People often think of California as nothing but desert. Let me change your mind. If that is true, than this is what the desert looks like after a rainy winter. This is a California wildflower super bloom at sunrise. Poppies & wildflowers as far as I could see covering this hills. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
A mama roadrunner, Meep, used to live in our big metal dino's mouth, & she & her baby daddy, Dart, raised more than one bebe there. We used to put out fresh water & black soldier fly grubs for them every morning, & Meep came to trust us to the point that she'd bring her fledglings to the patio & feed them. Sadly, they've all moved on, but I was lucky enough to get a video of her feeding one of her little ones. Here's a clip! #birds#roadrunners#BirdsOfMastodon#SoCal#desert
Here's an old pic I took of the snow-capped Llullaillaco #volcano, as seen at #sunset from ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. The volcano itself sits at the border between #Chile and #Argentina. I love the colour contrast between the ochre expanse of the Atacama #Desert and the white #snow covering the volcano!
During Spring in the desert, the landscape shifts subtly. Saguaro cacti bloom, adding color to the barren terrain. A desert thrasher finds refuge on a flowering saguaro, embodying resilience in this harsh environment. Zoom in and check out the detail.
2019 was such a great year for wildflowers! #opcOnThisDay we enjoyed several great blooms in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park after meeting up with some nomadic friends who were passing through.
I love the simplicity of the agave, where symmetry and elegance intertwine. Agave are found all throught the more arid climates of the Southwest. Can you imagine this as an oversized art piece on your wall?
A local herder with his Bactrian camels crossing the dunes of the Gobi desert in Mongolia in beautiful morning light. I spent a few days here earlier this year. #mongolia#photography#dunes#desert#travel
Waxing moon over snow-covered Charleston and McFarland Peaks in Nevada, seen from the Black Mountains at Dante's View in Death Valley National Park, California.
What's this boring looking thing? It's anything but boring, although its mission is like watching grass grow until it's hit by an ultrahigh energy cosmic ray! This is an element of the Telescope Array Cosmic Observatory west of Delta, Utah. It's one of 507 scintillator detectors that are spread across ~270^2 miles. Since 2008, 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic particles have been detected. Thus far, there's no explanation for their extreme energy or their origin.
Unexpected beauty. This is White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. One of my favorite places, the sand dunes are white as snow. Having traveled 2 days just to photograph the sands, we found it shrouded in smoke from the California fires. Disappointed, I got out my camera, this is what I got. LOVE it!