Morning photo: Spring … really!

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

sdf

sdfg

Buttercups bloomed this week, the first wildflowers after a long winter.

FRISCO — After a few false starts, it appears that spring has truly sprung in the Colorado high country, though it shouldn’t surprise anyone if it snows once (or twice) more before all is said and done. But the past few days, we’ve experienced beneficial moistening rains and the Earth is responding in overdrive. Grass and other plants are growing almost visibly from day to day, the first few wildflowers have popped and streams are swelling in their banks. Even after many years living high in the mountains, the speed always surprises me a little. Our native plants, adapted to a short growing season, seem to know there’s no time to waste.

asdf

The sun, captured in a raindrop.

(more…)

Filed under: climate and weather, Colorado, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County snow and weather | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: Beautiful bugs!

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Insect pollinators in trouble

gf

A beetle searches for food on an American bistort.

FRISCO — I’ve been reporting on the decline of honeybee populations for a few years, but it’s not just bees that are in trouble. Due to a mix of pesticide impacts, habitat loss and disease, many other pollinating insects are also dwindling. In one of the most extensive surveys to date, biologists say there needs to be a concerted effort to understand the causes of the decline and to figure strategies to avert the worst impacts. There’s a lot at stake. Without insects, many plants would not be able to reproduce, and many important food crops would also be in trouble. If you look closely at the world of flowers, you’ll almost always find a bug.

The recent findings were published this week in a scientific journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The study was an international survey done by 40 scientists from 27 institutions involved in the UK’s Insect Pollinators Initiative, investigating the causes and consequences of pollinator decline. The study was coordinated by Dr. Adam Vanbergen from the UK’s Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

(more…)

Filed under: biodiversity, Colorado, Environment, Morning photo, photography | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning Photo: Blooming

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

A #FriFotos set

FRISCO — Some years, the first week of April brings the first bloom of wildflowers in the Colorado high country, but not this year. Much-needed snow fell all the way through March, and even though it’s starting to melt off now, it hasn’t quite warmed enough to coax those first few buds open. So for this week’s #FriFotos Twitter chat I had to reach back into the archives and pick out some of my favorite wildflowers and garden flowers. I’m looking forward to seeing more blooms from around the world. Join in by uploading your pics to Twitter via your favorite channel and giving them the #FriFotos hashtag, then sit back and enjoy the stream.

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, plants and flowers, seasons | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Flower power III

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Bob Berwyn

Seasons to come …

sasdf

Forget-me-not growing near the Meadow Creek trailhead.

FRISCO — Mixing it up a little bit with a few shots from the Summit Voice archives, and reminder that you don’t have to trek for miles into the backcountry to find exquisite beauty. All the flower images in this post were taken within 5 miles of our home in Frisco, and within a quarter mile of a major highway. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Morning photo: ‘Two’

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Symmetry in pairs

FRISCO —When #FriFotos founder @EpsteinTravels announced the theme for this week’s friendly Twitter chat, I was psyched. First of all, it’s #FriFotos second birthday, which is pretty darn cool. And even without looking, I knew that I had tons of images featuring two primary subjects, some of them artful and others just silly or whimsical. I’m not sure what the book says on photographing pairs, but in my eyes, focusing on two main objects often adds a pleasing symmetry to images.

So, Happy birthday, #FriFotos! Join the fun, fellow photographers. Just upload your shots, tag them with the #FriFotos hashtag and enjoy the show!

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, recreation, Summit County Colorado, wildlife | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: August calendar poll

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Summer days …

Mountain bluebell.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — August marks the peak of summer and the beginning of a long slide into autumn and, inevitably, winter. It’s not unusual to get a first dusting of snow on the very highest peaks late in the month; this year we had a couple of such dustings. But in the valleys, it’s high summer, with wildflowers in full bloom and warm breezes rustling the summer grass. Vote for your favorite August photo and help us pick the monthly image for the 2013 Summit Voice calendar.

(more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, seasons, Summit County Colorado, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Nature’s whimsy

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

In the fields …

Seed pod: Chaos or pattern?

SUMMIT COUNTY — Sometimes (always) nature makes me smile, with late August pink blooms, berries with alliterative names, fantastical seed pods that look almost alien and precocious mushrooms that seem to pop up almost at random. Here’s a few shots from recent morning dog walks around Dillon Reservoir. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Dillon Reservoir, Frisco, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Back in Colorado …

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Late summer

Midday light can be harsh, but in this case, the sun shining top-dpwn helped by backlighting the gills of this forest mushroom. I used an Instagram filter with this iPhone photo to enhance the colors.

SUMMIT COUNTY — The mushrooms are popping and generous August rains have helped spur a late surge of wildflowers in the area … meanwhile, haze from distant wildfires help filter and soften the light — all in all, good conditions for photography in the high country. (more…)

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Morning photo: Best of June

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Summer begins

SUMMIT COUNTY — It’s getting a little far into July to be posting a best of June photoblog, but sometimes time just slips on by …  And even though June was marked by news of drought and wildfires, it ended up being a lovely month here in the high country, at least judging by this quick ramble through the archives. Temperatures ran above average nearly the entire time, even hitting record levels a few times, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing at 9,000 feet — At least it really felt like summer.

If you like the images, be sure to visit our online photo galleries at Imagekind, where there’s a special Summit County set, and at RedBubble, where you can order prints, greeting cards and calendars with Summit Voice images.

 

Filed under: Colorado, Morning photo, photography, Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Colorado: The blooms are bursting just in time for Arapahoe Basin’s July 20 alpenglow dinner and wildflower hike

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Bob Berwyn

Colorado menu featured at A-Basin’s latest summer event

Alpenglow lights up Arapahoe Basin in mid-May. Photo by Bob Berwyn.

Chiming bells growing near the Continental Divide. Photo courtesy Arapahoe Basin.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Colorado’s growing season for wildflowers and produce may be short compared to other parts of the country, but it’s always sweet. Arapahoe Basin will highlight both this Friday (July 20) with the alpenglow dinner and wildflower hike at the Black Mountain Lodge.

Chef Chris Rybak is planning an all-Colorado menu for this event in the popular series, and there are still a few spots left. You can sign up online at A-Basin’s website.

Eating locally produced food is a great way to support Colorado ranchers and farmers, especially in a tough dry year like this, and it’s also makes sense environmentally by reducing the carbon footprint of the food you consume (think about trucking food all the way from California).

Chairlift rides up the mountain are between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. and the dinner starts with light hors d’eouvres and live entertainment. Chef Rybak will begin serving the Colorado-themed meal at 6 p.m. and you can work off some of the calories with a twilight hike back down the mountain to the base area starting at about 8 p.m. (more…)

Filed under: agriculture, Colorado, mushrooms and fungi, Summit County Colorado, wildflowers | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 5,588 other followers