I'm still out and about, enjoying this unseasonably warm autumn,
mid-November and no snow!
mid-November and no snow!
Sunny and 70º Fahrenheit (21º Celsius) ~ Really?!!
On Saturday November 8th, I went over to Red-Tailed Hawk Park
which is a hop, skip, and a jump away to the north,
the continuation of "my"section of park and open space along Piney Creek.
The regional Piney Creek Trail that follows the creek meanders for about ten miles
from S. Coolidge Way near the Douglas County Line in the south
to Cherry Creek State Park in the north.
"My" section is the southernmost part of the trail, about 3/4 of a mile (1.2 kilometers) long.
Faded Rabbitbrush Blooms
Red-Tailed Hawk Park
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
November 8, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
I haven't been in Red-tailed Hawk Park for well over a year,
thanks to traveling, home renovations, and the ongoing
construction of condos on the western side of the park.
People living in the new condos certainly have easy access
to a delightful area to walk, run, and bike.
Condos Have Sprouted Near the Piney Creek TrailRed-Tailed Hawk Park
Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA
November 8, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
I was worried that the condo development would have adversely affected the park,
especially the nearby prairie dog town and a stand of cottonwood trees that I love.
But the prairie dogs looked fat and alert and yipped intensely when I approached,
and the cottonwood trees were as beautiful as ever.
Unfortunately my iPhone zoom lens doesn't do the prairie dogs justice.
On Alert!November 8, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
On Alert!
November 8, 2025
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
This prairie dog is a black-tailed prairie dog, as, of course, are all the others.
These fascinating animals have a complex communication system.
Their alarm cries convey information about predators,
including the species, its size, and shape.
They are thought to be able to convey the color of clothing worn by humans!
I wonder what this one was saying about me! 😂
When I reached the boardwalk crossing the ponds and reeds,
I discovered that the reeds had exploded, pressing in on all sides.
Almost no water was visible.
Claustrophobia!
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
No resting mule deer could have done this!
Collapsed Reeds
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
From what I could find out, the sheer force of strong winds and storms,
especially with heavy rain, can break and flatten tall dense reeds.
Other possible causes are rapid changes in water levels, strong water currents,
or the accumulated weight of heavy snowfall and ice that collapse the reeds.
Everywhere I look the landscape speaks to me in stories.
Countless Reeds© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
A Small Patch of Open Water in a Sea of Reeds
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Hardy Duckweed Thrives Wherever It Can
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Milkweed is Spreading Everywhere
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
The cottonwood stand that I love is very close to the new condo development,
but it doesn't look trampled or overrun.
Cottonwood trees are such exuberant, messy, fast growing trees.
If you see cottonwood trees in a prairie landscape, you know there is water nearby.
No matter the season, cottonwood trees delight my senses.
Each tree is unique, rich in textures, and a host
for birds, insects, squirrels, and other animals.
A New Entrance to the Cottonwood Stand
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
An Inviting Space of Sunshine and Shadow
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Brittle Branches Often Break
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Beautiful in Death and Decay
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Awash with Textures
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Insects Winter Over in Drifts of Cottonwood Leaves
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Most of all, I love the black-tailed prairie dogs,
like them I am small and intense, and I feel an affinity for them.
Not that I want to live in a hole in the ground! 😂
Prairie Dog Burrow #1
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie Dog Burrow #2
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie dog are a keystone species that many plants and animals depend on to survive.
Their burrows protect prairie dogs from predators and flash flooding,
but they also provide homes for other animals like burrowing owls and rattlesnakes.
Prairie dogs keep the prairie grasses around their burrows clipped.
This allows other weeds and forbs to grow.
Constant grazing by prairie dogs increases the nutritional content of plants
which benefits other prairie grazers like bison, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn.
Prairie Dog Town #1
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie Dog Town #1
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie Dog Town #3
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie Dog Town #4
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Prairie Dogs Peeking Out
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Here's to spending time in nature.
It calms your mind and fills your soul.
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
Tomorrow my sister Donnie is coming to visit for a week.
I am so excited.
Donnie and I On a Ferry Crossing Petite or Grand Passage
Long and Brier Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 31, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue. All Rights Reserved
I hope you have an awesome weekend too!
