What a fun weekend this is - first winter snowfall! They are still predicting more snow for tonight into tomorrow, but we did get out and enjoy it today! Jeff & I took Miki out to our 10 acres, where she enjoyed playing chase the football with Jeff!
As we wondered around the 10 acres, I saw this branch full of snowflakes that look like crystals. Isn't this lovely?
If you look close, you can see the snow falling in this image. I had just stepped out of the studio, when I saw how the little tree in our yard looked so wonderful up against the wall of the house. So, I ran inside to grab my camera, and when I came out, some snowflakes added to the special effect!
This shot is one of my favorites! Yesterday, Miki woke me up at 6am to go outside, and when I peeked out back, this was the view from our back patio. Such a peaceful scene. I especially love the fact that someone left their red Christmas lights on all night, so they were still glowing in the first light of sunrise. Enjoy!
December has its fair share of bizarre holidays! December 10th is the Festival for the Souls of Dead Whales - this has to be one of the more unique ones. Why whales? Well, I did a bit of research, and one of the stories behind the holiday is that it is an Inuit holiday (Alaskan native). They relied on whales for food, and it supposedly was their way of honoring the whales. Sounds good, right? Well, again supposedly, the Inuits never heard of this holiday. So, now the thought it this was made up by a calendar company, looking for ways to encourage the purchase of ceramic mugs.....of whales, I suppose!
December 30th is not only Bicarbonate of Soda Day, but also Festival of Enormous Changes at the Last Minute Day. I focused on the Bicarbonate of Soda Day, but I think the background also sort of reminds one of a lot of changes all happening at the same time, which makes it all seem like the last minute! So, I'm kind of honoring both, don't you think?? (tee, hee!)
And, last but not least, is December 3rd, or National Roof Over Your Head Day! This holiday is to be a day to appreciate all that we have, not the least of which is (hopefully) a roof over our heads. No one knows exactly who first founded this day, but I like this sentiment, and hopefully this gentleman appreciates the roof that's over his head.Enjoy!
Bosque Del Apache is a National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico. Every winter, thousands of sand hill cranes and snow geese spend the winter here. The majority of them are here from late October/early November until February/March. The above image is of hundreds of snow geese who were spending the afternoon enjoying the autumn sun in one of the marshes in the Bosque. They did leave this spot shortly after I took this shot, but returned overnight for a magnificent sunrise show the next morning!
Here are a couple that I think of as the Royal Pair. Don't they look regal? I love the reflection of them in the still waters of the marsh, too. Sort of an idyllic moment. Very calming and peaceful.
We were at the observation deck set up on the side of the marsh, waiting for sunset (and the sand hill cranes), when I happened to notice what bird experts around me said was a golden eagle perched on the top of the dead tree in the marsh. No wind meant great reflections in the water, and I couldn't resist capturing this lovely late autumn scene. A reward for patiently waiting.....Enjoy!
Every evening at the Bosque, the sand hill cranes will come back to roost in one of several marshes. The one we were at was the largest, and many cranes spent their nights here. The visitors' center stated there were about 1500 cranes here at the time we were here, and, altho we saw many, I doubt that we came close to seeing all 1500! The cranes tended to arrive in small groups, sometimes only a couple at a time. The image above is of a couple of the first that arrived. I was lucky enough to capture them performing synchronized eating, as I like to think of it! Mirror images of each other, and mirror images of each of them in the water. Very cool. Most of the cranes don't arrive until after the sun has set, so these were two of the early birds, so to speak.
Here's a bit of a close-up of a couple of other early birds. I was amazed at how perfectly graceful they are when they fly - look at how their feet are just perfectly pointed and together - figure skaters should try to imitate cranes when they work on keeping their toes pointed while skating! These two flew very close by the observation deck we were on.
As the sun got closer to setting, more cranes began arriving. This image appealed to me because I think of the cranes landing as doing a bit of a dance, and the entire scene made me think of them putting on a dancing performance. I also loved how still the evening was, so that all of their movements were captured in the reflection of the water.
This shot was one of the last that I was able to capture, and I really love this one. The cranes are silhouetted against the sunset sky, just as the last rays of the sun lit the sky. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect pose of the cranes, except, of course, they weren't posing. They were just coming home for the night, in the most graceful way possible.Enjoy!
