A wide-angle looking east. The Sandias are blocked by clouds.
They kitties and I got up at 6:30 this morning to find 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) of snow on the ground and no power. Since we have our own well, no power means no water. Fortunately, we have a gas stove and keep bottled water on hand, so I could make coffee. Power was restored around 10:45 am, so it had been off 6 hours or longer. We did have cell service, so I was able to call the power company to make sure they knew we were without power. Then the kitties and I went out at 7:00 am, played in the snow and took photos.
Resa’s treeElectric meter.Echinacea cone headsView looking west along the neighbor’s fence.View looking north.CatioLooking west down our road before anyone had driven on it.
I was thinking that Resa’s tree might turn all yellow before turning brown; however, we had a har frost last night that turned the lower leaves brown. Many of the trees in the bosque that were yellow last night turned brown today.
Resa’s Tree looking northeast.Resa’s tree backlit looking east.Sandias reflectingCottonwood in the bosque that still has a yellow on top.
With it 100º F (37.8º C) at our house, we hopped in the Mazda Miata MX-5, put the top down and headed for the hills — well Sandia Crest at 11,000 feet (3352.8 meters) above sea level. The drive to the top was a blast as the MX-5 hugged the corners well above the posted speed limit. We could see the clouds swirling above us, and hear the birds singing with the top down, as rounded one hairpin turn after another on our way to the top. Once at the top of the Crest, the temperature was 55º F (12.8º C) with drizzling rain and cold wind. Quite a contrast from the sunny, hot valley below. We walked around on the mountain top and noticed there were lots of wild flowers blooming.
After raining for about an hour this afternoon, the rain suddenly changed to giant snowflakes that were coming down thick in the waning light. I ran out and got photos of the falling snow. In the process I got photos of three cottonwood trees I photograph quite often as conditions change. Resa, who has two blogs I follow, Art Gowns and Graffiti Lux Art & More, thinks Mia is lucky to have her own tree. I told Resa she can have a tree if she would like, so I’m putting up four possible candidates. The first three cottonwoods are on our property, and the fourth is by our cattle ramp. The cattle ramp is on our property but the cottonwood is not, and I don’t photograph that whole tree very often. However, it’s a cool looking cottonwood and is situated so it gets good backlighting in the morning and the afternoon. Plus it has a cattle ramp next to it. But Resa can decide if she like any of these trees or wants to look through previous posts to see if she can find a tree that calls to her. Below are a few links to previous posts that include photos of the first three trees:
Off Center & Not Even 