jessicafriedman180's Identifications

Information provided by

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AQCA2

Aquilegia caerulea James
Colorado blue columbine, Rocky Mountain columbine
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)
Synonyms: Aquilegia coerulea
USDA Symbol: AQCA2
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

The large, upright, blue and white flowers of this popular wildflower are long-spurred and rise above deeply cut, light-green foliage. This short-lived perennial grows 1-2 ft. tall.

Colorados state flower. Popular in cultivation, with several color phases and doubled flowers. Hybridization with other species has produced further cultivated variants. Phases in the wild with pale or white sepals are frequent. A species with blue sepals and white petal tips, but only 2-8 (5-20 cm) tall, is Alpine Blue Columbine (A. saximontana), whose blue spurs are hooked at the tip; it grows high in the Colorado mountains.

The genus name Aquilegia comes from the Latin aquila which means eagle and refers to the spurred petals that many believe resemble an eagles talons.

Information provided by

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Viewing/Features/Pages/ViewWildTurkey.aspx

here are five subspecies of wild turkeys in the United States, but the Merriam’s turkey is the most commonly found turkey in Colorado. These are considered Colorado’s “native” turkeys, having been kept by people as early as 500 A.D. These turkeys prefer Colorado’s ponderosa pine, scrub oak, and piñion-juniper forests, at elevations between 6,000 to 9,000 feet. The Merriam’s sports stunning coloration, with a mix of black with blue, bronze, and purple reflections. The distinguishing feature of the Merriam’s is its white rump.

The wild turkey is omnivorous. They’ll eat acorns, nuts, seeds, fruits, insects, buds, and even salamanders. They’ll scratch at the earth to uncover food during the day, and will roost in the trees at nighttime.

Spring breeding season is the prime time to go wild turkey watching. Male turkeys (called toms) will serenade potential mates with very loud and distinct gobbles. As if the very macho gobbling wasn’t enough, he fans out his tail, struts around the female, lowers his wings and drags the tips on the ground. These gobblers will mate with more than one female if given the chance.

Females lay 8-15 eggs hidden in a small depression in ground surrounded by vegetation. She incubates for 25-31 days. These chicks don’t stick around long. They leave the nest and begin feeding themselves shortly after hatching, but even though they generally fend for themselves, male chicks (or poults) stay with their mother through the fall, and female poults stay until the next spring.

So what are the differences between wild and domestic turkeys? Domestic turkeys can’t fly, whereas wild turkeys are very much built for speed. Wild turkeys are very sleek and alert, making it very difficult to hunt or watch them. The constant state of caution that wild turkeys are in makes them one of the most challenging game animals in the world. Domestic turkeys will gobble when just about anything else makes a noise, while wild turkeys will minimally vocalize to prevent attracting predators. The snoods (skin that hangs over the bill) is longer on domestic turkeys, and the neck skin is also heavier. All in all, domestic turkeys have been bred for a large amount of meat and a mild temperament, where wild turkeys have been subject to natural selection—evolving traits for speed, survival, sharper senses, and heightened awareness of their surroundings.

Information provided by

http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AQCA2

Aquilegia caerulea James
Colorado blue columbine, Rocky Mountain columbine
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family)
Synonyms: Aquilegia coerulea
USDA Symbol: AQCA2
USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

The large, upright, blue and white flowers of this popular wildflower are long-spurred and rise above deeply cut, light-green foliage. This short-lived perennial grows 1-2 ft. tall.

Colorados state flower. Popular in cultivation, with several color phases and doubled flowers. Hybridization with other species has produced further cultivated variants. Phases in the wild with pale or white sepals are frequent. A species with blue sepals and white petal tips, but only 2-8 (5-20 cm) tall, is Alpine Blue Columbine (A. saximontana), whose blue spurs are hooked at the tip; it grows high in the Colorado mountains.

The genus name Aquilegia comes from the Latin aquila which means eagle and refers to the spurred petals that many believe resemble an eagles talons.