I know nothing about these insects except that they are so beautiful.
On a recent camping trip, this Eastern Kingbird was very tolerant of me in my kayak and kindly posed for me most days. Kingbirds are flycatchers, catching their meals on the wing. They patiently wait on a good perch til they see a juicy morsel in range.
The girls and I had a nice hike on the Pacific Crest Trail recently. We started out watching and listening to pikas on a talus slope. Willow and I watched from the trail while Sky looked for a shady spot. She’s seen them before! On the way back I stopped to search for a pair of ground squirrels who were whistling back and forth. And LOTS of wildflowers. It may have been the peak of the season since the snow melted early and everything is drying out quickly. There were no little streams and only the smallest of snow patches for the girls to cool their bellies and feet. I think the helicopter was looking for wildfires since we’ve had a fair amount of thunderstorms recently. It was a nice day in the mountains.
Butterflies and bees
The girls and I had a good hike this week. We covered a whole variety of habitats and saw lots of great wildflowers, some baby birds and beautiful blue butterflies. I had hoped the fireweed would be in full bloom but it was too early. The buckwheat and paintbrush were the real stars of the wildflower show. There were Mallard and goldeneye ducklings and I found two Lewis’s Woodpecker nests in burned snags. The aspens were full of bird song. I came across an active burrow that is home to what? Maybe a badger? The girls enjoyed cooling off in a lake and tussled over a stick too.
Who recognizes the location of the first photo?
My Everyday Photos 