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Would You Like Whipped Cream on That?
Cathedral Gorge, Nevada
2022

We left Montana mid-December to escape the snow and extreme cold that was headed that way. We at least made it away from the really cold temps by the time we reached Cathedral Gorge, but the snow was a hit or miss thing–it was there on the shady north sides of the formations but absent on the south. Here the Fashion Queen checks out one of the crack canyons in what was about the snowiest area we came across while hiking there.

Cheap Shot
Somewhere in Nevada
2022

I wasn’t going to photograph this crass message on this tank but because I had photographed it some years ago, before the correction in red, I felt some need to update it. (Plus, there was also a bit of unexpected encouragement from the Fashion Queen to photograph it.) Anyway, here it is–for the record.

We are finally in Tucson, AZ where we’ll be through February. Our rental did not start until yesterday but we left Bozeman fifteen or so days ago in order to miss the record setting cold and the snow that was bearing down on Montana at the time. We successfully missed the coldest weather, although our first night in the camper it got down to 3 degrees. After that it got successively warmer as we leisurely drove through Nevada, a bit of California, and Arizona on the way here. I’m finally settled in to where I can start posting photos from our various stops on the trip down here.

Thriving on Chaos
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

I would be hopelessly tangled and lost if dropped into the middle of a mangrove swamp. In fact we once would have been lost kayaking in a mangrove swamp if I had not had the foresight to tie bright orange flags at all the junctions of the maze of canals we were trying to find our way out of. These ibis however seemed quite able to navigate and benefit from what the swamp has to offer without such help.

Mangrove Chaos
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

Frond Down
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

Electric Frond
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

This partially backlit palmetto frond looks like its some sort of highly energized electric field.

Never Miss
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

I never miss a chance to photograph agave plants when they appear in front of me. This one is from Florida, but I expect I will get similar opportunities during our Arizona stay.

Bar Flies
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

Spiral Grid
St. Petersburg, Florida
2019

By the time this is posted, we will be spending some time in warm, sunny Arizona. But before I start posting some photos from there, I’m going to post a few images from a previous winter getaway to Florida. This image is of the central atrium at the Dali Museum. I don’t believe there is any museum quite of it’s stature in Arizona, but I know we will somehow manage to enjoy ourselves anyway.

Sedges Have Edges
Bozeman, Montana
2022

At one point a few years ago I took it on myself to try and learn the names and distinguishing characteristics of all the grass and grass-like plants that grow around our cabin. I soon discovered that identifying specific species can be very, very hard and I mostly have given up. I did learn a useful mnemonic though:

Sedges have edges,
Rushes are round,
Grasses have nodes from the top to the ground

An easy way to identify a sedge is to roll the plant stem between the fingers. If it has obvious edges to it, it is a sedge. Based on this information, I’m confident in declaring that this photo is of some sedges growing around the edge of our pond a few months ago. Beyond that I’d be mostly guessing if I claimed to know the specific type of sedge. But at this point in winter when we’ve already been inundated with snow, it’s just fine to appreciate this image without getting all scientific about it.