Jim Arnold's Blog

Roaring Creek Falls

2012-02-13T20:06:00.001-08:00

Roaring Creek Falls, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Garry wanted to go up and photograph this falls. It was an adventure. Pretty difficult to get to due to berry briars, downed tree branches, huge rocks, slick leaves, steep side hills, and the list goes on. This was the only view I could get to this time of the year. The rocks were too slippery to navigate much closer.

Garry wants to go back with a rope to lower ourselves down the even steeper other side. Then we will have better access to the falls...he thinks.

Blind Bird Photography

2012-01-28T16:20:00.000-08:00

I spent the morning with Frank again making birds perch where we wanted them to. It is quite a chore but baiting them helps. Figuring out how to get a bird to pose just right is another problem that is just...well, left up to the bird.

We also have to be sure the background is good. Nothing that looks architectural, even though our lenses do a good job with bokah (blurring the background). Large very light areas are out also as they pull your eye to them and away from the bird.

Shooting from a blind lets us get fairly close (15 to 20 feet) which is where we need to be for these close-up shots.

Here are a couple of keepers from this morning. I posted a few few more on Flickr and Facebook.

An Oak Titmouse on a Sugarpine cone.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Downy Playing Hid-n-Seek

2012-01-15T21:34:00.000-08:00

A Downy Woodpecker staying behind the Bark Butter laden pine cone.

Orange Variant - House Finch

2012-01-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

This is a nice example of an orange variant, House Finch. Frank always seems to have one hanging around his place. Sibley Field Guide to Birds attributes the variation to diet. Anyway he matches the berries well.

Frank got an image of him trying a berry, but he didn't seem to like it much, and only tried the one.

Token Snow Patches

2012-01-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

Mary and I made a day trip on Wednesday up to the west side of Lassen Park. Not actually in the park, but not much over a mile from it's west boundary either. I didn't find one road that I couldn't drive because of snow. Even at an elevation of 6,800 feet at times. There were patches of snow here and there though. Poor Mt. Lassen looks like summer.

Of course we were also geocaching and found most of them we looked for. Big ones like this are easy. It's the film canisters that are easy to overlook. Wish Jack was with us cause there was loot in this big one.

The rock formations up here are quite surprising. We found lots of holes, cracks, and figures. They must be fertile rocks too as there are trees growing right out of the middle of many. It seems to be decomposing granite, but who am I to say.

I found a couple of unobstructed views of Mt. Lassen. Most of the time trees block part of it. Might be good for an evening shot with the right clouds, etc.

I plan on going back for more exploration in the summer. The winter days are just too short and usually to deep with snow up there.

The Holes Are Right

2011-12-18T14:23:00.000-08:00

I have been experimenting with my sourdough bread for about a year now. The flavor of the loaves has been nice for a long time but I just couldn't get the holes right. By holes I mean the texture of the loaf. Gluten development traps water which turns to steam and makes the holes.

After trying what I thought was everything, at least everything I could find in online sourdough bread baking sites, I had given in to the no hole texture bread. It is very good, just not what I was looking for. I guess what I was looking for would be sourdough French bread style.

By accident I discovered the resolution. The main application I have been using was a San Francisco style sourdough style website. The author suggests using a covered stoneware bread baking dish. This has distinct advantages as it keeps the heat very uniform and traps moisture inside while baking. The trapped moisture makes for a nice glossy topped loaf. He also says not to preheat the oven. So, I didn't preheat...ever.

Come Alton Brown and his "Need Not Bread" application. Alton uses a dutch oven that is preheated to bake sourdough (which in my opinion is not true sourdough) bread. I tried it, burned it (too many briquettes) in my camp style dutch oven, and got perfect holes. Mary was happy and I was happy.

After experimenting with my "real" sourdough, cooking it in a preheated stoneware dish, in the gas oven I found, that was it. Very happy with my bread loaves now.

Bird Shooting

2011-12-10T11:35:00.001-08:00

Western Scrub Jay, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Garry, Frank, and I spent the morning shooting birds from blinds at Franks preserve. We had some pretty elaborate perches going too. As of 10:00am, when I had to leave this Western Scrub Jay was the most cooperative bird we had.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Spotted Towhee are so hard to photograph without a lot of clutter as they don't get on perches much. They prefer the ground.

I also posted a California Towhee and House Finch on my Flicker site.

Short Notice Geocaching

2011-12-09T18:23:00.001-08:00

Close to the top of Bohemotash Mountain with Mt. Shasta in the background.

At about 8:30 this morning Mary and I decided to go for a ride in the Samurai. We chose to take Route 1 from Shasta Dam to Trinity Mtn. Rd. since there is no snow yet. There are some fantastic views up there. We (I) also decided to pickup some geocaches on the way.

The Trinity Alps in the background.

Our last cache of the day. Also where I went down for the count.

A totally great day with my wife.

North of Shasta Lake

2011-12-07T19:54:00.001-08:00

_DSC0024, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Garry and I took a drive today in the Samurai to the north of Shasta Lake. We photographed some mushrooms, found some geocaches, and did some mild wheeling. There is some very pretty country up there as well as at least one high place for a view. We found one of the geocaches at Hogback lookout.

Only saw one Forester and some bear hunters.

I posted more mushroom photos on my Flicker Photostream

Is it a Baguette?

2011-11-19T15:21:00.001-08:00

It's sixteen inches long by three and a half inches in diameter. It that a baguette or a french loaf or what? Tell me if you know.

I do need more eaters of bread. If Mary and I eat all the bread I make we will expand.

Whiskeytown Falls

2011-11-17T09:21:00.001-08:00

Whiskeytown Falls, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Garry and I walked into Whiskeytown Falls arriving just before 5 pm last evening. It was my first trip there. The falls is much larger than this photo and includes some cascades. You really can't fit it all in one photo.

The lighting was nice but it got too dark pretty quickly. We reached the truck after dark. This an eight second exposure at f22. I used a polarizer and vari-ND filter.

Above this spot and with waders on you could possibly get some good shots of the middle part of the falls. There are signs posted on the railings not to cross though.

Who Are They? Why Do They Come?

2011-11-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

This is a snapshot of the visitors to my blog this last week. I know it's not the most visited blog around, but look at where they are from. As I would expect most are from the USA and probably know me. Then Russia? I have been told some Russian visits are attempts to get virus' into our country. I don't know. Hopefully Google is protected well!

What is it with Latvia, Romania, Georgia and Ecuador? How do they find this simple little blog that doesn't sell anything or even say much of interest?

Tender, Flaky, and Delicious

2011-11-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

It turned out better than I had hoped for. The crust was tender and flaky. The filling was appley with a hint of cinnamon and held it's shape very well. I would recommend Alton Brown's crust to anyone. Here is a link to the recipe: Alton Brown Apple Pie

I made this recipe about a month ago using caraway as the seasoning and bought-en crust, not bad, but wasn't too crazy about it. For this pie I used Alton's recipe with cinnamon and nutmeg for seasoning. The Applejack is important so gluten does not develop in the crust and make it tough. Follow the recipe! Delicious.

