Price Church with the BIG cross!

Diana and I were down in Price this weekend since she was the supply priest for Ascension St. Matthews Episcopal Lutheran Church service on Sunday.  The church building is a very interesting building and seems to fit well into the desert environment. I sat in church and watched the sun create shadows of various fixtures - cross, lights, etc. - on the walls.
Here's a couple of shots of the church building.

Desert Rats

Diana and I are in Price, UT, this weekend and we were treated to a tour of some of the scenic sights around Price by Don and Mary Phillips, Price residents and lovers of desert exploration.
Among the places we visited were the Crandall Mine Memorial, memorializing the 6 miners and 3 rescuers that died there.
We enjoyed the vistas of the Wedge, were pleasantly surprised to witness a group using powered parachutes to view the land from a short distance above, and were intrigued by the mysteries of the Buckthorn Canyon pictographs and petroglyphs among others.
There is so much to see in this country we will be back. Thank you, Don and Mary.

Thanksgiving and the Heart of Gratitude

Here's a video from a TeDx presentation that exemplifies today's title.

Plugins

I've become more interested in Lightroom and Photoshop plugins as I'm exploring ways to bring out of a photo what I felt was there.  Tonight I worked with Topaz B&W plugin - below are both the before and after.
I watch what my wife and her friends buy in cards and think - I can do that (and have fun at it).  That's part of my impetus to experiment. Plus, I love the mysterious part of it - in many photos it is easy to see what the subject is and I want to be able to introduce some mystery in some of my photos.

Going through the files

I went through the files from last Saturday's trip to the wildlife refuge and found a couple more shots that I liked.  American Kestrels were quite abundant, and I saw two catch voles and begin to eat them while we hung out. Several of them were sitting on tall grasses, thereby having a much shorter distance to travel to get to their prey.
Always there are horses on the edge of the refuge.  Here's one with a quizzical look at me.

What is he saying?

Animals eyes do a lot of communicating - what do you think Fuzzy is saying with his eyes in this photo?
He has his winter coat - very fuzzy now.  He has left us a mouse for a present every morning for the last 5 mornings.

Post storm capture

Murph and I went out to the refuge Saturday morning - just after the snow storm blew through. Lots of beauty around, and I captured a little bit here.  The Northern Harrier checked us out, clouds and rays over the land, and grasses in sunlight highlighted by blue sky - a dreamy kind of day.

Other view of the refuge

Murph and I met duck hunters while wandering on the dike Sunday, some walking and some riding. The view north was spectacular, and I captured a little bit of that below.

The white grain elevator sure stands out!

A (very) small boat covers his decoys and stuff.

The little brown lab has a life preserver on and is 13 weeks old.  He was a cutie, just bouncing along the path.

Sunshine at the refuge

After two stormy days, the clouds broke this afternoon and the sun shone on the birds and water at the refuge. Still lots of duck hunters, but a relatively peaceful day out there. Murph and I walked a couple of miles down  a dike, played with white-faced ibis, and he ran and ran.  Always nice to tire out the lab.

Kestrels on the way in, an eagle eating a fish with two ravens in close proximity trying to steal some, a red-tailed hawk with its classic cry, duck hunters, and ibis.

Busy Backyard

A beautiful day today, and it warmed up to about 53 in mid-afternoon. I fed the birds, and then Fuzzy's new friend, a beautiful black and white shorthair kitten came over and let me pick her up and hold her for a few minutes!  Wow, what a treat! Pictures of her to come.
A few minutes later, I heard noises in the Russian Olive tree - looked up and there was a small flock of Cedar Waxwings! They then came down to the grape arbor and posed a while. A young Robin joined the fun also.
Later, after a couple of errands, I looked out and there was a Sharpshinned Hawk on the fence. They are so fascinating - they will sit and sit and sit and then move explosively to try to catch a bird. What a treat to be able to watch.
Here's a few from the day:

Cedar Waxwing in the grape arbor.

Hello there

Hello there, moon and bright planet (Jupiter I believe). You are rising over the mountains every night and getting bigger each day. You illuminate the deck and backyard, and our cats love to play in your light.
Thank you

A Murmuration of Starlings

This is your moment of Zen today. Just glory in it!