back to the beach

The last plover chick on the (previously closed) beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge fledged last week. Since most of the piping plover have now left the area, the beach is now fully open. While I respect the need for closure to protect the birds, I am always happy to take my first walk there once the birds have ceded access to the beach back to humans.

Low tide on Plum Island this morning was at 9:34. I arrived about an hour before the tide changed direction to enjoy a walk on the beach. The sound of the waves is calming, and walking on the smooth and still wet sand is wonderful. While there were a few other people out walking too, most of the time I shared the beach with sea gulls, sanderlings, and a few other shore birds.

It was a good day for a walk on the beach.

looking inland


looking out to sea

changing sky

I headed to Harold Parker State Forest this afternoon for a walk with my camera.

I was there for about an hour, wandering in circles, stopping in the same spot multiple times. Imagine my surprise when I looked through the photos to find two almost identical scenes showing wildly different sky conditions. The first photo shows a bright white cloud decorated a sky wearing pure blue while the second shows layers of clouds.

Which is your favorite?

captured at 1:10 PM on 8/30/2018


captured at 1:52 PM on 8/30/2018

from the side

A zinnia poses for a portrait, creating a view of late summer perfection.

photos! parks in Colorado Springs

Photos from last weeks visit to Colorado Springs can be viewed in the gallery two parks :: Colorado Springs. The two parks are Garden of the Gods and Ute Valley Park.

I always find it interesting to wander in an area that is completely different from my home turf of coastal New England.

open & empty

When I walked through the wildflower garden Saturday morning I noticed that seed pods from lupine that flowered early in the season were open and empty of seeds.

I wonder... did an animal or a bird eat the seeds? Or did they fall to the ground to seed next year's flowers? Either way, I find the remnants to be beautiful.

a bee's dahlia

Sometimes as I walk through the garden I think that the bees own the flowers. This morning I saw two bees enjoying the nectar of a very pink dahlia.

rocks and trees

A walk through Ute Valley Park this morning was a delight, with changing landscape. I love the contrast of the rocks and the trees.

morning walk

This morning was a perfect time to return to Garden of the Gods, to walk in a different section of the park. If I lived here I suspect that this would be a regular walking spot for me; it's so beautiful!

thistle

Brightly colored thistle decorates the landscape.

red rocks

Today was a day of changing skies in Colorado Springs, from cloudy to sunny to stormy. We walked in Garden of the Gods before the rain came, enjoying the view of red rocks standing against the background of mountains.