Andy loves to run uphill.  So, we've been planning a trip where he runs up the Ute Trail and I meet him on Trail Ridge Rd.  Today was the day.  It was a bit late but some wildfire haze made the light tolerable for photography at the Rock Cut.  The marmots were enjoying the sun, but it must be harvesting season for pikas because they were running laps between the lush vegetation and their dens.  I took over 500 pictures and had fun "chasing" them with my camera.  The excitement of the day, however, was when the marmots started whistling LOUDLY.  It was a much longer whistle than usual and the pikas barked along.  I looked up and saw a beautiful golden eagle flying overhead!  I had all the wrong settings on my camera but still captured a few good pictures.  I thought for sure the pikas and marmots would hide in their dens after that, but as soon as the eagle left the area, it was business as usual.  I'm glad the marmots and pikas all lived to see another day but hope the eagle gets to eat sometime, too.

Andy loves Bighorn Sheep.  So, every time we drive up to Estes we go up Fall River Rd and stop at Sheep Lakes.  Usually we just see a vast meadow, but today we saw sheep!  Three rams, 4 ewes and 3 lambs. Or is that 4 rams, 3 ewes and 3 lambs?  What fun!

I've smelled the smoke from Colorado and western wildfires for the past few days, but it wasn't until we looked up at the moon last night did we realize just how much smoke was in the air.  It almost looked like a "lunar eclipse" moon.  So beautiful.  Hopefully it will rain on those fires soon and we can go back to having a white moon.

Thank heavens we have a dog!  As we were eating dinner on the deck last Friday, Tiva alerted us to a bobcat!  After quickly putting her inside the house, and protecting our dinner from her, we watched the bobcat from a distance.  This one was a bit skinny but had beautiful markings.  It was a bit hard to photograph but in the last picture you can see that it is napping in grass!  Now, about those bunnies...

We've had such a bumper crop of rodents this year.  From Wyoming Ground Squirrels to Least Chipmunks, our yard has been buzzing with activity.  When we were eating dinner on the deck last Thursday evening, we saw two Mountain Cottontail rabbits run up the drive.  One stopped for a bit and must have been quite comfortable with our presence since he or she took a moment to clean up for the portrait. 

Photographing birds is always tricky, but I've been lucky this year.  Here are some of my favorites!  All are from 6/21/2018-7/8/2018. Click on images to learn their names.

We've been going to Lily Lake a bunch lately.  It is such a great place to see water birds!  We knew there was a pair of nesting coots in the lake but last Friday we saw the fruits of their labor!  Baby American Coots are probably the strangest looking creatures on earth.  A face only a mother (or father) could love?

Andy and I finally made it to the top of Trail Ridge Road in RMNP this year.  Between all of our volunteer commitments, Thursday morning is our best time.  We didn't see any pikas on the Mt Chapin trail but this cutie was at the Rock Cut two Thursdays in a row.  What a treat to watch him or her do what pikas do!