A cold wind was blowing today so we decided to visit Blowing Rocks preserve. The tides were not right for spectacular crashing waves, so the rocks themselves were the stars of the show.













Before the clouds and wind moved in, it was a crisp, sunny morning at Riverbend park.



Sandhill crane family. I positioned myself ahead of them so that I could shoot closeups as they approached. This one gave me this odd look before strutting past.





Northern Mockingbird



Common yellowthroat



Some other recent shots. These were taken at Barley Barber swamp.







Blue-gray gnatcatcher



A pair of Crested caracara were mobbing a vulture. Never seen this before.



I am still kind of shocked that its almost 2013. The last several months have shot past in a blur.
2012 was a good year in terms of personal and professional development. Looking forward to an even better 2013! Happy New Year to all!

Arizona is one of my favorite places. I had a meeting in Flagstaff last week so I made the drive from Phoenix through some beautiful scenery.

On the way up to Flagstaff.



"Pinecone Drop." Countdown to New Year's.



Heading back down to Phoenix, I had a couple of hours of daylight to spare, so I stopped at Montezuma's Castle.

If you look closely you can spot the sharp-shinned hawk in the center of the photo.



I continue to be impressed with the little Sony. Full zoom of the sharpie pictured above.



Montezuma's Castle was mistakenly thought to be Aztec ruins by the first white explorers of the region. In reality, the castle was the home of the Sinagua people, who lived there for 300 years. The National Park Service has established a National Monument there now.







The place has a peaceful energy.



I sat by the stream enjoying the sunshine and my last trip out west for the year.





Every day since my return to Florida has consisted of muggy heat and rain. Between that, and year end craziness at work, I have not gotten out to do any local photography. But I am enjoying our local pleasures, such as they are. We enjoyed a lunch of fresh seafood on the water this weekend, which would be hard to do in the middle of the desert!

A brief stay in Florida:



Jupiter Lighthouse



Then, back to Colorado!



These are from the Garden of the Gods area in Colorado springs. Once you get away from the hordes of people on the paved trails, it is quite nice there.



















Ever present











Anyone that has seen the movie "Legend" will recognize this face.



There are plenty more! I've also recently returned from Arizona, so those pics will be up here sometime soon as well.