A Beautiful Morning
My daughter has been begging me for a dog…specifically a Chihuahua, for the last 6 years and change. Me…I don’t like Chihuahuas. Yippy, snappy, barky, bitey, toe-biting rat dogs…I always said we would get a dog “someday”, but stressed that we would not get a Chihuahua. I’m such a sucker…
Yup…my daughter walking her 4-month old Chihuahua, Fleur…
This is them. 2 peas in a pod in only 3 days…
I went and hung out with this puppy for about an hour before I ever told Zayne anything about her. She is actually a very well-behaved puppy, and very easy to train.
Anyhow…on our little walk around the desert this morning, I took a few pics of the local Autumn wildlife…
Great Basin Fence Lizard
Common Sideblotch
All in all, it’s a beautiful morning. And yes…I know my kid is wearing 2 different shoes…
Thanks for stopping by!
Been A While…
Wow. It’s been quite some time. A lot has happened. Initially, I was unemployed for a little bit, and anyone that has ever been there knows that priorities change. The internet had to go. Time was spent looking for a job, pounding the pavement, rather than walking the streets looking for photographs waiting to be taken. Money got tight, gas prices rose, and activity in my life ran down to a minimum.
But I’m back. I’m working, making money, and putting my camera back in hand, and priorities back in line. So by way of a re-introduction, here’s just a few random shots that have helped pass the time…
Zayne and Great Basin Gophersnake
My son and his girlfriend hunting for petroglyphs in the Volcanic Tablelands.
Goldfinch
Zayne enjoying Hot Ditch. Natural reflection from the water cured backlight shadows nicely.
Random front yard flower
1982 Shovelhead Custom Rigid. She will be mine. VERY soon…
So…yea…just a few shots to say, I’m back. And things are getting better. Thanks for stopping by!!
Little Lakes Valley
Went for a quick hike up through Little Lakes Valley this morning. Such a beautiful area…
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- Paintbrush
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- Heart Lake
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- Golden Mantle
Wild Iris
Well, flowers are starting to bloom, and spring is trying to be here, but for some reason, this cold wind just doesn’t seem to want to release its grip on the valley. So rather than battle the wind and shoot fast shutter speeds, or wait for the wind (and the Iris) to die, I decided to just go with it…
Wild Iris
There was a couple of other photographers out shooting, but the color never popped, and the wind was incessant. Rather than battle the conditions, I went with it, stopped down to f/22, and even dropped a 3stop ND filter on to slow it down and really exaggerate the blur. I think it came out fairly neat!
The Victoria and Wild Rose are blooming in the front yard, too…
Victoria
Wild Rose
And this is the closest I have ever gotten to a good shot of a Whiptail lizard…
Great Basin Whiptail--Aspidocelis tigris tigris
One of these days, spring will actually get here and stay for a little while…
Thanks for looking!
Strollin’ through the Park one day…..
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- Black Neck Hummingbird
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- House Finch
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- House Finch
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- White Crowned Sparrow
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- Artesian Oasis
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- Nesting Sparrow
I found a new artesian well, too. Prettier than the other one, in my opinion. I’ll be back again…
Thanks for looking!
Backyard Bird Watching
Backyard bird watching. It’s almost cliché. People are hustlin’ and bustlin’ around this great big world of ours, and not leaving anytime to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Money is tight, job security is low, taxes and inflation continue growing… It seems the only thing we have any ability to control anymore is how we respond to the rapidly changing stimuli.
