JUNE
UNBELIEVABLE - There was still snow on the ground and the pond wasn't thawed all the way on June 1st!!

Compare it to how in looked May 28, 2010 - we thought THAT year was odd!
There was even snow showing behind the pond mid-of June - this is unheard of....we're 'only' at 4,750'


The pond didn't even look very pretty when it finally did thaw, as it was covered in pine and fir pollen!
One of the first birds to visit us was a gorgeous Hermit Warbler
Another was a Western Tanager
And, if any of you can tell us which Empidonax flycatcher this is, we'd appreciate it! Email us by clicking here
Other pond visitors included some unwelcome Cowbirds - the females lay their eggs in other bird's nests - often of Warblers
We put a 'spy cam' up on the pond and it took this darling photo of the doe on the first day she brought her twin fawns in

JULY


But when we returned in July, after traveling for 3wks, the pond looked GREAT!
And look at the driftwood we found in Utah - we think it looks like a frog jumping! Click the image to see if you agree.

A BIG thrill for us was when we added a 52nd bird to our list of species using the pond - a Townsend's Solitare (click here to see photo2)
And, we're happy to report that we've finally gotten the native Seep Monkeyflowers coming up on their own!