More Birds

Here are a few more favorite bird photos. Above, a barn swallow.

Western Kingbird

Western Tanager

Another view of the Western Tanager

Birds and Landscapes

I've been having fun looking at birds lately--they are so exciting this time of year because they're all full of songs and chattering and looking for mates, and you can just sense the energy they have as they prepare to make a nest and hatch their young and continue their lineage. Okay, that was a major run on sentence, but that's the mood I'm in. I just want to gush about birds and being bound by the rules of the English language seems far too constraining.

I've taken gobs of bird photos, and today I've selected a few that also have some nice backgrounds. A little wildlife can make the background so much more interesting. Above is a yellow-headed blackbird just about to land on some willows, with the Snake Creek Range in the background.
I was surprised by a flock of ibis flying over the sagebrush. Ibis like water, and the sagebrush make them seem so out of place.

Meanwhile, an egret ignored the background behind her, namely the cows ruminating.

And then we can see the whole tableau, the ibises landing in the wetlands while the cattle graze on the edge and the tiny white egret ignores them all.

One evening I took a walk down by the ranch pond right at sunset. It was a glorious time, with phalaropes swirling around and dipping their bills in the water to eat invertebrates.

A mallard looked quite serene and found a bit of quiet on the pond all for himself.

The swirling phalaropes kept attracting my eye as they swirled and dipped and whirled some more, like tops out of control.

Sandpipers hung out in the shallows, probing the mud, while the giant tree on the other side of the pond spread its arms, getting ready to welcome the quiet of the night.

Zion and More

The day after we went to Sand Hollow Reservoir, we decided to go see a part of Zion National Park we hadn't visited before and head up to Kolob Reservoir. On the way we made a little detour to allow for my wildflower obsession. The indigo bush was stunning.

I think the bush above is large four o'clock (Mirabilis multiflora), a perennial in the Four O'Clock Family.

Here are some beautiful sego lilies (Calochortus nuttalli).

And this is one of my absolute favorites, a member of the Buckwheat Family: desert trumpet (Eriogonum inflatum). Mother Nature had a sense of humor when she created this plant!
I like it so much, here's another view of it.

After our little wildflower extravaganza, we kept heading towards Zion and in the town of Virgin turned north at the sign pointing to Kolob Reservoir. This windy road goes through a couple sections of Zion National Park. Before we got into the park, the kids needed a food break, so we found a nice sandy area next to a small stream.

Then we proceeded up the road. This road can be quite scary in places, with hundred-plus foot dropoffs on either side. The reward is spectacular views.

Under the burnt orange cliffs are the burned trees and a small park entrance sign for the Kolobs Terrace section of the park. There aren't many attractions here, just a few trailheads, and further north a campground, picnic ground, and overlook. No entrance fee is charged to travel the road through this part of the park.

It looks like the vegetation in the burned area is coming back nicely, including the prickly pear cactus.

Every once in awhile there are surprise vistas from the road, like big green meadows. These meadows eventually drop off into the numerous canyons of the area.

Out at the Lava Point Overlook, the view is grand. With a bit of telephoto magic, one can feel very close to some of the famous Zion canyons.

The grey trees are mostly aspens that haven't yet leafed out. It was a bit chilly, and of course the wind was blowing. The campground was still closed and we saw patches of snow.

Nevertheless, we pushed on to Kolob Reservoir, a very popular trout fishing locale. At least it is during the summer, but even in the forty-degree weather we saw a number of people trying their luck.
We drove around the reservoir, admiring different views. The map showed a back way to Cedar City on gravel roads, but we weren't sure if it was passable with all the snow we saw on north-facing slopes. We asked some other people and they said that they had tried, but as soon as they went around a corner, a huge snowdrift blocked the way. So we'll have to go back again in the warmer months and give that a try. It would also be nice to get out of the vehicle more instead of staying huddled inside it to keep warm!

On our way back to Virgin, we found some cows being moved along the road. It didn't look like an easy job with all the traffic.

I guess if you train them early enough, though, they'll get the hang of it!

Sand Hollow Reservoir

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day Weekend. We aren't venturing too far from home, mainly because last weekend we did. We wanted some warmer weather, so we headed south to Sand Hollow Reservoir near Hurricane (pronounced Hurr-eh-kun), Utah. We had never been there before, so we didn't quite know what to expect. We stopped at the store to get a fishing license and lures for the bass and stocked up on snacks.

We drove along the dam to a quieter part of the state park, where another dock and boat ramp were found. After we got home, we learned that quagga mussels had been found by divers just days earlier. Those are nasty things, and it's really too bad that they are now in this reservoir.

I had to have my cuties pose for a photo in the wind. That wind was everywhere last weekend.

Desert Boy quickly found a game: wade out in the water, then climb up on the dock, then wade out a little further, and repeat. The water was cool but not unbearable.

We watched some bass boats go near the dam, and one boat had a lot of success. So we gave it a try, but didn't have near the success.

We did get to see one bass, washed up dead on the beach.

Then we wanted to see a little more of the state park, so we drove around part of the reservoir. There's an area for four-wheeling on sand, picnic spots, a campground, and some really beautiful wildflowers. A botanist had told me that the Mojave desert was having a really good flower year, and I was happy to get to see some in bloom.

I took a lot of flower photos, but I'll just include a couple here.

I really like the orange sand, it gives everything such a nice glow.

We found another spot to try fishing. You might notice the different fishing attire. Desert Boy then had a new target--wade out to his papa.

When he got a bit chilled, he returned to the beach to play in the sand.

Then it was time to head back out in the water.

Meanwhile, I was holding Desert Girl on the beach and playing with the camera. She didn't really like it when I dipped her feet into the water. Doesn't she have lovely legs? I just want to continually squeeze them. Of course she might get a little tired of that, so I only squeeze them once in awhile. I'm glad that it's getting warmer so that I can admire her legs more often. There's just something special about rolls of baby fat.

I was having some difficulties getting photos of her while trying to hold her up at the same time. I think she was amused by my efforts.

Here she looks like she's contemplating the sand.

I think the sand on her feet was something that she enjoyed a little.

Then my husband came and took a proper photo of the two of us.

We knew it was time to leave when she started looking so concerned.

I imagine that during the summer this place is packed, but there was plenty of elbow room last weekend. Someday we'd like to go back and visit again. Maybe we'll have more luck fishing.

Desert Girl agrees that's a good plan!

Preschool Fun

School ended this week, along with preschool. Desert Boy really enjoyed his first year of going to preschool and learning how to better interact with other kids and have a little more structure. One of the best things he learned was that before he could play with a new activity, he had to put away the one he was playing with. We reinforce that at home all the time.

He also learned his colors, more numbers, and how to say the alphabet correctly. He misses Teacher Gwendy already and was sad when I told him that there was no school for the summer.

On the last day of preschool, we went to the school for the kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders. There are seven students in total for the three grades.

During recess, all the kids had fun playing together.

The girls had fun posing for the camera.

Desert Boy hung on every word that the teacher said. He was so excited to be in the big kid school.

Meanwhile, another mom, Chayo, was helping me with Desert Girl.

And then Isaac came and we thought it would be fun to have a little photo shoot. We honestly didn't plan their outfits. We just were thinking on the same track, I guess!

I think Isaac is telling Emma that he has some news for her.

"In just a couple years we'll be in preschool and get to have all the fun."

But for now they can lean and drool and chew on things. Life is good.