“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.” ― Eudora Welty
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
In July and early August the wildflowers were in bloom up in the mountains above Lake Tahoe and a lot of them were at perfect peek on the morning of July 31st.
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
I saw this snake while birding last week. It was the first time I’ve ever seen this species. I believe it’s a Western yellow-bellied Racer. ( Coluber constrictor Mormon)
Fun Facts:
It’s closely related to the whipsnake.
They are common in the northern half of Nevada
They eat rats, mice, small rabbits, frongs, toads, turtles, lizards, and even other snakes. Some climb trees to eat bird eggs.
Young snakes have blotches on their backs so are sometimes confused for other species like Kingsnakes. As they mature they lose the blotches and become solid colors like black, green, brown, or blue on the top with yellow, white, or tan belly. They can grow up to 5 feet long, but the record was a little over 6 feet.
This one was smallish at just over 2 feet in length.
Why are snakes so good at rapping? Because they rap around their prey!
I couldn’t resist a Dad constrictor joke. 😄
Fun facts gleaned from https://a-z-animals.com/blog/snakes-nevada/
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Early last week I met a girlfriend up in Reno’s Rose Garden to see all the lovely Roses that were in bloom.
Here are a few of the many images I made of them.
Happy mid week everyone!
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Spring is…Owlets!
This little Owl family was a treat to find and see this month.
Fun Facts:
Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org
I’m out birding early this morning as it’s light out much earlier so I’ll be a little later getting to your posts and comments.
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
One of the ports we stopped in during our Alaska cruise last year was Juneau. Along the waterfront there are quite a few totem poles. They’re part of the Totem Pole Trail(Kooteeyaa Deiyi). Each pole tells the story of lineage, clan crests, and ancestral history. There are story boards and scan codes to explain their stories beside the totems. There are plans to expand to 30 totem poles representing all the clans of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples.
This one is the Kaagwaantaan Totem Pole it was created by artist Nicholas Galanin in April 2023. It depicts clan crests including the Killer Whale, and Eagle.
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Saturday morning after I’d finished Wordle and Strands I shared my results with my sister. We trade results and talk about where we struggled or where we felt it was easy. We talked for a bit and then I got up to make a second cup of tea this was about 7A.M. I just caught out the corner of my eye out back a Coyote streaking by. I moved to the backdoor to see where it was going and here came another one streaking by following the first one! That was neat. I thought they were probably heading back to the den since the sun was up already.
Fast forward 50 minutes and when I looked up from reading there out at the edge of the golf course was a Coyote with its back to me gazing out across the flood plain. Oh! I raced to get my camera that was in my retreat. I wished as I was racing that it would still be there when I got back. It was!
As I opened the sliding glass door and screen it heard me and turned to see what the noise was. It soon realized I was no threat so turned its gaze back to the field. Above is exactly what I saw that had me run for my camera.
Then I guess it decided there was nothing to worry about or going on so it laid down in the cold grass.
After a few minutes something caught its attention out in the field and it got up to look. I looked too. Oh! There out in the field further west was another Coyote! Perhaps these two were the two I had seen running by an hour before?
Here’s Number Two out in the field looking back at Number One. This is cropped in a bit.
Next, Number One started making its way across the golf course closer to me! Curious perhaps or had it heard the birds?
Coyote Number One got to the bottom of the hill below me but, I couldn’t see him anymore. Then he started up the golf cart path headed east and soon was out of sight.
Number Two couldn’t see Number One I think, so came up to the edge of the course. It spotted me. Our eyes met. Then it turned to look east after its buddy, and off it went after it head down on the scent.
I watched it until it was out of sight then looked up and there out in the distance were 3 Hot Air Balloons rising. I hoped they’d float my way, but they never do. Prevailing winds tend to head east. This morning was no different they all floated east behind the mountains out into the great Nevada desert.
I watched until the last balloon slid behind the mountains and out of view. It was my turn to turn away from the view. I went to get my forgotten cup of tea now cold then headed to the kitchen to make a fresh cup. Happy with the way my day started and counting my blessings. I was thinking how wonderful it is to have all this nature and wildlife here and I was very thankful to be home Saturday morning to see it all.
more to come…
Copyright ©2026 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Monday I got an alert from my Aurora App that said it might possible to see the Aurora as low as Northern Nevada. There was a pretty large CME -solar flare on January 19th that I read about in Spaceweather and it mentioned the Aurora Borealis could be really good and perhaps wide spread. I was on a hike when my app pinged me Monday afternoon saying that it was looking good where I live to see some of the Aurora. When I got home I charged up my batteries, switched lenses, and got my gear ready. In the evening close to the peak KP index reading per my app I put on my thermals, coat, toe warmers, then gathered my hand heating pouch, tripod, gear bag, red headlamp, and walked out into the 35 degrees F night air. I headed down the street to photograph the sky over my neighbors ranch.
The stars were bright, and clear, and the air cold, and brisk. It was just me and a horse in the stall kicking and making that sound they make when the blow raspberries through their nose, and lips. I suspect it heard me and saw my red headlamp. Then it got really quiet.
The horse and I settled in for a bit. I set up my tripod, and camera then got my focus dialed in and made a few tests shots. Then I made this shot when it was supposed to be “peak KP index (6.67)” for my area.
There’s light pollution from Carson City to the north.
Way out on the top of hills in the distance is a bright white light. That’s an ATV of some kind making its way to the top of the Pinenut Mountains. I wondered if they were going to a great view and maybe a darker sky?
I read the Aurora’s were spectacular in parts of Europe and some of the images I’ve seen are fantastic.
This Aurora wasn’t as strong as the one that we saw here in October 2024 see my post here , but anytime I get a ping saying maybe I’ll see an Aurora in No. Nevada I’ll be out with my camera.
Happy Mid Week Everyone!
more to come…
Circadianreflections Blog 
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