Sunday and Sunday

So last Sunday, Hazel and I hiked at Buttonrock. We did almost 8 miles by doing the sleepy lion trail both ways plus we hiked up to the rez for some swimming time....

I did get some nice flower pics but never sat down to post them. So here they are.......

My college classmate- Janet was moving from Colorado to Montana and came upon some wildflower books that she sent to me. So I attempted to use them to start learning the names of these beautiful flowers. If I misnamed any of them,please let me know as I am a newbie....

wild geranium

                                                       western spiderwort

                                                       meadow arnica

                                                 hairy evening primrose

                                                    

                                                     common mouse ear- 
                  this is my favorite flower and it is as tiny as a mouse ear too...

This is a flowering bush but not sure of the name.......

And this flower is so delicate and stunningly beautiful but I could not find out who this is....

So today Hazel dog and I decided to hike the boulder valley ranch loop. I decided to bring my camera along just in case........

Good thing I did as you will see!

These flowers are very abundant around here. They are a bit smaller than a baseball. Their name is false dandelion....perfect!

My western kingbirds were hanging out in their usual spot. I couldn't find their nest but they posed nicely for me......

We were halfway down to the pond when I spotted a bird on the fence. Yes! It was a northern harrier! These raptors are amazing! I know they nest at BVR but it's always a treat to see them. This one gave me some decent pics and then took off to find breakfast. Unlike redtail hawks which tend fly high in the sky to hunt for food, the harrier flies low over open fields hunting for food. So damn cool!

So I got some flight shots and then we continued to the pond so Hazel could go swimming! 
Afterwards instead of doing the loop, we doubled back up the hill and the harrier gave me some more flight shots!

The harrier finally flew off and then I spotted this little guy feeding right on the trail. Definitely a sparrow and most likely a chipping sparrow. There are over 25 types of sparrows, so it's an educated guess at best.....

Check out this flower.....I'm calling it a wild rose. Soooo beautiful!

This is a south east corner of the pond. I've walked by this spot hundreds of times but today it caught my eye and had to grab a pic. And then I had to use the prism app and see what it looked like. I like them both......

I am so glad I brought my camera! A fun hike with Hazel and we got to see the harrier!
When we got back to the parking lot, there was a small running group. Looked like they were done and just visiting with each other. A man in street clothes came up and said hi. His wife was a runner and he was recovering from a running injury. So I'm guessing he felt a bit left out. So when he spotted my camera setup, he took that opportunity to chat.Seems they live in Kansas city and are just visiting lovely Boulder. He took my business card as he has a professional photographer friend he wanted to share it with. So I wonder what will come of this chance meeting.....

Thanks for reading!