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cheryl4799

@cheryl4799

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Nature, Scenery, Weather, Festivities in the beautiful Southwest US & beyond. If it catches my eye, I try & capture the moment!

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How about all those clouds that showed up today to float in the bright blue skies over the Mesilla Valley in southern New Mexico! Newly-mown alfalfa fields await the time to be baled. by @cheryl4799

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6 months ago

March came in like a lion this past week across New Mexico & West Texas! 🦁😮 We've lived in both areas since the late 1970s & don't remember having so many intense wind/dust/sand/ storms in less than a week. There were four severe days of them, with a break for a day plus a few hours in the middle from the first ones that made you think (hope!) that the next ones forecast wouldn't be as bad (wrong!) I-10 & highways between & near Las Cruces & Deming & Hatch (the Chile Capital) & beyond were closed down as each day's wild winds ramped up to make driving hazardous. The El Paso TX area had unusually dark orange skies as well, with air quality reading near 500 at times, and many there commenting that they had never experienced seeing that color before ... I stepped out only a little ways onto my back patio to take these pictures, then got back inside. No Organ Mts. to the left can be seen through my neighbors' pecan trees nor the Robledos Mts. to the right through the afghan pines. And my throat gets dry just looking at the scene straight out back of the dust in the air & skies. (No hanging any wash on the clotheslines this week! 😄) Fingers crossed that when the next high winds arrive throughout this month & Spring, & they will, that we'll get more time in between - Please! 🙂😷🫣 taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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2 years ago

Thank You To Our U.S. Veterans On This Veterans Day. 🇺🇸 Thinking of my dad who served in the US Army in WWIl. Here he is a young soldier who was home on leave to see his parents and brothers & sisters on the family farm near a small town in southwestern NY state. His oldest brother waiting to drive him to catch a train to return to his Army base, as one of their family members takes the photo. Later on he trains at other bases before being sent to the China-Burma-India/Ledo Road area ... After the war ends, he returns home to his family, and eventually becomes a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and a good family member & friend to many. Thank you Dad for everything. I love & miss you. ❤️🇺🇸❤️ by @cheryl4799

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2 years ago

Well, it was a surprise to arrive at the airport & see these characters in October, & yes! the first three big ones as you entered were Really Big! Quite an experience as you made your way to your gate or to baggage claim, & glad I had some extra time to take some pictures! 😄 taken in El Paso International Airport (ELP) by @cheryl4799

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2 years ago

Since I haven't posted a thing in 2024, I might as well start out with a scream, lol! 😱🕷️🕸️🌵😄 ..... JK, this was about as scary as it got during our first stop on a day trip north of Phoenix in mid-October. Headed out in the latter part of the morning with the temp already near the 90°s, when we stopped at the MacDonald Ranch & Pumpkin Patch. A couple school buses of kids on a field trip & some families were already there, but we all had plenty of room to walk around in the well-kept western town, with a big separate area for the pumpkins & scarecrows, another for the numerous horses available for riding, a farm animal section, many other activities, loads of picnic tables, and lots of picture-taking opportunities for young folks & those young-at-heart. 🐴🫏🎃🐂🌵☀️😊 taken in McDonald Ranch and Pumpkin Patch by @cheryl4799

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2 years ago

"Stopping by for a long drink & a rest on a hot New Mexico afternoon" 💦🌳☀️ ..... A new-to-me hummingbird stops at our feeder late yesterday afternoon, keeping an eye on a few other hummers that were in the nearby trees. I'm guessing it is an adult female, but don't know what species. It's coloring was gray/maybe grayish-brown, with a white chest & throat. It hung around for a while getting hydrated, before taking off when it spotted me through the kitchen window. 😄 Temps are now in the low 100's, dropping to mid-70s at night, so it may decide to hang around instead of continuing on to another destination. taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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3 years ago

