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send out cards: Tucson Beauty: The View From Gates Pass - 12/01/11 06:08 AM
~ Looking East From Gates Pass at Sunset ~
Days are getting shorter, so I planned to be at Gates Pass for sunset. Off in the distance, the city of Tucson is painted in blue shadow, highlighted by the pink Rincon Mountains at day's end. The last rays of the setting sun paint the Tucson Mountains where I stand a deep ochre-red, and the contrast punctuates the peaceful quiet of the desert floor at the end of day. I expect an amazing sunset!
And I'm not alone in my expectation! My zoom lens captures a couple silhouetted against an amazing … (20 comments)
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send out cards: Hilltop Saguaros With Teddy Bear Cholla - 09/22/11 10:27 PM
~ Hilltop Saguaros with Teddy Bear Cholla ~
Much of the Arizona-Sonoran desert looks as if a landscaper had come by and cleaned it up. This hilltop is one such place. The completely natural landscape looks like an austere garden, doesn't it?
'Teddy Bear' My Kiester...
There's nothing cuddly about those Teddy Bear Cholla, by the way. These fuzzy looking cacti are 360 degrees of needle-sharp thorns.
When hiking in the desert, I always carry a comb. It's not to keep my snowy locks in place; a comb is pretty much the only way to get "unstuck" from a thorny … (30 comments)
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send out cards: Living with Wildlife In The Neighborhood: Wile E. Coyote - 09/07/11 11:37 PM
~ Looking for a meal ~
Not many mammals are as adaptable to their environment as the Coyote. You'll find it from Panama in Central America all the way north to Alaska. Central Park in New York City boasts a population.
Our backyard in the community of Tucson Estates II is a frequent haunt of these singing dogs. This young female wandered up out of the wash (that's arroyo to you Texans) to see what she might find. It took her a few minutes to figure out that she wasn't going to find a meal at the Jones's, and she … (38 comments)
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send out cards: Arizona Wildlife: Sunday Afternoon Nap - 09/06/11 04:36 PM
~ Sunday Afternoon Nap at the Jones's ~
Nice, inviting backyard photo, right? Look carefully at the center of the photo. We have a visitor! This yearling Mule Deer found a nice, shady spot. She stayed there for the better part of half an hour, until her Momma came along and disturbed her rest.
~ "Time to go, baby!" ~
Arizona's Tucson Mountains are home to Mule Deer and Whitetail Deer. We see the mulies more often, though.
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I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices … (12 comments)
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send out cards: For You Military Afficionados: Whirleybirds Over Gates Pass, Tucson, Arizona - 08/05/11 02:21 AM
~ Heavy Choppers Flying Into the Sunset ~
There's no mistaking the sound of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. I could hear these two approaching from the east, behind me, as I searched for a place to park my car at Gates Pass. The sunset was exceptional tonight, and I was late. Every spot seemed to be taken. Then one opened up, and I pulled into the space, jumped out with my finger manipulating the zoom as I ran to the top and snapped this photo. Ten seconds later they were out of sight.
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I'm Mike in Tucson, … (16 comments)
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send out cards: Vandalism in Pima County's Tucson Mountain Park - 07/16/11 10:03 PM
~ Welcome to Tucson Mountain Park ~
~ East Entrance to Tucson Mountain Park ~
~ Kinney Road Welcome Sign ~
Tucson Mountain Park
~ Vandalism in Pima County's Tucson Mountain Park ~
(The Park abuts Saguaro National Park's Tucson Mountain District)
You may never have visited Tucson Mountain Park, but chances are that you've watched a John Wayne Western or two. It's probably the first time you saw a real (not neon) Saguaro Cactus.
That's Old Tucson Studios in the photo on the left. Old Tucson Studios is located within Tucson Mountain Park, and attracts visitors … (14 comments)
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send out cards: An Evening In the Park... A Little Peace & Quiet - 07/16/11 01:38 AM
~ Peace ~
~ And Quiet ~
It was one of those days peculiar to mortgage lenders. I had put my heart and soul into solving a problem for a borrower, only to have the first-time homebuyer jump ship because someone promised an eighth better on rate for a mortgage that had yet to be locked.
