Rock Canyon from the BYU Campus at Sunset

It is wonderful to be able to walk out of the Brigham Young University Library and see a view of the mountains like this one. It is hard to tell that we had a snow storm all morning. But the sun came out and most of the new snow melted. But with the clearing skies, the temperature began to drop and the wind was blowing. It makes the walk to the parking lot worth the effort.

White Stork in Spain

Here is a short article from Wikipedia: White stork.

The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.

We enjoyed seeing quite a few of these large birds. 

Coat of Arms of Spain, Alcázar of Segovia

This coat of arms appears over the entrance to the Alcázar of Segovia, Spain. All of the ceremonial parts of the coat of arms or blazon are explained in Wikipedia: Coat of arms of Spain.

More Moat

The last photo I posted showed how deep the moat was around the Alcázar of Segovia in Spain. But this photo gives even more perspective. By the way, it is pretty scary to walk across the narrow bridge to the castle gate. You can see that this castle was well protected whether the moat was full of water or empty.

Changing my idea of a moat

One of the things I learned from my trip to Spain was that my idea of castles and moats was more in line with Disneyland than reality. Although this moat is almost dry, it illustrates the fact that even dry a real moat around a real castle was a formidable defensive device. I spent many years climbing with equipment (i.e. rock climbing) and I can usually estimate the height of a wall or cliff with reasonable accuracy and I would say that his moat is about 60 feet deep. You can see the water mark on the walls of the castle. The castle is the Alcázar of Segovia, Spain.

Countryside, Segovia, Spain

Segovia, Spain is a walled city. This photo was taken while I was standing near the edge of the top of the wall surrounding the Alcázar of Segovia. We have views like this in Utah, but not while standing on a 1000-year-old castle. What impresses me most about this photo is the abrupt transition from a densely populated city to open fields of wheat. There is a lot of detail in this photo and you should click on it to see all that detail.

Classic Lenticular Cloud over Mount Timpanogos, Utah

When the wind blows from the right direction and the other atmospheric condition are just right, large lenticular clouds can form over a mountain like this one over Mount Timpanogos in Utah. This is condition is uncommon but not rare. I love to watch the clouds on the mountains. They change with every hour of the day. Here is a cloud poem to celebrate the lenticular cloud.

Beautiful cloud! with folds so soft and fair,
Swimming in the pure quiet air!
Thy fleeces bathed in sunlight, while below
Thy shadow o'er the vale moves slow;
Where, midst their labour, pause the reaper train
As cool it comes along the grain.

William Cullen Bryant