Well . . . , they got their fill of water, then they turned the pan over, moved it about 15 feet, knocked over a container of sunflower seed and ate about 10 pounds of it, and then used the trail camera for a soccer ball in the mud. They are so cute! 😝
#backyardphotography #TrailCamera #javelina
Rocky Mountain Autumn. Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado.
#landscapephotography #coloradocolors #autumnleaves #fallcolors
Cumulus clouds build over the Painted Desert at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
#landscapephotography #desertlandscape #arizonaphotography
A Dorantes Longtail (Cecropterus dorantes) butterfly sips nectar from Gregg’s mistflower (Conoclinium greggii). Gregg’s mistflower is a butterfly magnet, attracting butterflies like queens, monarchs, and others.
#butterfliesandflowers #backyardphotography #backyardgardening
The Painted Desert badlands from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. The badlands never looked so good to me.
#petrifiedforestnationalpark #painteddesert #desertlandscape
Baca Ranch Cabin Door - Valles Caldera
The Valles Caldera is a 13.7-mile-wide volcanic caldera in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico.
#vallescaldera #blackandwhitephotography #artphotography
Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado - Oct 19, 2026
#fallseason #fallcolors #coloradofall
A dancer, (Argia species), rests on a purple spiderwart (Tradescantia zebrina) leaf.
#damselflies #argia
I can`t believe this happened. The more time you spend making photographs, the more times you release the shutter, the odds of the "happy accident" improve. Here is a photograph of an Eufala Skipper (Lerodea eufala) in mid-flight. No high tech equipment, no AI, just luck. 600mm lens, f8, 1/2000 shutter speed. The depth of field here is probably around a 1/4 of an inch. If the butterfly`s flight path was 1/8 of an inch closer or further away, it would have been out of focus. 🤯
#luckyphotography #happyaccidents #actionphotography
They fly through the cholla with the greatest of ease! Stems of Chain-fruit Cholla (Cylindropuntia fulgida) are easily detached if brushed against. The needle-sharp spines readily and painfully pierce flesh, and because they are barbed, removing them is considerably more painful. The Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) has evolved to navigate this spiny cactus, building its nest and raising a family smack dab in this thorniest of plants.
#jumpingcactus #chollacactus #birdsofarizona
Do you see the difference? Two queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus) sipping nectar from Gregg`s blue mistflower (Conoclinium greggii). While butterfly specie wing patterns are similar, providing us the ability to identify them, genetics provides enough variation that no two butterfly wing patterns of the same species are exactly alike. 😮
#butterflies #naturephotography #backyardphotography
It`s all about the light. There have been 1so many queen butterflies (Danaus gilippus) lately that I have started ignoring them as I look for the uncommon ones. This one caught my eye though. The angle of the light brushing across the surface of this butterflies wings highlighted the top of its vein ridges, casting a shadow on the bottom of those ridges. A degree or two in the angle of the light and the effect is lost. The surface of the wing is not as flat as they normally appear. Does that aid in their flight?
#butterflies #naturephotography #backyardphotography
Here are three of about sixty species of the sulphur butterflies found in North America. These were photographed in my Tucson, Arizona yard during September 2026. Enjoy the subtle variation of wing patterns found in these yellow beauties. Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme). Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae). Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole).
#backyardphotography #backyardwildlife #gardenlife
Photo: A Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre) strikes a pose from a fence line picket. This year round resident of the Sonoran desert, including Tucson, is one of my favorite desert birds because of its distinctive double-note, "whit-wheet" call. It`s like the whistle of someone trying to catch your attention. Hear it one time, you won`t forget it. Whit-wheet!
#backyardbirds #backyardbirding #sonorandesert
