Dog + beach- perfect combination!
Spotted at Newport Beach
White Dog Morning
Wild
Last week’s poppy adventure provided an unexpected photo op. As we headed to Saguaro Lake, we came upon some of the Salt River wild horses having their own poppy adventure! We had talked earlier about the possibility of trying to find them, but we didn’t really know where to go and the poppies were calling my name. It was certainly a moment of synchronicity finding some of the horses among the wildflowers!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .
This photo was taken back in 2019 when we came up on a mounted shooting competition taking place at the county fair. It was fascinating to watch, and I hope to go again sometime.
Horse Painting
A horse closeup photo from a few months ago- I had fun using textures and painting effects to change things up.
Lynx
We took our youngest grandson to our local zoo on Saturday, and I didn’t take my regular camera. This shot of a lynx was taken through the glass barrier with my iPhone, and I thought it did a pretty good job. Those paws are huge1
Otter
Seeing otters is always a major highlight of any boat trip in Alaska, and we were able to see quite a few off Gull Island. Otters are always special to our family, because our oldest grandson was fascinated with them beginning when he was very little and continuing throughout his childhood. Now that he is a teenager living in Alaska, otters have become less exotic to him- but no one can really resist watching the playful antics of these delightful creatures.
Moose!
We returned yesterday from Alaska- arriving at 6:15am in Phoenix after a smooth but excruciating overnight flight from Anchorage. It was a smooth flight with the potential for a good night’s sleep in the darkened cabin, BUT. . . the lady behind us had brought her CAT which yowled continually the entire time! Sleep was beyond reach for me- I watched a movie and tried to calm my frazzled nerves by playing a meditation album on my iPhone and taking photos out the window. Lonnie actually managed to sleep for a few hours.
None of the above diminished the joy I felt from our wonderful reunion with our daughter and family and our 50th anniversary vacation within a vacation! It was perfect!
I’m posting an iconic Alaska photo first, because previously I had managed to travel to Alaska at least 5 times without capturing a moose image! It was raining lightly as we drove along the Seward highway as we were leaving Anchorage. We spotted a small group of moose, pulled over, and managed to get a shot of this young moose before he turned back to resume eating. The others had already disappeared into the brush. I love the look in his eye as he spotted us!
Neigh
We encountered some friendly horses on our drive through Skull Valley last week. I’m not a farm girl by any description, but there is just something so appealing about rural scenes like this.
Feeding the Ducks?
Here’s something you don’t see every day…
Little Bear
One of my favorite series of books for beginning readers (my children and grandchildren as well as my first grade students) is the Little Bear series by Else Holmelund Minarik. There is something about this photo of one of the three little grizzlies at Bearizona that brings those books to mind. It has been two months since I saw those bears, and I’m sure they are a lot bigger (and scarier) these days!
Big Horn
The last few days I have finally gotten around to editing more of the photos I took at Bearizona a month or so ago. I had fun playing with textures and some new brushes in photoshop to create somewhat painterly looks.
The Bunny
Another portrait of “my” bunny
In the Country
A peaceful, bucolic scene in Skull Valley with several of my favorite photo elements: a country road, a fence, a cow, and a windmill!
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.
melinda anderson photography 