tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1626880736749860512024-02-07T00:32:17.608-07:00Heidi's WorldHeidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-51201256224140610532009-02-16T18:02:00.003-07:002009-02-16T18:11:36.579-07:00February in ColoradoIt's been a long time since I last posted. I guess sometimes, life gets in the way. At the end of January, I enjoyed a trip to southern Illinois to visit my newest niece, Sophie, who was born on Christmas Eve. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/me_nora_sophie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/me_nora_sophie.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Me with Nora & Sophie<br /><br />Last week, I caught the moon setting over Pikes Peak one morning:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/moonset_bw_edit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/moonset_bw_edit.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Finally, we had some heavy fog on Saturday morning, leaving the trees and grass with a beautiful frosting:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/frostytrees.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/frostytrees.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/frostygrass.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/frostygrass.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-57362709058757480432008-12-22T23:23:00.001-07:002008-12-22T23:31:06.711-07:00Thanksgiving trip continuedTo continue to recap my trip at Thanksgiving:<br />On Friday morning, my immediate family (with families) all met at the zoo. We enjoyed our time there. Nora especially enjoyed the penguins. Here are pics of Nora with the goats and Joshua & Nora together (note how close they are in size though they are 2 1/2 years apart in age):<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nora_goats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nora_goats.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joshua_nora.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joshua_nora.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After the zoo we met at St. Louis Bread Co (Panera everywhere else) for lunch and then back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. <br />My cousin Greg married Amy in a beautiful ceremony. We all had lots of fun partying at the reception, too.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/cousins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/cousins.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Cousins! Karen, Jill, Me & Laura<br /><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/gregandamy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 378px; height: 568px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/gregandamy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> The happy couple<br /><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/lagkt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/lagkt.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Laurie, Amy, Greg, Kristin & ToddHeidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-52412624232907549282008-12-15T14:29:00.001-07:002009-02-16T18:12:54.682-07:00Busy seasonIt's been so long since I posted, that I'm not sure where to start, but since I'm putting a link to this blog in my Christmas cards again, I figured I better get something up here. Welcome to those who are visiting for the first time! I do much better during hiking season with getting frequent updates. <br /><br />Over the week of Thanksgiving, I travelled back to Leavenworth for a few days and then on to St. Louis for cousin Greg's wedding and finally to Illinois for a little time with the Woods. I'll start the trip in this post and finish it in the next one or two. <br /><br />Since Mom & Dad were working on the Monday after I got home, I took advantage of some nice fall weather to go hiking in Missouri and finish up a series of geocaches that I had started a year and a half earlier. My nine mile hike took me all over Weston Bend State Park and into the town of Weston, MO. Here are a couple of pictures from my hike of a question mark butterfly and a view of the Missouri River:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_6323-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 372px; height: 312px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_6323-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_6333.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_6333.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />On Thanksgiving Day, Mom & Dad and I drove to St. Louis where we had family Thanksgiving Dinner at the Mueller's church with about 50 people - all related somehow (mostly). Cousin Matt prepared all the food and it was delicious! <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/thanksgivingdinner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/thanksgivingdinner.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/twinswithgrandma.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/twinswithgrandma.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Mom (grandma) with the twins.<br /><br />I'll get picks from the rest of the trip up soon!Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-67017606950597081152008-11-06T21:48:00.000-07:002008-11-06T22:04:42.821-07:00Daddy's little girlWatching a baby gorilla grow up in its family group is very exciting and entertaining, but one of the best things has been watching Tumani's relationship with her father, Rafiki. This guy weighs about 475 pounds and has the strength of at least 6 men, but he can play with Tumani with such gentleness. It may not always look gentle when he's flipping her around and "wrestling" with her in such a way that she probably thinks she's winning, but it is. His powerful jaws that can easily crack nuts and chew up tough vegetation can playfully mouth her tiny belly, tickling her and sending her into gales of gorilla laughter. Yes, gorillas do laugh, orangutans, too, actually, but gorillas laugh audibly. You have to be really close to hear it, but it is one of the coolest sounds in the world. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/rafiki_tumani11_5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 640px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/rafiki_tumani11_5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tumani_rafiki11_5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 640px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tumani_rafiki11_5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />These pictures will also appear soon in CMZ's new blog (link on the lower right on my blog page)Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-1508118919792947262008-11-05T21:42:00.000-07:002008-11-05T22:36:40.831-07:00Last hike?The thing about hiking in Colorado this time of year is you never know when it's going to be the last mountain hike of the season. Sure, there are plenty of places in town where you can do a winter hike without much snow, but when it comes to hiking on a mountain, once the snows come there will be places where it won't melt until spring (or even summer). So with temperatures last Monday close to 70°, I planned a hike with some altitude. There are several geocaches on top of Blodgett Peak which is on the northwest edge of Colorado Springs. I've been wanting to get up there for years, so on Monday that's just what Sherrie and I attempted. <br /><br />We went up over 1000 feet in elevation in almost 2 1/2 hours of hiking and were within 450ft of the next geocache, but I had to be somewhere by 6pm, so we had to head back down. That 450 feet was also across a boulder field that would have taken a long time to cross. The "trail" we were on was probably at least a 45° incline. Here's a pic of Sherrie coming up part of that slope:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6e6f94ca-ff68-4234-af7a-1a0b43269e85.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 798px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6e6f94ca-ff68-4234-af7a-1a0b43269e85.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The really bad part about that slope was that we had to come back down. My knee is still recovering. We met a guy with two dogs coming up just as we turned back. He had been to the top before on the real trail. He described how to get there, so next time we'll go that way.<br />We still found 6 geocaches and enjoyed some very nice views. The weather must have been perfect for flying, because there were plenty Air Force Academy training gliders in the sky. <br />Here is the view toward the south, including Cheyenne Mountain way in the distance from one of the caches:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/3499210e-de7f-4ecf-a70a-1aefc426e9dc.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 451px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/3499210e-de7f-4ecf-a70a-1aefc426e9dc.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here is a pic of an AFA glider in tow and then 2 pics of the glider overhead:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/d4ce09ec-7986-4ff9-a12e-91ebf147f74a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 551px; height: 393px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/d4ce09ec-7986-4ff9-a12e-91ebf147f74a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/4a233ddb-674b-455c-a351-93fdd1929984.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 451px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/4a233ddb-674b-455c-a351-93fdd1929984.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/1cd9b954-3453-495c-bddd-9810b0789b49.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 451px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/1cd9b954-3453-495c-bddd-9810b0789b49.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So, I don't know how many more hikes I'll get in this year, but it's supposed to be in the 30s and maybe snowy next Monday.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-39865401025135038062008-10-20T15:43:00.000-06:002008-10-20T15:55:01.033-06:00Poor Dog! (+ some other stuff)Yesterday, while I was scratching Logan's incredibly soft ears, I noticed that one of them was swollen. He had a hematoma on his ear. I called Em to see what I needed to do, and she advised me to take him in to the vet today, and that he'd probably need minor surgery to fix it. He didn't need surgery, at least not yet. They drained the hematoma, bandaged the ear and fitted him with an Elizabethen collar. He is quite miserable with the collar on and needs to wear it for a week. Draining it was about $400 cheaper than the surgery, so hopefully it will work! Here's Logan in his collar:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/logancollar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/logancollar.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/logancloseup.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/logancloseup.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We've had some cold weather and winter can't be far away, so very soon I won't have any insects to photograph. Is it wrong that I'm already looking forward to spring? I did get a good photo of a Painted Lady this week (and a fly):<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintedladycrop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintedladycrop.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />One last photo is of the pumpkin that I carved for Boo at the Zoo:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/zebrapumpkin.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/zebrapumpkin.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-88747319719251824822008-10-07T23:38:00.000-06:002008-10-07T23:42:05.768-06:00Bee mineI just wanted to make a quick post to show off this picture of a bee that I took yesterday while caching in Monument Valley Park. <br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/7682a94d-e88d-4968-8ad2-c6d45202c5f9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/7682a94d-e88d-4968-8ad2-c6d45202c5f9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It's a female long-horned bee (Svastra obliqua). I only got this one shot before it took off, so I was pleased to see how clear a shot I got, and I love the color of the flower and the bee.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-78877704842576835762008-10-05T22:34:00.000-06:002008-10-05T22:48:52.614-06:00Fall ColorsLast Monday, Sherrie and I and Pastor Doug went on a hike to the Crags to check out the aspens. The timing was pretty much perfect. There were still some green leaves in some areas, but the majority of the aspens were in full yellow and some were already losing leaves. There were even some red aspens. With a winter storm blowing through some parts of the high country tomorrow, most of the leaves will probably come down. <br />This was the first time I'd hiked the Crags. I'm not sure why, I've just never gotten there. It's certainly a trail I'll be back to. I'm sure the wild flowers there in the spring and summer must be awesome. <br />When we got to the top, these gray jays were posing nicely for us:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/grayjays2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/grayjays2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Here are a few pictures of the aspens:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/f356a02d-9c9a-45cd-9d5f-2d1c15f5b7f8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/f356a02d-9c9a-45cd-9d5f-2d1c15f5b7f8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br /><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6eb9f9de-bc4a-495f-a491-3b66cbf2b1a2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/6eb9f9de-bc4a-495f-a491-3b66cbf2b1a2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/738072b9-2ef5-4c44-9da2-9c86a3954733.