the yellow season

The second clutch of Say's phoebes have fledged and are busy bulking up for their flight south, the hummingbird numbers peaked at 315 this year, and a group of at least one hundred nighthawks circled, gathering insects before an approaching storm.  It was a week of subtle but noticeable changes in the weather.  Yellow began to dot the landscape, in the form of both cultivated flowers and native plants, and I want to share some of the lovely shades with you.

When I was photographing the day lilies, I realized that the inside structure looks decidedly like some of the sandstone slot canyons of the west.  Perhaps a stretch of my imagination but fascinating.

Strange that I never noticed the crenulation of three of the petals prior to this year.  That happens when you pull out the camera and really look.

Growing along the highways of northern New Mexico is a wide variety of wildflowers at this point, including the sunflower.  I love this particular tangle accompanied by some sky drama.

The group below seemed particularly friendly.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

along the highway

The season of gold has begun in the southern Rocky Mountains.  Snakeweed, sunflowers and other assorted members of the Asteraceae (sunflower) family dot the earth and fill the borrow ditches along highways.  Even in our land of little rain, it is always astonishing to see how big sunflowers become, courtesy of highway runoff.  In the University of Wyoming field guide Weeds of the West, the common sunflower is described as an annual, growing from one to ten feet tall.  I have seen some that are at least six feet tall.  Pretty decent for a short growing season and fairly dry conditions.  And there is nothing like that New Mexico gold against a brilliant summer sky.

The light and shadow on the interior of these sunflowers seems almost edible to me.

I will be keeping my eyes peeled along the highways.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

High country pilgrimage

At the change of seasons, I like to make a pilgrimage of sorts to the beautiful mountains between Tres Piedras and Tierra Amarilla.  By now, you know my love for Highway 64, which winds through the high country revealing stands of cottonwoods, aspen, spruce, and fir, as well as views of the Brazos Cliffs.  It is my favorite drive in New Mexico, and judging by the number of bicycles and motorcycles on the road, others find it enticing as well.

Every trip is different.  My goal during the drive last week was to photograph wild iris, but the relative lack of spring moisture made the season short.  Few were in bloom and most were far beyond their prime.  In addition, I would guess that nearly 90% of the aspen were filled with bag worms, leaving few leaves on the trees.  The birds and animals which eat the resulting moths are going to have a very good growing season indeed.

Not to be deterred, I explored one of the rest stops that looks out over the Brazos, searching for one of my other favorite subjects - marsh marigolds.  They were there but lurking amongst them was something I had never seen before in the wild - shooting stars.  These little jewels are visual eye candy but you have to be sitting on the ground, better yet, on your back to photograph them.  Luckily the normally marshy area in which they are found was dry enough for me to work.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image