Friday Fotos ~ Flora and Fauna

 

I had a doctor appointment down in Albuquerque the other day and after the appointment was over, I did something I rarely ever do:

Go someplace fun all by myself.

I usually always take my kidlets with me so they don’t miss out on any new adventure, especially if the experiences might be educational in nature. We have a family Bio Park Membership which allows us to visit The Rio Grande Zoo, The Albuquerque Aquarium, and The Botanical Gardens whenever we like for an entire year. You can be sure we take full advantage of that privilege.

When I was a Volunteer Docent for the Rio Grande Zoo over 14 years ago, I would often head to the zoo on my off-days, just to sit and observe animals, or I’d bring a book and sit in the shade, surrounded by hummingbirds and peacocks, and the sound of lions roaring while I read. I sometimes miss those days.

So, on Tuesday, after my doctor appointment, I headed over to the Botanical Gardens to stroll the flower lined paths and sit and admire butterflies. Of course I brought my camera, which added to my fun adventure for the day.

I often feel guilty doing a photo shoot while my kidlets are along with me. I love going places with my kidlets as they are very observant and I enjoy our talks together, and we always have great fun. But because we homeschool, sometimes I feel as if I rarely ever have time just for me.

(Do you see the frog in the upper left of the below photo? I didn’t see it until I viewed the photo on my computer. How funny is that? I wonder what other little surprises I missed that day?)

And when I want to delve more deeply into my hobby of photography I sometimes feel rushed when I’m out with my kids……not because they say or do anything to rush me, of course. It’s mostly just my own Mommy Guilt that creeps in. All three of my kidlets are usually very patient, but I know they get bored if I take too long taking photos. Heck I probably would, too. lol! 

But during my four hour Botanical Gardens visit on Tuesday, I took my sweet time setting up shots, trying different angles, experimenting with light and shadow, and playing with my camera settings. And sometimes I didn’t take any photos at all. Sometimes I only strolled along the garden trails or I just sat and enjoyed the beautiful flowers, koi fish, geese, ducks, hummingbirds and nature.

(Those chairs were very comfortable and I sat for a very long time just enjoying the peaceful nature views, the sweet scents of flowers, and the whirring of the hummingbirds above my head.)

Do you know how difficult it is to photograph a tiny little bird who is still for less than a nano-second?

 

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed my day that I spent all by my little lonesome! It was sublime and I don’t think the smile left my face all day. lol!

Here are a few of the photos I took on Tuesday:

 

This pretty flower reminded me of a soft powder puff waiting to fluff the loveliest shade of pink blush upon your cheeks.

Walking among these playfully fun purple puff balls reminded me of walking through a field of purple lollipops.

 

Gus the Goose and I became fast friends after I told him about my new flock of chicks that will be arriving in just 21 days. We felt like kindred spirits with a love of all feathered creatures.

 

I was fascinated with all the unusual flowers.

Even the usual flowers made me pause.

 

My poor. dry, wind-blown and sand-scraped eyes, weary of only seeing shades of brown and the dull green of a sea of juniper trees for many months during our serious drought conditions, was refreshed and overjoyed to see so many breathtakingly beautiful explosions of fabulous color.

Gus the Goose, in his Yoda voice, told me, "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm. Mmmph. As well you should not, for my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere! Yes, even between the land and the ship."

 

I was starting to understand what he meant and soon began to feel like I was on the planet, Pandora (Avatar)

All of the weird and wonderful plants finally made sense to me and filled me with wonder.

 

I began to notice the tiny details around me, above me, and even at my feet. Like these tiny footprints, perhaps left behind by a masked marauder (raccoon)?

The sight of water refreshed my desert weary mind. I couldn’t resist standing beneath the misters and feeling the sacred moisture quench my desiccated skin.

 

Seems to me that creating an imaginary planet with weird and unusual plants isn’t even necessary when  they already exist here on our real life planet.

 

 

Every bend in the trail revealed some new and magical surprise.

More of Planet Earth’s weird and wonderful flora.

