Clouds and mountains~SkyWatch Friday~020714

It was a cold, cloudy afternoon yesterday.  Perfect for a late afternoon walk!  So, off I went, armed with my trusty Nikon D40.  It's so much lighter than my Canon that when I am out walking, I often take it instead.  And, I wasn't sure how much of a sunset I would see.  Turns out, the sunset wasn't spectacular at all (too many clouds), but I did see these clouds up on Highway 74 and above Deep Canyon.  Anyway, it was great to get out and enjoy an afternoon.  SkyWatch Friday for February 7, 2014.  To visit other skywatchers, please go to:   http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Just around the desert

This is where I take my morning walks.  It's open desert on a couple of sides and there are coyotes hanging around some mornings.  There are owls and hawks and ravens here and LOTS and LOTS of jackrabbits.  I found this one trail while out walking one morning.  And, the brittle bushes are in full bloom...in JANUARY and early FEBRUARY!  (That's very early for them!)  I'm glad a 3 day weekend is coming up as I'll have an extra day of walking!  :-)

Water at the park~Water World Wednesday~020514

I like to grab my camera and go down to our civic center park, which is only a few blocks from our house here in the desert.  There are lots of ducks and geese there, although the geese migrate in late spring and go back to their summer homes.  There is a flock of about 6 of them at the park now.  There is a nice fountain at the park which seems to come on about 7:00 a.m. every day.  It's very relaxing and sometimes I'll even drive there after school and just walk around.  Water World Wednesday for February 5, 2014.  It's hard to find water spots here in the desert, but this is one of them.

Robins, robins, and MORE robins~Wild Bird Wednesday~020514

When I went on my weekend morning walks, there were robins and Cedar waxwings EVERYWHERE!  I could hear the robins and I could see flocks of the waxwings, but I never did get a good photo of them.  I was, however, able to sneak up on a couple of robins before they flew away! I'll go back again this coming weekend and see if I can get better photos, but this is what I have for now... HA!  Wild Bird Wednesday for February 5, 2014.  To visit Wild Bird Wednesday, please go to:    http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com/

Desert willow

Desert willow and our Sunday morning sky.  At the Desert Willow Golf Course in Palm Desert, CA.  It looks like we'll be having cloudy days for the next 10 days, a welcome relief to our week-after-week clear, blue sky!

A splash of color

Both yesterday morning and this morning I went for a LONG walk at the city-owned golf course.  Not IN the golf course, but on the dirt roads above it, mind you.  Common people ARE NOT ALLOWED to walk in the golf course.  But, there are plenty of well-kept dirt roads above it and I like looking down into it anyway.  And, I heard the songs of coyotes, so that was an added bonus!  The brittle brush is in full bloom and I stopped to snap a couple of photos.

Ducks at the park

So, I took my trusty Nikon to the civic center park last weekend to see how many ducks were there.  There were MANY, MANY ducks!  Yikes!  But, by summer, you know, they'll mostly be gone.  The white ones, however, do seem to stay there year round.  And the goose, too, stays.