It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is from the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. This is the first Cog Railway locomotive that was used at Pikes Peak. It was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1890 and made it's first trip to the summit in 1891. It was retired in 1941 and put on display at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. The CRRM acquired it in 1979.
In early August, I had to a different building in the morning so I was taking a different route. There was a beautiful sunrise that morning and I had to stop and take a photo. I especially liked the rays the clouds were making.
There have been a large number of Cicadas around lately. I captured this one on my G Scale raised layout one day. It was very shady and a bit challenging to photograph.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that blooms for quite a while in my area, Wild Alfalfa. It usually blooms May to July but I saw some still blooming in August this year. Wild Alfalfa resembles it's domestic relative but has smaller leaves and is very drought tolerant with roots that can go as deep as 10 feet. This particular image is from last year and I never shared it.
While I was on my first trip to Minnesota this year, I was able to see and capture some ducks one evening. I believe these are Blue Wing Teals. I apparently was too close for their comfort and they were taking off from the pond they were on.
Happy Monday and happy new week! It's also a double digit day! 😄 Thought I would start off the week with a flower that always makes me happy, Sunflowers. These are some nice ones that were in the field not far from where I live. Hope they brighten up your day as well.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! While I was in Colorado, I visited the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden once again. Things had changed quite a bit from the last time I was there including having a fully operating Roundhouse. Inside was Locomotive No 20 getting some work done. It was originally built in 1899 and was owned by the Rio Grande Southern Rwy. The museum acquired it in 2006. After a restoration in Strasburg PA it was returned to service and can occasionally be seen pulling trains at the museum. Unfortunately it was not running the day I was there but I was glad to see it.
I have a lot of fairly decent bird images from this year that I still have not shared. Had some good opportunities, more than usual. I thought I was only getting one chance to see Cedar Waxwings this year but got lucky with a few more while they visited my backyard pond for a drink. This is a couple of them sitting in the Walnut tree, one in better focus than the other. 😁
Happy Friday, TGIF! Today's image is one I was able to capture at my Gazebo pond recently. I love the shimmer on it's wings, the light was just perfect that day. I am sharing it for today because of the fabulous bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
This is another photo I was able to capture of the White-line Sphinx Moth that was visiting my Surprise Lilies last week. It was pretty dark and I only got one photo but it turned out fairly well and was captured head on. You can see it's long probiscis that allows it to get into long flowers like this better than other insects to help pollinate them. I have a bit longer video of it HERE than I shared last week.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one I find very picturesque. This is Snow On the Mountain. It can bloom June through October but ours doesn't seem to get started till August. It is in the Spurge family and is related to the Poinsettia which I can see the resemblance for sure. Cattle will not eat it while grazing and if it is contained in the hay it can cause death. Not good for such a lovely flower.
While I was in Colorado I had a great opportunity to capture a Great Blue Heron. I was riding on a trail outside Greeley which turned out to be great for views of nature but disappointing as a ride. Only about 2 miles out it was totally blocked by a train that was parked across the tracks. I was able to see and capture this Heron though, as it was getting a meal of a snake. By the time I took this particular image, it had gotten it down. I was closer to it than I usually get while in Kansas.
Happy Monday and happy new week! It's been boiling hot out so I am dreamy of Spring type weather. I thought I would share this lovely Spring flower for cooler thoughts. This is one of my Peony flowers in bloom this past May.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! I had a neat and unexpected experience in Colorado this summer. I was out for a walk one evening in the town we were camping in and discovered that there is a manufacturer of railroad locomotive parts, Ulco, located in that town. The owner had a wonderful grand scale locomotive that he and his father had built years ago. He operates it every now and then and was going to operate on the day we were going to head home. We ended up staying later and I ended up firing up the locomotive and getting to operate it for a short distance. It's an amazingly well detailed and built locomotive based on the ones that the Cumbres & Toltec and Durango and Silverton's Railroads run. It has many details that the full size ones have.