Till next time ~
Fundy Blue
Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com
Copyright ©2025 – All rights reserved.
My next post will be
Friday, November 21st, 2025 🤞
...Louise, at the ,o,ent you world looks so brown. I Donnie bright some color into your life this weekend. Take care and be well.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, Tom! I never thought about everything being so brown, even the prairie dogs! 😂 Taupe is my favorite neutral palette, and it contains so many blends of brown and gray, from pale to darkest. I love lines, forms, textures which I see all around me, and I'm fascinated by the stories that landscapes tell me. I'll be seeing green and blue everywhere before long! And Donnie will definitely brighten my world. I can't wait to give her a big hug! Aloha!
DeleteMust be cool to see prairie dogs in the wild and so close. We don't have them here but we do have red-tailed hawks. They will perch on our fence, scanning the yard.
ReplyDeleteHow cool, Alex! Red-tailed hawks come and perch on our deck rail. Red-tailed hawks are my spirit animal. I hope that you have a great weekend!
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen a prairie dog. I think I'd like them -- they look awfully cute! Great photos, Louise. Have a marvelous time with Donnie. I bet it will be a wonderful visit!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeanie. I know that Donnie and I will have a marvelous time. Wishing you a great weekend too!
DeleteI love prairie dogs too. The Winnipeg Zoo used to have a big prairie dog enclosure and I would watch the goings-on in Prairie Dog Town with great interest and amusement! Have a great week with your sister!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debra! Seeing Donnie is definitely the highlight of my fall. Little prairie dogs are definitely amusing. It's too bad that the Winnipeg Zoo no longer has its Prairie Dog Town. Have a great weekend!
DeleteThanks for another walk on a beautiful day! I always loved the Prairie Dogs. I write a post about one of my bike rides along the Cherry Creek trail on Sept 3, 2013
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dreaming! It's another gorgeous day here ~ no walk in the park for me though, I have to go grocery shopping. 😭 All the best to you!
DeleteDear Louise, thank you so much for sharing these beautiful pictures of your walk. The prairie dog is wonderful ❤️
ReplyDeleteHere in Montreal we got our first snow ❄️ over a few days early this week so my photos on my latest blog post show how much snow ❄️ we got. I ❤️ love snow, I didn't mind at all.
Sending you warm hugs 🫂 🤗 and much live, d
Linda, it was 72º F/22º C here today. It is unreal. I don't mind the snow, but Terry hates it. Climate studies have predicted that our region will experience much warmer temperatures and drought. That is what is happening. Sending you love and hugs too!
DeleteSending you warm hugs 🫂 🤗 and much love 🫂 ❤️ Sorry about this second comment, I am on my cellphone and my comment sent before I was finished. At least I hope 🙏 it sent, I want you to see what I said.
ReplyDeleteTechnology! Sometimes it makes me crazy! Both messages came through, so I received double hugs and love ~ much appreciated! Have an enjoyable and happy weekend! ❤️❤️❤️
DeleteFantastic photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to AFFF
Much♡love
Thanks, Gillena! Much love to you too! Happy weekend!
DeleteHave fun with your sister!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christine! With luck she will be arriving here in exactly 24 hours! Wishing you a lovely weekend!
DeleteOhhhh what a wonderful post. I love seeing where you live. The park is my kind of terrain. Condos and appts are going up everywhere, and they are not cheap to rent. Anyway here. So many prairie dogs. I haven't seen any since we moved here. Thanks for the walk in the park and sharing with FFO. Have a very nice weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anonymous! Housing of any kind is out of sight. You have a very nice weekend too!
Deletelooks like you had an great time exploring nature.
ReplyDeleteI did, Dora! I hope that you have been having good days too!
