Marilyn got a new pair of shoes today. Callisto decided to check out the shipping box.
Freckles has been sleeping in this box which we’ve had for a while now:
Callisto then proceeded to examine the shoe box. You can see Marilyn with her new Lems Mariner shoes in the background.
We hiked the Scenic Trail on Friday; we kept the hike short because several of us had other things that we needed to get done that morning. Bob brought along Sarge and Allen and Janet brought along their dogs, Savannah and Bella.
Sarge (with Bob):
Bella, Savannah, and Sarge, shortly after meeting for the first time. The dogs were very interested in each other, but Bella noticed me squatting down and came over to see what I was doing.
Red Mountain with a very dry desert in the foreground.
Hiking up the Scenic Trail.
Water break for doggies (and people too).
Red Mountain, again.
Another break. I had everyone pose for a photo a minute or so earlier, but I like this shot better.
Sarge, Bella, and Savannah (with Allen).
On Tuesday afternoon, we walked around Whispering Oaks Ranch where I used 180mm and 105mm macro lenses for the following shots. Not all shots are “macro”, but I used a macro lens on all of them.
Blackie:
Jaydee:
Bella:
(There is one other cat on the property too, but we didn’t see it. Bella is very friendly.)
I had a hard time getting autofocus to work quickly enough to photograph ants and other small critters. I “lost” on my ant subjects when it made its way onto the gravel. I put a rock in front of it and transferred it back to the pavement at which time it commenced grappling with one of its friends. I used manual focus for this shot.
We hiked part of the UPS Trail on Tuesday. (UPS stands for Upper Porcupine Singletrack.)
We saw a lot of cows on our drive up to the La Sals.
There was a good view of Castle Valley at one of the pull outs.
We could see the La Sals all the way up.
Late in the day, Marilyn and I drove the Kokopelli Trail on our way to the Castle Valley Overlook. We got this shot of Castle Valley while still driving the trail.
We saw more cows. I had to open and shut a gate at one point along the way.
There were a lot of flowers along the trail.
We took these photos from the Castle Valley Overlook, which turned out to be a campground too.
A new ginger tomcat has come to our neighborhood. We’ve named him MangledEar because one of his ears is seriously damaged from the fights he’s been in. He and Gandalf are vying for Minstrel’s affections. I’ve seen the three of them together on our balcony and in our backyard.
The photos below show the three of them in the patio area. Gandalf is on one of the beams below the patio roof. Minstrel is perched atop the corner pillar in the patio area. MangledEar is on the ground below.
I saw Gandalf and Minstrel together (alone) earlier today, but I doubt that MangledEar has been run off for long.
Here is MangledEar. I have even better photos of his ear, but I think this one conveys the idea.
Gandalf atop the beam. He looks bored here.
Minstrel was sleeping atop this pillar, but woke up briefly for this photo.
Another view of Gandalf; he was only a foot or two away from Minstrel.
I took some cat photos while testing a new lens earlier this evening, a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro lens.
Tiger:
Callisto:
Minstrel:
Minstrel’s daughter – she doesn’t have a name yet:
These photos, below, are from the hike that Marilyn and I did on the Dixie Mine Trail last Sunday.
We saw this deer in the gated community through which we walked on the way back to our car.
