#hireclmcdermid

I think this pudgy, winter-ready little friend might be Ochotona princeps, or American Pika. He or she is a little out of place, though. I think the elevation is high enough. At a guess, we were somewhere between 9,000 and 9,500 feet (2743.2 to 2895.6 meters), which would be the lower part of their range. But they are generally associated with rocky slopes above the tree line, where there are lots of the tufty grasses that they pile up to make hay (while the sun shines, of course!) for winter. So maybe he or she is just a misunderstood chipmunk or ground squirrel. He or she didn’t show us the tail, which would tell us definitively. Sure looks like a pika, though. #mammal #rodentsofinstagram #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #forestfloor #forest #woods #colorado #coloradophotography #parks #pika #pikachu #winteriscoming #mtevans #elevation #natures #naturecapture #nature_up_close #nature_seekers #nature_of_our_world #natgeoyourshot #natgeowild (at Echo Mountain) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3XWmPDl6Oh/?igshid=su4x3ulnhjyx

Seriously, now I can’t stop with the doors. This is part of the barn at Alderfer/ 3 Sisters park in Evergreen. The land was being ranched as far back as 1873 when James T. Hester built the first house and barn, which burned down. Parts of this building, and the adjacent ranch house, were built in 1894 by James Dollison. In 1945, E.J. Alderfer and his wife Arleta moved in to ranch Aberdeen Angus cattle and raise silver fox. The Alderfer family and the Spencer Wyant family eventually donated much of the land that makes up the park today. The warm late afternoon sunlight made the building glow, but I had to keep the shot tight, so as not to get run over by the Junior Mountain Biking Program, who had an obstacle course set up on the lawn. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #jeffcotrails #colorado #coloradophotography #neighborhoodaccess #parks #jeffcoopenspace #alderferthreesisters #thenature #ranch #barn #oldbuilding (at Alderfer/Three Sisters Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3CZf6BlEwY/?igshid=1wczw3t9jzdh2

Silene noctiflora or Night Flowering Catchfly, or so I assume by the evening hour. This was glowing in the gloaming. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #forestfloor #forest #woods #jeffcotrails #colorado #coloradophotography #neighborhoodaccess #parks #wildflowers #jeffcoopenspace #alderferthreesisters #evergreenmountain #thenature #wildflower (at Evergreen Mountain) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3CWFp5lCKU/?igshid=4av1197s53mh

I think this one is Helianthus petiolaris or Prairie Sunflower. Sunset last night at Highline Lake State Park. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilebiking #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #colorado #coloradophotography #parks #highlinestatepark #sunset @coparkswildlife #coparkswildlife (at Highline Lake State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2sakK9FDY5/?igshid=1p5x16lemswxy

Sunset at Highline Lake outside of Fruita, Colorado. #sunset #hireclmcdermid #colorfulcolorado #nature #lake #camping #getoutside #bike #mtb #seenwhilebiking (at Highline Lake State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2qJkPPlxUV/?igshid=jdi3fqjv103y

Another shot of my favorite Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa Pine). The bendy tree in the foreground is a trick of the lens. The tree in the background is an ancient survivor that somehow grew that way. You can see a large limb on the ground to the right that came off in our last big storm of winter, and changed the whole visual balance of the tree. Picture taken on 11 September. I tweaked the saturation and warmth a little bit to emphasize the late afternoon light. It seems to me that Instagram dials back the saturation a little bit when you post anyway, so I am trying to compensate a little bit. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #forestfloor #forest #woods #colorado #coloradophotography #neighborhoodaccess #parks #naturesbeauty #tree #treesofinstagram (at Evergreen, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2l90HLFMwB/?igshid=bk9ji8ii6ht1

Near the End of Summer. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #forestfloor #forest #woods #colorado #coloradophotography #neighborhoodaccess #parks #naturesbeauty #sunset #creek (at Evergreen, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2g5bbBFYNO/?igshid=1m9v5qi2n41do

Got a really cool new book called Grasses of Colorado, but it is going to take me a good long while to figure out how to use it. So instead of sitting on this picture until I can nail down the species, and then forgetting all about when I finally get the hang of the book, I thought I’d put it out there. Maybe someone out there on the Instasphere knows what it is. #hireclmcdermid #getoutside #seenwhilehiking #evergreencolorado #naturephotography #nature #coloradooutdoors #mountainsarecalling #traillife #trails #colorfulcolorado #explorenature #forestfloor #forest #woods #colorado #coloradophotography #neighborhoodaccess #parks #naturesbeauty #grass #grassesofinstagram #sunset (at Evergreen, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2efJJAFCye/?igshid=1l6emx0i3xkj8