Golden Brown and Hopfully Delicious

2011-11-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

Placing each and every piece of apple kind of irks Mary, but that's how Alton does it! The crust was a little scary, rough, but it seems to have worked.

The pie is cooling now so we don't know about it's deliciousness. Smells good - should be good.

We shall see.

Mary's Applesauce

2011-11-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

This is the last of four batches of applesauce this year. It made twenty one pints, seven 12oz. jars, and a little leftover. We got our apples (40 pound box of seconds for $18) from Troxell's in Montgomery Creek. They created a good mix of apples and delivered them to the Redding farmers market on Saturday.

I saved a few apples for pies though. Mary is going to teach me how to make pie crust, so tender and flaky. We will be following Alton Brown's recipe though (he puts Applejack in his). It's what's coming up.

Smoking Salmon with Flower Pots

2011-11-07T13:01:00.000-08:00

Earlier this summer this was my smoker setup. Salmon was the flavor of the day here with apple wood chunks for smoke. I have an electric burner in the bottom with stainless steel wood pan. Over that I place a smaller grill and an aluminum pot with water in it. I used too large a grill to allow more heat to escape. The smoker only needed to be around 170 degrees.

This flower pot smoker does a nice job but is restricted by size. The grill size is 13 inches diameter. Not too sure if a whole beef brisket will fit on it, but tri-tips and a pork butt roast do fit.

After building it I'm sure I could have bought a cheaper smoker but it wouldn't have been stoneware.

Lesser Goldfinch

2011-09-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

Lesser Goldfinch, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Either sipping for nectar or pecking at an undeveloped seed. We tried all morning to get several species of birds on these flowers, but only two goldfinches came. Could have been the same one twice also.

Orange-crowned Warbler

2011-09-24T13:22:00.001-07:00

Orange-crowned Warbler, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Frank and I spent the morning shooting birds from blinds at his pond. I believe this is an Orange-crowned Warbler. It also resembles a Warbling Vireo. I mostly photograph them then look them up and lots of them look alike to me in the book. If you can confirm yea or nay on my identification please leave me a comment.

I changed the name of this bird after receiving input from a bird ID group on Flickr. Without doing a hands-on exam, I don't think anyone can tell for sure which warbler it is though.

Mt. Lassen and Chaos Grags

2011-09-03T21:44:00.001-07:00

Mt. Lassen and Chaos Grags, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

I took this in July while on a solo camping trip near Old Station. Solo camping is rather solitary and gets old after three nights out. At least it did for me. Doesn't mean I won't do it again.

I towed the Samurai up and slept in the back of the truck...on a mattress...in a truck bed tent. The Samurai and I went exploring during the day.

Mary won't go tent camping any more. So, if I can't find someone else, I go alone.

It's empty!

2011-09-03T21:13:00.001-07:00

It's empty!, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

A Lesser Goldfinch staging on a spent sunflower, waiting for a turn at the feeder. Mary wanted a photo of one on a beautiful gallon pot of Rudbekias she bought. I put them right next to the feeder and salted the flowers with seeds only to find out they preferred the dead sunflowers with no seeds.

Thanks Frank for the use of your spot.

A High Spot

2011-08-20T13:17:00.001-07:00

A High Spot, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

This is looking north along the Lost Coast near Shelter Cove. Actually we could see Shelter Cove about two miles down as the crow flies behind the Samurai. It is about a hour long, ten mile drive though. This view is from the Paradise Ridge Rd.

The ocean and beaches were foggy all day this day.

Common Murre, Shelter Cove, CA

2011-08-20T12:53:00.001-07:00

Common Murre, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

This little guy was either very docile or sick. I took this shot with my 100mm macro lens from around eight or ten feet away. Most of the time it's eyes were closed. About fifty feet behind me was the remnants of a boat. Post to arrive soon.

Acorn Woodpecker

2011-08-07T13:32:00.001-07:00

Acorn Woodpecker, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Just a couple hours in a photo blind at Frank's refuge. We saw a Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak, but they did not come down in range. Thanks Frank. Visit my Flicker photostream for a few more shots.

Dutch Oven Sourdough Biscuits

2011-07-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Yes that is my old satellite dish. I tried to give it away, nobody wanted it. Let's see if it makes a good redneck cook-top.

I was up by 5:30 this morning to make a batch of biscuits for breakfast in my new Dutch Oven. I have never cooked with this method before so I wanted to try it on Mary and me first. They were done much quicker than the directions I had said to cook them. That was OK because I checked them at just the right time.

Some of the recipes I read said you figure briquettes at 25 degrees each, others said to use another formula. It is to use the number of briquettes equal to your oven diameter plus three for the top and minus three for the bottom, ie; 10" oven = 13 on top and 7 under. My calculations showed that to be 500 degrees, 20 briquettes x 25 degrees each. Maybe that is why they cooked quicker.

They still came out good. The recipes warn they will not be light and fluffy as it is a cowboy method. Anyway I'll try some meat another time. For more photos take a look at the previous blog: Dutch Oven Cooking

Dutch Oven Cooking

2011-07-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Catchin Air

2011-06-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I play with the big boys. About ten inches of air with my left front tire. It got scary a couple of times but the experienced guys didn't look worried. I had a blast and learned a lot about the Samurai too.

More Shasta Caverns

2011-06-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Some more of the really weird formations we saw.

The above cavesicle is around fifteen feet long. I took four images and stitched them together to get the whole thing in a single frame. You could make a nearly life size print from this.

I think chocolate/mocha and vanilla.

Reflection Pool

2011-06-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

This reflection pool was especially hard to get. I finally got it by painting the walls etc. with a flashlight. There was no light in this pocket and the off camera flash just wouldn't show it right.

Don't forget to bring a flashlight.

Figure in Lake Shasta Caverns

2011-06-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

Heather, Garry, and I were invited to photograph the cavern today with almost free reign. Lake Shasta Caverns is will be sponsoring a photo contest in the near future so we did a trial run today for them.

There is so much to photograph there it's almost hard to decide where to start. Some doesn't work out and some is fantastic. Obviously lighting is the hardest to figure out because of the darkness, some incandescent, and a little LED lighting.

I'm sure the guides have given this figure a name but I don't know what it is. I'll post more soon.

Note to Self

2011-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Note to self. Next time you are high centered in snow, have a bigger, not rotten handled, shovel. Had a great time up around Miller Mt. today. Met another Samuari owner and we hit the snow drifts. We each got stuck several times and had to dig out once. My old GI folding shovel bit the snow(dust). Now it's just a funky trowel that doesn't work very well.

Needless to say Mary was afretts (haha spell check does not know what afretts is) the whole time.

