Desert Shadows

Hi there! I have some shadows to share that I've found here and there while out and about.
House finch eating burro weed

Cholla cactus

Gambel's quail

Palm shadow

Creosote bush

Tree branch shadow on the bird feeder
 
See more shadows from around the world at Tracy's Shadow Shot Sunday.
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At the park...







We went to a running event at Reid Park in Tucson early yesterday morning.  These snapshots are from the Richard & Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza on 22nd Street.  The yellow caution tape around the structure was due to landscaping work.  My pictures don't begin to capture the beauty of this plaza, just one of several R.A. Bloch Cancer Survivors Parks in North America. 
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Nonsense





"I like nonsense -- it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope... and that enables you to laugh at all of life's realities."  ~Dr. Seuss
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This ‘n that

Around the house…

Yesterday the boys came over with their laptops as they often do on Sundays.  We like to hook a computer up to the TV screen to view interesting things from the internet.  So anyways, one of my sons noticed a scorpion running across the floor, and right into his computer port!

These little bark scorpions are venomous, so I prefer them to be outside.

In case some of you don’t like to see arachnids, I offer a pretty Plumbago, one of the few flowers still blooming in the garden this season:

And, a peaceful mourning dove sunning in the platform feeder:

The Pyracantha berries look ripe.  Surprisingly, none of our regular backyard birds eat them.  Last year a hermit thrush was seen sampling some. 

There’s Billy Cat, lounging on his chaise on the patio.  He’s about twenty years old and still enjoys watching birds.  Somehow the birds know that he is not a threat to them. 

The old kitty wakes me up early each morning so I rarely miss a sunrise.

I wish everyone a lovely week!
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El Tour de Tucson

Today was the big 109 mile bike race around the perimeter of Tucson.  Over 8,000 people registered for El Tour.


Most of the cyclists walked their bikes across the Santa Cruz Wash and everyone loved the mariachis.


After watching the participants cross the dry river bed, we watched them cycle through a neighborhood by Canyon Ranch. 


It was a nice sunny day for watching a bike race, and catching shadows with the camera.




For more fun with shadows, visit Hey Harriet, hosted by Tracy for Shadow Shot Sunday.
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Reflections of Autumn

The creek has pretty much stopped flowing for now, but the pools of still water reflect the colors of the season, such as they are in the desert.





Catch more Weekend Reflections here at James' Newtown Area Photo.
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Watery Wednesday - Bird

A California Towhee enjoys a watering hole at Torrey Pines Natural Reserve in San Diego.



Linking to Watery Wednesday a fun meme hosted by 2sweetnsaxy.
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MWT - Reading the Landscape

Shubun Landscape early 15th century. Inscription by Son-an Reigen (Ts'unan Lingyen, 1403-1588):
"Wherever there is a stream and pleasant mountains, there's my hut;
But what I like most is where the bamboos are thick.
The gate is kept closed--it is not that I don't care to see companionable visitors
But that I still have some books to read for my daily lesson."
~from Zen and Japanese Culture by D. T. Suzuki
I've never been to Japan, but I resonate with the above painting and inscription.

From the corner of the world where I happen to live, here is an ordinary desert landscape:

The landscape includes mountains and a little stream.  I like to walk to where "the bamboos are thick" which is for me is where there are trees and it's quiet.  Here are some of the "books" I like to read:





 



The place where I walk is rather popular and people like to talk as they walk.  Their conversations (often into cell phones) seem to revolve around their work, relationships, shopping, and restaurants.  Rarely does the chatter acknowledge anything in the landscape where they are.  It's ironic that most of the visitors pay to park at the forest, yet seem oblivious to the natural wonders that surround them.  Yes, the people are a part of the landscape, an interesting part, and I'm grateful that they are there.  And, they probably don't mind (or even notice) if I venture off to where the "bamboos are thick" to study nature.

Here's a cool web page on How to Read a Landscape.

My World Tuesday is a fun photo meme for sharing views from around the world, hosted each week by Klaus and the My World team, Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia.
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Skywatching at Sunrise

While checking out the sunrise early one morning in October, I heard what sounded like gremlins coming from up in a tree.

The flash on my camera revealed two raccoons in the African Sumac tree,

and two more raccoons down in the arroyo (dry stream bed).

As a Cooper's hawk quietly sat atop a Mesquite tree watching.

See more skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday.
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Deer sighting

White-tailed doe with fawn

I recently saw this doe and fawn in the desert.  The little one looked playful, running around in circles with its fluffy white tail up in the air.  Every so often it would stop and rest by its mom's side.   The mom was eating green leaves from shrubs growing among the cactus. 

I tried to take a short video of the scampering fawn, but the vegetation was so thick and tall, the little one could barely be seen.  Luckily, it stood still long enough to pose for this photo.  Although not pictured, there were three other adult deer with them browsing leaves.
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Autumn mood

For Shadow Shot Sunday:


child's fingers
trace on grandma's hands
the liver spots of aging

Haiku from ahapoetry.com  A Dictionary of Haiku by Jane Reichhold, AUTUMN Moods, accepting aging
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Reflections of MIM

Here are some reflections found outside of the new Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix.  Photography is allowed inside as well.  The MIM has thousands of musical instruments from around the world.  We were in there for 4.5 hours!





Catch more Weekend Reflections at James' Newtown Area Photo.
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