Tag: San Cristobal

Crescent Moon, Jupiter. 06-14-2023

Geraint June 14, 2023 19 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM, and beyond. To the moon and Jupiter.

It was 3 am this morning when I awoke. I went straight back to sleep! 4:20 am came and I was dressed in the dining room opening the window to view the crescent moon and Jupiter. I planned on getting up early to observe this celestial event but I’d gotten a tetanus shot yesterday and felt groggy most of the afternoon. I was going to set the alarm, but I fell asleep around 9:30 pm. Fortunately for my plans, all was well when I awoke. I was alert and ready to watch as the moon and Jupiter rose over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, visible from our home.
The tripod was absent without leave! Buried in the back of the car, I think.
It was getting brighter by the minute so I took a pass on finding the tripod deciding to handhold the camera, bracing myself against the window frame. Fortunately, I’ve had experience with a missing tripod before, so I proceeded as I’ve done in the past and the image below came out just as I expected.

Crescent Moon, Jupiter, Early Morning, — Crescent Moon, Jupiter, 4:30 am today.

Looking through the viewfinder and the telephoto lens I was able to make out two faint moons of Jupiter. There are 95 known moons of the massive planet. I braced myself against the window frame again and shot a long exposure for the image below.

Crescent Moon with earthshine and Jupiter — Crescent Moon with Earthshine and Jupiter with two of its moons.

The silence before dawn is palpable. There’s a quiet hush that permeates everything. No dogs, sheep, roosters, or birds. At the stroke of some silent alarm, that only critters can hear, the whole valley woke up twenty minutes later. I now know who owns the barking mad dog!

A tree is still a tree, dead or alive. This tree has now gone. It vanished in a housing development. Goodbye tree.

As always. Thanks for looking. G

In The Garden This Week. 06-07-2023

Geraint June 7, 2023 18 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal. This week the garden.

The internet and phones have been down for the last three days after a contractor severed a fiber optic line in Taos. They still remain a bit dodgy. I could go into it further but I’d rather move quickly to get this week’s post online while I have a connection.

Instead of spending time on my phone, online, and on social media over the last few “down” days, I spent time amongst the flowers in our garden.

Here are some of the blooms and one orchid not in the garden. All shot on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Prints available.

Enjoy.

Iris in the garden — Iris with raindrops.

As always, thank you for looking. G

Rainbow, Mountain Clouds, Bighorn Sheep. 05-31-2023.

Geraint May 31, 2023 20 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, the valley, and beyond. This week a fleeting rainbow makes an appearance. The morphing mountain clouds put on a show. Bighorn sheep show off their stature, and a sweet little dove preens itself in the garden.

The storms here move quickly. They say the best camera is the one you have on you. In this instance, it was the iPhone. I was sure to get as many shots as possible before popping into the house to get the big Sony. By the time I got back outside, the rainbow had vanished. The clouds still looked stunning, but those were gone very soon after. Sometimes I think nature has a way of taunting us or at least attempt’s to keep us alert and on our toes. Not from the deck this time but a few steps into the meadow.

The clouds spent the morning building into the afternoon canyon and ridge formations. Changes occur in no time at all. As they say in the Southwest, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.” I have plenty of time to look and time to stare, which reminds me of a poem my friend Martin would occasionally recite.

Leisure.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies

Building storm clouds — Morphing clouds, San Cristobal.

A couple of days later, this pastoral evening scene happened. I could watch it from my deck chair. I had to move to get this photo, but not that much.

I’d heard reports of these three a week before this photo. I was surprised to see them on my drive through the canyon last week. The cold weather we have experienced for a few weeks made them stay put. They have fresh grass and a dirt mound, with a fortress-like view, in all directions. They weren’t bothered by me or others but seemed to enjoy the company and attention.

Bighorn Sheep, Rio Grande Gorge Rim trail — Bighorn Sheep, Rio Grande Gorge Rim Trail.

I know they are an introduced species, and we have both Eurasian-collared Doves and Mourning Doves in the garden. This one immigrant put on a show last week on the fence post. I enjoyed watching it.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. As always thanks for looking. See you next week. G

Western Tanager, Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood. 05-24-2023

Geraint May 24, 2023 14 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal and beyond. Western Tanagers have frequented our garden every year in the past. I have never seen so many all at once as I have this year. Yesterday I had to cut them off from the suet. The Western Tanagers frenzy feeding, and flying around erratically bumping into the windows bringing to mind images of drunken sailors. During a respite, I spotted this little guy after he’d wiped his beak clean of the suet on the bark of the flowering pear tree.

