This morning I wanted to hike on a new trail, but I couldn’t think of any around here that I hadn’t hiked before. Instead I went back to one of my old favorites, the South Boulder Creek Trail. The trailhead on Marshal Road is just a couple of miles from my apartment.
The South Boulder Creek Trail This Morning
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I don’t know of any other trails where the prairie dogs let you get so close. Their colony straddles the trail about a quarter of a mile from the trailhead.
Two Prairie Dogs Exchange a Greeting
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An Old Cottonwood and the Front Range from the Trail
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Three Mullein Plants
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Milkweed Pods
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The Pod Starts to Burst
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When a Milkweed Pod Bursts
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To call this plant a weed doesn’t do it justice. It is an important source of nectar for bees and a food source for some butterflies and other insects. The filament-like hairs that we call pappus, silk, or floss, propagate by blowing in the wind.
1 response so far ↓
1 Dan Hunter // Nov 2, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Your pictures are always lovely, David. I really enjoy each one of them.
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