Lately my photography has been heavily weighed toward the beauty of birds. Today while I looked for them, I found much beauty elsewhere.

The day started dramatically. My friend Sharon and I got an early start and were already up in the foothills above Boulder before sunrise. Driving up Flagstaff Road, we reached Inspiration Point as the sun peaked through the clouds, illuminating our three reservoirs:

Boulder Wakes

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We drove on until we reached Meyers Homestead Trail, a Boulder County Open Space about half an hour from my apartment. The trail starts at about 7,500 feet and climbs gradually to 8,000 feet in 2.6 miles. It’s just enough to provide excellent exercise while remaining fun, but I hadn’t hiked this trail in the past two years.

Today we had beautiful hiking weather, and I was glad to be back. We were on the trail early enough to avoid the summer heat, and we also had a welcomed breeze.

Much of the beauty we found was botanical. Like this former tree:

A Former Tree Near the End of the Trail

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We also found meadows of flowers. I had never seen anything like this Salsify in bloom before:

A Salsify Bloom

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Whenever I see this lily, it always reminds me of Mariposa High School in northern California, where my Dad first taught:

A Mariposa Lily in a Field of Purple Bee Balm

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And Bee Balm reminds me of bees, which actually prefer Sunflowers:

A Busy Bee

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Bees remind me of other bugs. But I have no idea what to call this one:

A Bug Rests

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Back home, now I can rest. We will find birds again another day.