Northface Nut Brown hops 5402

A new hobby of mine is homebrewing beer. This photo is of the hop pellets I used to flavor my second batch of homebrew called Northface Nutbrown.

Mailbox 5407a

Mailbox 5407a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

We got a couple of inches of snow last night here in Flagstaff. When I went to put our netflix movie in the mailbox there was still a small layer of snow on the box. Happy Winter!

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5331a

Scheurman Mnt Trail 5331a, originally uploaded by dustinjblodgett.

Just a 40-minute drive from Flagstaff is a town called Sedona. Since it is almost 3,000 feet lower than Flagstaff, the environment is very different as you can see from this photo. It is a high desert landscape with drought-resistant, succulent plants with a gorgeous red sandstone background. On the right is the ubiquitous prickly pear cactus; on the left is a fibrous yucca plant; and just peaking around the corner in the upper left side is a juniper tree.

This photo was taken at the top of Scheurman Mountain on Scheurman Mountain Trail.

Over the Town

This photo was taken from Mars Hill Road on the way up to the Lowell Observatory. The city of Flagstaff can be seen on the right and Mount Elden on the left.

Little Sugarloaf Trail

This photo was taken in Sedona, Arizona from Little Sugarloaf Trail. Even though it was around 65 degrees that day, there was still a thin layer of snow in the shadowy areas.

History Being Made

Whether you agree with his politics or not, you have to admit today was an historic day for our nation. Personally, I look forward to the next four years of hope and eloquence.

Waiting

This ponderosa pine tree, just one of millions surround Flagstaff, has stood for decades on McMillan Mesa in the center of town, just waiting for me to come along and capture it as the moon rose behind it.

Action Shot

My wife and I (and our dog) love taking walks on one of Flagstaff's urban trails on McMillan Mesa. It has beautiful views of the San Francisco Peaks and, although it's right in the middle of town, you can't see any buildings or houses from the mesa, so you feel like you are in the wilderness. While on the walk, I caught this photo of my wife "exercising" our Irish setter puppy Curry.

Annual Pine Cone Drop

Every New Years Eve, in Flagstaff, there is the Annual Pine Cone Drop that occurs in the downtown area of Flagstaff. For several weeks before December 31st, a large stylized pine cone hangs from the Weatherford Hotel over the intersection of Aspen and Leroux. Like the ball in Times Square, the giant pine cone drops to street level during the countdown to Midnight. Although we missed the countdown this year, the pine cone was still hanging when we took a stroll downtown several days after the ringing in of the New Year. A jet happened to be passing the background when I took this photo, and I think it helped balance the composition and made the image more interesting. What do you think?

One Car Width Only

We got another 8 inches of snow here in Flagstaff over the last 2 days. The piles of snow on either side of our driveway are now about 6 feet tall. And to save my back I've only shoveled an area just wider than our car width, so we can get out.