Today's image is of an interesting fungus I was able to capture on a branch in a pile of cut branches. I found it quite interesting looking with the texture but have no idea what type it is. In searching with Google Lens it looks like it may be Hexagonal-pored polypore. These are a fan shaped bracket fungus normally found on dead wood so that pretty much describes it. Google is wonderful sometimes. 😁
It's Friday, TGIF! My Black-eyed Susans are blooming over at the Gazebo pond and making the area look lovely. They seem to thrive in this area even though it doesn't make sense to me as it is very shady and they normally like a lot of sun. Whatever, I am happy to see them. I love the bokeh in this image so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
The last couple of evenings I have been able to see and capture a White-lined Sphinx moth visiting my Surprise Lilies. They come at dusk and getting a photo is challenging as they move so fast and the light is not very good. My phone does a really good job of capturing video of them though and I have a very short video of it HERE pollinating these flowers as it gets something to eat.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one I saw while on a bike ride one day and I actually liked how my phone focused on it. This is Illinois Tickclover. It is in the Bean family and can grow to 6 feet and blooms from June through September. There are hooked hairs on the seed pods which gives them their name.
In June I was able to see and capture a Loon again in Minnesota. It was stretching as I was photographed it so I was able to get a bit of an action image. Most times I only hear them but got lucky on this trip.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Starting off the week with a nice bright flower that I am growing this year. This is a variety of Blanket Flower or Giardia. The usual ones are orange in color. This is another I will be interested to see if it comes back next year.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Once again we are on my ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy in late June. This image shows a good example of the types of landscapes the train travels through. It is a combination of scrub vegetation and mountains which provides some lovely views and variety. It's a great ride that I highly recommend.
Today's image is another of the Sunflower field near where I live. I wonder what they are growing these for as they have smaller heads on them than the kind for oils or seeds. Maybe they just make them happy as they do for me. I was able to get a photo from a different angle so I was able to capture more heads facing the camera.
It's Friday TGIF! It's also a double digit day. 😁 I have been able to see and capture some Dragonflies at my pond lately. I love the shimmer on this one. It also had some great bokeh so I had to share for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
When I was in Minnesota in June, I was out for a walk one evening looking for birds actually but I got to see and capture this Muskrat. It was swimming in the pond near where I was walking very closely to me.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog once again! We are already more than halfway through the year. This is actually an image from last year that I never shared of a flower that blooms everywhere in my area. This is Daisy Fleabane. It can be a nuisance as it gets in gardens and lawns and my garden railway. It is a lovely one though so I generally try to leave it for the bees and butterflies. They usually bloom May through September and can grow to 3 feet tall. There is also another type of Fleabane called Annual and the 2 are rather difficult to tell apart. 😊
The Mississippi Kites have been back for a while now. They have been more difficult to get a photo of though it seems. I was able to capture this one flying overhead one day. They have a distinct face with black eye patches and a very distinctive whistling call. Even it you can't see them you can tell what they are when you hear the whistle. You can hear an example HERE They are called Kites due to the way they glide around on the air currents.
Happy Monday and happy new week! I thought I would start off the week with a lovely butterfly I was able to capture on my Coneflowers/Echinacea not long ago. This is a female Black Swallowtail. I have seen a good amount of Swallowtails around this year and Skippers but, unfortunately, not many others. I do see a Monarch every now and then, hope to see more before the summer is over.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a companion to Thursday's. As we rounded a curve on the Cumbres & Toltec Railway ride in the scrub area of Colorado near Antonito, the engineer was blowing the whistle quite a lot. You can see the steam coming from it in the photo. The cause was this Elk that was standing on or right near the tracks and I was able to get a photo of the action. The white object to the right is a mile marker and we were at mile 291 when this occurred. The train does not go that far, that is from original Rio Grande designations. I am not sure where the starting point is. Very early in the ride a similar thing happened with cows but I did not get a photo. 😊
It's Friday, TGIF! It's the first day of August too, yikes summer goes quick. My Rudbeckia flowers bloomed quite beautifully for a nice while this summer. This image had some beautiful bokeh so I had to share for today because Friday's are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
