Off to see the Lizard...

 Went for a hike last weekend and was happily taking pictures of the surrounding area, when my attention was caught by this lizard.  I then spent the next half hour or so taking pictures of him/her.   Small things amuse me sometimes.

 He started out green,

 Then as he climbed he changed color, gradually darkening to a brown. 

 Almost to the top of the post here.

 He's on the top, and trying to spot his snack.

 Looking down the side.

 Maybe if he looks with the other eye? 

 I think his snack escaped, but he kept me entertained for a long time.  

Looking back, way back, Carlsbad Caverns

I've been lucky enough to do some traveling in this country, gotten to see some interesting places, and some that were more spectacular from a distance than close up.  But that's a story from another day.
Years ago I didn't have a digital camera, I relied on my 35mm and was very cagey about how many pictures I took.   It cost money to develop pictures and you had to be extremely lucky or very talented to get some shots.   I was neither.   But with a digital camera I can take literally hundreds of pictures, and pick just one or two out that are good.  Makes me look good anyway.

 Carlsbad Caverns

Entrance to the caverns, one mile down.  Steep and hard to walk.

 Some of the interesting formations within the caverns,
the sheets of minerals, stalagmites, stalagtites, and other formations I don't know the names of...

 An example of an early lantern used to explore the caverns.

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All in all, I think I took, well let me go and count how many pictures, I took almost 200 pictures while underground and some of them were almost worth sharing, but I'm sharing anyway.    And yes, I'd like to go back there, and this time just absorb the incredible formations there and not worry about pictures.   Oh and by the way, if you choose not to walk into the cavern down the 1 mile down trail, they did have an easier entrance, but you don't get quite the same feeling of walking into the bowels of the earth.   Sorry, could not resist saying that.   For more on the history of Carlsbad Caverns, check out this link:   Carlsbad Caverns

Looking back... Part One

A few years ago we embarked on a long held dream, we decided to move from one part of the country to another totally different part.  And along the way we were fortunate enough to be able to take our time and explore a little of this country.  Actually we went back and forth a few times.   I mean you need to get it right and practice makes perfect.  And we also perfected 'drive by sightseeing'.  Which means I took a lot of pictures out of the side window of the car, cause I was following and had to kinda keep up with the motorhome. 

Anyway, we tried taking different routes along the way, and managed to drive through/visit every single one of the contiguous lower states.   Of course this has taken a few years cause we did the western states first, before we got to the middle and the East.  However, we're here now, East and South.  

And I, without realizing it, actually began my blogging adventures back then.   At the time we had a private forum, that I would invite family and friends into, so they could follow along with us, if they choose to do so.   Mostly for my FIL and my sibs, so they could share some of our adventures.  And I have no idea if they even read it or saw some of the pictures, but I'm so glad I did it.   I'm also the person who keeps scraps of paper and old letters and cards, (we won't go into that here, that's a post for another day).   I kept a log of where we were and I even took pictures.  Surprising, huh?  At the time I was using an older model digital camera and kept filling up the SD card with pictures, so much so, that on one trip away back when, I had to go and buy a card reader so I could download my pictures.  

So I thought I would share a few of the pictures of places we were lucky enough to see along the way.

 Shorter Alabama
We stayed here one night, it was late, dark and we were tired.  And had a lot of fun, not, finding the campground.   It was tucked down behind a gas station, and quite frankly we overshot the mark, went on by, and had to turn around and come back.  We were not happy at this point.  But got back to the gas station, registered, then took the narrow, very dark unpaved road down to the campground proper.    We set up, grabbed a bite to eat, took the dog for a quick walk and fell into bed.   The next morning, I took the dog for another walk, and this is what I saw.

Gorgeous, totally gorgeous.  And while the campground was pretty basic, it had electricity, water and the view.  
We continued on with our journey, and I wish I'd taken more pictures that particular trip, but quite frankly, I was still playing with my 35 mm film camera and hadn't converted myself to digital yet. 





However, here's where we ended up.   Country Oaks Campground, and the Pond.   Actually I've taken a lot of pictures of the Pond over the past few years, but this is the earliest one. 

Still one of the prettiest places around.   And a great place to stay.   And now that I've made a shameless plug for them, I'm going to go and search out a few more pictures and stories of our travels.    I'll try and update this again soon.

In the meantime, hope you enjoy traveling along with me, and seeing a few places along with me.   I just hope my feet don't get too itchy, cause that traveling bug is hard to get rid of once you have it.    But if it hits me too hard, you know I'm going to document the traveling and share it here.

 

More Mushrooms...

I really like mushrooms, they grow in such fantastical shapes.   And they're right there where you can see them easily.   They seem to grow anywhere, including the pot my tomato plant is in.

Some are so delicate you can picture the fae using them as umbrella's or ...

Others are so sturdy you can envision a group of fae working hard to make shelters out of them.

So many shapes, sizes and colors...

And at the end of the day, they fold up and slide away...

Morning walk...

I went for a walk this morning, I keep meaning to go most mornings, but for some reason by the time I get around to it, it's usually too hot outside to walk, but this morning I made it out the door.  And it was a lovely cool 78 degrees.

I had my camera with me, (I'm starting to think about having it surgically attached, but can't figure out how to change the batteries).

I saw mushrooms, and even though they tried to hide from me, I took their picture anyway.   Why mushrooms fascinate me, I have no idea, but they do.

 

And then there was the pretty flowering bush, I do love a yellow flower.  

And the critters, well, luckily for me the snake whooshed out of sight and all I saw was his tail disappearing into the brush.  And no it wasn't an anole, or lizard or skink.   It was a snake.   I like lizards, anoles and skinks, but snakes, not so much.   And the only reason I even noticed the snake tail, well, here it is, a butterfly.

 Just lit down for a moment and as I took a step forward, it lifted off again.   Poor little thing looked a little the worse for wear.  

As did these leaves,

you can see the insect tracks on the leaves which gives a pretty lacy effect, but I'm sure it's not much fun for the plant.

I love trying to see outside the ordinary, seeing and recording some of the everyday stuff, that we tend to overlook.
Next time I go for a walk, I'll see what else is new...   

Cactus Flowers

As I was taking pictures of some cactus flowers earlier this year, I was struck anew (and it hurt), by the contrast of the fragility of the flower and the sturdiness of the plant.   I've always liked seeing cactus flowers bloom, and always felt special when I got to see them, when we used to live in a desert climate, you were lucky to see them bloom after a brief rain, but since I moved to Florida, I've seen a lot of cactus blooming.  I guess you just have to be there when it's blooming time.   At any rate I thought I would share a few pictures here.

The variety of flowers on cactus is amazing.  From the delicate to the sturdy.    I hope you enjoy looking at these as well.