Wed Nov 30 17:07:09 MST 2005
Photo - Spring: Indian Paintbrush
"The Paintbrush evoked the Native American legend of a young brave who tried to paint the sunset with his warpaints. Frustrated that he could not match the brilliance of nature, he ask for guidance from the Great Spirit. The Great Spirit gave him paintbrushes laden with the colors he so desired. With these, he painted his masterpiece and left the spent brushes in fields across the landscape. These brushes sprouted the flowers we now so wonderfully love!"
I'm not sure to whom I should attribute this quote, but it's written better than I could've written it.
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata?)
Taken: June, 2005 - Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado
Tue Nov 29 16:23:20 MST 2005
Photo - Summer: Showy Loco
When we first saw this flower, Verne said it looked like Loco. I agreed it looked like Loco, except that the stem and leaves were covered with fuzz. Just the same, I stated that I didn't think it was Loco. Got home, checked the interweb. She was right. This variant is called "Showy Loco".
Showy Loco (Oxytropis splendens)
Taken: July, 2005 - Indian Peaks Wilderness
Mon Nov 28 10:02:57 MST 2005
Photo - Winter: Crust on Dust
This was probably my favorite hike of the year. I had a new mohawk, and everything had an interesting spin to it. Looking at the branches, there was a hard layer of ice on top of the lightest of layers of snow. Actually, the whole ground was like this, not just the branches on the tree. Bizarre and beautiful.
Taken: March, 2005: Red Rocks Trail, Boulder, Colorado
Sun Nov 27 11:14:55 MST 2005
Photo - Other: Llamas
This sign was put up outside my apartment building in Denver by the Department of the Interior.
There's also one in Rocky Mountain National Park
Sat Nov 26 10:45:41 MST 2005
Photo - Summer: Fairy Slipper Orchid
We were hiking back from Ouzel Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado and we ran into a couple that was obviously investigating some flora on the side of the trail. It just happened to be on be one of the flowers that we were unable to identify. The gentleman was very knowledgable about orchids. They started walking with us, and said that they'd seen a Fairy Slipper Orchid just a bit up the trail. We all started looking, but probably never would've seen this otherwise, it's tiny. I'm glad we got the photo with Verne's finger, so that you can understand roughly how small it is.
Fairy Slipper Orchid (Calypso bulbosa)
Taken: June, 2005 - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Fri Nov 25 13:59:10 MST 2005
Photo - Spring: Tent Caterpillars
We were on a hike at Chautauqua Park in Boulder, CO and I saw these webs tangled around parts of shrubs. I had assumed they were spider webs. A week or two later, I was hiking in GGC State Park, and saw the webs were alive with these caterpillars. I think that Verne's sneaker might be made from Tent Caterpillar moltings, given that the colors match so closely, and this caterpillar seemed to recognize it as his cousin Carl.
Western Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma californicum)
Taken: May, 2005 - Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado and Chautauqua, Boulder, Colorado
Thu Nov 24 14:09:25 MST 2005
Photo - Summer: Old Man's Whiskers
Old Man's Whiskers or Prarie Smoke - Although I don't believe they're native to Colorado, I think these may be my favorite wildflowers. They look so alien.
As they go to seed, they stand more upright, and long whiskery threads extend from the head of the flower. You can see them a little bit extending from the uppermost flower in this photo.
Old Man's Whiskers (Geum triflorum)
Taken: July, 2005 - Indian Peaks Wilderness, Colorado
Wed Nov 23 08:51:25 MST 2005
Photo - Other: Monkey Candle
My friend Julie gave me this creepy monkey candle. The monkey was wearing a bright red fez originally. It obviously was not intended to ever be burned because it became a lot more creepy when the wax around the neck started melting and the monkey's head drooped down.
Taken: March, 2005
Tue Nov 22 09:36:48 MST 2005
Photo - Spring: Wild Irises
Wild Irises (Iris missouriensis)
Taken: May, 2005 - Chautauqua, Boulder, CO
Mon Nov 21 12:21:23 MST 2005
Photo - Autumn: Flatiron Climbers
You have to look at the full size images to fully appreciate this
(the climber is not me, I just took the photos).
Taken: September, 2005 - Flatirons, Boulder, CO
Sun Nov 20 04:15:36 MST 2005
Photo - Spring: New Aspen
New aspen tree. I'm still having trouble getting my digital point-and-shoot camera to focus on what I want it to focus on.
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Taken: June, 2005 - Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado
Sun Nov 20 03:20:42 MST 2005
Photo - Winter: Bark Hole
I thought this was neat. This tree, still alive, suffered some sort of damage, leaving this huge patch with no bark. Still, even though it had no bark in this area, there was a clear shell of what I assume was sap, protecting it from intruders... wind, weather, insects, disease, etc...
Taken: January '05