Monday, April 12, 2010

Hall Ranch

Jo and I have been so busy with school and work that we have not had many opportunities to go out hiking together. We couldn't take it any longer, and decided to go on a short hike at Hall Ranch, a trailhead in Lyons which is only about 30 min. from our house. I had to be at work at 2:00, so we were tight on time, but we decided to do our best...





This is a very popular trailhead and it can be a muddy mess when there's a lot of rain or melting snow, but luckily, today, trail conditions were good, so we were ready to go.

First though, we had to take care of some business.  And, by business, I mean dumping a squashed squirrel we had picked up on the road on the way over out of the plastic bag it was being kept in and leaving it behing a bush a little ways off the trail.

Don't ask.  R.I.P, little squashed squirrel.


Hall Ranch is a rather arid environment, which is interesting because it's so close to the mountains. The trail goes way back, but since we didn't have much time we weren't able to make it all the way back yonder, to the top of this mesa. Oh, well, maybe another day.







Some random B&W shots of the trail. I am obsessed with dead branches- there is something about them that is just so beautiful to me. Especially when they are in B&W.



We see deer all the time around this area, but this is the first time we've been able to zoom in on them, seesing as we have the Canon now. We took advantage of the zoom lens to capture this youngin'. Jo made a good point: its ears are about as big as they're going to get, even though it has a lot of growing to do.


A few more shots of deer...


And a few more...




I really do wish we had had more time to explore this trail. Like most trails, this one is fairly busy at the trailhead and gets less crowded the farther back you go. We pass by this trailhead all the time, but we really do need to take more time to get to know it better. We did, however, have time to get to know this rock fairly well.




And there's always time for Jo to stop and observe some random detail he finds on the trail.

We came across these two ravens flying in tandem. So fun to watch. The swooped and dived together, and eventually drifted off into the distance.




Perhaps this is where they come home to at night?
Another thing I lovelovelove, besides dead branches, is exposed birds' nests. I like 'em in all shapes and sizes. Little itty bitty nests made of hair and feathers, and bigger ones made with twigs, like this one.







We came across a little stream along the way. Where the water wasn't flowing there was a thick layer of green algae.

And, a few more random shots. A jet and, surprise, surprise; more dead branches!




















This is about as far as we got before we had to turn back. At least we got the pretty view before having to turn around.

And these last shots are not as random as you might think. Jo and I are gearing up for wildflower season, and we needed to get an idea of how the Canon would perform with the close up shots. This little succulent was the perfect stand-in for the wildflowers that will follow. We are still figuring out the lens, but with a little practice we should be fine.


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