Southwest Spring

Once again, time has flown by faster than I can keep track! Last time I posted, it was just after it had snowed. Today, we're in the 70's and bright and sunny. Supposed to change again soon, but in the meantime, it's time to share some spring photos, so you can see what blooms in high desert southwest gardens. I hope you enjoy them:-)

"Blossoming", Painted Lady Butterfly on plum tree blossoms.

"Behold"

"Blooming Butterfly" In all the time I spent photographing fruit tree blossoms in California, I never saw butterflies on them. It was warmer there than here, so they were definitely out. However, my theory is that they stayed away because of all the pestcides, which leads me to my next photo and lightbulb moment...

"Peachy", peach tree blossoms smell divine! Okay, that might sound like something I should have known since I stood in orchards with hundreds to thousands of trees. The whole air should have been perfumed, right? It was with the orange blossoms, but not the peach or nectarines. To be honest, the only thing I ever smelled was a chemical scent. Until I met this tree in someone's yard, I had no idea how delicious the scent was, and I was blown away.

"Sunny Side", can't ignore the daffodils!

"Sun Stars"

"A Graceful Nod"

"Plum Pretty"

I hope spring has been just as beautiful in your corner of the world!

Wednesday Wings

Time to share some recent winged wonders! Hummingbirds are gone for now, and I miss them. I still have photos of them to process, so you may see some photos soon. We have so many other birds to watch here, and it's been wonderful. Lots of photographic challenges, too:-)

A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) who was actually out in the middle of the road eating roadkill rabbit. There were a pair, and I think they were taking turns flying in and eating. I think they were eating it there because they didn't kill it, so perhaps didn't know how to carry it off the road (just a guess). Made for a cool sighting, though. Can't believe the way s/he was able to perch here!

This is a little Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus). We've put up thistle feeders for the first time ever, and have attracted lots of these little cuties. They're just about as fierce as the hummingbirds, though, always squabbling and fast movers. However, they really don't like leaving the thistle, so I can get pretty close with my camera.

A female White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) atop sagebrush.

From this summer, a Northern White Skipper (Heliopetes ericetorum).

Not a great shot, but this was taken through a window on a dark, rainy/snowy day. Believe s/he is a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) who landed in the tree for a breather.

Finally, this is the last butterfly that I photographed this year, a West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella). I was so surprised to spot her, because I hadn't known these beauties were in Utah, too. Maybe she followed us from Cali;-)

Southwest Splendor - Fall Foliage

When you think of autumn colors, you probably don't think of the high desert Southwest. However, we get some gorgeous fall foliage here! I love photographing the leaves as the sun shines through them. I also love that it gives me a chance to do more abstract photography, which is a definite change for me. Most of all, I just love fall, and the changing of the seasons:-) Hope you enjoy this little leaf journey.

P.S. The last photo is a visitor that we've had around the property recently - a truly awe-inspiring sight! The photo was taken through a window angled down through slats into the shade, but I think you'll get an idea of the beauty...

Taken at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was our first time visiting, absolutely gorgeous and amazing even though it wasn't the best photo time.

Fireworks!

On the 4th of July, there's always a nice fireworks' show here. We used to live almost across the street from it, so didn't really have the urge to battle traffic for a closer view this year. I had my hopes set that I'd be able to see them from our new place, and I was right, yay! They truly are magical to watch:-)








It had been about four years since I've photographed fireworks, so I scanned the web to refresh myself. I used a tripod and wireless remote, and I went with Bulb, ISO 100, f16. The settings were good, though I've brightened the photos some. However, my hand/eye coordination, not so much, lol! I missed a lot of shots by either being too soon or too late. There's always next year, though... Hope you enjoy the photos here, some of the best of the bunch, and I also hope you enjoyed a great 4th if you're in the U.S.!

Happy Fourth and an Update

Scarlet Gilia or Skyrocket, Ipomopsis aggregata, happened to see the light through these beauties against the dark background - so striking!

Happy 4th of July!!! It's been ages since I've posted, I know. However, the past couple of months were filled with some major changes. Almost four weeks ago, we moved back to southern Utah:-) It was something we'd been thinking about on and off for a while, and things just suddenly came together and made it possible for us to do it. If you've been following my blog, you know that it was a very unhealthy area where we were in central California. We'd moved there to reconnect and help my grandparents, who'd passed in '08 and '09, respectively. We'd been a bit stuck on how to to move forward after they passed. We had a home, but not one where we wanted to live, so it was definitely a mixed blessing. We kept thinking about different areas, trying to decide what would be best. As much as we love the Pacific Northwest, the idea of moving somewhere again that we didn't really know anyone held little appeal. Plus, we weren't sure if we could do the long, dark, wet winters anymore. At the same time, this area, where we used to live, kept sticking in our minds. We know people here, and it's peaceful and beautiful. Having lived here for four years, we know the pluses and minuses. It's a weird little town in some ways, but we're not exactly the most normal people;-) Most importantly, it felt right. So, when an opportunity presented itself, we finally decided to go for it!

