Phoenix Zoo

 Our photography club took a little trip to the Zoo.  It was a great day and we met lots of new furry and feathery friends. 

Mr Rhino playing with his newest toy.

Mr Jaguar got a popsicle for his birthday.
Frozen Chicken broth and blood.  
MMMM good. 

Out floating on a dock with all your best friends

what big eyes you have. 

More colours than a rainbow

Flamingos' have the weirdest eyes

This guy was roaring up a storm and the earth literally shook

Going to look for some wild horses this week.  Hope we have more success than last week.  

Salt River

A trip to the Salt River to show Mark and Jan the horses on Tuesday. In all the times we have visited this spot we have always seen a lot of wild horses.  This time I was sure we were going to get skunked.  We walked along the bank for about a mile and finally we came upon 8 horses on the other side of the river. Didn't get any real good shots but managed to get a few other shots which were interesting.  

We did see some wildlife.  

A little creative license with the moss and sludge in the river. 

Lori, Jan and a real gnarly tree.

In the dictionary, next to the word Gnarly, is a picture of this tree.

One wanted to play and the other just couldn't be bothered. 

Afterwards we went to Joe's Farm Grill which has been featured on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives.  The food was great as usual.

Next up a trip to the Zoo.

Willow Springs Trail

 Another day another hike.  Willow Springs is 4.8miles with 692' elevation gain.  Took us 3hrs:47min with moving time of 2hrs 51min.  Nice trail, good scenery, lots of loose rocks and pebbles so needed to be careful on the downhill slopes.  I fell once as did Barb but both of us landed on our butts so nothing hurt but our pride.  Easy to get off trail as there is no signage and lots of forks in the trail.  Thank goodness for AllTrails.

We had a couple of newbies with us for our usual Monday hike plus our favourite octogenarian, Jeanette.  In fact after nearly 5 miles she was leading the pack on the way  back to the car.  Lori and I were pretty tired and I spent some quality time meditating on the couch.

Busy week this week.  Tuesday we are taking Mark and Jan to see the horses.  Wednesday off to the Zoo with the photography group.  Another hike on Friday.  We got the bikes out for a little ride on Sunday and hopefully we can get a few rides in this week as well.  

A few shots from our morning walk.

Working the moon into a daytime shot is a bonus

Photographer taking a picture of 3 photographers.  
Weavers needle just peaking over the horizon on the right.

We met Jewel (in the lead) and Opal (following).  
Don't know the riders names.
Mules are very common out on the trails

Couple of cactus growing out of the side of a cliff.  

 That's it for today.

Riparian Preserve - Graphic violence WARNING!!

 After a 4 mile hike on Wednesday Lori and I headed to the Riparian Preserve for a 2 hour stroll around the various ponds on the watch for some good bird shots.  We were there a little later in the afternoon so the sun was a little less intense which made for better light.  One day I need to get here early in the morning when the light is good and the birds might be a little more active. 

Disclosure. The names I assign the various birds is my best guess based on my Arizona Bird book and may or may not be correct.

Turns out we were there for meal time.  
Not sure what was so appetizing about the green slime
but these Snow Geese were enthusiastically slurping it up.

Great Egret

Juvenile Roseate Spoonbill.  Not usually found in Arizona.  
Native to the shores of Texas and Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.

Great Blue Heron.  He stood like this for a long long time.
Slowly moving his head from side to side.
Then in the flash of an eye this happened. 

You can just make out his neck and head below the waters surface.

Dinner time.  Notice his beak stabbed into the fish.

A little patience and a lot of luck got me these shots.  
If only I'd had the camera on burst mode.

He was done for the day.  He flew off to consume his catch.

More Great Egrets.  

American White Pelican

Coming in for a landing.
These guys are pretty active making for good subjects.  

Not sure on this one.  A kingfisher perhaps.
Never moved and was well back in the shrubs.  
Looks like he's sleeping
UPDATE:  a Green Heron, courtesy of one
of my more knowledgeable viewers

Black-crowned Night Heron we think.
Again he was well back in the shrubs.

I was using my 200-600mm lens for these shots and I don't haul the big glass out very often.  Its heavy and I need to use a tripod as I have a difficult time holding it steady.   The Riparian Preserve is a great place to practice a skill set I don't use very often and will have to get back more often.  

Hackberry Springs

 Was going to do the Riparian Preserve next but that one is going to take some work so here is the hike that Neil and I did today.  We went about 6 miles with an elevation gain of 669 ft with moving time of just under 3 hours and total time on the trail of 3.5 hours.  The trail is fairly easy and the elevation changes are not overly steep with no scrambling over rocks.  And as usual the scenery was great.

Weavers needle off in the distance.
Or is it Miners Needle?  Hmmm.

We came upon a slot canyon and the sun was focusing its
 rays on a couple of trees.  The one below would
have been spectacular a month ago when the
 tree would've been loaded with golden leaves. 

Another beautiful morning in the desert.  

After lunch Lori and I headed over to Mesa Market to pick up a couple of end tables from one of the vendors and then picked up some painting supplies.  Im thinking my vacation has ended and its back to renovations next week.  I'm sure we can still work a few hikes, a photo outing to the Zoo, a visit to the Salt River horses and maybe we can finally get our bikes out for a few rides.  

After all.  All work and no play makes Bruce a grumpy guy.  

Picket Post Revisited

 Wednesday we went for a hike at Picket Post with Mark and Jan.  It looked like rain when we started but it cleared up nicely as we trekked through Arnott Canyon.   

Just a few pools of water in what has normally been a stream.

We got back from our 4 mile hike, had lunch and rushed off to the Riparian Preserve to join the hiking group.  More on that in a later post.