09/18/25

 I have not seen many butterflies this year but the ones I have seen have been very nice and were mostly Swallowtails.  This is a Black Swallowtail that was enjoying my Echinacea or Coneflowers one afternoon.

09/17/25

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is, what I believe is, Wingstem.  Wingstem usually blooms in August and September.  It usually prefers habitats with partial shade and that is where I found it.  It likes rich soils such as along stream banks.  It usually grows in moist areas.

09/16/25

 I saw this guy while out on a bike ride one afternoon early this summer.  It flew across the road in front of me and I got lucky that it landed in a place where I could capture it.  This is  Red headed Woodpecker, a very appropriate name.  

09/15/25

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  I am starting off with a flower that is blooming in my gardens and always makes me happy.  This is Cosmos which I discovered only a few years ago.  They grow well from seed and require very little care and will reseed themselves for the next year and have lovely blooms.

09/14/25

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image goes back to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.  This is Shay No. 12.  It was built in 1927 for the Swayne Lumber Co and was later purchased by the Westside Lumber Co. in 1940.  In 1986 it was sold to the Georgetown Loop RR.  In 2011 to 2014 it operated on the loop of track at the museum where it is still currently stored but is not owned by them.  A Shay locomotive is great for steep railroads due to their gearing which is for traction rather than speed.  The Shay locomotives in West Virginia can climb 9% grades where a normal grade would be, at most, 3%.

09/13/25

 Today's image is from my recent trip to Minnesota.  I was out one evening in a field where they had been doing some wheat threshing and saw a different view of the farm there that I share every year.  It was near sunset so there was nice color to the sky as well.

09/12/25

 It's Friday, TGIF!  I was lucky before I left for Minnesota to be able to see some Monarchs in my yard enjoying the flowers.  I got really lucky to capture 2 of them together enjoying the Butterfly Bush or Buddleia!  I am sharing this image today because of the nice bokeh behind them because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!