Memphis, Mississippi and Miscellaneous

Been kind of  a hard fall and winter.  My mom died in Oct. and I went back to Memphis in November for her memorial service.  No sooner trying to get over that and I get news that my sister's husband Jimmy is found dead in his house, so it was back to Memphis again.  Both hard trips.  Stayed with my sister's daughter, Emily, and her family down in Hernando, Miss.  Nice little town.  Flying in for my mom's service it was clear and bright and we flew right over the pyramid and downtown.  The second time in Jan., I was hoping for a clear shot of the Mississippi in flood stage at Memphis, but it was overcast and only got a little glimpse of the river as we broke thru a low ceiling while landing.  Very clear that the river was flooding, however.  And driving around Memphis you could see backwater in the Nonconnaha and Wolf River lowlands - those gray brown soaked woods of the mid-South

Landing in Memphis in early Jan. on a murky wet day as the Mississippi River is at a most unusual winter flood stage.  

Old home along the old Illinois Central right of way in Senatobia, Miss.

Iowa Pacific passenger cars stored in Batesville, Miss. in a pouring rain.

Old county courthouse in Senatobia, Miss.

.  One day Brad, Emily's husband and I, went on a little sight seeing tour.  We drove down to Batesville to look for the Iowa Pacific passenger train that had been running excursions on the latest acquisition of Iowa Pacific.  We found it parked in an industrial park just east of town in a Mississippi downpour.  Nice looking train.  We followed the old Illinois Central passenger mainline back up to Hernando.  Couple of interesting old towns along the route including Coldwater and Senatobia.

This winter has seen an extended period of cold and snow cover for the Front Range.  Had a good foot or more just after Christmas that has stuck around till just recently.  Actually a glacier in a shaded area of our street has stubbornly persisted.  Was just about gone when last week we got a good 14-16 inches.  It was right back.  But, the sun is a bit higher in the sky now and the days a bit longer so it's just about melted again.  But, it's been an extended period of winter.  Finally two weeks ago we got a January thaw.  Rocky and I packed up and headed to Pueblo for two days.  It was cloudless, wall to wall sun, crystal blue skies and temps in the 50's and 60's.  Just got back again from two more nights.  Even warmer with one afternoon getting up into the mid 70's.  Just gorgeous.  I love going to Lake Pueblo State Park in the winter.  Usually a bit warmer down there.  And such an expansive view.  you can see the Spanish Peaks down by Walsenburg, a good 40 miles to the south.  I love the wide open vistas of the west.

Ringed-bill gulls making a living on french fries at the Good Times in Arvada, CO. 

Rocky enjoying an ice crunch - his fav winter treat - with Connie at a frozen Lake Arbor in Arvada, CO. 

Neighborhood hawk taking to the air down by Lake Arbor in Arvada. 

Same hawk before it took flight. 

Hooded merganser and mallard drake enjoying the sun at Prospect Lake in Wheat Ridge, CO. 

Male hooded merganser enjoying a crawdad at Lake Arbor in Arvada, CO. in Jan. 2016.

Mr. and Mrs. hooded merganser at Prospect Lake in Wheat Ridge, CO. in Jan of 2016.

Rocky and our camp at Lake Pueblo State Park in mid Feb of 2016.  Temps in the mid 70s and wall to wall sun.  

Red head duck on Platte River in Denver in Jan. 2016.

Mountain bluebird at Lake Pueblo State Park in Feb. of 2016.

Distant Spanish Peaks from our campsite at Lake Pueblo State Park.  Peaks are 40 miles to the south.

White crowned or is it a white throated
sparrow at Lake Pueblo State Park in Feb. 2016.

Catching Up

Been a long while since I last posted anything to my blog, but here I am catching up.  Have quite a potpourri from a number of excursions here in Colorado and one shot of a red-headed woodpecker from a recent trip back to Memphis and Hernando.  I accompanied my niece's husband for a Sat. morning trip to the farmer's market in the little town square for milk and then a stop by the Ladybug Bakery for some yummy pastries.  Across the street far up in, I think, a sweet gum tree was a red-headed woodpecker.  It's a distant shot at maximum zoom so not really sharp, but my first picture of that bird.

red-headed woodpecker

barn swallow

violet green swallow

juvy swallow?

western grebe

muskrat hauling strawberry

kestrel

red-tailed hawk?

broad-tailed hummingbird

canyon towhee

lark sparrow

prairie falcon

red-napped sapsucker

rock squirrel

hairy bee?

mountain bluebird

From my daily walk down to Lake Arbor with our dog, Rocky, a number of shots from last summer and this fall.  In the winter we always get lots of western grebes.  Easy to recognize with their long white necks and black caps.  The swallows, especially the barn swallows were successful in raising broods this summer.  They often nest in the eves of the gazebo next to the lake and come in with feathers to refresh the older nests.  The violet green, rough-winged, bank, and tree swallows also nest around the lake and there's a couple of shots of those included.  There are a number of muskrats that call the lake and feeder creek home.  Earlier last summer there was one swimming along next to the shore carrying a strawberry in it's mouth, apparently cast off from a near-by picnic.  The field above the lake is a favorite hunting ground for kestrels and red-tailed hawks.  There's a shot of each of those.

