This is not what it looks like right now

This is Mount Timpanogos from our front yard when there is real snow. Presently, January 2022, the mountain has only a tiny bit of snow mostly on the top. Here is what it looks like today. 

We have been in an extended drought for the past few years and scenes like the one in the first photo are getting quite rare. 

Saguaro Blossoms

 

I am still looking back at photos I took years ago. Even though I now live on the side of a mountain in Utah, I remember that beginning in February and March, cactus begin to bloom. These saguaro blossoms turn into delicious fruit. However, in Arizona, harvesting this fruit is limited to the Native American populations. There are other tasty cactus fruits, however, that are freely available such as prickly pear. 

Walking through the Jungle, Panama 1971

During the dry season in Panama, the rivers shrink down and provide a pathway through the otherwise almost impenetrable jungle. Since I was living in Panama, when one of my friends offered to go with me and camp in the jungle. I jumped at the chance. For me, it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience. The sun went down just as we strung our jungle hammocks, and it was pitch black for twelve hours.  We even went swimming in the crystal-clear waters of the river. It was a short four-day and two-night trip that did not leave me with a desire for a repetition of the experience. 

Progress on the renovation of the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple

 

It may be a bit hard to recognize the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the scaffolding and cranes. The Temple renovation has now been extended another year to 2224. It is not hard to see why this has occurred from the immense complexity of the work being done. The image could be better, but it was taken through a plexiglass window overlooking the construction site on Temple Square. 

Seagull Monument, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

 A recent late afternoon, mid-winter visit to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah gave me the opportunity to take and unusually lighted photo of the Seagull Monument. This is an iPhone 13 Pro Max camera shot using the telescopic feature that now has a 15x magnification. I thought the contrast with the bare tree branches and the building behind the photo were also interesting. Here is the info from the camera.

IMG_2649.HEIC

12.2MP

3024 × 4032

878.7 KB

Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

ƒ/2.8

1/122

9mm

ISO100

A Jungle Stream in Panama

 

The only real way to hike into the Central American jungle in Panama is to use the streams as a pathway during the dry season. If you look closely at this photo, you will see a man standing next to the end the large log. This is one of the trees that has washed down the stream during the wet season floods. This is one of my photos from 50 years ago when we were living in Panama. I thought that after having carried a camera around for most of my life, I should at least post some of my older photos that go back more than 60 years. 

Panama City, Panama 50 Years Ago

 

This is a view of Panama City, Panama about 50 years ago. I decided I would put up some of really old photos. This photo was taken with a Leica camera and whatever film was available. Here is a recent view of the city from a public domain photo for comparison. 

We lived in Panama for about two years. 

Desert Hillside with Clouds

 The variety of plants and animals that live in the Arizona/Sonora Desert has always fascinated me. When you add the landforms and the skies, it is a visually wonderful place to live. This image shows a variegy of plants including: saguaro cactus, ocotillo, teddy bear cholla, opuntia or prickly pear, agave, and many others. 

Salt

 

In the winter in Utah, the icy or snow packed roads are sprinkled with salt in huge quantities. Subsequently, the salt coats the bottom of all the cars. When I park our car in our garage all the ice and snow melts and the salt content stays on the garage floor when the water evaporates. This is what that salt on the garage floor looks like. 

Cholla Cactus

 This is a cholla (pronounced choy-ya) cactus or Cylindropuntia fulgida. The long strands hanging down are cholla fruit. There is a different species of cholla just to the right of the big cactus, that is known as a pencil cholla or Cylindropuntia arbuscula (Engelm.) F.M. Knuth. In the background to the left, hidden by a bush is a prickly pear cactus or Opuntia. I can't quite see enough of the Opuntia to tell which species it is but it is probably the Opuntia engelmannii or Englemann Prickly Pear. If you look way in the back of this photo, you can see some saguaro cactus or Carnegiea gigantea. You might have to click on the photo to see the saguaro. Right behind the stem of the large cholla, you can see a Hedgehog Cactus or Echinocereus engelmannii. There are also some Cylindropuntia bigelovii or teddy bear cholla in the background. Everything out in the desert and everywhere else probably has its own name. It makes the world seem like home when you know the names of some of the plants. 

Tangled Snow

 

I am certain that nothing has been cut or cleared in the forest next to our house for over 100 years or more. It is a tangle of trees, vines, and bushes. However, the views of the trees covered with snow are sublime.