Pix | kritterspix

OMG! It’s a BEAR!

Posted on August 3, 2016 by kritterspaw

John and I often go out to the Mogollon Rim for dinner, sunsets, and in search of a bear. I would so love to get a photo of a bear. Little did we know when we sat down to dinner this evening we would get more than we bargained for…. dinner and entertainment.

For whatever reason, we decided to have dinner in our dining room. So here we were enjoying a lovely meal, chattering about our day, when we looked out our window and saw a bear on our front concrete pad. This ‘little guy’ was standing on two feet getting into our bird feeder. OMG! It’s a BEAR! He was maybe 30 feet from us. OMG! It’s a BEAR! Holy cow, errr BEAR!

We watched him (or her) from the comfort of our window until he just sauntered off toward our neighbor, where he again stood on two feet and got into their bird feeder. Finding them both empty he cruised down to our neighbor down the hill, hoping to find more success.

“Quick, call Pat! I’m grabbing my camera” … and with that I was chasing this bear through our neighborhood.

He didn’t go far. He found Pat’s feeding trough just right as he lied in it and wallowed, shoveling food into his mouth.

These pix aren’t going to win any awards, but OMG! It’s a BEAR!

Elk babies

Posted on July 8, 2016July 8, 2016 by kritterspaw

I’m thrilled to report… the elk babies are back! It’s that time of year. Here on the mountain June / July brings babies. Baby chipmunks, bunnies, wood ducks, heron’s, fawns, and elk. If we’re lucky we get a glimpse of them.

On days that I get to see these beautiful animals and witness nature at its finest, it’s a GREAT day! I feel so very fortunate to live in amongst these many animals… and be able to have such great photography fodor. I just hope I can do them justice.

Oh, Canada

Posted on June 25, 2016June 25, 2016 by kritterspaw

You may have read my earlier posts here and here . If so, you’ll know we just got back from a fabulous trip to Nova Scotia. We enjoyed the seafood, the scenery, and the water. We saw puffins, eagles, seal, grouse, pheasant, porcupine, deer, and caribou.

It’s so awesome just to watch nature in it’s climates and storms, it’s moods and sweeps…. we just love it. We can spend time just watching it’s many facets, meeting people, and taking it all in. Oh my, how we have evolved.

Becoming a photographer teaches one many things. Not the least of which is juxtaposition, simplification, patterns and light. It’s a joy to see something, capture it and make a seemingly ordinary commonplace item something extraordinary. Not that a large lobster boat cast onshore is anything ordinary!

There is something about being on the coast. It produces such moods and emotion. It giveth and it take away; the sea can be peaceful or unforgiving. Many lives are lost on the seas, caught in it’s moods. We saw a great testament and monument to that in Lunenburg where marble pillars list the names of the lost. It gives one pause.

Yet, on it’s good days the sea is inviting in it’s beauty and allure… a peaceful serene place. It’s no wonder we crave it and constantly go back for more.

In Lunenburg we enjoyed fabulous Adams & Knickles scallops, the seaside village, and surrounding Blue Rocks.

The evening light on Lunenburg was spectacular, but it does take a long zoom and tripod to get the shot, as it isn’t up close and personal… it’s across the way at the golf course.

When we were there the flowers were blooming and the birds chirping, storms were brewing, and sun was still hesitant to shine through. Yet the water was flowing and the animals active. It was a quiet and fun time to be there.

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Milk Ranch Road

Posted on June 10, 2016June 10, 2016 by kritterspaw

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Last I blogged, I spoke about the Mogollon Rim and it’s many faces. We continue to explore it’s personalities and strive to find new places to capture it’s essence. This week’s trip took us to Milk Ranch Rd, which is kinda on-the-rim-off-the-rim. You still get those great views, but not the great winds (if you’ve been to Mogollon Rim you know what I mean, it’s always windy).

We found a great spot and stayed overnight to get sunset and sunrise shots. The sun casts shadows across the canyons creating dark lines, making it ever challenging to capture. But I’m up for the continued challenge.

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Unfortunately, on this particularly trip I forgot my tripod. Pretty humorous that was an issue for me, as I have never been a tripod shooter. It always seemed such a pain. Now that I have embraced it, I can’t live without it. I can set up the tripod and take those low light photographs (sunrise, sunset, stars) while maximizing my aperture to let lots of light in but still keeping my ISO low to avoid noise. Star photos were a bit dicey though taken on a sweatshirt. The glow of our fire cast a orange hue on the pine trees above.

Rim Pix

Posted on May 23, 2016May 23, 2016 by kritterspaw

We have been trying to capture the Mogollon Rim. While it is a drop dead gorgeous landscape, it is so vast it is hard to capture. But we’re determined to build a collection of photos that do it justice. So be prepared… this is not the first, nor will it be the last post on this topic.

It has so very many faces, both in terms of blue blue skies… and storm clouds on the horizon. It’s got gnarly trees and craggy ridge lines. It has endless personalities with tons of character.

