Sunday Stillls Challnge~Wings June 28, 2009

Things with wings. These photos are from the Living Desert Reserve in Palm Desert, CA.

For those of you who visited my deserthorses blog and sent condolences about the death of my mare, Beauty, I thank you. I still miss her and am still trying to recover from her loss. It isn't easy and will take time, but I am slowly coming back into this world. Very slowly.

~~Cheryl Ann~~

Taking a blogging break

I am taking a blogging break after the freak accidental death of my chestnut mare, Beauty, this morning. At least she didn't suffer and went quickly. There were no thrashing marks in her corral. For the full story, please visit http://deserthorses.blogspot.com/. If you can, and want to, please make a donation to either SAFER or TB Friends in her name. Beauty was a slaughter feedlot rescue herself. I rescued her when she was an unbroke 2 year old and trained her and rode her last summer. She was a wonderful, gentle animal that died way before her time. She was only 5 years old. I'm just not up to blogging right now. RIP Beauty 062509

"W" is for wagon...ABC Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This wagon was in the small Nevada town of Genoa, at the base of the Kingsbury Grade, outside of South Lake Tahoe. Genoa and Dalton, NV both vie for the title of oldest town in Nevada. While we never visited Dalton, we enjoyed Genoa. What a beautiful, small town! ABC Wednesday for June 24, 2009.

Eastern Sierras~That's My World for Tuesday, June 23, 2009

After we left the Ridgecrest BLM corrals and mustangs, we continued our drive up Highway 395 toward Lone Pine, Independence, and Bishop. This area of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains is very dry. We did notice some holding ponds of water, which is a relatively new endeavor to help the migratory birds that follow this route and to replenish the water table. That's My World for Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Mariposa, CA~~Sunday Stills Challenge for June 21, 2009

Hubby and I safely returned from our trip to Northern California. We stayed 2 nights in Merced and drove through the little town of Mariposa, CA on our way to Yosemite National Park. This beautiful mural was painted on the side of one of the buildings in Mariposa. Sunday Stills Challenge for June 21, 2009. Enjoy your Sunday!

Storm in the Sierras~SkyWatch Friday, June 19, 2009

As we left Yosemite and drove up to Lake Tahoe, this storm was developing off in the distance. Soon we were upon it. The temperature dropped, the wind developed and soon it was raining on us and the cows, who didn't seem to mind it at all. We saw many, many waterfalls in Yosemite and some even around the shores of Lake Tahoe. They had snow here just two weeks ago and the area has more water than we've seen in previous years. SkyWatch Friday for June 19, 2009.

Road trip~Yosemite

Desertsouthwest is currently on a road trip to Yosemite. Please check my other blogs, deserthorses, and Sand to Sea to Mountains for updates from the road.

Above Zion~~SkyWatch Friday, June 12, 2009

These clouds were above Zion National Park when we visited it in 2006. There is a county road which actually goes above the park. You can see Zion's cliffs on the bottom. At the top of the road, you are on the highest peak in the area and the view is spectacular! SkyWatch Friday for June 12, 2009 (last day of school!)

Oat Hay stacks

Last weekend I drove by the oat hay field. Tractors were out gathering up the bales again, but on a different field. I drove by the house and these two HUGE stacks of hay were there, along with the baler. There were "NO TRESPASSING" signs all over and I didn't wish to walk up their driveway, so I took a couple of photos and ran back to my car (I'm SUCH a coward!) Gorgeous oat hay, eh? NONE of it for local farmers or horse owners, however...(sigh)

Sorry for the chain link. I had to stick my lens through it to get the photo! My bad.

Utah Hoodoos~~ABC Wednesday, June 10, 2009

These hoodoos are in Utah, outside of Bryce National Park. Hoodoos are rock formations. These are made from wind erosion and rain and snow. Aren't they beautiful? "U" is for Utah hoodoos. ABC Wednesday for June 10, 2009.

More hay~ That's My World

The hay machines were out again last weekend, but working on a different field. There was another field ready to be baled, and I'm certain those bales will be picked up this week. We are having a break in our hot weather, due to the coastal (June) influence. Temps are about 10 degrees below normal right now and we are all taking advantage of this! It was an absolutely incredibly beautiful weekend last weekend both in the desert and up in the mountains where I board my horses! I just had to drive around and take some pics! That's My World for Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

footprints in the dirt

While I was stopping trying to get pics of the oat hay, I looked down and saw these tracks. They were very vivid in the fine dirt! There were several of them, but these were the clearest.

Silhouette~~Sunday Stills Challenge for 060709

I took this photo in Tucson during the same trip I took my header photo. Tucson is a great place for silhouettes! The saguaro are so beautiful against the sky, don't you think? Sunday Stills Challenge for June 7, 2009. Enjoy your Sunday.

"T" is for thunderheads~ABC Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Thunderheads were on the horizon when we visited Joshua Tree National Park last weekend. They followed us our entire visit. There was one spectacular one that was way off, probably over the Colorado River. Isn't it beautiful? ABC Wednesday for June 3, 2009, our 37th wedding anniversary!

Joshua Tree sunset~Mellow Yellow June 1, 2009

We saw this beautiful sunset while in Joshua Tree on Saturday. It only got better after a few minutes! The high desert there was much cooler than our lower desert and they get a pleasant afternoon breeze! Mellow Yellow for Monday, June 1, 2009.