Delicate Color

The prickly pear blossoms have a tendency to vary in color from flower to flower on the same plant and also change colors throughout the day and in different lighting conditions. They seem to be at their most lovely state about mid-day and then close in the evening and take some time to open in the morning.

Looking for a Meal

You have to look carefully to see the bugs flying around these newly opened saguaro blossoms. These are some of the earliest I found this year. Most of the saguaros bloom later in May or even June, but these had started in April. I was fortunate to stop one of the bees coming to the flowers in mid-flight especially since this cluster of flowers is about twenty feet or so away from my camera lens.

Translucent

The colors of the prickly pear flowers are so saturated but at the same time, some of the varieties are so thin that they are translucent. No photograph can really do justice to looking at the original flowers. The timing of these flowers, just as the summer heat begins in the desert is either a warning or a consolation for what is to come with 100 degree plus temperatures.

Wind Farm

Western Utah is pretty much ignored in the tourist promotional ads, except for the Salt Flats. But if you like big, empty country with almost no people, then you will love the western desert. I think it has an endless attraction because of the colors and the sky and the wind farms and the wind. It is a nice place to drive through if you don't want any traffic.

Fire Burn

I was intrigued by the pattern made by this fire burn. I can't imagine why the fire just stopped where it did. This is a really remote area and I am sure there was no great effort made to stop the fire.

Obsidian

If you look closely, you will see that the ground is covered with pieces of obsidian, or volcanic glass. This is out in what is called the Western Utah Black Rock Desert. We like to drive the back roads and find rocks and minerals. Technically, obsidian isn't a rock since it is made of silicon and is a hyper-cooled liquid but we pick them up anyway. We haven't ever figured out what to do with the rocks.  I suppose our children can throw them away when we die.

In Full Bloom

The color spectrum of the prickly pear cactus flowers is truly amazing. The flowers bloom for a just two or three days, closing every evening as the sun goes down and then re-opening in the morning sun. Once they are pollenated, they dry up and drop off the fruit. 

A Single Bloom

Some cactus bloom in profusion and others have a single flower. This cactus makes up for lack of quantity with quality; one single gorgeous white blossom.

A Delicate Balance

 There is no rhyme or reason to where the prickly pear flowers bloom. They bloom along the margins of the pads but it does not seem to matter if they are pointed up or down. They manage to pull off spectacular blooms at whatever angle and no matter how close they are to the ground.

A Far View

One thing I like about the desert is the ability to get the far view. You can really see where you have been and where you might like to go. On the other hand, you may also find out that where you want to go and where you can go are very, very far apart.

Cliff's Edge

The standard view of the sandstone cliffs of the Colorado Plateau shows bare cliffs with little or no vegetation. In reality, there are places where the sandstone is almost obscured by trees and plant growth. Sometimes we need to take a new perspective in life and realize that everything does not conform to our preconceived notions.

Layers

Time rests heavily on the Canyon Country. You can see so much of it at once. Every layer in this rock represents hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years of deposits and then additional millions of years of erosion. Time, indeed, rests heavily.

The Remains

It is hard to conceptualize what this looked like at the time the ancient inhabitants of Tuzigoot were living in this structure. There are drawings with concepts of how it might have appeared, but the reality is that there are presently paved walkways and neatly restored walls that likely bear little resemblance to the reality.

Dirt Roads

As anyone who has traveled with me for any length of time well knows, I love to drive the backroads of Arizona and Utah. These roads are mostly unpaved, dirt roads. This one may as well have been paved, it was a dirt road superhighway. But I mostly crop out the roads in my photos so I thought it was time to show where I was going and what I was driving on at the time.

Sunset over St George

Sunsets are instantly attractive, but terribly difficult to capture. Film cameras seemed to do a better job of catching the color and spirit of a sunset than digital cameras do. This is one of the very few shots I have tried that show the real drama of a the clouds and colors of a sunset. Perhaps this is because this is taken looking east and not towards the setting sun.

Evening Falls in St. George

St. George, Utah sits in a spectacularly scenic area surrounded by natural wonders. One of the advantages of the city is that there are roads going up the surrounding hills that give you a panoramic view of the area. If I had gotten to know a little more about St. George earlier in my life, I might have been tempted to move there.

