mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2021-07-12 08:15 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2021-07-12 08:15 pm
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Matthews/Winters Park
It is super smokey here. Like, weird sunlight and can't-see-the-mountains-from-my-apartment smokey. Not nearly as bad as it was last summer, when Colorado set and then kept breaking wildfire records (but hey, it's early). Definitely sending good thoughts out to anyone closer to the active fires, which is... most of the western US right now.
But, terrible air quality warnings aside, we still decided to go on a short hike today. This time to another of the county open space parks: Matthews/Winters Park.
A sign at the park entrance. We did NOT see any snakes. I actually haven't seen any snakes or lizards this year. :/
A nice fluffy looking thistle flower.
The first section of the trail has a moderately steep incline, and it did wear me out pretty good. But I'm also a terrible hiking partner by some measures, because I get super sidetracked checking out flowers and bugs and birds, so I wind up moving slowly. Maybe that's why I keep failing to build up endurance, lol.
One little side path leads up to the Mount Vernon Cemetery, which is all that's left of the town of Mount Vernon, which died off after the mines in the area quit producing. There are supposed to be 6 graves in the fenced-off cemetery, though only two are marked.
Years ago when we first went, there were some additional wooden headstones and crosses, though those have since been removed. I'm not sure if they were an informal attempt to mark the other graves, or something like... a film project set.
The first headstone.
The second headstone.
There were lots of butterflies around, but none that wanted to stay still. I managed to get this one in flight! (I think maybe a frittilary?)
There were also swallowtails and mourning cloaks, which I love, but sadly didn't get pictures of.
And there were just monstrous quantities of grasshoppers, lol. That was what we initially assumed was making all the loud sounds just off the trail, but then I got closer to investigate, and...
Cicadas! Still no Brood X, but we've got a pretty good cicada showing this year. I still think they're adorable.
After the cemetery, the smaller loop trail heads downhill, so after that it's a super easy walk. I didn't stop getting distracted, though.
A yucca seed pod, and a green stink bug blending in marvelously.
There were also some caterpillar colonies that I couldn't quite get pictures of. They weren't tent caterpillars, but were just groups that had converged on individual leaves of plants. You could see the ones they'd already been on, which looked drained and were covered in caterpillar poo.
(I actually had a hell of a time getting my phone camera to focus on anything. I think it may actually be the smokey air - it doesn't seem to love that yellowish tint to the light, especially if anything in the attempted picture is yellow. Or it does weird color-correction like turning my hand pink with the cicada, lol.)
Also not pictured, because the picture wasn't super interesting: some june bugs. Also not pictured because I'm not sure anyone else would care to see it: an aphid farm! Another yucca pod had a colony of aphids being tended by ants. :)
More of that bright purple thistle, and another butterfly!
Super vibrant paintbrush.
Back toward the entrance to the park is a really pretty spot with creek access. Usually, it's occupied by people having picnics, or on play-dates with kids. Amazingly, there was no one there today! (Hooray for Monday afternoons.)
Very nice and peaceful.
There were a bunch of birds around the water, which was nice, too. Yellow warblers, towhees, hummingbirds, and some type of flycatcher, though I'm not sure what kind specifically.
Cy got to go wading, after having had such a long and exhausting hike. (It was one mile. But endurance isn't his sport, either.)
He did have a good roll in the grass.
Majestic.
And then on a fallen log, there was a really neat bug: an ichneumon wasp! They're a parasitic wasp that lays eggs in wood-boring insects.
Look at her! She's so cool!
She spent quite a while crawling around, presumably looking for whatever her preferred prey is.
Super long ovipositor. (Not a stinger.)
And apparently she found a good spot to lay some eggs!
But, terrible air quality warnings aside, we still decided to go on a short hike today. This time to another of the county open space parks: Matthews/Winters Park.
A sign at the park entrance. We did NOT see any snakes. I actually haven't seen any snakes or lizards this year. :/
A nice fluffy looking thistle flower.
The first section of the trail has a moderately steep incline, and it did wear me out pretty good. But I'm also a terrible hiking partner by some measures, because I get super sidetracked checking out flowers and bugs and birds, so I wind up moving slowly. Maybe that's why I keep failing to build up endurance, lol.