Perfection and personality in every dainty, fragile curve.

 

These poor trees reminded me of my dry, flaky skin that not even multiple layers of lotion, applied several times a day, can completely eradicate.

The many layers of ivy wrapping around this castle turret was akin to a Hawaiian girl’s grass skirt.

 

Every bridge beckoned me to cross and every door and gate tempted me to enter, welcoming me to discover the treasures that were hidden within.

I met many alien creatures along the way, like this friendly fellow that seemed very curious about my camera and spoke to me in a foreign language that I wish I could have understood. Perhaps he was only asking if I had a snack to share. Alas I did not. But I decided he deserved a name and I called him Bilbo Baggins. It just fit.

 

I continued on with my journey, crossing bridges made of rock, walking in beauty as I fell into a trance caused by the babbling brook beside me.

There was always time to pause to contemplate the complexity of life and the simpleness of nature

All of my troubles, cares, concerns and responsibilities faded away as I only focused on the sights, scents, and sounds of the beauty all around me.

 

The sound of water soothed my soul and I was pleased to see a water crossing opportunity present itself to me that would require removing my shoes so I could christen my tired, achy feet in the cool, refreshing creek.

Afterwards I was reminded to look down and I realized I had left behind my own brief impression of the freedoms felt that day.

Is there anything more care free and relaxed than a bare foot?

And as I sat beside the water, immersed in a Zen-like moment……………

A wet and wise voice spoke to me with a Japanese accent, saying “Kachou Fuugetsu ~ Experience the beauties of nature, and in doing so learn about yourself.”

 

I have taken this sage advice and plan to do so more often.

And you should, too. It’s good for the soul.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hedgehog

 

 

 

Macro Monday ~ The Bug Lady

 

I took my daughter to a Girl Scout “All About Animals” Event in Albuquerque on Saturday and The Bug Lady was there.

That’s a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach crawling up her arm. She fondly told us it is her special pet. She keeps quite a large insect collection in her home and she shared with us that her pet cockroach had gotten out of it’s aquarium tank last year and had been missing for several weeks. She was visibly happy having her hissing cockroach safe and sound on her arm again.

But the vision of loose cockroaches and creepy crawlies running amok throughout her home made me wonder if she gets many visitors staying overnight in her home.

My guess is no.

The Bug Lady is quite fascinating, though. She reminded me of Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus Books, in that she is thrilled about her insects and loves to educate and share them with others.

One of the things that the girls were excited about is that The Bug Lady doesn’t keep her specimens under glass. Instead she encourages everyone to pick them up, hold and observe them.

Which we did.

I had to hold them first before Jen would agree to pick one up. I suppose she figured that if I wasn't screaming in terror, holding a dead bug would be just fine. This is the New Mexico State Insect: The Tarantula Hawk Wasp, so named because their main diet is tarantulas. Their sting is among the most painful of all insects, so this is probably the only opportunity we will ever have to hold one. 

I must admit to having creepy critter phobia, but these creepy crawlies weren’t alive, and that is 95% of the phobia.

So after we picked up our first bug and realized it wasn’t going to attack and eat us, it was really no big deal.

And I have to admit it was pretty cool, too.

These Jewel Beetles were my favorite.

I thought they were beautiful. But their exoskeleton fascinated me even more. It felt oddly like some kind of strong metal.

Raven Romance

 

It snowed Monday and Tuesday and as I looked outside during one flurry, I noticed one of our resident raven couples. They were sitting on the pipe fence together, until one flew away, leaving the other behind….looking rather forlorn and sad.

But soon they reunited in a juniper tree in one of our paddocks. It was sweet how they groomed and snuggled up with one another.

The other day I noticed a very large flock of ravens in Apache’s paddock. There were at least 30 ravens gathered underneath her tall pinon tree as if they were having a special raven convention, or maybe a social mixer?

Afterwards we are seeing more ravens paired up together. They really watch out for one another and stay close to each other. I suppose we’ll be seeing baby ravens before too long.