Here’s a list of birds in the garden over three days this week.

Birds 05-20/21/22-2023

Cassin’s Finch
Spotted Towhee
Pine Siskin
Black-headed Grosbeak
European Starling
Evening Grosbeak
Common Raven
Pinyon Jay
Black-billed Magpie
Eurasian Collared Dove
American Robin
Western Tanager
White-breasted Nuthatch
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
American Crow
House Sparrow
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
Canyon Towhee
Bullock’s Oriole
House Finch
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (the app ID’d it three times but not confirmed).
Common Grackle. (Could be the crow with a sore throat).

Onward!

Pueblo Peak (Taos Mountain) has been and always will be my muse. It is what has kept me drawn to the area I call home. My other muse is my version of “Monet’s Haystacks Series”… the cottonwood tree and red willows growing along an acequia in Arroyo Hondo, a hamlet just south of San Cristobal.

I shot this image a few days ago on May 21, 2023. The second image was taken on May 21, 2022

Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood and willows — Cottonwood and willows along the acequia, Arroyo Hondo.

Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood willows — Arroyo Hondo cottonwood.

As you can see in the second picture the greening up of the willows was about a week more advanced this time last year. The cottonwood is more or less similar in both years.

Continue scrolling to see more images from this series in previous seasons.

Arroyo Hondo Cottonwood — Arroyo Hondo fall cottonwood.

Taos Mountain, Arroyo Hondo, cottonwood — Arroyo Hondo cottonwood, with Taos Mountain.

Red Willows, Cottonwood Tree, Arroyo Hondo — Red Willows and cottonwood tree.

Red Willows and cottonwood tree — Winter willows with cottonwood tree.

This year I’ll be working on a shot of the tree, willows, and valley in summer’s full glory.

There are other images of this scene in my archive. A search will reveal more.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments and compliments, and as always. thank you for looking. G

Spring, Northern New Mexico. 05-03-2023

Geraint May 3, 2023 29 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, on this beautiful Spring day. The light in the late afternoon is remarkable. The clouds roll through, and spring storms envelop the valleys and the mountain peaks in waves. The sun gets through where it will, spotlighting the new growth.

Click on pictures to enlarge.

San Cristobal Valley spring — A Spring day in the San Cristobal Valley.

The acequias, irrigation ditches that divert water across northern New Mexico are flowing full in the spring runoff. This time last year, New Mexico’s largest wildfire was underway, ultimately destroying 350,000+ acres. We are very grateful for the moisture this year.

Spring in the Taos Valley an acequia, in El Prado — Water in an acequia, irrigation ditch in El Prado, NM.

Flashback to North Wales, where I lived and worked at an Outdoor Pursuit Center on the west coast in 1974-75.

The Ogwen Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in North Wales. During that year, I spent many days rock climbing in the area with the guides and instructors I worked with. The Idwal slabs in the upper left of the picture are one of the most popular places to climb in Wales. I shot this picture on a return visit to Wales in 2013.

A year in Wales may sound like a long time to visit and see all the sites. I had never traversed the Crib Goch Ridge seen in the picture below while living there. On a visit there in 1982, it was time to add the route to the list of the places I climbed and hiked. It was a marvelous experience, one I’ll remember for life. It’s not a very difficult hike, but I did take along enough gear and clothing prepared should I have to spend the night out there. Weather in this part of Wales, with the storms coming off the Atlantic and Irish Seas, can change rapidly, turning a warm, early summer day into a winter day.

Crib Goch Snowdonia National Park, North Wales — Crib Goch, Snowdonia National Park, North Wales, 1982

As always, thank you for looking. Have a great week. G.

Little Birds, Happy Neighborhood. 03-22-23

Geraint March 22, 2023 48 Comments

Greetings from the San Cristobal Valley, NM. This week a series of images of some of the little birds that frequent our area of the planet, more precisely, our valley.

I hope you enjoy the following gallery of little birds.

Mountain Bluebird, a little bird that frequents our valley — Eastern Bluebird, a little bird that frequents our valley.

Juvenile white crowned sparrow — Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.

A Cassin’s Finch so I was told. It could be a glorious house finch.

Cassin's Finch little bird — Cassin’s Finch.

Brown Headed Cowbird — Brown-headed Cowbird.

For the last few years, we’ve had a solitary Canyon Towhee in our garden. This shot was taken in a canyon, no less.

Woodhouse’s or Western Scrub-Jay?

Woodhouse's Western Scrub-Jay — Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, I think!

