With the exception of various insects and one very loud flock of Canada geese passing overhead, that’s all I saw today at the Frank State Wildlife Area, a bit southeast of Fort Collins on the Cache la Poudre River trail. And I don’t have a photo of either. The spider was a spindly thing the color of a liver spot; the hawk was far away. (I actually saw the spider a second time, on the way back. It had moved just slightly on the trail. Perhaps it wasn’t feeling well.)

Concrete is not what I think of as a trail, but this little section drew a lot of cyclists and walkers today, when the temperature was in the upper seventies. My dogs and I walked for about an hour. We didn’t cover much territory—less than 2 miles—but we were all thirsty and hot long before we got back to the car.

Frank S.W.A. is made up of recently reclaimed gravel pits, and parts of the area have been closed as recently as late 2015 for mining. I could hear traffic noise from a nearby two-lane highway the whole way—except for moments when the wind picked up. I’m still looking for a place to go out here on the plains near Loveland that doesn’t feature lots of traffic noise, or a view of houses. It was a nice walk, though, and will be much nicer when the trees leaf out. These are iPhone photos, rendered a bit shakier than usual due to the wind.