It's really fun to watch fish go about their daily lives, just as it's diverting to watch birds. Fish seem generally easier to track, though: birds flit faster and more often than fish. There are many species of fish that are quite camera-shy, of course, but in general they just seem to do their thing and ignore the weird bubbling monster looking at them.

Tree cholla fruits

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/273618/browse_photos

Yup. I couldn't remember at the time I wrote this but saw the name in Scott Anderson's "Mission Ride" post and remembered.

It still looks to me like a giant shuttlecock, though. :)

Nice red spikes, probably a California barrel

https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3015

Maybe Euphorbia?

https://succulentplantcare.com/euphorbia-tirucalli-firesticks-care-propagation-toxicity/

Ocotillo

https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3040

Fruit...

https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3016

Yep. I've also shot some very interesting (to me) colorful fungi on dead tree trunks. There was one last fall that looked for all the world like someone had spilled a bag of Cheetos (the really puffy kind) on a log: they were bright orange- seemingly almost unnaturally so- and looked like extruded corn snacks.

Wow. That’s really amazing.

I never tire of these either. It’s surprising how photogenic many dead natural objects are.

Thanks as always for the encouragement and support, Scott.

Ain't it the truth!

That’s the right idea, dismounting for the rough stuff that’s beyond your comfort zone. We bounce harder and heal more slowly than in the good old days.

Here’s a thought to share: good idea! I’ll look forward to following along. I really like local journals like this that give a feeling where you’re coming from.