Instead of heading west to the Rockies, we decided to check out Horseshoe Canyon Conservancy area for a little hike. Descending into the canyon, we did a tiny bit of elevation, and the landforms were wonderful. Recommended for an interesting short walk.

This is a pinesap - a rare cousin of the more common Indian Pipe.

SSL20507-spbbs-road | The Nature Conservancy in New York - Sam's Point: The Huckleberry Pickers bit.ly/huqla. See also wp.me/P2coIu-Ez. All photos © Location Scout R. Richard Hobbs - nyc.locationscout.us

foundationhoc.org/news/LakeJulia2011.html

Got to hike with good friends, my wonderful mother and my 22-month old son at the beautiful Falls Ridge Preserve in Ellett Valley, Virginia.

View my blog at tgaw.wordpress.com

The depth behind Nature Conservancy ad...conservation of good nature of humanity. Facing the truth vs. having fun? - www.maliwoods.com

A species of sulphur butterfly at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, part of the Nature Conservancy. Taken outside the town of Sierra Vista, located in southern Arizona.

Nachusa Grasslands near Rochelle, IL

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

Fall colors at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, part of the Nature Conservancy. Taken outside the town of Sierra Vista, located in southern Arizona.

Got to hike with good friends, my wonderful mother and my 22-month old son at the beautiful Falls Ridge Preserve in Ellett Valley, Virginia.

View my blog at tgaw.wordpress.com

The Pasque (or prairie smoke, prairie crocus, or cutleaf anemone)

I found a photo of a Pasque flower on the website for Altamont Prairie, a site managed by the Nature Conservancy. I've been there before, so I thought I'd take a drive out and see if I could find some.

I walked for close to an hour in a very zig zag pattern, up hills, and through swampy parts, in every different terrain that I could find and I saw nothing. On the final hill on the way back to my car, I FINALLY found one clump of four flowers. They were a little droopy from today's rain, but nonetheless, they made for some great photos!

April 4, 2009

Cedar Hollow

Great blue heron, Percy Priest Lake, Nashville, TN

A return to see Fall colors at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, part of the Nature Conservancy. Taken outside the town of Sierra Vista, located in southern Arizona.

2016_4_23, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

Shot by Michael A. Mayo, in the Shem Creek Park, Mt. Pleasant S.C., with a Nikon D5100 and VR DX AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm Zoom Lens. Shem Creek in Mt. Pleasant South Carolina, provides a feeding haven for pelicans who follow the shrimp boats into port.

Beautiful Black and White Butterfly

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

This fence separates a farm from the nature preserve. I have spent many hours removing abandoned barbed wire fences from preserves in this area.

SSL20519-spbbs-cooler | The Nature Conservancy in New York - Sam's Point: The Huckleberry Pickers bit.ly/huqla. See also wp.me/P2coIu-Ez. All photos © Location Scout R. Richard Hobbs - nyc.locationscout.us

Dia de los Muertos, Janos, Chihuahua,Mexico

Fall colors at Ramsey Canyon Preserve, part of the Nature Conservancy. Taken outside the town of Sierra Vista, located in southern Arizona.

Nature Conservancy Park, DC "Snowmageddon," Arlington, Va.

Took my 11 month old son by the Nature Conservancy's Falls Ridge.

View my blog at tgaw.wordpress.com

Photo taken from Red Canyon Ranch Nature Conservancy Preserve.

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

2016_4_26, kgronostajski@gmail.com, USA LBI NJ

Canada Geese on the autumn lake. (potomacstar, all rights reserved)

From the Pontotoc Ridge Nature Preserve 2013 butterfly census. While the fields were full of a variety of wildflowers, most specimens were feeding actively on the native purple coneflowers. Too bad they wouldn't pose nicely on only the prettiest blooms.