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/738072b9-2ef5-4c44-9da2-9c86a3954733.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Since I haven't posted in quite some time, here's a picture of a bee fly that I took in Waldo Canyon a few weeks ago. It's one of my favorites of the summer.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/beefly09_15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/beefly09_15.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-584386311511621552008-09-14T23:03:00.000-06:002008-09-14T23:18:41.646-06:00Catching Up (Balloons & beautiful babies)I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, so I figured I'd catch you up before I get any further behind. </br><br />Labor Day weekend in Colorado Springs means hot air balloons. I headed over to Memorial Park before church on Sunday to watch the balloons take off. The weather was perfect with almost no wind. The balloons went up and hung around. The lead balloon even came back around and did a second "splash & dash". Prospect Lake is just south of the takeoff field and the balloons try to skim the top of the water and take off again. This is called splash & dash, and it makes for some great picture opportunities.<br />Here are a few of my favorite balloon pics:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/pairofrainbows.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/pairofrainbows.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/teninflight.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/teninflight.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/balloons08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/balloons08.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></br><br />Last weekend, I drove to Amarillo for the twins' baptisms. I went down on Saturday and came back on Wednesday. Everybody else from out-of-town left on Monday, so I had a couple more days to spend time with Joy and Jacob (and Joshua, Laura & Jeff). I only wish I lived a little closer, so I could spend more time down there! Here's a few pics from the visit:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/jacob_on_blanket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/jacob_on_blanket.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Jacob with his blanket and puppy.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joy_on_blanket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joy_on_blanket.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Joy with her blanket and lamb.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/meandthetwins.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/meandthetwins.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Me with Jacob and Joy.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joshua_09_07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/joshua_09_07.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Joshua :-)Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-87556713412036014062008-08-25T23:34:00.000-06:002008-08-26T00:02:28.301-06:00Butterfly surveyI spent today helping the U.S. Forest Service survey sections of National Forest for the threatened Pawnee Montane Skipper. This skipper is a very small (1 cm wings) butterfly found only in the South Platte River drainage area in the mountains of Colorado. It is considered a threatened species and much of its habitat was burned in the Hayman fire of 2002. Our zoo has selected several conservation projects to devote time and money to this year, and one of those is butterfly conservation for native Colorado butterflies. Helping with this survey is a way for us to do some hands-on field work. I rode up to the site with another keeper early this morning and we met the Forest Service employees and the researcher doing the study at a park near Trumbull, CO. <br />After an orientation to go over what exactly we'd be looking for and recording and safety, we divided into 3 teams and headed off to our transects. Each team had 5 transects to survey. Each transect was 400m long and 10m wide. We walked each transect and counted skippers (both the Pawnee and the more common Comma), blooming Liatris stems (a favorite flower of the skipper) and in the case of our team, we also counted dead trees. Every 50m we stopped to record the number of flower stems and dead trees in the last 50m and to note the presence of blue gramma grass, which is the grass the skippers lay their eggs in. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/liatris.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/liatris.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Gayfeather (Liatris punctata)<br />We also noted the presence of other species of butterflies, mainly to show that the conditions were good for butterflies to be flying. Temperature, wind and cloud cover were also recorded periodically. The hiking was a bit tougher than what I usually do, since we had to follow straight lines up and down ridges. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/transect204.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/transect204.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> This photo is looking back down one of the transects - not many ridges showing in this one, but they were there!<br />As we headed to our last transect, we got a radio call from one of the other teams that their car was stuck. In case you were wondering, Honda Fits probably are not good off-road vehicles. We hiked back to the park to head over in one of the Forest Service trucks to help. He had tried to turn around and got the front end high-centered on some soft sand. The front end was being lifted up enough that the front wheels had no traction whatsoever. They had been digging with sticks, but we had shovels. It still took quite a bit of digging before we could push them out. