The View

It’s been awhile since I posted any photos. On June 26, my husband Lonnie had a heart attack, which resulted in a triple bypass surgery on July 1. He has been home since July 7 and is recovering well in the 4th week of at least an 8 week recovery. Our daughter came for over a week to help, and our son will be here tonight for the weekend. All of this explains why the only photos I’ve been able to take have been the view from the front of our house- specifically clouds, which have been magnificent during this monsoon season. I believe in August I will be able to get back into a bit more photography and photo editing as Lonnie improves.

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Big Sky, Little Earth

Yesterday was one of those days when the sky dominated everything. The clouds swept across the sky, and from our vantage point on a small hill in Prescott, we couldn’t help but be aware of the vastness of the sky above compared to the earth below.

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Yes, there are mountains!

This is the view looking across the Turnagain Arm from the Seward Highway outside Anchorage, Alaska. Just a small part of the view, I might add! On our first visit to Alaska in the summer of 2016, we landed at night and stayed at a hotel near downtown. We saw none of this- Anchorage did not look pretty, and we saw no mountains. The next morning, we headed out on the Seward Highway and got our first view of the snow capped peaks and glaciers- I’ll never forget my feelings of awe and excitement as we drove along the water! Every time we return, I get that same feeling as we drive along that now familiar road. This shot is from a few weeks ago when we were there for our grandson’s graduation.

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Morning in Eagle River

We had the privilege of watching our first grandson, Miles, graduate from high school 10 days ago in Alaska! It was a heartwarming and poignant moment to see this wonderful boy cross the stage and take this first step into adulthood. Cheers and tears!

We had never visited our Alaska family in May but knew that winter was especially late leaving this year- so we prepared for all weather, including rain. We stayed in a rental close to our daughter’s home and were greeted by a beautiful view of the cloud-covered mountains each morning. I think there was only a day or two when it actually rained, but the beautiful clouds were always there.

My focus was not photography this visit, but we did manage to take two drives along the Turnagain Arm. I’ll be sharing a few more mountain and clouds photos soon!

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Native

Almost every year, I take photos of the Apache plume plant (native to Arizona) at the front of our house by the street. This year, I took photos in the late afternoon as the sun was low, creating those round bokeh circles through the leaves in the background. I desaturated the image for a vintage look.

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I brake for clouds…

On a recent trip over the mountains and through Yarnell, the clouds were magnificent! It had rained the night before, and I really wanted to stop for photos- but I wasn’t the driver, and we were on a schedule, so…

When we got to Congress, we stopped at the gas station, and I hustled over to the fence down the road and managed to grab a few shots. I used my Fuji and shot the photos in black and white, editing the RAW image in Lightroom.

I might also add that a broken down fence is always a favorite subject- so with clouds in the background this was my idea of a perfect photo opportunity!

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Teepee Dreams

I have photographed the teepees at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook on three separate trips. Each visit has resulted in entirely different images. This last was from a short visit a couple weeks ago. It’s possible that wasn’t my last visit- I still haven’t actually walked on the grounds of the motel!

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Somehow Spring is Here

. . . and we missed Winter! Above are two photos from a recent walk through our local rookery at Willow Lake, where herons and cormorants are building their nests and bluebirds and their little friends are perched on the lower branches along the trail. At home the finches are nesting, the lizards are out, and butterflies flit through the yard!

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