Tag: Sunset

poetry

House Rock Valley Sunset

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House Rock Valley Sunset

the last rays of sun fire the sky
and one son announces
he has a headache
and a runny nose

I help casually
without saying what I’m thinking:
is this our last pre-Covid-life sunset
and, if so,
will it take someone we love down

or

is this our last pre-Covid-life sunset
and, if so,
will it wash over us in an easy wave –
a bit of headache here
a scratchy throat there

will it leave us shaking our heads
at our years of precautions
friendships lost for nothing
so much restraint for so little cause

or at our reckless last week
unmasked with the masses
at the Grand Canyon
ears filled with other languages
noses filled with who knows what

but maybe
it’s just our last Arizona sunset til next year
unremarkable except for its normalcy
unworthy of this account

poetry

sunset at Spot X

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sunset at Spot X

clouds split sun to beams
of heavy late afternoon light

just like the cover
of a Christian rock album
 she says

someone’s trying to tell
someone something

are you listening?

poetry

blank calendar

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blank calendar

a wheel of dolphins
corkscrews through
hammered tin wave

later

we take in
a submerged sunset
watery fire paints
even our limbs

good days happen
when nothing’s
on the books

poetry

desert sunset

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desert sunset

in the desert
the sun rises and sets
in great pink sheets
laden with rosewood and incense
ushering a red-violet orb
to the dark side of day

photography

Many, Many Days of Photos!

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Somehow, I have managed to find the highlights of the last 10-12 days in only six photos. These range from Bushy-tailed Woodrats to phenomenal sunsets, snow-coated trees to Wild Geraniums. These do not encompass all of our experiences of the past few days, just until the 28th. I will be posting the rest soon!

The sunset on the 29th was spectacular. There was an abundance of clouds that caught the light, forming a wall of gold over the western horizon.
This Wild Geranium was one of many flowers I photographed at Twin Lakes on the 28th.
Woody posed well for me, and did not seemed to mind being the subject of our attentions.
For the first time on the 27th I managed to get photos of Woody, the resident Bushy-tailed Woodrat in the woodshed.
From across the valley it looked like a thin mist had settled on the trees, from their snow-covered appearance.
On the 23rd we had a magnificent snowstorm, which coated the trees and every surface, providing wonderful photography.
poetry

blank blue

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blank blue

clear sky
makes for dull sunset

no brooding clouds to split the light
or struggle through a rainbow of hues
on their way to spent grey
no roiling mist glowing at upper tips
while the base darkens with rain

the blank blue stares back
unblinking
no tumultuous storm to reflect upon
no thunderbolts to dodge

photography

Pine Martens, Snowshoe Hares, Sunsets, and Marmots

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We have had a suite of wildlife sightings recently, including a Yellow-bellied Marmot, a Pine Marten, and the Snowshoe Hare affectionately named “Dirty Harry”. We also had a wonderful sunset two nights ago. It was absolutely stunning. I have managed to get pictures of all of the wildlife and the sunset, providing a number of photos to post. We saw the marmot on a road near Camp Hale, the Snowshoe Hare at the cabin, and the Pine Marten at the cabin.

After a failed attempt to photograph the marmot while biking, we saw it exposed on this rock in the car and I managed to get some photos.
Marmots commonly emit a high-pitched hard chirp, which first alerted us to its presence.
On reviewing my photos, I noticed that you are actually able to see the marmot’s buck-teeth, most visible in this photo.
In this photo you can clearly see the Snowshoe Hare’s “snowshoes”: huge back feet that allow it to almost float on snow.
The hare was exceedingly calm around the house, even when we opened the window to allow me a clear photograph.
We saw the hare wash itself, and it frequently bent around to lick its fur, yet kept its front legs in place rather stiffly.
After seeing the hare several times we truly believe that the hair on the ears is getting browner, and losing its winter white.
This is the only photo of the Pine Marten that I spotted from the kitchen; it ran away soon after, and even though we sprinted down the road to look for it we were unsuccessful.
Even though no sun was visible, the clouds clearly put on an incredible display of color, with dark purple, pink, and orange.
Viewed through the trees, the sunset becomes even more incredible.
The soft purpley-red light was a perfect background to the branches of the trees.
In other areas of the trees, the light was brighter orange, and created another background for me to photograph.
photography

Hummingbirds to Mountains

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Yesterday we got our first consistent hummingbird visitors to the feeder, and despite the fact that they were females (female hummingbirds are often unidentifiable) I was able to determine that they were Broad-tailed Hummingbirds through the use of photography. Later in the day, we were also presented with the most wonderful sunset color over the mountains. This light gold background provided many opportunities for photography. Here are some of the best photos.

This is the first photo of the female Broad-tailed Hummingbird. The feeder wire got in the way a bit, but you can still see the bird.
In this photo you can see the small white eye-ring, which separates the female Broad-tailed from the female Rufous Hummingbird.
The sunset was incredible, with the light touch of gold shining on the snow of the mountains.
The mountains are in a period that is perfect for photography, where there is still plenty of snow yet rocks are exposed, giving the mountains craggy, unforbidding looks.
The clouds lit up too, and in this photo you can imagine a giant cosmic Leonardo Da Vinci painting the background for this event.
The trees also provide nice photos, looking through the tangled branches on to soft gold light.
photography

Sunset and Turquoise Lake Ice

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As you saw on the Rambles page, we went on a walk near Turquoise Lake yesterday. The shoreline was coated with lots of ice, providing several photographic opportunities, such as ice shards, minute cracks, and flowing water. Then, near the end of the day, we had a wonderful sunset, just above the mountains, providing more photos. Here are some of my best photos from both events.

A lizard-shaped hole in the ice at Turquoise Lake revealed water flowing down the shore to the lake.
Not all of the water was iced over; in several places there were mini-rivers, often with very nice reflections and red-colored sand underneath.
Due to the profusion of ice, we found many piles of ice shards, like small icicles, that made a very pleasing sound as they rubbed against each other.
From the cabin, we had an amazing sunset just over the mountains.
The sunset was blueish, purple, pink, and orange at the same time.
The darkness of the mountains was very nicely offset by the soft sunset light.