While out on a walk under clear skies in the crisp, cool autumn air, I noticed everything around me offered shades of blue.

Some of the roses ended up freeze dried by the frost and were persevered with fairly good form. Most of the roses didn't fare as well. A couple of lizards took advantage of the "sun day" to bask in the late afternoon sunshine on the warm adobe wall.

I took these photos early morning on Thursday, November 5th. We had a hard frost that night, which zapped these blooms.

My Xerox rep talked me into entering a photo in their local calendar contest. I went through my old photos and decided this one of the clouds over the Sandias I posted several years ago was calendar worthy. They printed photos on their latest printers, and this one looked really great printed large on glossy paper. 

Even though there are "No Dogs" signs promising $250 fines to offenders all over the bulletin boards at the trail head in Tent Rocks, the local dogs don't think the signs apply to them. Fido here doesn't think he looks anything like that silly silhouette of a Scottie dog on the "No Dogs" sign.

This foxy looking mutt thinks she's more mountain goat than dog; therefore, she believes she's exempt from the "No Dogs" policy when she's out jumping around on the rocky edges of cliffs.

Foxy collapsed at my feet in the parking lot — she was exhausted after a hard day of entertaining the tourists with her agile clod hopping, puddle jumping and rock climbing.

Does this look like a kitty who would eat your clothes? Don't let that sweet look fool you!

What do you mean you "wear" spaghetti straps and "not" eat them?

Why are they called "Spaghetti" straps if you're not supposed to eat them?

Guildenstern went out early in the morning and came back inside with his Dia de los Muertos costume on

Diné is so happy to have her heater vent working now that it's getting cold

Lola backlit in the window

Sasha backlit on a counter stool

Najar the "Night Fury"

Rosencrantz

Tent rocks on the edge of a 7 million year-old deposit of pumice, ash and tuff.

A long, long time ago, 7 million years or so, volcanic eruptions deposited layer upon layer of pumice, ash, and tuff 1000 feet thick in an area of North-Central New Mexico now called the Jemez Mountains. Over the years the weather has exposed the white, grey and pink layers of pumice, ash, and tuff leaving deep, narrow canyons and tent-like formations. In 2001, Tent Rocks was made into a National Monument named Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks. There are two trails at Tent Rocks — the 1.0 mile Loop Trail, and the 1.5 mile Canyon Trail. The Canyon Trail is oneway out and back, and climbs 630 feet to a mesa that offers excellent views of the Sangre de Cristo Range, Jemez Mountains, Jemez Dam and Lake, the Sandias and the Rio Grande Valley. The photographs in this post were taken along the Canyon Trail.

A classic tent rock

The trail heading into the mouth of the canyon

The Canyon Trail starts getting narrow

It gets much narrower than this.

Looking north along the way to the top of the mesa you can see large tent rock formations rising out of the canyon below. The snow capped Sangre de Cristo Range is in the distance.

Looking east into the canyon. Jemez Dam and Lake are in the background on the far left.

Looking west from top of the mesa that forms the southern wall of the canyon — this photo was taken from the end of the mesa on the right in the previous photo.

Looking southwest into another canyon where hiking is not allowed.

Looking south and east toward the Rio Grande Valley and the Sandias.

Even a dog from the Jemez Pueblo climbs up to the top of the mesa and takes in the views.

Fotoplanking

While searching my archives for some other photos, I came across a series of photos I made back in 2011 when I was trying to start a new trend that I called "Fotoplanking". I also added "Foto Owling" and "Leisure Foto" to my attempts at trendsetting, but alas none of them turned out to be all the rages I expected them to become. Looking back, I think I was the only one dumb enough to set the timer on one camera and run and get into a planked, owled and leisure position on an old fencepost again, and again, and again..., trying to get into position and hold the right pose within in 10 seconds after starting the self-timer on the camera.  Fotóplanking is really good core conditioning for anyone who wants to try it — I was really sore after that extreme selfie session.

The Cyclops

One of the many failed Fotoplanking attempts

Foto Owling

Leisure Foto

5th Street & Central Avenue (old Route 66) in Downtown Albuquerque, NM