Amarillo By Mornin

new one for us and they looked like "bubbles" at 70 mph

June 27:  After a wonderful vacay in Kansas and Colorado, we spent last night in Amarillo.  Got up this morning and, knowing we have a long drive to Texarkana, thought "not wildflower stops today"!
But we'd barely left Amarillo when we saw some showy yellow flowers that stood tall for a few miles along Hwy  287.  Soooo, we found a little country road to pull onto and take some pix. 2 or 3 of these flowers might've made it into our backseat, though we have a totally different soil and they prob won't flourish like they were here.  The general rules of thumb that I see on some of the sites I follow, is no picking off private land, don't stop on side of road where it isn't safe, & don't take more than 20% of each kind you see --- you could be depleting a habitat for certain wildlife and pollinators.

iNaturalist identified them at Four Point Evening Primrose

love the brilliant yellow

While we were at it, we snapped some Common Sunflowers.  That's the one that is the state flower of Kansas.  It isn't the largest sunflower, but it has a larger center than most and leaves are large.  And it's native.

I don't know what I'm looking for yet, but since there a so many different varieties of sunflowers, one of the ways to distinguish is by looking at the back of them.

Love this scene of past, present, and future sunflowers

Sleepy Daisy was a first for me

closer shot of the Sleepy Daisy

We also saw a pretty good batch of  Spotted Horsemint Bee Balm.  Through most of the rest of the morning we pass this and the purple shades.  We didn't stop to get shots of the purple.

 But we did stop to stretch our legs and look at some metal flowers in Quanah, TX.

saw a couple of fat Common Spotted Whiptails chasing each other around

one had a mouth full of food and the other wanted it

picked up some Hot Air Balloon yard art for Lacey and me in Canon City, and some yard art
dinosaurs for James and Joseph in Quanah

We could rest assured that OBY plants were being looked after these past 2 weeks. Great nephew, James Goff, came over between rains and watered everything for us!

Ghost from nextdoor came over to say "hi"

James wanted to be sure the yard was clean for us, so he picked up sticks that the last storm had thrown around

Orange Day-Lily

We came home to several new blooms, thanks to James and a little rain!

Sharpsepal Beardstongue

Purple Coneflower

Catnip

And then the sweetest flower of all -- our great niece was born today!!  Abigail Julie Nash.  Parents, Will and Christena gave her Will's mom's name for her middle name.  Julie is my late sis.  Can't wait to meet beautiful Abigail Julie!



Until next time,

Uncle David and Aunt B

Monument Lake CO

Monument Plant

June 26, 2019:  Toward the end of our tour of Highway of Legends in southeastern CO, we came upon the high altitude Monument Lake.  It's a beautiful recreational lake with campsites, cabins, & water sports.  And, of course we found some wildflowers.

In 1937, the WPA built the resort and today it's owned by the City of Trinidad. Tho the WPA structures are no longer in use, charming examples can be seen around the lake.  There used to be a hatchery and zoo there.  Today the lake is stocked with brown and rainbow trout, kokanee salmon, and splake. 

The lake's name came from a rock formation that once stood at its center, 15 feet above water. The formation was said to represent 2 Indian chiefs, who were searching for water for their thirsty tribes.  They met there and embraced in peace.  Crying for the lack of water, a lake formed at their feet and a volcano erupted enclosing the 2 chiefs in the rock at the center of the lake.  Today only a small portion of the rock can be seen in the center of the lake.

I haven't found how the Monument Plant got its common name.  But it's found in the Rockies and is a tall plant, so perhaps that's why.  It isn't restricted to the Monument Lake area by any means.

I was kinda excited to see these Red Columbines planted outside the office along with the
Blue Columbines.  Both native to CO. 

Lush examples of Red Clover

 Probably my favorite find at this location was the Leatherflower, which is a Clematis.  One of the common names is Bluebill.

Eventually, I'll post some of David's photos of the actual lake.  It was pristine!

Cya down the road,

Chief and Flower Child

Farley Wildflower Overlook June 26, 2019

As we were trucking along enjoying the scenery on the Highway of Legends in CO, we suddenly came upon an abundant display of Western Blue Flag Irises!  Stunning to say the least.  We were entering the San Isabel National Forest.  We took a left off the hwy heading toward Farley Overlook.  Sooo happy we did that.  What a view!! 

John B. Farley, a WWII veteran an physician from Pueblo, was memorialized with this wildflower overlook due to all he did for the people of SW CO.

Western Blue Flag Iris

I've never seen such brilliant Dandelions

Western Wallflower

their petals will sometimes "change" color to attract various pollinators

a rare white Western Blue Flag

Pinewood Geranium

Wonderful stop!