Desert Lands

Outside the house, where we stayed, were hundreds of acres of open land. In that land, I saw several types of birds, two types of rabbits, and I heard but did not see coyotes. I also learned that there are snakes but they are dormant. In the picture are several different types of plants. There is the brown grass, cacti, shrubs and several other types of plants that I don't know the name to.

Mountain Sunrise

As the sun rose, it caused the mountains to become black. The mountains made sure that the picture was not too bright and overpowering. Your eye is drawn on the mountains border with the sky before being taken all around the top of the picture. After your eye follows the darker clouds it starts to focus on the bright yellow and orange clouds before returning back to the dark mountains. 

Birds of the South

This sparrow is the next bird in Bird of the South. After taking this picture the sparrow flew away. I walked toward the bush to see if there were any more birds, which there were not, but I did see spikes on the bush. How could this sparrow sit on a spike? This is the last Bird of the South picture since the night is falling and the next day we were on another drive, this time to Scottsdale.

Birds of the South 

On this trip I took several pictures of different types of birds, these pictures are going to be called the Birds of the South. This bird, which I believe is a woodpecker, is atop one of the old, native New Mexican homes. This picture the almost like a silhouette. The bird is black and house is mostly black or a very dark color. This is contrasted by the bright sky.

Rolling Clouds

I would have liked to capture this picture with the clouds parting over my head but instead the clouds broke a few miles to the Northeast. This is what the rain came from. While it might not look very big and dark, it was a very rare and impressive rain for Las Cruces. Also notice the old, native style homes. With Stucco walls and red trimming around the windows, this is what the old New Mexican houses looked like.

Cactus Animals

I was sitting outside during the end of the rain storm and I looked down. I saw this cactus and noticed something on it. I can't tell if they are spiders who made a home in the cactus or are pieces of an object the look like spiders. If it is a spider then its head would be really small but if it was an object, then what would the object be?

Flying High

After the rain storm, this hawk flew out looking for a meal. I had seen several other birds flying about in the sky but I couldn't quite take a good picture of the bird. This hawk started in the right side of my eyesight before circling above me the swooping down in front of me. I chose this picture because you can see the detail on the bird all the way to the point on the beak.

Water Leaf

On the end of my rain walk, I found this leaf hidden in rocks. It was a jewel that a nearly missed if I had not looked down at a circle of rocks. The water droplets were in perfect spheres on the leaf. They reflected the sky and surrounding leaves. Making them a yellow and red color.

Spider Web

After a very rare rainstorm, I went walking around looking for raindrops on plants. I saw this spider web which had some water on it but not like the next pictures. I like how this is such a good and clear picture that you can see the tiny worm underneath the web. The worm is probably the spiders dinner, I would not choose that for my dinner.

UTEP

This is the start of our Southwest Trip. We are going to be visiting Las Cruces, Phoenix, and Scottsdale. When we got to the stadium we were only expecting to see the stadium from the outside but the grounds crew was cleaning up the stadium for the Sun Bowl. They left a gate open as they used leaf blowers to clean the stadium. This allowed us to go inside to stadium.

The Start of the Play

To start the play, the center hikes the ball to the quarterback. I was able to take this picture after the ball left the center's hand but before it was able to reach the quarterback's hands. You can see the wide receiver, number 13, running across to fake out the defense trying to give the Texas Longhorns extra yards.

Moments Before Kickoff

The kicker places the ball on the tee then walks back 10 yards. The rest of the team lines up with him before running as the kicker kicks the ball. It is a flag if a person on the offense passes the ball before it is kicked. I took this shot exactly a quarter second before the kicker kicked it. He kicked the ball so fast that after half a second the ball was off of the screen.

On the Run

Texas's quarterback Sam Ehlinger was on the run before throwing the ball away. One of the hardest things to do as a quarterback is run and throw at the same time. This is why if you see a quarterback on the run, the ball is normally not accurate.

Tripped

On the second play after the touchdown, this Texas Tech player caught the ball then ran for a short amount of time before getting tripped up by a Texas defensive player. The Texas player Deshon Elliott grabbed the Texas Tech player's leg and didn't let go until the play was over.

Diving for the Touchdown

As number Hemphill-Mapps dives for the touchdown, several Texas Tech players try to stop him. He ended up getting the touchdown. He was tackled by three Texas Tech players but number 1 pushed him over the line.

Air Time

This looks like one of the hardest hits that I have ever seen. As the Texas Tech player jumped into the air, he was tackled mid-air. He was thrown backward and lost a yard from the catch. Luckily he walked back up and played the next play, which he again caught the ball and was tackled hard again. I guess this is just how football is.

Kick Off

As we start both the game between Texas and Texas Tech and this new series, this picture of the kickoff comes first. Texas kicked it off to Texas Tech who returned the ball to the 27-yard line. In this picture, we can see several Texas players about to tackle the Texas Tech player. The tackle happened just after this picture but someone stood up and blocked my shot.

Lazy Squirrel

On a fence, I found this squirrel just laying with one arm off and the other on the fence. I wonder if he was trying to fall asleep. Probably not because it was around 11:00 am and because as soon as I shot this picture he darted to the right. I have taken hundreds of pictures of animals but never have I found a picture this weird.

Red Bird

Here is yet another very interesting bird. It is only found in North America, excluding Alaska and northern Canada. Like yesterdays picture, this red bird has a nut in its mouth. They must be really hungry. They also are very sensitive to humans, this was the closest I got to any red bird before it flew away.

Bird Breakfast

Early in the morning, the sun was shining from behind the trees. It made the blackbird even more black. Not only is the blackbird standing with his head sideways, but it has a nut in its mouth. If the blackbird didn't have the nut in its mouth, then it would have been just a regular photo.