Taking a blogging break

I am taking a blogging break after the freak accidental death of my chestnut mare, Beauty, this morning. At least she didn't suffer and went quickly. There were no thrashing marks in her corral. For the full story, please visit http://deserthorses.blogspot.com/. If you can, and want to, please make a donation to either SAFER or TB Friends in her name. Beauty was a slaughter feedlot rescue herself when she was an unbroke 2 year old. I helped train her and I rode her last summer. She was a wonderful, gentle animal that died way before her time. She was only 5 years old. I'm just not up to blogging right now. RIP Beauty 062509

W is for...ABC Wednesday, June 24, 2009

waterfall! This was the first waterfall we came to in Yosemite. It was just down the road from Olmstead Point. I'll post pics of that tomorrow. One we stopped to take pics, several other cars stopped too. There were MANY, MANY waterfalls in Yosemite when we were there. They had just had snow there two weeks prior to our vacation, so there was plenty of runoff. ABC Wednesday for June 24, 2009. Enjoy your day!

June Lake~That's My World 062309

After we left Ridgecrest and the BLM mustangs and traveled through Bishop, we pulled off at the June Lake loop. June Lake is one of several beautiful lakes tucked into the eastern Sierras. As you can see, thunderheads were building in the sky above us, but it was a beautiful day! We saw a large waterfall and stopped to take photos of it. That's My World for Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

Road trip~BLM Mustangs, Ridgecrest, CA and Bishop

Since this IS my California blog, I have decided to post photos from our recent trip to Northern California here. So, pull up a chair and enjoy the ride! My goal is to post them in order as we drove up Highway 395. I've already posted some pics on my deserthorses blog (http://deserthorses.blogspot.com/), my "memories" blog (http://memoriesthenandnow.blogspot.com/), and my southwest barns blog (http://southwestbarns.blogspot.com/), as well as my Palm Desert daily photo blog (http://desertsandbeyond.blogspot.com/), but I think I'll reserve this one for the main road trip photos, so here goes!

After stopping at the Ridgecrest BLM corrals to feed 4 huge bags of carrots to the mustangs there, we continued our journey up Highway 395 through Bishop, CA. We ALWAYS stop at Bishop to go to Shatz' bakery! Yum, yum! Their breads are fresh and delicious. We bought sandwiches, got back into the car, and off we went toward Mammoth and June Lake.

Weather vane~Sunday Stills challenge for June 21, 2009

Sorry I didn't post for a couple of days. We stayed overnight in Lone Pine, CA at the Best Western, which advertised "free Internet"...HA! It only worked in the office! Anyway, we are safely home now and I'm covered by two of our dogs who have their heads at my feet, making sure I NEVER leave home again! While the hotel didn't have Internet, they DID have this interesting weather thing....???? Weather vane? I'm not really sure what it is!

Lake Tahoe and thunderheads~SkyWatch Friday, June 19, 2009

Yesterday after visiting the BLM corrals at Pyramid Lake, hubby and I drove back over I-80, through Truckee, and down Highway 89 to South Lake Tahoe. The thunderheads were very pretty yesterday over Lake Tahoe and the mountains. SkyWatch Friday for June 19, 2009.

Yosemite wonders~~That's My World for Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Hubby and I continued our trip through Yosemite yesterday, heading up to Lake Tahoe. The morning began much colder than the previous two. I could feel it right away. We ate breakfast in Mariposa, by the west entrance to the park. By noon we were at Olmstead Point, overlooking Half Dome. By late afternoon we pulled into Lake Tahoe. Apparently we brought freezing weather with us because by afternoon there were thunderstorms and heavy rain preceeding us! It made for a difficult day to take photos, but here are a few.

Waterfalls in Yosemite

Yosemite has had so much snow and rain that there are waterfalls EVERYWHERE. It seems like every time I looked up, I spotted another one!

June Lake ~~Scenic Sunday for June 14, 2009

Hubby and I drove the loop around June Lake yesterday. We stopped at another lake there and I took this photo. On our way up the Tioga Road to Yosemite, we ran into sleet!!! In June! There were a lot of waterfalls in Yosemite. Scenic Sunday for June 14, 2009.

Utah sunset~SkyWatch Friday, June 12, 2009

We came across this reservoir above Zion National Park at sunset. No other words are necessary! Enjoy your weekend. SWF for June 12, 2009.

Just around...That's My World

Saturday morning was one of those rare absolutely beautiful mornings! The sky was blue. There were white puffy clouds, and the morning light was perfect! I just drove around the valley where I board my horses and took these pics. That's My World for Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

Tucson silhouette~Sunday Stills for June 7, 2009

This is another early morning pic I took when we were in Tucson, AZ. The saguaro stand so straight and tall! We don't have them in our desert in California. We live in the Colorado Desert. Tucson is another desert. Low like ours, but different plants and animals. We don't have many of their plants, like the saguaro, and they don't have Joshua Trees. They get more rain during the monsoon months of July and August than we do. Sometimes hubby and I travel to Arizona during the summer. Last summer they had so much rain there was standing water!Sunday Stills Challenge for June 7, 2009.

Pretty clouds~Joshua Tree National Park

We saw these pretty clouds during out visit to Joshua Tree National Park last Saturday. We've had clouds here in the valley ever since. That is typical August weather, but not May.

"T" is for tree

In this case, date palm trees! We have so many in the Coachella Valley! And, aren't they beautiful and majestic? I took all these photos one afternoon driving home from school on the back roads, along which there are many date palm ranches. It was a windy afternoon and storm clouds were gathering. ABC Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

Hay loader~Mellow Yellow for June 1, 2009

I found out the "grass" on this field was actually oats and that the bailed hay is all pre-sold. The gal who boards my horses said she tried to buy some of it, but, alas every bale is spoken for! She told me yesterday it is actually a good quality oat hay and much cheaper than the alfalfa she feeds the horses. Here is the hay loader, as it turned the corner. The gentleman was out VERY EARLY Sunday morning, bailing another portion of the acreage. Mellow Yellow for Monday, June 1, 2009. Enjoy your week!