Day #43 - Desert tortoise

A friend of mine participates in a program that places desert tortoises with families willing to foster them. These are animals that have been raised in captivity, or injured, or otherwise unable to fend for themselves in the wild. Every couple of days, they get some leafy greens in addition to the grass and other plants the grow in their enclosures. This one is munching on a hunk of kale.

Day #42 - Chisum

I'm housesitting right now and this is my main charge - a bundle of feline energy. I snapped a quick picture while he was enthalled with a bird outside. That's about the only time he holds still.

Day #41 - Springtime in the desert

As my rampant allergies can attest, everything is blooming right now. The tree pollen is insane, but the stunningly vivid cactus blooms make it worth the suffering. This one is at a friend's house and is usually good for a few clusters of blossoms every year. They're about as big across as your hand, and the kind of wild red that makes you stop in your tracks and stare. When the desert blooms, it doesn't cut corners.

Day #40 - Valley of the Moon

Ok, last Valley of the Moon post for a while. This is a large mural underneath the Wizard's tower. I'm not sure how old it is, or how long it's been exposed to the elements, but it's obviously suffering some wear. Still, it's impressive to turn a corner and suddenly see a wall of Dragon before you.

Day #39 - Valley of the Moon

On the property, there's a small, old adobe house. It's currently being used for costume and prop storage, but seems to be mostly habited by spiders. There were some enormous webs strung up in the corners. I love the juxtaposition of webbing and costume fairy wings here.

Day #38 - Valley of the Moon

This was such a neat tour, so I'll post quite a few more pictures from it here. Next up, the "Hobbit house". There are several of these scattered about the property, in various shapes and sizes. All are concrete and pebble, but there's a lot of variation in the extra materials. This one had a lot of bottle glass in it.