Robin

What do you do when you find a robin fledgling that has crash-landed in your yard (knowing that just hours beforehand, your cat ate his sibling)?! In this case I grabbed him, made a little nest in a bucket and hoisted the bucket up on the clothes line. Robins parents watched me the whole time and in the couple of days since then, they have remained at his side.

"The set-up"! By day Robin spends his time either in the bucket/nest (on the right) or in his make-shift pen, where he enjoys the sunshine and gets a chance to stretch his tiny wings and enormous legs.

Responding to loud chirping and panicked flapping of wings, Robin's mom is never far away and arrives (to the pen or the bucket) with a beak full of squirming snacks.

Robin took to his home-made nest enthusiastically. During the day I remove it from the bucket and put it in the pen with him... Here he is using for a little pre-flight practice!

Keeping an eye on the neighborhood

Marley and Smokey Joe.... together they monitor the neighborhood as well as any resident senior citizen!

Keeping an eye on the neighborhood.

Oriental Lily

Marley in the snow

I knew Marley was feeling the cold and it was time to go home when he was stopping every 10 feet to bite the snow out from between his toes... and now I have a defrosting dog leaving puddles all over the house!

First snow of the season

We got our first real snow for the season yesterday... and as you can see, its back to blue sky today and a perfect day to be hiking and taking pictures at nearby Chautauqua Park. Marley and I hit the trails first thing this morning... as did a couple of other bundled up photographers and their canine assistants.

Smokey Joe says "he..he...hee!"

Smokey Joe says "he he hee...watch this! What you are about to see has never been attempted by a cat!"

In an unusual turn of events, Marley has (for the small price of covering the cat with splashed milk in the process) relented and now allows Smokey Joe to share his milk and most days, a small portion of his meal too. Not really that unfair, given that every chance he gets, Marley will steal cat food - including that which may have gotten stuck to the cats fur during the course of the meal!

My model

The perfect model...sits and stays, and loves me even more for asking him to!

Another happy day playing in the park...

Heading to Aspen...

Indepence Pass

Independence Pass, the winding road into Aspen, was alive with color.

Aspens...

Aspen!

The view was worth the climb.

We stopped to see how far we'd come...

and for a little playtime...

Aspen Leaves.

Marley and I took a hike in the woods. Hunter Creek Trail to the top of Smuggler Mtn was a good 2 hours up hill.

A beautiful weekend in Aspen... so Marley and I made the most of it and headed for the hills. We hiked up from Maroon Lake to Crater Lake, taking in the gorgeous color and that earthy-leafy smell that I like so much. Marley made friends with every Japanese tourist along the way, happily posing for picture after picture with the girls.

Incredible color and perfect weather to boot!

Maroon Lake and the Maroon Bells (background).

The Maroon Bells, Aspen

Aspen leaves seem to catch the sunlight and hold it...

Aspen Fall Foliage

Maroon Lake, Aspen

Marley's bubble bath

A tub with bubbles, glass of wine, vanilla scented candle and nice hot water... Yes, I thought it was for me too...but sneaky Marley had his own plans!