Autumn scene on Mt. Rhodopi, southern Bulgaria

i haven't been posting many photos lately... guess i've just not been in the mood... anyway, this one was sent from sofia by a good friend who spent a weekend in the south of her own country enjoying some mid-autumn scenery... i'll be heading in roughly that direction myself next week to continue some work i've been doing in kosovo... i'd say that i was leaving the warm springtime weather in argentina but it hasn't been all that warm here... in fact, the temps have been pretty much the equivalent of those in the northern latitudes, altho' the next couple of weeks in those climes will see regular dips below the freezing mark and probably the first snows of the season... for that matter, reno has just had two nights of hard freeze...

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Heading back to the southern hemisphere

it's been unusually hot with equally unusual calm winds and positively gorgeous for the past two weeks here in the high desert, but saturday put a stop to all that... it's been raining off and on since then and considerably cooler... all in all, more seasonable... a good time to head back south to an argentine springtime...! i can't wait to see the jacaranda in bloom...! i'll try to get it together to post some good photos...

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Starting to look like fall here in Buenos Aires

some leaves are changing and falling on the streets and sidewalks... but spring is hitting most of the u.s. now with the cherry blossoms in d.c. almost past their peak...



so, wednesday night, i begin the long trek back to reno... yeah, i know... i'm just one of those "snowbird" wussies... at least i have the good grace not to winter over in arizona or florida...

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Is there any GOOD news out there...?

anywhere...? please share...



(actually, it's a magnificent, sunny, warm, brilliantly clear, autumn day here in buenos aires... some of the trees are in their fall colors and leaves are collecting on the sidewalks... it's the may 1 holiday and, as in most places around the world - except the u.s. - people are off work, schools are closed, and the signature smell of argentina, meat grilling over a parilla, is wafting through the air... i guess that's good enough news to tide me over for another day, eh...?)

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Swan Lake Nature Area, Great Basin, high desert, late autumn

today, i decided it was high time to drag my arse out of the house and into the sunshine... i decided to explore the swan lake nature study area*, a marshland in the midst of the barren and rolling hills of the western great basin... it's a bit unusual, being fed by "gray water" from a local treatment plant, so it isn't exposed to quite the same extreme cycles of wet and dry as other great basin wetlands... it's on the migratory route of a number of species and is a top audubon society birding area... it's also one of the wintering areas for the tundra swan, the namesake species of the preserve which arrives in early november from the arctic circle and leaves in mid to late march... there are many shorebird and waterfowl species as well as a number of reptiles - mostly lizards - and several species of frogs and toads... bald eagles are year-round residents as are coyotes, badgers and jackrabbits...

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Marsh cattails.......................................Cattails close-up

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Dead sagebrush...................................Coots in the marsh pond

i walked quite a bit, probably on the order of 5 or 6 miles, all the way to the end of the trail and back... as i was resting before turning back, i happened to put my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun and was amazed by what i saw... when i was walking, i had felt numerous spider-web strands land across my arms, head and face, and, while i couldn't see them, i was constantly brushing them away... what i saw all around the perimeter of my hand, highlighted by the sun, were thousands and thousands of spider-web strands floating through the air on the breeze, glistening and just barely visible against the brilliance of the sunlight behind them... quite an amazing sight...

* Securing reclaimed water from the nearby Reno-Stead Sewage Treatment Plant, the marshland was saved from being developed as housing, which has allowed for the continued use of this area as a layover stop on the Pacific Flyway for over 130 different species of birds traveling between Canada and Central and South America.

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