A Bird in the Hand...What is it Worth?

Often times, nature comes calling with boom.  A small bird mistook a glass door as more vistas, and my wife found this little bird on the cement, stunned.  An animal lover, Ann scooped up this delicate winged visitor, and held it until it regained it's senses. The animal world is so vast and complex, yet, often times, "only the strong survive" needs a little help.  A glass door created a momentary obstacle, and Ann, attuned to the animal world, had a moment of bliss, delicately cradled in her hands. 

Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals)
Is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission:
To be of service to them whenever they require it...  St. Francis of Assisi 

This Ain't No Virgin

While all around the Rocky Mountains, the change of season has the colors in full bursts, a recent trip to Nevada had us stopping in the Virgin River Gorge on the border of Utah and the tip of Arizona, along I 15.  A mild, even balmy 75 degrees gave bursts to the beautiful cactus that call this area of desert home.  While some may be zipping through the Gorge on their way to the city of  lights & casinos, we could have easily spent our entire weekend exploring the continuous beauty of the desert and slow moving Virgin River as it carves its way through the canyon.

Who Is That Dog In My Yard?

Dogs are great companions, although often times they need a few moments to "adjust" their personalities to "who is that dog in my yard" !  A few weeks ago, I took our dog Casey, on the right and our dog-friend companion Bodhi, the black lab for a run in the freshly fallen snow.  As you can seen in the picture, there is a yellow dog in the left of the picture who had wandered into Casey and Bodhi's territory.  After a few thunderous gallops, and some back hair rising (to make one look BIG), the yellow dog got the picture that he had wandered in to already pee'd upon land.  Some sniffs, and a stand off ensued; eventually all creatures decided to a United Nation treatise and discovered there was enough room for everyone to play.

Vulture, Vulture

With an impressive wing span of 72 inches, turkey vultures are a neighbor in our neck of the woods.  The species spends only summers with us, and then heads south during the colder months.  You will find them year round in parts of Mexico, Central America and all of South America.  Sounds like a smart bird to me, as outside the weather is more conducive to snowman building.  This picture was taken over the summer, and I found him perched upon the branch of a cottonwood in our backyard.  Thankfully, this bird is more interested in rotting flesh, thereby giving our trio of furry creatures a break from being hunted.

Both Sides Now

As long as a summer nap is, the season changed.  It's fall, or so the weathermen say, but we awoke this morning to a dusting of snow; a reminder that summer is over, fall really never took hold and that old man winter is knocking at our door.  At the end of our driveway, sits this wonderful old wagon, which our neighbors decorate for holidays.  Today it serves as a model for the photograph.  A passing summer thunderstorm along with a sunset created the wonderful colors for the clouds ebbing and flowing along the valley floor.  Clouds are also part of the scene and always create a unique photograph.
...Photo taken in July, 2013...

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's cloud's illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all  ..." Channand & Paul Young
Both Sides Now - Judy Collins
 

A reason for the season...

It's that time of year.  Seasons blend into one another, overlapping at times.  Such is the juxtaposition in this photo.  Early winter snows have blanketed the ground, and a solitary golden Aspen leaf has found a resting spot.  The contrast is glorious. We never tire of photographing and writing about the beauty of nature.  The scenery is always new, always exciting and the words seem to flow effortlessly from our minds to the keyboard. 
keyboard.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 "     

A Virgin River Runs Through It.

 

 

 

 

A recent trip found us in Zion National Park the day before the Government Shut Down.  We walked along the Riverside Trail which dead ends into the south entrance of the Narrows.  The Virgin River has carved the canyons, and molded the park.  The river definitely runs through it.  Cool breezes dance from the river and echoes from ghosts past can be heard if you listen.  Any trail within Zion can bring out the adventurer spirit within us.  Red cliffs soar upwards, and at times the explorer is left with a sense of the power of the river, the cathedrals of red rock and the canopy of blue skies above.

"Eventually,
all things merge into one...
and a river runs through it.
The river was cut
by the world's great flood...
and runs over rocks
from the basement of time.
On some of the rocks
are timeless raindrops.
Under the rocks are the words..
and some of the words are theirs.

I am haunted by waters..." Norman Mclane, A River Runs Through It

First Winter Snow

Once green with summer's sun, the Aspen leaves change with the colder temperatures.  To look at the Rocky Mountains' scape, patterns of vivid gold resonate and illuminate the mountainside and bring a dash of brilliance to the greenery.  With little warning, the hint of winter's first snows arrive, and add white to the golds, greens, reds, orange, thus creating a color wheel beyond anything man could create.  Nature is alive!