Standing Into Danger: Along Piney Creek

Showing posts with label Along Piney Creek. Show all posts

Friday, May 15, 2026

Open Your Eyes!

Our spring snowstorm arrived on schedule, and I am so grateful that I'm retired.

I hated commuting on snowy, icy roads.

Terry and I were warm and cozy even though the power went out for a bit.

Spring Snow ~ Can you spot the deer hunkered down in the center?

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 6, 2025

One week later it was 80ºF at lunchtime.

Such is springtime on the high plains of Colorado.

Cottonwoods Leafing

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

This month, I've been out and about enjoying all the springtime sights ~

like the water skippers I first saw as a small child on a calm pond.

They delight me every time I spot them.

Water Skipper ~ Gerridae

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

Baby black-tailed prairie dogs are so cute, and I look for them every spring.

These five raced for their burrow, the moment they saw me inching closer.

Baby Black-tailed Prairie Dogs Running for Cover

Red-tailed Hawk Park

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Old Man Cottonwood is still surviving, many years after he toppled over.

I'm always wary when I walk around massive cottonwoods.

They are under stress from our severe drought in recent years,

and so many huge limbs and trees have come crashing down.

Old Man Cottonwood

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 2, 2026

Peek-a-Boo! I see you!

Over the years, I've gotten very good at spying mule deer in secluded spots.

Their adorable, exceptionally large ears give them away.

Muley Deer

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

Sometimes the mule deer are easy to see.

They like to lie down on the lawns around houses adjoining the park.

I came upon four bucks behind a fence on such a lawn.

I tried to get closer for better photos, but the biggest male began to make

distressing, growling sounds I've never heard from a muley before.

He was also standing up, unlike the other three.

I beat a hasty retreat. 😂

Three Bucks

(The one on the right is likely a "button" buck because his antlers haven't emerged yet.)

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

The Big Growling Buck

Along Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 9, 2026

While we were in Hawai'i, I missed part of a nearby project on Sampson Gulch.

The existing basin has been enlarged, and flood control channels have been added.

It's so frustrating that I haven't been able to learn more about this project,

because it's really interesting to see the work that's happening.

Samson Gulch Catchment Basin

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Samson Gulch Catchment Basin

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Installing More Flood Controls Features Farther Down Sampson Gulch

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

From the massive to the tiny, we live in such a fascinating world.

A Bee Pollinating Chokecherry Flowers

Along Sampson Gulch

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

Sometimes you don't have to move beyond your doorstep to see something amazing ~

Like this mourning dove sitting patiently on her nest above our garage door

while I swept our front porch. She didn't move a feather!

Little Mama Mourning Dove

Our Home

Aurora, Colorado, ⁨USA

May 11, 2026

As Anthony Doerr wrote in All the Light We Cannot See,

“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”

Look at the wonders all around you. It's a magnificent world!

Like thisI'm linking to Gillena's Lunch Break, Nicole's Friday Face Off, Tom's Aloha Friday, and Debra's She Who Seeks.

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be IWSG Day

Wednesday, May 22nd. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, October 24, 2025

Open Your Eyes ...

"Open your eyes, and see what you can with them before they close forever.”

This quote from the wonderful novel All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr is one of my favorites.

I remind myself all the time to open my eyes and see.

During the past few days we have had beautiful fall weather,

and I have been walking along Piney Creek taking in all the sights.

I'm delighted to be home and to have the time to wander,

to say "Hi!" to my favorite trees and to search for animals.

Juvenile Cottonwoods Surround Their Likely Father

(the big dark trunk in the background)

Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA

October 21, 2025

Here are some things I've opened my eyes to see:

Alert Mule Deer ~ Don't you love those ears?

(near the entrance to the park)

Aurora, Colorado, USA

October 21, 2025

Cottonwood Tree

(near the entrance to the park)

October 21, 2025

Milkweed Seeds

I've been watching the milkweed slowly spread along Piney Creek for years.

Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA

October 21, 2025

My "Upper" Pond

There are many, many ponds along the length of Piney Creek,

but there are three along the east side of Heritage Eagle Bend where I live.

Along Piney Creek, Aurora, Colorado, USA

October 21, 2025

Common Mullein Stalks Are Everywhere This Fall

October 21, 2025

Old Man Cottonwood

October 21, 2025

Old Man Cottonwood is my favorite tree in "my" section of the park.

I've been photographing him for many years.

I like to visit him to see what's new, touch his branches, and talk to him.

I feel vindicated in my actions after just finishing an amazing book,

The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger, last week.

