Sunday Stills - Roads

Welcome and the roads you will see here today are the roads around where I live. Because of lifestyle choices I spend quite of bit of time around home and on these roads.

When possible like to use recent pictures and these are but all were pretty bad and most have been manipulated just so you know. They become illustrative then and gives a cheap out on taking a bunch of crappy pictures.

The route taken on these roads in this series of pictures is marked with red dots in the picture below. The numbers on the same picture (in green)  below correspond to where the picture was taken on this route with that same number on the picture in the top left and that number is red. Too late now. This is a 20 mile loop all gravel except for a short stretch on the interstate.

The second picture is not numbered but is illustrative of distances driven here in the west.

To view this properly you have to click on the pictures to make them larger. That can be done twice. No animals here - I think it's pure road. 

To get to this spot where the gate is locked I take either a bicycle or a small motorcycle and drag them under the fence. It's pretty easy really. Call the cops I don't care cuz I'm not going around. 

Looking west.

These next five pictures all look to the west covering four miles.

This is just the second time I have ever ridden on an road like this. The first was here as well. I don't like it but you bang this mile and a half out quickly and it's not too bad.  There is not a road there that crosses the interstate. The next one that does is three miles further north and turns this ride into 30 miles.

Headed south and you can see the Spanish Peaks in the distance.

This is a county road and sometimes they go through the middle of where people live. 

 People aren't too friendly out here but that is normal. We are actually neighbors and I know for a fact we have mutual friends. They tend to go away when you come through. I understand.

 

Headed south with these two landmarks for hundreds of years looming  in the distance.

Seven miles due east all downhill.

This is actually called The John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway. 64 miles south is the New Mexico state line.

The end.

Macro Monday

Not much going on these days. Seems like slim pickings. These are recent pictures and a couple have used before. There is nothing here  that reaches much over 3/4 of an inch. The green thingy with it's antenna is the exception.

Another red spider -WHAT!! Plus it's a jumper.

Please click on this and take a closer look at the eyes. This ain't right.

The first time I saw one of these it fooled me twice completely. Just what it's supposed to do. This picture is not representative of that ability for this moth.

What do you call this guy. "The Wrapper"?? It appears it is actually wrapped in cloth. I am fairly sure this is the fellow who takes on much more fearsome looking opponents and wins. 

Sunday Stills - Brown

Yes it's brown here - very brown because it's so very dry. Many fires are burning in the West and in Colorado. There was a 300 acre fire just over the hill day before yesterday and this morning there is little haze and no smell of fire from anywhere. It will reach 100+ again today. Most plants are done with their life cycle.

The pictures today are illustrative more than anything else.

There are a lot of bull snakes around.

This is Greenhorn Mountain.

There may be a green tint to things but it's deceiving. Just like what Stretch is attempting here. Click on the picture a couple times and take a look. She had already hammered a young one and momma came very close but I scared it away before - well you know.

It's not that bad really. This guy might come close to six feet long. He's just around and see it in the evenings. He gets free reign because remember -bull snakes kill rattle snakes. I have not seen one of those this year and that is fine by me.

Macro Monday

It's been a slow week.  Windy very dry and just as warm.  I missed the best one by far.  A moth disguised as a stick. So well it deceived me three times at least and even after I flicked at it I still thought it was a stick.  When I did try to get a picture it was too late and it was gone.  This guy was small and didn't cooperate very well either.

These large black beetles are all over the place. Some may push an inch long.  This one played dead when it got flipped on its back.

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Quite a few of these roaming around as well. Seems a bit early.

I was actually holding this plant with a transparent spider on it who refused to look at the camera or hold still to have his picture taken.

 Then there's Stretch who holds still real good.

Sunday Still - Clouds

Taken here at home the last few days. Home is south of Pueblo ,CO.

This picture was taken from my window in Steamboat Springs,Co. I was lucky and had a real good window.

