September 2018: Cloud Coverage

Clouds

Clouds

It was just cool enough to sit on the porch awhile the morning I took September’s photo, and Quijote seemed to want a little extra sun.

The sky was mottled with little white clouds, like the edges of the approaching cloud bank had crumbled off ahead of it.

They reminded me of the bits of cream cheese you get when it’s too cold to spread properly. Or the pattern of paint after a timid first pass on a textured wall.

Later, the wind and air pressure and afternoon heat would work together to spread the storm clouds across the sky and cover it completely.


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July 2018: San Diego Shadows

Dragon tree shadows on the sidewalk

I think the fantastical plants I kept seeing around San Diego are called “dragon trees”.

coronado dragon trees

On the way back from Coronado Beach, I noticed the playful-looking shadows they cast on the sidewalk. So, once again, I stopped in my tracks to take a photo of the ground.

La Jolla Cove sunset

Other photo favorites from July include a sunset in La Jolla (San Diego) and Quijote looking at the ocean.

Dog at the beach

Have you seen anything interesting on the sidewalk lately?


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December’s Last Sunset and 2017 Photos

The sunset the last evening of 2017 was gorgeous – nature’s fireworks to celebrate the New Year.

A couple of the year’s other beautiful sunsets showed up on my Instagram Best Nine, fitting neatly into its unintentional bright pink/purple/royal blue color scheme. All of my most-liked photos were taken in Arizona, so, of course, they include some desert scenery.

Only a few coincided with my monthly photo picks.

1. #LOVE sign at airport protest 2. Star Wars Capacitance Electronic Disc (CED) 3. Sunset behind palms 4. Tovrea Castle, Phoenix 5. Buildings in Old Town Peoria 6. Hotel Congress sign, Tucson – July 7. High Desert Trail, Black Canyon City – August 8. “Let’s Be Better Humans” campaign bus – March 9. View from Picacho Peak – en route from Tucson


I thought the photos I’d picked for 2017 were more varied than the automatically-generated Best Nine list. But, looking back, almost all are plant- or architecture-related. I guess it was a good year for both those categories.

I wonder what 2018 will bring.




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A Hike in Le Marche

Le Marche countryside

At about the halfway point in our Italy trip, we took a break from museums and city streets and headed to the country.

Le Marche Road

We went to Le Marche, a region east of Tuscany that stretches to the Adriatic Sea.

hike in Le Marche - berries

Le Marche Hillside

One morning, we hiked up a hillside to some ruins of a city that had been abandoned there hundreds of years ago.

Le Marche Ruins

Le Marche Ruins

Coming over one ridge, we spotted a pair of horses grazing. One had a bell around its neck (like a cowbell – apparently it keeps porcupines away).

They seemed as curious about us as we were about them, both parties making our way cautiously toward each other bit by bit.

image

We stared at each other awhile until, finally, Phillip and I turned to scramble up the next hill to see the crumbling stone houses there. The horses continued to mosey down their path.

Le Marche Hike




 

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Spotted at the Arboretum

image

Boyce thompson arboretum
Boyce thompson arboretum - cardinal

Today at the Arboretum we saw

4 cardinals

1 woodpecker

a couple hummingbirds

several nests

a really neat feather

a possible owl pellet that Phillip poked at with a stick

some beautiful black butterflies

2 very determined ants and 1 that could care less

2 trees full of bees

a handful of squirrels

a turtle

a snake

and 75 lizards (before we stopped counting).

Boyce thompson arboretum - Snake

I also spotted a fuzzy tail of an animal going into a thicket. I jumped out of the car while it was still running to see what it was. All I found was a fat, lumbering squirrel.

Boyce thompson arboretum

Also, if you go on a hot, humid Tuesday, you’ll practically have the place to yourself. With the exception of those mentioned above, of course.

Boyce thompson arboretum




 
P.S. For those of you interested in chronology, by “today,” I mean last Tuesday, when I wrote down what we’d seen earlier that day.
 

Microblog Mondays: Write in your own space