First Garden Walk of 2021...Here's to a more normal year!

Spring is finally here and while the pandemic is still

going, things are not as crazy as they were last year.

We were able to go to the Red Butte Gardens

this past weekend and walk around.

Spring flowers are starting to bloom.

With the pandemic and needing to wear face masks

it's so nice to be able to find places to visit outside.

My husband and I had a great time looking

at all the different spring flowers.

Stinking Hellborne.  Not a flower you

would pick and put in the house. 

This little flower was my husbands favorite.

I had to laugh because he is quiet the car guy

and to hear him comment on how beautiful a flower was made

me think how much we have grown together in the last few years.

I told him that his car friends must be wondering

why ever would he walk in flower gardens.

His reply was " I have a great marriage."

It's so nice for us to have our weekly dates.

I can't wait for the adventures we will have this spring and summer.

These are just the prettiest little flowers.

Our shadow photo.

We love walking up to the water wise section of the gardens.

The views are so amazing. 

I wish snow would stay on the mountains all year long,

it's so beautiful.

They have places to sit.  I look forward to someday having

a picnic up here.

Inside the main building they had some beautiful potted plants.

Orchids are such beautiful flowers.

This one was my favorite.

Here is the full moon view from the back of my house.

We took a walk at the lake and saw some Avocets.

I hadn't seen Avocets at the lake before.

I walked in some lake muck to get my photos.

This is how far the birds are from me.  Can you tell there is a bird there?

I think this is a cinnamon teal. He is running away.

Some Killdeer.  They just don't want to stay still and

have their photos taken.

Well I hope you are all doing well.

I got my first Covid vaccine this past week.

My arm hurt really bad, but it is worth it.

I want life to go back to a more normal way. 

What things are you looking forward to as spring arrives?

G.G.

 

February 2021 Bird watching walks. Hawks, and Herons and Coots...

The last few weeks I have had some chances to go on

a few nice long walks and do some bird watching.

These first few photos are actually ones I took from

my house.  We get a few different birds

at our bird feeders.

I feed the birds so the cat can have some entertainment.

I actually think my cat might be afraid of the birds.

Some people don't like the Magpie, I like them.

They are fun to watch.

We have not seen a beaver out and about.

We have seen a lot of chewed up trees.

Beavers are the second largest rodent in the United States.

I wonder if a beaver has an insatiable urge to always be

chewing something.  Do they ever get slivers in their mouths?

I'm not sure what this little bird is, but it sure is cute.

Mallard ducks must not migrate. 

What a pretty color green.

I love having a weekly walking date with my husband.

This is in American Fork Canyon.

Here is one of the doves that likes to hang out around our house.

One of our favorite places to walk is the Farmington bay bird refuge.

This is where the Blue Heron nest.

It is fun to go and watch them.

Here they are a little closer with using my zoom lens.

Others walk around the bottom of the nesting site.

It looks like it might walk the plank. 

Today we also saw some pelicans fly over,

I had never heard a pelican call before. 

It was really cool to watch them fly and listen to them.

There are lots of people out bird watching.

This guy just stood under the tree where the hawk was.

I think he wanted to get a photo of it flying.

The geese are so noisy!  We actually

sat and watch a group of them fighting.

It is interesting all the different sounds they make.

I wouldn't want one to decide it was mad at me.

I don't think this hawk is very afraid of humans.

It seemed to like to sit and pose for photos.

More beaver activity.

It actually has built a dam further up the water way.

These are American Coots. 

They have really big ugly feet!

I believe this is a northern shoveler duck.  

He was a bit too far away for me to get a nice photo.

Well hope you enjoyed seeing the birds.

I really enjoy going out and seeing the different wild life in Utah.

It puts my animal science degree to some use.

I love seeing animals and then going home and reading about what I saw.

G.G.