It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites and has been blooming like crazy around my area and especially in my gardens. This is Echinacea also known as Cone Flower or, here in Kansas, Black Sampson Echinacea. It usually blooms June through July. This Echinacea provides pain relieving compounds and Native Americans used it for toothaches, sore throats, wounds and burns. I find it very photogenic. Birds like to eat the dried seeds.
While I was in Chama New Mexico one evening I was able to get a few of the best Hummingbird photos I have been able to get in a long time. This Hummingbird came flying in and landed on a branch very close to where I was walking and allowed me to get several images of it.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Time is flying by. Sigh I was given a Stargazer Lily by a friend who has since passed and it makes me think of her when it blooms. There was only one bloom this year for some reason but it was a gorgeous one.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is one I took while on the Cumbres & Toltec train ride a couple weeks ago. This is the train from the Antonito Colorado side stopped at Osier Station where we had lunch. In about the middle of the train ride, you get to stop at Osier Station and have, what is now, a buffet lunch which is actually very good. There is some time then to walk around and take photographs which is nice.
I have a very short video HERE of the train getting ready to load passengers in Chama Yard. It's very steamy. 😁
While I was in Colorado I also visited a few other places for museums and other things. I went to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Afterwards we went into Golden to find a place to eat. Before dinner we went for a walk and this is a view of Clear Creek that passes through part of the town. Clear Creek lives up to it's name because if you enlarge the image and look at the water you can see the rocks at the bottom. There is, what looks to be a lovely biking and hiking trail alongside the river that I will have to check out sometime in the future. Just FYI, Golden is home to Coors Beer and has a HUGE factory there.
It's Friday, TGIF! I am trying to grow Blanket Flower once again in a different location. If it does not work again, I am giving up. I can never get them to come back the next year even though they are a perennial. Anyway, I find them quite lovely and photogenic. This image had some lovely bokeh in it so sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
We stayed in Strasburg Colorado, a town that has quite the railroad history. It also had some great opportunities for wildlife photos I discovered while out for a walk one evening trying to photograph the train station. There was a fairly large group of prairie dogs living in a field near where I was photographing the station. I was able to get this image of several of them. I find them very cute though I am thankful they are not in my area as I don't think I would enjoy them in my yard. 😂😅