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/stuckfit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/stuckfit.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/diggingout.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/diggingout.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We went back and surveyed our last transect before heading into town for some ice cream. I have a day of professional leave next week to go back up for another day of surveying. Next week's surveys are on more rugged terrain in the burn area. Hopefully, next week I'll see some Pawnee skippers.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-1328721110449476312008-08-19T00:04:00.000-06:002008-08-19T00:18:43.841-06:00Fountain CreekWith weather forecasts still somewhat unsettled, Sherrie and I decided to stay close to town for our caching/hiking today. We did a couple of caches along the Fountain Creek Regional trail and did 5+ miles. Bugs were plentiful and I got decent shots of several species. I think I submitted more than 10 pictures to bugguide.com today. This adorable whitetail fawn was about 20 yards away from us, across a drainage ditch. It kept bolting off in a little circle and then would come back and look at us, almost daring us into a game of chase. Very cute!<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/whitetailfawn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/whitetailfawn.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />These juvenile barn swallows were peering down at us from their nest inside one of the observation shelters.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/barnswallows.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/barnswallows.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here are a couple of bug pictures:<br />First of all is an ambush bug. Ambush bugs wait motionless on a flower for another insect to come along. Then they pounce on them, often catching and eating species much larger than themselves. <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ambushbug.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ambushbug.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is a milkweed beetle. It was on a ... yeah, you guessed it, a milkweed plant. <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/milkweedbeetle2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/milkweedbeetle2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-70644529840118198892008-08-11T20:49:00.000-06:002008-08-11T21:28:07.148-06:00Family and FundraisingI took a couple of days off this past week to spend time with my cousin, Karen, and her family, who were in Colorado on vacation. They got into town Wednesday night and spent part of a cloudy, dreary day on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway while I was working Thursday. They came over to my house Thursday evening for spaghetti. </br><br />On Friday, we went to the zoo. It was cloudy and drizzly all morning, but the clouds lifted enough in the early afternoon, that we took a ride on the new Mountaineer sky ride before leaving the zoo. Next we went to Seven Falls where we climbed the 240 stairs to the top of the falls.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sevenfallsstairs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sevenfallsstairs.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We did a little hiking at the top of the falls before heading back down the stairs. Then we took the elevator inside the mountain up to an observation area where we could see the falls in their entirety.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sevenfalls.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sevenfalls.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />After Seven Falls, we stopped by church to look around and then headed to Solo's restaurant for supper, where we opted for in plane seating. <em>I tried to include an active link to Solo's website here, but can't get it to work. Cut-and-paste http://coloradoeats.com/solos/ to see it.</em> After dinner we headed to a Sky Sox baseball game. We had a few sprinkles, but overall it was a nice, cool night for a ball game. </br><br />Saturday morning started out nice and clear, so it was decided to drive up Pikes Peak to see it without the clouds that marred the view on Thursday. By the time we got to the bottom of the toll road, clouds were starting to build, so the folks at the gate recommended we drive straight to the top and make any stops on the way down. The views on the way up were great. There were clouds at the top that blocked any views toward the east, but there were still great views to be had toward the west.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/topofthepeak.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/topofthepeak.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We had some heavy rain on the way down, so our timing was good, but we didn't make any stops on the way down. Unfortunately, we didn't see the herd of bighorn sheep on the way down that we passed on the way up. Next we headed to Garden of the Gods. It was pouring down rain when we got there, but we planned to eat lunch first anyway. We found a dry table under the covered patio at the Trading Post cafe. By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped and we had sun shining. We drove to the main parking lot and hiked around the central garden and up one side trail. The dark skies made for some dramatic photos. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/gog1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/gog1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/grayrock.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/grayrock.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />After Garden of the Gods, we stopped by the Olympic Training Center. We missed the last tour, but enjoyed the interactive exhibit, the gift shop full of Beijing merchandise and walking around the grounds. They have an Olympic flame that they lit at the same time as the one in Beijing and will remain burning during the Games.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/olympicflame.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/olympicflame.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />We came back to my house, where Karen made sloppy joes for supper. They had to leave early the next morning, so we said good-bye Saturday night. </br><br />Sunday evening, our chapter of the American Association of ZooKeepers (AAZK) held our annual Art on the Hoof fundraiser. I'm co-chair for this event, which always brings plenty of stress. I was worried about ticket sales, but some last minute sales made the event a success. We raised over $5500, and I didn't have to bring home much unclaimed art. