Brief Mountain visit August 25th

With each turn I navigated up the two lane mountain road the storm clouds appeared a darker shade of gray.  It was mid afternoon and cars were heading down in droves like buffalo before charging horses.   Was it just precaution or had the assault of rain already started in the higher reaches of these steep slopes.   By the time I reached the turnoff around mile 6 a drizzle had started.   I didn't hear thunder so set off down the road to the trailhead.  

 

butterfly (possible Bordered Patch species)

A butterfly danced about my shoulders then landed on the hard packed dirt road.  Its still figure would probably have disappeared into the landscape if I had turned for only a second.   I managed a few sketchy photos before losing sight of the delicately beautiful insect . 

The birds were unusually quiet in the area, their peeps barely escaping their hiding places in the thick grassy slope.   I suspected Lark Sparrows to be the inhabitants but they weren't budging from their haunts.   As I glanced at a nearby oak something seemed odd about the branchy cover.  A closer examination showed the cause of the stir, or lack of it, in this scenic area.   The Cooper's Hawk stayed put on his hunting perch waiting for an opportunity to feast.  

As I neared the trail head I heard the sound of a larger animal moving in the wash caught my attention, as a doe slowly walked into the open.  She allowed me to focus the large birding scope and capture her peaceful nature.   It is difficult for me to imagine anyone seeing such beauty in a scope to have any thoughts except peaceful coexistence.    We can only hope that one day there will have a massive migration toward kindness to all beings, regardless of species. 

Although rain fell it wasn't until I started on the trail that the thunder and lightning signaled the end to the hiking part of my journey.   As I turned back a Black-throated Warbler flew into a nearby oak, and I studied its behavior as it hopped about the branches. 




Mountain monsoon flash flood 8-19-12



I continued up the mountain hoping to make short stops along the way.   At my first stop at General Hitchcock campground I watched as the storm clouds rushed past the nearby hilltop with a speed and intensity of a grasslands wildfire during a windstorm.   I tried to go up further but the intensity of the downpour became scary, and I still had memories of vulnerability from riding the storm out last year on this same mountain.  This last pic shows flash flooding over the roadway with such power that it seemed at any moment a whole wall of water would come crashing across.  Thank you for appreciating the awesome power and beauty of our natural world.