Some of the Lovely and Rooty Textures at the Base of Old Man Cottonwood

October 21, 2025

Leaves Caught in a Crotch in Old Man Cottonwood

October 21, 2025

Old Man Cottonwood

Here you can see how he's toppled over exposing his base in the left background.

This is why I call him old ~ He's fallen and he can't get up.

October 21, 2025

I remember asking one of my high school science teachers, Jerry MacLean,

if he thought that trees could communicate.

He told me I'd be better served, if I stopped looking out the windows

and paid attention in class.

I hope Mr. MacLean has lived long enough to read The Light Eaters!

If you read it, you will never look at plants the same way again!

Till Next Time, Old Buddy!

October 21, 2025

I encounter lots of people along the trail following Piney Creek.

This guy blew by me peddling his recumbent bike

with Van Morrison blasting "Moondance" in all directions.

Simpatico!!!

I like to roam off the path searching for less obvious life

The Last Dandelions of the Year

October 21, 2025

A Damselfly

What bright blue eyes and a long body you have!

October 22, 2025

Prickly Pear Cactus Hides in Dry Areas

October 21, 2025

Asters Still Bloom in Scattered Spots

October 21, 2025

A Ruddy Darter Dragonfly

October 21, 2025

The park is very quiet, its life preparing for the coming winter.

I never tire of seeing bullrushes, leaves against the sky, duckweed blanketing a pond

or a path with with leaves to shuffle through.

Fluffy Bullrushes aka Cattails

October 22, 2025

Almost Gone

October 22, 2025

Leaves Resting on a Duckweed Blanket

October 22, 2025

It's Impossible to Resist Shuffling Through Leaves

October 23, 2025

And if you're lucky like I was today (Thursday),

you might chance upon some wildlife you've been searching for.

I was pulling a U-e on the way home, and there were the deer beside a house:

Mama, her two almost grown fawns and a fourth unfamiliar deer.

The moment I hit my brakes and rolled down my window,

Mama and her offspring were moving away while the fourth deer looked on.

Serendipity!

October 23, 2025

Mama and Her Fawns

October 23, 2025

Mama and Her Fawns by Our Driveway

July 21, 2025

May you see wonderful things in your corner of the world!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Standing Into Danger https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be

Friday, October 31, 2025 🤞

On a completely different topic ~ The world recently lost a member of the Moody Blues.

John Lodge, the legendary bassist, singer, and songwriter for The Moody Blues died on October 10th.

I've loved the Moody Blues and their music since I was a young teenager,

and I was fortunate to see them perform at Fiddler's Green in Greenwood Village in the late 1980s.

Sadly only Justin Hayward remains.

Here is one of my favorite song of theirs "Isn't Life Strange" written by John Lodge.

The Moody Blues ~ "Isn't Life Strange"

Filmed at Red Rocks, Colorado in 1992

Isn't life strange?

A turn of the page

Can read like before

Can we ask for more?

Each day passes by

How hard man will try?

The sea will not wait

You know it makes me want to cry, cry, cry

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were and here we are

Isn't love strange?

A word we arrange

With no thought or care

Maker of despair

Each breath that we breathe

With love we must weave

To make us as one

You know it makes me want to cry, cry, cry

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were and here we are

Isn't life strange?

A turn of the page

A book without light

Unless with love we write

To throw it away

To lose just a day

The quicksand of time

You know it makes me want to cry, cry, cry

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were

Wished I could be in your heart

To be one with your love

Wished I could be in your eyes

Looking back, there you were

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: John Charles Lodge

Isn't Life Strange lyrics © Johnsongs, Halesouth Ltd., Sparta Florida Music Group Ltd

Friday, August 18, 2023

Happy Smiling Faces!

Thousands of happy smiling faces lined the road greeting us

as we drove home from the airport after visiting Nova Scotia recently.

Home again on Colorado's Beautiful High Plains

E-470, Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 3, 2023

Colorado has enjoyed a cool summer with lots of rain and sunshine,

and millions of wild sunflowers have exploded along roads and highways

and in odd corners of disturbed ground.

A Sunflower Explosion

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

Wild sunflowers are sustained by run-off moisture from the roads,

heat from the asphalt, and little competition from other vegetation.

They can outgrow noxious weeds like sweet clover and thistles.

Vail Daily

The Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

As I drove around on errands and to appointments last week, I became

more and more curious about this happy, cheerful plant dominating the landscape.

So on Tuesday I grabbed my camera and went on a sunflower hunt along Piney Creek.

