08/16/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  The Cumbres & Toltec Railway was running a Centennial Limited special to celebrate Colorado's 150th birthday and the nation's 250th.  They ran a special double header train on August 1.  I was out there to capture it.  This image was taken in the railroad town of Sublette, New Mexico where trains stop to take on water when they are heading out of Antonito ( they sop here on the way from Chama too but don't take on water as it is heading downhill all the way and they have enough.  Locomotives 168 and 463 were being watered up to head to Osier Station for lunch and 168 would head back on it's own as they do not double head down grade due to uneven wear because of the weight of the train on the fairly steep grades.

 

 

08/15/26

 We have been incredibly hot this past week, at or near 100 F and humid too.  UGH  Remembering back a couple of weekends to my trip to Colorado in the lovely cooler dry air.  I was treated to a lovely sunset on the second evening as well.

 

08/14/26

 Happy Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is a close up image of one of my orange Cosmos flowers.  They have a different shape to them than the pink and white ones but they are all Cosmos.  This image has some very nice bokeh in it which also makes me happy and is great for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

 

08/13/26

 I was out taking photos pf flowers last week and found this Ladybug on a wildflower in one of the gardens.  I always love finding them because they are great for keeping aphids off the plants.  Plus, they are cute.

 

08/12/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is one of my favorites, Butterfly Milkweed.  It blooms June through August but is mostly done already in my area.  It can be found in varying colors of orange, from very light to an almost red.  It is in the Dogbane family and is very attractive to butterflies, hence the name.

 

 

08/11/26

 While I was in New Mexico waiting on a train, I had a wonderful experience.  I got to see an owl in the wild up close!  It was so cool.  It sat there for a bit so I could get several pictures of it before it decided to fly away.  I believe it is a Flammulated Owl and they feed mainly on insects.  They usually are in Pine or Fir trees so are hard to spot but this one happened to be sitting in an Aspen tree.  It was very cool to see it. 

 

08/10/26

Happy Monday and happy new week!  My Zinnias are finally blooming and drawing in a butterfly or 2.  I love this variety which reminds me a lot of a peppermint candy.