The Little Life

An ant colony which may have been abandoned for I never saw anyone coming or going.

This here I first thought was just another unusual rock formation 

but upon a closer look I discovered it was a living community. 

 The sign below which I have seen at other places describes this plant community.

And a black and white for the day.

Photogenic Cacti

 That is how I saw this species of cacti. 

They just wanted their picture taken whether it be with a grand scene backdrop,

an intimate setting,

or up close.

Some just want to be alone.

Must have one black and white scene.

Black Friday

A black and white of sunset behind Mt. Whitney taken with a 70-300 lens.

At 300mm

and now pulled back to 70mm

Mr. Friday

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Be thankful for all you have.

Strange Rock Formations From Another World

Okay, time to fess up.  

Sinbad and I traveled to another planet in the Little House of the Solar System.

A nice shelter for the lost traveler.

That's not a snake in there; it's a branch.

Looks like one of those walls built by the Inca.

A ready-made fireplace?

Hard to believe Nature did this and not a construction crew.

No forklift could carry this boulder.

All I've Got

I hope you are not growing tired with pictures of rocks because it is pretty much all I've got.

 Sorry but I just fell in love with the Alabama Hills site.

I am easily entertained by Nature.

There were grasshoppers around but they were really difficult to sneak up on.

Another view of our camp from further away.  Lonely and desolate looking you say?

I know, isn't it just lovely?

  

Another Morning Exploring

It was really nice to go for a walkabout each morning.

Now how did that boulder get there?

I never grew tired of the scenes to be seen.

Or the interesting lay of the rock.

Sitting at home looking at these pictures I wonder what it is like there right now.

COLD!

Sunday Scenes

and here's a little color 

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Yesterday was my birthday, not something I would normally advertise, but I will in this case for having received the best gift ever - my Sinbad is still with me.  I honestly felt he would not be when my birthday came.  In fact he's been his normal self ever since coming home from the vet last week after being diagnosed with early stages of kidney failure.  I cannot believe this special prescription food he's been eating is responsible but I am a believer for the time it has given to us.

Every day has been a gift.

My wife made me an apple birthday pie.

From Humble Beginnings Comes Dangerous Things

Beavertail Cactus

I've never found baby Beavertail in the wild before, until now.

A full grown mature plant.

Each one of those little spots are called areoles where hundreds of tiny hair-like spines grow.  The grouping of spines are known as glochids.  Getting these into your skin you do not want to do.

 They are very irritating although you do not immediately feel the irritation.  It usually makes itself apparent an hour or so later.  It is then I stop whatever I am doing and proceed to get the spine out with tweezers and a magnifying glass for the longer they remain the worse it will become.

I have a beavertail in my cactus garden at home.  Every time I have got spines in my hand it wasn't from touching the plant itself.  I got it from something else that had touched the plant.  Now look at the third photo again and you will see where birds have sat on the edge and pooped and where somebody has nibbled away at two of the paddles.  How do they do it?

Lost and Found

Another day, another walkabout.

I wonder who lives here?

Well hello there.

Just another fascinating shape in the rock.

 Huh!  See what I see?  Right in the middle of the sand.

Well, I'll be darned.  Someone has been through here before, but there were no footprints around.

(The footprints you see above are mine.  I only thought of the potential blog post after I picked it up so I reset the scene for the picture)

It couldn't have been too long for the batteries were still good...kind of.

As I always told my kids, You'll never find your fortune by looking up in the sky.

Rocks and Boulders

Looks like someone took a meat cleaver to that rock.

A little window.

Yep, I wanted to climb up there but there was no way...at least for someone my age.

Most all of the rock has a very rough texture to it.  It is very abrasive and guaranteed to ruin a good pair of pants if you slid down on it.  Imagine what it would do to your hide.

I didn't even consider going up there on this one.

 Another example of that seam of rock running through the boulders into the distance.