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/aoth08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/aoth08.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-84664787523641542322008-08-02T23:20:00.000-06:002008-08-02T23:36:05.363-06:00The continuing story of the caching injury...A little update on my finger (and a chance to see how many people I can gross out):<br />My finger injured last Monday (see last post) was really sore and swollen by Tuesday. Tuesday night, I used a red-hot paperclip to try and burn holes through the nail to relieve the pressure. I was really sure I got all the way through, but I was unable to get anything out. Wednesday morning, I went to my doctor hoping they could help and concerned about the fact that the purple color had spread to the skin around the nail. I was only able to see a PA and she said they didn't have the tool needed to cut through the nail. She gave me a referral to an orthopedic hand surgeon who should be able to help me. I tried all afternoon to get an appointment with them, but the referral hadn't gone through. Here's a couple pics of my finger on Wednesday. You can see how swollen it was.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_4496.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_4496.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_4497.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/100_4497.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I tried the orthopedic office again Thursday morning. This time they had the referral, but it was going to be three weeks before the doctor had an appointment. By this point, I was about ready to go to an urgent care center and fork over the $75 copay to get relief. I showed my injury to our EMT at work. His advise was to get the smallest drill bit I could find (1/16" or smaller) and use my fingers to turn it and drill through the nail He thought that if I did get through with the hot paperclip, it may have cauterized the hole. Unfortunately, he could not legally drill the hole for me. So over my lunch hour, I went to Home Depot and bought a 1/16" bit. When I got back to work, I tried using it. It took a little time, but it did drill through. I had to apply a little pressure after the hole was drilled, but I got lots of blood out and my finger quickly felt better. Now I just have to keep a band-aid on it and wait for the nail to fall off. <br />Fun times! Are you really grossed out yet? Are you even still reading? :)Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-19147461947403966742008-07-30T21:51:00.000-06:002008-07-30T22:06:20.718-06:00Caching injuryOn Monday, Sherrie and I headed back up to Green Mountain Falls to finish a cache along the Catamount Trail that we started 2 weeks ago and also do a couple other caches. We were close to the first cache last time, before being chased down by a storm. With the owner's assurance that we were in the right place, we started searching again. The cache was hidden in a rock crevice. We climbed up into the crevice about 10 feet, and then I climbed up onto a 4'x4' ledge that had an nice "window" to the outside, letting in lots of light. I found the cache tucked into a crace by that ledge, hidden by some smaller rocks. I was replacing the cache, when one of those rocks (about 6" diameter) started falling out. This part happened really fast, but I believe I tried to catch it and instead it smashed my finger against the rock wall. It continued down the crevice, luckily missing Sherrie, who was below me. We climbed back out of the crevice, and I took this picture of my finger:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/dcc22e97-66e4-4d97-a96e-ee2717636054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/dcc22e97-66e4-4d97-a96e-ee2717636054.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I decided I wanted to continue on our hike and we did so. The valley we were in is called "Garden of Eden" and is aptly named. It's gotta be the prettiest place I've ever hiked. The trail goes up the valley, following a stream all the way to South Catamount Reservoir on the side of Pikes Peak. Here are some other (prettier) pictures from the hike:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/9ca5ac4f-c17a-4604-b262-46772715a560.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/9ca5ac4f-c17a-4604-b262-46772715a560.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> A fritillary butterfly </br><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/454dc6b1-208a-4181-b22b-de09615e2d84.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/454dc6b1-208a-4181-b22b-de09615e2d84.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> A buck in velvet </br><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/7d9e4edd-be19-48ca-9c3d-ee3d304c796d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/7d9e4edd-be19-48ca-9c3d-ee3d304c796d.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Fireweed </br><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/d61b2860-b4db-41a6-a153-3d7beaffb09c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/d61b2860-b4db-41a6-a153-3d7beaffb09c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> South Catamount Reservoir with Pikes Peak in the background. </br><br />I was going to write more details of the hike, but my finger's making it tedious to type.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-58943289585915834332008-07-19T23:01:00.000-06:002008-07-19T23:15:21.564-06:00S is for Saturday......and spider, sunflower, and sunset.<br /><br />This immature orb weaver was busy wrapping her prey in silk, that's why some of her legs are really blurry while some are perfectly clear.<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/orbweaverspinning.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/orbweaverspinning.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />This was a wild sunflower and the center is only about 1 inch across (taken with a macro lens).<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sunflowermacro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/sunflowermacro.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Finally, tonight's sunset at Quail Lake:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/quaillakesunset.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/quaillakesunset.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-40251053436263607722008-07-14T22:39:00.000-06:002008-07-14T22:48:09.749-06:00Life in MacroI got some macro lenses for my camera this week, so most of the photos in this post are my experimenting with those. Warning for any arachniphobes (Alissa) - there is a spider pic (I like them and this one gives me a slight case of the heebee jeebees). I'll put that pic last. </br><br />Sherrie and I went hiking and caching up on the Catamount Falls trail in Green Mountain Falls today. Our hike was cut a little short by some rain and thunder, but we still did about 5 miles. Here's a picture of the falls near the start of the trail:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/waterfall07_08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/waterfall07_08.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Now on to the macro shots...<br />The reproductive parts of a petunia in my garden:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/macro1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/macro1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />A flower longhorn beetle on some cow parsnip:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/beetle07_14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/beetle07_14.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Black widow spider in my back yard:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/blackwidow08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/blackwidow08.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-74761681710673392982008-07-05T20:51:00.000-06:002008-07-05T22:56:35.948-06:00Happy Independence Day!I had to work during the day, but my evening on the Fourth was spent at the ballpark. </br><br />Our choir was invited to sing the National Anthem for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Triple A farm team of the Rockies) - quite an honor, since it's typically their best attended game of the year. Here's a link to a youtube video of our performance: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRSglAajdpE">National Anthem</a> <br />Sox the Fox was decked out in holiday attire:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/soxthefox.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/soxthefox.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The Sox battled the Las Vegas 51's <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/playball.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/playball.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />and lost 10-6. Ok, battled might be too strong a term for the way they played, but oh well. After the game was a great fireworks display:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fireworks2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-5056242383547720282008-06-30T23:10:00.000-06:002008-06-30T23:36:32.394-06:00Pics from the weekOur baby gorilla, Tumani, is about 17 months old now. She still rides on mom's back when traveling, but is also quite independent. Here she is out in the outside exhibit: <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tumani06_28.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tumani06_28.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I was over at Sherrie's house Saturday night, working on the baptism outfit I'm making for Boy Twin Geske. These lilies (I think tiger) were blooming in front of her house: <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tigerlilies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/tigerlilies.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Today, Sherrie and I did a 4-mile hike in Sondermann Park and Open Space and found a few caches. The prickly pears were blooming all over the place: <a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/79c2ac8b-d2a5-49b2-b455-5f70ed3f4f89.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/79c2ac8b-d2a5-49b2-b455-5f70ed3f4f89.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />There were lots of these damselflies along the trail. I found a dead one, which Sherrie was holding for me to photograph when this live one landed on her hand: <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/damselfly2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/damselfly2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />While we couldn't find one of the caches, this Western Tiger Swallowtail landed nearby: <a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/swallowtail06_30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/swallowtail06_30.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-58566800131465795582008-06-23T22:44:00.000-06:002008-06-23T23:13:31.878-06:00Blooms, Butterflies, & BirdsToday I went on an Audubon Society field trip hike. The name of the field trip was the same as the title of this post (Blooms, Butterflies, and Birds) and we headed off to a place called Emerald Valley to look for those things. One of the priorities of the hike was to look for and do a rough census on orchids. This part was certainly intriguing to me, since I didn't even know we had wild orchids here. We also were looking for butterflies and, of course, birds. The group tally for bird species seen or heard was 28. Without the help of the experience birders in the group, I probably would have ID'd about 5! It's so much fun to go on a field trip like this and just absorb the knowledge of the others on the trip. Well, enough with the set-up, here's the pictures:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bluecolumbine.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bluecolumbine.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Colorado Blue Columbine (Colorado State flower) </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintbrush.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintbrush.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Paintbrush </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ladyslipper.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ladyslipper.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Yellow Lady's Slipper Orchid </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ladyslippers.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ladyslippers.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Two more Yellow Lady's Slippers </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/crescent3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/crescent3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Field Crescent </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/swallowtails.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/swallowtails.