This nearly perfect sunflower specimen was growing wild beside a hiking trail that runs through a suburb of Denver, Colorado.  This species of sunflower is commercially cultivated in the region, but this one was miles from a sunflower farm.

The Egg of the Common Myna is "Robin Egg Blue"

Egg of Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis)

Location:  Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

You may know that the American Robin lays eggs that are a pretty pale turquoise color.  You may not know (until now) that the Common Myna also lays eggs that are, um, "robin egg blue."  We spotted this one under a shrub near the edge of our garden in Hawaii.

Forest Canyon Overlook, Rocky Mountain National Park

Forest Canyon Overlook

Location:  Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Trail Ridge Road, the main east-west thoroughfare through Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, climbs high into the mountains and crosses the Continental Divide.  Along the way, there are a number of overlooks where you can stop to enjoy spectacular views.  One of those is the Forest Canyon Overlook, pictured here.  Located above the tree line in an area dominated by tundra, this high perch affords the visitor unobstructed views in every direction.  The sights include huge mountains, several alpine lakes, and a dramatic gorge formed by ancient glaciers.

From the Rocky Mountain National Park website:

Like other high mountain valleys, Forest Canyon was filled with ice and shaped by glaciers during the past two million years.  Here, ice flowed through a stream valley and followed the straight line of the ancient faults.  Side valleys contributed their own rivers of ice, and carved the canyons of Hayden Gorge and Gorge Lakes.  The Rolling terrain of the high country was untouched by glacial ice.

Our Backyard Bunny: A Desert Cottontail

Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii)

Location:  Westminster, Colorado, USA

This is a Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii), a rabbit species found in the southwestern and Rocky Mountain states of the U.S., as well as northern and central Mexico.  One of this rabbit's noticeable features is the rust-colored patch of fur on the nape of its neck.  And like all cottontails, the underside of its tail is pure white.

Several times each day, we see this bunny hopping about in the yard at our house in Colorado, munching on grass and clover.  If someone approaches, the rabbit scampers away to hide beneath the lowest branches of a Colorado Spruce tree near the edge of the yard.  Most of these visits are in the early morning or very late in the afternoon.

The Many Colors of Slate

Dry Stack Slate

Location:  Westminster, Colorado, USA

This is a section of a fireplace constructed from slate quarried in Colorado.  If you thought that slate was necessarily black or dark gray, think again.  As this photo shows, slate occurs in a myriad of colors.