Water Ranch

I took a short walk this afternoon at the Water Ranch in Gilbert.  There were just tons of ducks on the ponds, along with a smattering of other birds.  In this shot there are Mallards, Northern Pintails and one Green-winged Teal.

Along with the ducks, there were a lot of egrets and herons, including this one:

I also saw coots, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Kildeer, hummingbirds, sparrows, a Black Phoebe, a flock of blackbirds (I couldn't get close enough to see if they were red-winged), and several others.  It's been a pretty good time for birds recently, with very cool encounters with a Barn Owl and two Great Horned Owls, plus a hawk, all near my house.

Macro Pictures Squidoo Lens

I've created a new lens on Squidoo that talks about macro mode.  It includes a couple of my pictures.  The flower and the bee, specifically.

Shooting Macro Pictures links to it.

Fou Corners Power Plant

My destination for my trip last week.

Canyon de Chelly

This was taken out the window of the Durango to Phoenix flight. We flew in a Bombardier DH-8 (assuming I remembered the type correctly).

Bee-yootiful!

A flower from a field of them. Taken near Farmington, NM.

Red Pyramid

I just finished reading Rick Riordan's "The Red Pyramid" and thought that I'd share these pictures.

The first is of Camelback Mountain, taken from the north side of Mesa, AZ. I think it looks a lot like a pyramid from this view...

The second is of Red Mountain, which is on the north side of Mesa. I think it looks kind of like a step pyramid that has been scrunched to the side...

If you haven't read the book and if you like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter, you should give it a try!

Mustangs in January

 

Quoth the Raven...

"Damned rain!" The disgruntled bird was perched on the rim of the Grand Canyon...

What a lovely beastie!

Believe it or not, this is the smaller of two of these we've seen this summer...

And they fly, too!

Lovebirds

 

I found these near our house. Fortunately, I had my point-and-shoot Sony handy!

Brighton Wading

 

The First Rule of Photography

The first rule of photography is Have Your Camera.

It does not matter whether you have a $30 discount store close-out or a top-of-the-line professional setup, it won't do you any good sitting on the desk at home. I was reminded of this when Brighton and I went for our walk this morning. It was just after sunrise when we went out and we were only going to loop around our block.


Brighton, as is her sacred duty, was patrolling for cats and looking for a good bush to pee on (she's a terrier) while I was listening to the birds and enjoying the relative cool of an Arizona desert morning. As we reached the corner, the sun was shining straight down the street to spotlight a giant sunflower in full bloom. Perched on top of the blossom itself was a Peach-faced Lovebird, and the sun made its feathers glow green and blue. The house and bushes behind were still in shadow so it would have made a fantastic shot.

My cameras, however, were all safely back at the house...

By contrast, I had my small Sony with me when I drove past a group of the lovebirds balanced on some ocotillo branches. Those, I did get a shot of and I'll post the best of those as soon as I get them out of the camera.

The camera in hand is, in the end, worth the birds in the bush...

Standin' on a corner...

Winslow has done a good job of resurrecting the mural and park after a fire destroyed the building on which the mural was painted. Seizing the moment, they also have gone for the "Historic US 66" tourist trade in a big way. A clerk in a nearby store said that the remaining construction should be cleared up within a few days.

"God Bless America" in Mesa

 

This super-sized salute to "American Gothic" is visiting Mesa for the next few weeks...



In the painting, you can't see what's at their feet...

Wildflowers

 
 

The wildflowers haven't gotten into full swing yet. The rains came late and it's been cool for a while. Still, there are a few here and there.

Weavers Needle

Looking for wildflowers, but couldn't pass up the Needle.