Don's Blog Our Great Condo

We have been coming to a special stand alone condo in Estes Park for many years. It sits atop a ridge. Looking from our deck we see Longs Peak and Mount Meeker in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Looking over the ridge the other way we can see Lake Estes and the village of Estes Park.

But the most fun of being here is the wildlife. On the way back from a morning walk today there was an elk walking right toward Jan's silver car.

It was a nice size elk with a family of five.

Including a nice size young buck.

Flower for the Day Fremont Geranium 8-5-18

This Fremont Geranium has been plentiful along the trails for the last week. Geranium caespitosum is also called purple cluster geranium and piney woods geranium. Its a perennial and blooms for quite a long time.

Don's Blog Getting used to the altitude 7-31-18

It is taking longer than usual to acclimatize. It seems that there is nothing more valuable than oxygen. At least my dull headache is gone. 

The other day we had surprise guests. Two grandsons (Blake on the right and Adam in the middle) and a friend (Clay on the left)  had come up for the day from Denver. 

Blake starts at the University of Colorado Boulder in a few weeks and Adam goes to Denver East High School. Clay goes to Arapahoe High School. It was great to see them.

They had just climbed Twin Sisters Peak. They said it was so windy it was scary. We can see Twin Sisters on the left from our condo. Have not been up it since I was a kid.

Don's Blog Colorado

Welcome from beautiful Colorado where its almost cold -feels more like September. 

We are in Estes Park for awhile. The skies are clear today but we have had haze for several days allegedly from California wild fires. 

They have had weird weather this summer  - hotter and dryer than usual. 

Before we left home last week our morning glories bloomed about 6 weeks early.

The flatlands are still trying to get enough oxygen in so that we can think straight. It hasn't happened yet.

Flower for the Day Rattle Snake Master 7-25-18

Rattle snake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) has yucca shaped leaves and flowers in small balls. We are heading out west to where rattle snakes live but hopefully we will not have to use this plant.

Early American history reports that Indians chewed the root, blew it on their hands, and then handled rattlesnakes without concern. The root was more often used in bitter teas as an antidote venereal disease, snakebites, impotence, expelling worms, and to induce vomiting.

Flower for the Day Milkweed 7-24-18

I have a large stand of milkweed (Asclepius) in one of my meadow circles. The nectar of all milkweed plants provides food for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. The leaves of milkweed are the only food that caterpillars of monarch butterflies can eat. We've only seen a few monarchs this year. Later they come through in large numbers as they migrate south.

Flower for the Day Swallowtail Butterfly 7-24-18

Friends have identified the butterfly as a spicebush swallowtail. The upper surface of the hindwing has

an orange spot on the costal margin and the female has a sheen of bluish scales. One friend wanted to call

'her' George - that's ok with me.

Flower for the Day Zinnia 7-23-18

My zinnias grow better and last longer from seed. I usually start them in pots and transplant the plants to the garden. Then all they need is water. Their colors are pleasing.

I looked out the window and saw a huge butterfly on the zinnias. Can someone name it for me?

Flower for the Day Monarda 7-21-18

Monarda is in the mint family. It is also called bee balm, Oswego tea and bergamot.

I started with a few plants and now have 60 plus yards of monarda meadow.

I like it because it is messy - always in disarray.

And looks different at different times of its growth cycle.

Flower for the Day Trumpet Vine 7-19-18

My trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is blooming like mad. I have stopped savaging it every fall. 

It does tend to attach itself to my wood fence so that after all the leaves have fallen I dis-attach it from the wood.

It is wild but provides total privacy around the hot tub. 

Ours blooms apricot instead of the more common red.