Imagining the Desert

I was going back through some of my thousands of photos and ran across this one taken from Antelope Island and looking towards the Wasatch Front. I keep coming back to the desert. This seems especially true while living on the East Coast. I keep hoping to see some good photo ops here in Maryland, but so far there are few opportunities.

A Herd of Sheep in the West Desert of Utah

This image makes me feel sorry for those sheep. The Western Deserts of Utah are about as treeless and barren as any place on earth. Fortunately for the sheep, the area where they spend their time foraging is in the distance: the low range of hills covered with juniper trees. I just thought that the contrast between the barren landscape and the large herd of sheep was interesting.

Agave Heart

From the perspective of a photographer, the light and point of view of the photo make all the difference. Looking down on this agave gives us a different way of thinking about both the plant and its form.

Mountain Road

Do I miss the mountains? I guess a better question would be do I miss anything? I miss my friends and family when they are away. But places are places. I feel at home in Southern Utah and the High Colorado Plateau of Arizona, but I appreciate everywhere I go. Maryland has its attractions. We took a walk in the woods of Virginia and saw some beautiful sights.

The VLA

The Very Large Array telescope located near Socorro, New Mexico has become an icon for radio astronomy. Featured in a number of motion pictures and news stories, the array of radio telescopes is easily identifiable. The size of the individual units is dwarfed by the huge high altitude plain where the array was built. The VLA is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Reflections on Light

I have spent a considerable time reading about and thinking about light. Not only am I aware of light as a photographer, but I am also intensely interested in the scientific aspects of light and also the religious symbolism of light. If you look at this photo, you might be able to figure out that is is the reflection of sunlight in a small stream. But for me, it is an abstract representation of the power of light to provide an aesthetic experience that transcends reality.

A Far View

I can't help but contrast the views in the East with my life in Arizona. Living in the dry Southwest, you get used to seeing everything with a background of distance. In the East, the views are always limited by trees. I do enjoy the long view.

Leaves and Shelf Fungi

These fungi, commonly called shelf fungi, grow rapidly on any downed wood. This photo was taken in the Winter, long after the leaves had fallen from the trees so the branch fell since the leaf fall. The fungi break down the wood fibers and promote the decomposition of the branch faster than it would otherwise be.

Winter's Design

There are some extraordinary benefits of walking out in the forest in the winter. One of them is the ability to see the forms of the trees instead of viewing them as green blobs. In this photo, you can see overlapping fractal patterns made by the tree branches.  In the summer this same line of trees would appear as a solid green mass. Actually, all of the seasons of the years have their advantages and I get to see them as long as I stay mobile.

A Watery Sunset

This image is not upside down. So far this year, we have not seen any appreciable snow either in Utah or here in the Washington, D.C. area. We have snow forecast for later in the week, but any expectations of a white Christmas are fading fast. There are places in the country where there is a lot of snow, but not anywhere we have been lately. I even have heard that there is snow in Provo, Utah but it all came after we left. I decided to substitute this upside down sunset photo for anything showing snow.

Old Age

We carry a lot of baggage into old age. This old tree trunk is a good analogy for the events in our lives that end up in a hopeless tangle. But despite the tangle of age, we live with hope and faith. Paraphrasing what it says in Moroni 10:22:

True faith brings miracles, visions, dreams, healings, and all the gifts of God that He gives to His Saints. By faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually is able to dwell in God’s presence. A lack of faith leads one to despair, which comes because of iniquity

Cholla

We live in a wonderful world of beauty if we only open our eyes and look. Quoting from John Muir,

"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls."
—John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, Page 312.

Zion National Park in the Winter Fog

One way to avoid the crowds in National Parks is to visit them in the "off-season." This usually means, however, that you will have to put up with rain, fog, snow and other bad weather conditions. On the other hand, you get saturated colors and unusual scenery. This was a very wet and cold day at Zion National Park, but riding the buses and walking the trails by ourselves was a bonus.

A Typical Midwestern Farm House

This is a photo of a mosaic tile mural in a rest stop in Iowa. I thought it was about as typical a representation as you could get of a Midwestern farmhouse. I don't think there is anything approaching this level in any rest stop in either Arizona or Utah.

On the Road: An Antique Road Grader

My first real job away from home was with a construction company in Tucson, Arizona. One of the first challenges of that job was learning to identify and name the tools and equipment, including the machinery, of the construction trade. That original exposure to machinery left me with a fascination for all kinds of machines. Now, I like to take photos of old equipment, usually from construction or farming. This grader is a Caterpillar model, likely from the 1930s. It was too cold and windy to try and make a positive identification.

