Wildflowers at Coyote Ridge
Two years ago in June we went to Coyote Ridge to photograph the wildflowers. We were busy at the beginning of June so we never went, and by the time we thought of going it was likely too late. As it so happened, I went bike riding at Coyote Ridge last weekend and the wildflowers were still absolutely gorgeous, so Katie and I went with our cameras after work one day.
Considering it's July, we weren't sure if we would go out to take photos because the weather in July can be atrocious in the evenings. But with just a little bit of light rain and temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, it ended up being an absolutely gorgeous walk with fantastic cloudy-day lighting for our wildflower photography.




Common Sunflower
Lil' Baldies
These are actually Purple Prairie Clover flowers, but I think Lil' Baldies is a better name that suits them well.
Toadflax
I love the softness of yellow color in this Toadflax.
Wild Katie
Katie is taking a photo of the white dot in the middle of the field (which is a Prickly Poppy)
Young Buds
These are young Copper Mallows that haven't bloomed yet. I had help identifying this from a photo I took on the same hike two years ago.
Prickly Poppy
All of the Prickly Poppies were closed up because of the lack of sun. I managed to get a few open to see their gorgeous centers.
With the Snakes
We have to be very careful in this area in the summer because of the danger noodles (also known as rattle snakes). Luckily we didn't encounter any, despite walking right into their home.
Multicolored Greens
The different colors in the grass were incredible. Everything from brown-yellow to blue-green.
Conelower
There were lots of patches of cone flowers. These, too, should be called Lil' Baldies.
Small Rainbow
Because of the rain and the storm that passed near us, we got a small sliver of a rainbow.
Pointer Finger
Katie wasn't as excited to take photos of the blooming cactus since she lived in Arizona growing up, but I got a photo of a prickly pear cactus blooming. Bonus that the cactus looks like a left hand.
Golden Crab Spider
We found this Golden Crab Spider on a milk thistle flower, just waiting for something to land in the flower so it can eat it.
Munching Grass
I bought my telephoto lens with me, so on the way back I stopped to take some photos of the Prairie Dogs.