New Day in November, for Skywatch

City-light diamond necklace at the throat of the mountains

Twinkles, then winks off

The wind chime hangs very, very still

A shiver-cold desert night is ending

Scarlet fingers from the rising sun

Reach up, into a warming sky

Distant dogs bark up into the orange pink gold light

Coyote gives one last commanding howl, and

The November day is born

*****

For sky photos from all over the world, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Shakespeare Skies, for Skywatch

We went to Shakespeare, New Mexico

It is a ghost town

Perfect for October

The skies were clear

The vistas were pure Old West

All around us we saw

Pieces of the past

The air was so clear

You could smell the history

We looked down at ourselves

and

were surprised

to find that we still looked like 

people living in the 21st century

For skies over oceans and deserts, modern places and ancient places, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Something is Coming, for Skywatch

Are those eyes glowing out there?

We all know that there is something coming here in southern New Mexico. When October arrives, the air feels a little chilly to our spoiled desert bones and the chihuahuas burrow down under the sheets at night. As we shrug on sweaters and search out long-stored blankets and pajamas, we anticipate the smell of autumn fires. 

We warm ourselves up with chiles for breakfast.

We ready our ofrendas (memorial altars to the departed) and look forward to the Dia de los Muertos celebrations later this month. Front yards take on a new look: Skeletons abound, chile ristras glow red, and ghosts dance on fences. 

Something is coming. Something good.

For skies in other places, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Meteorology Boy! For Skywatch

Most of the time our skies are clear and blue because we live in the desert. But every once in a while we are blessed with an overcast sky and clouds that might--well, they just might--bring rain to our parched land.

At Cody's age, a ripe old 15, every sky is a wonderful one. He sits here on his favorite windowsill to check out the possibility of rainfall on a rare cloudy day.

As you will see from the photo below, taken several months earlier, Cody is devoted to his meteorological duties and seldom leaves his observation post. Click on the pre-dawn photo to enlarge it and look for Cody's glowing eyes in the window to the left of the porch.

For skies (and sky observers) everywhere, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday. 

Dark Skies Over the Night Train, for Skywatch

On our recent train trip from New Mexico to Boston and back again, I was fascinated by the night scenes I could observe from the lower berth. I awoke one night when the train stopped for fuel in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mmm, mmm, it doesn't get any better than a night train. A night train in Kansas City. I know there's a song there, somewhere...

I loved the angles and the light and the sight of the empty night train. And the dark skies, of course, for Skywatch.

I think I just like that phrase: Night train. It conjures up the memory of train sounds, and that slightly swaying train feeling, and the darkness sliding by, and the moon on the river, and the clackety sound of going over the bridges. Night train.

And I really, really loved the effects I could get of the night lights in Kansas City, once the train started moving. You can see that it was just a little bumpy, down there in the lower berth. 

For skies in the day and skies in the night, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday. 

Paradise Lost, for Skywatch

Desert Bird of Paradise

I find our desert bird of paradise to be very decorative, even when the flowers are about to lose their petals. I especially like the flowers with the skies of the Mesilla Valley in the background. 


When I looked around for some nice quotes about paradise, or paradise lost, I found this one by Doug Larson:  Utility is when you have one telephone, luxury is when you have two, opulence is when you have three - and paradise is when you have none...


... but my chickens liked this one better: If one cannot catch the bird of paradise, better take a wet hen.  (Nikita Khrushchev).

For skies from everywhere, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Storm Over the Tularosa, for Skywatch

When we drive through the Tularosa Basin on our way from Alamogordo to Las Cruces, New Mexico, we always marvel at the amazing skies. Something is always happening, something that makes me put down my knitting (imagine that!) and gaze up at the miraculousness of it all.

One tends to think big thoughts in the Tularosa.

For more skies and the thoughts they inspire, please be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

*****

Klaus Peter, 1960-2011

 Today's Skywatch is dedicated to the memory of Klaus Peter. According to the Skywatch site, "he was an active participant, supporter, and eventually owner/maintainer of Skywatch and the founder of That's My World." He will be missed by so many, although we may not have met him in person.

August Morning in the Desert, for Skywatch

More cloud shadows fall:

rainfall promises not kept

***

Tears salt the parched land

.,

For sky views from the world over, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Cloud Shadows, for Skywatch

Taken near sundown on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in South Central New Mexico

I never tire of the skies in New Mexico. While I've seen our mountains here casting their shadows against clouds, this is the first time I've captured cloud shadows in the sky.

For scenes of skies everywhere, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Promise Unfulfilled, for Skywatch

These days, all eyes look skyward. 

We search for clouds with meaning and substance. 

We look with hope for thunderheads carrying rain. 

We look with anxiety at the fire maps. 

We make lists of what we would take if we ever had to leave. 

