Horny Toads and Winged Docks

There is always something new to discover in the world of nature.
Last week, we saw this lovely flower for the first time.  It's a winged dock (Rumex venosus).  Wild-begonia is another name, although this plant is not related to the genus Begonia.
These blooms were covering a hill in the Cedars near our house.  They seem to love dry, sandy conditions.  If we had not ventured off of our familiar beaten path, we never would have seen them.
In the same vicinity,  we also saw yucca plants, almost ready to bloom.
We've seen a few of these guys before.  He's a desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), commonly known as a horny toad, although he is not a toad.  Isn't he cute? These creatures subsist on ants and other slow-moving insects.
**A blogger comment from Ryan O'Donnell at http://www.birdingisfun.com/ says the above is actually a  Greater Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi).  Since I'm not a biologist and he is, I think he's got it right!

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More Desert Bounty

Primrose.
Globemallow.
Phlox nestled in the arms of prickly pear cactus.
Serviceberry blooms.
Claret cup cactus buds will open soon.
Indian rice grass from last autumn remains to provide forage as the spring grasses mature.

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Best View

We lived in Salt Lake City for 6 years in the 90's, and I never tired of the mountain views.  

Last week, we spent several days there.  Steve, our daughter, and our new granddaughter pose in front of the Wasatch Mountains that loom to the east of the city.  They're trying out the baby's jogging stroller in a local park.  My daughter's two dogs enjoyed going along.
The Oquirrh Range runs along the west side of the valley. 
Of course, the mountains aren't the only attraction.  The best view in the Salt Lake valley, to my totally unbiased eyes, is of our little girls.   

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People Shy

Yesterday we went to see how our neighbor's calves are coming along.  Seven have been born so far. 
This one wasn't concerned about having company.  He didn't bother to get up.
This little lady blinked at us with her pretty, long-lashed eyes. 
This one was a little shy.
He hurried to stay close to Mom.  I guess he thought the people were too scary.

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Zion Subway

Our first adventure in Utah's Zion National Park was in 1992.  We began at Left Fork trailhead.
The trail descends into a canyon and continues alongside, sometimes in, the left fork of North Creek.  We hiked in June, when the weather was hot enough to make wading, even in the icy stream, comfortable. 
Our hiking guide book told us to look for dinosaur tracks, and we were pleased to find them on a tilted slab of gray mudstone, part of a fossilized lakebed from the Kayenta Formation.

Note the three toes (my daughter is pointing to the center toe, with her right hand in the main part of the track.
We walked over these slippery cascades.

Strangely enough, I can't find any photos of the Subway itself, so I'm sharing some from Zion National Park's website. 

 

The above photo may explain why the area is called "the Subway."  

The hike is about 6 miles round trip, best taken in warm weather to allow for comfortable wading.  (This area isn't as well known as the Zion Narrows hike along the Virgin River, but it is less crowded and has much unique beauty to offer.  I wish I could share the Narrows hike also, but I dropped my camera in the river on that one!)

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Calving Season

Our neighbor raises Black Angus cattle and today we went over to meet the first calves of 2010.
Since snow is on the ground and daytime highs are below freezing, the new little ones wear blankets for the first 2 weeks and, along with their mothers, are kept separated from the other cattle until they're strong enough to rejoin the herd.
Mama allows her one day old baby to be handled, but her concern shows.  After a brief separation, she smells the little one to make sure it's really her calf.
Isn't this a pretty little girl?  At 24 hours after birth, she weighs about 100 pounds, and will weigh over 1000 pounds as an adult cow.  A mature bull will weigh over 2000 pounds. 

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Ancient Bones

We were hiking in the vicinity of Vernal, Utah, a few years ago, exploring the canyon walls for petroglyphs, when we came across some scattered bones.

We gathered the skeletal remains to examine them.  Steve often stops to glance at cow or elk bones for a quick I.D., but this time, the shape of the hip and ankle sockets held his interest.  The bones appeared to be human.

Though the bones looked quite old, we called the police department to report them, just in case.  A reporter, two policemen, and an archeologist all showed up and we led them to the scene.  Everyone eventually concurred that they were Fremont Indian remains that must have washed down from a cliff crevice. (This culture not uncommonly buried their dead in crevices.)
The Ute tribe was notified, and they said they would gather the remains and hold a ceremony.  

The event captured the interest of the reporter, and both local newspapers ran stories about it.  (News was probably slow that week.  In fact, news is pretty much always slow in the Uintah Basin...)

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Joy to the New Year

Happy 2010 to everyone!
We spent the holidays in Salt Lake City, celebrating the joys of
family Christmas carols,
grandbaby's first gifts,
grandbaby-holding,

card and word game tournaments,
and ski tours.
Now we've returned from that bustling world to our quiet (maybe too quiet?) home in Utah's Uinta Basin.  We're just chilling today, literally and figuratively! (High of 15 F, low about negative 5.) 

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Grounded

From the looks of the trailer, we're grounded until the snow melts.
Boss is all bundled up in his winter coat and doesn't mind taking a vacation.
But he does wish that darn bird would get off his back!

With preparations for Christmas in full swing, I've had little time to post and almost no time to visit other blogs (a common problem right now, I'm sure), but I'll do my best to catch up later.
Meanwhile, happy holidays to all!

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