Christmas in the MTC

We came close this year to having Christmas in the Missionary Training Center, but we finished our two week's stay and are now on our way east to Annapolis, Maryland to serve in the Washington, D.C. North Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We did enjoy the Spirit of the Season while listening to our instruction and attending the firesides and devotionals. #Light the World.

Merry Christmas

For me, Christmas always has a lot of different memories. But this year, it marks a milestone in our lives. My wife and I have begun our new adventure serving as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Annapolis, Maryland. We will be serving as Record Preservation Missionaries at the Maryland State Archives. We arrive just a few days before Christmas. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our Savior Jesus Christ in this special season  See #Light the World

Why I don't go walking in the swamp

Over the years as I have been walking around Arizona and elsewhere, I have found that there are some places that I feel at home and others where I decidedly do not. I feel at home in the desert. That is a given. I feel at home in the mountains, even high mountains. That is another given. I even feel at home in the jungle. But I stop feeling at home in the swamps, even the swamps of home.

The Promise of Spring

We had our first small-scale snowstorm of the season and it reminded me that we needed to think about the upcoming Spring. Winter always turns to Spring. No matter how we suffer, suffering always ends.

Clouds in the Canyon

This is the time of year when it is both interesting and a challenge to visit the Grand Canyon. This photo taken a few years ago on such a trip shows the beauty of the clouds and canyon when there is a storm. The colors are subdued and the sky is completely overcast, but the whole scene is impressive.

View from the Missionary Training Center, Provo, Utah

One of the side benefits of being in the Missionary Training Center was the opportunity to see more of this fabulous training facility. We got to walk around the new high-rise buildings and see some of the other buildings not on an official tour. It is a fabulous place and we enjoyed our time there this past week immensely. You might note that there is no snow on the mountain in December, 2017.

Taking a Quick Drink

Despite the cartoon depictions of roadrunners, they are really beautiful and very active birds. The greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is classified in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, and is common in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. These birds can fly, but they spend most of their time running or walking along the ground. They can run at speeds of up to 15 miles per hours.

From wilderness to civilization

The transition from subdivisions to wilderness is abrupt. This is most evident in the Superstition Wilderness area east of Phoenix, Arizona. There are only a few access points left from the developed part of the desert into the wilderness. The transition is accomplished by means of a Forest Service gate. In the case of this trail, there are actually two fences and two gates. The question raised here is whether or not undeveloped land is automatically a wilderness? In this case, the "wilderness" is protected by federal laws. But all of the characteristics that you would normally attribute to a wilderness are missing. There is no solitude. The trails are busy with hikers. The haze from the Valley is always visible. For most of the area, you can see all of the Valley development. Perhaps, this raises the issue of exactly what we want to call a wilderness.

Cute Cactus

I suppose I might be one of the very few people in the world to think that any cactus could be cute. But this small mammillaria with bright yellow eyes just has to be one of the cutest cactus I have seen. This recent trip to the desert rewarded us with some beautiful flower shots and some well deserved warm weather.

Fishhook Red

This is cactus is commonly known as a fishhook cactus or a Ferocactus wislizeni. These cactus have long been improperly also known as a source of water for people lost without water in the desert. But the water or juice of the barrel cactus tastes awful and contains oxalic acid that can cause diarrhea thereby causing loss of water and additional danger.

These lovely cactus bloom in the late Fall instead of in the Spring when most of the other cactus are blooming.

Weathered Sandstone

Throughout the Southwest, sandstone is used as building material. It is smooth, easily cut, and durable. We are unlikely to run out of sandstone since there are thousands of square miles of exposed sandstone in the Colorado Plateau area. Vast expanses of sandstone are often called "slick rock" and are some of the most popular and iconic photographic subjects of the entire area.We call these rocks with character.

A Matter of Balance: Superstition Wilderness

This post is apparently turning into a series. I have been using the same title for some time for photos of balanced rocks. This particular balanced rock is located in the Superstition Wilderness Area. Here is a quote about the Wilderness Area from the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service:

This Wilderness was designated in 1939, and was expanded to its present size in 1984. It now contains approximately 160,200 acres. There is a well-developed trail system, and the western end of the wilderness receives heavy use during the cooler times of the year. Trail conditions vary from fair to very poor. Several trails are unsuitable for horses. 

The area is starkly beautiful and often rugged, but can be inhospitable to those not equipped to meet nature on her own terms. Searing heat and a shortage of water are typical conditions in the summer. Bitter cold, rains (and even snowstorms) may occur in the winter.

I agree with all of the above. We were hiking at the end of November, 2017 and it was still over 90 degrees. 

As Clear as it Gets

Blue skies and clear air are a hallmark of the Arizona Sonora Desert. Years ago, we lived in the Republic of Panama for a couple of years and when we returned to the United States, I was tempted to turn around and go back. I had become used to the crystal clear air of the Isthmus and was appalled by the murky air of the Eastern United States. When I finally got home to the desert, I realized I didn't have to live in a bowl of soup. 

