Red Floral Verbena

I was looking through some photos that I took this past summer and this vibrant scarlet flower jumped out at me. Sometimes it is just plain hard to let go of summer's beautiful color and bounty. So to hold on just a little bit longer to the warm glow of summer past and carry it with us into the slumbering winter months I share with you my way of seeing a brilliant red verbena. Enjoy!

Red Verbena
A bright warm red verbena stands out in a summer garden in Colorado.
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Thank you Bonnie for correctly identifying the flower as a verbena!

Etsy JulieMagersSoulen

Botanical Nature Abstract - Aqua Spray

As I gaze at the natural view of autumn grass I am inspired by the beauty and invent a playful landscape. In the magical world of imagination a tuft of grass is transformed into a fountain spraying aqua blue water reminding me of the jets of water skyrocketing at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Daydreaming can be great fun.

Aqua Spray
A tuft of grass bursts into a fountain of aqua color.
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Etsy JulieMagersSoulen

Botanical Abstract - Midnight Sparkle

The moon turns the sky a cobalt blue as the stars wink above. Below delicate filaments catch tiny jeweled drops in the midnight air as if to catch the stars themselves and bring them to earth. The fluffy seed turns color and looks like a fireworks of frozen evening colors. Time passes slowly if you can catch a star.

Midnight Sparkle
A fluffy seed is transformed into sparkling midnight fireworks in blue, green, aqua and lavender.
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Etsy JulieMagersSoulen

Elk Meadow

This time of year in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, you might hear a high pitched whistle coming from the alpine meadows. It is the sound of a bull elk calling to claim his harem and challenge other bulls. The sound makes me think of autumn campfires and coyote cries taking me to another era in time, one long long ago. My spirit craves this and I find myself wandering with the herd keeping watch and feeling alive. Sights sounds smells mingle in the primal musk of procreation and life. Nature continues.

Elk Meadow
A bull elk is found walking through an alpine meadow. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Elk Flower
A bull elk is grazing on purple flowers in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Elk Herd Resting
An elk herd is resting in a high alpine summer meadow with snow patched mountains all around. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Etsy JulieMagersSoulen

The Grass is Always Greener

The ranch is resting. The last two summers the climate has been generous with abundant rain. The number of cattle has been reduced to allow the land to heal and replenish itself. The high mountain valley is getting greener and the grasses are reseeding, reducing the noxious weeds that like to take over in an overgrazed pasture. The old cattle trail scars are disappearing from the hillsides and are being replaced with trails of prairie flowers. A few horses are lucky enough to be able to reach the yellow flowers between the rails of a fence. And the golden seed heads of tall prairie grass rustle and sway in the sweet breeze of a Rocky Mountain dawn.

Sweeter Grass
A dark horse finds the grass greener on the other side of the fence. Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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Golden Grass
A western fence transects the amber grass heads in the early morning golden light as they gently sway in the breeze. Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Yellow Sweet Peas

The breeze gently stirs the fragrant wild bouquet of yellow pea creating the sound of sheets stirring in the night. I stoop to gather in the subtle perfume and feel the soft blue green leaves tickle my nose. A sudden urge envelopes me to simply lie down on the covered hillside and sink beneath the green blanket of blossoms. A lazy bee impossibly hovers nearby and adds his own splash of yellow to the melee. The moment continues and is forever part of me.

Sweet Peas
Wild yellow sweet peas, a common wildflower that grows on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, is found growing in a lush profusion of blue green leaves. This plant also goes by the names; Yellow Pea, False Lupine, and Buck Bean.
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Verdant Spring

It has been a long winter in the Colorado Rockies. But the earth is awakening slowly. Tiny snow drop flowers the size of a baby pea are usually the first to emerge from the blanket of pine needles. Along the dirt road I see tough little dandelions with their buttery yellow flowers. Unlike a suburban home owner I welcome the cheery little blossoms that pop up where ever a cow has munched and walked. This bright little succulent with its chartreuse colored flowers was the only bit of color along a stretch of road on a morning walk a few days ago. I do not know what it is called but the brilliant bright color stood out as a harbinger of spring in the mostly dull brown landscape. So I decided to call it "Verdant Spring". Has she finally arrived in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado?

Apparently not. I woke up this morning to almost a foot of heavy wet spring snow. The grape hyacinths of a couple days ago are totally covered. But the snow will be melted in a few days, and they will again poke up their royal blue blossoms. Cheers!

Verdant Spring
A macro photo of an early spring succulent with exotic looking yellow green flowers is one of the first plants to emerge in the northern Colorado Rockies.
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Here is a look at the entire plant. Does anyone know what this is?

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Enchanted Forest - Friday Features

It rained all night, a rare event in the semi-arid American West. It put me to sleep and was still drizzling when I awoke. Although the forest was damp and gloomy, it was also enchanting with mist and fog swirling through the trees as if inviting unseen creatures to briefly appear among the tall trunks. It inspired this woodland collection of charming items. Be sure to click on the item for more information or the artist's name to visit their shop. Enjoy!

Les Racines numero 2
by Marco La Grenouille
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Carved jasper leaf necklace
by jbEbert
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The Colliegette-Green Leaves
by Cecil and Co
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Gentle One
by Karen Casey Smith
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The Alaskan Warmer
by Ozetta
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Raindrops are Falling

It was a gentle walk along the beginnings of the Colorado River. Dad was with us and at 70 was not up for climbing a mountain, but he was beaming from ear to ear to be in the mountains. We stopped often, looking at a small flower, commenting on the clear mountain water in the small stream that would turn into a mighty river. The clouds rolled in just as we reached a beaver pond. The mound of branches in the middle of the pond looked fresh and evidence surrounded us of this little animal's industriousness. Then it happened. Gentle drops began to fall. They left their beautiful mark on the still water and then disappeared. It was a moment I will always cherish.

Summer Rain
A summer walk along the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park started out warm and sunny. A small isolated rain shower started at the same time we reached a beaver pond giving me this photographic opportunity.
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Sunday Morning Gallery - For the Love of Trees

I live in a world surrounded by the beauty and peaceful nature of trees. I see them first thing in the soft blue morning light after a fresh snow. I see them outside my antique window, the only one that occasionally gets frosty. I see them on a misty spring walk with the forest floor a rare emerald green. I see them in the evening after a thunderstorm has beaten and tossed them about only to see them still standing tall even in their death. And I see them peeking through wisps of fog as the whispers flow up hill and around their mighty trunks like a cat brushing a leg. To live in a world of trees is to find the heartbeat of nature and hold it close as a lover until your heart and theirs beat together.