This morning I hiked up the Anne U. White Trail through Four Mile Canyon and along Four Mile Creek. This is a lovely forested canyon and trail is just a couple of miles from north Boulder.

I made sure to get an early start for two reasons. I knew the day would get hot, because the weather prediction was for the temperature to reach 94 degrees. But by hitting the trail early the weather stayed cool enough for my whole hike. I also had an article due by 2:30 this afternoon, which was the same time I had an appointment with my acupuncturist, who comes to my apartment.

I met my obligations even though I got to this pool below before the sun highlighted it and had to wait an hour for this view. In the meanwhile I took 31 other shots of this scene:

The Pool on Four Mile Creek

On the way up the trail I passed thousands of flowers in bloom. The sun had just hit these:

Wild Bergamot

Ever the optimist, when I saw this ladybug resting on a harebell, I quickly set up my tripod and camera and hoped that she would wait for me. She did:

A Ladybug Rests on a Harebell

Back almost to the trailhead I spotted some lush dandelion greens growing near the creek. I picked a large bunch of them.

This was a much better conclusion to a wonderful hike than the last time I hiked this trail. When I was here last August, I found thousands of butterflies. I didn’t see any today. But right where I found the dandelion greens today, a bee or wasp stung me that time, and the sting hurt for a couple of weeks.

No bugs found me today, and I didn’t photograph the dandelion greens. Instead, I ate half of them in the salad that I had at lunch.