Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Three Forks

When we're in the area we like to stay at the historic Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks. And if we have time we'll go for a walk in the nearby Missouri Headwaters State Park. And take photos, of course.

I noticed this single bright purple thistle by the path and when I got closer I found it had a resident goldenrod crab spider. They can change color but only between white and yellow, so it stood out against the purple.

crab spider on thistle

Shelley waited patiently while I took a bunch of photographs. She even wore a matching colored t-shirt :-)

crab spider on thistle

When we came back at the end of the hike, at first we couldn't find the spider, but it was just hiding behind.

crab spider on thistle

There were a few birds around, but I didn't get close to any of them.

Red-winged blackbird

swallow (?)

The prickly pear cactus was flowering. I'm always impressed by the showy flowers from a plant that often hides in the grass.

Prickly pear cactus flower

I'm not sure why some are pure yellow, and some have red. Different species? Different stages?

Prickly pear cactus flower

Another pretty flower (that I don't know the name of :-)

flower

And some backlit seeds that caught my eye.

seeds

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