"Leo In The Sky" - Stepped outside about an hour after sunset tonight & saw the half moon glowing high in the western sky. I thought that the rainbow colors reflecting in the clouds around the moon, looked like the wide open mouth of a roaring lion - but that's just my own imagination, lol! 😄 However, a bit later back in the house, I decided to check out my "Sky Guide" & "Sky View" apps, & what should appear around the moon but the constellation "Leo the Lion"! (See next photo) ..... Took a few pictures & was surprised that there were lots of small broken clouds indicating stormy weather had happened somewhere, tho not nearby, as our day in southern New Mexico was breezy & hot. Come to find out, there had been very severe weather earlier in northern & eastern New Mexico - 60to80 mph winds, heavy t-storms with huge damaging hailstones, flooding, & even a tornado had touched down! So maybe these clouds were remnants of all this wild weather that had happened today in those areas, or maybe more is coming - hope not! ⛈️🌪️🌗🌈☀️ taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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3 years ago

When you see this incredible pink sky over your backyard wall to the southwest ..... 5 minutes after you take a picture of a lovely light pastel sky over the Organ Mts. to the east ..... & one minute before seeing the bright firey glow of the clouds through the pine trees directly to the west, after the sun drops behind the Robledo mountains near Las Cruces in southern New Mexico ..... Such breath-taking beauty within a handful of minutes! 💗
( Pic. 1 - Picacho Peak, NM is a 4959-foot high peak just northwest of Las Cruces. A volcanic mountain composed of rhyolite (mostly quartz and feldspar) that solidified at the surface approximately 35 million years ago & is a short distance from the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument site) [Photos taken on March 12, 2023. Between 7:14 & 7:20pm Mountain Time] taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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4 years ago

Spring blossoms popping up in my yard this week. A welcome surprise after the windstorms that have recently blown through New Mexico. 🌱🌸🌷 taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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4 years ago

Happy Birthday, New Mexico! 🇺🇸 111 years old on January 6, 2023, as our 47th state! ❤️🌶️💛 Thank you for the many amazing adventures & wonderful people we've met since we moved here long ago in the late 1970s. Feliz Cumpleaños y Gracias, Beautiful New Mexico! 🌟 taken in New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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4 years ago

"Rain Storms Move Across The Mesilla Valley At Sunset" - The summer months this year brought rain to many areas of southern New Mexico, more than most years. Storms also sometimes seemed to be heading one way, come close, but then veer off into the desert, depending on the wind currents, temperature, terrain, & more ... September has brought more rain, but lots of sunshine too, milder temps, & the clouds often make for some interesting pictures in the bright blue sky. I unexpectedly saw this fascinating scene across the farmland west of Las Cruces when I stepped outside a few days ago, about an hour before the sun set over the Robledo Mts. I only now while posting realized how the shape of the big cloud to the left looked kind of ominous - like a big creature slowly & stealthily making its way across! ... Picacho Peak & the mountains were pretty below the thinner clouds, & right after that a big rain cloud moved closer to where I was standing, so back across the yard to my house I went! ... Decided to see what constellation might be in the sky towards the storms, & opened my "Sky View" app. There was Sagittarius with his bow & arrow, and several satellites & other space man-made items among the stars, with Pluto & Saturn nearby. This picture doesn't show all that I saw, but I am wondering if the blue symbol is the International Space Station & the brown one is the Hubble Telescope. I'll have to pay closer attention when I use the app & snap the pictures! 💫📸🔭 ..... Photos taken on September 19, 2022, about 6:15pm, MT. taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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4 years ago

Amazing Storm Cloud Moving Across The Mesilla Valley Near Las Cruces In Southern New Mexico ..... I stepped outside to water a few plants in the evening just before sunset & was stopped in my tracks at the sight of this massive cloud moving slowly across the farm fields nearby. When I first saw it approaching, I could clearly see at least two rainbows touching down to the earth underneath it, & possibly three for just a bit, as rain showered areas of the valley. Other reflections were picked up too behind it near the Organ Mts. in the east, minutes before the sun set in the west over the Robledos Mts. & the cloud began to gradually change its shape & direction ... This was one of those times you felt lucky & maybe meant to see such an awesome sight, & think of all the good things you have & have had in your life. Thankful to have stepped outside at that time to do a simple every day task. ☀️🌱⛅️🌸😊 (Picture taken July 5, Tuesday, 8:05pm) taken in Las Cruces, New Mexico by @cheryl4799

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4 years ago