04/02/26

 The bees have returned to my yard.  I have seen some honeybees and also this bumblebee that I was able to capture.  It was enjoying some Grape Hyacinths in one of my gardens last weekend.

04/01/26

 Happy April!  It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's image is one of my favorites that I am looking forward to seeing again this year.  This is Missouri Evening Primrose which blooms May through July.  This flower is very drought tolerant.  It's flowers open in the evening and then usually close by mid-morning the next day unless if it's cloudy, they can remain open longer.

03/31/26

 So once again I was able to see a Heron in the typical way, flying away from me.  😏  I was able to capture a decent image of it though so I am sharing it today.  I captured this at the spillway from Milford Lake.

03/30/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  I felt like starting off the week with some sunny looking flowers.  These are my Rudbeckias and they make me happy.  They are coming up again so I hope to enjoy them again this summer.

03/29/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is of Burlington Route locomotive 5629 at the Colorado Railroad Museum.  This locomotive was built in 1940 in Burlington Iowa and is a 4-8-4 wheel arrangement which means it was built for speed.  It began it's career running freight from Chicago to Denver and then between Lincoln Nebraska and Denver.  In 1961 in was converted to oil and was stored in Lincoln where it's boiler was used for heat during a renovation of the Lincoln train station.  On August 30, 1963 it was presented to the Colorado Railroad Museum by the CB&Q Vice President JJ Alms.  The move was rather complicated due to the size of the locomotive and more can be read about it HERE if interested.  

03/28/26

 We have cooled down for a couple days but I felt like showing this photo today because it's my day.  😉  This image is different than my usual snowflake image as this one was taken by my phone!  The quality of photos from a phone has really gotten pretty amazing in certain circumstances.  This is just a single image and not focus stacked like my others.

03/27/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  My Wild Plum was beginning to bloom this past weekend.  In the heat we had it is probably done already, I have not had time to go check it this week.  I hope it is still blooming, they smell so good.  I could have used this image for Wildflower Wednesday as well but the bokeh was so good in it I had to share it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

03/26/26

 It's a double digit day!  It feels like summer out too, we are ridiculously hot yesterday and today as I write this, 98 F in March!  Ugh, I hate to think what summer will be like for real.  Anyway, I felt like looking at a butterfly on Cosmos, this is a Buckeye.

03/25/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is Purple Poppy Mallow.  It usually blooms April through August.  It can look much more purple.  It has a deep taproot that makes it very drought hardy.

03/24/26

 So this was another opportunity for a close up photo that I had of a hawk where I was not hurrying as much and it turned out much better than one I shared recently.  This is a Red Tail Hawk which are more common to see for me.  It was sitting in the Walnut tree in my backyard.  It was so close I kept cutting off part of it's tail so had to adjust my Zoom lens to get it all in.

03/23/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  My Amaryllis is blooming!  I have somewhere between 15 to 20 plants and have about 10 flower stalks this year which is the most ever.  They don't seem to rebloom every year. 6 of the plants are just babies off the adult plant so it will be a while yet before they are large enough to bloom.  I planted these after Christmas and this first one bloomed the first week of March.

03/22/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is of Number 20.  Number 20 has been very visible lately on YouTube because it has been out running special excursions at the Durango & Silverton.  It's a 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler that was built in 1899 for the Schenectady Locomotive Works.  It started life on the Florence and Cripple Creek RR like the one I shared last week.  It moved to the Rio Grande Southern in 1915 and was used until 1951.  The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club purchased it and then later was displayed at the CO RR Museum.  It underwent a 14 year restoration 2006 to 2020 and now operates excursions at the museum.  It will be returning to the museum sometime soon if it is not back already by the time this posts.

03/21/26

 Today's image is another from my bike ride through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs Colorado.  This rock formation is called Balanced Rock for pretty obvious reasons.  😁  It's a popular spot for people doing selfies and such but I got pretty lucky for a few seconds and was able to capture it quickly without anyone in the image.

03/20/26

 It's Friday TGIF!  Today's image is one of my favorite grasses.  This is Sea Oats Grass which I find very photogenic, especially when backlit.  I liked the bokeh in this image so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

03/19/26

 I feel for a butterfly today, haven't shared one in a while.  I am looking forward to seeing them around again, hopefully fairly soon.  This is a Cabbage White that was visiting my Buddleia that I was able to capture this past September. 

03/18/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  This is one of my favorites, Wild Columbine.  They usually bloom in April and May so not too long now till I can see again.  The flowers are relatively small compared to the varieties found elsewhere, such as Colorado where Columbine is the state flower.  It is also known as Red Columbine.

