~Loveland, Colorado, August, 2018
On a bike ride the other day, I spotted these two resting by the river.
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~Ducks resting by the Big Thompson River
All posts by Sheila
~Western Scrub Jay…
~July, 2018, Loveland, Colorado
Everyday she comes for a visit.
Hopefully, she is molting, because she sure looks “scrubby”.
We will be sitting outside having our morning coffee or out in the evening having a glass of wine and she will fly to the post you see her sitting on. She will peck at the wood for attention and pieces of wood will break off. (Naughty Bird)
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This Western Scrub Jay is the same bird that visited us last summer.
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She will fly down to the deck railing and just sit there with us. Sometimes she will “sing” very softly.
I read that a Scrub Jay can live to be fifteen years old. I sure hope this one is around for a long time.
Happy Birding
~Flowers from the yard…
~Loveland, Colorado, July, 2018
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Until next time…
~Hummingbirds…
~Loveland, CO, July, 2018
Photos taken July 29th and 30th. I believe these are Rufous Hummingbirds.
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I was experimenting with using Shutter priority on my Canon 70D, with a Tamron lens. I mostly always leave the camera setting on Aperture priority. I have a lot to learn about taking Hummingbird photos; it is enjoyable and a challenge.
~Cloudy and Rainy Colorado-a walk…
~July 28, 2018, Loveland, Colorado, Devil’s Backbone.
[See information here Backbone. You can view the website to see what it looks like when the sun is shining.]
Howard and I decided to take a walk this morning after breakfast. We knew the day was going to be cloudy with a chance of rain, but we headed out anyway. It has been raining in Loveland almost everyday, which is usual but welcome. Our high temperature today was forecast to be 77 degrees. Nice, cool!
Howard purchased a new camera and he wanted to try it out. It is the new Sony RX100 VI. It is very small, but powerful. I am so excited that he has once again become interested in taking photos.
I had my Cannon 70D with me and took a few photos. I just wish we would have had a little sun to show off our normally clear, blue skies.
Pretty yellow flowers.
Our house sits to the east, about two miles down highway 34, just over the ridge you see above.
We didn’t get to walk very far, because it started to rain and thunder so we headed to the car. People were passing us heading up the trail even though it was starting to rain. Perhaps they were tourist and didn’t know any better. Lots of open space, right at 5,000 feet, rain and thunder – hmmm.
The header photo was taken during a previous visit to this area.
Until next time…
~Landscaping…
We have been trying for over two years to get our yard professionally re-landscaped. Well, it finally happened. Over the last several weeks a company called Mother Nature’s Son, located here in Loveland, did a wonderful job.
Ryan, the owner, and his crew, worked extremely hard laying river rock and moss rock in our hilly yard. It was hard work.
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Bet you get the song “stuck” in your head.
All day long I’m sitting singing songs for everyone
Sit beside a mountain stream See her waters rise
Listen to the pretty sound of music as she flies
Do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do do
Yeah yeah yeah
Find me in my field of grass Mother Nature’s son
Swaying daisies sing a lazy song beneath the sun
Do do do do do do do do do do do
do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do do
Yeah yeah yeah
Oh Mother Nature’s Son
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Howard and I can’t believe we did the yard ourselves many years ago; of course we were a lot younger. There is no way we could have done what these guys did. We could have replaced the bark, but that is about the extent of it.
Sometimes we get strong winds up here on the hill and the bark would simply disappear. Over the years we replaced the bark many times.
The photo below shows the front yard prior to any work being done. It was a mess, with river rock and bark missing in some places.
Arizona style landscaping – all rock and low maintenance. Hopefully, some splashes of color, maybe some metal art pieces, and my birding stations will liven things up. It will be fun trying.
I tried several times in different lighting conditions and just couldn’t seem to get any “good” photos. Hopefully, you will get the idea from these photos.
Notice the little low laying juniper. A huge Apple tree use to be in that location. We had it taken down. It was old and some of the branches were dying. It also grew so tall it blocked our view to the east. The squirrels and the birds seem to miss the Apple tree the most. My poor hummingbirds really miss this tree, seeking a place to hide, watching for incoming enemies while waiting for the exact right moment to zoom in to the feeder. They are now using the big (my fav) pine tree for their activity.
The yard is sloped so we had two moss rock retaining walls added. Hopefully, the river rock will stay in place.
While at Lowe’s the other day, I picked up three potted plants. When I went to pick up one of the pots, I was bitten by what I believe was a spider. For several days my index finger was swollen, painful and red.
Years ago I added the big boulder rocks you see in the foreground below. Can’t believe I did it. Those were left in place.
Of course we still need to do a few updates especially in the flower beds, which have been recently neglected.
We ordered a new arbor, which will be placed behind the tree, replacing a very old one. It arrives this Friday ordered from Hayneedle.com.
Behind the wall the yard slopes uphill, which we leave natural.
Of course there is still come clean-up and sprucing up to do.
A coupe of photos for our “ham” friends.
It feels so good to have this project done. It is fun and more importantly peaceful just to go outside and walk around.
**Header photo taken this evening; beautiful, strange, light.
Until next time…
~A Gorgeous weekend in Colorado…
~Saturday run and ride. Sunday nine mile bike ride for us both.
This past Saturday Howard ran and I rode my bike a total of four miles. We went through one of our local parks, traversing along the Loveland trail system. Mehaffney is a beautiful park just two miles away from our house.
Sunday started off cloudy with a light breeze so we decided it would be a great morning for a bike ride. We left our house and rode over to Mehaffney park again and followed the bike trail. We hoped to reach ten miles, but came up short one mile.
On our way to Mehaffney we pass Meadowbrook Natural Area.
Up next photos of our re-landscaped yard….
