Crops & Clips: Flashback to May, 2018

 As I do each month, I enjoyed looking back over my archived photos, taken three years previously, to remember how things were then and maybe get some idea of what to expect this year. As usual, I searched for images which reflected favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies and clouds, reflections, flowers and fences, as well as scenes which speak for themselves. 

This was our final stay in our Illinois condo. It had served as our second home for eleven years, but keeping two residences was getting to be a chore. We vacated it late in May and closed the sale remotely during the next month. 

Early May is the height of songbird migration in NE Illinois, providing lots of color in the May photo archives. The first entry was a Baltimore Oriole:

Yellow Warbler:

Red-headed Woodpecker:

Rose-breasted Grosbeak:

Eastern Bluebird:

Common Yellowthroat:

Tree Swallow:

Less colorful but nonetheless intriguing, a Great Horned Owl:

A few years earlier, within walking distance of our condo, we had discovered the first nesting Lark Sparrows in the county. To be honest, MaryLou spotted them and noted that they were unusual. 

When I looked at them through the binoculars I  recognized their strikingly bold face patterns. Lark Sparrows were back again this spring:

They can be difficult to see out on the dry prairie:

In the same field were Savannah Sparrows...

...and the smaller Grasshopper Sparrows:

A pair of House Sparrows snuggled on a fencepost:

Bobolink:

Also in the prairie, a Killdeer guarded two chicks:

Along the woodland path, Trout Lilies bloomed:

Wake Robin flowers were opening:

Blue Violets are the Illinois State Flowers:

Our daughter's family had gained two new pups within two weeks, a black Standard Poodle (Casador) and another Tibetan Mastiff (Moncada) to join Agramonte:

Agramonte greets the newest member of the pack:

The last of our furniture was towed away:

Sunset over neighborhood Jones Meadow Park:

On final approach to the Fort Lauderdale airport, we could find our house and familiar landmarks (click to enlarge):

We ended the month in Florida. A back yard highlight was a Tricolored Heron:

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Linking to:

Garden Affair

Fences Around the World

Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Crops & Clips: Flashback to peripatetic June, 2016

Three years ago we enjoyed a very active June, starting out at our home in south Florida followed by flights to Illinois and then Colorado, and a motor trip across the northwestern US through Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and back to Illinois before flying home. 

During the following weeks I processed more than 700 photos out of over 2000 which accumulated during the trips, and am now selecting some which reflect favorite memes: critters (especially birds), skies and landscapes, reflections, fences, and scenes which speak for themselves. 

During our first week in Illinois we visited the prairies of Nelson Lake/Dick Young preserve and saw a good variety of recently arrived breeding birds, including...

Bobolinks:

  



Dickcissels:





Red-winged Blackbird:



Common Yellowthroat:



American Goldfinches:



MaryLou and I celebrated our 56th Wedding Anniversary at YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado, hosting all of our descendants-- three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, spouses and MaryLou's brother:



Because of a mix-up with the reservations we were assigned a cozy cabin, but it was a long walk away from the rest of our party who were clustered together. This actually suited us just fine, as our sleeping and waking patterns did not match those of the young crowd.



Our nearest neighbors were Green-tailed Towhees...



...Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, and...



...Violet-green Swallows:



Along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountains National Park we saw a Hoary Marmot:



Following our 5 nights in the Colorado Rockies, we joined our daughter's family for a long drive in a rented SUV. We winded our way along the Needles Highway in the Black Hills of South Dakota, passing through numerous tunnels:



The Needles, a magnificent rock formation:



MaryLou and I posed at The Needle's Eye:



As we emerged from the last tunnel, a distant view of Mount Rushmore opened up in front of us:



At Mount Rushmore National Monument, we were awed by the spectacular carvings of four former Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln:



We stayed in Blue Bell, South Dakota, in Custer State Park, where we occupied adjacent cabins on the Wildlife Loop road:



View from Wildlife Loop just after sunset:



Highlights of the drive along Wildlife Loop included American Bison..



...a Whitetail Deer fawn...



...and a Pronghorn Antelope:



From there we traveled into southwestern South Dakota and spent two nights at Circle View Family Ranch in Badlands National Park. Our accommodations were primitive, but the scenery, wildlife and great breakfasts were totally enjoyable. Our lodging was a refurbished ranch-hand shack, the Tree House Cabin:



Our daughter's family stayed next door in the more luxurious Cowboy Cabin, which even had utensils and a kitchen sink:



From the porch of our cabin we saw (among many species) Lark Sparrows...



...Lark Buntings...



...Blue Grosbeaks...



...and Western Meadowlarks:



Driving through the Park, the views were fantastic. 







A Bighorn ram grazed next to the road:



I must stop writing somewhere as it is impossible for me to do justice to the beauty we saw this month. In Florida it began, appropriately, with a "Mirrored" (anti-crepuscular or false) sunrise on the western horizon opposite the sun, on June 1...



... and ended with us back in northeastern Illinois, with a robin on a fence...



...and a walk in the short-grass prairie path at Nelson Lake (oil rendering, click to enlarge):

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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