Skywatch Friday October 31, 2008

When Sunni was the only horse I had, a couple of years ago, I used to board him out in Indio Hills. Indio Hills is right along the San Andreas fault near Indio, CA. There are 5 acre ranches in that area and a friend offered to board him for me as I was a newbie horse owner. I used to drive out through Thousand Palms Canyon on my way out to see him. This was taken on a crystal clear morning when I got up very early to do "poop patrol" at the ranch. Isn't the morning sunlight pretty?

Rain on the horizon 10/30/08

When we arrived at Canyon de Chelly this summer, it was monsoon season. You can just see the cliffs of the canyon, but look at the thunderstorm off in the distance! WOW! The storm hit Chinle, AZ that night and knocked out the power to the hotel! It was a terrific lightning show!

My World for 10/28/08 Palm Springs mountains

Since this is where hubby spends 5-6 days a week, I thought I'd post these pics for my "My World" Tuesday, October 28, 2008. He took these pics in 2006, after a late March snow storm. Aren't our mountains pretty? They are the mountains next to Palm Springs, CA and these pics were taken at the Desert Springs Marriott Resort in Rancho Mirage, CA. To see other "My World" posts, please visit: http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Hide & seek! Sunday October 26, 2008

The Living Desert Reserve has a herd of about 7 or 8 bighorn sheep. Sometimes they are up on top of their hill and easy to spot. Other times, they blend in very well with the rocks which are their surroundings! The Bighorn Institute is in Palm Desert, CA and at their last count, I believe there were 800 bighorn sheep in California and Baja California. Nine of them have been killed in the last few years by cars.

I remember when they used to come down the mountains in Rancho Mirage and graze at the Desert View Animal Hospital, which was right by a corner of Highway 111. Nowadays, nope. Some HAVE been sighted at the Ritz-Carlton, also in Rancho Mirage. They come down and eat the grass and nibble on hibiscus!

Anyway, see if you can find these bighorn sheep in this photo which we took at the Living Desert! Have fun!

Skywatch Friday, October 24, 2008 Canyon de Chelly

When hubby and I arrived in Chinle, AZ, which is at the entrance to Canyon de Chelly this summer, it was during the monsoon season. The clouds were very active that afternoon. I've already posted the double rainbow that we saw this same afternoon, but this sunburst was also amazing! It is so clear up there, the air is so fresh! We love visiting Canyon de Chelly. This summer, with all the monsoon rains, the Navajo ponies were fat and well fed. There was standing water on the ground. It was a wonderful trip! Doesn't the large, dark cloud look like cotton? Please visit Skywatch for other amazing photos!

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

That's My World for Tuesday, October 21, 2008

This is my first entry for the new photo website, That's My World, Tuesday.
http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-world-tuesday-issue-i.html This photo was taken in March, 2006 right after a snowstorm from Alaska dumped snow on our local mountains outside of Palm Springs, CA, USA. I like the contrast of the palm trees and the snow!

update on signs of fall 10/19/08

A week ago I posted pics of the trees at the ranch that were changing colors. Here are pics from yesterday, October 19. What a difference a week makes, don't you think?

more early light, Canyon de Chelly 10/17/08

There is something magical about early morning light. The world is fresh. Dew glistens from the trees and bushes. The earth has a damp smell. I love morning light, which is why we frequently arise at 4:30 a.m. to drive out and take photos!

These photos are at Canyon de Chelly in the early morning last summer.

By dawn's early light October 16, 2008

I'm an early riser. Sometimes that is an advantage, such as when we are on vacation and we want to get early morning light. So, when hubby and I went to Canyon de Chelly, I awoke at 4:30 a.m. the morning after the thunderstorm. Everything smelled of damp earth. I really wasn't sure what kind of light we would have that morning. The bullfrogs in the pond next to our hotel in Chinle, AZ, were still croaking when we left for our drive out to Canyon de Chelly. This is what greeted us. I LOVE Canyon de Chelly! It is very spiritual. I was going to submit this for my skywatch photo, but I think I'll just share it here. I'm going to post my Skywatch photo on my other blog, http://dunestopines.blogspot.com/.

I don't know what time I took this photo, since I don't wear a watch during the summer, but it was about 5:00 or 5:30 a.m., I believe. If you click on the photo, you can just see the sun peaking through one of the bluffs.

subtle signs of fall in the desert 10/12/08

I board my 5 horses up in the mountains. Actually, I enjoy driving up there. It is a whole different world and mind-set up there. I found a wonderful lady who boards them. But she does more than that! She actually loves them! Thank you, Cathy! Anyway, here in the desert southwest, especially in the low desert, some signs of fall are late coming, if at all. There are some bottle trees that eventually lose their leaves and my cottonwood loses some of its leaves, but not all. Sycamore trees do shed their leaves, but I don't have a sycamore tree. It is easier to see signs of fall up in the mountains. At 4,000 feet, our local mountains don't have aspens, but they do have other trees that are turning colors. Here are some at the ranch where I keep my horses. This past week they had nights down to 33 degrees. The horses are getting their winter coats.

Skywatch Friday October 10, 2008 Canyon de Chelly

Canyon de Chelly is one of our favorite places in the desert southwest. It truly is a magical, mystical place! We have seen a double rainbow both times we have been there. The colors are always so vivid!

giraffes! Oh, my! October 6, 2008

The Living Desert has several giraffes as part of its African animals exhibit. They had just let these guys out and they were making their way to the hay feeder one morning. A baby giraffe was born this year and they had a "Name the giraffe" contest. They named her Maliki. You can visit their website to read up on all their animals! http://www.livingdesert.org/

Julian, CA apple town October 4, 2008

We like to visit Julian, CA in the fall, when the apples are in season. So do a lot of other people, too! We went there last weekend and it was crowded! Our favorite restaurant there is the Julian Cafe. They have fresh apples pies (we bought 4 of them to share with family and friends!)and delicious breakfast and lunch. Try their apple pancakes! YUMMY!!!! Here are some pics of our day in the mountains in Julian.

signs of things to come SKYWATCH October 2, 2008

When I woke up this morning, I knew it was finally the first autumn day we've had! There is a low coming down from Northern California this weekend. Clouds are forming. It was a crisp, clear, cool morning this morning. According to our local news, this weekend will be a "clothes changing" weekend. That means it's time to get out our winter clothes, a low front is moving in! Rain is expected here in the desert. I need to toss out my African daisy and California poppy seeds in my front yard. They always sprout after the first desert rain! This is a photo from a couple of winters ago taken near the north side of Mt. San Jacinto, also called the "north face", north of Palm Springs, CA. Aren't the clouds pretty? I will enter this in Skywatch today, my first photo!

Bobcat! Felis rufus October 1, 2008

The Living Desert has had a couple of bobcats for several years. Their first two finally died of old age and they got some younger ones. These, I believe, were the older pair. I actually saw a wild bobcat one time while driving up to the mountains! He/she was right next to the road and was in a wash! There are many bobcats up in our local mountains. They eat rabbits, mice, rats, even small birds and other small prey. We were lucky to come upon these two playing early one morning at the Living Desert Reserve and photograph the one who seemed to be very curious. Isn't he beautiful?