Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Cliff Dwellers







Our Sunday jaunt in search of the mouth of Nelson Creek lead to some cliffs above the Middle Fork of the Feather River. The moss-covered cliffs were dripping with snow melt and a variety of Stonecrops and mustard family flowers and provided precarious footing and difficult lighting. The top photo is a view from the top of the cliff of my daughter strolling along the gravel by the river. Next is a wilf spider I saw when I rejoined her after taking the remaining shots of flowers on my way up and down the cliff. A beautiful rock garden, I'll definitely return to this place as there are many other species about to bloom. One other feature that was fascinating but didn't photograph well was a huge nest of red ants. This pile of broken up pine needles was a good 3 feet in diamter and 2 feet high. It blended well with the surroundings, so if I hadn't been alert, I could have easily stepped into it. There were hundreds of ants milling around on the surface of the mound until I touched it with a stick. Then, instantly, there were thousands!

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