Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm  The tallest sand dunes in the U. S. are found here.  A dramatic picture presented itself as we drove into the National Park.  The sand dunes were made even more impressive with the beautiful mountains in the background.  Picking the best time of day for taking photos became a great game.  Late afternoon proved to be the best time. There are 6 endemic species of insects found here.  Nowhere else on earth can you find the Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle.  Many animals (birds, amphibians and mammals) are also found here.  In fact over 200 species of birds use this area as their habitat. Black-billed Magpie Sangre de Christo Mountains in background The dune field and much of the mountains are designated as wilderness I love capturing sand dunes in pictures.  The forms and edges, the lights and darks are ever changing. The Medano Creek - fun to wade across and play in the sand.

What is it about the shifting shapes of sand dunes that absolutely fascinate me?  It’s the excitement of seeing the piles of sand at different heights and widths in the distance, knowing the closer I get the more massive the shapes will become, the more they will change and the more detail I will see.  It’s watching the way light reflects and changes the shadows.  It’s seeing animal tracks and determining if they are lizard, snake or insect.  It’s examining plants that can survive in that environment and finding artifacts whitened by the sun.  It’s feeling the breeze as I watch the sand move and ripple forming a new shape.  It’s walking barefoot and feeling the grains between my toes.  It’s learning and experimenting with the camera trying to capture the wonder. It’s knowing that I have to be smart and have water and know where I parked the vehicle because I know how easy it is to become lost in the sand with the hot sun be

Cormorants Visit Santee Lakes and Hang Out! There is nothing like a weekend getaway to widen and relax one’s perspective.   We drove from Prescott AZ to Coronado Island CA and stayed at a friend’s lovely home.   The reason?   An early music concert by Concerto Koln http://www.concerto-koeln.de/home_welcome.php?lang=eng  at Irwin M. Jacobs Qualcomm Hall in San Diego.   What an amazing evening.   The baroque music was exquisite and the hall, designed for the San Diego Symphony, was perfect for the instruments.   The evening’s highlight for me was   Vivaldi’s ‘Concerto for Recorder, Strings, and Continuo in C, RV 443’ with Cordula Breuer playing the Sopranino Recorder.   I had not seen or heard this instrument before.   Picture the recorder you played in grade school and make it 6” long.   It was amazing to watch and listen to an artist playing with her fingers literally flying.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorder Another day we went birding at the Santee Lakes.   What a show