More critters

We have the usual assortment of animals running around here. We have squirrels.


and rabbits



and more than few ducks.

Arthur drew the bill 'Duckscalibur' from the stone, proving that he was the true king of Quackalot.

Urban critters

It's been nearly two years since I added to this blog. It was originally an assignment for a college course and when the class ended I sort of forgot the password. Since then my major time filler has been photography. It's a little surprising how much wildlife lives in a city of nearly a quarter of a million people. One of my favorite critters are the jays.

A Stellers jay looking for lunch

Brilliant colors and a distinctive crest.

The bold and raucous scrub jay.

This guy sits on the railing and screeches until someone tosses him a few peanuts.

So, lots of field trips this sememster. The first was Friday. We went to Little Valley, a valley between Lake Tahoe and Washoe lake

Did some hillclimbing...




and found out just how out of shape I am.
We have to memorize and identify a number of plants (both common and scientific names) for the class. One that should be easy for me to remember is Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana. Contorted is how I felt after the trip. I wonder if the tree moaned like I did Saturday. Actually the walk wasn't that bad. It looks worse than it was. And it put things into context. A certain plant in a certain place. Why it grows there. The reasons it is one place and not another.
It's a good thing I wasn't driving. I'm the guy in the back yelling "Slower traffic keep right! C'mon let's move!"

It was a nice night

Last night was a nice nice for sky watching. It was cool enough to get a nice view of Jupiter. There were at least 6 moons visible.

Because of the difference in the planet and the moons, either the planet will be overexposed....

Or the moons will be underexposed.

Baby, it's COLD out there

One of the bonuses (bonusi? No, that's a small Japanese tree.) Anyway, as aircrew, I got to go a lot places most people don't. When the scientists need to get somewhere, we were how they got there.

H-52 helicopter on the Ross Ice shelf.

One of the more desirable flights was a trip to lake Vanda in the Wright valley.

Lake Vanda.

Me at Vanda station.
(That is a mummified seal below the sign)

Vanda station was famed for its 'swim club'. A swim in lake Vanda entitled one to purchase an embroidered Vanda Swim Club patch. The requirements for the patch were simple

1. Complete submersion in the lake.
2. No clothing with the exception of some kind of footwear. (The rocks along the shore were razor sharp.)
3. No limits on photography.

Me again. That water is cold!


But some days you're the dog, others you're the hydrant.
This is the wreckage of a Navy helo in the Wright valley.

Summer break

While I'm waiting for the semester to begin I ve been going through some of my old pics. I need to get into the closet where the transparencies are and rescan them all.

Machu picchu.

A shipwreck in the Straits of Magellan.



Adelie peguins at Cape Royds, Antarctica. This was the site of Shackleton's expedtion camp.



Minke whale 'spyhopping'. There were actually two of them and they stayed for quite some time watching the ship.

More pics

I like night photography. And a digital camera is great for night shots, even with some limitations. (Auto-focus and a few other problems) but I like being able to immediately determine whether the exposure needs adjusting. Neon at night...




There are surprisingly few people around at 3 am and those few around are moving too fast to show up in the images...




And nothing looks better at night than fireworks.