We wait for the monsoons.

*****

To see what other cloud seekers are finding, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Bodega Bay Skies, for Skywatch

I spent some wonderful years growing up in Marin County, California. The hills and trees looked just like this.

My first job was Bookmobile Library Assistant for the Marin County Free Library. Every other Friday we went out to Bodega Bay to bring books to children in one-room schoolhouses.

On our recent trip to California, we took a morning to recreate that journey. Things looked pretty much the same--beautiful green rolling hills, dairy cattle, tiny towns, and lots of water.

And lovely blue skies.

For more skies--some nostalgic, perhaps, like mine--be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Smoky Sunrise, for Skywatch

Oh, how I grieve for the birds and animals and people of Arizona, with those horrid fires all over. New Mexico has its share this year, too, but nothing like the size of the fires in our neighboring state to the west.

We are experiencing some smoke down here in the southern part of New Mexico, but I understand that the smoke is so heavy in the central part of the state, up around Albuquerque, that it makes it hard to see and breathe.

This was our rather smoky sunrise a couple of days ago. For skies, both clear and otherwise, all around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Clear Skies: Two Hilltop Views for Skywatch

Looking down on St. David, Arizona

For this week's Skywatch, I thought I'd share two very different hilltop views, both taken on our recent trip through parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and California. 

The first photo, above, was taken from an odd little dirt road that we found ourselves on--one of those roads that looks like it should be paved when you find it on the road map. There we were, out in the sizzling desert on a never-ending and ominously-narrowing bit of empty dustiness. It was hot, it was still, and our car was the only one in sight. When we stopped to appreciate the silence, I took this photo looking back at the little town of St. David. It would be hard to imagine that any hardy traveler might ever be out there on foot. 

A little further on, a huge UPS semi-truck pulled out of a ranch road and left us eating his dust until we finally came to pavement again. We wondered what long-awaited and very large package had been delivered at the ranch house--a nice cool refrigerator, air conditioner, or chest freezer, we hoped. Have I mentioned that it was HOT that day?

Near Petaluma, California

The second shot couldn't have been in more different terrain. We were traveling a winding two lane (paved!) road back from the northern California coast toward the city of Petaluma. This view looked like the perfect definition of gentle and charming countryside to me--almost as if one might spot a hobbit or two, journeying along on some trail under the trees.

For Skywatch photos from all around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.

May Sky, Wind, and Snow for Skywatch

Wind power in the Palm Desert, California

I snapped this shot as we drove through southern California last week. We were surprised to see the snow still on the mountains surrounding the Palm Desert, near Palm Springs.

For skies all over the world, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Reflections on a Reflection, for Skywatch

I love when the farmer floods the pecan orchards surrounding our house. They look like this. 

Or, they can be rotated to look like this. You can hardly tell that this is upside-down, or can you?

Using the same upside-down view and some of the special effects at Picnik, they can also look like this...

HSL (hue, saturation, and lightness) variations

Another HSL

And another

 ... or this...

Heat Map

 ... or even this...

HDR-ish (HDR stands for high dynamic range imaging)

For skies of all hues and degrees of saturation, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Where the Mockingbird Sings, for Skywatch

There isn't anything special about this photo of the mockingbird's tree. It would be wonderful if I could present it to you with the sounds I heard that day--the wind in the grass, the mockingbird's song, and the meadowlark answering him from just down the path.

As it is, there is just a photo of a tree surrounded by a lot of open space. I've gotten used to these huge expanses with no people and only the sounds of nature. I don't think I would feel right if I couldn't see these immense blue skies of New Mexico.

To see the skies that other people love, visit Skywatch Friday.

A Tree Grows Through It, for Skywatch

Optical illusion: Do you see it, too?

I was sitting for a moment on our patio a few days ago and noticed that this reflected tree appeared to be growing up through our house, out the roof, and up into the sky.

I've grown very fond of Skywatch; knowing that it's coming every week makes me look everywhere for sky photo possibilities--even when the sky is reflected in windows. To see more skies of all kinds from all around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Something I Forgot to Show You, for Skywatch

I forgot to show you this sunrise I saw one morning in March. Its beginning caught my eye through the curtains...

... then the desert sky lit up with fiery colors.

I saw the silvery moon through a pink cloud and was glad that I had awakened in time.

For skies everywhere, at all times of the day and night, please be sure to visit Skywatch Friday.

Spring Greens Three Ways, for Skywatch

On our way to pick up our box of locally grown organic vegetables...

Spring greens

... we stopped to admire the new grass and foliage at this farm in Mesilla... 

Spring greens

... and to watch the beautiful cattle munching away at... spring greens! And all of it was happening under a beautiful southern New Mexico blue sky.

Spring greens

For photos of scenes under skies all over the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.