You know what? If that's the worst thing that happens today, we'll be all right.
I just needed a little peace and quiet...
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices … (19 comments)
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send out cards: A Couple From The Road In Tucson - 07/11/11 05:54 AM
The usual phrase is "A couple for the road." These two are "from" the road. :)
~ Cumulus from the road ~
Late afternoon cumulus clouds sometimes don't have themselves all together.
This one is having a bad hair day.
~ Cumulus from the road ~
This mid-morning cumulus cloud had it more together, and took time to make a lonesome saguaro look good.
Don't you think so?
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices in Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista & Nogales
I don't copyright my … (12 comments)
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send out cards: Photo Composition: Framing The Heavens - 07/09/11 12:27 AM
~ Anvil Cloud over Pima College ~
The foreground in a photo can add or detract from what otherwise might be an outstanding photo. The subject here is clearly the anvil cloud structure in the background.
Pima College to the right in the midground of the photo seems out of place. It adds nothing to the photo; rather, it detracts from it.
I raced to a neighborhood a mile north of my location for the above photo in order to capture the very same cloud structure from a different perspective. Look at the photo below. The midground and foreground of … (20 comments)
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send out cards: REALTOR Compensation: A Look Inside The Professional Mind - 07/07/11 12:52 AM
~ And that's why it works! ~
"Just what do they do for all that money that I wasn't doing?" A FSBO seller was commiserating with her husband about how, after more than six months of advertising with zero activity, they finally hired an agent to list and sell their house. (I'll be real surprised if its not sold before school starts in August.)
"I thought it was going to be so simple..." she continued. "Doesn't it seem like it should be simple? I'd like to be able to get inside her head."
"I know what you'd find," I commented. … (40 comments)
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send out cards: Hey! Don't Be Taking Pictures of My Backside! - 07/03/11 12:02 AM
~ Gila Woodpecker Feeding Chicks ~
The Gila Woodpecker was feeding her little ones, and I was set up and taking photos. She must not have liked it that I was taking pics of her rump as she disappeared into the "saguaro boot" because the very next thing she did was to yell at me!
~ She's yelling at me! ~
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices in Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista & Nogales
I don't copyright my photos. It's okay for you to use … (49 comments)
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send out cards: 110 Degrees, and Momma Woodpecker is Working to Feed the Babies! - 06/27/11 01:17 AM
~ Self portrait at sunset ~
It hit 110 degrees in Tucson this afternoon, so I made an adjustment. I took four bottles of water on on my 4:00 hike, and I chose a trail that intersects with the Dobe Wash. Today wasn't a day for hiking a trail with a lot of lines on the topo map.
This Gila Woodpecker was working, though. I could hear the babies in the nest calling for food, and I set myself up in the shade of another saguaro cactus and started clicking away. Keep at something long enough, and you'll get a … (19 comments)
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send out cards: Desert Oddity: Ironwood Gargoyle #1 - 06/22/11 12:52 AM
~Ironwood Gargoyle #1~
Everyone has favorite haunts--special places to go and get away from the everyday. Some of my favorite haunts are deep canyon washes (arroyos) frequented by few humans and many desert creatures.
Some of these creatures are animated, like the Zebra Tailed Lizard on the right. This little guy makes a living off of spiders, beetles, bees, wasps and moths. He'll sit quietly on the sandy floor of the wash and suddenly leap several body-lengths to grab a flying insect out of the air.
Other less active (though still very much alive) desert creatures peer silently at my … (13 comments)
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send out cards: Smoky Sunset With Saguaro: Saguaro National Park (West) - 06/20/11 01:06 AM
~ Smoky Sunset with Saguaro ~
The fires are sixty miles south of us, but this afternoon, the wind shifted, and a pall fell over the desert. I was hiking the Valley View Trail in Saguaro National Park West (near Picture Rocks) when the sun went down, and all that smoke gave us an amazing sunset!
