Yesterday was the first day that I could go on a long hike with my new 100-400mm zoom lens. This lens is so big and heavy that I had to get a new Clik Elite Pro case to carry it, and this case just arrived the previous evening.

On the recommendation of a friend from church the week before, I hiked Hall Ranch’s Nighthawk Trail. He said that I would find lots of flowers, and I did on my 7-mile hike.

In fact I took so many pictures that I just now finished viewing them. Here are those worth sharing.

Hall Ranch is usually a dry, Southwestern-looking open space maintained by Boulder County about 20 miles north of here. After the heavy rains last week it is green, but we find lots of cactus there. I love to photograph the cactus flowers because of their great contrast of flower softness with needle hardness.

Cactus and Flower

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Another high-contrast plant is the musk thistle. It seems to be a favorite of bees and birds.

Musk Thistle and Visitor

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Yet another plant that is better to look at than touch is the prickly poppy:

Prickly Poppy

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Less protected flowers were also in bloom, including this young blanketflower:

A Baby Blanketflower

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I love the flower below in spite of its name:

A Prairie Spiderwort

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Now that the flowers are in bloom, the butterflies are ready:

A White Butterfly

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A Fritillary Butterfly

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Takeoff Like a Helicopter (at 1/3200 second)

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While I saw few birds, one that I saw soaring high in the sky gave me great pleasure:

A Golden Eagle

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