Pheasant

2011-05-19T13:19:00.001-07:00

Pheasant, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

I only saw two pheasant but neither of them cared who I was or where I was. They were in love, strutting, crowing and carrying on like I wasn't there. Usually they run!!!

When Killdeer Get Close

2011-05-17T16:11:00.001-07:00

When Killdeer Get Close, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

This is not a cropped shot. We were driving around the wildlife area and had this cooperative Killdeer pose with a nice background for me.

Bighead Clover

2011-05-17T16:00:00.001-07:00

Bighead Clover, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

The wildflowers in Ash Creek Wildlife Area were really starting to bloom. There were only a few of these Bighead Clover blooms around.

Marsh Wren

2011-05-16T15:06:00.001-07:00

Marsh Wren, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

This little guy was very busy building nests. He had at least two going while I photographed him. I watched him grab three to five mouths of cattail fuzz then go for a mouth full of wet tule. They are so quick. It is nice to be using digital as I captured dozens of shots that are trashed already.

Singing Meadowlark

2011-05-16T14:51:00.001-07:00

Meadowlark, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

This guy/gal was just singing away in the Ash Creek Wildlife Area. Probably a guy singing for a gal.

Waterfalls on Tuft Creek

2011-05-15T18:40:00.001-07:00

Waterfalls on Tuft Creek, a photo by Jim Arnold (jga154) on Flickr.

Jim, Jim, Mary, and Sandy took our Samuari's out for a ride the other day. We ended up north of Mosquito Lake in the Big Valley Mountain range. The creek that drains the lake is called Tuft Creek. As we were descending into Julia Glover Flat I noticed this waterfall on Tuft Creek. It is an amazing little falls and not so small this spring. Unfortunately few have probably ever seen this falls as the creek is very seasonal and normally dry.

They're Back

2011-05-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

The Hooded Orioles have returned. We have had a pair for several years now feeding at our Hummingbird feeders and nesting in nearby Palm trees. Frank and I spent about an hour and a half sitting in my truck (a good blind) waiting for them to feed yesterday evening. The male came but only once. Hopefully they will ramp up their visits later on.

Pretty Good Duck Hunting

2011-04-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

Frank and I had pretty good duck hunting this morning on his pond. At least Wood Ducks.

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

The female almost never gets in the same focal plane as the male, making it nearly impossible to get both in the same shot in focus. So, here they are separate.

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream. REALLY DO IT!

After the ducks we got some nice images of perching birds.

Potem Creek Falls

2011-04-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

Garry and I drove up to Montgomery Creek this morning to photograph Potem Creek Falls. The falls was beautiful and running really full. Problem was the mist. We couldn't keep it off our lens' when down by the water. It also caused a softening in the image. What a pretty spot though.

What We Went For

2011-04-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

This is the reason we drove ten miles behind the dam yesterday. I made this panorama from ten vertical images edited in Lightroom and stitched together in Photoshop. The finished image would easily print out over six feet wide. I'm not sure how to keep the top half of the shot from being washed out. It was a little hazy up there also.

Squaw Creek, Shasta Lake

2011-04-26T22:56:00.001-07:00

Squaw Creek, Shasta Lake, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

This is the Squaw Creek flowing into the west side of the lake about two hundred yards above the lake. The color was fantastic. Phill, Skip and I were up in the OHV area looking for photo ops.

Skip rode ten miles in and back out in the back of my Samurai with no back seat. He assured me it wasn't bad at all. It would have been were it not for the new springs and shocks.

Fall River Valley

2011-04-25T14:18:00.001-07:00

Fall River Valley, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

Bald Mountain

Soldier Mountain over the valley.

Last Thursday morning in the valley we woke up to about three inches of snow. Then the sun peeked through in a few places and bands of fog rolled in and about the trees. All these shots are from up on the bench at my brothers place overlooking the valley.

I was up visiting my brother and experimenting with the newly geared and locked Samurai on Big Valley Mountain. We had a lot of fun in the snow, mud, and rocks. The Samurai is a blast and goes just about anywhere too.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

2011-04-18T14:25:00.001-07:00

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

Indian Rubarb

Another morning spent on Brandy Creek. I never get tired of being in the creek or right along side photographing it. Mary was in bed, I decided we should go, within a half hour we were on our way. Of course Mary couldn't go in anyplace public (she didn't get to do her hair),

The light was pretty much perfect with high bright clouds, no shadows, and plenty of saturation.

I'm on a Roll

2011-03-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, my first sourdough cinnamon rolls look like this. Believe me they are perfect, especially with the light drizzle of cream cheese glaze Mary made.

This is all well and good, but last year I dumped forty pounds. All this cooking and baking is not too good for that weight loss. I do have to at least sample my goods though, so I guess I just keep track of this high point stuff and eat less of the food that I should be eating more of. Aah, the trade off's of life. If anyone wants to help me out just drop by or give me a call.

1847 Oregon Trail Bread

2011-03-01T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well I finally made it. I have been making sourdough bread from starter for over a month now. After at least ten pounds of flour and numerous attempts I have it (I think).

Each attempt takes between 16 and 36 hours by the time you get the starter to sponge, mix the loaf and get it to rise.....twice, and finally bake it. The sponge can take 6-24 hours, each rise 4-8 hrs (if it rises at all), and baking only 30-40 minutes. My first dough balls stayed just that, dough balls. Or they went flat and were useful for discus throwing. The flavor was OK, you just couldn't bite them.

There are numerous sourdough starters available and you can make your own. I started with my own, setting flour and water mixture out on the patio for four days until it catches a wild yeast I called it Camulos Way. Yes, you can name your sourdough starter. Mine worked but the yeast isn't wild enough. It won't raise the dough.

Then I found a starter called Goldrush. Sounded old and good but it just doesn't rise well enough either. I'm not sure why because it is a widely known commercial wild sourdough yeast and I paid three dollars for it.

Then while researching sourdoughs on the internet I found a FREE one called 1847 Oregon Trail. It comes from a pioneer family around Burns, OR. Try the link to read about it. I sent away for a start of it because you just can't have enough different starters around. Wow, it worked the first time I tried it. The starter is very active and bubbles bunches. This makes for good bread.

Now I need to find someone who will help me eat it. Ha Ha

Does Resting

2011-02-11T17:07:00.001-08:00

Does Resting, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

When in Tulelake a couple of weeks ago we found a small herd of deer resting near the road. These three does made it easy to get a nice shot.

Mushrooms in the Moss

2011-02-05T17:43:00.001-08:00

Mushrooms in the Moss, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

After recently submitting this photo to Enjoy Magazine, for the "Enjoy The View" page, I was pleased to have been contacted and asked for a hi res file. I believe it will be published in the March or April issue.

I find it kind of amazing that the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is known mostly for swimming, boating and hiking (which are not bad things). If you visit any of the creeks or shaded areas after a good rain in the winter or spring the photography is quite plentiful. Especially the macro photography of lichens, mushrooms, mossy stuff, and other fungus.