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Western Tiger Swallowtails </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/butterflyb06_23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/butterflyb06_23.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> "Puddling" butterflies - some species of "blue". I'll edit when I find out the species. </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/westerntanager.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/westerntanager.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Western Tanager - gotta be one of the prettiest species of bird in the US! </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/crabspider_bee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/crabspider_bee.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> A flower spider eating a bee on a wild rose. Luckily my friend Jenyva spotted this or I would've missed it.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-79877879631881354132008-06-14T19:15:00.000-06:002008-06-14T19:25:31.543-06:00Oh deer!This time of year brings babies in the wild population of deer around the zoo. This morning when I looked out the back door of my building at work, I saw a doe walking toward the wooden fence outside the orangutan yard. She didn't appear to be grazing, so I watched her to see where she would go - if she jumped over the fence, it was sure to bring an interesting reaction from the orangutans in the nearby enclosure. Instead, I watched as a tiny fawn walked shakily from a spot out of my sight and joined her. It wasn't still wet, but for sure it was born within the last 12 hours or so. <br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/doeandnewfawn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/doeandnewfawn.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I stepped just outside the door and snapped a bunch of pictures as she licked him, nursed him and he went for a short, wobbly stroll. Too cute!<br />Then she started walking away and he followed out of sight around the end of the fence. Later I saw her alone, so I started looking for the fawn between where I saw them last and where she was. For those of you unfamiliar with deer behavior, does will "park" their newborn fawns under a tree or in the grass while they go off and forage for food. The little ones just can't keep up with mom yet. The fawn instinctively stay very still even if someone approaches. Their dappled coats provide excellent camouflage. I actually walked pretty close to the fawn once when looking for it, before finally spotting it the second try. Here's a pic of it curled up in the grass:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fawn.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fawn.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-12834339538173510642008-06-09T23:58:00.000-06:002008-06-10T00:14:19.241-06:00Mining for paint?Pastor Doug has been telling Sherrie and I that we needed to go hiking out at the paint mines near Calhan. It's out on the plains about 30 miles northeast of here, so we were waiting for a cooler day to go. He also said for the best lighting we should go in the morning or evening. Sherrie wasn't available until after 2pm today, so with temps in the low 70s, today was the day to head out there. The formations found in Paint Mines Interpretive Park are composed mostly of sandstone and clay eroded by water. The colorful clays were used by American Indians to color pottery, thus the name "paint mines". Narrow trails wind amongst the wonderful formations, with a new delight around every turn. I took close to 100 pictures, but here are a few of my favorites:<br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/a4783bef-bdbf-42b8-a93f-9ed8054a80fb.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/a4783bef-bdbf-42b8-a93f-9ed8054a80fb.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/af61203b-083c-451d-8fc9-641140d4d16f.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/af61203b-083c-451d-8fc9-641140d4d16f.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/paintmines5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Overview of part of the park </br><br />There were lots of wildflowers, especially wild roses. We also found a horned lizard. <br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/280ca63d-d3e4-4fe1-82e2-7b2e617a4d95.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/280ca63d-d3e4-4fe1-82e2-7b2e617a4d95.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bumblebee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bumblebee.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/02325549-106d-4b89-8cc0-22627120f630.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/02325549-106d-4b89-8cc0-22627120f630.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Thanks for the recommendation, Pastor Doug!Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-54430982257445562982008-06-02T21:31:00.000-06:002008-06-02T21:47:26.094-06:00Hiking, friends, musicThose 3 words describe my 3-day weekend pretty well.</br><br />I had a day off from work on Saturday, so I got some friends together that can't hike with me and Sherrie on Mondays and did a Saturday hike. Almost everyone could only hike in the morning, so we decided to hike in Palmer Park in Colorado Springs. Though it's in the middle of the city, this is a large, bluff-filled park with miles of trails. Gil, Ani, Sherrie, Alison (& Sadie)& I ended up hiking about 6 miles on a perfect morning. Here's a group shot of us where we stopped for a snack and a picture of a bumblebee on some wild iris:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/groupshot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/groupshot.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/wildirisandbee.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/wildirisandbee.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />On Sunday afternoon, our new associate pastor, David Hall was installed at church. It was a wonderful festival service full of music. Our choir sang 4 different pieces, handbells played several, and brass as well. </br><br />Today, Sherrie and I headed to the Mt. Herman area near Monument, CO for more hiking and geocaching. We hiked about seven miles and found 8 caches. Here are a few pictures from today - baby pinecones, a white-breasted nuthatch and an assassin bug:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/babypinecones.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/babypinecones.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nuthatch.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nuthatch.