Refuge Wednesday

I walked the same dikes today - somehow it seemed more empty and hot than the last time. I got a few photos that I liked, including a metal bird that flew right over me.
Enjoy!

Checking out the sign

Big and little

Looks like a sheet of music with some color.

Metal bird

 Wading birds

Hiking with Molly

Another hot day - 97 - so Molly and I went up to her pond and she swam and then we hiked. Wonderful time with her except she did not want to come to the car after swimming...finally had to get the leash and lead her.  Just like a kid.

The moon is inviting in the daylight.

Bugs and tomato plants in backyard

Red leaves in the hillside

Grasses going to beauty

Curious guy

Adventures

Molly refusing to come....

Love bees and thistles

Molly retrieving while duck watches

The refuge - a day to remember....

There is construction on the refuge roads so I parked and walked a route that I have not taken for quite a while. Boy, what a fantastic experience. Black-crowned Night Herons in a flock of 6! Great Blues and Great Whites in the treetops! The terns were buzzing me regularly! And the Pelicans - OMG what beauty!
All that along with some wonderful marsh landscapes - perfect day to just  "take a hike"!

I saw this mural on the way out of town and couldn't resist!

The 'greeters' when I entered the refuge!

Sandhill Cranes flew noisily by!

The wetlands..

Terns were very active fishing and squawking!

Great White Herons - beautiful birds!

Black-crowned Night Herons greeted me as I started down the dikes..

Great Blues were out in force.

 Grasses are turning color..

Ducks everywhere

GBH with wide open mouth!

I love the green ...

Then the pelicans - they soared around and around over me..

GWH in the treetops - quite a balancing act.

A different tern - look at beak..

Visiting Albion Basin

Diana and I enjoyed a mid week trip to Albion Basin, very few people to contend with. The wildflowers were still quite beautiful if more subdued.
The campground hosts also hosted Stellar's Jays and squirrels, interesting companions at the food place. Finally, a storm over SLC valley made for a great photo op down valley.

Visiting the Uintas

Or at least a small part of it. Past Francis and up past Mill Hollow Reservoir - wide open spaces interspersed with drainages with willows in them.  Started sunny but soon clouded up. Doesn't really matter to me since there is no where else like the mountains but hard to take decent photos when there is minimal light.
Deer, sandhill cranes and moose along with beautiful landscapes were our treat today!

Eclipse day

Monday we watched the eclipse from our backyard. Here it was about 90% at peak and the world seemed a bit otherworldly then. Very quiet - birds sitting still, not much traffic - and a strange light. Wonderful to be a part of it.
Here's some photos from the time of the eclipse - none of the eclipse itself as I did not get the requisite filters.  There are some pretty incredible eclipse shots around the web.

The eclipse provides very different shadows - the deck and rock photos show that. Then the light on the rose was so spectacular during the peak that I took the photo, not knowing if it would turnout.  Well it turned out beautiful, not sue it really provides the same experience as being here then did.