Florissant Fossil Beds–Part 1

Between Colorado Springs in El Paso County and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in neighboring Teller County to the west, one doesn’t simply travel some 30 miles in distance but also some 36 million years in time, back to the late Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago), when the Florissant Valley was covered … Continue reading Florissant Fossil Beds–Part 1

A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican

It’s springtime in Colorado and the pelicans are returning to our landlocked state. When my husband and I first beheld a flock of large white birds on one of Colorado’s reservoirs many years ago, we mistook them for swans. As it turned out, they were pelicans. Always having associated these birds with coastal waters, we … Continue reading A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican

Nursery Notes

There is a tree cavity at Fountain Creek Regional Park just south of Colorado Springs which has served as raccoon nursery for a number of years and I never walk past it without taking a look. The Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor) is native only to the Americas and is usually nocturnal, except during the breeding … Continue reading Nursery Notes

Spring Arrives on the Front Range

How do we know it’s springtime along Colorado’s Front Range? How does anybody anywhere know it’s springtime? It’s because the dandelions are blooming, showing their bright and cheerful faces to the supraterranean world! 😊 I wonder if that’s true where you live, too. Because the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) has spread from its original home … Continue reading Spring Arrives on the Front Range

Earth Day 2024

On this day it is good to remind ourselves of how truly special a home planet we live on, how totally and thoroughly we are dependent on Mother Earth who daily showers us with myriad gifts. When I saw our first pasqueflowers of the season only this past week, with the buds and flowers emerging … Continue reading Earth Day 2024