For us, it’s our all time FAVORITE place to have dinner. I don’t know what it is, but we’ll pack up a dinner and head out to the rim… and the food always tastes better. The scenery is surreal and of course, the company always fantastic.

And when we’re lucky… we even get visitors (of the furry kind). Last week we saw a bear. Too far away to photo, but a bear nonetheless. For us… that was a thrill.

May Day Snow

Posted on May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 by kritterspaw

When I wrote about Snow showers in my kritterspaw blog (here), I thought it was our last snow storm of the year. Phoenix, 2 hours south has already seen 90F days. Well, in the week since then Phoenix has seen 100F days, the calendar has rolled over to May, and we got another snow storm. Much to the delight of our visiting San Diego friends, we were treated with a magical day on the rim of light snow, fog, and cool weather conditions. The weather made for interesting photos and a great day.

We managed to grab an opening in the snow fall to stop for a glorious picnic as we watched the snow melt off the trees like pouring rain.

As the fog rolled in, the weather just got more mysterious, and along with it the photographic opportunities.

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While you couldn’t see the rim well, it brought an otherworldly eeriness to our outing.

It truly was a magical day. So glad we were able to enjoy it, and share it with friends.

Tufted Red Squirrel

Posted on April 26, 2016April 26, 2016 by kritterspaw

redleapPS cropi.jpg We get a lot of squirrels and chipmunks. There are not unusual around here. But we get these tufted eared squirrel occasionally that are very striking looking. I originally thought that they are Kaibab squirrel, but Kaibab squirrels are known for being primarily in conifer forests in North Grand Canyon. So either these little guys are lost… or they are just garden variety tufted ear squirrels. Our visiting squirrel is likely a Abert’s Squirrel which is the variety found in South Grand Canyon.

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Either way, this little guy has gotten pretty comfortable here, and comes to visit occasionally. Whatever family they belong to, we’re happy to have them visit and pose for my photos. Smile, you’re on Kathy’s camera. :)

Lake Powell – Alstrom Point

Posted on April 4, 2016 by kritterspaw

Have you been to… or heard of Alstrom Point? It’s on the back side of Lake Powell, north of Page. We have seen photos of this amazing place and wanted to check it out for ourselves. If you go to Page, continue west to Big Water. Stop at Big Water Visitor Center for a fascinating education in this dinosaur rich area, with over 4000 dinosaur’s being discovered just in the last 10 years, many newly discovered species. They’ll give you a detailed map on how to get to Alstrom Point. But essentially it’s behind Big Water along a long 2 hour dirt road.

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The overlook was nothing short of stunning.

We camped out so we could get sunset, sunrise, and star photos. We enjoyed it so much, we stayed 2 nights. It was one of those magical moments that you remember for a life time. Watching the full moon rise over the lake was fantastic. This orange ball rose just behind Gunsight Butte, lighting up the sky like it burst into flames.

Because we were there 2 nights we got to do sunrise and sunset, as well as night stars.

Pictures don’t do it justice. It was a fabulous couple days.

From the Archives: Amalfi Coast, ITALY

Posted on March 18, 2016March 18, 2017 by kritterspaw

I’ve said it before… but I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel the world. There are far more places that I haven’t been, than I have. Yet having been to around 40 countries, I’ve seen enough to ‘get the bug’. To some, 40 countries may be a lot… to others, not very many. It depends on your perspective. If you live in Europe, it’s nothing. If you live in the USA, it’s more than most.

Either way, I love the beauty and culture of new places. I find that Europe in particular has so much history, architecture, and scenery, which gives it a great depth of character.

We do love Italy… I’m not sure I’ve been anywhere in Italy I haven’t liked. The food is amazing, the people gregarious, and the atmosphere eclectically wonderful. If you’ve been to Venice, you know exactly what I mean.

I pulled these photos out of a trip my husband and I took in 2008 to the Amalfi Coast. With houses hanging on the sides of mountains, colorful rooftops and city domes as they jut right into the sea… it’s fantastically picturesque.

While in Amalfi Coast we spent time in many of the small cities along the coast, including Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, and Cefula. Each has it’s own charm.

The mix of sea, land, food, culture, and picturesque landscape is absolutely intoxicating. Just looking at the photos makes me want to go back. Thanks for reminiscing with me.

Spring comes early

Posted on February 11, 2016February 11, 2016 by kritterspaw

We’ve only lived in the mountains with the snow for a few years (4 years this year). So we are still trying to figure out the weather patterns and such. I have no idea how you know when the snow is over, and Spring is on the way. But then neither do the weather forecasters.

We got our last snow just last week, on Groundhog Day of all things.

But since that snow, the animals have been coming out of hiding. We have seen deer and elk in the community, in the forest, and on the roads.

As I type this, I’m watching this little bunny hopping around our front yard looking for food. The chipmunks and squirrels are active… and the birds are coming back. The ground is alive with blue jays and the occasional yellow bird even.

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Yesterday we saw several wasps and bees make their first appearance.

We may have another dusting of snow still this winter… but it sure seems like the animals know something the rest of us don’t… Spring is coming.