Red

When I was asked what my favorite color was as a kid I always said "RED"! As I have learned a bit about color and photography I find that red adds incredible vibrance to any photo - and one needs to be a bit judicious about it's use.
Here's more tulips with shades of red...and some nice complimentary colors along with.

Tulip time!

This is the time for tulips - especially the brightly colored ones. Everywhere I look they jump out and say "Look at me!" Here's one from the front yard.

We live in a very beautiful place

Spring flowers in the front yard backlit by the morning sun; Clouds over the Oquirrh's as seen from our new front yard.... there is so much beauty just waiting to be seen that I am often overwhelmed by it.
Enjoy!

Swainson's Hawks

I was driving out to the new house in Erda and saw these two sitting on a dead tree just off the road. After a U-turn across a 4-lane road and a couple of other maneuvers (thank goodness it was Sunday) I got into position to take photos.
Aren't they beautiful? Note that the one on the right is banded.

Flow

Grasses flow.

Back to the birds!

Murph and I took a long walk in the desert just west of the airport. Birds were the topic of the day although there is a herd of antelope out there that show up occasionally. None of them got close enough to really get a decent photo.
So birds it is - first an eagle. Either an immature bald or a golden, will need to consult with my bird head friends.
Then a Swainson's hawk on the power pole, followed by a Cinnamon Teal and an American Avocet. Love them birds!

Lunar Eclipse - Blood Moon

I was up early this morning so I shot a few photos of the "Blood Moon" from the back deck. I always learn a lesson when I shoot the moon, just wish I could remember them all at the same time!

Anyway, it was well worth being up for - beautiful and eery, wonderful colors, and just magical in general.  Here's a sequence from left to right.

Flowers

Fritellaria joined the front yard flowers some time ago - they have spread but the new ones have not yet flowered.

White tulips - what a thing of beauty!

Spring in full bloom

The plum tree is almost completely white with blossoms, trees everywhere in the city are blossoming and beautiful! Flowers are up - fritellaria are blooming along with everything else. What a wonderful three days it has been.
We are in the middle of much what with selling one house and buying another but we have still had time to sit on the deck and enjoy the fruits of our labor - and Mother Nature has done the rest. Not much time for photos right now, but here's a flowering plum flower bud that I liked.

Beauty in Words

Our friend Katherine penned this poem when she heard about us moving to Erda. Both Diana and I were very moved by it.
Thank you Katherine!
                                                             

Unfinished Adobe

Happening upon a shell of adobes

in the high desert dusk, raw

mud cakes stacked eight feet

to the sky, windows conjured by dark

spaces left open to the night,                                             

we find a ladder propped

against the earthen bricks, and climb

past straw-studded mud still warm

from the sun, to gallons of stars

spilled high above the unroofed                                          

house, the last pink strand of day

stretched across the west.

And though we inhabit another house now,

with proper lid and plaster, when the owl

calls at dusk, all that is unfinished                                    

in our lives pulls us up

that ladder, rung by rung,

brick by warm mud brick, past

the edge of the earth on our way

to the waiting moon                                                     

More Milestones

Carmen turned 6 yesterday and we were fortunate to be able to be at her party for a while. We've been at every one of her birthday parties - and have the photos to prove it. I talked to one mom there who said she still had my photo (of her daughter) on her refrigerator from one of the other parties.

Carmen is a great talker and a good singer but when it comes to blowing out candles she needed some assistance. What fun!

The adventure continues......

Life moves on and so do we all in one way or another. Today we listed our house for sale, full details will be on the MLS Monday along with photos. An exciting and sad time all together - many good memories and times here. New opportunities await and it is a good time in our lives to try them out.

By the creek

On the way to dinner last night we stopped so I could take these sunset photos - the trademark of the Sedona area. Then on to dinner by the creek - beautiful place and wonderful food and service.

A beautiful setting - L'Auberge de Sedona

Happy April 1!

Today is Diana's and my anniversary - 36 years - and we've had a very relaxing day here in Sedona. The wind is blowing quite hard and the pollen count is quite high, all of which have taken a toll on me. But, we're off to dinner on the edge of Oak Creek in a little bit and then up early tomorrow and hit the road.
Here's a few shots from the day. I did see a javelina yesterday but could not get a shot - those four legs go quite quickly. Maybe tonight!

Yucca in early sunshine.

Out looking for javelina's and all I saw was the cat!

Legends

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.