One little side path leads up to the Mount Vernon Cemetery, which is all that's left of the town of Mount Vernon, which died off after the mines in the area quit producing. There are supposed to be 6 graves in the fenced-off cemetery, though only two are marked.
Years ago when we first went, there were some additional wooden headstones and crosses, though those have since been removed. I'm not sure if they were an informal attempt to mark the other graves, or something like... a film project set.
The first headstone.
The second headstone.
There were lots of butterflies around, but none that wanted to stay still. I managed to get this one in flight! (I think maybe a frittilary?)
There were also swallowtails and mourning cloaks, which I love, but sadly didn't get pictures of.
And there were just monstrous quantities of grasshoppers, lol. That was what we initially assumed was making all the loud sounds just off the trail, but then I got closer to investigate, and...
Cicadas! Still no Brood X, but we've got a pretty good cicada showing this year. I still think they're adorable.
After the cemetery, the smaller loop trail heads downhill, so after that it's a super easy walk. I didn't stop getting distracted, though.
A yucca seed pod, and a green stink bug blending in marvelously.
There were also some caterpillar colonies that I couldn't quite get pictures of. They weren't tent caterpillars, but were just groups that had converged on individual leaves of plants. You could see the ones they'd already been on, which looked drained and were covered in caterpillar poo.
(I actually had a hell of a time getting my phone camera to focus on anything. I think it may actually be the smokey air - it doesn't seem to love that yellowish tint to the light, especially if anything in the attempted picture is yellow. Or it does weird color-correction like turning my hand pink with the cicada, lol.)
Also not pictured, because the picture wasn't super interesting: some june bugs. Also not pictured because I'm not sure anyone else would care to see it: an aphid farm! Another yucca pod had a colony of aphids being tended by ants. :)
More of that bright purple thistle, and another butterfly!
Super vibrant paintbrush.
Back toward the entrance to the park is a really pretty spot with creek access. Usually, it's occupied by people having picnics, or on play-dates with kids. Amazingly, there was no one there today! (Hooray for Monday afternoons.)
Very nice and peaceful.
There were a bunch of birds around the water, which was nice, too. Yellow warblers, towhees, hummingbirds, and some type of flycatcher, though I'm not sure what kind specifically.
Cy got to go wading, after having had such a long and exhausting hike. (It was one mile. But endurance isn't his sport, either.)
He did have a good roll in the grass.
Majestic.
And then on a fallen log, there was a really neat bug: an ichneumon wasp! They're a parasitic wasp that lays eggs in wood-boring insects.
Look at her! She's so cool!
She spent quite a while crawling around, presumably looking for whatever her preferred prey is.
Super long ovipositor. (Not a stinger.)
And apparently she found a good spot to lay some eggs!
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And I figured you'd appreciate the wasp! She was really neat.
And Cy was pretty happy with the day, lol.
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Biiiig stretch. All the leg!
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Love the pics, especially the flowers and butterflies. Pip loves the purple thistle flowers!
Cy rolling around is a hoot! I love watching our dogs act like weirdos. (Although, we have to watch out because sometimes they're rolling around in something dead or in poop, lol!)
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I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets sidetracked when out for a walk/hike!
Thank you! The thistle was gorgeous! A lot of times it seems we see it either right before or right after it's bloomed, so seeing so much of it was really nice.
Watching Cy roll around is hilarious. I should get a video, because he is all flailing legs, lol. Luckily he's never been the type to roll in poop or dead stuff (at least not on purpose).
In high school, a friend's dog rolled on a dead fish while we were out on a walk, and that was a horrible time trying to get her cleaned up, lol.
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I keep imagining these cicadas as "tame" even if that's probably not the case. I don't think I'd be brave enough to let one crawl into my hand, so pictures like these are a treat.
Wanna rub that doggo tummy lol <3 He looks so happy.
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This cicada flew away (almost smacking me in the face) shortly after I got the picture, haha. But I like them - I've pretty much always been the "ooh, weird bug. Let me pick it up!" type, so I'm happy to oblige with pics.
Yeeees. Cy would love a belly rub. He definitely had fun.