You don’t know how important your routine is until it’s broken. I’ve been without a computer for a day and a half. Not so bad? Yes, bad…grumble, grumble. Richard is installing a new modem/router and the computers were off limits. Therefore, no email (cell phone worked for that), no reading the newspaper (difficult to do on a cell phone), no solitaire games and no writing my blog. Again, grumble, grumble!
I didn’t realize how important my morning routine was until we joined my cousins in Palm Desert for the week. I was the first one up in the morning and enjoyed my routine of reading emails, reading the newspaper and processing photos.
This morning, the computer is working, and I can get on the internet to write this blog about a hidden gem in the desert–The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert. We took a docent tour through the gardens, and since cousin Ernie is a retired landscape architect, the discussion was informative. We talked about various cacti, shrubs and trees. Of course our docent had to put up with my veering off to shoot pictures. But, after the tour, she did ask me to send her my pictures.
Then we went on to the zoo. This was so unlike my local Sacramento Zoo. Habitats were large and the animals were those adapted to the desert. You’ll see what I mean in the picture gallery. It was a great visit. If we go back to the desert, I’d not hesitate to visit there again.
Oh, Richard woke up and is working on his computer. I’d better finish this blog–just in case my routine gets interrupted again!
I liked the juxtaposition of the grass against this beautiful rock.
This cactus captures the golden afternoon light.
A group of barrel cacti.
Close up of wood texture.
Twisting cacti.
Close up of a twisted cactus.
Another cactus close up.
A cheetah shot through a window. It was cheetah week at the zoo.
I forgot what this animal is called. It has beautiful horn though.
There were two dromedaries. This one is lighter in color, made even lighter by the setting sun.
This one is darker and also lighted by the sun.
Our last stop just before the park closed was the giraffe enclosure. Well, it’s hard to call it an enclosure.
The golden hour helped me create beautiful pictures.
They would peek over the hill and come down the same path repeatedly.
I had a great time observing and shooting them.
A close up shot with my 18 – 140 mm lens.
They were a good distance away so cropping was necessary.