snow!

Maybe it would be different if I grew up in a colder climate, but I find it amazing how snow can totally transform a landscape. Of course I just had to go for a hike today (my car said it was 19 degrees).  I was hoping to get a nice shot of the city covered in snow, but (duh!) of course this is what I got, which really is the view to the city from where I was standing:

Still, the hike was lovely.  Here's the road more taken (I still haven't perfected the art of making a hillside look as steep as it really is):

And the road less (but still significantly) taken:

And although my photos usually focus near the ground, here's what the experience was more like, this being a land of big skies:

And at times, like this:

A gratuitous plant photo (cylindropuntia):

 Another gratuitous plant photo (Juniperus monosperma):

A gratuitous rock photo:

Or two:

 

A view from the top into the ravine (click to embiggen). Hard to get a sense of scale, but one of those shrubs at the bottom is about 6 feet across:

And back home at the ranch (well, not even close to a ranch),

Desert Willow looks pretty good with snow on it, don't you think?

A portion of one of the "swimming dragons", now swimming in snow: