We've had one of the rainiest springs here that we can remember! Some locations in the foothills, like Golden, have gotten over 12" of rain this spring. And it's not over.
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| Twin Sisters, viewed from our house yesterday evening |
When we woke up to clear blue skies this morning we decided to do a walk around Lily Lake before the clouds moved in again.
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| We covered the blue lines on this outing |
When we arrived at Lily Lake a little after 9am, Longs Peak wasn't visible, but as we continued we got some very good views of it.
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| Longs Peak obscured by clouds (Estes Cone at right) |
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| Quaking Aspen starting to leaf out! |
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| View to the northwest |
It was also very obvious that beavers were doing a lot of work on the southwest side of the lake. We might have to go back out at dusk to see if we can watch them working.
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| Beaver dam (or lodge?) right off the accessible trail |
We also got a chance to see a few birds, including the Red-winged Blackbird, Ring-necked Duck, a Mallard, Brewer's Blackbird, a couple of Canada Geese.
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| Ring-necked Duck |
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| Mallard |
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| Red-winged Blackbird in breeding plumage |
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| Brewer's Blackbird |
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| Brewer's Blackbird in an unusual pose |
Mike had some fun photographing a cute little Douglas squirrel,
Tamiasciurus douglasii, (aka pine squirrel or chickaree) busily chomping away on a pine cone.
When the clouds cleared, Longs Peak, capped with a lot of recent spring snow, appeared in dramatic fashion!
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| From left to right: Mt Meeker, Longs Peak, Mt Lady Washington, and Estes Cone |
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| Longs Peak! Do you see the beaver? |
We timed our outing just right. By the time we got home the skies turned dark and cloudy and the rain started falling again!
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