Puffin swimming, presumably looking for fish.
I was excited to see my first ever puffins and photograph them while cruising the islands off the coast of Iceland. I knew my resultant travel photographs would never compete with professional nature photographers who sit on a hillside and wait for the perfect moment to capture a puffin. However, out of the many hundreds of photos taken from the moving, bouncing Zodiac boat, two photos were acceptable to show here.
Springdale Winter
The tiny town of Springdale, Utah sits at the entrance of one of the best national parks in the US, Zion National Park. Zion offers easy access to beautiful vistas for the casual tourist, strenuous hikes to challenge the physically fit and back canyons for skilled mountaineers. I had the privileged to stay here through the changing seasons…. twice!
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Arc de Triomf built for the 1888 Barcelona World’s Fair
My previous blogs of Barcelona have highlighted the works of innovative Spanish-born architect Antoni Gaudi, the Segrada Familia Basicilia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, as well as the Barcelona concert hall (not Gaudi). Now I’ll simply take you around Barcelona for some of the interesting sites and discoveries.
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Sheep are a major part of the economy throughout the British Isles. Mile after mile of thick, sturdy and ancient rock walls attempt to contain the sheep in pastures, but inevitably they get out onto the roads. Since more than one sheep owner might use the same pasture, the sheep are spray painted with bright colors and designs to designate the rightful owner. Sheep dogs are an important part of any sheep raising operation. While in the Lake District of England we went to what we would call a county fair and watched all matters involving sheep. There were prizes awarded for the best made sheep staff or ‘crook’, sheep herding contests with sheep dogs taking whistled commands from their owners and sheep shearing demonstrations.
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Mom with Baby
On just about any late afternoon in Zion National Park, it seems if one heads to the slick rock area on the east side, you will almost certainly find several Desert Bighorn Sheep. While it is easy to get lots of photos, it is harder to get the sheep against the skyline, doing something interesting or in a unique setting. It is very surprising how very agile they are and how easy they can climb up a steep hill.
Desert Big Horn Sheep of Zion National Park.