Ocotillo thorns~SOOC Sunday~081411

I love investigating desert plants, from agave to ocotillo, to desert lavendar, to palo verdes and saguaros.  Did you know most desert plants, like this ocotillo, DO have thorns or stickers?  One time, while visiting near the Superstition Mountains, hubby and I went for a walk through their cactus garden.  There is a lot of cholla there and I looked down at one cholla and to my horror, saw a young mockingbird impaled on it!  OUCH!  So, even desert birds have to be cautious around desert plants.  I know that some people walk out into the desert with shorts and flip flops...I NEVER do!  I always wear my hiking boots, socks, and long pants (recently, however, I have been wearing my hiking boots, socks, and capris).  There are just too many sharp, pointy things in the desert for me!  This is SOOC, for Sunday, August 14, 2011.  To visit SOOC Sunday, please go to:  http://www.murrieta365.com/

Cactus closeup~Sunday Stills Challenge~0811411

Hubby is "allowing" me to use his Canon  (EOS Rebel T2i) camera this weekend.  As we drove down the Salt River road, the Bush Highway, we stopped along the way to take some photos.  I saw this cactus and stopped to photograph it while hubby wandered down the road.  Using a Canon camera is a real mind-shift for me, as I have a Nikon.  So, we'll see what happens over the next week as I learn to use a Canon!  I still have my Nikon and will NEVER give her up, but this one is completely different and I'm on a learning curve!  Sunday Stills Challenge for August 14, 2011.

Sunrise, same spot

Sunrise, same spot at Desert Ridge Villas, in Scottsdale, Arizona, about two weeks later.  We awoke at 4:40 a.m. this morning to a thunderstorm.  We turned off all the lights and just watched nature's show.  Once it was light, I headed out for my morning walk and this is what I saw.  It was still sprinkling and later I saw a rainbow.  Actually, there was a double one, which I didn't see, but my camera captured.

"D" is for dawn~ABC Wednesday~081011

An Arizona dawn, taken in Scottsdale.  I like to get up early and go for a morning walk and see rabbits, quail, and cactus wrens.  ABC Wednesday for August 10, 2011.  To visit ABC Wednesday, please go to:  http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.com/

"Water"~Community Photo challenge 080711

"Water"~Mono Lake, CA one June afternoon this year.  Mono Lake is such an interesting environment, especially in the late afternoon with shadows and reflections.  Every time we go to the Sierra, we stop by Mono Lake.  Community Photo Challenge for August, 2011. To see other participants, please go to:  http://communityphotochallenge.blogspot.com/

"Vanishing Point"~Community Photo Challenge 080711

This is the walkway at the south tufa at Mono Lake, CA.  We arrived late one cloudy afternoon in June of this year. We weren't sure what kind of sunset we'd see and were pleased to see a beautiful, orange one later in the day.  "Vanishing Point" for Community Photo Challenge, August 2011. To see this challenge, please go to:  http://communityphotochallenge.blogspot.com/2011/08/community-photo-challenge-vanishing.html

"Sunrise"~Sunday stills Challenge 080711

Sunrise today at the Desert Springs Marriott in Palm Desert, CA, out by the flamingo lake.  Sunday Stills Challenge for August 8, 2011.