Back in the mud!

Murph and I went back out to the refuge today, first time in 3 weeks.  Way too long, as Murph told me!!

Beautiful day, with the Canuks getting into their parenting mode, Northern pintails looking beautiful, eagles and gulls just being their goofy selves, just another great day.

Losing the Sun.

We stayed in Kanab Friday night and drove over early to St. George for Diana's meeting.  Along the way, I took one of the last shots of the sun for the next couple of days.

This morning in St. George it is raining with rain and snow predictions for the drive home.  Should be interesting.  There are a number of places that can get quite wicked in cold and snowy weather. 

Headed Home!

We went over to Ravensheart coffee with Rick and Carey to spend a few minutes together before we all went our separate ways.  There in the parking area was Merlin, big as life!  I much prefer him over Gaia, whom I presented to you yesterday :-)

From there we had a wonderful trip to Kanab.  We stopped in Flag and had lunch with our godson, Z, who took us out to his favorite Thai restaurant and had his favorite (and only ) dish - Pad Thai!  From there a long drive through Navajo land, to Page where we were greeted with a young cowboy practicing his roping (he needs the practice) and then wonderful sunset pictures of the cliffs and Lake Powell.  They are very soft with the green of sage mixed in them - absolutely incredible.

Jerome, AZ

While most of what I shoot and display is nature or wildlife, towns offer a great opportunity for unique and beautiful pictures.  We traveled out to Jerome, AZ, today, and saw Gaia along the way!  Had to stop, of course.   She's at least 30 feet tall, and stands out dynamically against the blue Arizona sky.

Later, in Jerome, I ran across a couple of other shots.  Interestingly, for me, I hardly ever shoot towns, unless I can get a very unique perspective.  I'm sure Jerome has some, as it sits on top of a mountain!  But in my travels, I didn't see the perspective so took other things!

Another view of Grandfather!

Grandfather Raven

Ravens are everywhere here in Sedona; most popular places seem to be the grocery store parking lot and restaurant parking lots where people might and do drop food.  I journeyed to the local Safeway this
morning for fresh Peet's coffee and found this beauty sitting above my head on the light standard.

Also this morning a walk around the complex introduced me to a Cooper's hawk and a rabbit!

 

TLAQUEPAQUE

We visited the above named shopping center this afternoon; the ladies went early and shopped, and the guys came later and joined them for marguerita's and Mexican food at El Rincon, our favorite place for both!  There is always something to photograph there, and here are some of the wonders we saw!

Some of the art is just out-of-this-world!  Glass, metal, sculptures - incredibly inspiring.  Words cannot describe.

 

 

Three of the same

Here's three views of the same rock formation, different times of day.  Which do you like best?

Classic Sedona Views!

We wandered out to Red Rock State park today and just enjoyed ourselves. I think our pace was about 15 minutes per 1/2 mile :-)

Beautiful day, beautiful place - moments of beauty in the midst of life.  Very intriguing to sit and watch the hummingbirds, and watch the pace of humans compared to the pace of the wildlife.  We move WAY to fast.

  

 

 

The luxury of time!

Taking the time to wander and look at the world differently is a very incredible luxurious feeling and experience.  This morning I wandered about the complex and came up with these pictures - just looking and thinking and envisioning what could be!  Except the two gardeners; they requested the picture!!

I am fascinated by the light in the cactus - always seeing how I can capture the essence.  Not there yet but still trying..

 

Sedona and Red Rock

No trip to Sedona is complete without some picture of red rock - sunrise or sunset or both!  Caught a nice light tonight on a small spire.

Then I walked in the condo and Rick was silhouetted by the disappearing light.

Zach and the Bass!

We're in Sedona, AZ, this week on vacation with our friends from NC, Rick and Carey.  On the way down, we stopped in Flagstaff to watch our godson, Zach, perform at a Jazz Madrigals concert.  He and his drummer, Ron, played backup to the young folks singing in the concerts!  What fun to watch him, altho he pretty much played low-key as the singers were center stage.

Later that evening we had dinner at Dahl & Diluca in Sedona where Z plays on Fri and Sat evenings.  Here we got to witness some of his skill, as he had several solo's during the evening and played very well.  "Girl from Ipanema", an old favorite, was one that he performed, with the piano as a backup.

Very nice to spend time with him - here's a couple of pics from the events.  Interestingly, all of these were taken at an ISO of 3200 or higher.

 

 

The outdoor restaurant

At the refuge yesterday, and caught this kestrel having breakfast! (Click on the refuge link below left to see some other neat bird shots).  Just a vivid reminder of what all the birds and other animals are doing all day - eating or being eaten!  Is that different from the human day at work in cubicle city?  Perhaps in the end result (death) but sometimes it seems that there is not much difference!

Dairy Queen night!

Mom and I went out for a Dairy Queen Wednesday evening, Murphy came along and oogled the cones!  Mom gave him a lick (after she had eaten the chocolate off) and looked at me astonished when I told her not to feed him human food!
But we had a great time, remembering many DQ's that had gone before and enjoying the taste that makes DQ unique!

Cards

I've been going through my raptor pictures preparing to review them with Hawkwatch as they want to order some cards.  I'm kinda amazed at all the great bird pictures I have; and the stars of the show are the American Kestrel and the Northern Harrier, with the Bald Eagle right up there also!  Sharp-shinned and Coopers hawks along with a few Redtails and Rough-legged make up most of the rest. 

Here's a real keeper:    A male Kestrel preening himself showing his feathers at a unique angle!