That’s why I LOVE my backyard. Let me explain… I live in the High Desert. My house is situated at about 5,000′, right on the feet of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California. I can look out my living room window and I have an unobstructed view for close to 10 miles, all the way up the western slope of the White Mountain peaks, which is the western most border of Nevada. Now…there is a major highway running through there, and a multitude of high-power, high-tension lines zig-zagging back and forth. Views are spectacular, but these ugly lines are very destructive to landscape compositions. But the wildlife is incredible…
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- American Goldfinch
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- American Goldfinch
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- Common Sideblotch–Uta stansburiana
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- Domestic Iris
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- Male House Finch
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- Female House Finch
It’s amazing how curative a backyard like mine can be. I’m gonna tell you guys a little secret…I lost my job last week. Yea, right in the middle of my visit with my son, I found out that I was no longer employed. But it’s OK. I had an incredible week visiting with my son, and my emotional well-being has never been more positive. Even being unemployed and quickly running out of money, I can’t help but smile. I walk out back, and it just happens. Something will come through. I have a lot of experience in a lot of fields. I’ve done everything from flippin’ burgers and pouring drinks to antique restorations and hotel management. I also found out about some pretty cool job openings in my area, including backcountry habitat recovery and wildlife rehabilitation, and not only would I LOVE to have either of those jobs…I’m fairly well qualified for both. So something will come through. Just gotta ride this wave for a few days…
Thanks for taking the time to stop and look!
I Love My Backyard
It’s not quite a year since I moved into this new place. By the time we got here in May last year, the flowers and trees had already been too neglected to recover by much. They did OK, but this year, with ready tending, watering, and cleaning, they are blooming like crazy. With that comes the insects…
Yellow Swallowtail
Yellow Swallowtail 2
There is also several acres of empty, rolling scrub land behind the house that usually has birds flitting about. This afternoon, I saw a cute little chipmunk…
Li'l Chipmunk
It’s nice to live in an area that has so many varied wildlife opportunities close at hand.
Thanks for lookin!
What a GORGEOUS Day!!
Ahh…it felt like Spring. Hell, it almost felt like summer! Woke up to a gorgeous sunrise, and had my first cup of coffee on the front porch listening to the sparrows as the sun crept up over the hills…
Sparrow at Sunrise
I got home from work and the Sphinx moths were back out, only this time they were after the freshly blossomed lilacs…
I had to go down to Big Pine to water some animals for a friend who is out of town. For giggles, I cruised up one of my favorite roads to see if by chance the snakes were awake, and wouldn’t you know it…
Panamint Rattlesnake--Crotalus stephensi
This little juvenile Panamint was very cool, chilling in the road on the way back down. So it’s official. First snake of the year means spring is officially here! I don’t care the weather thinks…
Thanks for looking!
Backyard Birding
When you haven’t got a lot of time, you work with what you got. I got a nice, big, empty desert loaded with songbirds and blossoming brush as a backyard…
Household Macros
The weather is playing cruel tricks on me. It was really nice out just about a week ago. Nice enough for long enough that I actually spent a few hours road cruising for snakes just a week and a half ago. I didn’t find any, but still…
The last week or so has been CRAP!!! Spring went bye-bye, and Mother Nature brought winter back for an encore…with a vengeance. So I’ve been sitting at home, miserable, new gear to play with, and shitty-ass weather. Good thing my girlfriend likes flowers…
Another shot of her Valentine Orchid
A Lily that has seen better days...
Domestic Beauty-No idea what they are, but they're pretty
The last one is my favorite shot of the day…
Thanks for stopping by!!
Orchids and a Rose
50mph winds and heavy rains all day kept me inside, nice and warm. So what better way to kill time than with the 105mm macro lens?
These are my girlfriend’s orchids. I got them for her for Valentine’s Day. They’re cool, and she is WAY better at keeping stuff alive than I am.
Next up is the Rose…
Rosie Posie is my girlfriend’s daughter, and she is always down for getting her picture taken…
Thanks for looking!
Sure Signs of Spring
So I was outside this evening shortly before sunset, and I noticed my almond and peach trees were just glowing beautifully with fresh blossoms. So I grabbed my camera and my 105mm macro lens for some shots…
I have 2 peach trees. One provides LOADS of smaller, white fleshed peaches, and the other provides fewer, larger yellow fleshed ones. These are all from the white-flesh tree…
Then I saw this guy buzzing around my almond tree…
He knew he was further than I wanted him to be, so he flew down to the peach tree for a closer look…
That’s it. Just some sure signs of spring from my front yard. Thanks for looking!
