Watching Them Slowly Disappear

I moved away from the Front Range of Colorado in 1972. At that time there was quite a bit of open space in between the cities and towns along the I-25 corridor. Periodically over the years since leaving I have been making trips to visit friends and relatives in Colorado and Wyoming. At every visit I have watched those open spaces slowly start to shrink and close. It's a lot like watching a group of frogs in a pot of water very slowly heating up on a stove. Most of the frogs don't realize the water is suddenly boiling before it is much too late. Some of the frogs do feel the heat and they jump out. Similarly and luckily some city and county governments along the Front Range had foresight and established open space and parks for the people and wildlife to enjoy. Sadly that is not the case for the Prairie dogs pictured here. This Prairie dog colony on the east side of Loveland, Colorado near Denver Ave and East First Street is about to disappear. A couple of years ago when I visited there was a big for sale sign up on the property. When I visited this time in early September there was a sold sign and grade stakes had been set showing that they were getting it ready for construction. These images are most likely going to be the last Prairie Dog images that I will ever take here. It is so sad to see them disappear. We are stewards of the land that God has given us and we need to be mindful how we care for it. I can only hope that the company that now owns this property does the right thing and traps and relocates these Prairie Dogs and doesn't just bulldoze them under.BTW the survival rate for relocated Praire Dogs isn't that great. God bless, chris All images were photographed from my rental car with a Canon 7DmkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens #TeamCanon

In the Shadow of the City

My favorite place to visit whenever I visit the Denver Colorado area is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Area. Many locals just refer to it as RMA. It is very convenient if you are flying into Denver as it is very close to the airport. The first thing I did when I flew in was to pick up my little rent a car and drive straight to the refuge. I spent two wonderful mornings photographing there. Photographing, Bison,Raccoons, Prairie Dogs, one of my favorites and some Mule Deer as well as some flowers and scenics. If you stop by the visitor center they have some amazing displays set up showing the history of the arsenal from days of farming through its days as a chemical munitions storage and disposal unit and how it is being transformed back to nature. It truly is a hidden gem of the Denver area. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D mkII and a Tamron 150-600mm lens at a variety of settings.

Last Day and RMA

October seventh was the last day of my trip to Colorado and Wyoming. I planned a an early afternoon flight out of DIA so that I could spend one last morning at Rocky Mountain Arsenal before my flight out. It's a pretty convenient location because the airport is only ten or fifteen minutes away when traffic is light. The arsenal is in Commerce City virtually in the shadow of Denver. You can see both the Rockies and the skyscrapers of Denver when you are driving around the refuge. On my flight out I had a western takeoff and I was seated on the south side of the plane so I got to see the Arsenal from the air. The roads are lined with cottonwoods and there are several good sized lakes. There are some good trails to hike and a plenty of subjects to photograph. You are required to stay in you car in the Bison area which is a pretty good idea if you have ever witnessed how fast they can move when they really want to. Hands down my favorite subjects are the Black Tailed Prairie Dogs. I had a great time photographing them as you can see I have plenty of images of them. They are a key species here providing food for predators as well as building homes for rabbits, snakes and burrowing owls. In addition to the Prairie Dogs I also photographed a Magpie on a Bison as well as a Mourning Dove, Meadowlark and a House Finch on some sunflowers. I saw quite a few deer both Mule Deer and Whitetail but I didn't seen any bucks like I did on my trip here a few years ago. I had an absolutely wonderful trip and I'm looking forward God willing to a trip back here in the future. On my drive home after my flight I was treated to a wonderful sunset as I drove up the Ridgewood Grade in Mendocino county where I call home. God bless and enjoy the images, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a variety of lenses.

Good bye Wyoming Hello Prairie Dogs

I paid my respects to the silhouetted cowboy and his dog as I left Wyoming at the Colorado border. I don't know who the artist is but it makes for a wonderful image early in the morning. This was day 13 of my trip and I was headed south on I25 to Loveland, Colorado and then on to Denver for my trip home in NorCal the following day. I was up way before the crack of dawn as is the norm for any kind of a photography expedition. My first major stop was to the Prairie Dog Colony on the east side of Loveland. Sadly this colony may not be there very much longer as the property is up for sale. Who knows what will become of them once the property is developed? I photographed some great behaviors of the eating and greeting. I even got an image of one barking out it's warning out to the rest of the colony. When you see one getting ready to bark you have to leave plenty of room at the top of the frame for them to leap up to. From there I stopped by for short visit to my brother and sister in laws and then I drove past my old house and photographed Barnes Ditch where I spent many a day fishing,swimming, tubing and ice skating in my youth. I'm sure that in this current day of lawsuits and safety none of that is allowed now. My final stop in Loveland was to visit my second Mom, Joanne Burke. Check out her artwork it is fantastic. I call her my second Mom because I was always over at her house when I was growing up. From there I drove with my friend Dan and his girlfriend Julie back to Denver where I got another chance to photograph Zack Julies dog. Dog images are a lot of fun to make especially when you have a great dog like Zack t work with. Such a handsome fellow! God's love and blessings to all, chrisAll images created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens. Settings and exposures varied.