Blood Orange Universe...

I am a short timer here...if hurricane Irma cuts across my path I will adjust my leaving to be sure I'm not in floods or bad weather!  This morning I got up and the haze that has been building a while was giving me like nearly zero visibility during the sunrise...I called it a Blood Orange Sun...the sun was really this color...I couldn't get the color to come out in a wide shot but in this close up...Check it out!!

check out those dark spots...wonder what that is?  More fantastic than the eclipse....

The smoke is coming from the North West where many wildfires are ablaze.  

It's still lingers...a good rain is what we need but it's been 3 weeks since we had any here....thinking of the poor souls in Houston, and wishing I could send some of this dry weather to them...

I took a hike up on the ridge west of the house...there is a deer trail up there so that made it easier to bushwhack using their trail...

looking back to the house and the haze in the valley.   

Some of the most famous trails in use today started out as deer paths...along the way I saw some interesting things like this tree skeleton...

  

I'm sure many critters use this tree as a lookout...the rocks around here have some neat looking lichen growing on top...this one is 50 shades of natural grey!

They remind me of nebulae out in space...and they come in a an assortment of  Earth Tone colors!

Came across a shed antler on the deer trail...

It was a nice hike before breakfast...my toe is feeling lots better as long as I don't over do it too much...

the DIY'r in me jumped out and turned this apple juice jug into a bird feeder...

I said BIRD feeder jeeze....

A Woodhouse Scrub Jay and a Red Shafted Flicker did come eat some seed from it...

RS Flicker

the Woodhouse Scrub Jay

This is one of my favorite rocks and not just mine but my squirrel buddy's too.  He comes out each morning, while I'm on the deck with my coffee.  He either sits, lays, or stands up to view the Universe.  He can sit  not moving for hours...just staring down into the valley...he is a very contemplative being as only a deep thinking being could sit and stare off like that day after day...I wonder what he is thinking?  

I will miss this squirrel!  Later after breakfast got in the van and stopped at Fravet Reservoir...saw lots of ducks mostly mallards, and quite a few  and at least one Pied Billed Grebe, and some Ring Necked Ducks..

...oh and some American Coots

they were pretty far away..

AND then tonight the full moon...was Blood Orange too!  

Sadly a blogging acquaintance  took his own life on Aug 31, please friends if you need help, reach out to someone...there is always a solution...

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Fence posts and beyond...

The much cooler August tempts have me wanting to get out in the big outdoors!  Since I broke my pinky toe (about 2 weeks ago) I have not been able to wear a hiking boot, or even a regular closed toe shoe.... praying the dang thing quits hurting soon, most of the black n blue has receded to just one stubborn blue spot and still the whole toe is red and swollen.   (the coffee table and I are in disagreement over how this happened)

haven't been doing much walking on trails or fields, wearing flip flops or even my sturdy rafting sandals unless I want to catch a cacti, rock, or worse yet another stubbed and broken toe to give me more misery!  Oh and by the way I'm not the only person who wears socks with rafting sandals, I've seen a few other geeks with them on! Meanwhile scenic driving is just the ticket to chase away cabin fever (I can get it in a 6 hr span if I'm not careful) 

Last Tuesday Mom and I took a long drive down Mamm Creek Rd (CR 315) looking at birds on wires, in trees, and  on fences and such...we found some other fun things to take photos of like the praying squirrel up top....still having trouble zooming so I'm cropping these days.

We have seen so many immature mountain and western bluebirds..with their dappled grey breast, this is a mountain I determined by the blue patch at the top of the wing...

Lots of critters make use of fences....

Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel 

many fields of Alfalfa are ready for cutting...makes for a beautiful sea of lavender color...with the Hogsback in the distance...

and the large hay rolls are ready to be brought in and stacked...

Western/Cassin's Kingbird white on tip of tail

I have no fellow birders to confer with so I just muddle through...I sometimes use a FB Audubon Group but the last few I put up I got several ID's on the bird soooo it is just everyone's best guess and no grand "Poopah" to confirm. 

 The fence line up continued to amuse us, and I saw a buffy finely stripped breast on this sparrow, and it looks to be the Lincoln's Sparrow...a new lifer!

I didn't get any sharp crisp shots of him, so far ebird agrees...

Saw this rustic little log cabin in the gulch still looks strong and sturdy, roof has some wind damage but that could easily be repaired I wish it was closer to the road and on this side of the fence....I keep hoping to stumble upon a barn owl.  

A few birds of prey were out...the American Kestrel....and the Red tailed hawk, close crops on these as they were distant...

Yesterday (Friday) the three of us headed back to Rifle Gap SP it's very close to us and it's a great spot to enjoy a shady picnic table and be out in the awesome weather we are having now...

Rifle Gap Lake

Say the word "picnic" and suddenly you get lots of friends...

we offered up our scrapes as these birds live in the campground and they expect human handouts

nothing beats a Colorado Rocky Ford watermelon in August 

The Black Billed Magpies are not shy and we sure enjoyed sharing with them...

Then we had a visit from the Red-Naped Sapsucker! Lifer for me...
Ca-Ching, #409, yep I'm still counting just for the fun and challenge of it, like when we were kids and you got double dared to eat as many jelly beans as you could before you barfed it all up...I sure was psyched over this sapsucker, and thanks MOM for spotting it for us!

                                                       

                             the red shafted flicker came by to check us out but he wasn't interested in the picnic...

it was breezy enough for some people to enjoy their sail boards...

Mom seemed to really enjoy herself...

Jimmy has a boo boo and this is his anti-lick boo boo sock...

he hates it...LoL

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.