We're still settling in, but I have been taking some photos (like the wildflowers here). I still have lots of photos to process from our Cali foothill drives, too, so plan on sharing lots of different things. I'm looking forward to getting my blog going again, and hope you all will come along for the journey!

"Carefree", Flatbud Prickly Poppy, Argemone munita. Caught a flash of bright white as we were driving, and had to back up and see what it was - looks like the original tissue paper flower:-)

"Beauty in Blue", I believe this is Low Larkspur, Delphinium nuttallianum (nelsoni). This particular stalk was bent over, and I loved the way the flowers were looking up - also love, love, love this blue!

Wordless Wednesday Wings

Wednesday Wings The Beautiful but Elusive Hooded Oriole

This is the third Spring that we've had a Hooded Oriole pair return to our hummingbird feeders. They arrive with a bang - you can't miss their raucous call! Yet, despite the fact that they always announce their presence, they're very shy, and leave at the slightest disturbance. I can't blame them, but it's made getting good photos of them a definite challenge. I've only been able to try from inside through a window. So far, these two shots are about the best I've taken. Not the greatest, but they show how gorgeous these birds are:-)

Mrs. Hooded Oriole

We take the guards off a couple of the feeder slots to give them easier access. I think that's part of what's kept them coming back. We're so happy to have them! They're a definite bright spot around here. They'll be here for a little while, nesting and such, then move on again. In the meantime, I'll keep practicing sneaking up on these wonderfully vibrant visitors, and getting some outside shots (fingers crossing!).

Mr. Hooded Oriole

If you're interested in more info about Hooded Orioles, check out All About Birds, a wonderful bird id site! You can even listen to their song. It's a lot prettier than the noise they make when they land at our feeders, but I love that sound, too - it always makes me smile:-)

Blue and Gold Wildflowers!

Continuing on with my flower addiction, here are some of my recent wildflower photos. We've had an amazing amount of rain this winter/spring, and I'm already seeing more of some species than in past years. I still have a gazillion photos to go through, but if you're a flower addict, too, I hope you enjoy these blue and gold beauties:-)

"Face the Sun", these sunflowers bloom year-round here. They get a bit raggedy looking in winter, but they keep going. They're always a joyful bright spot in the landscape:-)

"Blue Beauties", Baby Blue Eyes, Nemophilia menziesii, a native California wildflower. I love these little beauties, and have spotted more patches of them this year than in the past - yay!

"Poppy Perfect", poppies are the best flowers to catch the light going through them! They glow from within, and are so gorgeous:-)

"Sun Seeker", Common Fiddlenecks, Amsinckia menziesii (another Cali native), are just about the 1st wildflowers to start blooming here, and light up the hillsides.

"Simply Blue", another Baby Blue Eyes flower - such a soft, delicate beauty:-)

"Light Dancers", and more poppies in the light:-)

Hummingbirds!

Well, once again, it's been too long! So, I decided to remedy that by doing a post of some of my hummingbird pictures taken over the past few months. Despite one really cold snap, it seems like we still have more hanging around than normal for this time of year. Yesterday, I counted ten around the feeders - not nearly as many as a couple months ago, but they're still emptying the small feeder once a day. So glad to have them, and I love being able to share my photo addiction with you:-) All are Anna's Hummingbirds, the one species that we do have year-round here. Hope you enjoy!

"Attention!" Sometimes, the males' heads are almost magenta like this, other times they have a deeper maroon with gold highlights like the next pic depending on the light when they flash. It's always gorgeous to see:-)

"Shine!"

"Ta da!" Female Anna's - I always seem to share photos of the males, but the females are lovely, too, don't you think?

"Ascension"

"Hello Down There!"

"Bat Bird" - I've done this before, shouldn't work, but it does in a weird way. On camera flash at dusk, so ISO 400, and shutter speed was just 200. This is one of the few times flash eye isn't bad, lol!

"Proud!"

"Up Close and Personal" - bad background, but he's so close and detailed:-)

"Target Locked!" - My favorite hummingbird photo this year, just because it's a shot I've never gotten before. It usually winds up as a blur. This photo even made it to the front page of Etsy in a Treasury a while back:-)

"Bottoms Up!" - Bye for now!