DL, it helps being never married and retired (twice). And thanks for the compliment. (I have almost 39,000 photos on Flickr®.)

flashguy

Cocoon Nebula
Taken @ Belmont Observatory Friday, 11 Sep 2015.

I took this last fall, but just processed it last night.

Last fall by Tim, on Flickr

Re-processed this PM.

Dangerous lizard with a firearm.

Was that Gila Monster alive?

flashguy

This is another reprocessed photo. This time, it's an HDR I made from a single .JPG shot (because somehow I lost the RAW file). This was taken in 2013 at Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

HDR from ND by Tim, on Flickr

flashguy, it is an example of Shaun Wallace's http://thesharkstore.com/ work. He casts and hand paints some amazing creatures for museums, schools, restaurants, theme parks and crazy collectors of strange & cool stuff.

Lake Jessup at sunset

quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
flashguy, it is an example of Shaun Wallace's http://thesharkstore.com/ work. He casts and hand paints some amazing creatures for museums, schools, restaurants, theme parks and crazy collectors of strange & cool stuff.

Not from Shaun Wallace, but some arts patron commissioned some lifesize desert creatures cast of metal and painted authentically and dedicated them to the town of Wickenburg. They are bolted to the sidewalks around old town. As you walk around the few square blocks of old town, you will encounter several gila monsters, several roadrunners, and several western diamondback rattlesnakes (one of the snakes is just outside the front door of the gun store). I think there are four of each. Only one has been stolen, so far, as they are bolted down pretty firmly. One snake had to be moved due to an inebriated woman exiting a restaurant and tripping over it.

quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
Dangerous lizard with a firearm.

Potential "Dinner with Protection"?

Wow! Not only a near perfect half-circle rainbow, but a double one, to boot!

flashguy

I now have 4 full-size replicas of critters found around AZ: three of the real ones can ruin your afternoon and the other is a pest but fun to watch.


And now this morning... UFO??

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Z06,

quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
I now have 4 full-size replicas of critters found around AZ: three of the real ones can ruin your afternoon and the other is a pest but fun to watch.

Nice pieces.

What are the furry critters? We don't have those out here in Wickenburg, and our rattlers are almost exclusively diamondbacks or mohaves. What variety is that replica?

The furries are prairie dogs, smaller versions are ground squirrels. PDs are around Williams and the GSs are even in my back yard N PHX area.

I got the ceramic rattler @ a gun show in 2002. I have no idea if it supposed to be a specific snake... but it scares the SHIITE out of most people that see it when it's on the ground.

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Nothing, but you might be interested in my photos of the 42-day trip to Europe this summer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157654084611425/.

DSC_0969-2.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr

flashguy

Simply stunning collection of photos. Beautiful depictions of places that I have a fascination and interest in, but will not see first hand.

quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
The furries are prairie dogs, smaller versions are ground squirrels.

I've seen ground squirrels up around Prescott, but the ones we have here outside Wickenburg look like the poster child for the USPCA animal abuse campaign. Round-tailed ground squirrel:

quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
The furries are prairie dogs, smaller versions are ground squirrels. PDs are around Williams and the GSs are even in my back yard N PHX area.

I got the ceramic rattler @ a gun show in 2002. I have no idea if it supposed to be a specific snake... but it scares the SHIITE out of most people that see it when it's on the ground.

Knowing where you live (AZ) I'm surprised it has not been shot several times.

sse, I'm glad you enjoyed them. I like to post pictures in the hopes that others will view them--not because I think I'm a great photographer (I'm not, just a prolific one), but because I don't just post the "postcard" pictures but include the more ordinary ones dealing with daily activities, too. I like to think that some folks may even be motivated to also visit some of those locations, and if they do maybe they'll have a better idea of what is available to see there.

My pictures recently have been of construction at my church--we have some major building going on right now. I doubt that any of them would be of much interest to the Forum, though. Tomorrow I fly to Oregon for 2 days for a reunion of old (really) radar station personnel. There will be photos taken there, and they'll be eventually posted to Flickr® as part of a Collection that already exists.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
Knowing where you live (AZ) I'm surprised it has not been shot several times.
flashguy

I do have to keep them inside (except for the rattler) as our many hawks and owls would swoop down to carry them off!