It was a very chilly (read cold!) morning, but if we wanted to see the birds, we needed to get up with them.....or actually before them, so we could be there when they woke up! The above image is one of several that I took of literally hundreds and hundreds of snow geese taking off at the beginning their day. The Bosque's count of snow geese when we were there was about 31,000 !! Yikes! The funny thing about this shot was just a few seconds before this (literally!), we heard a bird squawk, and I jokingly said to Jeff that it sounded like a call to arms - I guess it was, in a way, because within 2-3 seconds after I said that, this occurred! The most amazing thing about this moment cannot, unfortunately, be captured in this image. That was the incredible sound of all of those wings as these wonderful creatures took flight - it was beyond amazing.
A little while later, at a different marsh in the Bosque, we saw some sand hill cranes beginning their day. What amazes me about these birds is that, while on the ground, they look a bit gangly and awkward......but then, they take off, and it's all flowing grace. Beautiful.
These are the snow geese again - I had several opportunities to get some great images - after all, it takes a while for hundreds of them to truly take wing! And, we were lucky enough to be here for a magnificent sunrise. This image really captures my sentiments about this morning. The beauty, power and grace of Nature.Enjoy!
We did a bit of exploring while down at Bosque Del Apache, too! One of the places we explored was the San Lorenzo Canyon. It's a small canyon just a wee bit north of Socorro, New Mexico. It's really cool because you can drive down the canyon (assuming you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, or a front wheel drive vehicle and it was dry like it was this day), stopping to explore the "branches" of the canyon on foot. I loved the above shot of Miki, our German Shepherd. We came to the end of one of the canyon "branches" and found Miki sitting in a shallow sort of bowl carved into the ground. It's a dry waterfall. I guess, during some really heavy monsoon rains, this little "branch" is a bit of a waterfall and river!
Here's Jeff exploring another of the "branches". Yes, he climbed up the rocks that are in the photo between me and him. And, yes, I managed to climb them, too, after I took this shot. I have to admit, I wasn't as sure-footed as him, tho! I'm not sure why, but I just don't feel like I have a very good center of gravity while climbing up rocks - maybe because I'm worried about banging my camera??? In any event, the "path" we were following went on a little way from here, beyond the little patch of green behind Jeff (which was actually a small shrub).
I had to include this shot just because I love the sort of flow the image has. I was hoping to capture the feeling of the lines created by years of weathering the canyon has withstood, and hopefully, I've accomplished that. I also feel the little green grasses help to lead you into the image. On a more practical side, if I had more mountain goat in me, I think we might have been able to climb thru here, but I didn't suggest it, and Jeff didn't argue with me!Enjoy!
While down at the Bosque Del Apache, we explored a backcountry road called the Quedaras Backcountry Byway. It was a 24 mile dirt road that passed thru some scenic country, just a short little bit from I-25, a main highway that runs north and south in New Mexico. I really like the above shot as it's reflecting still a bit of green left even during later fall, and, of course, wonderful mountains in the background.
We just had to stop when we passed this arroyo that actually looks a bit more like a mini-canyon. From the land surrounding it, my guess is this rock was carved by the monsoon rains runoff that probably occurs most summers. Amazing how powerful water can be, isn't it?
Altho technically not part of the formal byway, I had to include this shot in this entry. We had left the byway and were just making our way back to the campground when we saw this. The sky was a typical grey day in late fall kind of sky (altho not usually in New Mexico kind of sky), and altho I really loved the clouds in this shot, it just didn't look as wonderful in color as it does in black & white.Enjoy!
What a fun weekend this is - first winter snowfall! They are still predicting more snow for tonight into tomorrow, but we did get out and enjoy it today! Jeff & I took Miki out to our 10 acres, where she enjoyed playing chase the football with Jeff!
As we wondered around the 10 acres, I saw this branch full of snowflakes that look like crystals. Isn't this lovely?
If you look close, you can see the snow falling in this image. I had just stepped out of the studio, when I saw how the little tree in our yard looked so wonderful up against the wall of the house. So, I ran inside to grab my camera, and when I came out, some snowflakes added to the special effect!
This shot is one of my favorites! Yesterday, Miki woke me up at 6am to go outside, and when I peeked out back, this was the view from our back patio. Such a peaceful scene. I especially love the fact that someone left their red Christmas lights on all night, so they were still glowing in the first light of sunrise. 