03/17/26

 Today's bird image is of one that I hope to get to see again this spring.  I will have to be sure i carry my camera with me more often.  This is a Cedar Waxwing that I was actually able to capture later in the year on a rare sighting.  There were several sitting in the Walnut tree in the backyard.  I love their masks of dark color over their eyes.

03/16/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  Today's image is one of my favorite flowers.  I find them very photogenic, especially the centers of them.  They grow as a wildflower as well but it is generally the pink variety.

03/15/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image once again comes from the Colorado Railroad Museum near Golden Colorado.  This is locomotive 318 is a 2-8-0 Consolidation type.  It was Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1896.  It began it's career on the Florence and Cripple Creek RR.  The Rio Grande bought it in 1917 and used it on various lines until it's retirement in 1954.  A Cornelius Hauck purchased it and moved it to the CO RR Museum where it operated on the grounds until 1982.  It was then put on static display where it remains today.

03/14/26

 Today's image is one that I took on my bike ride through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs this past summer.  It's a beautiful free park with lovely views such as this one.  Biking through it was a great way to see it as the traffic can get a bit backed up at times and also taking photos was much easier to accomplish.

03/13/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  It's also another Friday the 13th, mwahahaha.  😉 It's usually a pretty good day for me so I am not really superstitious about it.  Anyway, my image for today is another that I took this past autumn of my Maple tree's leaves with some lovely bubbly bokeh behind.  Sharing for today because here on the Blog, Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

03/12/26

 I am sharing an image today of something I am looking forward to seeing again this summer.  This is one of the frogs at my Gazebo pond being rather cliche by sitting on a Lily pad.  I have a lot of work to do on my pond next week as there are so many leaves in it that I have not had time to get out.

03/11/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's image is another of my Nipple Cactus that I am hoping survived the winter.  It usually blooms May through June and I find it's flowers interesting and photogenic.  The flowers will turn into red berries which are edible though I have never tried one.  😁

03/10/26

 So today's image is not the best image I have ever taken but I am sharing it to explain why I shoot the way I do.  I shoot my images in what is called a "RAW" format rather than just the typical jpeg.  If I had shot this in jpeg, I never would have gotten anything out of it.  This is a Red Shoulder Hawk that was sitting just outside our back door.  I was in a hurry to get it and the closest camera I had did not have the correct settings and the exposure was WAY too dark, almost black.  Because I shot it in RAW I was able to recover it to this point and have it look fairly OK.  If I had shot in jpeg I would have lost much of the detail and would have ended up with an image that was totally unusable.  I shot this through a screen as well so had that against me too.  😂  JPEGS are easier to share with others but RAW helps ensure you will most likely have something to share, even when you mess it up taking the photo.

03/09/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  Today's image is one I have been enjoying off and on though the intent was for it to go dormant.  This is my small Fuchsia and I guess it did not get the dormancy memo as it is continuing to bloom through the winter.  I captured this closeup view of one of the flowers during it's last blooming period.

03/08/26

  It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image comes from the Colorado Railroad Museum near Golden once again.  It's a great place to visit and the museum is housed in this beautiful depot.  It is a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement, also known as a Consolidation.  It was built in 1898 by Brooks Locomotive Works and had a long and varied career and was retired in 1953.  It was purchased then by the city of Boulder and put on display.  It stayed there for about 50 years and then was loaned and moved to the museum.  You can ring the bell of this locomotive.

03/07/26

 Today's image is one that I took in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs Colorado this past summer.  This is a rock formation called the Siamese Twins.  The park has many interesting rock formations like these and is free to everyone to visit.  I highly recommend it.  On this trip I had brought my bike and rode that through it which was great fun and a great way to see the park.

03/06/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is another from a recent walk I took after a rain.  I liked the dainty looking droplets on the dainty branches of this plant.  Not exactly sure what type of plant it is.  The bubbly bokeh is perfect for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

03/05/26

 This was a different capture for me and it flew off quickly after I captured it.  This is a Cicada that was on the Autumn Sedum.  I am guessing it dropped from either the Mulberry or Walnut tree very nearby on either side.

03/04/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is the Catclaw Sensitive Briar.  It usually blooms May through September and is in the Bean family.  The leaflets are sensitive to touch and if you run your finger down the middle, they will quickly close up.  It's quite cool to see.

03/03/26

 It's a double digit day today!  😁  I was looking through some photos and found this one that I had forgotten about.  I was able to capture a fairly decent image of a Black Billed Magpie with my phone in the Garden of the Gods last July.  I love Magpies, nice color and interesting birds in the Corvid family along with Crows and Blue Jays.

