Pictures From My World

Fireworks

2008-07-07T23:08:00.003-05:00

Dragonflies

2008-07-07T07:20:00.006-05:00

Sunset

2008-05-21T19:42:00.003-05:00

Photo Friday ( Old )

2007-08-17T07:27:00.003-05:00

HUMMINGBIRD

2007-08-07T07:24:00.000-05:00

Photo Friday ( WET )

2007-08-03T07:10:00.000-05:00

Balloon Flower (Chinese Bellflower)

2007-08-02T10:31:00.000-05:00

This heavy bloomer gets its name from the way each flower bud swells before its starry petals unfold. Balloon flowers are one of the easiest perennials you'll ever grow, and they bloom in profusion in mid to late summer, when many other perennials are beginning to fade.

The upward-facing flowers bloom throughout the summer and into early fall in shades of blue, pink and white. The plants form a low, neat mound and bear 2- to 3-inch cuplike blossoms accented with delicate purple veins and yellow stamens. Balloon flowers are a cottage garden standard, and they are excellent for cutting. To make the flowers last in the vase, sear the stems with a match or candle flame immediately after cutting.

Daisy

2007-07-31T13:22:00.004-05:00

A Daisy flower is composed of white petals and yellow centers, although the flowers are sometimes a pink or rose color. Stems of Daisies are smooth and leafless and support a single flower. Daisies are not one type of flower. A Daisy is made up of two types of flowers - disk florets and petal-like white ray florets. The Disk florets are at the center and the ray florets are at the periphery. But these are arranged to give the impression of being a single flower. This arrangement on Daisies is a type of inflorescence known as a capitulum.

Cabbage White Butterfly

2007-07-28T08:01:00.001-05:00

The cabbage white butterfly is one of the most common butterflies in the U.S.

Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado 1

2007-07-26T15:40:00.000-05:00

The elevation is 7,800 ft.

The campground is composed of two loops at the edge of a meadow. 
The loop on the right of entrance is nicely shaded with mature
Ponderosa pines.  The loop on the left is closer to the "painted
rocks" (actually weathered piles of red rock) with more open
sites.  All the camping sites are widely separated affording lots
of privacy even though the understory is grass.

This campground is often used as the base for visiting
attractions in the Pikes Peak area.  These attractions, to name a
few,  range from Pikes Peak to the Air Force Academy to the
Garden of the Gods.

STATE: Colorado


REGION: Rocky Mountain

RANGER DISTRICT: Pikes Peak

NEAREST CITY/TOWN: Woodland Park

Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado 2

2007-07-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

This one looks like a Giant Frog to me.

Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado 3

2007-07-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado 4

2007-07-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado 5

2007-07-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

Male Downy Woodpeckers

2007-07-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

Female Downy Woodpecker

2007-07-24T19:57:00.001-05:00

Taken at Painted Rock Campgrounds Woodland Park Colorado.

The smallest and most common American woodpecker, the Downy Woodpecker is found throughout most of North America from Alaska to Florida. It lives in a variety of habitats from wilderness forests to urban backyards, and comes readily to bird feeders.

Small woodpecker.
Black and white plumage.
Plain white back.
Small, pointed bill.

Size: 14-17 cm (6-7 in)
Wingspan: 25-30 cm (10-12 in)
Weight: 21-28 g (0.74-0.99 ounces)

Cool Facts

The Downy Woodpecker is a frequent member of mixed species flocks in winter. The woodpecker is less vigilant looking for predators and more successful at foraging when in such a flock. It will readily join chickadees or other birds mobbing a predator, but it remains quiet and does not actually join in the mobbing.
Male and female Downy Woodpeckers may stay in the same areas in winter, but they divide up where they look for food. The male feeds more on small branches and weed stems, and the female feeds more on large branches and the trunks of trees. Males appear to keep the females from foraging in the more productive spots. When the male is removed from a woodlot, the female shifts her foraging to the smaller branches.
The Downy Woodpecker uses sources of food that larger woodpeckers cannot, such as the insect fauna of weed stems. It will cling to goldenrod galls to extract the gall fly larvae. The woodpecker prefers larger galls, and uses the exit tube constructed by the larva to extract it.
The Downy Woodpecker varies gradually across its range. Larger birds are found in the north and at higher elevations, while smaller birds live in the south and at lower elevations. Western woodpeckers tend to have less white in the wings and less black on the outer tail feathers.

