More blooms!

Vase Flower, aka Sugar Bowl and Leather Flower

Here they are ensemble.

And shown in their natural growing habitat.

Prairie Smoke, aka Purple Avens and Old Man’s Whiskers. I have always called it Pink Plume.

Groundsel with friend.

Unidentified pygmy-style daisies that grow close to the ground in the decomposed granite.

Western Paintbrush

Pygmy Bitterroot (These are teeny tiny!)

Lupine

Baneberry

Monument Plant aka Green Gentian, Deer’s Ears
Up close

and sharing space with a whole lot of Yellow Banner aka Yellow Pea

Shooting Star

Orchid Beardtongue aka One-sided Penstemon, Sidebells Penstemon, Purple Beardtongue

And what collection of flower images would be complete without the flower that everyone associates with Colorado:

The Columbine (always blooming near its soul mate, the aspen)

Please feel free to sing along ...

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam (sort of)

Photos from top to bottom taken: at Diamond Tail Ranch (buffalo), in and around Sand Creek (deer), on the road from Laramie to the cabin (antelope) and last image is Chimney Rock.

It started with a loud thunk. We were sitting at the table having our first cup of coffee when a hummingbird flew into the window. He hit hard. I asked Rick if he had flown away and he said “I don’t think so.” I went outside to see if I could find him. He was lying the in the tall grass with his neck at an odd angle but his little eyes were blinking. I carefully scooped him up in my hands and held him. He flicked his wings a few times, then settled back down into my hands. He was watching me, but his long tongue was still sticking out of his beak which I didn’t think was a very good sign.

I sat down on the stairs to the porch and just held him which I’ve done before when a bird has flown into the window and is too stunned to fly. I asked Rick to come out and take a look at him. He took these photos for me.

I held him for about ten minutes and decided he wasn’t looking all that good. I placed him gently on the porch rail and came back inside.

A few minutes went by and when I checked he was still there. When Rick checked about ten minutes after I had come back inside, he was gone! He had recovered enough to fly off! A successful rescue. I would like to think that he is one of the birds now visiting our feeder.

After that exciting start to our day we decided to take the dogs and walk down to Egger’s Pond which is about a mile away. Here are some photos from our walk.

When we got back we moved wood from our stockpile by the shed to indoors on the porch and filled the wood racks to the brim.

We got all of that accomplished before 11:00 a.m. I’d say that all that activity has earned us the right to kick back this afternoon and do not much of anything. Wouldn’t you agree?

Hah! Just now as I was busily typing up this entry sitting at the table by the window, a deer walked right by!

This time of year there are plenty of beautiful wildflowers to behold. We are lucky that many different varieties bloom on our land. We have a varied environment for them to thrive in; everything from sage meadows to deep woods. Here a few that are now blooming.

Purple Fringe

Paintbrush

Larkspur

Wild Iris

and my very favorite, the elusive Fairy Slipper (also called Calypso Orchid) which is endangered. It blooms down by Bart’s Creek in the moist woodsy soil.

We finally managed to get our internet connection working last night. I am really sitting in our cabin writing to you rather than sitting on the hilltop. Magic.

In the crisp morning air all that can be heard is the whizzing, whirring sound of the hummingbirds as they go back and forth between our two feeders, the peewee is screeching its monotonous song, and the light babble of Bart’s Creek, still flowing with spring run off water. It’s very peaceful here. It’s taken some time but I think we are finally on cabin time. Time that passes slowly and sweetly, without you even noticing. It’s hard to explain.

We are “off the grid” here, meaning we have no one providing us with services. We make our own electricity, relying on the sun to spill its power onto our solar panels and down into the batteries, so we have to be mindful of our usage. We have a wind generator too, but we took it down when we moved to New Jersey. The wind is downright wicked up here and would have ruined it if we had left it up unattended. We do have a large propane tank and our refrigerator, stove and furnace are powered by propane. We have a well with deliciously cold water. Yes, we have running water and all the comforts that go along with it. Rustic but comfortable.

The dogs are certainly enjoying themselves. We take plenty of long walks.

For now I will leave you with the sunset from the other night. More coming soon.