Looking over the Salt River Valley

Looking over the vast Salt River Valley, home to over 4.5 million people. Phoenix has now, once again, become the 5th largest city in the United States with over 1.6 million people. The Salt River Valley is another name for the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale Metropolitan Area. It was my home for over 50 years before moving to Provo, Utah about three years ago. Around the time I moved to Phoenix as a child, the city had just over 100,000 people and was the 99th largest city in the country. After living in Utah, I am now on my way to spending a year in the Washington, D.C. area. Washington, D.C. is only the 22nd largest city in the U.S. so I will be moving to a relatively smaller town, but a little bit larger than Provo, Utah. However, it is a lot easier to travel and live in Phoenix than it is in Washington, D.C.

Clay Hills on the Navajo Nation

Highway 89 in Arizona runs through the Navajo Nation. Most of the area of the Navajo Nation is on the high Colorado Plateau and is covered with sandstone and bentonite. These hills are typical of what you see for many miles traveling north along Highway 89 from Flagstaff to the Utah border north of Page. Bentonite is a general term for a soft stone of various colors that weathers into clay. I have driven this road possibly hundreds of times and I love to see this part of the trip.

A Very Rocky Trail

I love to hike in the Superstition Wilderness Area east of Phoenix, Arizona. This day was a bit too warm for comfort but not hot enough to keep us out of the desert. This is the Hieroglyphic Trail that winds up to a steep canyon with a number of petroglyphs. There was a steady stream of people since we hiked the trail the day after Thanksgiving. It was nice to get one warm day in the desert before moving back to Maryland. I can say "back to" because we lived there many years ago for a short time.

A Cactus Nursery

This is a photo of some Teddy Bear Cholla cactus or Cylindropuntia bigelovii. These cactus have a solid mass of very sharp spines that gives them the appearance of being soft and fluffy. From time to time, the cactus drops portions of its spiny arms to the ground and over time these dropped spiny balls root and grow into new baby cactus. This is the first time I recall seeing this occur in such a dramatic way. If you look closely at the photo you can see many small rooted cactus surrounding the two larger ones. Eventually, these cholla cactus form an entire dense "forest" of cactus.

A note on the word "cactus." The singular of cactus is cactus. One traditional plural form of the word cactus is cacti. Modern usage also recognizes the word cactuses. However, when used as a collective noun, the word cactus can mean a large number of cacti or cactuses.

A Fishhook Circle

This barrel cactus is commonly called a fishhook cactus because of the curvature of its spines. It's the scientific name is Ferrocactus wislizeni. Many of my recent photos have been taken directly from my iPhone 8 plus.  the fact that the camera is only 12 megapixels limits the ability to show cropped detail. I am sure that the future will hold much higher resolution cameras as well as those with more editing capabilities.

A Foamy Design

Some of the simple things we see around us possess intricate design and beauty. I was fascinated by the swirling foam on this artificially created creek. You may have to click on the photo to see the detail. The water looks like syrup. I love capturing these images and I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Floating In the Clouds

The real snow is late in coming this year. We have had several snow storms and the mountains have been covered with snow, but warm spells have melted all but a few patches on the north slopes. In this shot, you can see that there is no visible snow. We don't mind the warmer weather and clear skies, but then again, I am no longer an avid skier. There will not be too many more photos of the mountains for a while unless I dig into my archives.

Sotol: Growing in the Sunlight

One thing you cannot ignore in the desert is the sunlight. This lovely sotol plant (Dasylirion wheeleri) is used as a landscape plant in Arizona. Native to northern Mexico, the sotol loves the sunlight. This has been a year of record sun and heat in Arizona and many other places. Perhaps all this sunlight can remind us of He who is the light of this world. #LightTheWorld

Light and Shadow

Do you take the light for granted? Sight is a marvelous gift. Here the light creates its own world. A world where the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary. You just have to open your eyes and look. If you cannot see then perhaps you can feel the sunlight. What I see with my eyes includes feeling. This photo conveys the limitless beauty of both light and shade. As we come into this Christmas season, remember the example of Jesus Christ and "#Lighttheworld."

Prairie Dog

It must be my day for animals. As I have mentioned, I do not fancy myself as a "wildlife" photographer. But I do take a shot when I get the chance. This fat little guy was just sitting there and didn't do more than blink for several minutes. He is an Arizona Black-Tailed Prairie Dog or Cynomys ludovicianus. There are five species of prairie dogs in the United States and they have mostly been considered to be pests, some to the point of almost extinction. Wikipedia reports that a black-tailed prairie dog town in Texas was reported to cover 25,000 square miles and had 400 million individuals. You can probably guess that the animals that I am likely to photograph are fairly common.

