Visitor

This juvenile Red-Tail Hawk sat in the tree right outside my window for about 4 hours, occasionally joined by one of the parents. It was so great to be only a few feet away from them! Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 6.10.15.

Pink!

Flowers near the Cannon River in the Cowling Arboretum, Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 6.10.15.

Prairie

Flowers in the restored prairies of the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum, Northfield, MN. Taken 6.10.15.

#feelthebern

The overflow crowd at a town hall meeting given by Bernie Sanders, one of the Presidential candidates running in the Democratic primaries. Having originally planned for 200 people, they moved venues, and managed to squeeze 3700 people inside to hear him speak. The rest of us were left outside, listening on loudspeakers. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Taken 3.31.15.

Cannon

The Cannon River, Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.30.15.

Lights, Camera...

Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Smoke and Lights

I also like the pattern of smoke behind the fireworks themselves. Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Purple Haze

Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Coloured Rain

Remember what I said about fireworks raining down on us? Most of the big explosions ended up being directly overhead. Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Smoking guns...

The clouds of smoke make an interesting counterpoint to the bright lights. Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

I see a world on fire...

Possibly my favourite shot of the night. Incidentally, we were watching from the Hill of Three Oaks, rather than from the concert itself, and were far enough away from the ignition site that security didn't make us move. However, the wind was stronger than they planned for. We've decided we've been doing spring concert wrong all these years, as we'd never gotten hit by bits of firework raining down before. Luckily none of the ones that hit us were still on fire, all though several that landed nearby were. Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Let the show begin!

The start of the fireworks- be forewarned, there will be lots of fireworks pictures forthcoming. Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Bugs....

Waiting for fireworks to start. Look at all the bugs! Northfield, Minnesota. Taken 5.23.15.

Spring Concert

Spring Concert, a Carleton tradition where the whole campus spends a day outside listening to music. It concludes with a fireworks show! Northfield, MN. Taken 5.23.15.

Blossoms

There's this beautiful tree outside one of the dorms. Carleton College, Northfield, MN. Taken 5.13.15.

I spy...

My ecology partner and I saw this Barred Owl while we were out looking for our experimental subjects. Apparently they roost in that area. Carleton College Arboretum. Taken 5.11.15.

Storm Clouds

Scoville and Davis halls on a stormy day at Carleton. Taken 5.7.15.

Rockies

View from Dinosaur ridge, outside Denver Colorado. Taken 3.27.15.

Escalante

In Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, along Utah Route 12. Taken 3.26.15.

This is a day that will live in infamy as we got stuck in snow on top of a mountain, and spent several hours digging the car out using sticks (someone talked me out of bringing a shovel). For posterity, Hell's Backbone is an unpaved road that is unpassable in March by low-carriage vehicles, a fact that was not passed on to us by the friend who recommended it. Spectacular scenery, though, with a scary bridge that we didn't get to. The setback meant we were driving after dark on rural Utah roads. Not only did we not get to appreciate the scenery, but it was also somewhat hazardous, as the roads are somewhat narrow and very twisty. We burned a significant amount of rubber avoiding hitting a herd of cows on a bridge at one point- open range for the win!

Red

Driving through the Red Canyon in Utah. It's very similar to the neighbouring Bryce Canyon. Taken 3.26.15.

Virgin

The Virgin River again. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Fording

A group of trail riders fording the river. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Bridge

One of the bridges over the Virgin River. The  sunlight was catching all the new leaves, and it was gorgeous. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Drama

From the names to the scenery itself, Zion definitely has a flair for the dramatic. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Pools

An Emerald Pool. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Rainbow

The base of one of the small waterfalls near the Emerald Pools. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Flowers

One of my favourite things about spring is all the wild flowers everywhere. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Spring Green

Looking down-canyon. The dramatic shadows gave my camera a somewhat difficult time. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Angel's Landing

Angel's Landing, and the Virgin River. The people who named things in Zion had a real flair for it, with names like Altar of the Virgin, Court of the Patriarchs, and the Watchmen. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.

Walls

The canyon wall is striped here, too. Zion National Park, Utah. Taken 3.26.15.