Petrified Forest National Park: Painted Desert

I spent many of my early years in and around the "Painted Desert." The painted desert is not just one location, but a series of bentonite clay hills that stretch across much of Northern Arizona. Similar landscapes are often referred to as "Bad Lands" but they are anything but bad, they are just not suited for agriculture; the main and sometimes only criteria by which the early settlers viewed the value of this country. Now great stretches of the painted desert are "preserved" in National Parks and Monuments. The land is rich in ancient fossils and the color and form of the land is remarkable. It is desert, but it is far from bad or useless.

A Spinning Wheel

Long ago before computers, I was very interested in weaving. I still have a four-harness loom and all the equipment, but I haven't done any weaving for a long time. All in all, weaving is a lot more relaxing than working on a computer all day, but now I am writing all day long so computers are something I do most of the day. It is hard to tell from the photo if this is a real live working spinning wheel or just a prop.

A Colorful Field

Most of us do not have a yard to dedicate to large expanses of flowers. You usually find such concentrations in public parks and gardens. It takes almost professional level gardening to get such a huge collection of plants to bloom at the same time. I am glad someone takes the time to do the work and that there are those who would pay them to do it. This image falls into the category of background images. Most computer-based devices have a way to incorporate a photo as a background image for the operating system. Sometimes "busy" images interfere with your ability to see the icons, but in this case the uniform color probably highlights the icons.

Coleus Color

Remarkable color in a Coleus. There seem to be an infinite number of varieties of this ornamental plant. We had a really hard time growing anything like this in Mesa, Arizona because of the heat. But they seem to thrive here in Utah Valley in the Summer. These are truly amazing plants.

Capsicum annuum 'Black Pearl'

This is a Capsicum annuum 'Black Pearl' pepper. At first, I thought this was a "black pepper" variety, but black pepper grows on a vine and is a tropical plant. This is a pepper like chili. It is supposed to be very hot. It is said to have 30,000 Scoville Heat Units. This would do some serious damage to your tongue. As I wander around, I notice all sorts of interesting plants. In fact, I can see a lot of interesting varieties outside my window right now.

Morning Glory

 Morning Glory is one of my favorite flowers. Because of its association with a pernicious weed, the ornamental variety of Morning Glory is very seldom planted. Morning Glory is not a common weed in the lower deserts but here in Utah it is very common and is usually referred to by the name "binder weed."  I have to admit that I have pulled incipient morning glory out of the flowerbeds. It must say something, when two of my favorite flowers, morning glory and dandelions, are considered to be weeds.

Grasshoppers

I have been told, that when I was very young I called these insects "hopper grasses" instead of grasshoppers. From this family story, I would assume that grasshoppers have been part of my life even before my memory of them. I am aware that both grasshoppers and ants re: this food. Although I can say that I am not a habit of doing so. I am not sure if these grasshoppers were merely sitting on the yellow flower or actually eating it, but I did notice them. Many photographers prefer a "macro" lens for this type of close-up work, but if you are walking around taking photos, you may not have either the time or the availability of a lens to change. In this case, before was taken with a telephoto lens setting.