We (The Gearheads and I. For those of you who didn’t know, they are my brother and sister-in-law) checked the Thematic Photographic this week from our campground in Arches National Park and to our dismay saw that the theme was “Getting Colder”. Granted one of the reasons we go down there in October is because it’s colder, but with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the upper-60’s it’s hard to get a photograph that implies cold.
So I start thinking, with the help of a little Bacardi, “Cold, cold? What’s cold in the desert?” Bing! The cold, harsh realities of life (and death) in the desert. I go traipsing around the park looking for some signs of the cold, harsh realities of life and death in the desert. Only problem? In a National Park the rangers tend to clean up the cold, harsh realities of life in and around the campgrounds. No sun bleached bones. Nothing being picked apart by scavengers. Well, unless you count the blue jay scavenging our pistachio nuts.
Or maybe the bird learned a colder fact of life when s/he came back for more after we had put them away, ie: sometimes the food supply dries up.
Just in case those aren’t cold enough, there’s always our camp tub in the snow that I took back in ought-3.
And finally, from a while ago also, the juxtaposition of fire and snow, hot and cold. The bigger the camp fire, the colder it must be out there, right?
P.S. – Since we live in an arid area, the only time we get to play with fire like this is when there is snow on the ground. Spring, summer and fall the flames never get more than half a foot high.
P.P.S. – Stories and pictures from the trip to Moab to follow. After I get caught up on a few things.
7 comments:
Since your blog was dark, I figured you were off somewhere fun. Can't wait for pics.
Love the blue jay pics. He looks seriously miffed without the nuts.
My parents once had a visiting blue jay that figured out how to open a bag of peanuts. They're pretty smart birds.
Yeah, fun times in Moab. Blue Jay was pretty ticked about the pistacios. He crawled around the rock, glaring at me for about 10 minutes. I think he knew I was the culprit.
Welcome back, wondered why you were so quiet.
Nice pics - and I love the way you write about them. Blue jay has great taste: pistachios are the best nuts in the world..
The shot of the bathtub in the snow is great - could anything be colder than the idea of using it? brrrr
That blue jay is learning a cold, hard lesson in life at the midpoint of the food chain.
Your description of your search for something cold-themed made me smile. I think it's neat how our shared love of photography can lead to shared moments like this. I hope I continue to choose themes that inspire and challenge.
And the flame? One word: Ohmygod! I got a little scared seeing it on my screen!
Sally - thanks. It's nice to know I'm missed when I'm gone.
Alexia - yeah, we only use it in the summer, we have four 50 gallon drums of water that gravity feed into the tub. But since we built the cabin (1 room, 16'x16') we need to move the tub because the cabin looks right down on it.
Carmi - It's always nice to know I bring a smile to another person's face. As you said before, I'm quite glad we crossed blogosphere paths. As for the flame, it may not look like it, but we really are pretty responsible with fire. We've seen the destruction (a couple miles from our property) that fire can do, and the huge length of time the land takes to recoup. We looked at a burned out area 16 years ago when we bought the land, and it still looks barren and decimated.
Looks like a lot of fun! So cool!
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