Once Around

At the school I had just enough time to walk around the track once slowly with my camera. It had just rained and I was delighted to see several birds and even some flowers.

phyrrhuloxias and sparrow

desert marigold

cholla

cactus wren

prickly pear

house finch

brittlebush

mockingbird, white-crowned sparrow, verdin, curve-billed thrasher
 house finch, cactus wren , vermilion flycatcher

  Enjoy your day!  

Purple Clouds

Commonly known as Texas Rangers, Texas Sages or Purple Sages,

perhaps another name for these shrubs could be Purple Clouds.

honey bee

carpenter bee

Bees love them!

Rain

These pictures are from the morning after the first significant rain of the monsoon season.

Eerie lighting reflected in puddles of rainwater.

A little frog in a puddle?

A faint parhelion (sun dog) appeared in the sky.

crested saguaro on the left

Clouds all around! :)

One last puddle of rainwater until next time...

See more skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

After the rain

Here are some snapshots from a walk in the canyon after a good rain about two weeks ago:

Gila Chub

Hooker's Evening Primrose

Black-necked Garter Snake - baby

Trailing Four O'Clock

Roadrunner

Empress Leilia

Enjoy your day!