Yes.. some times it is fun to play tourist.. Drove by fields of these beautiful Cholla Cactus in New Mexico and northern Texas..  I thought they were beautiful.. though I would not want to walk through them.. a quick internet search says that they have barbed spines that are quite difficult to remove.. I am not sure of the exact name of these particular cactus.. as there are several varieties.. teddybear, silver, tree, staghorn, devil,  as well as jumping.(and many more) . now I don’t personally want to discover why any of them got their names. .. because if a cactus can “JUMP” I don’t want to be anywhere near it.. and I learned along time ago, that if something with big teeth, fangs or spines is named Fluffy, or Teddy bear.. it is usually sarcasm..at least Jumping, and Devil.. give you some fair warning..

At any rate.. I am sure these beautiful cactus are a pain to the locals.. and a nuisance to try to remove.. but the changing landscapes filled with yucca and these blooming cacti.. to me.. were all part of the beauty that nature has to share..

Now to get my husband to go pick me one of those flowers so I can see if they smell good too…..

just a few of my favorite things.. actually I add photos of my favorite things to this web site every day..

I love nature, I love wildlife, and all things involved, but I love my family more…

Today is the first of March,

and though I know that we will still have some days of snow and cold…

spring is just around the corner.. the days are getting a wee bit longer.

And soon the sun’s warmth will heat the land and new life will begin again…

Photo taken9/9/08~F5.6~ISO160~1/500

Photo taken 5/12/08~F5.6~ISO100~1/500

Sentinels, looking to the sky on this beautiful day.

Here you go Klaus, this is my own “Zen” moment. Not the sky, but I found myself zooming down the road and through life, slowing down now and again to look for wildlife, you know the bigger breathing, running kind of wildlife. When I realized that I was forgetting to stop and just enjoy the setting sun, the insects doing their thing, and the flowers. Almost a whole summer has gone by and I haven’t taken the time to photograph the beautiful wildflowers. I had enjoyed them on other people’s(like John’s) blogs, these beautiful flowers, without the sky and all it has to offer, wouldn’t even be here, so I sat for a while, had my own “zen moment” and just enjoyed the little things that surround me every day. So beautiful and so often taken for granted, but sorely missed come winter… Thanks for sharing your zen photo on the skywatch page today Klaus, It is gorgeous as always.

~ 6/15/2008~F6.3~ISO400~1/200~Sigma 50/500mm lens~

6/15/2007~F6.3~ISO400~1/200

wildflowers taken on the Pryor Mountains, Montana~6/24/2007~F10~1/500~ISO250~173mm

Westen Meadowlark taken near Clark Wyoming~5/2/2008~F8~ISO400~1/500~500mm

5/13/2007~F6.3~1/320~ISO400~400mm

Wild flower photos taken two seperate days. One on the Pryor Mountains of Montana and the other on the Shoshone National Forest Wyoming

6/24/2007~F6.3~1/250~ISO100~400mm

6/27/2007~ Shoshone National Forest ~ 1/250 F6.3~ ISO100~ 400mm Tamaron Lens ~converted to BW

Well it is official!

Today Is my 100th post!

I am posting this flower for each and every one of you, to celebrate. And, since so many of you have told me how much you love seeing deer, I am including another mule deer and a whitetail buck in all their beautiful velvet antlers!

Wow, a hundred posts, how did that happen?? I am still amazed!

Thank You to everyone for all your wonderfull comments and for the fantastic encouragement along the way. This has been a lot of fun and I have meet some wonderful people on this strange internet journey. I am wishing each and everyone of you a fantastic week….

Thank You ~ Stacey Huston

7/1/2007~Shoshone National Forest Wyoming~1//250~F6.3~ISO400~400mm Tamaron Lens