Here's what the horizon looked like at 7:00 p.m.:
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices in Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista & Nogales
I don't copyright my photos. It's okay … (22 comments)
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send out cards: Arizona Wildlife: Who's Been Emptying My Bird Bath? - 06/17/11 01:36 AM
~ Last Call ~
I keep my birdbath full, and have to fill it every morning. It's hanging nearly four feet off the ground, and I wondered what was draining it dry every night. Tonight I stood quietly in the corner of the ramada (that's back porch for you easterners) and waited. I didn't have to wait long. This mule deer family (mom and the twins) came quietly out of the arroyo for their evening fill-er-up.
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender.
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE LLC ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices in Mesa, Tucson, Sierra … (36 comments)
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send out cards: Desert Entrance: Crickethead Inn On Saguaro National Park - 06/16/11 09:53 AM
~ Entrance: Recycled Windmill with Bottles ~
On the edge of Saguaro National Park's Tucson Mountain District is a Bed & Breakfast called Crickethead Inn.
I visited the Inn while hiking one of the trails in the Picture Rocks area recently, and the entrance gate captured my imagination. Look what can be done with imagination, old bottles and an old windmill!
Guests at the Crickethead Inn enjoy what I'm blessed to experience every day: waking to the sounds of the Sonoran Desert, and watching the sun rise in solitude.
Crickethead Inn abuts Saguaro National Park, one of our country's most … (6 comments)
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send out cards: Roadside Americana: Rooster Envy Folk Art - 04/09/11 01:31 AM
~ Big Texas Rooster ~
This Texas Rooster is about ten feet tall! Can anyone identify where in Texas you might run across him? Better yet, do you have a photo of him that you can post in your comment?
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I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender.
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE llc ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices (AZ) Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista, and Nogales.
(I don't copyright my photos anymore. I use them for blogging and creating greeting cards for friends and clients.)
Right click on my image, copy and use it to your heart's content!
… (18 comments)
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send out cards: Found This In The Desert. I Wonder What It Is... - 03/30/11 11:20 PM
~ Desert Find ~
That's my hiking glove next to the rock for perspective. I have big hands. The exterior of this rock is melted, and at first, I thought it might be metallic. It's not.
It's very dense and heavy. The coloring looks like native copper, but it's not metal.
The world's full of mysteries, and I think I've found one. Who has a geology degree? Chime in!
_____________________
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson Arizona Mortgage Lender.
NMLS #223495
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE llc ~ Correspondent Mortgage BankOffices (AZ) Mesa, Tucson, Sierra Vista, and Nogales.
(I don't copyright … (13 comments)
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send out cards: Oro Valley Homes Come Complete With Gambel's Quail! - 03/29/11 10:40 PM
~ Gambel's Quail ~
We had dinner Sunday afternoon with friends up in Oro Valley (NW of Tucson.) After a scrumptious meal, we all sat outside taking in the view of Pusch Ridge. I naturally had my camera with me.
It's spring in the desert, and this male Gambel's quail is looking for a mate. Ignoring the humans completely, he strutted quickly through the yard, flew up to the wall that surrounds the yard, and found the highest spot - a post on the corner.
Puffing out his chest, he began to call, advertising his availability to the … (18 comments)
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send out cards: Hummingbird Food in the Tucson Mountains - 03/26/11 11:48 PM
~ Hummingbird Food ~
Some years, the desert floor is covered with wildflowers: lupine, mexican poppy, and others. This year, that didn't happen. I don't know why.
Regardless, and right on cue, the Ocotillo plants, which look for all the world like a bunch of dead sticks, pushed out their red flames all across the desert. This is the time that the hummingbirds come north, crossing the desert. It's the Ocotillo that provides the nourishment they need, in the form of nectar, so that those of you in the northwest will have the joy of seeing these jewel-like birds in … (21 comments)
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Mike Jones
Tucson,
AZ
More about me…
SUNSTREET MORTGAGE, LLC
Address: 2840 E Skyline Dr, Suite #230, Tucson, AZ, 85718
Office Phone: (520) 344-6943
Cell Phone: (520) 349-9090
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