catnipoflife is honored to feature more of Barb Beacham’s photography from Life in the Foothills. Barb has been recognized as one of catnip’s featured photographers on You have but one life, LIVE it! and Twilight.
Thank you, Barb, for sharing your awesome photography!
Flora ’n’ Fauna
Splendiferous, copious forests
Mark territorial landscapes
Where impressive oaks and lofty pines
Show off their stout and woody shapes
Desert plants and wildflowers
Adapt to extreme heat and aridity
Fierce, wild, red-to-orange and white
Emerge the cactus and desert chicory
The ubiquitous howling coyote
Announces its presence at night
Truly a song out of the fierce Wild West
Instead of a cause for sheer fright
Deciduous trees and shrubs
Common to most habitats
Shed their dry leaves in autumn
Forming nature’s welcome mats
Crackling sticks, dry leaves underfoot
Announce squirrels, rabbits and such
Deep in the woods silence is broken
As gunshot startles a strong buck
The nervous pristine white-tailed deer
Tan in the summer, brown in winter
Once statuesque at early dawn
Now suddenly becomes a sprinter
Stopping to rub antlers on a tree
The deer looks warily ahead
Time for a rest by a babbling brook
For a few shrubs and nature’s bed
©catnipoflife
Sharla Lee Shults
As a matter of fact, an ordinary desert supports a much greater variety of plants than does either a forest or a prairie.
—Ellsworth Huntington (Yale University professor, 1876–1947)
catnipoflife 
Great wildlife photos and well matched with your lovely verse. I never seem to have a camera when the wild things appear.
That is always the case! I had some great shots today but where was the camera? Not where it needed to be…guess we should just wear them around our necks! 😆
Wonderfully put together!
Thank you, Ute. So glad you stopped by for some catnip! 🙂
What lovely pictures! That is a beautiful poem, too.
So good to ‘see’ you here, Carole. Glad you enjoyed the poem and photos! Barb does a fantastic job with the camera 🙂
Such a sweet post
Thanks, Al, for stopping by! 🙂
You’re welcome Sharla
I still want to feature you and your photography! Have you given it any further thought? 🙂
Oh whoops. Sorry. Been over my head of late and it went clean out of my mind. Is there any particular photo you were after?
Now I know the perfect one. I’ll email it to you
I’ve just emailed you two photos for you to take your pick of
Stunning pictures! Really beautiful!! And I love the poems too.
Raani, it is always good to have you stop by and comment! Smiles to you 🙂
Stunning photography–thanks for sharing.
Barb really does have a super way with the camera! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Many thanks to all for the compliments on my photography! Sharla’s poetry just seems to pull these photos right out of my portfolio as I can see the images when I read her words! I love this poem Sharla and thank you for once again asking me to collaborate with you! Hugs my friend, and be well! – B
There will be more to come for sure! Stay tuned 😆 We make a great team!
What a beautiful post! This is just lovely 🙂
Reblogged this on Life in the Foothills and commented:
Sharla Shults of CatnipOfLife, once again asked me to collaborate with her. My photographs and her poetry! I hope that you will enjoy what we both put together again! Thanks again Sharla for this opportunity and big hugs!