Spring…In Places…
So, I dropped the girls off for school this morning, and brought my camera bag with me…just in case. On the way back, I couldn’t help but catch the storm over the Sierras, moving in from the west…
Bishop Range--3-shot Panoramic
I decided to try a pano shot this morning. Most of my landscapes are shot at 14-20mm(28-40mm equivalent). This one was taken with 3 shots in portrait orientation, at 42mm(84mmequiv.), stitched in CS4. Below is a single exposure at 21mm…
Bishop Range
Just when it’s starting to look like winter isn’t done with us, yet, I pull in the driveway and find tiny, purple Storksbill flowers blooming everywhere! So here are the first wildflower macros of the season!!
Portrait, in full sunlight
Pretty Pair
It is starting to warm up around here. I imagine it won’t be but a couple of weeks before smaller wildflowers start springing up everywhere. Seems a trip to the Alabama Hills again may be in order…
Thanks for coming along!
Bishop Creek Canyon
Went with my friend Rich for a short morning walk around Bishop Creek Canyon yesterday….
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- Middle Fork Bishop Creek
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- Mountain Mohagony
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- Aspen Grove
Sunflower Sunrise
I went to an area known locally as “Farmer’s Pond”, this morning. In the winter, this entire area is flooded, and provides a lot of waterfowl habitat. In the summer, they drain the water off, and the entire area becomes flooded with wild sunflowers. One of the few places in the area that changes so drastically during the seasons, yet remains incredibly photogenic…
Sunflower Sunrise
Self Portrait
John
Bee
Grasshopper
Wheeler Crest
All in all, it was a really decent morning. Thanks for taking the time to look!
Rock Creek Lake
I went with Annette, Rose, and my good friend John for a short walk around Rock Creek Lake yesterday afternoon. Any excuse to get up in the mountains and out of the heat works just fine for me…
Fireweed
False Helleborne
John shooting Fireweed
Lupine
Some cultivated bright orange thing
Rose, Rex, and Annette
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Some sort of Phlox, I think.
And that’s about that. Like I said…any excuse to get out of the heat of the desert and up into the elevation is a good excuse for me…
Thanks for stopping by!
Some Random Shots
I took some random flower macros, walking around town yesterday morning, paying bills, and killing time before work. It was a fairly decent day…
English Plantain
Peavine
No idea what this one is. Not wild, however...cultivated in a garden.
No idea. A big, weedy looking plant growing next to my porch.
No idea. Another weed growing near the BBQ grill. Nasty thorns on this one.
Another garden cultivation. Anyone know what it is?
And a shot of my buddy Rocky, smiling at me from the water…
Rocky Turtle
After work, my friend Rich called and asked if I wanted to go out to “The Ears”. “The Ears” are a group of HUGE satellite dishes, used by researchers and scientists at a variety of universities and institutions to study the night sky. I don’t know the specifics…
This photo pretty much sucks. But I can see this 30 meter dish from my front porch. One of these nights I’m actually going to get a decent shot of one of these beasts…
Big-ass satellite dish...
Thanks for taking the time to look!
North Fork Wildflowers
I took my daughter up to the North Fork of Bishop Creek this morning for some wildflowers. There wasn’t a whole lot just yet, but there were a few…
Brittle Bush
Wild Clover
No idea. Anyone know for sure?
Chia in bloom
Streamside Fireweed
As usual, I am not 100% on my identification of these flowers, so anyone with better information, I welcome your input.
And as always, thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to look!