Macro Monday - Prairie Crab

On  a walk yesterday morning.

Gourds like this grow  all over.

An example of what was called prairie crab.

Tiny cactus like this are hard to see.  These days am looking down more than ahead for several reasons. Snakes is one of them.

The pictures from the side were not that good.

This is not your general run of the mill hopper you see out here and there are many.  This may be a prairie shrimp and there is a problem..

Why he's missing a leg. 

 And this ain't  it .

Then there's the thistles.

For a thistle flower picture this stuck out.

A different type of thistle.  This almost doesn't look real to me.  It did look like you see it and stood out from the others.  There doesn't  seem to be much color out here but if you look a bit there is. 

Walking stick cactus are blooming.  Some of these can get like a small tree.  There are not so many here and have to go somewhere where they are plentiful. Trying to remember where.

Soon this will have flowers too.

I walked about three miles and was gone three hours or so.  It was just before noon when I got back.  The last picture was actually taken the day before on Saturday. Never had a clue so many cool pictures were to be had.

Sunday Stills - Numbers

When I saw what the theme was immediately I thought of this picture below taken May 18th at the Spirit Lake Fish Hatchery in Spirit Lake,IA. Fishing like many places is huge here as well and this area is known as the Iowa Great Lakes. The numbers on the board are fairly impressive. It's fun place with history that goes back for the white man to the time of the Spirit Lake Massacre that took place between March 8–12, 1857. No picture but there were up to 40 killed.
 

One of the players in that was a fellow named Inkpaduta. He was also involved down in my neck of the woods in a fight with Winnebago trappers in 1854. The Winnebago's lost. 10 dead 16 wounded.

Did you know it was common for Sioux men to reach 7 feet tall. Is this important? Not really but this is about numbers and there are just 2 more.

Inkpaduta was feared because he had 2 sets of teeth and some of the people he killed was 6 miles away probably less from the hatchery..

See what the others posted today here.

The Eyes Have It

Walked back to this wetlands area early this morning where yesterday was able to capture some decent pictures.

I've seen guys like this before. Click on the picture and take a closer look. The eyes are pointing straight up. Back in da boat they were green. Maybe this one will be green later. What they do is hover and then go straight up and come back down to where they were before.  


A new guy on the block with the dark deep red for eyes but looking closely they may not be the eyes.


I have several pictures of the same but I think this is better and think these eyes would be the perfect shade of green for a really poor scary insect people eater movie.


Lookee here - he's dining.


There was an inland sea here those millions of years ago. This was one of the reasons for today. In a way this picture seems appropriate. The ones flying back then would probably be trying to take a chunk outta ya for lunch.


I do pay attention b b b b b but I almost stepped on this bull snake's tail. I then payed more attention. He did not move as it was warm up time. No eyes here but they were had.




Cross posted @ The Picture Place

Macro Monday

UPDATE
I forgot to mention the black spiders are "jumpers" are are aggressive like another type I've seen and will charge quickly and back off just as fast to intimidate it's predators I'm sure. 

Sitting outside yesterday there are a number of these around. I'm glad he was not on me.

This fellow was in the cup holder where I was sitting.

There was one of these in the cup holder as well.  This was taken before the other two showed up.

Two weeks ago took this picture. Not very good because he would not pose. Notice the color.  Is that blue?

The same spider and it has florescent running lights.

The two pictures below were ones I was going to use for yesterdays Sunday Stills but they work good today too. Although you can't really see it here these insects have florescence sprinkled around on them. You can kind of see that  in the picture below  in front of the right wing. 

This is what I like about Blogger is the ability to make the picture larger by clicking on them. If your lucky to get close enough and get it in focus which is the hard part you then have a picture that provides tremendous detail and that's where the fun is for me.

The big guy was on his way out and I'm holding the little one by the tail.  If it weren't for that I  might still be out there because they don't cooperate very well.  There's some dragon fly's around here and they have been very elusive. 

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