This shot was taken on a mossy log after just such a rain. I used a 105mm macro lens on a sturdy tripod to take it. A tripod is a must as there is very little light where these grow and the shutter speed for this was 4 sec. at f25.

I Prefer Red Meat!

2011-01-31T17:28:00.001-08:00

I Prefer Red Meat!, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

I went to Tulelake this weekend with Frank, Garry, and Heather. We spent two days photographing in the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and Lava Beds National Monument.

Our focus for this trip was to get photos of the numerous Bald Eagles that visit each winter. We did see some eagles but most were not close enough to photograph. This one was breakfasting on a pole our first morning. I think breakfast was an American Coot (it's a little hard to tell at this stage).

We did see about forty eagles in a field, but they were too far away. Heather also spotted a suicidal goose in the field.

We did photograph sunsets and sunrises, but they were not spectacular, as well as deer and owls.

Rock Spillway

2011-01-26T14:23:00.001-08:00

Rock Spillway, originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154).

Mary and I spent the morning photographing Brandy Creek. It was just the two of us and the beautiful creek. I think I could spend the rest of my days just taking pictures of small stream scenery.

One of the best methods is to get out in the creek and shoot upstream. This time of the year that requires waders or just the right size rocks spaced perfectly. The most important part is not having your tripod and camera go over in the current or get dropped because of slippage.

Ladies in an Acorn Cap

2011-01-23T16:23:00.001-08:00

It seems everywhere you go in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area you find ladybug swarms. At least in the winter. they were a little warm and moving around when I shot this so a slow shutter didn't work and an open aperture made the depth of field too shallow.

Click on the photo to visit my Flickr stream.

Beautiful Brandy Creek

2011-01-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

I met Frank and Garry at Brandy Creek last weekend for a needed day of nature photography. We spent a couple of hours in, on, and around the creek (OK, maybe not on it). The moss was perfect and the water was at the right flow.

I took my newly lifted Samurai out for a maiden run. A 3" lift, 30" tires, new bumper and roof rack. Although it is not tough at all I had fun coming home via Mule Town road. Needed Mary with me to make it more fun. She loves bumpy roads.

A Little Calibration and Testing

2010-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

I went to Frank's this morning so we could do some fine tuning to the auto focus on our lenses. We spent an hour or so using a SpyderLens Calibrator. A couple of our lenses were quite a bit off and it is nice to have a camera that I can adjust the auto focus for each lens.

After we finished we set up in his blind and tested on real birds. This is a White-breasted Nuthatch eating a piece of corn from some suet that was pressed into a hole behind the branch. All in all the shots were nice and sharp.

Mt. Shasta Monochrome

2010-11-11T09:55:00.001-08:00

Mt. Shasta Monochrome
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

This seemed to be a natural to try in monochrome. After converting it though I always have a hard time choosing which I like best. The blue sky in the color image is so deep and perfect, but all the contrast in the scene just lends itself to the monochrome image. Guess I'll just pick them both.

View larger on black.

It Just Kept Going

2010-11-07T12:30:00.001-08:00

Mt. Shasta
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

This image was made several hours after our first ones at sunrise. The cloud just kept going and going, changing and changing. We were on our way up to Castle Lake when I took this. If you've been there you know the spot.

To view it large on black click here.

The Ring

2010-11-07T06:16:00.001-08:00

Mt. Shasta
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

View this large and you will see the large round ring at the bottom of the cap. It was very interesting watching this cloud go through it's morphs. Of course Mary thought this looked like a condom. She is right too.

View large

Mt. Shasta With A Linticular Cloud

2010-11-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Mt. Shasta
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Yesterday a friend emailed me about great fall color in the Mt. Shasta area. Mary and I decided to go see. We got up at 5am and left at 6:12am. When we got to Mt. Shasta city it was too dark to photograph, so I pulled into the Black Bear Diner for some breakfast.

We did notice a very interesting linticular cloud capping Mt. Shasta, discussed going up, but decided there was not enough time to get there by sunrise. Then I changed our mind and we (I) drove up the Everett Memorial Highway quickly.

Low and behold we made it. We shot the cloud/mountain for over an hour. The cloud sort of blew off and the light left so we headed back down to town for some breakfast....again. 7 grain, nutty, almond waffles, yummy.

Back to the fall color. It was windy up on the mountain and down in town. Too windy for good leaf shots. The color was beautiful though. We ended up getting some more shots of the cloud later from the Castle Lake road. Mary found a bunch of mushroom shots too.

All in all it was a fun, nice day in Mt. Shasta. Thanks Dean.

Click for larger image.

Blogger Stats Are Fun

2010-11-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

The blog stats are so cool. I'm not sure when Blogger started keeping stats, but it sure is fun to see where visitors to my site hail from. Of course most are from the United States, probably because that's where I am from. But second is Russia. Wow, who would have thought.

I only wish someone would leave comments or start a dialogue from these other countries. Maybe they can’t because of a language barrier. Oh well. Here are the next visitors in order of most visited: China, Ukraine, South Korea, Latvia (really?), Netherlands, UK, and Denmark, Germany, Slovenia (another really?), Poland. Australia and Austria used to be on the list, but not today. The stats only show the ten highest visitor count.

Blogger also lists the Browsers used to visit. Firefox (44%) is number one, then, IE (40%), Opera (7%), Safari (5%), Chrome, Netscape, Mobile, Shiretoko (what?). If you want to know operating systems: Windows (89%), Linux (4%), Mac (4%), Other Unix, and iPhone (thanks Cliff). The top ten posts viewed is also in there.

You can choose to view the stats for All time, Month, Week, Day, and Now. The Now option is not very helpful to me. I guess because I don’t have that many visitors where I actually catch them viewing my site.

But, it is fun.

Maple Leaves

2010-10-24T13:24:00.001-07:00

Maple Leaves
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Last weekend while we were in Lake Almanor (the town not the lake itself) we were greeted with hundreds of brilliant maple trees in reds, yellows, and orange. The hard part for a photographer was to isolate a tree or limb against a green background and not a house. Those people seem to feel the need to plant their colorful trees in front of the windows of the houses. It was way more colorful in the sub-divisions than any we found growing wild though.

View larger image.

I could eat this whole pine cone.

2010-10-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

I could eat this whole pine cone.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

This Douglas squirrel carried a similar sized pine cone from Frank's campsite about two hundred feet to his winter storage area. He was so quick it was hard to get a shot that was not blurred.

View larger image.

A raggedy cone head mushroom.

2010-10-19T11:53:00.001-07:00

A raggedy cone head mushroom.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

We found at least five different mushrooms at a house we visited on Lake Amanor. This was the most interesting and the cap is so raggedy looking. It looked like they had all just popped up that day.

View larger image.

Boiling Springs mud pots.

2010-10-17T21:40:00.001-07:00

Boiling Springs mud pots.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Mary and I spent the weekend at Lake Almanor with friends. We had a great time visiting and taking a couple of road trips with lots of beautiful scenery. Saturday we went into the Drakesbad area of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Jay and I walked into Boiling Springs Lake. This photo is the edge of a mud pot that was not too active.

