Enallagma civile

Today I took a walk on a walking trail at the City of Santa Fe Municipal Recreation Center. It was very peaceful and quiet. There is a small pond there that the trail loops around. Here is where I spotted this gorgeous blue dragonfly. I did quite a search on Google to try and find what kind of dragonfly - the best I could come up with is the Familiar Bluet.

Evening Sky

My evening walk was very pleasant. After a pretty warm day the evening had cooled down and was beautiful - as was the New Mexico evening sky.

Hard Working Ants

We have these ant mounds made of small pebbles all over the property. As I was walking this evening I came upon one of the mounds covered with ants working really hard to move these small pebbles from the hole.

Santa Fe Plaza

I went downtown to the Plaza this morning and had a pleasant walk. It was nice being there when there wasn't a crowd.

Cloud Formation

During my afternoon walk I was privy to these beautifully formed clouds over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Santa Fe. Don't I have a great view of the sky and mountains from my home.

Beaded Purse

Today it rained quite a bit and I didn't get to go out and take pictures. So I searched the house and found this beaded purse in a box of things that we had inherited. I thought it was intricate and beautiful.

Café Paris

This morning I went for a walk downtown. I ended up in Burro Alley. I decided to stop at Café Paris and have some coffee and breakfast. It was an enjoyable morning sitting outside in the great weather.

The Tree of Life

This mural is on a building on Sheridan Avenue in Santa Fe. It was painted as part of the Community Youth Mural Project. The colors and context of this mural really grabbed my attention.

Skeleton Tree

This tree seemed so sad without any leaves or sign of life. But this skeleton tree had its own beauty against the beautiful New Mexico sky.

Guitar Man

This evening I went for a walk downtown. The city is having a series of free concerts on the Plaza - Santa Fe Bandstand. I thought this guy's neon green guitar was great.

Cataleya

Today I visited friends in the East Mountains of Albuquerque and got to see all their lovely animals. Cataleya was kind enough to pose for this beautiful piclure - she is one photogenic llama.

Colorful Santa Fe

It was a really nice day today. Not too hot, no wind and no rain. S o I took an evening walk down Canyon Road. It was pretty deserted which was nice and peaceful. This flower pot filled with bright red flowers against the blue door just seemed to jump out at me - it really spoke of the colors that are Santa Fe.

Wild Sunflower

I took a drive down Caja del Rio Road this afternoon. I saw these wild sunflowers along the way. But at one point they were so abundant that I had to stop and take some pictures.

Thistle

Today I had a lot of errands to run. Halfway through the errands I got tired of the traffic and construction - so I made a detour to a little park just to take a break. I came across this Thistle trying to bloom.

Butterfly Bush

Our Butterfly Bush started blooming this week. The flowers seem a little scraggly - I hope some of the others are a little more plump. We have the flowers but I haven't seen any butterflies yet.

What is a Typewriter?

Today while taking pictures I stumbled across an old Royal Typewriter. It looked so heavy and awkward. I guess most of us remember typewriters but I suspect there are quite a few youngsters that have no idea what they are!

Bleeding Heart

One of our indoor plants is a Bleeding Heart. It is not a consistent bloomer. But this year it is doing well - I just couldn't resist getting this picture when the first red flowers emerged form their white enclosure.

Snapdragon

With all the rain we have been having our yard has blossomed again. Today I took pictures of all the snapdragons that are now present.

Lark Sparrow

While taking my afternoon walk today I heard birds but was having trouble finding them. So I decided to find a spot to sit and wait to see if one of them showed themselves. I only had to wait a few minutes for two of them to fly out of a juniper and land on the ground just a few feet away. Here is a picture of the beautiful Lark Sparrow that I saw today.

Bull Snake

I was leaving the yard to take my afternoon walk on the property when I almost stepped on this guy. I didn't see it at first because it was mostly underground. There was a little pile of dirt around the snake, like it was digging itself a hole. When I stepped next to it I guess the snake noticed my movement so it backed out of the ground. It slithered away just a little and then curled up. I also stepped away in the opposite direction of the snake. And then I looked at its tail. I was praying it wasn't a rattlesnake. Thankfully, it was a bull snake. So I started taking pictures.

Watchful Bird

This morning I went outside and found this beautiful bird just singing and watching the area. He was there for about 30 minutes and I was able to get some good pictures.

Good Morning, Santa Fe!

I woke up very early this morning - it was still dark. Which was lucky because I got to see the beautiful Santa Fe sunrise.

Faucet Handle

I took a short walk on the property this afternoon. I wanted to have a different picture (not flowers or the sky) - just to have a little variety. So as I was walking I came across this faucet handle and zoomed in to get this picture.

Storm Clouds

This evening we had another rain storm. I love the way the clouds change as the storm moves in. I was able to get a picture of these storm clouds before the rain started.

Desert Willow

Our Desert Willow Tree is starting to bloom. I feel that this tree produces some beautiful flowers. I cant' wait till the tree is full of flowers.

Another Beautiful Sunset

We had an early afternoon rain today and I worried about being able to take pictures. But then the skies cleared and I got great pictures of the sun setting over the Jemez Mountains, just another beautiful Santa Fe sunset.

A Little Birdie

Today I took pictures of lots of birds. There were tons of these around the house today. I am not very good at identifying birds. But you can go to Whatbird? to see if you can find it.

Independence Day

Independence Day or The 4th of July - whatever you call it - today we celebrate our 232nd year of independence from Great Britian. I hope everyone had a great 4th and enjoyed plenty of fireworks.

Daylily

For the past two days one of our Daylilies started to bloom. So far we have had six blooms. These aren't my favorite flowers but they are still beautiful.

Cholla Bloom

I am always fascinated when the chollas start to bloom. The beautiful cholla bloom looks so delicate amidst all the needles. I look forward to these blooms every year.

Hollyhocks

The hollyhocks in our yard are in full bloom. The past few years they haven't done that well but this year we are getting tons of flowers.