I made a whirlwind trip to Gunnison and Black Canyon OTG NP where I met up with TC last week. It's parched out there, but lupine are blooming around aspen groves ~ between 9500 - 10K. Balsamroot are generally past prime and columbine are strating above 10K. Just a few general observations. Smoke from the GSDNP fire was prevalent, with campfire whiffs and a sulphur film on the horizon. Fortunately, it drifted on afternoon winds the night that Cloudman and I went out for a moonshot.
I shot the moon and this is a 2-shot blend. I have multiple HDR series, but since I've never created an HDR image they'll languish on my hard drive for awhile.
One of the smallest residents of the park, a Brewer's Sparrow defending territory. Brewer's sparrow are a sage obligate species, meaning they are obligated to breed in sage. They have suffered steep declines from all forms of habitat fragmentation and are generally discussed with sage grouse declines. Fortunately, they were plentiful on the sage uplands in the park.
I've never been required to breed in sage, but patchouli scents figured prominently in my younger, wilder days.
This is a really fine series, Dave. Glad we made it out to the big gash. Your blend looks excellent, as does the entire series of BCNP shots. I love that first sage shot, too. It has a lot of spirit.
Aspens and lupine with a little sunburst is the winner to me. And that cute sparrow. #3 shows well the rugged walls and the depth of the canyon. An enjoyable series to view.
Discussion
18 repliesSage and aspen - Curecanti NWR
That's it. Comments welcome.
This is a really fine series, Dave. Glad we made it out to the big gash. Your blend looks excellent, as does the entire series of BCNP shots. I love that first sage shot, too. It has a lot of spirit.
Aspens and lupine with a little sunburst is the winner to me. And that cute sparrow. #3 shows well the rugged walls and the depth of the canyon. An enjoyable series to view.