Leafy Shadows and Colors

For Shadow Shot Sunday.  See more shadows from around the world at Tracy's Hey Harriet blog: click here.

November

"Happiness is a continuous creative activity"

~Baba Amite

December

"We should be open-minded, but not so open that our brains fall out."

~Woody Allen

January

"Never miss a good chance to shut up."

~Will Rogers

Today's Flowers - Aloe

Aloe is one of the easiest plants to grow in my desert garden.

They're one of the few ornamental plants that javelinas (wild pig-like animals) won't munch on.

These succulents thrive during drought, though the leaf tips often dry out and curl.

There are hundreds of species of Aloe, most are native to Africa. The ones in my yard are sometimes referred to as Aloe vera, but I'm not sure if they are.

No matter what they're called, hummingbirds love them.


To see more flowers from around the world, visit Today's Flowers hosted by:Luiz Santilli, Denise Gullickson, Laerte Pupo and Valkyrien.

Morning Reflections

To see other people's reflections, visit James at Weekend Reflections.

Sunset Impressions

Today for Skywatch Friday I'm sharing some experiments with camera movement while taking sunset pictures.

First, the sunset while standing still:

Next, jumping up and down while viewing the sunset through the tree,
boundaries start to blur.

Zoomed in, it's not obvious where one thing begins and another ends.


Then, moving the camera on purpose while shooting a saguaro cactus:

Here, the colors of sunset wrap around to embrace the cactus.

Cactus and sky appear to have merged.

A final shot holding steady behind a hedge
for a tranquil sunset impression:

Have a great weekend!
To see more skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Sunrise Finale

This turned out to be one of the more colorful sunrises I observed this month. I had been watching and taking pictures of it for about a half hour and thought it was done. The sky colors were pleasant, but not very intense. I went back in the house, and when I peeked out the window, the sky looked fiery! So, I hurried out to the street again and snapped these three photos.

Thanks to the Skywatch team: Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia. To view other sky posts or to participate, visit Skywatch Friday.

Update: I posted a reflection of this sunrise here.

Skywatching Close to Home

In my desert community, homes are spaced so closely together that large chunks of the views are of stucco exteriors, cinder block walls and rooftops. In many ways it seems like a concrete jungle, which is why I often walk and watch the sky from nearby natural areas. But it is possible to enjoy the sky close to home.

Stepping outside the door early Sunday morning, I spied the full moon through the trees and could also hear owls and coyotes.
Standing in the middle of the street, facing east and zooming in all the way with my camera, I found a serene canyon view.

Checking out bits of the sky in the late afternoon:Going out to the sidewalk for a bigger view of the sky:

At sunset, focusing close-up on a jojoba plant, it became a dark silhouette in front of warm colors. I wondered if sunset colors would have been any better from somewhere else, somewhere more "special" with less concrete.
But the question fell away, and what remained was a peaceful connection to those colors and to everything beyond.

To view posts from other participants who like to watch the sky from wherever they happen to be, visit Skywatch Friday.

Skywatch - Around the Track

Yesterday morning I walked around the track.

I didn't know if there would be a colorful sunrise,
but I had my camera just in case.

Once the sunrise colors appeared, they were constantly changing.

orange clouds

purple clouds

yellow clouds

And, two hawks were calling back and forth across the track.

pink clouds

Briefly, the mountaintop glowed,

and both old and new leaves lit up.

Light and shadows graced the ridge,

for just a moment before the clouds turned gray.

To see more skies from around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Colorful Chirpers

Green-tailed Towhees are large long-tailed sparrows. Spending most of their time under the cover of dense shrubbery, they are more often heard than seen. They make strange catlike mews and noisily thrash leaf litter around looking for food.

Towhees forage on the ground with a quick backward two-footed hop known as "double scratching." They are also said to run like rodents. I think this one looks more like a roadrunner than a mouse.

The scientific name, Pipilo chlorurus, means "colorful chirper." Hiding under bushes, they look drab grey or brown. But their colors become more obvious when they venture out into the sunlight. Field marks are: rufous cap, white throat, black mustache, grey chest and olive-green upperparts.

The books don't mention blue, but I noticed some.

This towhee didn't have a rusty colored cap.

Apparently, their head feathers can move from flat to puffed.

Sometimes they stop their fast foraging to stretch their necks up for a moment.

I don't understand all of their quirky behaviors, but they are fun to watch.
The most towhees I've seen at one time is four. Did you know that the collective name for a group of towhees is a "tangle" or a "teapot?" The group name for sparrows is "host," "quarrel" or "ubiquity."

Surprise Sunrise

I didn't think I could see the sunrise from my backyard. But early one morning I peeked over the wall, between tree trunks, and spied a palm tree way in the distance surrounded by orange and violet sky colors. As the wind gently blew the palm fronds, the view changed. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope. Each moment was fresh and new. Neat!

I snapped this picture. Not a sharp image, but I did capture the shapes and colors.

original image

Then I played around with the image in photoshop, trying out different adjustments and filters. I'm not sure why it's so much fun manipulating photos. Maybe the element of surprise, and the chance to experiment with colors without having to clean up big messes.

mosaic, inverted colors

glass distortion

spin, inverted colors, paint

pinch, extrude

These last two are abstracted quite a bit and barely look like palms anymore. But I think they still the have the essence.

wave, crop, rough pastels

liquefy, crop, paint


cool september breeze
sunrise and palm colors dance
painting a new world