This is a Pinyon Jay, that I’m sure of. They have arrived in large flocks in the valley over the last two years, groups of a hundred to a few thousand.

Townsend's Solitaire — Townsend’s Solitaire.

The Red-winged Blackbirds nest in the cattails. Right about now there is a frenzy of activity and nest-building. The males are kept on their guard protecting the nesting spot.

The Magpie is every dog’s nemesis. They taunt our dogs and of course, our dogs take the bait.

This Evening Grosbeak was stunned following a window strike. I put it on the fence to recover. It did. Ten minutes later, it flew up into the crabapple tree.

This Northern Pygmy Owl would fit into a teacup and is smaller than most of the birds above.

Northern Pygmy Owl one of the little birds — Northern Pygmy Owl.

Not one of the truly little birds but not large either. It’s about the size of an American Crow.

Finally one of the rare visitors to the valley. I only spotted one Lewis’s Woodpecker this last year. Two years ago there were three at one time in the Ash tree.

Little birds rock the valley, my heart and soul.

Happy Spring.

As always, thank you for looking, and for all the comments, compliments, and well wishes. G

Northern New Mexico, Archive Selections. 03-15-2023

Geraint March 15, 2023 10 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal in the beautiful mountains of northern New Mexico.

I threw virtual darts at the archives this week, and the following images popped up. Northern New Mexico has continued to excite me for forty years. Here’s to many more.

The first two shots were taken during drives around the extended neighborhood, with the first on an evening photo shoot with friends from Kansas City.

Reflections in a large snow melt puddle Arroyo Seco, Northern New Mexico — Reflections in a large snow melt puddle, Arroyo Seco, New Mexico.

Nearby is a more expansive view across the meadow to the mountains with winter colors.

Des Montes and Taos mountains — Des Montes and the mountains of Taos.

I did a one-day shoot for AAA New Mexico Journeys Magazine eight years ago in Bandelier National Monument. The Alcove House pictured was accessible with an exciting climb up numerous, 30′ ladders. It was well worth the ascent with a backpack and tripod.

Alcove House Bandelier National Monument NM — Alcove House, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico.

The Quarai Ruins at the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument yielded this image on my third visit to the site. I created this image with three shots stitched vertically, in effect, a vertical panorama. This location isn’t technically northern New Mexico, more like central NM but I like it.

Quarai Salinas Pueblo Missions — Quarai Ruins, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.

Refrain from stacking stones in Chaco Culture National Historical Park. I heard the Park Service tore it down shortly after I shot it. I know it wasn’t there on my next visit.

Cairn, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Northern New Mexico — Cairn, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, NM.

I enjoy a nice glass of wine when reading a book. Reading “House of Rain”, in the landscape it depicts was a perfect pairing. Thanks to Craig Childs for the many virtual adventures.

House of Rain, Craig Childs — Reading “House of Rain” by Craig Childs, and drinking wine.

One of the first panoramic shots I made of our mountains has been hanging in the waiting room at our local hospital ever since.

Taos Mountains of northern New Mexico — Taos Mountains sunset shot from across the plateau.

Below is the full moon shot in the Rio Grande Gorge. I love that I can stand on top of the highest point (Wheeler Peak) in New Mexico in the morning and spend the evening deep in the Rio Grande Gorge, watching the full moon grace the ridge cradled by a bare piñon tree.

Moon rise over the Rio Grande Gorge Pilar, NM — Moonrise over the Rio Grande Gorge in Pilar, New Mexico.

As I become more mobile I’m looking forward to working with a number of new and repeat photographer/clients. Join me this spring, summer, and fall on a photo trek around some of the best photo locations northern New Mexico has to offer.

Photography tour workshops — On location in…

As always, thank you for looking. Enjoy your week. G

Iconic Ute Mountain, The Plateau, New Mexico. 03-09-2023

Geraint March 8, 2023 24 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal. This week some views of Ute Mountain.

“Ute Mountain is a free-standing, Dacitic, extinct Pliocene volcanic cone”. That’s a mouthful. Besides being one of my revered peaks, it is also set in one of my favorite areas, the Taos Plateau Volcanic Field and the San Luis Valley. The mountain also lies within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

The images below encompass a span of almost twenty years.

On the home front, I feel the surgery on my foot will make my photo treks much more enjoyable for years to come.

Ute Mountain clouds — A localized weather pattern over Ute Mountain.

Road to Ute mountain — Road to the mountain.

Old sheep corral with Ute Mountain — Old sheep corral out on the plateau.

Ute Mountain on the Taos Plateau — A view from Guadalupe Mountain across the Taos Plateau.

Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. Do you recognize the peak back there?

The image below is the one that initiated my fascination with this iconic landmark. Often, I will take a drive north, a pilgrimage of sorts, to visit the mountain. Click here if you want to see more images.

Near Costilla NM — Near Costilla, New Mexico.

Lastly, a couple of shots from closer to home.

Moon rise, San Cristobal — The moon rise this week from the deck in San Cristobal, NM.

And a view across the plateau and beyond to Cerro Pedernal (not a volcano but very much resembles one), “flint peak” near Abiquiu, NM. Immortalized by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe it can be seen from a vantage point behind our home. In the photo, Cerro Pedernal is probably 65-70 miles as the crow flies. The views out west extend a hundred miles or more on clear days. The vistas open like nowhere else, and the skies go on forever.

As always thank you for looking and visiting. And thank you for all the continued well wishes, comments, and compliments.

If you want the name of a wonderful foot and ankle specialist I can give you a recommendation! G

Lunar Occultation of Mars. Night Sky, 02-01-2023

Geraint February 1, 2023 20 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal, NM. Two days before, I’d heard that the lunar occultation (covering) of mars by the moon, was imminent, that it would begin and end between 9 to 11 pm MST. It turns out that here in northern NM, we would be on the periphery of the viewable range, in other words, we are too far north and will possibly, see Mars skirt the edge of the moon. As the evening went on, I became frustrated with the event, the frigid temps dwindling batteries, and cold hands. After a few trips indoors to warm up, I was ready to call it a night.

Here’s the first shot of the moon and Mars when I saw it. The moon’s direction of travel in the first image is from the lower to the upper part of the frame. Is there an up and down in space? Click to enlarge.

January 30, 2023, Lunar occultation of Mars.

After a lengthy warm-up by the woodstove cupping a glass of whisky, I went back to the camera set up on the deck, got the moon in my viewfinder, and spotted Mars about to vanish behind the moon. Mars is on the upper right edge of the moon.

The Lunar occultation of mars — The Lunar occultation (covering) of Mars occurs.

Lunar occultation, Mars emerges from behind the moon — Mars emerges from behind the moon.

Here’s a close-up of the planet Mars emerging. The time frame of this event was about 20 minutes. Time on the deck from start to finish 2.5 hours.

Lastly this week, I have to share the birds Three crows, eyes left!

American crows cottonwood tree — Three American Crows in the old cottonwood tree, San Cristobal.

One of a very large flock of Pinyon Jays in the garden this week. They emptied the bird feed in twenty minutes. This bird was waiting for it’s opportunity to feed but it doesn’t look very enthusiastic.

Pinyon Jay one of a large flock. — Pinyon Jay.

As always, thanks for looking and for all your kind words and compliments.

San Cristobal Valley, Winter, Ranchos de Taos. 01-18-2023

Geraint January 18, 2023 18 Comments

Greetings from San Cristobal Valley. Winter is beginning to settle in, with temperatures dropping to single digits and a decent amount of snow. Not at all the amount we are used to, but we’ll take it.

Last week, on my way home, I just had to pull over to watch the shadows move through our valley. Ten years ago, I shot this same scene. It became the centerpiece in our galley and home and has been a best seller since then. I don’t think I could ever top it though I keep trying. As you can see, the foreground is overgrown, with the meadow obscured.

San Cristobal valley cottonwoods — San Cristobal Valley.

Here is the same view, one of my iconic images from ten years ago. Here is the same location in fall 2020.

San Cristobal valley cottonwoods, and aspens — San Cristobal Valley cottonwoods, and aspens

That cottonwood and willows in Arroyo Hondo, I can’t seem to pass this spot without making an image.

Early one morning this week I went south to the adobe mission church of Saint Francis in Ranchos de Taos. This iconic building always looks good with accents of snow and a dramatic sky. One important feature of this image… I arrived in time to get a photo before the parking area filled with cars.

Saint Francis church, Ranchos de Taos, NM.

Below is an image from December 2010 on the road that connects the villages of Arroyo Hondo and Arroyo Seco. When I had my gallery in Arroyo Seco I drove this route most days. It’s a sweet country road with close-up views of the surrounding mountains. It is an especially beautiful, and magical drive when the hoar frost covers the trees and landscape.

Hondo, Seco Road, New Mexico — Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco Road, New Mexico

If you plan to visit New Mexico this year and have a desire to improve your photographic skills, and see locations off the beaten track, look me up and consider a photography tour/workshop. I’ll look forward to meeting and working with you in some of my favorite places in the area.

As always, thank you for looking. G