Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week’s photos include Taos Mountain (Pueblo Peak), before the foot of snow, Buddha in the garden after the snow, a northern Flicker in the old cottonwood, and a crescent moon.
I hope everyone had a good week. We enjoyed a weekend of snow. Now it’s back to sunny days and walks with the dogs in the snowy woods.
A northern flicker was busy burying seeds and whatever it had in the cottonwood tree. When I pulled into the driveway a couple of days later, my eyes witnessed an opportunistic magpie harvesting its stashes.
Northern Flicker in the old cottonwood tree.
Waiting until the crescent moon showed up. What a nice surprise!
Crescent Moon, through an opening in the clouds.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Happy New Year! The first pictures of the new year, the first full moon of the year, the Wolf Moon, which is also known as “Canada Goose Moon”, “Greetings Moon”, and a favorite of mine, “Frost Exploding Moon”.
This year, I shot the moon rising from our driveway in order to avoid the big juniper trees on the property. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
When it first appeared behind the Sangre de Cristo foothills.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, cormorants roosting along the Rio Chama near Abiquiu, Taos Mountain, a favorite wild horse photo, and the Bisti Badlands near Chaco Canyon.
Twelve years ago, I created the piece below titled “Leaving the Roost.” Unfortunately, the original piece disappeared, so I spent an hour locating the original individual shots to recreate it. The piece measures 80″x80″ and is now ready to be sent to the printer. I particularly enjoy the ‘wild’ panorama stitching that follows the shape of the old cottonwood and how many cormorants utilize this tree. This one is for you, Larry H.
Cormorants leaving the roost along the Rio Chama, Abiquiu, NM
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness near Chaco Canyon. Over the years, I’ve spent many months camping in this area. I think my first camping trip here was in 1989, when it was a wilderness study area. Here’s a petrified tree stump. Click on the photo to enlarge.
My shadow, an easy subject.
As always, thanks for looking. Have a great week. G
Let me know if you want to go to the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness.
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness is a designated wilderness area located in northwestern New Mexico, known for its unique and otherworldly landscape. This area is part of the larger San Juan Basin and is characterized by its striking badlands, which feature a variety of unusual geological formations.
Here are some key features of the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness:
Hoodoos and Rock Formations: The wilderness is famous for its hoodoos—tall, thin spires of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins. These formations are created through the erosion of softer sedimentary rocks, leaving behind the harder rock formations.
Fossils: The area is rich in fossils, particularly from the Late Cretaceous period. Visitors can find petrified wood and fossils of ancient plants and animals, offering a glimpse into the region’s prehistoric past.
Colorful Landscape: The badlands are known for their vibrant colors, with layers of sedimentary rock displaying shades of red, orange, yellow, and gray. This colorful landscape is especially striking during sunrise and sunset.
Remote and Undeveloped: As a designated wilderness area, Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah is largely undeveloped and offers a sense of solitude and tranquility. There are no established trails or facilities, making it a destination for those seeking a more rugged and natural experience.
Photography and Exploration: The unique geological features and dramatic landscapes make Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah a popular destination for photographers and outdoor enthusiasts. The area provides ample opportunities for exploration and discovery.
Visitors to Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness should be prepared for a remote and challenging environment. It’s important to bring sufficient water, navigation tools, and be mindful of Leave No Trace principles to preserve the area’s natural beauty.
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, lenticular clouds, and this seems to be the season. Although these clouds can appear throughout the year, they are particularly abundant right now. Their stunning, lens-like shapes add a touch of magic to the already breathtaking landscape, making this time of year truly special.
Enjoy! And click on the image to enlarge.
From our deck in San Cristobal.
Taos Mountain, Moonrise.
Moments before the following photo.
From the deck in San Cristobal.
Click on the image below for a full panorama of the total event. I was driving home from Santa Fe when this happened. I believe it was visible across the entire state.
Lenticular clouds are lens-shaped clouds that typically form at high altitudes, often in perpendicular alignment to the wind direction. They are scientifically known as “altocumulus lenticularis” and are most commonly found in mountainous regions. These clouds form when stable, moist air flows over a mountain or a range of mountains, creating a series of oscillating waves. If the temperature at the crest of these waves drops to the dew point, moisture in the air condenses to form clouds.
Lenticular clouds are known for their distinctive, smooth, and often saucer-like appearance, which can sometimes be mistaken for UFOs. They are stationary, meaning they don’t move with the wind like other clouds, but instead remain fixed in position while the air flows through them.
These clouds can indicate turbulence for aircraft, as the wave patterns that create them can also produce strong updrafts and downdrafts. Despite this, they are often admired for their striking and unusual appearance, making them a popular subject for photographers and cloud enthusiasts.
Greetings from New Mexico! This week, early morning mountain clouds and snow on the peaks, accompanied by a moonrise. I’m eagerly anticipating an almost full moonrise tonight, followed by a full moonrise tomorrow. It should be spectacular against the backdrop of snow-covered peaks. However, more snow is forecast, and the skies might be overcast. We’ll see how it turns out!
Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. This week, mountain light and snow on the peaks.
It didn’t take much to draw me outside this last weekend. Below are a few images from our neighborhood, taken just a few miles from our home. The peaks of the Columbine Hondo Wilderness glowed beautifully in the waning light. Click on an image to view the full panoramic version.
I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and a great week.
Greetings from New Mexico, the land of enchantment.. This week, scenes in the land of enchantment. Some say the land of entrapment. Once here, it’s hard to leave. I can attest to that statement. I first arrived here in 1984, moving here permanently in 1988. My friend, Harry you met last week, and his wife, Noreen, were two of the first people I met. It’s been 41 years this coming Thanksgiving.
Below is a piece I wrote about my first time on the High Road to Taos.
“In Thanksgiving week 1984, I made my first of many trips to New Mexico. On this occasion, five of us friends set out on a foggy morning from Santa Fe and made our way north on the high road to Taos. The sites and sounds on the streets of Santa Fe soon opened up to the immense vistas of mesas, and beyond to the Taos Volcanic Plateau.
We passed through the village of Chimayo, climbing the hill to Truchas (Spanish for Trout). Rapidly gaining elevation, the landscape changed to pristine hills of ponderosa pines and rust-colored tones of scrub oak in the undergrowth. Bare white highlights of lanky aspen punctuated the vast square miles of pine trees in the Carson National Forrest. Through the misty veil of condensation on the window, we were afforded more than a subtle hint of what autumn in the high country of New Mexico might have looked like one month earlier.
Leaving Truchas for Penasco, the fog set in. The temperature dropped in the sparsely populated, mountain communities of Las Trampas and Picuris. The colder air outside the car became magically enhanced from the aroma of piñon and juniper burning in the fireplaces of scattered homes. At this very moment… sometimes you just know it, the mystery of things unknown and northern New Mexico took a very palpable hold on me.
Not more than four years later, in the spring of 1988, that hold tightened and I moved to a small adobe building with two fireplaces, in Talpa, NM and began stockpiling five cords of wood for what promised to be a cold winter that year…“
The land of Enchantment, and every day I go to Town, I pass this scene of Taos Pueblo Peak. A little dusting of snow today with more promising accumulations tonight.
Taos Pueblo Peak.
Many places here in the Land of Enchantment never get old for me. You know this one!
Arroyo Hondo, Cottonwood.
Details in the land of enchantment, a tiny pine cone among this year’s fallen leaves.
Pine cone and leaves.
Costilla, New Mexico, located in the San Luis Valley, on the New Mexico/Colorado state line, is about as far north as one can go in this land of enchantment. No less enchanting, this area and its abandoned farms and buildings inspired John Nichols’ book, Milagro Beanfield War. The movie was filmed in Truchas on the High Road to Taos.
Costilla, NM.
New work in the making. “Three chairs and a tree.”
On the plateau in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.
As always, thank you for looking and all the kind words of support and compliments. Have a great week. G
Hello from New Mexico. The phrase “around the block” evokes more than just a simple jaunt; it symbolizes the day-long road trips we often embark upon, journeys that weave through the tapestry of landscapes and experiences, ultimately guiding us back to our point of origin. These excursions, though they may seem circular in nature, are rich with discovery and reflection. As we traverse winding roads and pass through quaint towns and sprawling vistas, we gather fragments of the world that resonate within us. Each sight and sound becomes a thread in the intricate fabric of our memories, reminding us of the home that resides within our hearts. No matter how far we wander, these journeys reaffirm the notion that home is not merely a destination, but a feeling we carry with us, a constant companion on the road of life.
There has been a lot of lightning this year. This morning we had sheet lightning, thunder, and hail. A lot of it.
Lightning, Arroyo Hondo, NM.
In the heart of mid-October 2007, we were graced with a scene that looked to have been painted by the hand of a local artist (photographer), capturing the essence of autumn in all its glory. The trees were ablaze with hues of crimson and gold, their leaves dancing in the crisp breeze like nature’s confetti. The mountains and town looked splendid, dressed in the first snowfall that year. In stark contrast, this year has offered us nothing of the sort… nada! I’m looking forward to any snow we get, we need the moisture.
Hello from New Mexico! This week, we’re experiencing some beautiful autumn colors. There’s plenty to enjoy, but I wanted to share a little gem I found this week in Valle Escondido, NM. The scenery out there is stunning, and I hope it’s just as beautiful where you are. I must admit, though, the season seems to be moving along quickly.
In the morning mists of Autumn.
Aspen trunks in the Valle Vidal, NM.
No photo tour to the San Luis Valley is complete without a stop at the old homestead, you know the one! With storm clouds building, but no precipitation yet, my client, Susan, and I stopped in here on a photo workshop to see what was brewing visually.
Homestead, San Luis Valley, Colorado.
A wide view of our valley and mountains.
San Cristobal Valley aspens and cottonwoods.
This week’s “Print of the Week”. taken the same week at the location above.
Fall in the San Cristobal Valley.
As always, thank you for looking. I hope you’re enjoying Autumn where you are. G
