Crops & Clips: Flashback to November, 2013

Continuing my monthly search through my photo archives for images which match the themes of critters, fences, skies, flowers, macros and reflections. This is a peek through the retroscope at photos taken three years ago, in November, 2013. 

This process brings to mind the creatures and sights I might expect to see once again at this time of year. Let's see how far I need to go into the month to find at least one for each meme. I have won this self-imposed contest twenty-three months in a row since starting in January, 2015. 

We began the month with a flight to visit our son and family in Amarillo, Texas. They live near Palo Duro Canyon State Park, a deep gorge carved through the red limestone of the Texas Panhandle. This is at the The Lighthouse Rock Trailhead:



I mistook this "hoodoo" rock formation for The Lighthouse, which is similar but much larger and can only be approached by way of back trails. Next to it is Castle Peak.



At the Park we found this Fence Lizard with a spider clinging tenaciously to its head. Was the spider attempting to envenomate the reptile?



We had a pleasant time with our grandchildren, exploring some of the restored ruins:



We visited a nicely situated water feature with a convenient blind ("hide"): 



Among the thirsty visitors to this oasis in the arid canyon, a Northern Cardinal...



...a Spotted Towhee...



...and a handsome White-crowned Sparrow:



The next morning, back at our motel in the city of Canyon, an ominous roll cloud moved overhead, from one horizon to the other:



We then drove westward to the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, watching the roll cloud as it disappeared to the south. We arrived at Sandia Crest House (Elevation 10, 678 feet/3,255 m) in time for lunch (November 4):



The deck of Crest House provides a breathtaking view of the City of Albuquerque almost a mile below (Since the Fence Lizard may not qualify, this also serves for the "Good Fences" meme):





We hoped to see our namesake rosy-finches during the two mornings we visited Crest House, but they had not yet appeared. On the first day the feeders were otherwise very active and the light was great for photography. A sampling-- Steller's Jay:



Red-breasted Nuthatch:



White-breasted Nuthatch:



Weather conditions deteriorated rapidly the next morning and we encountered blizzard conditions. Three inches of snow had already fallen by the time  we got to the top of the mountain, and visibility was near zero:



We descended to the valley and enjoyed fair skies at Rio Grande Nature Center. Male Wood Duck in the pond:



The migrating rosy-finches arrived the next day, just as we departed for home. This is a view of Sandia Crest (the highest peak in the distance, left of center) from the window of our aircraft. With a few million more megapixels we might have been able to see them!:



I have only gotten through the first five days of the month and accomplished my goal except for a photo of a flower and a decent reflection. I obtained this reflection back in Florida on November 18:



My flower entry is a Florida "squeaker," consisting of these little white ones surrounding a Burrowing Owl in Brian Piccolo Park on November 14: 



Note-- Just before we returned to Florida we got news that my Brother-in-Law is seriously ill. My schedule and travels are rather uncertain for the next week and I may not get much computer time but will try to catch up on correspondence when things settle down. Thanks so much for visiting my page.

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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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Crops & Clips: Big dogs and Great Egrets

My weekly potpourri gathered from the archives features... white egrets, big dogs and an angry cloud.

CRITTERS: Tibetan Mastiffs. 

I took these photos just after I drove up the driveway of our daughter's home. They recognized me from a distance and promptly resumed resting in the shade. They have never tried to jump over the four-foot fence, though I bet they could do it easily.

Our daughter's two Tibetan Mastiffs, though very independent and stubborn, are very gentle with children, other dogs and even strangers if they sense that they are welcome visitors. They spend most of the day sleeping and we must step over their bodies. If the doorbell rings they may look up and go back to sleep. They are very large and during the winter have heavy manes, making Agramonte look like a lion. Indeed, a zoo in China tried to fool the public by putting one in a cage marked "Lion." This breed has the distinction of being the world's most expensive dog. In China, one sold for $2 milion. 

This is Agramonte, an intact male six years old, about 150 pounds.



Sagua is an altered female, a year younger. She shows black and brown, the other main color type. Other strains can be entirely black, chocolate or very rarely, pure white. 



The children are rushing the season by getting Sagua ready for Halloween.



Linking to CAMERA CRITTERS,

 Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS, and 

GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

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SKYWATCH: Suddenly out of a blue sky as we exited our motel--

Roll Cloud looking east over Canyon, Texas.
November 4, 2013

Roll Cloud looking west over Canyon, Texas, November 4, 2013

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY 

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REFLECTIONS: The long and short of them--

This Great Egret cast a very l-o-o-o-ng reflection from the other side of the Fox River.
Kane County, Illinois, September 26, 2014



Two days earlier, at the same location, probably the same egret hunted in very still water.




Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS