Doomed Dusting

Sunday morning dawned cold, with a fresh dusting of 4 inches of dry, light snow. It wasn't long for solid form though, as quickly as the clouds receded the sun made fast work of anything that had landed on pavement or solid exposed surfaces. The bit that landed on the rock formations above the South Mesa Trail complex outside Boulder sure was nice while it lasted.

As I crossed South Boulder Creek I heard what is fast becoming a familiar sound. It was coming from the area of a cavity where the flooded creek erodes the base of a large tree. The source is just left of dead center on the picture above. Here it is with a bit more contrast and a tighter crop.

Another Brown Creeper. It just goes to show that once your mind gets attuned to a specific set of stimuli you are more responsive to it. I still couldn't describe exactly what makes the Brown Creeper's higher pitched, slightly staccato chirp distinct, but I keyed in on it over the many calling Chickadees and the sound of the creek flowing below me. Here it is again, contrasting nicely against the lichen decorated boulder.

The creek, tree and rock themselves may make a nice study of the forces of nature in the future, but that will be another day. Instead here is another shot of our friend, this time after working up to the upper side of the twisted trunk.

...and such is the state of the human condition, that after several sightings in a week I am craving variety once again, so I may be off to the Ponderosa Pines in the foreground of the first picture next, in search of things that go hoot in the night!