Another photo taken at Granite Basin Lake- this time JUST the reflection. I love how abstract and painterly the weeds look reflected in the water.
Snowy Reflections
I’ve been busier than usual and recovering from my second Covid shot (not complaining!), and just realized that Spring is on its way. I have quite a few winter scenes yet to post, so expect more snow scenes over the coming week or so. Today’s photo was taken at Granite Basin Lake at the end of December.
Orange and White
This is from a couple weeks ago when there was still snow at Willow Lake. It snowed again last night, but it was only an inch or so on my side of town- and I didn’t see significant snow at Willow when we drove by this morning. I love the contrast of the white snow against the warm tones of the rocks.
Then and Now
THEN:
The photo below was taken a couple weeks ago when we drove around town chasing photo ops on the third snow day of the year. As you can see, it was just a light dusting, but it still created a pretty scene. As we turned to to drive over to Granite Basin Lake, I spotted this perfect little tree ahead, and I shouted “Stop the car- NOW!”. Since no one was out and about that morning, we were able to stop, and I got this shot.
NOW:
Yesterday was our Covid shot appointment. An announcement was made that the clinic in Prescott Valley would be delayed by 2 hours due to heavy snow, which meant that our 2:30 appointment would be at 4:30 and it would mean coming back through the storm in the dark. Appointments would be postponed until the next week if we didn’t show up. What to do, what to do? Then a friend contacted me that they were accepting people in BEFORE their scheduled time (lots of people weren’t able to get there at all), so, long story short, we got there and got our shots! BUT coming home, the storm worsened and we weren’t able to get all the way up the hill to our driveway- so our car is parked down the street where it will likely remain all week. We have 1-2 feet of snow on our driveway and our yard has drifts of 3-4 feet. And snow will continue all week!
Wet hair, wet clothes, but happy and vaccinated!
View out the front door this morning…
Winter?
Our winter is coming in dibs and dabs this year. This was taken at Granite Basin Lake after our end of the year mini-snowstorm.
Egret Reflection
Another view of the same egret posing on the rocks.
Goodbye, 2020!
Goodbye, 2020!
2020 may have left us battered and bruised, mourning our losses and maybe our innocence as we come to the end of this terrible year, but we can still find hope and inspiration in our heroes, the resilience of the human heart, and in the beauty of our world.
Moonrise- the last full moon of 2020
Christmas Day Egret
On Christmas Day, we went for a leisurely walk at Willow Lake and watched a heron and egret fishing for an hour. We are used to seeing the heron slowly wade through the shallows looking for fish- an example of patience and perseverance. The egrets are normally farther away, but this day we were lucky to be able to watch one close to where we were walking. It was less patient (maybe more hungry) than the heron and was constantly moving along the shore, eventually ending up in a little area by the rocks. This photo was taken as he spotted a fish, which he caught a moment later.
Autumn Stillness
A peaceful scene at Watson Lake . . .
Notice the water lines on the tree!
Falling Leaves
Leaves are falling; though the sun is shining, winter is on its way.
Leafy
Another autumn downtown tree
Autumn Heron
When we arrived at Watson Lake, a heron was sitting on the little float that sits in the middle of the lake. After awhile it flew in front of us and then across to the opposite shore. The wind was ruffling its feathers as it stood immobile until after we left.
Shades of Yellow and Orange
Our walk by Watson Lake last Friday provided views of fall color in all its hues! The weather has turned since then; we had a light snowfall with heavy wind Sunday evening and overnight. I wonder how this scene looks today!
I am using this image in my photo group today for our photoimpressionism assignment. Coincidentally, our photo club has the same theme this month. I won’t be using the same image for both groups, so I will be posting that photo here next week.
Peeking at Autumn
I spent some time looking for signs of autumn in our own backyard yesterday. One of my favorites was this view of our neighbors’ tree FROM our backyard.
I Left My Heart in California
Dry. Parched. Windy. Smoky. Burning.
Those are the words that come to mind when I think of the west these days. October is always fire season, but in recent years ever more so. My home state of California has been on fire this last month, causing tens of thousands to evacuate and thousands of others to be without power. We have a massive drought going on here in Arizona as well- no monsoon season the last two years. Add in a pandemic, an election, and political upheavals- the world of 2020 is not the world we thought we were promised.
I’ve learned in recent years that the process of taking and editing photos soothes my worried soul. Below is a little piece of photo art I created this week. As always, a camera (or in this case an iPhone) and Photoshop ease my worries.
Pray for rain.
