Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Photography

Wildflowers in Bloom

Arizona Poppy Desert Marigold Orange Mallow

Thanks to an El Niño shortened winter, spring wildflowers are already popping up everywhere in the desert. Last week, during our visit to the West Valley (Bob had a doctor appointment), we noticed a lot of wildflowers along the roadside and in the median on US 60 between Wickenburg and the outer loop (Loop 303) of the Phoenix Metro Area, which is where the desert ends and the urbs begin.

We took the dogs for a walk today after dinner and I remembered to bring my camera since we see wildflowers along our walk. All three of these photos above were taken within a quarter mile of our house and are completely uncultivated desert wildflowers.

From left to right above, we have an Arizona Poppy, a Desert Marigold and an Orange Mallow. I used my usual Canon Rebel T3 to capture all three images. Click on any of the images to enlarge.

09 Mar 2016 by Arizona Environment Flowers Photography

Gerbera Daisies and Tulips

Gerbera Daisies and Tulips

The flower shop in the supermarket had cut Gerbera Daisies and some nice tulips today. I bought a bunch of each and fashioned this centerpiece for the dining table this afternoon. Click on the image to enlarge.

The flowers made our light lunch of healthy greens, tomatoes, cubed avocado and shredded chicken breast taste all the better. We enjoyed a lovely spring-like day here in the desert once more.

25 Feb 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Lizard Sunning on a Rock

Lizard Sunning on a Rock

I noticed this lizard sunning itself on one of the river rocks below the courtyard out front this morning. I went and got my Canon SL1 and the 300mm lens to get this picture. The little guy obliged me and sat tight while I went in to get the camera. This is another view of the same lizard.

Despite consulting a desert wildlife book and looking on the Lizards of Arizona webpage, I am unable to identify the common or taxonomic name of this variety. We see lizards all the time, now that the weather is warmer.

Maybe readers like Crotalus or Glenn B, being desert and reptile aficionados, can shed some of their wisdom on this one. Right now, I call it “Gray Lizard with two-tone brown pattern on its back.”

UPDATE: Thanks to Glenn B, the little critter has been almost positively identified as an ornate tree lizard. See Glenn’s comment below . . .

22 Feb 2016 by Arizona Critters Environment Photography

Another Beautiful Desert Sunset

Desert Sunset

We have had a couple of beautiful days camping here in the Coachella Valley. The temperatures and the weather in general have been very acceptable. This evening, we enjoyed this beautiful sunset. Tomorrow, we will be breaking up camp and headed to the Colorado River to visit with our friends who live there.

While we were here in Palm Desert, we enjoyed visiting with our six-month old grandson, his parents and his other grandpa was here, too. We had a cookout yesterday, when Bob grilled some steaks and I fixed the side dishes which we fed to everyone. It was our first mobile dinner party!

We are planning to prepare another steak dinner for our friends at the river tomorrow. After we spend the night there, we will be driving the Roadrunner RV back to Wickenburg.

14 Feb 2016 by California Photography Retirement Wanderlust

Camping in Palm Desert (Again)

Camping Setup

We left our Arizona home this morning at about eleven AM and arrived to check-in at the RV park at about two PM. That sounds like good travel time, but we gained an hour coming to the PST time zone, so the time was nominal as compared to our previous experience coming here. We had a good trip with one little slowdown where an eighteen wheeler rolled over in the median along I-10.

We got here and set up camp for our weekend visits with the kids and the grandson. We had been invited to the in-laws for dinner on previous trips here, but this time we’re inviting the kids and the other set of grandparents to the campground for a steak cookout on Saturday. With the big RV, we can prepare the sides and grill the steaks right here.

The RV Resort is packed today; we took a walk around and saw vehicle license plates from all over the US and Canada. There is an “Oh Canada” dinner and show here tonight (we will not be attending, eh? $40 USD per plate, hosers). Besides, we brought the food and beverages we need and are now settled in and quite comfortable.

We are using the Verizon Jetpack® MiFi wireless internet hot spot we recently obtained and thus far, it seems to work much better (and is more secure) than the often spotty performance of the unsecured WiFi offered by the RV park. We will probably report on our performance assessment of the new gadget after using it for a while.

12 Feb 2016 by Arizona Photography Technobabble Travel Wanderlust

Cardinal on the Block Feeder

CardinalDamsel is usually the one to get spectacular photos of scenery, classic objects and wildlife, but once in a while, I get a lucky shot. I took this photo of a cardinal visiting the seed block feeder up on the hill behind the RV drive.

I was in the shadow of the house crouching next to the patio with my Canon Rebel SL1 and the 75-300mm telephoto lens when this handsome fellow showed up. I positioned myself in anticipation that he would eventually approach the feeder after I first spotted him in a mesquite tree some thirty feet up the hill. It was only a matter of tens of seconds before he arrived on the top of the feeder. I took several frames of which this was the best, in my opinion.

This bird is the one that Damsel refers to as the “orange” cardinal because there is another one that comes around which is much brighter red than this guy. I read in Wikipedia that they get the feather colors from things in their diet and, possibly, this one did not get as many “red” food staples as the other one.

The details on the camera settings are as follows: Canon EOS Rebel SL1, F7.0, ISO 100, 1/500 sec shutter speed, focal length 180mm. The image was shot from a crouching position about ten yards from the subject. No tripod or other stabilizing utility used at the time. Click on the image to enlarge.

11 Feb 2016 by Arizona Critters Home & Garden Photography

First Plum Flower of (Early) Spring

Plum Flower

We were watching the last rays of the setting sun in the courtyard this evening when I noticed that there was a flower open on our flowering plum tree. The open flower surprised me since the tree is completely denuded of leaves after the recent freezing weather (well a few nights, at least).

The mature plum tree is a replacement for the original tree the landscapers planted in 2011. The old tree snapped off at the trunk (it was a smaller tree) during a 2014 microburst that took out a lot of the natural vegetation that summer.

Soon, this tree will be growing it’s new spring leaves, but not before we prune off a few of the very low branches and suckers to encourage the tree to grow vertically and not into the walkway or the courtyard wall. Click on the image to enlarge.

10 Feb 2016 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Categories

Archives