Trees and Flowers
I spent some time up in the canyons of the Wasatch Mountains yesterday photographing the birds I found including this handsome Green-tailed Towhee perched on a blooming Utah Serviceberry.
The wildflowers I photographed are Desert Globemallows (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and they were blooming abundantly on the road to the jetty, I don't think I have seen so many of them in full bloom before.
There may be a bit of sunshine today and I hope there is so me and my Mom can get out and enjoy some of the beauty that Mother Nature provides us with each and every day.
Last week while photographing birds in northern Utah I saw a wild rose whose leaves and rose hips had turned a brilliant scarlet color for fall.
This is a Common Checkered-Skipper and can be found in most of the U.S., some southern parts of Canada and northern Mexico.
I don't know what species of wildflowers these blue flowers are, I just know that I enjoyed seeing and photographing them.
Streambank Globemallow has a few common names including Wild Hollyhock, Mountain Hollyhock, Mountain Globemallow and Streambank Wild Hollyhock
Each Prickly Poppy flower is about 3 to 5 inches across with yellow centers of clustered stamens and delicate petals that look like white crepe paper.
One of my favorite wildflowers is Lewis's Flax, I love how the blossoms move in a breeze because it seems like they are dancing and their blue color is appealing to my eyes.
Last month I was looking through some of my earliest image archives and came across a photo of a peachy-colored Daylily that I had taken while exploring with my friend Patty at the Florida Botanical Gardens
The scientific name is Tragopogon dubius but this forb has many common names including Yellow Salsify, Yellow Goatsbeard, Western Salsify, Wild Oysterplant and my favorite Western Goatsbeard.
Sometime very soon I will need to smell the sagebrush, hold it in my hands and breathe.
Good morning! I am writing this morning from a campsite that is on OUR Public Lands just outside the Targhee National Forest in Clark County, Idaho.
Yesterday morning while in Box Elder County I was delighted to photograph a Western Kingbird with a Hint of Black Mustard in the background as it perched on a fence near the road.
I did get some images of the Song and White-crowned Sparrows on the wild rose and I like how this Song Sparrow had its back to me but gave me a nice head turn over its shoulder.
As many of my readers know I like to take portraits of the birds and animals I photograph but I also like to take images that show my subjects smaller in their native habitat.
Yesterday was the first day of National Moth Week 2015 and the featured family of moths for this year are from the Sphingidae family which are commonly know as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms.
During the wildflower season is it easy to see why Emerson said that the earth laughs in flowers.
I always think of Sandhill Cranes whenever my thoughts drift to the Centennial Valley of Montana where I always hear their calls, see them in the fields or in flight over the marshes.
Once upon a time I paid more attention to wildflowers and insects and photographed them extensively when I had the chance so today I thought I would resurrect one of my old files.
I can't help but think of the birds I will see later in the year like this Rufous Hummingbird I photographed last August on Antelope Island State Park.
For many nature lovers it is the smaller more seasonal anniversaries that mean so much too.
Even though the American Goldfinches are in their non-breeding plumage now I still think of them as gold.
I enjoyed my journey to Beaver Dam Wash, Gunlock State Park and the Mojave Desert even though I didn't see the birds I hoped to photograph, every journey is an adventure.
I would love to say that while I am wandering around exploring the natural wonders we have been gifted with that I can forget about the assaults on the land and the creatures that live there but I can't.
Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left.
Yesterday the light wasn't great in the morning but I did get out to take some images an Antelope Island and there were plenty of pollinators out and about.
I've compiled a medley of images this morning of bees, moths and hummingbirds that I have photographed this past week to share this morning.
This Rufous Hummingbird had a favorite perch that looked out over its favorite patch of Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.
The brief appearance of this Black-chinned Hummingbird delighted me yesterday as she fed on the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant.