Day 226 – It’s dry

A little green, but mostly, it’s hot and dry.

Day 189 – Playing in the fountain

I realize that I am a day behind. Late night Friday, full day yesterday. You all understand, I’m sure. Anyway, here is “yesterday’s” post.

Sparks, Nevada has a fun little downtown area called Victorian Square. Many street fairs are held there, including the Best in the West Rib Cook-Off and a weekly Farmer’s Market in the summer. One of the best parts of Victorian Square is an interactive fountain in front of the movie theater. Yesterday I stopped by to snap some of the kids trying to stay cool on a hot Nevada summer day.

It was hotter than the dickens and I could only bear about fifteen minutes in the sun, given that I didn’t have a hat or the freedom to jump in the fountain with the rest of them. Still, I got a lot of shots in (and handed my card out to the moms there), so if you’d like to see them all, just head on over to my SmugMug gallery.

The kids were having a blast and it was hard to narrow it down, but here are just a few of my favorite shots. (Moms – if you want a copy of any of my photos, please contact me via my Facebook page or contact me via email at carissanv at gmail dot com).

More of this cute guy at SmugMug.

Isn’t she adorable?

Even the pups were cooling off.

This is probably my favorite shot. I caught him at just the right moment.

Seriously, check out the gallery at SmugMug.

Day 188 – Reno is Artown

In Reno, July means Artown, a month-long celebration of the arts. On Friday nights there are concerts by the river. Last night we had to go downtown to meet some friends at a local watering hole but before that Sweetie and I headed over to the amphitheater to listen to the music and do a little people watching. I shot a bunch more photos and will likely post them later, but I’ve got to get these up as I should have been out the door thirty minutes ago.

Black and White: Skateboarders

A couple more from yesterday’s shoot. I loved the late afternoon sun that cast such great shadows.

Day 185 – Friendly Goose

I hadn’t been to the duck pond for a while so I stopped on my way home. After I’d been there a while, one of the Canadian Geese took a bit of an interest in me and started swimming toward me. I made clicking noises which seemed to attract her (him?) and she moved in even closer.

Finally, she got to the shore and stepped out. I really thought she was going to come right up to me. At this point I started to wonder if I should be worried. Geese don’t have the best reputation for being soft and cuddly . . .

She got very, very close . . .

Then she got distracted and slipped back into the water.

One more from the fire

Day 184 – Fire. Again.

Known as the Pinehaven Fire, it is near Caughlin Ranch, the same area where 30 homes were destroyed last year due to a wind-whipped fire. Fortunately, it appears no structures are threatened at this point, but the fire started because of a high-speed chase by the police in which the fleeing suspect rolled the car which sparked the fire. Needless to say, the fire became the priority and the suspect is still at large.

I shot some at around 1pm, but this one was taken this evening after I left work at about 5:30. You’ll need to click on it to see the larger photo.

On a lighter note, these two doves were perched on the telephone wires above me and appeared to be watching the planes and helicopters working to put out the fire.

These cattle were oblivious to it all.

There are more photos are in my SmugMug gallery which I will continue to add to as I go through my shots and post the better ones.

While this is nothing compared to what’s going on in Colorado and elsewhere, for us in the west, fire season is just getting started.

Speaking of which….we’ve got another fire.

Day 181 – Hiding in the petals

I was able to work from home today and that meant that I didn’t have to leave the house early in the morning. Taking advantage of the extra time before my “work day” started, I headed out to photograph the backyard in the early morning light. Today was watering day and the flowers still held droplets of water from the sprinklers.

And then there is the purple sage . . .

The flowers are indeed lovely, but they also attract some six-legged creatures. I’ve given up trying to avoid them, and now seek them out.

After fighting with VPN and reports all day I slipped out into the backyard once again, and guess what I found hiding in the roses? Anyone know what this little guy is? And he was teeny. A grasshopper? Cricket? Locust?