The Old Spring-Tooth Harrow

One advantage or disadvantage of living in the desert is that old metal farm equipment stays around forever. This is a spring-tooth harrow or drag harrow. It was used to loosen the soil before planting and is largely outdated. It has been replaced by the chisel plow and field cultivator. You never know what you will find at the most unlikely places.

Racing the Waves

These little guys would run in an out as the waves came in, just barely missing getting their feet wet in the foam. They are looking for an evening meal but seem to be in such a hurry that I am sure they are missing most of their opportunities. I relate to them, most of the time, I am too busy to eat.

Fancy Tulips

 Tulips are definitely not a desert plant. They usually require a certain number of cold/freezing days in their winter dormancy to properly bloom. These aren't the type of tulips that have the iconic tulip shape but they are impressive none-the-less. For living in the desert, it seems like I am frequently taking photographs in adverse weather conditions. I wonder why that is? These were taken during a cold rainstorm with wind.

Caught in Flight

Of course the flower was standing still, but the bug flying by happened to get into the picture right at the moment it was taken. I do get photos of bugs from time to time, but usually be design rather than by accident. I don't think the bug detracts from the beautiful flower too much.

Inside a Snow Storm

Being from the low desert, it is very unusual for me to be trying to take pictures in a snow storm. The trick is have someway to cover your camera and moving pretty fast. This photo was taken in Zion National Park in April. You would think it was still winter.

Creeping Along

I found this little fellow creeping along the gravel looking for food. They are sometimes so tame that you can almost walk up to them, depending on whether or not dogs and coyotes have access to the area where they live.

Saturated Color

The color of the sandstone cliffs here in Zion National Park are more than just wet, they shine with saturated color. When dry, the walls appear to be unbroken slabs, but the rain and the wet walls show all the detail of their cracks and crevices. Weather is neither bad nor good, despite our tendency to refer to it as such, it is just weather and any weather is good for photographs, but "bad weather" is better.

Door to the Secret Garden

Why do I love doors and windows? I guess there is always something inviting and at times, even mysterious about a door. Most doors lack character, so I make a point of photographing those that depart from the normal experience. Windows are an entirely different matter. They are like the eyes of the world.

Cold and Wet

This mule deer does not appear particularly happy. The poor thing is standing in the cold and wet rain and just starting to get some food after a long winter. It took the time to stare at me in my coat and carrying my umbrella to keep the rain off of my camera. Maybe it cheered up once the rain had stopped and it had eaten good meal of grass and leaves?

Faces in Trees

If you look through my photos, even though there are a lot of them, you will find my pictures of faces in rocks and trees and other objects. I love to see things like this and hope you do too.

Daffodils among the Tulips

Even the most meticulous gardener will find a few exceptions to their carefully laid plans. Maybe the bulbs got mixed and it was impossible to tell which ones were daffodils and which ones were tulips. This is a good analogy for life, we sometimes get daffodils among our tulips when we might not be expecting them.

Storm in Zion

It was raining with a mixture of snow and the wind was blowing so hard it made it difficult to keep from getting the lens of the camera spattered with water. We used umbrellas that threatened to tear apart and stood under whatever cover we could find. The experience was fantastic and the colors were incredible. It is so hard to condense the experience into a photograph. Zion National Park.

Blooming in the shade

Many of the cactus plants with the most spectacular flowers are not native to Arizona. Even though they are cactus, they can't survive the intense heat and sun of the Sonora Desert and so are planted in the shade. If you try to grow them in full sun, they will wither and die. This is good for the plant, but bad for photography.

Inside the Bloom

One of the fascinating things about flowers is the intricate and detailed inner workings of the flower. Every species has a slightly and sometimes dramatically different way of attracting pollinators. It is sometimes difficult to see beyond the color into the inner part of the flower. It is the same way with people.

The Most Spectacular Flowers Ever

 There are not words to describe these flowers and the photos do not do them justice. I have two images here so you can see the size of these blooms. All I can say is that they are much more impressive in person and overwhelming in color. This one small plant, among many, was going unnoticed by most of the visitors to the Desert Botanical Garden that day because it was tucked away in a corner. I can only say, as we have had on our walls for years, bloom where you are planted.

Prickly Delight

The colors spectrum of cactus blooms is incredible. In fact, flowers on the same plant can vary dramatically in color. This prickly pear or opuntia is a good example of the vibrant, almost fake looking, colors that appear each Spring. Once pollinated, the flowers wilt and die and the fruit pods at the base of the flowers begin to grow with luscious prickly pear fruit.

