A Celebration of Nature in Northern Colorado

           

  ----PART ONE-----

In May of 2019, my husband and I left New York for the beautiful mid-country state of Colorado. With us came our cat, a Tiger Tabby named Birdy, and all of our belongings. This was the first time moving to another state for both of us! We fell in love with the surroundings immediately.

                                 

Today we live in a private apartment complex that has a beautiful courtyard decorated with 30+year old trees and flowers. These natural wonders are a gift to the residents that the staff here lovingly tends to year-round. Some quite interesting creatures have made their presence known to us in these parts.

For instance, on Father's Day 2019 we visited Rocky Mountain National Park for the first time. We were greeted with a most wondrous sight of a moose taking a bath in a small mountain lake. This was the first time I had ever seen a moose in person. Though it was far away, I was able to appreciate its distinct and regal, unique presence.

A Video of the Moose: 

Another amazing sight was a healthy mother turkey with her rafter (gathering) of young (poult). She was doing a great job hiding them in the bushes. While it's great that they are safe and well cared for, I was not, unfortunately, able to photograph the chicks. Thankfully there was a seasoned photographer who had also noticed the gang. She was able to successfully capture them in her shot. Below is the one I took of the mother, sans young.

In the woodlands of the Forest, you might be blessed to catch a glimpse of the many majestic Elk that roam the area...

...or the many different kinds of birds throughout!

A Magpie at the Picnic Area:

A Yellow-Winged Blackbird:

Flowers are abundant all over Colorado. Nothing is like the mountain and prairie valley wildflowers: 

**Update**: "Spreadfruit Goldenbanner" or "Foothills Goldenbanner"  Latin name: "thermopsis divaricarpa" (NOT Snapdragons!!). 

You can read more about this plant here: 

to the Colorado state flower, the Columbine (This is the smaller version, the "Dwarf  Columbine" (Aquilegia saximontana) 

This was at the Devil's Backbone Natural Area, which is open to the public for hiking.

Desert Daisy:

You can read all about Devil's Backbone here. One of Loveland's natural wonders, it's a wonderful place to hike from beginners to advanced, depending on how far you want to go! There is even a spot where you can see the Rocky Mountain Range in the distance from a beautiful lookout.

Meanwhile, Tim and I live in the valley of the Rocky Mountain range. Here, we have been treated to a wide variety of flora and fauna that we never saw much of in New York (and some we wouldn't have because they are only native to the area).

That first June, we were treated to the gathering of Red Admiral butterflies:

A Close Up:

From Far Away:

Side Shot:

Stay tuned for Part 2 for more flora and fauna of Colorado. First, you will learn of the Great Bird Battle of 2020: of which a pair of Chickadees and a pair of Northern Flickers (woodpeckers) both vied for a cozy spot in an Aspen tree.

In the meantime, get out there and start hiking---you'll never know what you'll find out there!!!!

PS: All photography on this Blog is by yours truly. :) Enjoy! :D