A Barn Owl

The barn owl or Tyto alba, has extraordinary eyesight and hearing. I happened to be carrying only my iPhone when I captured this photo.  I used the 10x zoom on the iPhone with some loss of resolution. One old rule of photography is that the best camera is the one you have at the time. I could have captured more detail with either of my other cameras, but you make do with what you have.

Play Structure

Many areas of Mesa, Arizona are being transformed by new developments. This play structure is in Riverview Park where a former golf course has been transformed into a baseball stadium and an outdoor park and play area that is first class. The number of people who can enjoy this area has been greatly expanded.

Hedgehog Cactus

This lovely clump of hedgehog cactus plants was just along the trail out in the desert east of Apache Junction in the Superstition Mountains Wilderness Area. We had a lovely hike in very warm temperatures. The cactus along the way were mostly stressed because of a prolonged drought, but these backlit plants were a beautiful exception.

Deeper Red

We occasionally get a beautiful sunset living high on the side of a mountain in Utah, but they are nothing compared to those of the Arizona Sonora Desert. This sunset was redder than usual because of a large wildfire off to the south and west of where this photo was taken. We were traveling along the Pinal Pioneer Parkway in central Arizona when we stopped a number of times to take photos as the light changed.

Really Walking Arizona

A very warm November day in the Arizona Sonora Desert with a beautiful view of the Superstition Mountains. This is the Flat Iron, the famous southwest end of this enigmatic mountain range. We took a warm hike up to Hieroglyphic Canyon and had this spectacular view on the way back down the trail. We have been on this hike many times, but this was an exceptionally warm November day with temperatures near 90 degrees.

Splash Pad

Only in the desert Southwest would our grandchildren be having a fun time running in a splash pad the day before Thanksgiving. With record high temperatures, it was a warm and very sunny day and perfect for a splash. I loved the shapes and textures in this almost monochromatic photo.

Cerrusite

Cerrusite is a mineral. Here is a good description from the Wikipedia article, "Cerrusite."

Cerussite (also known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate (PbCO3), and an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin cerussa, white lead. Cerussa nativa was mentioned by Conrad Gessner in 1565, and in 1832 F. S. Beudant applied the name cruise to the mineral, whilst the present form, cerussite, is due to W. Haidinger (1845). Miners' names in early use were lead-spar and white-lead-ore. 

Cerussite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and is isomorphous with aragonite. Like aragonite it is very frequently twinned, the compound crystals being pseudo-hexagonal in form. Three crystals are usually twinned together on two faces of the prism, producing six-rayed stellate groups with the individual crystals intercrossing at angles of nearly 60°. Crystals are of frequent occurrence and they usually have very bright and smooth faces. The mineral also occurs in compact granular masses, and sometimes in fibrous forms. The mineral is usually colorless or white, sometimes grey or greenish in tint and varies from transparent to translucent with an adamantine lustre. It is very brittle, and has a conchoidal fracture. It has a Mohs hardness of 3 to 3.75 and a specific gravity of 6.5. A variety containing 7% of zinc carbonate, replacing lead carbonate, is known as iglesiasite, from Iglesias in Sardinia, where it is found.

This particular specimen came from Arizona and was originally part of the state mineral museum which still remains closed. It was displayed at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. 

A Random Red Flower

This is actually a photo of a red hibiscus flower sitting on the grass. I did not pick the flower. I just found it sitting on the grass. There were no flowers around and I could not guess where it came from.

Rare Crested Saguaro

Carnegia gigantea forma cristata is a relatively rare form of the more common version of the iconic saguaro cactus. Cresting is not unique to the saguaro. Many other species of cactus demonstrate this apparent deformity. The actual cause of the cresting is not known but theories range from lightning strikes to genetic diseases. Only about one in 250,000 saguaros are crested. All saguaro cactus are protected by law in the State of Arizona. This particular specimen was found at the entrance to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, Arizona.

Tucson Arizona LDS Temple

The recently dedicated Tucson, Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the sixth such temple in the State of Arizona and 157th temple to be dedicated in the latter days. We visited the grounds of the temple on a beautiful day in November 2017 just a few days after its dedication. It is located on a busy street in the northern part of Tucson, near the mountains.

Arizona Sunset in Red

We were traveling in central Arizona on the Pinal Pioneer Parkway when this fabulous sunset began to unfold. We stopped a couple of times to take photos. It is one of the reddest sunsets I have ever seen. It was almost beyond belief beautiful. This is an unedited photo from my iPhone.

Architectural Abstract

Walking around in enclosed structures can create a sense of the abstract. There is almost no place I can go, where I am not confronted with beauty and often that beauty is in the form rather than the substance of my surroundings.