Cranes On The Water, Fire Rainbows In The Sky

The cranes were flying in and landing on the Rio Grande in bunches. Click on photos to enlarge them.

These are not technically Fire Rainbows (very rare) because we are below 55º north latitude, and the sun was much lower than 58º above the horizon as the sun was setting. However, the clouds were cirrus, and they obviously had ice crystals acting like prisms refracting sunlight and creating a firey rainbow effect. They are probably run-of-the-mill rainbow clouds.

Sunrise and a crescent moon peeking through the clouds.

Pink clouds make a halo around the Tangle Heart Tree.

Spider Spunku

Spunk is rather proud of himself and his Spunku about barking spiders. One thing that’s different about a Spunku is that it rhymes.

Oh my what delight
Spiders barking in the night
Holding sheets down tight

Jumping Spider

Wild clouds at sunrise

Søren: “Hahahaha! A barking spider? Right! It needs ‘more cowbell’ stupid cat!”

Owl

Sunset

Nineteen

Watch colors in cold
Nineteen in my underwear
Package is frozen

Pre-Beaver Moon Rising. I was in a parking lot. There is going to be a 500-year eclipse tonight way past my bedtime.

Hey! Beaver! Yoo-hoo! There’s going to be a Beaver Moon tomorrow night, eleven nineteen twenty-one. And a Beaver eclipse in the wee hours this morning. It’s going to be a hoot!

Oh! Really? A Beaver Moon you say? Is that like when Benny Beaver lifts his tail and shows use his beaver behind? I don’t want to be eclipsed. My hair is too short already. Nineteen? It was cold this morning.

No! You dimwit. The MOON! You know that big shiny thing in the sky? Eclipse is when the moon gets dim, like you. It has nothing to do with clippers! It was cold this morning.

White Duck Daze

Some one’s white duck was in the irrigation ditch tonight.

I spotted a Beaver on the other side of the river.

He slithered into the water.

Swam toward me like Jaws.

He made a right turn,

Then a left turn.

Then Splashed me after I was yelling at him to splash for quite some time.

Daddy Owl

Is there a dragon in the clouds?

The Sandias with a soft pink.

8th Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey Tour

We had our 8th Annual Corrales Rose Society Dr. Huey tour in person this year. Susan came out in the late afternoon, and we walked around and looked at all the Dr. Hueys on the property, which are many this year. I also photographed other roses and Ladybugs.

Julie’s giant Dr. Huey in front of Rebecca’s black bamboo, and Marina’s Incognito pear tree blending in on the side.

Sleepy Owl was perched in a tree

Leaned forward wide eyes askance

Then the little fella

Puked up a pellet

“Oh! What a good owl am I!”

Gigi’s tree in the foreground with Resa’s and the neighbor’s trees in the background.

Thirty-Nine Wild Skies

Thirty-nine wild skies. One for each year Laurie and I have been married. Be sure to click on the gallery to view a slide show of the photos.

All of the clouds to the north at sunset tonight were contrails.

The owlets were lined up tonight in their order of age. Major Tom Peepers on the highest branch in front. Mona Lisa in the middle, and Sleepy mostly hidden farthest back.

My New Lens Is A Phone

I was going to buy a ultra-wide-angle lens for my Fuji XE-1 that I used to use as a carry camera. But the 10-24mm zoom lens is quite large, which makes it not as desirable to carry when I’m also carrying the Bazooka on a 7D Mark II body, and the 70-200mm zoom lens a 5Ds body. I have been using my iPhone XE for all street photography and wide-angle photos, stitching together panoramas for ultra-wide-angle shots. I finally decided that since an iPhone 12 Mini was the same price as a Fuji 10-24mm lens, I might as well upgrade my iPhone to the iPhone 12 Mini. The 12 Mini is the same form factor as the old iPhone 5, which is my favorite style of iPhone case, and the camera has wide-angle and super-wide-angle. The iPhone 12 Pro has telephoto, also, but I have the Bazooka and the iPhone 12 is bigger than I like.

What’s really nice with the iPhone 12 Mini is the “Portrait” setting works for any abject or critter as you can see in the photos of the kitties and the America Rose above. The “Portrait” setting on my iPhone SE only worked on human faces. When I tried using it on the cats, or anything else, it said “No faces recognized” and would not take a photo. I’m really happy with the camera on the iPhone 12 Mini.

All photos below were shot with the Bazooka 400mm lens on a Canon 7D Mark II body.

Tiny butterfly.

Spunk & Moon

Spunk is really getting into orchiding.

Crows hanging on in the wind.

Sleepy, with Mona Lisa behind him, trying to duck out of the wind. Major Tom Peepers has flown to another tree.

A fly on Taboo.