I shot this with a 200mm lens so I didn't have to get so close as to fall through the fragile crust and be boiled myself.

Larger size image.

A mist over King's Creek meadow.

2010-10-15T08:38:00.003-07:00

A mist over King's Creek meadow.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

This was taken during Civil twilight which is about one half hour before sunrise. It's a thirty second exposure at f22. It was a beautiful morning and as usual pictures don't do it justice.

Click on the photo to view it larger in my Flicker photostream.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

2010-10-13T16:34:00.001-07:00

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Frank and I sat around the campground and photographed at least three different types of squirrels eating nuts till they couldn't eat anymore. Some were very chunky looking. They peeled the cones like an artichoke right down to the core.

Larger size image.

Fallen aspen leaves.

2010-10-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

Fallen aspen leaves.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

The leaves were just starting to change in the park. Admittedly we did have to do a little arranging to get enough for a picture. I think the color will be better this year than last, if I can just get up there at the right time.

Looking forward to a trip to Lake Almanor this weekend.

A larger size image

Rocky journey to the clouds.

2010-10-11T15:57:00.001-07:00

Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

After my summer of loafing I finally made it out for some photography. These are some photos from Lassen Volcanic National Park. We spent this weekend camped in the park with friends.

This was our first morning out. We were all over this knoll to find compositions with the mountain in the background.

Everything went well, legs a little sore as well as the shoulder. But, I expected to be sore since I haven't done much in two and a half months.

Early morning alpinglow on Mt. Lassen and it's cap.

2010-10-11T15:52:00.001-07:00

Early morning alpinglow on Mt. Lassen and it's cap.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Our first morning on this trip. A nice cap stayed over Mt. Lassen for a couple of hours. At the first light it was a nice pinkish/orange glow.

Black & white of Lake Almanor basin.

2010-10-11T15:47:00.001-07:00

Black & white of Lake Almanor basin.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Looking south/east from the park road near the summit. II posted a similar shot in color on my Flickr photostream. I can't make up my mind which I like best.

Autum skies over Kings Creek meadow.

2010-10-11T15:45:00.001-07:00

Autum skies over Kings Creek meadow.
Originally uploaded by Jim Arnold (jga154)

Final morning in Kings Creek meadow. It started foggy and cleared for some mountain capped shots.

Spring Wildflowers

2009-10-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

Earlier this spring, Mary and I went for a ride out Placer Rd. I was looking for huge fields of wildflowers to no avail. There were some small patches of poppies and some white flower that I can't name, but nothing like the sweeping shot I envisioned. So make the best of the trip and shoot some pretty little singles growing along the road on a steep bank.

Snowy Egret

2009-09-11T20:04:00.001-07:00

This Snowy Egret was having a bad hair day the morning I took this. It is in the top of a rookery tree in Willows, CA. Some of the trees were removed and/or trimmed since this photo to prevent the birds from nesting in town. Black-crowned Night Herons, Snowy and Cattle egrets caused so much stench that the city and county felt they had to stop them. For more egrets in Willows visit my Flickr photostream by clicking on the title link at the top of this blog.

Birds of the Alders at Lily Pond

2009-09-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

I spent about an hour and a half photographing birds at Lily Pond in Lassen Volcanic National Park a week ago. I captured these six and saw several more species. If you can identify the Vireo please tell me. Also if I missed any let me know.

Yellow Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Red-breasted Nuthatch

MacGillivrey's Warbler

Cassin's Vireo - Thank you Larry Jordan

Hermit Warbler

Visit my website to see American Pika and other wildlife photos I took on this trip.
http://www.jimarnoldphoto.com

Avocets of Summer Lake Wildlife Area

2009-07-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

This is a slideshow I made of avocets in the Summer Lake Wildlife Area in Oregon. Click on the title to go to the link. You may have to download a viewer from Photodex for this show. It's safe.

The music is Stevie Ray Vaughn's - Chile con Carne. It usually plays fine, but today it echoed.

Thanks, Jim.

Recent Visit to Ash Creek Wildlife Area

2009-07-05T17:10:00.001-07:00

I got many flight shot opportunities of this curlew as it swooped past me for several minutes. Guess I was too close to the nest but it had to be at leasst a hundred yards from me. © Jim Arnold Photography 2009 all rights reserved.

This little avocet was very busy wading and pecking at things in the water. © Jim Arnold Photography 2009 all rights reserved.

A very pretty bird in the green grass and blue sky reflection. © Jim Arnold Photography 2009 all rights reserved.

This buck would walk between bunches of grass to keep concealed from me. © Jim Arnold Photography 2009 all rights reserved.

I could just see the baby in the tall grass once in a while. It was definately not coming out for a photo. © Jim Arnold Photography 2009 all rights reserved.

I made what is probably my last visit to the wildlife area this year. There were only a few birds and other wildlife still around. Some baby (more like adolescent) shots and a few larger mammals. I still got a few shots though.

Table Mountain

2009-04-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Made a trip to Table Mountain this week. It's beautiful with wildflowers and mostly green grasses. This is the Table Mountain near Oroville, CA. Part of it is owned by the CA Department of Fish & Game and all appears to be grazed by cattle. Of course we got there at least forty minutes before sunrise. That was good for a nap not that the nap was good for anything.

I mentioned it is beautiful with wildflowers waving in the wind. Oh well so much for close-up photos. Even though the wind was just a breeze there were no still flowers. So I thought I could take advantage of the wind and make an abstract photograph. I strapped on the ND filter and slowed the shutter down. All that did was make the flower look more out of focus. Then I told Mary I needed more wind.

No more wind came. I just shot a few distance shots and let it go at that.

Sage Grouse Lek

2009-03-26T16:41:00.001-07:00

Sage Grouse Lek
Originally uploaded by jga154

Well we did get our Sage Grouse shots. Also many other great photos.

Our weather was pretty good, at least the first day, Friday. After the grouse we found a Great Horned owl nesting in the refuge and took turns photographing her on the nest. To cause the least disturbance we had one person go in and set up a tripod and lens. We then each took turns with our camera bodies on the lens. Good thing we all (4) shot Nikon.

Saturday the grouse decided to display too far from the road for photos. So we went down into the refuge again. The Sandhill Cranes did not want to be photographed much either. We did get some Red-wing Blackbird shots and a pheasant.

Later we drove the Diamond Loop. Photographed a mule deer buck with his antlers still on while the fellow nest to him had nubs of new antlers coming. Kinda weird.

Frank and I photographed the inside of the old Peter French round barn, built in the 1800's. Then we drove out to the Diamond Craters. Some good photo opportunities there but it started to rain. We went home and ate diner.

Should have stayed out though. As usual the rain broke and the sunset was beautiful.

Sunday morning had a slight skiff of snow so we started home early. We stopped on the way to take a few snow, sagebrush and weather shots.

