As we continue our adventures on the Rhône delta, a cyclist was riding down the the beach at the same time we were driving down. With the nice tail wind, we was able to ride the speed limit all the way to the beach. He was from Switzerland and was riding his bike across southern France on his way to Spain.
At the end of the Route de la Mer on the Rhône delta is a nice, sandy beach. However, when we were there close to 9:30 pm on May 22nd, the Mistral winds that blow from the Alps to the sea, accelerating as they pass through the Rhône and Durance valleys, were blowing at almost hurricane force at the end of our road. The wind was so strong it seemed to stretch shadows, and even using a shutter speed of 1/1000 of a second, the sand blowing across the beach is a blur. Mistral winds blow day and night for three to four days straight without letting up.
Now that we are seeing more Sandhill Cranes, I’m noticing the similarities between the cranes and the wild Flamingos we saw along the Route de la Mer that runs to the Mediterranean Sea on the Rhône delta in May. After looking at the area on Google Maps, it looks like the areas the Flamingos are wading in and flying over are normally dry. It was an unusually wet spring for Provence this year.
I made sure I went out to the river and got the sunset on Sunday. Now that we are back on standard time, it will be dark before I leave the office during the week.
This year, we are going to do the same things we always do on Halloween: get up, play with the kitties and birds, go to work and school, take some photos, come home, play with the kitties and birds, study, process photos, post a blog, check out other blogs and things on the web, go to bed.
Laurie’s annotated bibliography about code switching became a “cat-otated bibliography” with “cat switching” as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern took turns checking out our progress. Guildenstern was very persistent, and insisted that lying on our papers, computers and arms was great help as we worked late into the night. The geese are foraging in one of Wagner’s fields every morning.
Another evening of the beautiful light at sunset along the Rio Grande.
I don’t think this lovely scarecrow is very scary, but she does cut a good hay figure. Fall is in the air — I saw a couple of sandhill cranes fly over this morning, so I went out to the river before sunset and a small flock flew by. The problem is the river is running really high and fast, so the places they normally roost are underwater. The Martinez House got its color coat, and the cottonwoods are turning yellow.
The egg sandwich I made for breakfast seemed particularly worthy of a photo. Mama Manx was walking around the yard like a kitty queen, and the answer to our morning congestion was all the smoke in the air from people burning their fireplaces (haze in last photo).
For those of you who didn’t think it quite right to do photographs of balloons in B&W, here are balloons up-close and personal, in early morning, stark, bright light, backlit, and in living color. Several balloons where launching from the “goat head” field at the top of our road, so I grabbed a few photos as I drove by on my way to work. All the photos were done with my iPhone, and the effect on the last photo is shooting through a dirty windshield.
Off Center & Not Even 