Upper Pond Along "My" Section of Piney Creek

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

I knew the sunflowers would not grow near the creek bed

because they don't like water-logged soil,

so I headed for a dry bank above the creek where I thought they might be.

Sunflowers Clinging to a Bank

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

The gangly sunflowers clung to the bank, but not displaying the beauty I hoped to find.

So I headed up a gully and found hundreds and hundreds.

Voilà!

I followed another gully back to the trail that led to the power line right-of-way,

because I was getting worried about snakes and ticks.

After taking a brief break from the strong afternoon sun

in the shade of a cottonwood stand, I headed uphill for the power line.

Cottonwood Stand

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

The last time I had walked this way on May 2nd,

a large grading and restoration project blocked my way.

Land Restoration

Aurora, Colorado, USA

May 2, 2023

Today I found a new cement trail had been constructed

beginning at the Douglas County line and running south.

It followed the power line down into marshland,

straddled a stream running into Piney Creek, and wound up the other bank

to link up with the trails in the Inspiration development.

The New Concrete Trail

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

Sun Flowers Galore!

I followed the new cement trail down the hill, across the stream, and up the other bank: Sunflowers galore!

The New Stream Crossing

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 14, 2023

And Up the Other Side

Wild sunflowers are beneficial to the environment in many ways,

one of which is land restoration.

Sunflowers are used as a forb component in reclaiming drastically disturbed lands,

renovating ranges for domesticated animals, and other conservation practices

such as pollinator habitat for bees and other pollinators,

establishing permanent vegetation in areas of high erosion,

and the restoration and management of declining and rare habitats.

Sunflowers provide food to insects, birds, deer, and other wildlife.

Bees Love Wild Sunflowers!

Restoring an Eroding Slope

Stabilizing Slopes

The wild sunflower is native to North America,

and Native Americans first domesticated the plant as early as 3,000 BC.

They boiled and ate flower buds and raw seeds

and ground the seeds into flour for cakes and bread.

They drank an infusion of the plant that eased

rheumatism and chest pain and stimulated appetites.

Different parts of the sunflower plant were boiled to make yellow, purple, and black dyes.

Dried sunflower stalks were used as building materials.

nrcs.usda sunflowernsa

Spanish explorers took the wild sunflower to Europe around 1500.

By 1716 an English patent was granted for squeezing oil from the plant's seeds.

Peter the Great is credited with popularizing the sunflower

as an ornamental plant in the 18th century.

The Russian Orthodox Church added to its popularity

by forbidding the consumption of most oil foods during Lent

and leaving the sunflower off the prohibited list.

By 1830, sunflower oil was produced on a commercial scale in Russia.

Eastern Europeans and Russians who had emigrated to America

imported the commercial sunflower because it was a protein-rich food for animals.

By the 1920s the US was growing commercial crops of sunflowers,

followed by Canada in 1930.

nrcs.usda. sunflowernsa nuseed

Some of my happiest hours are spent roaming along the trails in my area,

and hunting for sunflowers on a gorgeous August afternoon is hard to beat.

Smiling Happy Faces!

I'm linking to Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date and Nicole's Friday Face Off.

Thank goodness I have an understanding husband who takes me out for dinner

when I arrive home hot, happy, and too tired to cook.

A Club Sandwich and Sauteed Vegetables to Share

Parkway Bar and Grill

Aurora, Colorado, USA

A Muley Walking Past Our Car

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 3, 2023

I was slammed this week with appointments and commitments,

so I'm still catching up with last week's comments. So sorry!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be soon! 🤞

Books Read in 2026

"18 Days in Heaven" by Gale Poirot
"A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope, Love, and Overcoming" by Kerrie Rawson
"Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD.
"Is Math Real? How Simple Questions Lead Us to Mathematics Deepest Truths" by Eugenia Cheng
"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir
"Tell Me Everything" by Elizabeth Strout
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
"The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity" by David Graeber and David Wengrow
"The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig
"The Lord go the Rings" by JRR Tolkien
"The Match" by Harlan Corben
"The Night the Path Disappeared" by Terri Bergen
"The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper" by Roland Allen
"Theo of Golden" by Allen Levi
"Think Twice" by Harlan Corben
"Why Christianity Must Change Or Die" by John Shelby Spong

Standing Into Danger

Pages

Friday, May 15, 2026

Open Your Eyes!

Friday, October 24, 2025

Open Your Eyes ...

Friday, August 18, 2023

Happy Smiling Faces!

Translate