Eye to eye….
The wildflowers were blooming along Lake Mary Road on the southeast side of Flagstaff this past weekend…too beautiful to resist…too compelling to keep driving past without capturing a few images…furthermore, it was 80 degrees in the mountains…and close to 110 down in the desert…so it was a Sunday morning/afternoon well spent up north.
Thistle…in isolation
The day had been long and filled with the concerns and wonders of traveling from the desert to that mountain place…stiff legs wanted to stretch…confined body wanted release…and the heart wanted to burst with joy at returning to a place that had been branded as “home” in its core.
Prickly Pear “In-sight”
We’re used to seeing them like this, out in the desert wilderness of Arizona and other southwestern locales, or possibly even in other parts of the world….
Or we take a closer look and see the spines in their protective glory and the plump fruit that is awaiting harvest by desert creatures…and humans, too.
But we don’t often get a view of what is inside those cactus “leaves” to witness what must be the vascular highway that provides the overall structure while transporting water and nutrients from one part of the plant to another as the seasons demand….
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
I think there is a particular “something” about the structure of the cactus’s leaves…a sort of compelling and abstract beauty….
January’s Jewels
Found these on the branch of a streamside bush on the way up to Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
There’s something kind of wonderful about winter crystals….
Hmm…I thought this last one was clearer than it appears to be now…even so, I think it’s a pretty crystal flower…..
Derail…
Derail –
1. to cause to run off the rails
2. a. to obstruct the progress of
b. to upset the stability or composure of
Synonyms: agitate, ail, alarm (also alarum), bother,concern, disturb, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet,distemper, distract, distress, exercise, flurry, frazzle, freak (out), fuss, hagride, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset,weird out, worry
Antonyms: calm, compose, quiet, settle, soothe, tranquilize(also tranquillize)
Related Words: aggravate, anger, annoy, bug, chafe, chivy(or chivvy), exasperate, fret, gall, get, grate, harass, harry,irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, pester, pique, put off, put out,rile, vex; bedevil, haunt, plague; abash, confound, confuse,discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze,fluster, jar, mortify, nonplus, rattle, shake up; daunt,demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dispirit, unnerve
***Above information courtesy Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary
Good Morning Merry Sunshine….
Good morning, merry Sunshine, how did you wake so soon?
You’ve scared the little stars away and shone away the moon.
I watched you go to bed last night, before I stopped my play…
How did you get way over there, and, pray, where did you stay?
I never go to sleep, my dear, I just go ’round to see
My little children of the East, who rise to watch for me.
I wake all the birds and bees, and flowers on my way…
Then last of all, the little child who stayed out late to play.
By Unknown Author
Life on a Rock
In my attempts to find suitable names for the specimens that I have captured in these photos, I Googled “moss.” I was rewarded with many pictures of green clumps of plant life…and other pictures of a skinny woman with dirty-blonde hair and an American football player. So…I have pretty pictures without names…. I hope you enjoy images of the various types of moss and other rock-dwelling plant forms that I found on the side of the granite mountain in Little Cottonwood Canyon, just south and east of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA…another beautiful piece of life in the Wasatch Mountains.
…
Scott's Place...Images and Words 