DOGMAN or Don’t Box Me In….?
When wildlife happens it can be arresting and breath-taking as well a time when a little common sense mixes well with a dash of horse sense. No one expects Bighorn Sheep to present themselves for photos to tourists strolling the South Rim of the Grand Canyon so they should be excused if they fail to act responsibly but forethought and constructive comment opens the door to learn. So listen Up, dumb shit! You never box in a wild animal no matter how tame it appears, pushing the limits endanger the animal and yourself–think about the cause and response of your actions. Second lesson was personal since I had Chester, faithful sheltie in tow, the sheep took immediate dislike to Chester’s approach (quiet and unthreatning, just wasn’t welcome) so I tied him off below and still as I approached they stared at me and me alone because smell told them I was half sheltie and half desert rat. So your smell is to be considered when hunting or photographing wildlife, no aftershave, deoderant, perfume or irish spring soap, it will all turn a head or two.
A Study in Order …
When you drive by the Holy Family Church at University and Main your eye is drawn to it because of its simplicity, order and manicured grounds, everything in its place. Even in the absence of people you can see the love–the care someone or many–have showered this chapel. The details are surprising, quite–idealic, in fact ! So I stopped for a half hour walked the grounds, saw the charm, went home and looked it up on the internet. From that you get a picture of choir meetings, late night spanish only mass, weekly evening gatherings, needed volunteers for feeding the homeless, a chance to put faces to the folks whose charm and good will shines from the neighborhood chapel.
LIVING IN THE SHADOW OF FROG MOUNTAIN !
view from the original Rancho Vistoso Ranch, this view is now from a Walmart Parking Lot
Everyone takes their inspiration from the things that surround them or the things that swell up inside of them. I have lived in the shadow of Pusch Ridge for more than thirty years. My morning walks have a bless thirty minute hiatus from the morning sun because the shadow of that tip of the ridge holds back the heat until 6am… In all that time I have depended on the evenings alone with the mountain to be a quiet time to gather strength and to think through what happened today and what will happen tomorrow. In all my years of travel, I have driven through some amazing country, but nothing rivals Tucson surrounded or cradled by the Santa Catalina Range and when I roll in alongside those mountains I finally know I am home.
SOUTHWEST PHOTO JOURNAL 