We had a great trip took a few thousand images and made it home safely.

Malheur Trip

2009-03-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

4am Thursday, we leave Palo Cedro, CA for the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon. A trip to photograph sage grouse on a lek. I hope they are there...I hope it doesn't rain/snow...If it does rain/snow I hope we can photograph something else. Well there's hope anyway.

This is a shot in my yard. It must be getting close to spring...Maybe I'll have more to say when I get back.

Flicker - Bird Photography Weekly

2009-03-10T14:06:00.001-07:00

Flicker
Originally uploaded by jga154

With my wife driving and me shooting out the back windows on a too busy county road, I managed to get a few good photos of this flicker. It must have had something wrong with the left eye (the one towards the camera of course) because in most of the shots the eye is half closed.

Water Falls on Kabyai Cr.

2009-03-08T20:34:00.001-07:00

Kabyai Cr.
Originally uploaded by jga154

Saturday Garry Bagula and I took a trip to the north side of Shasta Lake to see if we could find any moving water or waterfalls to photograph. Wow, did we find some. This is just one of many little beautiful streams we found.

This falls is only about six or seven feet high. The blue water below though really caught my eye. Then I noticed the red/orange bush in the upper left. I hoped it would make a pretty picture. I think it did.

We spent the whole day back in there taking several roads. Our intent was to drive clear through to Fenders Ferry . The snow caused me to chicken out. I don't have aggressive snow tires just 'highway' snow tires on my truck. At one bend I decided it would not be prudent to go further....I hate putting chains on to get out!

All in all it was a great day. Good photography, beautiful scenery, and sunny skies.

My first book.

2009-03-05T16:54:00.000-08:00

Fungus Photogr...

N. California & Ore...

By Jim Arnold

Horned Lark Bird Photography Weekly #27

2009-03-04T19:20:00.001-08:00

Horned Lark Bird Photography Weekly #27
Originally uploaded by jga154

Mary and I went for a little ride this afternoon out to Millville Plains and found a flock of Horned Larks. They sure don't sit still much. I think I took a couple hundred images to get a few that were sharp.

We also found a Flicker willing to be photographed for several minutes. It was barely in range but came out pretty good. Of course there was a White-crowned sparrow on a berry bush that was very willing. I got frame filling shots of it. The other photos are posted on my Flickr site.

Blind Date - Bird Photography Weekly #25

2009-02-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday (yes, Valentines Day) I had a blind date in the Delevan National Wildlife Refuge. That's a photography blind date. Doug and I arrived at the parking area a little before 6am. We decided to sit in the truck a few minutes since you don't have to be in the blind until an hour before sunrise, 7:02am on Saturday. Just before six we walked the 150 yards to the blind sign (points to the blind). I looked to the left and saw about forty yards of water between me and the blind. This one is supposed to have a boardwalk to it! The refuge website says there is a boardwalk to it! We came without waders! Neither of us was about to wade out there then sit in a cold blind with wet feet.

Fortunately just before leaving my house I threw my bag containing not one but two pairs of waders in my truck. We were in luck but now were going to be a little late getting in the blind. Not our fault I say! I expected a boardwalk. Doug's feet (size 11) were a little cramped in the neoprene waders stuffed in my spare boots (size 11) with socks too. But he managed to wade out there and took the boots off in the blind.

Speaking of the blind. It is a nice one. I (6' 3" tall) could stand up inside. That is a big improvement over blind #2. There is also lots of room to maneuver our equipment, packs, chairs and somewhat over sized bodies around.

While we were waiting in blind #4 for a photo opportunity this Snow goose wandered along the edge of the tules eating stems. It would stick it's head underwater and grab the stem then jerk the tule back and forth until it came out. Then the goose would eat only the very tip of the stem. Cool behavior to watch.

It was a very overcast and windy day. This was the only bird that came anywhere near enough to the blind for a photograph. But, as usual we had an adventure.

And by the way, I did make it home by 1:00pm to spend time with my wife. We got to babysit our grandson, Jack, overnight. What a blast.

The Slide

2009-02-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

Dad and grandpa used to call this the slide. I looked it up on the web and found several names for it: hay slide, beaver slide, hay stacker. Surprisingly I found that at least one in Montana is still in use.

Visit it at: (I had to remove the link. It has a virus.)

This one was "parked" about a quarter mile north of our house. I remember it used to be up against a rail fence but the fence has been removed. Dad and grandpa used to stack hay with this thing and a couple teams of horses. They used a buck rake (maybe I can find a picture of one of these later) to bring the hay to the slide. The rake put it's tines down on the slide tines. The slide tines were then raised by horses pulling the long cables to the top where the hay would drop off in a pile. It is about thirty feet high maybe more.

It is mounted on metal wheels so it can be towed by the horses too. That way they could make several thirty or so foot tall haystacks around the farm to later feed to the cattle.

Now, I don't remember any of that. I just remember it being a place to go play or hide out. As you can see there is a large area under the slide that is shady. The only thing that was a little spooky was the bones. There were always bones under it. I think rabbit size.

After photographing hawks and owls for a few years now I understand what was going on. What a great place to take your kill, eat it and still be on lookout for more. But the bones and owl pellets were always a little disconcerting.

Brandy Creek

2009-02-09T11:42:00.001-08:00

Brandy Creek
Originally uploaded by jga154

Last Saturday Frank Kratofil and I went to Brandy Creek in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area to photograph small things and the stream. The area where we park was not closed but there is a sign at the south end of the parking area at the entrance to the trail that say's it's closed. We decided to go in on the west side so as not to violate the sign too obviously. We did return on the trail where the sign was posted but there was no writing on the back of the sign. We took many pictures and got a few really nice ones too.

You can visit the photos at my Flickr site: http://flickr.com/photos/jarnold154/
Or my website: http://www.jimarnoldphoto.com/

After hearing about how beautiful it is there just after the rains Mary decided she would like to see it on Sunday. We arrived a little after sunrise which is ok as there is not much light in the creek area before sunrise. We parked in the same spot, took the same route (so's not to violate the sign). I got a bunch more pictures including water blur stream shots, mushrooms, and other little scenes. We spent about three hours there and were not washed away by the big avalanche upstream (because it didn't happen).

As we got back to the car, Mary discovered something on the windshield under the the wiper blade. Yep, it was a ticket. A $75 ticket at that. Not for kind of disregarding the sign but for not having a pass posted on the dashboard or anywhere else for that matter. In our big hurry to get past the sign violation glaring at us I forgot to put my $85 annual pass in the window. I told her I would fight it and at least get part of the fine dismissed, maybe.

As I was leaving I watched for a Ranger in case he/she could be talked into dismissing the whole ticket right then. I found one at the headquarters which was closed on Sunday but she was just leaving. I asked, she radioed the other Ranger who wrote the ticket, he agreed and the ticked was gone. Thank you. He also told her to admonish me for going in the closed off area. She did but it didn't seem to enthusiastic. Maybe they really don't care about that?

