Along Rookery Road

Rookery Road winds along the eastern half of Lake Martin.  Mostly consisting of rock gravel, it's a dusty and bumpy  ride.  At least it's wide enough to park without blocking others from passing. My husband and I made several trips along this road in our pursuit to seek out birds and other wildlife in the area.  

Portions of the swamp near the southern end of the road are literally covered in duckweed which gives it a bright green, slimy appearance.  The duckweed dissipates and water hyacinth dominates the swamp near the northern end of Rookery Road.  

On my right side (heading north) I viewed some tropical appearing plants (I don't recall the botanical name of these green fan-shaped plants), beautiful yellow wildflowers growing alongside the road, several turtles warming up on logs, a unique camp house, an old wood-framed house (I like old houses), cows in a pasture of yellow wildflowers (signs of spring), squirrels and a variety of birds.

Among the birds we viewed- Red-winged Blackbird, Pied-billed Grebe, Barred Owl, Killdeer, Yellow-rumped Warbler and White-throated Sparrow.  

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful, safe weekend!
Linked with Eileen for Saturday's Critters

Ordinary

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you're aware that my husband and I moved in October of this past year.  Since we live about eight miles from town, we're surrounded by country roads in all directions and I've yet to explore some of them.

A few weeks after moving, I took a short drive north to check things out.  As expected, there were the usual things one would see on a drive in the country- cows, pastures, ponds, cows, barns, hay rolls, cows...you get the picture ;).  Nothing fancy as far as fences, either- just ordinary barbed wire fences to keep the cows in.  

I attracted the interest of a couple of them- 

they probably wondered who the crazy woman with the camera is.  

Simple and ordinary, yet refreshing.  That's why I love the country side of life.  

Linked with Tex for Good Fences

More Critters in Colorado

My hubby and I saw some pretty amazing wildlife while we were in Colorado.

Here's a few more photos from our trip:

This little Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel appears to be hitching a ride...
possibly to the nearest squirrel feeder?
~

The Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel is often confused with a chipmunk,
but the squirrel is larger than a chipmunk and has no stripes on its head
~

Don't be surprised to see cows in the middle of the dirt/gravel roads-
we often saw this in Colorado!
~

Antelope on the Colorado plains
~

One of Ouray's "pet deer" that wanders freely through town
~

Mom and babies also in Ouray
~

Cute one!
~

A group of Mule Deer at the forest edge outside of Ouray
~

Herds of Elk were a common sight throughout Colorado
~

I'd never heard of a Yak, until I saw this one
~

More Yaks...a special breed on this ranch in Colorado
~

"Hands off my treat!"
~

Another common sight in Colorado are the Magpies...pretty birds.
I now wish I had taken more photos of them!
~

This was also the first time I had seen a Mountain Bluebird- what a pretty bird!
~

One of my favorite photos- this friendly dog visits the Jerky store every day-
he looks as though he is "placing his order"- "I'll take a sample of each, please".
~

Thank you for visiting!  I hope you enjoyed these Colorado critters!

Linked with Eileen, our wonderful hostess, at

Saturday's Critters