DeleteMy precious sweet friend Louise 🥰
ReplyDeleteIt was pure pleasure to join you in your walk ,what a delightful experience full of peace ,joy and excitement 🥰🤗♥️👌
I enjoyed each step thoroughly 🥹♥️
Your beautiful words filled soul in every scene and I could feel the vibrations of life story of everything you captured 🤗♥️👍
Prairie dogs is totally new term to me ,I thought they were beavers at first glance. Thank you for making these cuties familiar to me 🙏
The flattened reeds looked intense scene from some thriller movie 🫢🤔
Oh I love trees and how much love they spread to all those come to them 🥹♥️
Thank you so much for uplifting and fulfilling sharing🥰🙏
I bet Donnie and you will have wonderful time together 🥰♥️
I am having great time with my sister too 🥹🥰
Hugs and best wishes ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Thank you, Baili! Yes, Donnie and I are having a wonderful time together. I'm glad that you are having fun with your sister too! ending you much love and many hugs! ❤️
DeleteWonderful post! Love the prairie dogs. So sweet. Have fun with your sister! Have a lovely weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank, Maria! Sadly my sister has returned home ~ just in time for cataract surgery today. She's doing well. I hope you had a lovely weekend! ❤️
DeleteOh Louise, like you I love cottonwood trees and prairie dogs. We had seen in Badlands NP and spent hours just watching them. They are so entertaining. And those cottonwoods - lovely trees, their leaves rustling in the wind, and the bare trees look so interesting. They're definitely on my "favorites" list.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I can't believe I'm behind so much. I'll blame eat on my sister. 😂 I hope you have started a great week! ❤️
DeleteEach sure has a story indeed. You sure it wasn't aliens or bigfoot that made that mark? Lol more fun that rain and wind.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the praire dogs consider you a threat, probably just telling the others that here comes the picture taking human again.
Yeah, living in a hole might get kinda drafty, best to pass.
Hope she has a great visit.
Donnie and I had the best visit, Pat! I've been listening to your songs. They are great!!!
DeleteSorry I'm so late Louise, but I'm glad I made it by because it looks like an amazing walk. The prairie dogs make me think of my daughter who used to love them as a kid. We took her to the zoo in DC once and when we asked her what she liked best, it wasn't anything big or really exotic but it was the prairie dogs. :) Sorry for that aside, but you must have had fun watching them. I hope you're having a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou're late, Erika? Look at me. I'm blaming it on my sister. 😂 Thanks for sharing that your daughter loved prairie dogs. Maybe she loved something closer to her size. Have a great week! ❤️
DeleteThe area seems beautiful and eerie all at once!
ReplyDeleteIt's not eerie to me, Jen, just familiar and well loved. I hope your week has started off well!
DeleteI'm so happy you posted this. I love the prairie dogs. Thank you for sharing with FFO and have a great weekend. Did you get my email?
ReplyDeleteYes, Nicole, I got your email. I'm afraid you're finding out my sad secret. I'm perpetually behind. 😂 Happy week to you! ❤️
DeleteWow, lucky you! Here they say too cold for November - yesterday we had -4C / 24,8F.
ReplyDeleteThose prairie dogs are the cutest! Have never seen one! Now I wonder what you were wearing!
Such beautiful pics, thank you! To imagine to be rich and live in one of those houses... Cute smiles, too, thank you for the tour and have a happy weekend and a wonderful week!
Thank you, Iris! I used to want to live in a big house like those. What was I thinking? I'm happy in my little townhome. I was wearing a fleece. The weather was really nice. I hope you have a great week! ❤️
DeleteWe havn't prairy dogs here. Of course they maybe seeing in the Zoo. But we love viewing squirrels. They are in our garden.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Thanks for visiting, Erica! I love squirrels. They run across my deck frequently. They hop on my linden tree and jump on my roof. And there are many squirrels along Piney Creek which is nearby. Have a great week!
DeleteOh, I love prairie dogs - as does my mother. So cute. But I have only seen them in a zoo. They are really living in your surroundings? Great.
ReplyDeleteHave a good time and thank you for your kind visit again to my blog.
All the best
Violetta
Hi, Violetta! It's great to reconnect with you again. This has been a crazy year. I hope to stay more in touch with you. My blogging buds mean a lot to me! Have a great week!
DeleteThanks for linking to AFFF
ReplyDeleteYour photos are fabulous
Much♡love
Thanks, Gillena! Much love to you! ❤️
DeleteI love these photographs. There's just something about winter's subtle grays and browns against a blue sky that is soothing. So neat you have prairie dogs to enjoy. When I saw that first pic of the collapsed grass I thought, "crop circles???"
ReplyDeleteHi, Leigh! It's so great to see you! Crop circles are so much more fun than more prosaic explanations. Have a great week! ❤️
Delete