“How do you like my impersonation of a Crane?” Oh, Spunk! I think you look more like Chupacabra. “What do you know stupid Paparazzo?”
“We think Spunk looks a lot like a Crane.” Who asked you Daddy and Mama Owls?
Sandhill Cranes landing at sunset. Another colorful sunset. The sliver moon was just above the trees after sunset.
Mama Owl. January 11, 2021
Sandhill Crane. January 11, 2021.
Frosted backlit leaves.
We had a light dusting of snow combined with frost this morning. The sky cleared in the early morning hours and the temperature dropped to 20ºF (-6.66ºC).
Cranes and geese in a frosty mist.
Frosted links.
Marina’s Incognito Pear tree all cold and frosty.
Snow and frost on the black bamboo.
Surprise! I’ll bet you thought my new Ax was going to be a new guitar? As you can see below it’s a real Ax for chopping down trees. Laurie asked me why I got a chopping ax instead of a splitting ax? It’s pretty simple: like a Lumberjack, I chop down trees.
My new ax is made by Husqvarna, and it’s a solid, heavy-duty ax.
Mama Owl and Daddy Owl are still hanging in the tree across the irrigation ditch from where they have nested for the past four years.
Like a Lumberjack, I felled two elm trees in a matter of minutes with my new ax.
Crane looking for a morsel before going to bed.
Remember Monty Python’s The Lumberjack Song?
Gwendolyn gargoyling
Glenda and Gwendolyn have full run of the house, catio, and deck now. Teagan had cast them as flying monkeys in a kitty fantasy, and she was right. The kittens are like a couple of flying monkeys. They have become very difficult to photograph because they won’t hold still if they are out of the dark kitten caves they have made for themselves in the laundry room. The big kitties have finally accepted the kittens and everyone is getting along reasonably well. The big kitties have become much more playful under the influence of the kittens. Of course, the big cats are also teaching the kittens many of their bad habits.
Cranes coming in for landing with crows in the background.
Marble
Gwendolyn
We’re just dropping in the see what condition all the conditions are in.
Spunk in the fuzzy hammock I replaced the last burlap hammock with.
The murder of Crows continues.
“You didn’t include me in the title?” Nope! You’re the intermission.
Cranes cavorting
Glenda in the dark.
Cranes at sunset
Gwendolyn: “What cream?”
Glenda
Gwendolyn: “La Llorona? What were you saying about La Llorona drowning kittens?” Children. She drowns children.
Glenda: “Kittens are children too!”
“EEK! A mouse!” “Nice jump Dude!”
“That was close.”
“I’m not impressed.”
Intermission
“Did someone say ‘Mouse’?”
“Meh!”
“False Alarm!”
The excitement in the Rio Grande and bosque this evening. Cranes and owls. Spunk and Sasha had to comment.
Crows peppered the sky
Jets few by
Cranes fly by
Landing gears down
Mama Owl & Daddy Owl
Jupiter & Saturn
Cranes In The Mist. November 2009.
Cranes In The Mist is one of Susan Brant Graham’s favorite photos that I have done. Below are some cranes in the mist from this morning, but they don’t quite have the same magic as the original taken in 2009. Susan is not only my photographer of the day for my last post in the Travel Photo Challenge, but she is also one of my favorite photographers, period.
Laurie and I have known Susan for 20 years now. It all started with the Albuquerque Rose Society where Susan, Laurie, Tristan, Susan’s mother, and I all competed in rose shows and rose arranging competitions. I believe it was the summer of 2007, Susan was taking photos of roses in our garden when her camera broke. She had a Canon point-n-shoot then. That incident inspired her to get a Canon 5D full-frame camera, and she started taking photography seriously. She upgraded to a Canon 5D Mark II soon after it became available. Susan is an OBGYN and also has a Ph.D. in Anthropology. Over the years she has won many awards for her photography. She wrote the American Rose Society guidelines for judging photographs of roses and published a book on matting photographs for rose shows.
Susan and I share the same birthdate, so we have used our birthdays to do photography day trips. Susan, Laurie, and I have also photographed various special events together. Susan retired a few years ago and has recently been working on projects that show how colorblind people see color and on genealogy. She has published books on El Dia de los Muertos parade in Albuquerque, her colorblind project, and she is currently working on a book or books based on her family genealogy. Susan’s blog is http://susanbgraham.com/blog/. She has not been active on her blog this year with all her other projects and the craziness of 2020.
You can see photos from one of our more notable birthday excursions to Abó Ruins and Quarai Ruins at https://wp.me/p1yQyy-2cH and https://wp.me/s1yQyy-quarai. El Dia de los Muertos parade and the Blacksmith World Championships were two of the more memorable events we photographed together. Photos from those two events can be seen at El Dia de los Muertos: https://wp.me/p1yQyy-Vg. Blacksmith World Championships: https://wp.me/p1yQyy-1BG.
My last set of travel photos for the challenge are of Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge along the Rio Grande about 55 miles south of Albuquerque. The photos were taken in December 2009 when Laurie and I drove down to explore the area. It was cold and wet, and we saw very little wildlife that day.
Jupiter and Saturn were in the trees tonight. December 31, 2020.
Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
Crows over cranes at dusk.
Crows, crane, Sliver Moon over Mia’s Tree.
Intermission: Daddy owl hooted at me in the dark and got my attention. +2 stops made for an interesting exposure.
Crows and Sliver Moon.
An alignment of Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity, a plane, and the Sliver Moon under the Tangle Heart Tree. Saturn is trying to shine through the clouds above Jupiter.
Mostly blue skies tonight a little after 5:00 at pm.
Cranes catnapping a little after 5:00 pm.
Mia’s tree under a wild sky at five till five.
A Pterodactyl catnapping with ducks at ten till five.
Marina’s Incognito Tree just before sunset.
Resa’s tree in the snow yesterday around noon.
Dale’s Peach Tree in daylight under blue skies the day before yesterday.
Off Center & Not Even 