Paintbrush Echo

 
I believe this is an Orange Paintbrush (Castilleja integra) identification from G.K. Guennel's Guide to Colorado Wildflowers. This was taken near the group picnic site at Castlewood Canyon State Park . I like how the background is a slightly different painterly echo of the foreground. Since I've got the painting connection I'll submit it into the Photo Friday Masterpiece theme.

"Painterly" is such a funny word. 

Butterfly Capture

 
My guess is a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae). They have slightly different coloration in the early spring and late fall -- more white and less black. Summer they have more of a yellowish cast and the black spots are darker. I wonder if this is due to different food supplies to the caterpillars or if like siamese cats, their color is temperature related. If I had to place bets, I would put my money on the latter.

These guys are really frenetic and hard to catch. When my boys saw these little whites chasing each other in aerobatic swoops and loops, they said, "I think the males and females are excited because they're going to have babies." Heh. 

Secret of the Second Recess

 
I could have gotten a better picture, but the bees seemed a little agitated and I thought it best not to get any closer.

This is my first beehive discovery. 

Overly Casual Rock Face

 
Castlewood Canyon doesn't allow climbers to put permanent fixtures into the rock. This wall was near a trio of climbers doing just that. The rock formations are made up of a wonderful but delicate natural concrete; it's a real shame that they would destroy it. The rogue climbers left as we meandered up.

See that lower hole? It's about ten feet from where they were climbing. 

Sheltered Blossoms

 
These flowers seem, I don't know, Victorian. They're either Wax Currant or Wild Gooseberry or some related bush (Ribes cereum, Ribes inerme). 

In the Weird File

 
I think these will be easier to look up after the blossoms have opened. The leaves looked a lot like styalized wings to me. Castlewood Canyon State Park had a plethora of weekend visitors and a few early spring flowers. 

Dusk Flowers

 
Okay, they're weeds and it's low light. I stepped it down a little further and liked the mood. 

Audience Member

 
Directly above the mantis egg cases, a cheerful watcher poised on chicken wire. 

Leaving Home

 
About five minutes previous, he was inside the egg case and now he's off to find a meal. 

Close up

 
The 12x lens, bit wobbily. One lens over another is my guess. 

So-o-o-o Tiny

 
That's my rough and cracked cuticle in the background -- a size reference and not an ad for my manicuring skills (interest). 

Emerging to Form

 
Now he's beginning to look like the cute widdle pweditor he is. 

Mantid Fetal Position

 
I came around to the other side. The little fella looks like a classic Roswell alien. 

Little Wiggle

 
I checked on the preying mantis egg case and saw a little wiggle. 

Extended Family Home

 
These little fellows were very industrious, perhaps because the birds and caterpillar eating wasps were also out in full force. 

Caterpillar Condo

 
This colony was actively constructing; many others I saw were hidden under the layers of silk. 

The Last Year Holds On

 
The scrub oak is budding in Roxbourough State Park, there are some tenacious leaves from last season. 

Drippies

 
I think it needs to be hovering around the freezing point to get this shape in icicles. Just a guess. 

Sun to Snow

 
A few days ago it was 80F (that's 26.7C) and then it dipped to 20F (-6.7C). We're headed back up to the 60's(16C) this week. Can't wait to see if my sakura will still bloom. 

Masculine Pink

 
I seem to find good subjects for themes weeks, nay, months after the deadline.

Anyhow, the big news today is that we got our LID, otherwise known as the "Log in Date" the official date that our adoption dossier was entered into the Chinese government database. It's very hard to wait. Since we're going through the waiting child program it should be much quicker than a standard match -- but I think it seems longer since we've had Li Mei's picture for ages. I've already sent out two care packages and putting together my third.

Kai and Rowan are helping me paint Little Mei's new dressers and end tables.

I need to make a quilt. 

Early Risers

 
These cute little flowers came up very early, very delicate. 

My Neighbor's Frills

 
My bulbs haven't bloomed yet, so I photographed hers. 

Mantis Egg Case

 
While Kai, Rowan and I were cleaning up the back yard in preparation for the spring we found two preying mantis egg cases attached to a watering hose (the kind that seeps water along its length). I propped the hose off the ground in the hopes they were still viable and hadn't been eaten by earwigs. A few weeks and we should see.

It would be great if so, I keep hearing that it's too cold for the large mantids to reproduce here. We have a very small version that does just fine, but they aren't as dramatic as those emerald green giants.

I think the egg cases look a lot as if they're covered with reptile scales. 

Dwarf Lilac

 
I love how lilacs smell. One of the houses I grew up in had lilacs planted in the side yard. The smell of the lilacs, snails and a large climbing tree were my favorite things there.

In our yard, we now have three different lilacs planted. Most are fairly small dwarf species. This one is an early bloomer, already forming the buds that will soon be fist-sized, aromatic blooms. 

2006 Jumping Spider

 
Old hat, I know. But this is the first jumping spider pic with the 12x lens. Seems a little chromatic aberation-y.