Just a grab shot this morning of two moths hanging out under a garage sconce. I then used the super macro mode of my Canon S5 to see what they looked like. It’s obvious where science fiction gets ideas for their characters!
monsoon sunrise
We had an excellent rainfall last night and heard on the news this morning that it puts us ahead of our normal rainfall for the year. This sunrise photo is from two mornings ago after another great rain.
busting out all over
There was a banner crop of Jojoba nuts this year. This shot from yesterday shows how they eventually end up on the ground. As the shell dries, it curls and the nuts literally fall out of their shells.
I really enjoy eating them and when I read they have a much longer shelf life than regular nuts, I decided to do some harvesting. Donning my big hat, Chris said I looked like Juan Valdez picking coffee beans 🙂 I found directions for roasting them which worked well and they taste even better roasted.
bobcat
We hiked earlier than usual yesterday morning and found this Bobcat in front of our house when we returned. (To be specific….Chris spotted it). Not a very good photo but at least it’s not another shot of a Bobcat butt 🙂
banana yucca fruit
Finally a photo of this fruit for my archives! I’ve been trying to get one for a couple of years so I was very excited to see this yesterday. I had heard there is only one moth that pollinates the yucca but I didn’t know about the incredible set of circumstances it takes for the pollination to take place. It’s no wonder we rarely see the fruit. If this kind of thing interests you, click on the following two links which will tell you all about the Pronuba Moth.
african milk tree
This African Milk Tree (Euphorbia trigona) has been a house plant for many years but now is planted outside so it was exciting (to me anyway) to see new growth. Since bugs and critters don’t typically like the taste of Euphorbias, it has a good chance for survival.
lightroom 2
I told myself I wouldn’t but after watching the video tutorials on the NAPP website, I upgraded to Lightroom 2 yesterday. One word….WOW! The first thing I fell in love with is being able to use both my monitors which means I have the light table open on one monitor while having a huge preview on the other (as shown above).
There are so many more really cool features that I haven’t tried yet. If they work, I’ll be using Lightroom for much more than just archiving now. By the way, I’m guessing that the new Bridge will probably have some of these new features too.
90 in the shade
A late start and a black fur coat makes it even tougher for Cleo to hunt lizards 🙂
(shot with Infrared converted Canon S3)
monsoon morning
A shot of Chris on our walk this morning. Monsoon clouds are always a welcome sight. They don’t always mean rain but we and the desert plants appreciate the moisture in the air.
fencepost
What appear to be very large red spines on this Mexican Fencepost are in actuality only between 1/16th and 1/4th of an inch. Pretty good photo considering I’m shooting hand held with my Canon S5. Many Canon point and shoots have a “Super Macro” mode that lets you get incredibly close.