• clouds,  landscape,  mountains

    New Natural Area

    May 19, 2019

    With every grandparent, parent, sibling, boyfriend or girlfriend in town for graduation I decided to venture off to Arapahoe Bend Natural Area. It was much quieter! A couple years ago this reservoir named Rigden Reservoir did not exist was a mix of open fields and gravel pits. It was a haven for meadowlarks, blackbirds, prairie dogs, rabbits and raptors. I was surprised to find that is another natural area. The City of Fort Collins asked citizens to submit names and Topminnow Natural Area was chosen. They have built a 2.2 mile paved walking loop around the reservoir. So, I walked it and found this scene. I liked the light rain falling along the Front Range and cropped it to give it a more panoramic feel.

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  sunsets

    Connected With

    June 23, 2018

    Last night's sunset
    Last night’s sunset

    Nature always amazes me in it’s creative ways. Each moment is something new, we never see the exact sunset, they’re similar but never exactly. I took probably 50 images of last night’s sunset. I can look through them on my monitor, almost yawning, then stop because one speaks to me in a way the others don’t or I’m in a place to hear that one image. I’m also aware the image I connect with may not be the same one viewers will connect with. So, you’ll have to accept the one I connected with. 

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  • clouds,  landscape,  mountains,  natural areas,  prairie

    Connection to the natural world

    March 15, 2018

    Cloudy afternoon at Cathy Fromme Prairie Area
    Cloudy afternoon at Cathy Fromme Prairie Area

    I needed more time away from the bustle of the city so drove out to the Cathy Fromme Prairie Area for a walk. This short grass prairie was established because of the large prairie dog community and the support it provided for coyotes, raptors and rattlesnakes. This area has never seen a plow so it remains in a pre-settlement state. They built a nice covered observatory allowing visitors to see hawks and eagles. The birds are amazing with my favorite being the Western Meadowlark and its song. A sad part was the city deciding to poison off the prairie dog community due to disease. Never the less its always a place to find a connection to the natural world for me. 

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  • Candid Portraits,  Children,  Family,  landscape,  mountains,  People/Portraits,  sunsets

    Family, BBQ and Sunset

    August 29, 2016

    A little dirt and watermelon juice make for a happy boy.
    A little dirt and watermelon juice make for a happy boy.

    This past Saturday afternoon I went to a BBQ at my oldest daughters home. They grilled up some elk burgers and brats. 🙂 Games were played, children and puppy dogs ran all over the place and lots of laughter was heard.

    Even a swimming pool to enjoy.
    There was not a clean child around.

    Chris and Cody supplied the meat while everyone else was asked to bring a side dish. Well that meant there were too many salads and deserts to fit on one plate so multiple trips to the table were needed. I found this young girl exploring all of the back yard, walking stick in hand.

    Front Range Sunset
    Front Range Sunset

    As the sun went down I stood along the fence in their backyard with camera in hand and watched the colors. Nature was magically making  art and I had a great front row seat.

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  • landscape,  sunsets

    Smokey Sunset

    September 1, 2015

    A red sun over the Rocky Mountains
    A red sun over the Rocky Mountains

    I took this image last Friday evening and as you can tell we still had smoke sitting along the Rocky Mountains. However the smoke does give the setting sun a red glow.

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  • landscape,  moonrise,  sunsets

    Even though I’d forgotten

    August 3, 2015

    Glowing Sunset
    Glowing Sunset

    Last Friday evening was to be a full moon. I forgot. But things worked out for me anyway. Friday was a day filled with clear blue skies, nary a cloud to be seen and hot. Even with that in mind I jumped in the car to drive out east on some country dirt road for some quiet and open space. I spent a good hour taking everything in, refreshing my soul, as they say. Without clouds to reflect the sun there was no red sky.

    I started home around 8:30 pm, after the sun had dropped behind the Rocky Mountain horizon. My route home was to drive south south on County Road 13. Just as I crested the ridge about a quarter mile down the road, I was greeted with a gorgeous view of the rising full moon in the east. I raced ahead and stopped at a couple of places where I figured I could get a decent photo. I have one decent image but, stopping, turning off the engine and taking it all in was what I needed. I was given a wonderful gift for a short period of time, even though I’d forgotten it was to be  full moon.

    Full Moon
    Full Moon

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