Enjoying this Summer Solstice

[tamrock]

Well today was the longest day of the year and now it's all down hill from here I guess?. At 4:00 pm the weather was perfect enough for me to take a bike ride to the next town following the trails along the creek. I road around for 4 hours and got home as the sun was setting over a wheat field behind where I live and got home where no one missed me, except the dogs. It was a pleasant day as we got some relief form the last couple days of hot 90 degree temperatures.

 

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[Old Dude]

If I could see sights like those, I would be spending time on my bike like I did as a young boy. Those are all beautiful. Do you know what the large blue, black and white bird is? Not sure I have seen one of those. The sunset pic makes me smile most!

 

[tamrock]

If I could see sights like those, I would be spending time on my bike like I did as a young boy. Those are all beautiful. Do you know what the large blue, black and white bird is? Not sure I have seen one of those. The sunset pic makes me smile most!

Those are Magpie's OD. Kind of a crow I guess. They rarely come in the developed areas around here, but will hang around anywhere away from all the traffic and busy town. In the mountains they're all over and have no preference where to hang out. In town or out in the sticks they're everywhere. All this trail system travels throughout a lot of developed areas all around, so when I take a pictures it appears I'm in a vast undeveloped country. It's all little beltways and open space that the counties and towns of the front range chose to set aside 25 years ago back when it was either open plains or agg land. The Governor was on TV a couple weeks ago to celebrate the opening of a trail link that goes towards the foothills west of Boulder and the overall plan is a link that will go all the way to the Rocky Mountain National Park. In the future they plan a whole system of bike & hike paths that will extend along the front range from the Wyoming border to the New Mexico border. I do ride that bike like a kid and take it with me on the road also, as I find it so relaxing. It's a great way to get around where a big vehicle can't go and look for a lot of photo op's. Nice and quiet so not to spook the wildlife or miss anything going as a slower pace.

 

[old digger]

You got some really nice pictures there Grant!

 

[Old Dude]

Looks a lot like the path we have here that runs along the river. Somehow the natural gas industry acquired rights for their line to run along this path. I am sure it is all politically connected, but was made available " so the public can enjoy the outdoors ". I am thinking taxpayer dollars do the upkeep and the gas company has easy access in case of maintenance issues

 

[tamrock]

Well the heat is back this day, so I won't be going out doing any bike ride this day. Yesterday was just a very nice one day of relief from the heat. It started with a complete overcast of clouds that did break up til later in the day and stayed within the 70s the whole day with a steady breeze.

 

[BosnMate]

There used to be thousands of magpies in Eastern Oregon. I reckon West Nile virus got them all, I didn't see a single one in Oregon, and I only saw one in Red Lodge.

 

[kcm]

We have magpies here on occasion, but ours are only black and white, and just a tad smaller than the large crows. Magpies (here) are only slightly more common than ravens.