Round Robin: The Great Outdoors on a Cloudy Afternoon

The Round Robin Photo Challenge this time out is "The Great Outdoors." Not having a lot of time this week to really explore the topic, I headed for my default bit of the Great Outdoors: the lower reaches of Mount Lemmon Highway in the Santa Catalina Mountains, just north of Tucson.

From Mount Lemmon Highway

As I'd hoped, there was a cyclist on the road as I started up. I almost always see one or more of them, on the way up or on the way down. Mountain biking is an extremely popular way to enjoy the Great Outdoors around here. To me, though, it seems like an awful lot of work, especially in the heat and humidity of late summer in Tucson.



For once I skipped Babad Do'Ag Vista, the site of many past photo shoots for this and other memes. Instead I made my way to Molino Basin Vista. There are a few short nature trails here, one of which led me almost to the water below.



The trail in the other direction leads me toward a lovely cleft in the mountains. Unfortunately, the weather and the time of day meant that I could not take a photo as dramatic as what my eyes saw. If the land was properly lit, then the sky was whited out...



...and setting the aperture to catch the dramatic monsoon clouds meant leaving the land in shadow.



So I created a composite from two different photos!


I always enjoy my trips up Mt. Lemmon, even the abbreviated ones that take me just five or ten miles from the base. This particular trip was marred by the echo of nearby gunfire. I'm pretty sure it was guys from a pickup truck near which I'd parked my Kia, illegally shooting into giant saguaro cacti. Not that I would dare to confront such people. Heck, they might shoot me instead!




You don't have to be on a mountain to enjoy the Great Outdoors, of course. Even the drive back was dramatic because of the clouds and the beginning of sunset.

If you are facing clouds and rain this weekend due to Hurricane Irene (or any other storm), respect the Great Outdoors - and be safe!

Linking List
as of Saturday, August 27th
at 1:22 AM MST

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Jama - Posted!
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Gattina - Posted!
Keyhole Pictures
http://gattina-keyholepictures.blogspot.com/

Tina - Posted!
Goodies for a Pleasant Life
http://leckeresfuermenschundkatze.blogspot.com/2011/08/herziges-blau.html

Anybody else this week?
Karen

EMPS: Apple Bubbles

This week for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, Carly wants to see Apples. So naturally I went into the bedroom where our apples are kept, and photographed these:



Confused yet? How about this?



This is how Costco sells at least some of its apples: in plastic bubbles. Open the plastic and here are (what's left of) the apples:



Here's a better shot of the bubble shell packaging. If you look closely you can see the green of pears and mangoes underneath the apples:



The explanation: John has been on a juice fast, living on concoctions of juiced fruits and vegetables. He recently took a couple of weeks off of from his nothing-but-juice regimen, but when he's going all out, and I'm buying salads and veggies and such for my own diet, the fridge gets very full! That's when we put some of the hardier fruit in the bedroom, which has A/C going at least part of the time.

The bad part is that the dresser the apples are on is under the window, and also it seems excessive to run the room's air conditioner 24 hours a day for the sake of apples, pears, mangoes, Cayenne and Pepper. So I only run it most of the time.

Today after I photographed the apple bubbles, I pulled a pear from underneath and ate part of it. It was old and mushy. Guess that's what we get for not juicing it soon enough!

One last shot. I deliberately left this at the wrong rotation for artistic purposes. This way, the bubbles and apples look like strange ornaments, or maybe a bunch of grapes.



Be sure to check Ellipsis every week for the Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot!

Karen

EMPS: Quick! Get That Sunset Posted!

Carly is asking for my favorite photographic subject this week: sunsets, specifically summer sunsets. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been right for it this week, my computer died yesterday and the online connection on my new computer varies from almost none to none at all. So quick! Let me post this before I lose the connection again!



Both of these shots were taken in front of my house (well, more standing in the street!) on August 4th, 2011. This is not my favorite vantage for sunsets, but sometimes I get in a quick shot when I arrive home that turns out to be fairly decent.

My Gateway's hard drive decided it was on the verge of failing yesterday, so much so that I could not back up the files properly and had to pay Staples to do so today. That means I've probably lost my cheap photo editing software completely. Also, as I mentioned above, my new HP's ability to get online at all has been extremely iffy in the day that I've had it. Wish me luck, drop in a prayer or think good thoughts that I get it all resolved soon!

Karen

Round Robin: What's That on the Ceiling? #3 of 3

For The Round Robin Photo Challenge On the Ceiling, the last place I went was a nearby location of Chuy's Mesquite Broiler. Their restaurants are all adorned with silly Mexican beach-themed decor. Somewhere in Tucson there is, or was, a seafood restaurant where you can look up and see the bottom of a boat with legs or a shark or something sticking out. I forget exactly where I saw that. This Chuy's had nothing like that, but it was well worth a look anyway:



No boat, but lots of fish, and big beer bottles!



Yes, that's a chandelier made from (mostly) Corona bottles. And what are those things behind it? Lobsters? Mermaids?



Ah. Mermaid Barbies. "Are you photographing my girlfriend?" the manager asked - meaning Barbie!





And that's it! Please check out the other participants' entries.

Linking List
as of Midnight MST
Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Rachael
The Smile Spot :)
http://smile-spot.blogspot.com/

Jama
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Kim
My Life's Journey in Focus
http://www.kissess4u.com

Erin
Worth A Thousand Words
http://erin-worthathousandwords.blogspot.com/

Karen

Round Robin: What's That on the Ceiling? #2 of 3

For The Round Robin Photo Challenge On the Ceiling, I first went back to Mission San Xavier del Bac for a quick shoot. But I wanted something else for contrast. As I discussed this with Nancy in the church office at St. Michael's, I looked up, and this is what I saw:







My particular office wasn't as nice on the ceiling as Nancy's and Father Smith's offices, but that's fine. After all, I didn't even notice the wood beam ceilings until now, let alone the wooden boxes covering the duct work.

One more entry to come...

Linking List
as of Midnight MST
Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Karen - Posted!
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Rachael
The Smile Spot :)
http://smile-spot.blogspot.com/

Jama
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Kim
My Life's Journey in Focus
http://www.kissess4u.com

Erin
Worth A Thousand Words
http://erin-worthathousandwords.blogspot.com/

Karen

Round Robin: What's That on the Ceiling? #1 of 3

For The Round Robin Photo Challenge On the Ceiling, I went back to Mission San Xavier del Bac for a quick shoot. This centuries-old mission is gradually being restored, leading to quite a bit of variation in the condition of the paint, plaster and icons inside. Let's take a look!











I later photographed ceilings in two other, very different buildings. Those will be in the next two entries.

Linking List
as of Midnight MST
Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Karen
Outpost Mâvarin
http://outmavarin.blogspot.com

Rachael
The Smile Spot :)
http://smile-spot.blogspot.com/

Jama
Sweet Memories
http://mummyjam.blogspot.com

Kim
My Life's Journey in Focus
http://www.kissess4u.com

Erin
Worth A Thousand Words
http://erin-worthathousandwords.blogspot.com/

Karen