Walk Around Lake George
I drove up to the Mammoth Lakes Basin yesterday, and took a quick walk around Lake George, just to see what was happening. There were a TON of wildflowers in bloom, but the mosquitos were so forceful…I snapped quickly and kept moving. So I only have a couple decent photos to share…
Lupine...with a friend
Leopard Lilly
That’s about it. Like I said…there were loads of flowers…but even more mosquitos. Maybe next time will be better…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
South Fork, Bishop Creek Canyon
So…my buddy John has been injured and sore for a few weeks. He can’t walk but a few feet at a time, and he’s in a lot of pain. This means that he hasn’t been hiking or out shooting photos as much as he would like. So I picked him up early this morning, and we made a quick run up The South Fork in search of some alpine wildflowers. We were not disappointed…
Alpine Columbine
Alpine Columbine
Creekside Splendor
Leopard Lily
Leopard Lilies
Saw this neat little guy, perched on the side of the road, too…
California Quail
And of course…first light at South Lake can be a pretty nice sight…
South Lake Basin
All in all, I have to say that it was quite a fantastic morning, just out and about, driving around, photographing wildflowers. I couldn’t have asked for a better, more satisfying Sunday Morning.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Bishop Creek Canyon
I went camping with my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter up in Bishop Creek Canyon over the weekend. It was quite nice to get outta town and get out with a camera in hand…
Looking east
Baby Mountain Gartersnake that Annette spotted--Thamnophis elegans elegans
One of the many species of blue damselfly
Butterfly taking a morning "coffee break"
Mother Nature's Garden
Orange Mallow
Mojave Prickly Pear Blossom
Not sure on an ID for this Damselfly yet...
That’s about it for now. I took a bazillion pictures of the fire last night, too, but I haven’t processed them yet.
Anyhow…I really enjoyed the weekend. I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos!
Reptiles and Flowers
Went for a short walk in the desert behind my house, and found a few cool flowers and a neat little lizard…
Some pretty purple flowers. Anyone know?
No idea what these are. They look like octopus tentacles, to me...
Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana
California Kingsnake--Lampropeltis getula californiae
The Cali king was just a little thing. We found him crawling out into the road on the way home from picking up my daughter.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club
The ESHC is well into it’s second year of existence, and today was one of the most exciting days for the membership, and for me, personally, as a founding member.
Some may remember last year at about this time, I posted that the club was going to ask for seasonal closures of a specific road to help protect a breeding population of the incredibly rare California Black Toad (Bufo exuls). We successful in getting a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Fish and Game. As part of that MOU, the club is obligated to volunteer time and man-hours for maintenance of the habitat in the breeding location. That’s just fine by us.
We met with a leading DFG biologist that has been working to protect these toads for a long time. We had a great day installing blockades, cleaning the area, and of course…documenting animals and flowers…
James and Ceale working to install a T-post at one of the stream crossings
The gang, observation a swarm of bees. I stayed far away from that nonsense.
Great Basin Whiptail--Aspidocelis tigris tigris
Barrel Cactus in bloom
Beavertail Cactus blossom
California Black Toad--Bufo exuls
Black Neck Hummingbird eggs
All in all it was a fantastic day! We were asked by the DFG to participate in a few studies in specific areas, looking for and documenting, various reptiles and amphibians for inclusion in a variety of environmental reports and studies. Hopefully, you will start seeing some great improvements to the habitat and conservation efforts of the reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the Eastern Sierra!
Thanks for looking!
Trip to San Francisco
So…anyone that’s been reading knows that I have been in the process of moving. I have been living in a small, 2 bedroom apartment with my daughter and a room-mate for the last 4 years. It wasn’t the best, but we made it work. Not long ago, my girlfriend asked if I was interested in getting a place together with her, and we jumped at the chance. So, me, my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter al share a really nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath house. Moving sucks ASS, and I despise the process. But the results are well worth it.
So…as a little bit of a break, my good friend John and his wife took me to San Francisco for a night. It still amazes me how easily my stress melts away with a camera in my hand…
Wild Rose growing in my new front yard
Bueatiful Swallowtail Butterfly
This guy threatened to break my camera if I took his picture. I wished him luck with that...
Awaiting the Bite
Alcatraz
The Rock
Alcatraz Guard Tower
Forbes Island
Seagull you fly across the horizon...
Telegraph Hill from The Embarcadero
The Golden Gate in B&W
Crosstown Traffic
It was a really fun, albeit short-lived trip to the Bay. I had never been there before, so it was a very worthwhile endeavor.
Thanks for coming along!