Backlight

First of all this photograph is actually in color. Secondly, it is almost impossible to duplicate the conditions that allowed this photo to be taken and last, it highlights the incredible forms of the cactus. This is easily one of the most dramatic shots I have ever taken.

Quail on the Rail

Most of the time, these very active birds are running around on the ground at a frantic rate of speed, looking for food. But every once and while, one of them pops up on a fence or railing to survey the area. One of my favorite sounds is the coo-cooing of the quail. Before air conditioning sealed us off from the outside world, I would wake up to that sound, mixed with mourning doves, every day.

Zion in the Rain

If you browse through my photos, you will probably see that I like landscapes with clouds and mist. Here the colors of the rocks comes out dramatically with the rain and the clouds let you see the dimensions of this huge canyon they call Zion National Park.

Into the Mist

I like to visit some National Parks during really bad weather. The rain and/or snow is a challenge to keep the camera lenses from fogging or getting rain splattered. But the photographs are worth the challenge of the elements. This is in Zion National Park in Utah during a heavy rain storm.

Effects of Erosion

The pattern caused by the erosion of this hillside was fascinating. The layers are deposited by rainfall in this dry region and then the erosion shows the thin layer deposited on the iron-red layers of eroded material underneath. I love the color.

Blooming in Spring

 We came across this spectacular blooming cactus in a median on a busy road in the rain. I had to dodge cars and stand in the rain to take the photo. We had to dry off the camera after taking the picture after returning to the car. It was worth the effort.

Blue and White

I am fascinated by plants that have different colored flowers on the same plant. These little flowers seem to bloom bright blue and then fade quickly to white. I would guess the change happens as soon as the flower is pollinated.

Barrel Cactus Fruit

Most of the cactus have some kind of fruit and most are edible. I haven't tried these, but I have eaten prickly pear fruit a lot. Cactus fruit was a mainstay of the ancient inhabitants of the desert Southwest.

Among the rocks

 We often worry about planting our gardens in the best soil with lots of fertilizer and care. Some plants don't seem to worry much about where or how they are planted. Maybe we should take a lesson from this cactus in the rocks and use the plants that are adapted to where we would like them to grow?

Texture

There is really nothing imagined by artists or artisans that rivals the patterns and textures of nature. This plant shows two separate spirals, one from the right and one from the left that intersect. You may have to stare at it for a minute to see the two intersecting patterns.

Teddy Bear Cactus

The name does not really go with the cactus. You would definitely not want to cuddle this teddy bear. It is one of the most painful cactus when you get stuck. I have managed to avoid them almost entirely. But I have been around a lot of people when they have accidentally bumped one of these. Not a good idea at all.

Ninja Cactus

We captured this very fast Ninja cactus with our digital camera while it was standing still. It is not only a Ninja, it is cute.

A Palo Verde Spring

Springtime in the deserts of Arizona means that the palo verde trees bloom with their profusion of yellow. One of my most vivid memories from my youth, was driving out along the Bush Highway to Saguaro Lake and seeing a sea of yellow palo verde blossoms stretching out towards Four Peaks. I have never seen anything like that since and fires and development have not added to the possibility that I will see it again.

Exploring the Limits

I find that taking pictures depends heavily on chance and opportunity. So many of the landscape photos you see in publications such as Arizona Highways and others, depended on the photographer being the right place at the right time. The challenge is taking photos under a variety of lighting and weather conditions. Unless you have the means and time to sit around waiting for pictures to occur, you have to take what you get and make the most of it.

The top of the Boojum

Boojum trees are very unusual plants found in the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. They grow reasonably well in the Sonora Desert but are rare and usually confined to specialized plantings. This is the top of the plant in the early Spring when it is sending out new shoots and flowering. 

Variety Show

All of the brown fuzzy growths on the prickly pear cactus in this picture will soon turn into flowers. But at the time this photo was taken, I was content with the colors and forms of the cactus showing the variety that can exist in a small area of the desert. Well, sort of. This was really taken in the Desert Botanical Garden and normally, all of these species of cactus and agave would not be in the same place at the same time.

Posing

This little guy was sitting there waiting for me to take his picture. Usually, they are running around in the rocks and gravel on the desert floor and never hold still for more that a second or two. But this time, this quail decided he wanted his photo taken and he stood there from ten seconds, long enough for me to get him in focus and take the picture.