Sturgis Skulls

The 71st Annual Sturgis Bike Rally officially ended Sunday...it's always fun to see the bikes pouring in and it's always nice to have traffic back to 'normal', heh. Now for the four-wheeled tourist traffic to die down...can you say, Mt. Rushmore? Anyway, the Huz and I owned various Harleys for about twelve years, until '08, and before the Harleys we had other bikes...we still go to Sturgis during bike week to check out the bikes and nosh on some vendor food...this year we checked out some custom bikes...clearly skulls are a popular theme...

...There was an orange skull...

...Hard to see but the white designs all have skulls...

 Skull and angels, hmm.....

...A sea creature like the one in Pirates of the Caribbean...looks skull-ish...

 ...Even the seat can have custom skulls carved in leather...and some foul language...oopsie...

...A charming trio of skulls....

This is what Main Street in Sturgis looks like during bike week...no cars allowed.

I haven't been out w/ the camera stalking nature very much at all this year, but hopefully I'll follow thru on the threat to get out real soon.

Mariposa Lily

“And the stately lilies stand

Fair in the silvery light,

Like saintly vestals, pale in prayer;

Their pure breath sanctifies the air,

As its fragrance fills the night.”      

Julia C. R. Dorr

Eurasian Invasion?

The backyard feeders

Are getting a lot of exciting visitors this year,

I'm thrilled to say...

The biggest thrill factor is

A pair of Eurasian Collared Doves!

They are clearly nesting nearby...

According to the Stokes field guide,

The doves (Streptopilia decaocto) 

Were introduced to the Bahamas,

And have spread to Florida,

With sightings in GA, LA, and AR,

And further expansion is expected...

According to Audubon,

which calls it the Ringed Turtle-Dove,

(Streptopelia risoria),

it was introduced in S. Calif., AZ, AL, and S. Florida...

Either way, they've made it to the middle of the country!

But which is it?

Or are they the same w/ a very minor discrepancy?

I'm an Ornithological Oaf on these things...

They certainly look the same...

When I first saw the doves,

I thought they were mourning doves...

But a voice in the back of my brain

Was telling me something was 'off' ...

They seemed really pale...

And there's that dark line on the back of the neck...

So I looked them up in the good books...

Turns out the tip of the tail is blunt also...

They are shy, polite creatures...

Below, they wait patiently for the sparrow to leave...

(More about that fellow later)...

Here's a mourning dove for comparison...

(Zenaida macroura)...

It's darker with dark spots on the wing tips...

The tail feathers come to a point...

And no collar...

This one is out in the farming community...

Mr. and Mrs. Mt. Bluebird

Have been nesting in the neighbor's birdhouse...

In June, the Mrs. was seen in our yard...

Gathering nature's tidbits for the nest...

But for the past few weeks now,

It's just Mr. Mt. Bluebird...

Who is seen daily,

Gathering grub for his brood...

He checks out the seed feeders but doesn't eat...

But he does drink water from the bird bath...

He has been very, very busy

Faithfully feeding his family...

Dashing here and there...

Until recently, we also enjoyed Mr. House Finch's visits...

His red head is a very brilliant crimson...

Here he's in one of our two apple trees...

This one now has small green apples...

Now the female finches 

Are abundant in our yard...

Along with their fledglings...

Another surprise visitor, a squirrel...

That discovered the sunflower seeds...

Now we know who was sneaking out at night,

Eating all the seeds up!

It was a mystery...

How a deer --or two-- could creep in

And not leave any 'calling cards' !

The feeders come inside at dusk now...

Esq. Red was here a couple days, is gone now...

Another unusual, exciting visitor...

A black-capped chickadee!

I may not be good at ID'ing bird calls,

But I know the chickadee's unique raspy song,

So quickly grabbed the camera...

And there it was,

Yesterday and today so far...

The goldfinches that first showed up weeks ago...

Have been very scarce of late...

But one male has come back

The past couple days...

His yellow is the brightest hue of sunshine...

Now, about that sparrow...

There are a couple male house sparrows...

This fellow in particular...a fledgling? ...

That are visiting every day...

Not only to eat...

But to lounge for hours on the feeder's ledge...

A safe haven til they develop their wings?

There's one in every crowd...

A few rowdy crows

Have found our Ornit Oasis,

Unwelcome new guests...

They show up in the morning,

Cawing loudly;

Who needs a rooster?

But fortunately they don't stay long.

The other unwelcome guests,

The brown-headed cowbirds,

Though pretty in their subtle way...

Have disappeared,

I'm happy to say!

Crop Magic

One of the coolest things about nature photography, esp. when you're taking a photo of a subject at a good distance, is that once you get home and crop a photo, you discover there was more in your shot than you realized.....

 

The shots I took of this doe are a great example...I couldn't figure out why she was frozen in place. I was probably almost 100 yards from her but still, she looked like she wanted to bolt.....turned out she had a wee fawn nursing under her!  :o)

Rocky Mountain High -- Part II

Once we were heading north in the Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park, it wasn't long before daughter's boyfriend C. spied a lone moose just inside the treeline...Huz turned around, pulled over, and I was able to get several shots before other tourists zeroed in on the action...

Turned out, this was a young male...

Across the road from the moose was this female elk...

Another wildflower, Rydberg's penstemon...

Looking back at the valley where we'd been, during a steep climb up a mountain.....

Another view from the same turn-out as we climb in elev....

Western bistort...

The Continental Divide...

Top of the mountains, Alpine Tundra, at 11,796 feet elev. (above and below)

Purple fringe grows in the delicate alpine tundra, as well as several other wildflowers. I've always been intrigued with how wildflowers can grow, thrive even, from the most rugged, dry, rocky terrain.

I'm ready to go back to Colorado and explore more of the Rockies! Sylvia...no, we didn't do any hiking...we're in no shape to hike in the Rockies unfortunately, esp. at the higher elevations, plus we didn't have the time. I was thrilled just to get up into the Rockies and SEE them!  Did I mention, I'm ready to go back?  ;o)