Pikes Peak

2007-07-24T16:48:00.000-05:00

The most visited mountain in North America and the second most visited mountain in the world behind Japan's Mount Fuji, Pikes Peak forms a stunning backdrop for Colorado Springs and the Garden of the Gods. At an altitude of 14,110 feet above sea level, Pikes Peak is the 31st highest peak out of 54 Colorado peaks. It is the farthest east of the big peaks in the Rocky Mountain chain, which contributed to its early fame among explorers, pioneers and immigrants and made it the symbol of the 1859 Gold Rush to Colorado with the slogan, "Pikes Peak or Bust".

Over a half million people reach the summit house every year by the Pikes Peak Highway, Barr Trail or the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The 19-mile Pikes Peak Highway, paved part of the way, is open year round, weather permitting. Barr Trail is the longest of any trails leading to the top of the 54 mountains in Colorado that are over 14,000 feet, and offers the greatest base-to-summit elevation gain in the state: 7,400 feet. About 15,000 people a year attempt to climb Pikes Peak on foot. The 13-mile trail begins at the base of Pikes Peak in Manitou Springs. The 8.9 mile cog railroad typically operates April through December.

Three notable events take place on the mountain each year. The Pikes Peak Marathon, a 26 mile round trip foot race up Barr Trail and then back down each August, draws thousands of runners from all over the world. The top round trip finishing time is three hours and 16 minutes. The second event, the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb on Saturday in July 1, 2006 is a race on the 12.42 mile gravel road which starts around the 6 1/2 mile mark on the highway. Rod Millen from New Zealand holds the fastest time record since 1994, 10 minutes and 4.6 seconds. The third event is the AdAmAn Club New Years Fireworks display on December 31, 12:00 a.m.

Allow at least two hours to make the 38-mile round trip to the summit. Uphill traffic has the right-of-way at all times. Watch for maintenance equipment working on the road, and do not straddle rocks or grader ridges.

Steller's Jay 2

2007-07-22T15:12:00.001-05:00

Was taken at Painted Rock Camp Grounds in Woodland Park Colorado.

Steller's Jay

2007-07-22T14:58:00.001-05:00

Was taken at Painted Rock Camp Grounds in Woodland Park Colorado.

A striking crested bird of bright blue and black, the Steller's Jay is a familiar sight around campgrounds in the mountains of the West.

The Steller's Jay and the Blue Jay are the only New World jays that use mud in the construction of their nests.
The Steller's Jay shows a great deal of variation in appearance throughout its range, with some populations featuring black crests and backs, and others blue. One black-crested form in southern Mexico is surrounded by eight other blue-crested forms.
The Steller's Jay periodically irrupts away from its normal range. Most of these far-ranging individuals appear to be young birds. For an example of such an irruption as detected by FeederWatch data
Steller's and Blue jays are the only North American jays with crests. The Blue Jay is expanding its range westward. Where they meet, the two species occasionally interbreed and produce hybrids.

Red-headed Woodpecker 2

2007-07-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

An unmistakable bird, the Red-headed Woodpecker is striking at rest and in flight, showing its colors of red, black, and white. It is one of the most aggressive members of the family and one of the most omnivorous.