Ash Creek Wildlife Area

2009-02-04T21:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Mary and I visited my brother and sister-in-law in Fall River Valley. Saturday morning we got up at 4am and left the house at 5am. I wanted to check out the Ash Creek Wildlife Area in Big Valley. In the past I have gotten some very good shots of birds and other wildlife.

It is about one hour and forty-five minutes to the area. We arrived about fifteen minutes before sunrise. Perfect. The air temperature was 18 degrees and Mary was not too happy about driving around with the windows down so I might get a shot. But, we bundled up, turned the heater up and made the best of it. Actually we were quite comfortable and soon were shedding clothing. I only put one window down at a time.

Unfortunately it was cold. The water was mostly frozen and there were only a few birds. Hawks, geese and swans mostly. None of which would come near enough for a portrait. I did get a not too close shot of a Red-tailed hawk on a barn. It also did not help that the Department of Fish and Game had not opened the gate to the drive through area either. We visited several areas I had not been before. Still not much in the way of bird photography. Oh well.

I did much better photographing birds at my brothers house . There were junco's, nuthatch's, titmice, and a robin that liked to get drunk eating Juniper berries.

We had a nice visit, ate well and came home on Super Bowl Sunday.

The scene makes me sickish

2008-09-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

He crashed his car in a bad snow storm. She rescues him and begins nursing him back to health. This story haunts me on a re-occurring basis. I have never seen or thought of anything that causes my skin to crawl every time I think of it. And, for some reason, I think of it. The scene makes me sickish. I am not like that. I don't get sickish.

The scene is in a bedroom on a bed. Kathy Bates has rescued James Caan from the wreck near her house. She is scary, but you don't notice until the scene. Cann is an author who is "killing off Misery" in his last novel of a popular series. Kathy Bates is a fan of Misery's.

She walks in the bedroom with a sledge hammer. Cann can't move because of injuries. She puts a plank under his leg, swings the sledge hammer down, smashing his foot. In my recollection it actually shows the leg broken just above the ankle. Like deformed broken...his scream. My ankle feels weird when I think about it. And, I think about it. Misery

I can't figure out why I think about it. I rarely remember movie scenes let alone think about them. It's weird.

The Wind Blew Right Through The Boards

2008-09-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

I also spent many boring hours in the swamp in the late summer haying. Dad would have me mow the tules for cattle feed in the winter. It wasn't very good feed but there was lots of it. There was close to one hundred acres to hay. I would just go around and around the square field for several days to cut it all. The ranch was under the training flight path for jet fighters out of Nevada and Klamath Falls, OR. One day I was mowing hay in the swamp when one went over. The shadow and noise came at about the same instant, causing my heart to stop, and die, as the sound of the tractor covered up the jet noise until the moment of the shadow. Hauling those light tule bales was a breeze though compared to heavy alfalfa bales. We would stack the hay high up in the lower barn.

The lower barn was down close to the swamp at the north end of the property. No one that grandpa Leo ever talked to knew when it was built and it was always felt to be very old in the 1960's. All the main timbers were hand hewn and wooden pegs held them together. It was a very large hay barn, about one hundred twenty feet long, with manger stalls under the roof so the cattle could feed out of the weather. When it was empty and you looked inside knowing you were going to have to fill it you got a pretty overwhelmed feeling. Dad had put a tin roof on it. The roof came from buildings he helped tear down at the Pit 3 powerhouse.

I spent some the coldest times in my life in the lower barn feeding cows. The cold north winds would just pass right through the boards not to mention the sifting snows. Some mornings would be ten or more degrees below zero. I would get up in the barn and find several inches of frozen crusty snow on the bales. No amount of gloves or hard work could keep my skinny hands and feet warm. Sometimes it felt like I had no feet or hands left. When the tule hay ran out we would begin feeding off the back of the Hoopy. (See my blog of Sept. 8. 2008 for more about Hoopy)

In the mid 1980's we had to tear the lower barn down as it was starting to fall and had collapsed in one place. My father-in-law, Bob McKernan, along with help from Mexican hands, Bruce and me took the barn down. For some reason we all still loved that old barn no matter how daunting the job of filling or miserable the job of emptying it was.

Wildland Fire Early Warning System

2008-09-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

Well, this summer has been quite a year for wildland fires. Starting especially on June 21. The foothills and mountains around Redding were dotted with columns of smoke. Within a few days we were covered in that smoke....for a month! So dense we had no open windows at night even when it was cool enough. I have a $225 electric A/C bill to prove it.

So, I have this wildland fire early warning system at my house. Actually everyone in east Redding does. There are days when it sounds like England during WWII to me. I'm sure it's not quite or even close to what those bombers sounded like taking off, scores at a time. But, here at my house when I hear that deep multi propeller drone having just lifted off Redding Municipal Ariport I know there is another wildland fire.

Sometimes only one will take off and it almost goes unnoticed. Once in a while one takes off every five minutes several times during the day. Those are either big fires or endangering structures. Today was one of those days. I'm not sure what time I first took notice today but I did mention it to my wife. Several had taken off within about five minutes of each other. There is a large smoke column to the north.

Since then there have been several more during the day. The last group of four bombers left around 5:00pm. I do know that, since I was trying to get a late afternoon nap. They're really not that loud but I started thinking of a title for my blog!

What a life.....God is good!

Thanks to Steve Hobson for the image: http://steves-digital.net/default.aspx

Hauling hay on a wooden sled, exciting and dangerous

2008-09-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hauling hay on a wooden sled, exciting and dangerous. Grandpa Leo and dad built a sled from full 2x12 boards to haul hay bales from the field to a stack or barn. The sled must have been about eight feet wide and twice that long with a cable attached to the front of the sled and hooked to the tractor . We pulled it with our Model G, John Deere tractor, the B just wouldn‘t pull much hay.

I liked the G, it had an electric starter but could be cranked if the batteries were dead. The Model B had to be started by hand though. It had an exposed flywheel that you just grabbed hold of and gave it a spin (it almost always started). Usually I could start the B without opening the petcocks. The petcocks are valves on each cylinder (there is only two on these two models, Johnny Pops) that can be opened to relieve some of the compression. The G almost required the petcocks be opened to start even with the electric starter.

Back to hauling hay on a sled. You needed a tractor driver and a stacker. I was very happy when Bruce got big enough to be a stacker. The tractor driver would just drive beside the bales of hay and the stacker would grab the bales with hay hooks and stack them. Sounds easy and it was except when dad got the bales so heavy they out weighed me. Then the driver had to stop and the stacker would have to drag the bale up to the sled now because the driver went by it. The stacker would have to decide whether to buck the heavy thing up to an empty spot or start a new bottom layer. Start a new bottom layer sounds good but some times there are a bunch of heavy ones and you just can’t have that much bottom layer before going up with the stack.

