A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

"A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains" by Isabella L. Bird

Surprisingly this is a good book. It was written in the 1870's about a 40+ year old women in Colorado riding around and seeing the country. She tells the struggles and adventures of different people. It is interesting to see how some prosper and others suffer. She describes nature as she rides. She climbs Longs Peak or should I say she was carried to the top of Longs Peak. But she was no tender foot. A lot of the time she traveled alone and endured much hardship and freezing cold.

I would recommend if you want to read a journal type book.

It is easy reading and is one of the Western Frontier Library books. 2 3 4 Not all books are listed but here is a few I found searching.

My wife found the book in a thrift store.

Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Riverbank Grape 2

This first photo shows the Riverbank grape vine as it comes out of the ground.

Here is a photo of a leaf. The tendril is growing opposite the leaf.

Here are some grapes.

Riverbank Grape Vine

Riverbank grape



Vitis riparia




Native American grape.

Fruits are edible.

Tree Sap Droppings

Riding my bicycle Saturday morning I noticed a number of times that I rolled over tree sap. The sound of the tires were completely different.

Here is an example of tree sap on the road on the left of the road and the right side of the road is dry.




And this is the culprit Black walnut.






Here is a Red bud tree growing under a Black walnut tree. The red bud tree is saturated with sap, but it seems to be from the Black walnut.

Possum haw

Leaves shape varries narrow to egg shapped. Leaf edges wavy. Leaves don't match my field guides exactly but branch pattern seems obvious.


The twigs are stiff and the buds are pointed.


I found a Possum haw.
Ilex decidua

Also called Deciduous Holly


Here are the photos I had in the winter. I went back and ID'ed the tree with my Tree guide.

It is fun finding trees in the winter, then going back in other seasons and finding them again. It is interesting to see the changes.

Intoxicated birds may be observed after eating the fermented fruit.

The tree or sometimes shrub is also called Deciduous holly.

The tree is easy for me to identify by the branching characteristics.

The tree can withstand some flooding in the formative first few years. It is a good tree for fruit production. Most trees will have some fruit. The fruit will stay on the tree into the winter.

Hollies have only one bundle scar in the leaf scar!

Nature on Youtube

Cyote youtube video

Peregrine Falcon Tribute


Osprey call and video

Turkey Vultures one the Gasconade

Red Tailed Hawk Hunting at Fresh Pond Reservation

Missouri River After High Flood water

Here, some grass is growing where flood waters killed the vegetation earlier in the summer. Cottonwood trees are in the background. They can withstand saturated soil at times.

This photo shows the cracking of the dry soil of the river bed. This area is lower than the first photo.

As always, you can click on the photo for a larger view.

Box Elder Understory

These small stems are box elder maple. The canopy being so dense that no leaves could live below. The large tree in the background is a Cottonwood.

Holly Hocks

Different hollyhocks. We planted hollyhocks in our back yard years ago. For many years they came up as volunteers. These photos were taken in a park near my work.

Deer Browsing

American Sycamore

I twisted the camera to get this picture of this twisted sycamore. An unusual tree looking for light.

Goldenrain Tree

Goldenrain tree
Koelreuteria paniculata

It is as beautiful as the photo above show. The tree was introduced in the US in the 1700's Thomas Jefferson started a tree from seed he received from France on his Monticello estate.

It is native to China, Japan and Korea.

This tree is planted for ornamental in urban areas. It may escape cultavation.

The trunk may easily branch, though this one has not done so.

Fawn Spotted off Trail

Hiking for lunch I spotted this fawn. It was a treat to see it and she wasn't in a hurry to leave.

Flowers

Blackberry Season

Blackberry season is still in front of us. Cool weather and abundance of rain seem to have forestalled the ripening of the blackberries.

Many things may have been hindering our spiritual fruit from coming to maturity. But if you keep at it you will see it come to maturity. So don't give up hope. Keep seeking the Lord and steadfast in the work God has for you.

Hackberry Water Bowl

Here was an unusual growth at the base of a Hackberry.

Pond and Willow

Found this pond along a trail and sure enough there is willow below where the water goes when the pond drains.

Bitternut Hickory Leaves

I see this tree all the time in the off season. The orange/yellow buds are obvious. Here is a low lying example of the leaves.

Moly, my dog, passes underneath.

Flowers