Day Two

I went outside to try to capture the beauty of the storm clouds over the mountain in the distance, and then started to look around the house. This gorgeous flower caught my attention. I saw it on a bush just below my front porch.

Now since I can not stand having to choose just one photo, I thought I would share a bit more of what I saw from my front porch.

A view looking over the back yard from the side of the house.. I loved the darkness of the mountain outline against the lightness of the sky, with the clouds just hanging in the air. This is a common sight for us living here, but I hope that I never take for granted the beauty of it.

The mountains to the east of us can be just barely seen over the tops of the house next door. I love the way you can actually see the rain falling at such a distance, and I have always been fascinated by seeing the edge of the storm.. See the sweeping rain at the left in the picture, and the rolling clouds at the right?

See.. trees, big fluffy clouds.. they really do exist in Arizona! Our deciduous trees leave their leaves in the winter just like they do every where else. They may look a little bit funny with their thin leaves, but they behave just like a normal tree!

This lovely cactus graces the front of our house with its' splendor. I love the unique shape that it's "branches" have. It is actually so large that it covers the entirety of the front of the house. I thought this close up was a much friendlier view.

I didn't think pictures from the desert be complete with a good old standard barrel cactus. This spiny guy lives in the shadow of the one above. I have been assured by my boys that when you get him all wet, he turns red.. and there really is no room in there for even wind blown garbage to get caught.. Those red spines do a fantastic job of protecting the succulent green plant within.