Al Larson Photography

Most of the birds have left my yard this fall. Once in a while a bird strays in and checks out the feeder. This morning this one showed up. It is a first-year Chipping Sparrow. Notice that the crown tends to be brown. Adult chippers have reddish crowns. The black eye-stripe and unmarked gray breast are good clues for identity.

About sunup this morning I was awakened by an elk bugle in the field. I looked out the window and there he was, a five-point bull grazing below. It’s not uncommon at this time of year to hear the “bugle” from the timber on the hill across the creek from the house. Mating time has arrived and the elk are in full “rut.” Elk are also on the move. Perhaps we’ll see a herd of them in the meadow soon.

I dug into my files for this one. In the Spring there are so many wild flowers in bloom that I can’t resist taking photos. Here is one of the many paintbrush species. I like the sunlight on the flower and the darker background of the shaded juniper. I love including a lichen-covered rock to help balance the picture. It adds a sort of wildness and antiquity to the scene.

Dragonflies have always fascinated me. However I’ve never bothered to learn the names of the many different species. I’ve photographed a few of them. About a week ago I attended a potluck luncheon in the outdoors. During the course of the meal this friendly critter (dragonfly) flew in. With my trusty camera always at the ready I squeezed off this photo. It didn’t seem to be interested in our food but posed long enough for the photographer.

Two zuchinni starts were planted in our garden this year. One produced normal-shaped fruit (long and slender). The other one yielded this plump, rounded, melon-shaped thing shown in the photo (about 12 inches long and 8 inches wide). What happened here?

It looks like I arrived just a little late for the treats. But I couldn’t resist taking a picture. I think this is almost as colorful as a vase of flowers.