A peaceful, bucolic scene in Skull Valley with several of my favorite photo elements: a country road, a fence, a cow, and a windmill!
The Daydreaming Cow
Maybe cows dislike social isolation as much as we do. Maybe they dream of their friends. Maybe.
Hence The Daydreaming Cow . . .
Adorable
We ventured out beyond the confines of Prescott a couple days ago to BEARIZONA, a wildlife park in WIlliams, with the exclusive intention of photographing the three baby grizzlies they acquired a few months ago. Baby animals are always cute, but there was something so adorable about these cuddly little guys who will grow up to be soooo dangerous. We watched their antics for over an hour as they played, bathed, and chased the ravens who hung around their area. Great entertainment!
Hiding in Plain Sight
We have been enjoying watching the bunnies that have taken up residence in our yard. We often see them in the early evening scampering in the front yard- and then freezing in place as they realize we are outside.
There is actually a second bunny hiding in the shadows in the flowers behind the first one.
Hey, Good-lookin’ !
We are home a lot these days (no surprise. . .) and have plenty of time to watch the hummingbird drama unfold in our yard! This handsome little guy is one of a group of newcomers to our yard and has the others on their toes, so to speak, as he chases them away from the feeder. I have yet to capture a good photo of him hovering, so here he is just after landing on the feeder.
Chasing Sunset
Since moving to Prescott, we have developed a tradition of going out after dinner to watch the sunset- either from our driveway or getting in the car and driving to a good vantage point. We have become cloud-watchers and predictors of when there will be an especially good sunset display. Last night I thought there was a 50/50 chance of a great one, but I wasn’t convinced that there was enough sky visible- it was overcast in our area of town. But Lonnie had been out and about and pointed out blue sky to the south, so we headed out to find a good view of the Thumb Butte. As we drove in that direction, it was obvious that we had a magnificent sky with great clouds. The photo below was taken before sunset, when a golden glow was just beginning on the Thumb.
Happy
Isn’t this a happy scene? This photo pretty much just took itself.
We drove over to Granite Basin Lake a tiny lake at the base of Granite Mountain here in Prescott and walked around for awhile, enjoying the scenery and taking a few photos. We spotted some dragonflies and dozens of butterflies, but only one single bird, a hummingbird. We are talking about going over again and bringing our lunch.
Standing Tall
This beauty VOLUNTEERED to grow in our garden! I noticed it growing a couple weeks ago in a big pot which holds our spent irises. Each day it grew taller and finally bloomed a few days ago. We didn’t plant it, but we are delighted it chose our yard for its home,
One of Many
I’m very glad we’ve planted rosebushes that we can see from our kitchen window- mostly because they have created a pleasing view, But the other reason, of course, is that they are beautiful subjects for photography!
Leading the Way
Yes, we took another drive!
Dizzy Daisy
Some Photoshop fun with a Gerbera Daisy . . .
Skull Valley
The old depot was moved away from the tracks and now houses the local museum.
Above the Clouds
Stop the presses! We got out of Prescott! The drive was only 17 miles or so, but we did get out of town. The impetus was that my photo group is meeting tomorrow on zoom- and the topic is “How Far Have You Gone”- meaning how far have you travelled during the pandemic. Until this weekend, my answer would have been all the way to the doctor’s office. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one in the group who is staying home most of the time- but I just didn’t feel like bringing a still life or flower photo (although I will later on).
So we drove through Skull Valley and Kirkland, and I found three photo ops along the way. Today’s photo is one I took on the way home- I’ll post the one I am using for class later on.
Blue Truck
Spotted at Bodie
Just Dance!
Today I’m sharing a little bonus photo from my trip back in time to 2014!
Yes, it’s Henry at age THREE- uninhibited as always and expressing his joy in the moment as he dances to the music at the rodeo. He is still a sweet, open-hearted, full of life (and love) boy at age nine!
melinda anderson photography 