The Red-headed Woodpecker is one of only four woodpeckers known to store food, and it is the only one known to cover the stored food with wood or bark. It hides insects and seeds in cracks in wood, under bark, in fence posts, and under roof shingles. Grasshoppers are regularly stored alive, but wedged into crevices so tightly that they cannot escape.
In addition to attacking other birds to keep them out of its territory, the Red-headed Woodpecker is also known to remove the eggs of other species from nests and nest boxes, destroy nests, and even to enter duck-nesting boxes and puncture the duck eggs.
The Red-headed Woodpecker benefited from the chestnut blight and Dutch elm disease. The devastating tree diseases killed many trees and provided nest sites for the woodpeckers.

Red-headed Woodpecker

2007-07-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

PONY EXPRESS

2007-07-20T23:25:00.000-05:00

Was Taken at The Colorado Welcome / Wayside Center in Julesburg CO.

"From the days of ancient Persia to dawn of modern industry, horse and rider served to bind together the provinces of monarchy, empire and republic. No state long survived its inability to promote the dissemination of knowledge and information among its people. In mid-century America, communication between St. Joseph on the fringe of western settlement and goldmining communities of California challenged the bold and made skeptical the timid. Into this picture rode the Pony Express. In rain and in snow, in sleet and in hail over moonlit prairie, down tortuous mountain path . . . pounding pony feet knitted together the ragged edges of a rising nation. From these hearty souls who toiled over plain and mountain that understanding might be more generally diffused, a nation spanning a continent was ours to inherit. In the spirit of the Pony Express it is for us to bequeath to those who shall follow, new trails in the sky uniting in thought and in deed."

Salary:

$100 per month

Qualifications:

Age ranged from 11 to mid 40s. Riders had to weigh less than 125 lbs.

Youngest Rider:

Legend has it that Bronco Charlie Miller was eleven years old when he rode for the Pony Express.

Riders Changed:

75 to 100 miles.

Horses Changed:

10 to 15 miles.

Speed of Rider:

Average 10 miles per hour.

Horses:

About 400 Mustangs and Morgans

Stations:

Estimated between 150 and 190 of them. Located every 5 - 20 miles.

Mochila:

Saddlebag designed especially to carry mail on the eastern end were made by Israel Landis.

Route:

1966 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.

Crossed Missouri River by Ferry boat, at the foot of Francis Street.

Time:

10 days.

Quickest Run:

7 days and 17 hours. The riders were carrying President Lincoln's Inaugural Address.

Total Miles Covered:

Approximately 650,000 miles.

Longest Ride:

Pony Bob Haslam. rode 370 miles -- Friday Station to Smith Creek Station and back again.

Cost of Mail:

$5 per 1/2 ounce at first. Later, the price was $1 per 1/2 ounce.

Founders:

Russell, Majors, and Waddell. The company was Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company (C.O.C. & P.P.). The Pony Express was a subsidiary for the freight and stage company. Some creative types have claimed the initials C.O.C. & P.P. really stood for "Clean out of cash & poor pay!"

Dates:

April 3, 1860 through October 1861.

Telegraph Completed:

October 24, 1861

Success:

Proved the Central Route to California was usable year round. The government moved the Overland Mail Company, who had the mail contract, from the southern/Butterfield Route to the Central Route in 1861. Keeping the lines of communication open and the flow of mail going influenced California's remaining in the Union.

Failure:

Financially, the Pony Express was a failure. The owners invested $700,000 and left a $200,000 deficit. The company failed to get the government mail contract. The company was sold at auction to Ben Holladay in March 1862. Four years later he sold out to Wells Fargo for $2,000,000.

Pink Rose and Red Rose

2007-07-08T13:46:00.000-05:00

Daisies

2007-07-07T09:44:00.000-05:00

Daisies are an easy to grow perennial that brightens the flower garden and is great for indoor vases and arrangements. While there are dozens of varieties, the most popular are the Shasta Daisy (shown above) and African Daisies. Daisies are among the most popular of flowers of both gardeners. And they are perfect for beginning gardeners and those whose thumb is not too green!

Lily

2007-07-06T08:10:00.001-05:00