Morning Walk Cross-Country

We met, as agreed beforehand, at 8 o'clock. Therese said we would do the "short loop," which she estimated to be about a half-hour walk. We didn't go through the gate but overland.

Buddy and Molly eagerly ran ahead. You can see that I lagged somewhat behind Therese and Dorothy much of the time. It wasn't that I couldn't keep up (really!), but there was just so much to see, off in the distance, close to my feet, and close at hand:

We all found things to inspect and point out to one another, though. I wasn't the only one. So, as it turned out, a half-hour walk is only if one goes alone with dogs. Three curious women can stretch that half-hour to a full hour. There is so much to inspect on, around, and under every tree in the wash.

And then there are all the other plants --

And then we were out on the high ground again, with bright sun turning the grasses to gold. 

You probably can't see the jet in the distance that roared low over our heads before turning and coming back behind the mountains. It took me too long to adjust my camera setting to get the plane when it was directly overhead. 

But plenty of other things (mostly plants) stood still for our examination and identification. The desert is new every day, always bringing something unexpected.