Feet, not heat

I had planned to spend all morning on the mountain today until it got too hot, but I wore the wrong shoes so came down sooner than expected. Saw only one butterfly but lots of interesting flowers. I'll probably never get IDs on them all. Here's a cool katydid. I've had the Short-winged Katydid at CMO before but think this may be a different species. I believe my Lumix is capable of better insect shots, so it's probably just me that makes them so bad. But carrying my Canon up the mountain isn't an option anymore.

Last night Mac took these lightning shots here at the oasis. We ended up getting a little sprinkle.

My sister saw this Mottled Rock Rattlesnake on the mountain when she went up a few days ago. At first I thought her photo was too pink, but after doing a little research, I learned that this species of snake can be quite pink. Also they tend to adapt coloration to match the rocks. These rhyolite rocks are pinkish, so I guess that explains that.

Here's a distant Lillian's Eastern Meadowlark I photographed along Highway 118 (about 35 miles south of Alpine) the other day.