Then when you get to the front of the sled the danger and excitement begins. It is probably being pulled between two and five miles per hour. If your little brother was mad at you he would just drive too fast to keep up with the bales. The driver has to watch where he is going or he runs over bales. The stacker must be careful to not step off the front of the sled so it doesn’t run over him and smear him under the sled until the driver noticed. The driver would never be able to stop in time.

Exciting!

I started driving Hoopy before I could reach the peddles.

2008-09-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Hoopy is a 1928 Chevrolet one ton truck my grandpa Leo bought new in Redding. When I was very young, I think before ten or so, dad would let me steer the Hoopy while he cut the bales and fed them from the back of the truck to the cattle. Most of the time this feeding was done near the lower barn. Dad would set the throttle and point me at a mountain in the Big Valley mountain range. He would then climb on the back and start feeding. Sometimes I would get too close to the swamp so dad would have to climb back inside, turn the wheel, and get me back on track.

I wasn't tall enough to reach the peddles so I could stop or strong enough to turn the wheel. Old vehicles had hand throttles so it could be set and just leave it. This is how I learned to drive.

As I got older, it was often my turn to feed from the back of the truck while Bruce (he's my little brother) or someone drove. Most of the time we drained the water from the radiator so it wouldn't freeze. It had too many leaks to put antifreeze in and waste it. One winter that was very cold I remember dad had to set a fire under the Hoopy's radiator to thaw the water. Hoopy wouldn't start after we poured the water in so the water froze. We only had to be careful of the lower hose because everything else was steel and it wouldn't melt.

Hoopy had to be hand cranked to start. Dad always told me to set the timing retarder/advancer before cranking it. He said it was more likley to kick back if not set right and the crank could break an arm. I think I always remembered to do that. It has wooden spokes for wheels, wooden slats in the roof, a four cylinder engine and four speed transmission.

I spent many an icy cold or wet rainy morning on the back of Hoopy too. Bruce still has Hoopy at his house in the hopes of getting it running again. I hope he does someday before it gets too deteriorated.

Painted Dunes

2008-09-01T11:53:00.001-07:00

Painted Dunes
Originally uploaded by jga154

No more SNAPS. It's been over fifty-two hours now. I'll move on.

A week ago I spent four nights in Lassen Volcanic National Park at Butte Lake. It was a trip focusing on photography and learning the area. Friday evening several other photographers from northern California met me there. Saturday at about 4:15am we hiked to the top of Cinder Cone. It was a tough hike but well worth it. For more on this story visit: http://flickr.com/photos/rueb/

One other photographer spent Sat. night there too. This was the first time I took my trailer out camping alone (that is without my wife). With the exception of Friday night and Saturday it was lonely. I went out Sunday morning with Steve then he went home too.

I did miles of hiking and took hundreds photographs but the down time was still....lonely. The cooking wasn't bad but I forgot I had a frozen chicken breast to BBQ. Ended up eating turkey burgers three nights in a row. Good thing I like them. I had a t-bone one night.

My last night there I hiked about 2.5 miles to the Painted Dunes in hopes of catching a nice sunset or at least magic hour light on the dunes. It was a good idea. Except, you really can't see much of the dunes unless you are on top of Cinder Cone. There were a few clouds in the west but I blew it. I made the mistake of not waiting long enough after sunset and the clouds turned pink all around me. Problem was I was hiking back on the trail in between the trees and Cinder Cone. I had no good view of any horizon. Well I knew better but didn't follow my rule of staying at least a half hour after sunset.

Two younger guys who were from another country (one had a Barbie backpack on) had climbed the Cinder Cone and caught up with me on my walk back. They had also climbed Mt. Lassen to the peak that same day and had seen the whole sunset from Cinder Cone. They were headed for the Burning Man thing in Nevada next. Nice to be young and in shape.

When I got back to camp it was very dark. I finished reading my book and went to bed. Returned home on Monday - nice to be home.

Wreckage of the Peter Irdale

2008-08-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

This shipwreck is in the Fort Stevens, Oregon State Park. We visited here in 2004 while on an Oregon Coast vacation trip. This image was captured prior to my digital days on slide film.

The Answer?

2008-08-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

OK. I called a couple of people, and had one, just one comment about my SNAPS on my Blog. I thought half the people on the internet would have been interested in my blog. Is it with or without a capital Bb? Anyway....

The City Electrical Department had not a clue but checked all their stuff around my neighborhood anyway. I was told to contact an electrician. Sound advice. I also talked to my sister's father-in-law. He knows more about electronics than anyone else I know.

He didn't have an answer but would call back if he thought of anything. Sure enough within a half an hour Tom called back with a possible answer. The TV. I've heard our TV snap in the past. Most all older tube TVs snap when they release static inside somewhere. Ours has never snapped like that before though. Oh well, I guess everything has to start somewhere. Now for the bad news (at least I think so).

While we haven't been home all the time there hasn't been a snap in over thirty two hours. Since I got rid of the AAA batteries which the city guy said could not possibly cause the snap.

Guess we just wait...for the next SNAP.

Bye the way, the comment. It is from my sister. She is probably right. God is always trying to get my attention. Usually by different means though. My wife and daughter must need to give Him some attention too because they also heard the snap.

Livingroom Snaps (Static Electricity Discharges?)

2008-08-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

The area I live in was experiencing 10-20 mph north winds, 105 deg. f, and single digit humidity. Good weather for static.

Well, it started on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at about 10:30pm. I was reading in our living room when the quiet suddenly snapped. I mean it really snapped. Just like a static shock from touching the door knob but way, way louder. It seemed to come from the middle of the living room. I immediately thought it was the electric fan that was running on the floor to keep me cool. My wife heard it too. She was in the bedroom. Needless to say she was not too happy about the implications of an electrical snap in our living room.

It wasn't the fan.

August 29, 2008, 1:30pm: Again sitting in my recliner (attempting a short nap) the snap broke the quiet. The fan was unplugged, the TV and entire entertainment center was shut off at a power strip. Now I am very curious and a little bit disconcerted. What could cause this?

OK, some of you are going to start with the Harry Potter witch transport stuff and poltergeist stuff. I'm pretty sure this is not the case. But if you must post about it I guess go ahead.

Thursday evening my daughter heard a loud noise while reading in the bedroom nearest the living room. While she didn't describe it as a snap she did say it sounded like a screen door slamming shut (close enough I guess).

Friday morning 6:30am. My wife had moved to the bedroom mentioned above after letting the cat outside. I was laying in bed awake but refusing to get up yet. SNAP. Obviously we both heard it. Again.

The only unusual thing in the living room was around thirty AAA batteries laying on the coffee table. They had been there since Saturday, August 24. Weird we didn't hear the snaps until five days later. Most were discharged to around 1.2 volts but six had 1.5+ volts (I saved these). Could they some how create and store static to a point then discharge it in a loud snap? We shall see. After this mornings snap I got rid of the batteries.

We shall see.