I go camping to Lake Pueblo quite often, especially in the fall, winter, and spring.  Too crowded and hot in the summer.  Last spring I got this nice shot of a lark sparrow hoping around on the ground near my camp.  In the spring and fall I often set out my humming bird feeder on the camper.  I rigged a hanger so it's right next to my window.  I can hear them buzzing around it once they've discovered the feeder.  Got a couple of shots of them working the feeder.  One of the year round residents at Lake Pueblo is the canyon towhee.  They are very curious birds and often go looking for goodies in the camper and up underneath the truck.  Here's one sitting on the tire keeping an eye on Rocky.  There used to be tons of prairie dogs in the park, but they have removed most of them.  They have also encouraged raptors by putting up some poles for them to hunt from.  Couple trips back there was a prairie falcon making use of one of the poles.  Never saw him make a score, though.  Another of the regular residents in the park are rock squirrels.  They are rather large, gray squirrels with white freckles.  Handsome critters.  They live in burrows in the ground, but you often see them sitting up in the cedar trees using them for lookout posts.  Flocks of mountain bluebirds winter in the park.  You can almost always be sure to spot some.  Here's one sitting in the dead top of a cedar.  The bluebirds are one of the reasons I like to go to Pueblo in winter.  Their bright blue color and cheerful chirps raise my spirits.

From a trip to Hot Sulphur Springs along the Colorado River last summer, here's a red-napped sapsucker you often see working a route among the willows along the river.

And one last shot that I forget the location of - an unusual kind of bee.  Not sure what these are, but I have seen them a number of times.  A large, hairy, yellowish bee.  Thought it might be a tachnid fly, but now I'm no so sure.

It's Thanksgiving and looks like some serious winter is setting in.  Might not get for awhile.  I like going to Pueblo in the winter, but my minimum high temp for a visit is 55, so it could be awhile.  Plus, dark comes mighty earlier in the short days of winter.

Blue Skies, Bluebirds

As my old friend, Helen, in Memphis says, Bill's been out sleeping in his tin box again.  Yep, the weather finally moderated after a month of real winter, so Rocky and I headed down to Pueblo.  Weather was beautiful - hardly a cloud in the sky for two days and temps in the 60s.  A few patches of snow behind the cedars, but pretty dry already.  There were tons of mountain bluebirds in the campground.  They were busy catching something.  Got a number of good shots.  Bluebirds are so beautiful.  Other birds seen were the usual suspects: northern mockingbird, curve-billed thrasher, and canyon towhee.  The thrashers were starting to sing a little bit.  Very pleasant songster took up in a cedar bush right next to camp.  The scaled quail were on the move, but had a difficult time getting close to them this time.  They can really run, and not bad at flying for short distances.  Odd little creatures.  I've gotten better shots before, but it's always fun to watch them.  There are always lots of great horned owls hooting down at Lake Pueblo.  One started up early the first evening, and I managed to get a long-distance shot with the SX-50 before it took off.  They serenaded us all night.  A couple of the bluebird and thrasher shots are with the old D200 and 300mm+1.4teleconverter.  Don't know if you can tell the difference but they are quite a bit sharper than the SX-50 images.  The SX-50 sure has more reach and certainly much smaller and lighter, but the bigger gear still makes superior images.  

Some folks have asked why I don't label the bird pics so they know what the birds are.  I did do that for awhile, but it's an extra step, I think it detracts from the images, and besides, I want you folks to look up the ones that aren't obvious. 

Pueblo Preponderance

Yep, Rocky and I went to Pueblo again.  Been every month so far this year.  We like it down there.  Usually sunny and warm.  Certainly was this time.  Got up to 74 one afternoon and unlimited sun.  Just gorgeous.  Not a whole lot of birds or wildlife, however.  Big flock of mountain bluebirds in the campground, and the usual curved-bill thrasher.  Took a pic of an oriole nest.  Can't tell if this one is made exclusively of old fishing line, but many if not most are anymore.  However, at least around Lake Pueblo there are lots of old yucca plants that have decayed to leave big heaps of yucca fibers that orioles could use for nest making.