Sunny day at the refuge..

Thursday was a beautiful sunny day so the family went to the refuge. Molly enjoyed finding all the smells, and Diana and I enjoyed the birds.

Hawks are back - Harriers and Red-tailed along with some I have yet to identify.  Lots of them though. Great Blue Herons were out, posing for photos. The Great White Pelicans were 'gulping' their way along. A few duck and pheasant hunters - the clouds were too high for most of the duck hunters. 

Here's some photos from the time..

I needed some help from my friend Nikki at Hawkwatch to identify this Merlin..

Female Kingfisher - she turned so I could see her colors better! The male was around also.

The Pelicans gulping along. 

GBH in the field..looking for voles I guess.

Toothy muskrat - caught it as we were leaving and stopped on the first bridge..

A variety of views..

 Collected over time, this variety of views inspires me often, reminding me of the beauty in both small and large landscapes.

Enjoy..

Beauty and the beasts

Special order beauty..

A bit of red in the high desert landscapes

A creek flows through..

Oregon beach flower..

California coast rocks..

Sleeping beauty - or not!

Sun, sand and water..

Intensity..

Morning beauty..

Refuge Tuesday

Duck hunting is underway, lots of noise and traffic at the refuge. But in a quiet time on the top of Goose Egg hill, I found a Merlin and a Cooper's. A Snowy Egret flyby along with capturing a couple along the drive made for most of my action.  A couple of Harriers were hunting and a Kestrel darted about, nothing worth photographing.

Enjoy!

The Merlin..

The Cooper's..

The unwanted visitor....

Beaver Day at Silver Lake

 An early morning at Silver Lake to find moose resulted in watching a beaver cut down a small aspen tree in front of us. Fascinating! Several deer and another beaver later still no moose to see. Oh well!

Here's some of the interesting shots from the trip..

Here's the chewy beaver..

Like all good woodsmen, it moved quickly to removing the branches off the fallen tree.

Tiptoeing through the Teasels....

A hazy morning at the lake..

Muley pop-up...

Beaver 2 floating and diving and eating...

Boulder Utah

 Diana and I took a short trip to Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, Utah starting Sunday this week. No dog rooms available so couldn't take Molly.

We had an upstairs room with the front overlooking the grassy area of the lodge and the rear looking out towards Boulder Mountain over beautiful rabbit brush. The weather was as nice or better than SLC - no smoke. Very relaxing.  

Here's some of the photos from the trip..

Aspen were turning as we came across the mountain..very beautiful..

Morning sunshine on ripple rock...

A white-breasted Nuthatch joined me at my morning coffee on the deck to say hello..

Duck family on pond..

The folks got very curious about me, probably hoping I had something sweet to give them besides words...

View from back window looking out at Boulder Mountain

View from the front deck looking south...

A family of deer ran across the highway on our way out. Only got a photo of one.

More stuff

 Here's a few photos that I like, some recent and some aged.

Winter view from the tower at the Nature Conservancy refuge in Farmington. Just north of Farmington Bay WMA.

Marsh grasses....

Peregrine Falcon at Timpie Springs WMA

Reflections - Winter at Farmington Bay WMA looking across to Woods Cross refineries..

Wilson's snipe - Timpie Springs WMA

Miscellania

 A group of photos from the last few days, some from the backyard, some from a quick trip to the Uintas.

The birds and bees on a sunny Sunday afternoon

Cooper's waiting patiently..

Rose of Sharon blossoms from the plants that our friends Buddy and Susan Beck gave us before they moved.

Millcreek - 

The watchful eye - Moose from Brighton

Uinta photos - 

The road less traveled..