I've been struggling with social-distancing this past ten days or so.
Self-isolation seems to stretch into the future with no end in sight.
The weather has been hot and windy,
and yesterday the air was heavy with wildfire smoke.
After days at home wallowing, I forced myself out of the house this morning
and went for a long overdue walk in the open space along Piney Creek.
This is the lush, fecund season with female mule deer dropping their fawns,
cottonwood trees releasing their seeds, and wildflowers springing up everywhere.
Birds are winging back and forth, catching insects and ferrying them to their young.
The earth is alive and filled with promise.
Here's to a lovely summer morning!
Cool Green Beckoning
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Cottonwood Seed Capsules
Male Goldfinch
Aurora, Colorado
June 7, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Best Guess: Lacy Tansyaster
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18,, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Cottonwood Seed CapsulesPlains Cottonwood Tree
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Bursting Cottonwood Seed Capsules
Releasing Seeds (cotton) on the Wind
Plains Cottonwood Tree
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Bursting Cottonwood Seed Capsules
Caught in the Grass
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Cottonwood Seeds
Scattered in the Grass
Plains Cottonwood Tree
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Middle Pond
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Grackles in a Cottonwood Tree
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Summer Meadows
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Spiderwort
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Mule Doe with Fawn
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Mule Doe with Fawn
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Same Mule Doe Hiding in the Grass
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Upper Pond
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Prickly Poppy
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Prickly Poppy
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
House Finch
Aurora, Colorado
June 7, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Musk Thistle
Along Piney Creek
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Male Robin
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
Summer Leaves
Plains Cottonwood
Along Piney Creek
Aurora, Colorado
June 18, 2020
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I hope you are staying safe and healthy!
All the best to you!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
For Map Lovers Like Me:
Location of Aurora, Colorado, USA
Area Where I Took the Photographs
(by the asterisk in the lower middle)
Map Data © 2018 Google United States
Southern Aurora and Northern Parker
Map Data © 2019 Google United States
Adapted from a Sign in the Park
Red-Tailed Hawk Park
Aurora, Colorado, U.S.A.
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved
I'd say you need to get out and take that walk every day. Bet you'd see new animals every time. What luck to see the doe and her fawn. And woe to anyone allergic to cottonwood!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I'm not allergic to cottonwood trees! That doe and fawn were a stroke of luck, and they were off in a flash because they spotted me before I realized they were nearby. Yes, I need to get out every day. I know better. Wishing you a happy and safe weekend, Alex!
DeleteYou have a nice place to walk. I have a 3.5 mile walk I often do at night. Last night, the constellation Scorpius was up high in the southern sky and there was beautiful lightning in the distance in the west...
ReplyDeletewww.thepulpitandthepen.com
Your evening walk sounds wonderful, Jeff. We have so much light pollution here that I'm lucky if I can find Orion's belt. Yesterday I was reading about a dark sky preserve at Kejimkujik in Nova Scotia and promising myself I'd go there. Big sky lightning we have here in Colorado for sure. It is always magnificent to observe. All the best, Jeff!
DeleteWhat a beautiful place to go explore. I'd be out there all the time. Get a lot of steps in that way.
ReplyDeleteIt is beautiful, Diane! And spotting a doe and fawn was a rare treat. Getting steps rules my day. Here's to a high total today for both of us!
DeleteA lovely walk! That fawn was certainly well camouflaged by the grass.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how well deer can blend into their surroundings, Debra. Most times I spot them by the outline of theirs ears in the grass. It's distinctive once you get used to what to look for. Have a great weekend, my friend!
DeleteThe photos of the birds are so clear and detailed. I like the ones where they're up in the trees, with the branches against the blue sky - stark beauty. :)
ReplyDeleteI am drawn to stark beauty, Madeline, and I love grackles. They are noisy, scrappy birds, and they are one of the first bird species I learned to identify as a child. They loved my Grandmother MacDonald's yard, and when her cherries ripened in the fall the grackles would fight over them in the tops of the trees. And if some of those cherries had fermented, it was a clown show. All the best to you!
DeletePleased you managed to get out Louise, I'm still waiting. The longer I wait the harder it is. Lovely photo's too. Thanks for a lovely cheery post.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend. and sat safe and well.
Yvonne.
Thanks, Yvonne! It was good to get out. I find it hard to remain self-isolated, but it's better than catching the virus. I have never in my entire life been house-bound like this. I feel like I should be accomplishing so much more. That said, my weekend is going well. Today I went to nearby Red-Tailed Hawk Park and played with my camera. Later I made a batch of cranberry orange biscotti. I think I've got it mastered now. It's the new skill I've learned in the last couple of months. It's a lovely evening, the Summer Solstice. I hate to see the days start to get shorter tomorrow. At least there's lot of summer left. I hope that you are enjoying your weekend too!
DeleteCute bird
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adam! Take care, my friend!
DeleteSee lots of wildlife out and about indeed at your sea. Does seem never ending with the covid crap, but maybe you should walk it every day and see what comes about. Deer babies to frisky squirrels making babies, you just never know. haha I tried to get a shot of a fawn with its mother yesterday, but they ran away. How rude. You are the better animal creeper upper on haha.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Pat! I've got to get out the door more, especially when the weather is lovely. Those darn deer are so hard to catch. I'm sorry that you didn't get your shot. Deer have such sharp ears and can detect movement really well. I hope you have a fun weekend. Take care!
DeleteSometimes they are easy to catch though. Went to one property and there were 7 deer there. Had to watch where I stepped the whole way lol and a few even came right up to me looking for treats. They weren't fond of my dog treats lol
DeleteDog treats??? LOL
DeleteYour photos are beautiful. I wish I could walk among all those flowers. I understand how you feel. I'm tired of isolation, which was something I didn't think could possibly happen.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Thanks, Janie! I used to dream of having a carefree day at home when I was working. Now I'm beginning to see why house arrest might not be such a good deal. LOL I keep telling myself that isolation is better than the alternative. Hang in there, Janie! We'll get through this! Hugs to you!
DeleteLouise your pics are lovely, and very uplifting in these times. How beautiful is nature, and I love the 'cotton' plant, I have never heard of that one before. Keep taking those lovely pictures and enjoy your walks, there is something different out there every day.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Brenda! I'm so happy that ou find y pictures lovely and uplifting. We live in a beautiful world!
DeleteA beautiful walk, Louise! This situation is taking a toll on people. It's difficult to maintain it, especially with this nice weather.
ReplyDeleteHi, Martha! Yes, it is difficult, especially when there is no end in sight. I hope that you and George are hanging in there! Take care!
Deleteheavenly walk :)))
ReplyDeletehow lucky to wander and cradle in the lap of nature dear Louise :)
views are breathtakingly beautiful !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
birds ,mules meadows and flowers ,everything JUST ENCHANTING !
life is beautiful when you live in nature :)
hugs!
It has been really difficult, but getting out there and taking a walk though nature is a great way to uplift the mind and spirit. Nature heals. Thank you for sharing these precious photos. I think I will also go for a trail walk this weekend and see what beauty I can stumble across.
ReplyDelete