Well, I got out there as I said I would last week for this partial eclipse. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be but there were some clouds that created a weird maroon halo-ee thing. In the second image, you’ll see the Pleiades to the upper right. The clouds added a kind of mystery to the scene but they didn’t help make for a crystal clear lunar eclipse, the sort I’m used to. I like that the extent of the partial eclipse is defined very clearly. I’m sure there’ll be more eclipses to come. I will say, that I’m finally recovered from the stiff neck I got looking straight up overhead!
Lunar Eclipse, November 19, 2021, San Cristobal, NM
Lunar Eclipse with the Pleiades (upper right), November 19, 2021.
Driving home from Taos last weekend I found I had competition in the pasture, a cow racing me and my car.
Racing a cow in the Arroyo Hondo Valley.
… and today the clouds lifted enough to give a glimpse of the thin layer of snow on Taos Mountain.
Taos Mountain clouds, El Prado (the Meadows), NM
Happy Thanksgiving. I hope it’s a good one. Thanks for looking. G
Just three images this week. A Cedar Waxwing visited the crab apple tree in the garden yesterday and got well fed up before heading out. I was surprised it stayed around as long as it did, about thirty minutes. I got a lot of very similar images. I chose this image as it showed the bird’s bright yellow tail tips. If you expand the image you will see bits of crab apple on the wings. It was a messy eater. The second image is from the San Luis Valley on a late afternoon trip to Colorado. We live about half an hour from the state line and enjoyed watching these wild horses. A different band from last week’s photo. The third image caught my eye on the road to town. I shot it shortly before the sun dipped below the horizon. I’m saving my energy this week for the eclipse tomorrow night, the peak happens around 2 am, long after my bedtime, but I’m looking forward to a clear sky and a beautiful partial lunar eclipse.
Cedar Waxwing in our crab apple tree, San Cristobal, NM
Wild horses, San Luis Valley, Colorado.
Tree in evening light on Highway 522 NM.
Thanks for looking. Wish me a good night shooting the eclipse tomorrow. I hope you get to see it where you are. G
We went looking for wild horses and found them! It wasn’t the most solitary moment because there were two of us watching these beauties, but… they looked rather solitary out there on the plateau with vast amounts of space to roam.
Wild Horses, San Luis Valley, Colorado
These two chairs popped up in my archive from 2007. They had a view of the meadows and Taos Mountain. Had there been someone sitting in them they wouldn’t have exuded a lonely feeling, but… the desire to sit in them overcame me so I sat in one of them.
Two chairs, Taos New Mexico
A cash register from days gone by at the Chile Line Depot (a cafe) in Tres Piedras, NM. I had fish and chips, my buddy David had beef and green chile quesadilla. He had apple pie a la mode for dessert and I had a pinon nut brownie. The cash register was a side attraction, but… the food, the main event, was most excellent. Check them out if you’re passing by on 285, in northern New Mexico.
Cash register at the Chile Line Depot, Tres Piedras, NM
West of Taos, west of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, is a ranch where the ranch hands keep an ever-watchful eye at the ranch gate. I’ve shot this before. I like the illusion of the cowboys coming over the ridge. A sunset always adds a cinematic quality to the scene. But…..
The ranch hands at sunset, west of Taos, NM
…about 20 miles north of Taos and 8 miles from San Cristobal is the village of Questa. It is a thriving community of families and newcomers who take pride in their town. I shot this image out of the car windshield. I liked the old photo feeling it had.
At the intersection of highway 522 and 38 in Questa, NM
About 30 miles north and west of Questa is a halt on the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, named Bountiful. There’s not a lot happening here on most days, but.. on this day, a sweet sheepherder, her husband on an ATV asked for help in getting their sheep and a donkey across the enormously busy US Highway 285. Following the perilous road crossing by the sheep and a forlorn looking donkey, a woman, independent of the others, appeared out of nowhere and trundled up. Smoking a cigarette, she blessed the day, and thanked God for everyone in it. She was followed close on her heels by her husband, he took her gently by her arm. But… unlike the sheep and the donkey, the husband seemed impervious to the traffic whizzing past. As they made their way across the same busy highway, with his wife on his arm he revealed that she had dementia. He made sure to let me know, that I had an open invite for coffee. I’ll visit one day soon. On a side note, those grain elevators and nearby silos are full of Coors barley.
Bountiful, Colorado.
As always, thank you for looking. Stay healthy happy and well. G
I’ll start with this morning at 6:30 am and the waning crescent moon rising with Mercury over the Sangre de Cristo foothills outside our dining room window. I’d just set up the camera for the moon when Mercury popped up behind the trees. I was surprised. Sometimes it’s hard to observe Mercury so close to the sunrise. It worked for me and as is said, timing is everything! A few minutes later in the second photo a little to the south, I spotted Spica (Alpha Virginis) the brightest star in the constellation Virgo the Maiden. You can just about see it!
Crescent Moon and Mercury rising from the dining room window.
A waning crescent Moon, Mercury, and Spica.
Below is a window and crumbling adobe wall at the church of San Rafael in La Cueva, NM. The parishioners do a wonderful job on the upkeep of this building. This and the other walls will be repaired soon, probably by the time of my next visit.
Window, San Rafael, La Cueva, NM
The abandoned homestead in the San Luis Valley that I’ve visited many times over the years stood out in the field. The white walls were stark and glowing as if newly whitewashed by an unknown inhabitant. The powerline added an element of life to the abandoned building. There are a few “No Trespassing” signs so it’s not totally abandoned.
Abandoned homestead in the San Luis Valley, Colorado.
My latest favorite dead tree is along the Rio Chama, New Mexico. I’m making plans to revisit to document its ultimate demise. Interesting how it is very much dead but exudes so much life and character. Cerro Pedernal (Georgia O’Keeffe’s mountain) makes a nice backdrop. Georgia said that God told her that if she painted the mountain enough he would give it to her. Well, I’ve probably photographed it many more times than she painted it so under those rules, it’s now mine, so there!
Lone tree along the Rio Chama, NM.
The crows spend the first hour of the day warming up in our old cottonwood tree. They aren’t in any hurry to leave so I often watch them through the lens and take a few shots of these fascinating birds. Sometimes there are five or six of them and at other times there are dozens, you know what I mean, “a murder of crows”.
One of the American Crows in the old cottonwood tree.
Finally, one from a week ago in the courtyard at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM. It is always gorgeous and inviting at this location. Join me on a photo tour and we’ll stop in and visit.
The gatehouse at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos NM.
As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G
