Grand Canyon: North Rim

A view from the Lodge dining room!

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon had always been my dream..so it's a good thing I started my trip there..as the government shutdown kept me from proceeding to the South Rim..Thus, there will be no blog, the sequel..Grand Canyon South Rim. Can't say it wasn't exciting to be a part of government incompetence..

Of course there were magnificent views, it's the Grand Canyon!

But I am always seeking ecosystems..After driving through the desert and reaching the higher elevations of North Rim, the Boreal and Ponderosa  forests were a cool surprise.. The Ponderosa Forest is found at an elevation of 8,000-7,200 ft, about the elevation of the Lodge..

A brave Ponderosa Pine..they
 can live to be 500 years old

I bark but don't bite..

Wildflowers thrive beneath the Ponderosa Pines..The visitor center listed the wildflowers in bloom in October, and I tried to find an example of each.. However, the visitor center listed only the generic names, so I have done my best to discover their  proper scientific names, but I disclaim  responsibility for strict accuracy :-) Please let me know if I have goofed.

Wooly Aster, Corethrogyne filagnifolia

Sky Rocket, Gilia Aggreegata, var. Arizonica

Quoth the Raven.."I am not a wildflower"

Lupinus argentus

Did I mention beautiful views?

Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja integra

Bitter Weed, Helenium amarum

Wildflower break time! 
Dark Eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis..
Western variation

Bitter Weed and Penstemon cyanocaulis,
Bluestem Beardtongue

Golden Rod..I am a complete failure at further ID..

That view again.. plants cling to life in the most awkward places..

A Yucca case in point..

The trunk of a living tree

Forest fire on the South Rim.

The highest elevation on the North Rim is at  Point Imperial..8, 803 ft. As you climb to this elevation..you pass through the Boreal Forest, 8,200-9,200 ft. The dominant trees in this forest are the Quaking Aspen and tall pines such as the Engleman Spruce, and Douglas fir..

Quaking Aspens recovering from a forest fire.

Colors of recovery.

Aspen trunks at dusk, at a lower elevation.

Views from Point Imperial

The day I left the North Rim, on my way I had hoped, to the South Rim, a Steller's Jay finally posed..in the parking lot. The forest Jays had been uncooperative. Steller's Jays and a Red Headed Woodpecker were life-birds on the North Rim.

The best birds are in the parking lot.. Cyanocitta stelleri

Venus over the Grand Canyon.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin~ John Muir Our National Parks

Near Pond

That really isn't it's name. This pond doesn't have one. It may be a sump for surrounding apartments, I always thought that's all it was. I drove by it for 30 yrs..literally. The trees hid most of it from view. I knew there was water there, but had never explored..until last summer...And so I have learned that natural beauty lurks right under your nose, in the darndest of places, where you would never expect..you just have to look..

The path around the pond, can you see the water in the distance?

Here was a miniature Eden..home to cattails instead of the invasive Phragmites.

Cattails, Greene's Rush (Juncus greeniei) and the glow of Golden hedge Hyssop (Gratiola auria), one of the few places this native flower survives on Long Island

Golden Hedge Hyssop (Gratiola aurea)

Dragonflies and Damselflies cavorted along the shore 

and soared over the water.

A Blue Dasher in no rush.

  A twelve spotted skimmer in Gratiola glow.

Atlantic Bluets enjoying a bonding experience.

                                             Calico Pennant hanging out.

Eastern Pondhawk on the shore

   

                            Widow Skimmer

There were many other native wildflowers!

Sickle Leaved Golden Aster (Chrysopsias falcata)

                                   

Hairy Bush Clover (Lespedeza hirta)

Northern Pearly Crescents enjoying a roll in the clover

The white flowers in the grass are Boneset

 Eupatorium hyssopifolium 

Pink Wild Bean (Strophosyles umbellata)

Some plants tho' beautiful, were not so native..Backyard pond-plant escapees

Sunset in a flower (Nymphaea pubescens)

Wildly invasive Water Hyacinth  (Eichornia crassipes)
I pulled these out, as soon as I had identified them.

And other denizens..

Delaware Skipper

A toad stool (sorry, no ID)

And a Fowler's toad.

So much life in a small space, with Ospreys and hawks often circling overhead.. I took the "Road not Taken" and this made all the difference..Go out, explore!

The Butterflies of Summer

I spent the summer chasing butterflies, in the garden and roadside wild spots.

There was an eruption of American Painted Ladies, I have never seen so many.

On roadside Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea maculosa, (non-native).

On Leadwort Plumbago in the garden.

Peek -a- Boo 

Another view (American Painted Lady),
on garden Cone Flower.

The ubiquitous Cabbage Butterfly.
Not any the less beautiful, for being common.
(On Monarda in the garden)

The gorgeous Swallowtails

Black Swallowtail
on roadside Japanese Honeysuckle,
Lonicera japonica, (non-native).

Diving in to garden Zinnia.

Tiger Swallowtail on garden Dahlia..

and  Joe Pye Weed..

On Zinnia..

Up and away.

Some Skippers..which often elude my ID patience..

Dreamy Dusky Wing on Coneflower.

Delaware Skipper on Invasive Japanese Stilt Grass,
(unfortunately in my garden).

Silver Spotted Skipper
on roadside Perennial Pea,  Lathyrus latifolius, (garden escapee).

Hairstreaks..those tiny blue darters of wonderful variety.

Gray Hairstreak on roadside Common Smartweed,
Polygonum hydropiper (native).

Dusky Blue Hairstreak on Garden Golden Rod.

And another tiny beauty

Little Copper on roadside Pokeweed,
 Phytoloca americana (native).

.

On roadside Early Goldenrod solidago juncea (native)

Another view

Alfalfa butterflies

On Red Clover Trifolium pratense,
European,  naturalized, in the garden.

On Leadwort Plumbago

Slurp

How many butterflies can dance on the head of a flower?
Northern Pearly Crescent on Small White Aster,
Symphotrichium racemosa (native, in the garden).

Last, but never least, everyone's favorite..

the Monarch..

Having now migrated and left us to the Autumn..

Mid-Summer on Butterfly Weed , Asclepias tuberosa, native, in the garden.

Ablaze on roadside Bull Thistle.
 Cirisum vulgare (non-native)

Summer is fleeting, now it has passed, the beauty of butterflies vanished too fast...