On the Widgeon Pond

On the Widgeon pond, there were other cute little birds, and some geese.

We found this little guy all by himself - he was the only one. We looked him up and found out that it's a Ring Necked Duck. Which we were kind of surprised at, because it is not his neck that has a ring on it, but whatever.

He had plenty of campanions in these geese.

And the Widgeons.

White Sands, New Mexico

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico.

Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field.  To me, it looked and felt like walking on snowbanks in Minnesota!

We were there on Thanksgiving day, 2010.  Mike and Elizabeth and I drive down from Socorro - 3 hours - and had a really fun day. 

Had some fun with the shadows.  This is me, Mike and Elizabeth goofing around.

I love this picture of Mike.  This is what we looked like all day, walking across the vastness of this amazing white sand, taking pictures.  What a fun day. 

Trudging up the snowbanks - oh, I mean the sand dunes.

I joked with friends before I left that my Thanksgiving dinner would probably be a hot dog out of a gas station, but we did find a Golden Corral that was open and we sat down - sandy, happy and having a great day.

Butterfly World, Tradewinds Park, FL

I hadn't been to Butterfly World for a while, it was time to go again.  I love the aviary with all the colorful finches and hummingbirds.

The bird bath got plenty of activity.

 This little guy is so small and really tough to get in flight.  I've done it before, but no such luck this time.

Love these colorful finches!

Just a fun way to spend the afternoon.  I ran into Ivan and Claudia there, they were thinking the same thing.

Fall Foliage in Asheville, NC

I wanted to photograph some fall foliage this year, so I headed to Asheville, NC and drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I was probably about a week too early but the color was very beautiful in the higher elevations.  The portion of the parkway from Grandfather Mountain to Blowing Rock was stunning. 

 I listened to satellite radio, and just enjoyed the drive through the beautiful countryside, stopping at just about every overlook to take a few shots.

For those on bikes, what an enjoyable ride they must have had!

The Blue Ridge Mountains made such a beautiful backdrop against the vibrant colors of the fall.

  

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." 

Anthony J. D'Angelo

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter." 

 ... Ansel Adams

Hot Air Balloon - Asheville, NC

When in Asheville for my fall foliage weekend, I took a hot air balloon ride at sunrise.  Fantastic!

But first, we had to inflate the balloons.  The baskets were tipped on their sides, and the balloons were stretched out in front of them.

Check out these videos:

Inflating the balloons

A little flame...

And... we're off!

Then we slowly drifted up, up and away.  You just have a feeling of weightlessness and drift lightly over the grounds below.

  

  

   

Ft. Lauderdale Beach at Sunrise

This is the fishing pier at the end of Commercial Boulevard (Ft. Lauderdale) at sunrise.

Blowing Rocks Preserve, Jupiter FL

It was a nice day so I drove up to Blowing Rocks.  Blowing Rocks is in Jupiter, and it's rocky limestone shoreline is the largest on the Atlantic coast.

Ideally, you are supposed to go at high tide or when the seas are rough, but I decided to check it out anyway.  It was a beautiful sunny day, I was just looking for somewhere to go with my camera.

 This is what I experienced several hours before high tide, and calm seas. It was a beautiful sunny day and there was no one at this beach.  Despite the crashing of the waves, it was quite peaceful. 

Of course I had to walk on the limestone and get as close as possible, and I paid for it.  This is the last thing I saw before I was completely drenched with water full of sand.

During extreme high tides and after winter storms, seas break against the rocks and force plumes of saltwater up to 50 feet skyward, an impressive site for which the site was named.

 After seeing this on a quiet day, I am anxious to go back when the seas are rough.