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Showing posts with the label big horn sheep

Big Horn Sheep in the Mountains!

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  Driving along the winding road above Palm Desert California we enjoyed the mountains filled with desert plants -the yuccas were blooming - and the sun made the rises and the valleys dramatic. This time we spotted an animal with horns not far from the ridge... Big Horn Sheep!   The longer we looked the more of these amazing animals we saw.   As usual we stopped to take pictures hoping there were surprises waiting to be discovered. The body language of two young male sheep alerted me that something was about to happen.   I started watching and taking pictures. Body Language says 'Something is going to happen! Starting toward each other  Their heads went down and they started toward each other.   The horns locked with a clunking sound we could hear from quite a distance. Locking horns Locked, Pushing and Pulling Play continues Stop! Dad's coming! We're good!  They wrangled some and all of a sudden

My Winter Vacation –The Arizona- Sonoran Desert Museum

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Cutest Prarie Dog Saying Hello! Remember when you had to write an essay about “My Summer Vacation”?   That is what came to mind when I decided to share my recent visit to Tucson’s ‘Sonoran Desert Museum’ www.desertmuseum.org .   Peter and I spent about 4 hours enjoying the landscape and animals and could have spent more time.   This is one place I visited often when I lived in Tucson; one place I miss and one place you should know about! Hundreds of saguaro cacti line the mountains on the way to the museum.   Half the fun is driving on the winding mountain roads outside of Tucson, getting to the crest and looking over the desert floor.   It makes me feel small and full of wonder. This place is a world renowned zoo, a natur al history museum and a botanical garden.   Walking along the many paths, you see interpretive displays.   The plants and animals represent a large area of the southwest- Arizona, California and many states of Mexico.   There are more than 300 animal species and

Talking with Pictures

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It seems that man has always wanted to express himself with drawings.   Early man often used stones to peck on rocks as well as paint to leave his messages.   He recorded ceremonies, hunts, dreams, maps, animals and daily life.   Just to clarify the terms: ‘pictograph’ is anything depicted on a stone surface – carved, pecked or painted. ‘Petroglyph’ is the technical word for anything carved or pecked.   I’ve always been fascinated by pictographs.  And I take photographs of the images whenever I am fortunate to find them. Hopi, Pueblo, Paiute Navajo and Anasazi have left drawings on rocks all over the Southwest.     It is great to live in this area of pictorial wealth!   I just came across William Michael Stokes and William Lee Stokes book “Messages on Stone – Selections of Native Western Rock Art “.   The images are divided into types – Apparel and Adornment, Birds, The Corn Maidens, Design, etc.   Great little book for kids and adults! It is pretty easy to find a real pictograph, matc