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/assassinbug.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/assassinbug.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-14592776997486761982008-05-26T18:17:00.000-06:002008-05-26T18:37:51.945-06:00Gardening on a small scaleMy townhouse includes a very small (~10'x10') backyard. About a third of that is cement and the rest is covered in pea gravel. I've been wanting to do something with it for some time and did some pricing of cement pavers, stones, etc. I decided I wanted to make a small garden at one end and then make a 7'x7' patio with the rest. The pavers were a bit pricey for me right now, but I decided with a little work, I could at least get the garden in before summer. That was my project for this weekend. Here's a before shot of the backyard:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyardbefore.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyardbefore.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I went to Home Depot yesterday and got some edging stones, a shovel and 2 40lb bags of garden soil. The first step when I got home was to mark out the edges of the garden and then remove about 2-3 inches of gravel from that spot. I decided to just put the gravel on the remaining part of the yard for now. Later, when I get to the patio part, I'll have to come up with another place to move it. Under the gravel was some old landscaping plastic, which I cut out. I turned over and broke up about 6-8" of soil that was under that and removed a bunch of roots, which I think were from the pine bush outside my fence. Here's a pic of the partly done garden:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I installed the edging stones and added the new soil on top and mixed it in with the current dirt. This is what it looked like when I finished last night:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I discovered when I took Logan (my dog) out, that the little edge stones did not mean, "stay out" to him, so I added some decorative fencing to my shopping list for today. This afternoon I went to Walmart and Home Depot and got plants, more soil, decorative fencing, seeds and bamboo poles. <br />When I got home, I added the two bags of dirt and then started planting. I planted 4tomato plants of 2 varieties. I may have to remove a couple if they all do well, just because of space. I planted two salvia plants in front of the tomatoes and a clematis vine behind them. The clematis has a nice bamboo rod to climb up. I also planted some larkspur and columbine seeds around the edges. We'll see what comes up! The last step was to install the decorative fencing. Here's the final result:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/backyard4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />I'll post pictures later in the year - hopefully everything will be doing great.Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-27494339426060819502008-05-19T18:41:00.000-06:002008-05-19T18:51:23.590-06:00First mountain hike of the seasonWith temperatures predicted to be in the mid- to upper-80s, Sherrie and I decided to do a little mountain hiking today. I looked up a few caches up in the Old Stage/Gold Camp Rd area. The first one we went for was near the top of St. Peter's Dome. The trail starts off easy enough, although we could feel the altitude (> 9000ft), since we haven't hiked up that high since last fall. We did some scrambling and took some wrong turns while trying to figure out how to get to the top. The views were spectacular once we made it up. Here's a picture of Sherrie climbing up one of the many slabs of granite on the way:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/uptothedome.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/uptothedome.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Here is a fence lizard sunning itself on top:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fencelizard08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/fencelizard08.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />Pic of me with the view in the background:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ontopofstpetes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/ontopofstpetes.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </br><br />After returning from St. Pete's, we drove a little ways back toward town and then hiked about a mile down the closed section of Gold Camp Rd to look for another cache. We found part of the cache, but most of it was gone, probably lost to the elements, since it hadn't been found since last fall. This giant slab of granite was along the way to the cache site:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nowthatsaslab.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/nowthatsaslab.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Heidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-162688073674986051.post-77777273843858382202008-05-18T11:25:00.000-06:002008-05-18T11:33:11.005-06:00No excusesI won't even try to make excuses for why I didn't even get one post in April. I thought about it several times, but never sat down and did it. </br><br />Rather than trying to cover lost ground, I'll just start with current stuff. Sherrie and I did some caching and hiking along Fountain Creek Regional Trail last Monday afternoon. We hadn't been on this part of the trail before. It had lots of varied habitat, and there was plenty of wildlife to be seen, including coyote, prairie dogs, and many birds. I identified what was a new species of bird for me, a Lewis' woodpecker. Here are some of my pics:<br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/coyotefct.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/coyotefct.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Coyote </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bluewingedtealfcnc.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/bluewingedtealfcnc.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Blue-winged teal </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/killdeerfczoom.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/killdeerfczoom.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Killdeer </br><br /><a href="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/lewiswoodpecker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd193/gorillagal/lewiswoodpecker.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> Lewis' woodpeckerHeidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12366837313020846693noreply@blogger.com0