Next Day

 A visit to the neighbor who raises donkey.  Actually she has several donkeys and a mule,

Poitou Donkey  about 18 months old and very playful

Later in the day there was a visit to Willow Springs Lake

Meteor Crater Natural Landmark

 A 1 1/2 hour ride took us to the Meteor Crater Natural Landmark.  A mere 50,000 years ago a meteor crashed into this spot in Arizona.  

 A close look on the right side of the fence at the bottom

there is a 5' x 3" American flag and next to that is a

a 6 foot cutout of an astronaut

Heber - Overgaard

 I had the opportunity to get some pictures while we were in Heber-Overgaard.  Our first outing was to Black Canyon.  Along the rode we saw wild horses.  There plenty of these horses in the area.

Then to Black Canyon Lake- 

The sisters

In the cool evening we were able to sit around the ol' firepit (fire was lit later).  Great way to close out the day.

Traveling in the Pandemic

With a continuing case of cabin fever we decided to take a road trip to the mountains in Arizona.  With Bettys sister having a cabin in the Heber-Overgaard area  we decided it was a time for a visit.  I plotted a route that we considered safe.  With only stopping for gas and biological breaks in safe conditions we were comfortable to make the trip. A stop at a Sonic drive-in for lunch and then getting KFC for dinner and eating it in the hotel we were comfortable.  The second day was Arby's for lunch and eating in the car again then that evening we were at our destination.  

On the second day we passed the National Radio Astronomy Observatory - Vary Large Array Radio Telescope. This is about 2 hours north of Albuquerque, and 50 miles west of Socorro.  Due to the pandemic it was closed.  But I did get a few pictures of part of the array,  

The Very Large Array has 27 active antenna dishes. Each of these 230 ton antennas can be moved to different locations with the help of a transporter. This lets astronomers place them in several patterns known as configurations. The antennas can be clustered together within an area no more than 0.6 miles wide, or spread across a diameter of 22 miles

From there the road is kina lonesome.

A little farther down this high we stopped in Pie Town to eat our Arby's sandwich's.  Pie Town is not a busy cross road,

Playing in the Pandemic

What have you been up to during this quarantine?  I have been in various stages of wandering and found myself not doing much - playing on my iPad or binge watching some garbage in TV.  We have spent some time with friends who are equally isolated.   A few times I have taken some pictures and trying to challenge myself to do more photography.  Then I look out side and what do I see - HOT HUMID HOUSTON and I talk myself out of going out and doing photography.  Now I am challenging myself to - GO TAKE SOME PICTURES RICHARD!!

Here is some of the few that I have taken, the past few weeks - 

An Afternoon at Mercer Arboretum

Was this a personal guide?

Sunflowers in my backyard

Succulents from Arbor gate Nursery

An afternoon in Galveston

Pleasure Pier through the Fish Tales Restaurant window 

Now remember GO TAKE SOME PICTURES!!

Wet Roses

Walking through my yeard checking on the effectiveness of my lawn irrigation I spotted these roses and decided to play a little with my camera.  Always looking for something to do or "shoot" during this period of "corona-isolation."

Hi-Key

My first attempt at an intentional Hi Key shot.  High key photography uses unnaturally bright lighting to blow out most or all harsh shadows in an image. High key methods were originally developed as a solution to screens that couldn't properly display high contrast ratios but have developed into more of a stylistic choice.  These are identified when the Histogram is peaked on the extreme right.   More information on hi-key can be found on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFF2dOXyNuM