Go Fish

Our friend Larry, tying a fly at the pond

Or “The Fishwife,” because I don’t fish.  My husband has launched full speed into flyfishing.  Fortunately, both nature photography and angling tend to take place in beautiful locations so our obsessions are compatible.

 

ICM Iris

Last weekend we returned to the beautiful X-diamond Ranch near Eager, AZ.  I discovered this place when I had the pleasure of a cowboy photography workshop with Scott Baxter and returned for a girls’ weekend shooting hummingbirds with Kim Gray and Lisa Langell there.  I highly recommend it; we’ve already booked another trip in June 2022.

 

Shooting time was limited, as I was “parenting” Gypsy and she’s a bit young to be patient with the pace of nature photography.  We hiked and played in the water, though.

 

When I did get away, there were fun wabi sabi details in the old ranch buildings,

 

Rocky Mountain Iris

And flowers blooming; spring comes late at 7500’ elevation.  The Rocky Mountain Iris, delicate and smaller than our garden varieties, were striking. At least, once the high winds died down on Sunday.

 

There are active archeologic sites on the ranch.  We were excited to stumble on some petroglyphs nearby.

 

Our friend spotted a Great Blue Heron nest from the home’s porch.  Because of the topography, the nest was about eye-level for us.  The images are not great, but you can see one of the fuzzy-headed chicks here if you squint.  Thank goodness my Canon R5 has high enough resolution for a vigorous crop.