03/02/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  I have another snowflake that I captured in late January.  This one is made up of 24 images stacked for focus.  It includes a partial one as well that I thought was fairly interesting so left it in.  This may be the last snowflake I share for awhile.  It's March and time to think spring thoughts.  😁

03/01/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  It's also the first day of March!  The year is moving along.  Today's image is another from the Colorado Railroad Museum and is one I felt worked well in Black & White.  This is locomotive 4455 a Union Pacific switch engine with a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement.  It was built in 1920 by the Lima Locomotive Works.  It had a long career and retired in 1970.  In 1949 it was sold from the UP to the Monolith Portland Midwest Co in Wyoming.  It was donated from there to the Museum.

02/28/26

 We had a beautiful sunrise while I was on my way to work on Tuesday of this past week.  The clouds had a neat texture to them as well which made it more interesting.  I hadn't been seeing as many because it is getting lighter out these days but in a week or so we will be back in the dark due to Daylight Savings time change.  😒

02/27/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is one I took back in late January when I was getting the nice snowflakes.  The birds were busy at the feeder due to the snow and I captured this little Dark Eyed Junco on the ground.  It had some lovely bubbly bokeh behind it so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

02/26/26

 It's a double digit day today!  😀  I have a few spots when I bike ride to look for Jewel-wing Damsels.  I got lucky on this day and was able to capture 2 of them together on a plant in one of the streams they usually frequent.  I find the shape of their wings interesting.

02/25/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is the Clasping Coneflower.  It normally blooms May through July and I took this image in June.  It is in the Sunflower family and can grow to 2 feet tall.

02/24/26

 Today's image is one from last winter of a lovely male Cardinal in the Walnut tree in the back of my house.  They don't sit still very often but I got lucky with this one.

02/23/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  Today's image is another snowflake I was able to capture in late January.  This one had some rime on it but was also fairly defined.  It is a focus stack of 12 images.

02/22/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is from my trip to Colorado and the Colorado Railroad Museum.  This locomotive was on display when I was there in July but has since been moved back home to California after 40 years.  It is now at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR in Fish Camp.  They are going to restore it back to operating condition which is really cool news.  Glad I was able to see it before it left.  Look forward to someday seeing it in California.  The locomotive was built in 1926 for the Swayne Lumber Co.  It then went to Westside Lumber until 1961.  In the 1980s it ran there until 2004 when it went to the Colorado RR Museum.  The boiler is in working order but there are other things on the locomotive that will have to be brought to working order.

02/21/26

  Today's image is one from this past November that I took thinking I would use it for a calendar photo but I took a different one that I liked better.  This is the Smoky Hill River that is one of the 3 that join and which my town is named for, Junction City.  The other 2 are the Kansas and The Republican.

02/20/26

 Happy Friday TGIF!  Today is a partial palindrome date day. 😁  As I write this, it is supposed to be snowing today.  Last weekend was warm and rainy though.  On a walk I was able to capture this photo of water drops on heads of grass.  The bubbly bokeh in this image made it perfect for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious! 

02/19/26

 I feel for a summery photo for today because winter is supposed to be back tonight.  This is an image of a Bumblebee enjoying Purple Prairie Clover on a summer day last year.

02/18/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's image is of Narrow-leaf Bluets.  These usually bloom May through September and can be from 4 to 20 inches in height.  They have a deep taproot so are able to withstand drought very well.

02/17/26

 Today's image is a duck I was able to capture this past summer on a very small pond near where I bike ride by.  I believe it was traveling through as it is not a very sustaining pond, it can dry up at times.  This is a Blue Winged Teal I believe.

09/16/26

 It's Monday, happy new week!  Today's image is another snowflake I was able to capture in late January.  This was a bit different one as it is 2 snowflakes stuck together that formed the same, without the longer branches that are more common.  Still beautiful I thought.  This was 8 images focus stacked together.

02/15/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image was one I had taken to use as my Christmas card image for the upcoming season.  It was, until we received 8 inches of snow and I took a proper one.  😁  At the time I didn't know if this would be all the snow we would get.  This is my Live Steam Accucraft Shay locomotive and it's train out on the snow.

02/14/26

 It's Valentine's Day!  Happy Saturday as well.  This is an artsy image of the roses I received last year.  Sometimes roses don't last very long but these were a good bunch and lasted well over a week.

02/13/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  It's also Friday the 13th.  People feel it can be a bad day but, for me, it's typically an OK day.  😅  Today's image is one from this autumn with lots of my favorite bokeh, the bubbly kind.  These are leaves from my Amur Maple tree that had turned a nice red color.  Sharing this image for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

02/12/26

 I felt like sharing a butterfly today.  My Autumn Sedum was very popular once again this past year for all varieties of bugs and butterflies.  This is a Wood Nymph that came out of the woods to enjoy it.  😄