“ The leaves of the trees are the healing of the nations.”

You all know my zoo pass expired, now we have to get creative and find other places to walk. I need to see life. I need to see flowers and leaves and watch as the wind moves through those living things as I walk past them.

The zoo was full of life but it also became very expensive for what you got, and I am not sure where our future is headed here in this state. I’m…how do I write this…we as a family,are working hard at trying to find a way out of this state…the sooner the better. We want to move, have for a couple years now.

Investing in a zoo pass for a year just didn’t seem like a good idea at the time. At least not until we can figure things out that is. If things don’t start changing, we need to find a better place for my son and daughter to live their lives.

Sometimes we even think of sending them to their family in Europe. Just for awhile maybe. My husband could apply for citizenship for Italy and we as his family could become citizens as well, a dual citizenship that is.

His mother is from Italy, Italian was my husband’s first language. I would never not be an American though, even with all the people out there who seem to believe the lies and hate America…I love my mother country. We are just trying to figure out a good place for our now grown son and daughter. They’re in college now so we have a couple years to think about this…maybe. Things are happening fast. At least our passports still have awhile before they expire.

Anyway, we didn’t renew our zoo membership but some of you guys already know that. We are going on free walks, that’s what I will call them…free walking tours. There’s actually a lot of beautiful places to walk for free in Arizona. It is a beautiful state.

I will share with you all some of the new walks we are going on. This walk today involves many birds. I’m back at practicing taking photos with my new camera and figuring out how to use it. I miss the camera that broke. I didn’t notice all the birds around me until my husband pointed them out to me…

“ Are you seeing this?” he would ask as I concentrated on taking a photo of a flower.

“ Seeing what?” I asked turning around to see what he was looking at.

“ All these birds flying around you as you take photos of the flowers.” he answered back

I stopped then and remained as still as possible. Then I saw them. Tiny little birds flying around sipping from the flowers.

So cute. And look how happy they seem I thought to myself. Freedom will do that. I’m remembering my zoo walking adventures and still thinking about that elephant.

I’m not so good with this camera at the moment, still need more practicing. I have been using the automatic button a lot but in this case I had to switch to manual which is still intimidating to me. The little birds were so fast, I had to manually focus and pay attention to the subject at hand, the birds. It was so funny trying to get a shot, any shot, just one shot of these little birds. Too fast, I was having a hard time with focusing as soon as I spotted them.

“Trying the dance of the birds, not being a bird myself, only created a dance of dizziness.”

Every time I would spot a bird and try to take a shot I wasn’t fast enough. The little birds would hop around and jump from one branch to another or fly from one flower bush to another. Little boogers were having fun with me.

“ These birds are playing tag your it with me, at least it seems that way, there are so many of them. I just want one good shot” I said to my husband.

And how many times have hobbyist photographers out there in the world everywhere said those words over and over. Just one good shot of the beauty I am seeing right now, that’s all I want.

I looked over and saw a pigeon. It looked like it was posing. What about me I imagined it saying, take a picture of me…I won’t leave. Poor little pigeon, doesn’t get the attention like those mean little hummingbirds. And why not I thought to myself. Pigeons are beautiful too.

“Look at my feathers, aren’t they pretty ?” the pigeon posed in the sunlight facing me. Staring back at me and no matter how close I walked up to it, it stayed there showing me how beautiful it’s feathers were.

Then a hummingbird whizzed by me as fast as it could. Show off I thought to myself. I went back to the challenge of trying to capture a hummingbird in flight. What a show, what a dance. I was about to become a part of it all. These hummingbirds were really having some fun.

The birds flew from one bush to another. Impossible to keep up with them all. They are so fast, that they had no fear with me near them. Their speed is their courage and they carry it with them well.

I started to give up. Just too much of a challenge with a new camera. What am I thinking? I need to find another subject. Fish, yeah fish…they don’t move around too much. I can focus on them for awhile. Then ZOOM, another bird would fly by me again, as soon as I took my attention elsewhere.

Then another bird, a different bird, started chirping, Look over here, I’m over here. Another bird wanting attention too?

My husband was right, there are birds all around. How did I not see them. I was so focused on the flowers and the water. So much water where we were. Arizona Falls has been around since 1902. So many other distractions to keep my focus away from all the other life that was trying to get my attention too.

I tried for a few more times to get my one shot, continuing with trying to focus in on an itty bitty bird with wings that most race car drivers could only dream about having. Finally I had enough.

“ We have been here long enough, I’m just not going to get a shot this time around.” I turned to my husband.

I had already taken so many photos and most were out of focus. I was wondering if I brought another battery in my supplies. I sometimes will be out in the world photographing and the battery will shut down. If I kept this bird tag game up, my camera battery was going to shut down, I just knew it.

Walking back to the parking lot, having finally admitting defeat, that is when it would happen. I would get my shot. Just one though, the one I wanted. The one I would love. Everyone has their favorites and mine was about to happen.

Up above my head as I was walking back to our vehicle, all of sudden when I had decided to give up playing the game, a little hummingbird sat down on a branch and watched me from the corner of it’s eye as I walked closer…and the little thing didn’t move.

“ I’m going home now, can’t keep up with you guys, too fast for me” I said in my head when I noticed the tiny bird sitting on a branch a few feet ahead of me.

The little bird still did not move as I kept walking, getting closer in each step I took. I was not holding my camera up at that time, just walking back to the truck as the camera hung from my shoulder. Thinking to myself that maybe I would get my shot after all because this bird still did not move.

The little hummingbird continued sitting on a branch just as cute as could be, tempting me to take my camera out and take a photo of it. Is this an invitation I thought, or is this little guy going to fly away once it sees me back in the game. Once I grab my camera will it fly away to get me to chase it again?

I was finally standing at it’s resting place, and in that moment…I stopped. Now standing directly below it, looking up at it, I realized how very close I was to it then. I could reach up and touch it if I wanted. I lifted up my camera and started shooting…and still…it would not move. Instead, it would pose. How adorable it was. I do love the tiny things.

Tag…I was finally it… I got my shot. And this one will end up as a coloring page later when I draw it out.My favorite shot is the photo down below. Hope you all liked this months walking adventure. Happy walking adventures everyone.

About the walk.

This walk and photos I am sharing with you today are from what they call Arizona Falls here in Phoenix. It was the perfect day for a walk. Clouds surrounded the valley and weather reports were coming in that a storm was headed to the valley that evening. Reports were that all around Arizona we would be getting snow.

The next day Arizonians would wake up to snow in Phoenix, even on the mountain I lived by as a child. Sedona, Scottsdale, and Cave creek all got snow. Desert areas that normally do not get snow were covered in white everywhere. It was a Winter wonderland in February in a desert. Such a beautiful site to see.

I will share a link down below to photos that were taken around the state. Amazing seeing snow on cacti, not so rare that it has never happened before but still not a regular occurrence here in this state, except up north that is.

Everything was closed down up north. Even with snow tires and chains, having a 4 wheel drive vehicle like we do, we would still not have been able to get up to Our Little Red House to see what there was to see in the Winter wonderland up there. But what a site we saw when we stepped outside and drove around the valley. Mountains in all directions in the distance, all around the valley were covered in snow.