Long Fall

Our fall has been long and very nice, with a lot of warm weather and sunshine. Some colder temps slated for next week but if precipitation comes with them they are more than welcome.
The downside of this kind of weather is the smog - and boy do we have it. So bad yesterday you could not see across the valley - yukkie and takes years off your life!
Celebrating the beauty in our life brought these 3 photos out - the orchid in the sunlight, the leaf stuck in the deck, and the goldeneyed duck.

Ice on the window

Reading that it was about -9 in my hometown in Minnesota got me thinking about ice on windows in the cold and the shapes we would trace with warm fingers and scratch out with fingernails in the ice so we could see what was outside.
The red rose off our deck lent itself to this memory using blur for the ice and an eraser for my fingernails!

Happy Thanksgiving

During a short drive yesterday out by the smelter Murph and I came across a red tail sitting on the power pole. Usually when I see them like this, I wave and go on; because when I stop they fly away. This time I stopped and took my time getting the door open and, sure enough, he/she flew away. Fortunately the flyby was right across my field of view so I got a couple of shots that I like.

Often I have found red tails to be curious - they have come from a distance away to check me out on hikes, only to go back to where they were circling earlier.
A challenge with these photos is that there is only one subject and no supporting character(s) - no clouds, no trees, no hills, etc. - without creating a composite photo like I did with the horse on the hill in an earlier post. On a quick search I could not find a background that I liked so here they are 'au natural' so to speak.

Refuge beauty

While birds are the focus of the refuge, the supporting cast of various plants is composed of much beauty, changing with the seasons. Here's milkweed and another plant that has caught pieces of fuzz from the seed carriers that flow from a number of plants in the fall.

Be still and look - beauty surrounds us.

Raptors

While printing a few greeting cards and posters of birds, mostly raptors, I got impressed with my own photos and thought I should share :-). So here are some of 'my birds' which prove that if you spend the time and take enough photos you will get some good ones!!

A shameless plug - Hawkwatch created a 2014 calendar as a fund raiser and it has one of my photos in it plus all of the photos are excellent! You can see it at http://hawkwatch.org.

Miscellania

Sometimes I have to stop and catch up and just enjoy some simple things.

1. My two photos from Notre Dame were accepted into the Spiritual and Religious Art Show at Springville Museum of Fine Art. Diana and I attended the opening last night - well worth going to see to get a perspective on how people view spiritual and religious.
2. The full moon set Monday morning - simple view but comforting to me.

3. Pintails at the refuge, a beautiful bunch of birds worth watching anytime you can.

Horses

Elegant and goofy at the same time, I enjoy seeing horses in the fields. Sometimes they are curious and sometimes not, but if you hang around a little you might see some neat antics. These below are from a walk Murphy and I took in Boulder.  It's just across the road from the Lodge and you can walk a couple of miles easily.

Yes, the Red-tailed Hawk in the top photo has been added!

Duckies

Beauty is so transitory at times and no more so than with views of wild beings. They move and turn and sometimes leave very quickly before you have captured the view you wanted. Oh well, that is why they stay wild and we attempt to capture their beauty.

Our last few days had a number of ducks showing up for photos so here they are as best I could capture them. Most of the time I am engrossed in their antics  - especially the coots - and their behavior, like the Northern Shovelers below all in a row 'shoveling' their dinner in!?

Best friends!

Not a duck, the coots are always hassling one another and much noise accompanies them.

Ring-necked Duck on pond in Boulder

Northern Shovelers feeding.

Believe this is an immature Pintail.

On the way home - gulls feeding in the shallow stream.

The road home

Leaving Boulder was not easy - but necessary so we enjoyed the road home.  Up over Boulder Mountain on Hwy 12, took the Teasdale cutoff and then on to I-15 and home. Some rain on the way but overall not a bad drive.

Storm clouds hung over Boulder mountain and over the normal scenic view out to the Manti-LaSal mountains so no sun at first, but at an exciting time it broke through for one good photo. The deer stood and watched us, curious and alert, and finally, the Cocks Comb was lit by sun on the Teasdale bypass and I needed a photo of that.
Enjoy!

Wandering

While the clouds gathered in Salt Lake valley, we had wonderful sunny weather here in Boulder. Long walks, naps, bird watching, being watched by horses and cows, all in all a very relaxing and nourishing day.
On the pond there were coots, mallards, and ring-necked ducks - these ducks have a white ring around their beak plus a ring around their neck that apparently you cannot see unless very close. At least the beak ring is visible from a distance. The golden eye and purple head on the male are striking.
Moon rise was about 4 and although not full is pretty big. Full moon tonight.

Here's some of what caught my eye.

Walking under the open skies

We enjoyed a long walk yesterday under the open skies and in clean air - Murphy was back to his old ways of loping along in widening curves and sniffing everything. He is a joy to watch! Mountain bluebirds flew about sparkling in their deep blue colors. The leaves on the cottonwoods rattled in the breeze sounding much like a rainstorm. Soft colors everywhere. The roads go on and on and on.

Boulder

Murphy, Diana and I are staying at Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, UT for a couple of days - it is a great getaway. The wide open skies, orange and red and yellow rocks lit by the sun, clear air!!! - all support our souls.
We were fortunate to drive Hwy 12 over Boulder Mountain at sunset and got a few photos of Waterpocket fold, Circle Cliffs and the Manti-LaSal mountains in the background.  The timing was also perfect for the evening deer feeding and we saw a lot of does along the way.
Dinner at Hell's Backbone Grill followed by a walk with Murph completed the evening.

A Day to Remember - 11/12/13

Lisa and Sean were married today - wow, it seems unreal at times!  I'm sure it does to them also. They've been together for 11 years, Sean proposed Saturday, Lisa said yes and they were married today!
We had a short but very nice ceremony at the County Courthouse, then went out to Goose Egg hill at Farmington Bay Refuge to have Champagne and Jimmy Johns sandwiches - a very good match! The dogs loved it out there, and we had the hill to ourselves with wonderful weather. A great day!
Here's some shots from the day..