This beauty was found on walkies and begged me to make the capture.
We were late for walkies this morning. It was a combination of staying up too late and the Girl rousting me out at 0400h for a potty-emergency. So I slept a little late and we were a little late getting on to the walk.
I decided to carry the Panasonic G3 with a Wollensak 3″ f/4 cine lens mounted. I have an affinity for vintage glass and some of these old 8mm and 16mm movie lenses are really very good. I think this one is no exception.
I noticed that I need to clean the camera’s sensor. There’s a spot on it that shows on flat portions of the image. This is a busy image so it doesn’t show. I’ll get the sensor cleaned tomorrow. It isn’t that hard to do.
I think I need a few more of these old Wollensak lenses in my bag. They are small, sturdy, and make excellent images.
While visiting Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge earlier this summer, the Girl and I walked a portion of Carson Slough. It was hot. But there had apparently been water there at some time. Because this poor critter was found on the bank of the (now dry) watercourse.
I wonder, though, how an adult made it to maturity in this dry place. I will never know.
New boots arrived Monday. It was time to rotate out an older pair.My new boots arrived Monday afternoon. The older pair were finally at the point I decided to retire them. Most of the tread is gone from the Vibram soles and the upper has lost much of its support.
This has to be the tenth pair of Merrel Moab Ventilator boots I’ve worn out. I wear out a pair or two of the three-season boots every year. I wear out another pair of the wet/cold-season boots every other year.
I walk a lot. These are decent boots. At their price point, they are difficult to beat. They fit my feet well. They provide some arch support. They are reasonably grippy on the surfaces I encounter. They are cool enough on hot days and perfect on warm days.
I keep two pairs active much of the time. I rotate them so they have a chance to dry after a walk. After about six months the older pair is retired and a new pair brought into use. They break in after a week or so. Then I work both pairs until the older pair is sufficiently worn to retire it and bring a new pair of boots into rotation.
I don’t particularly like new boots (until they are broken in). But they are necessary and these work for me.
This is my Flippin’ Out Scout slingshot with double bands.A few weeks ago I purchased a slingshot. A photograph of that is posted on my IG account and I’ll write a comment about it here eventually.
I wanted something I could shoot here in town on walkies. There are many open areas where it is safe to shoot a slingshot and there is no prohibition in the Carson City Ordinances (at least that I could find). No one has hassled me about it (yet).
Shooting a slingshot is a marksmanship skill. It requires good eye-hand coordination and an understanding of marksmanship. So it’s good practice for me.
This slingshot has a large palm swell. It’s a bit big for my hands, but still manageable. It is the first time I installed double bands. They are quite powerful and too much for .38 caliber shot. If I use that size shot, I get a lot of hand slap from the excess energy in the bands. However, .44 caliber shot works much better. There is enough mass in the larger shot to use up the bands’ energy.
I will eventually get a chronograph so I can measure shot speed. (It will also be useful when I start handloading centerfire cartridges later this year or early in 2018.) I’m curious how much energy the slingshot can produce.
In any event, this is fun and I’m enjoying the focus required to shoot it.
Saturday morning I decided to take The Girl and go walk the Mexican Dam Trail. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, even if I bit warm because I dallied too long over my coffee. But it wasn’t yet hot and there was enough breeze to be comfortable.
I was surprised by the amount of water still in the Carson River. The fields of the Silver Saddle Ranch looked good, so they are getting plenty of water this season. In fact, one field was mowed and there were bales of hay waiting to be picked up.
That brought back memories of working in the hayfield with FiL. That was good work and the companionship of FiL still brings a smile. Those memories…
I think I might take a tripod out to the river and get some extended footage. I could easily make a short video of that trail and the cottonwoods that grow along the corridor. I love being in the shade of those old trees and I love the sound of birds calling and moving about.
The Carson River is still running high, even with irrigation withdrawals. There is more water here than I recall since I moved here in 2007.
The Girl and I decided to walk the Riverview Park trails a couple of weeks ago. I expected that repairs were not complete and I was right. However, sturdy walkers continue to hike the “trails” and enjoy the park.
Carson River is still near bankfull. I moved here in 2007 and have never seen this much water. There is still snow in the Sierra Nevada. Jobs Peak (and Sister, and Mount Rose) all have snow on them.
We were not able to walk the trail down to Empire Golf Course like I wanted to. There is too much damage, or at least too much water in the pot holes, for an attempt on our last visit.
I’m tempted to go walk the trail early in the morning. I might be able to bushwhack around the pots and regain access to the trail that runs along the perimeter of Empire Golf Course. I miss walking that trail, as much as I like our regular routes here in town that do not require a trip in the 4Runner.
Yesterday on walkies I carried my slingshot and was practicing shooting at found objects. (I followed the four safety rules, of course.)
This morning I discovered that one of my favorite pens, a baby blue Fisher Bullet Pen, was missing from my pocket. I had it clipped to the edge of my left slash pocket. I carried shot loose in the bottom of that pocket.
Apparently, while retrieving shot from my pocket, I snagged my Bullet Pen and released the clip. It fell to the ground without me noticing.
I decided to walk my route, which I probably would have done anyway, just in case I might walk across my missing pen.
Have I said that I hate losing things? I’m still looking for a lost/misplaced 12-ft tape measure that I’ve had for 40 years.
Well, as Lady Luck would have it, I walked up to my missing Bullet Pen. I’m surprised someone else didn’t pick it up because it really stood out.
I moved it to my left cargo pocket, where it will live with a few spare poop bags, my Olloclip auxiliary lens, and my pocket flashlight.
I recently purchased a slingshot (catapult in other locales). It is partly a toy and partly a part of my preparedness kit. I bought mine from Simple-Shot Shooting Sports, after spending some time reading reviews and watching YouTube videos.
It is a simple device, comprised of a set of thermoplastic frame, elastic bands, a pouch to hold the shot, and some means for fastening bands to frame. The Ocularis uses an interesting friction-fit connection that is fast, easy to set, and simple to adjust for optimum band length.
It is an improvement on the slingshots I built 50-some-years ago when I was a teenager. Back then, I harvested a fork from the olive trees across from my suburban home, which I then trimmed. I fastened bands from store-bought rubber bands my mom provided. I scavenged a pouch from old jeans or other heavy material.
I learned to double-up the bands to get more strength from the system. The tie was a simple larkshead knot on the frame. The same for the pouch.
Shot was mostly found materials, usually rocks in the half-inch size range. I preferred nicely-rounded stones which were plentiful in the Southern California desert. Targets were targets of opportunity — cans, bottles, fence posts, errant pigeons, and whatever. We didn’t shoot each other with the devices.
My new slingshot provides a lot of focus and fun without having to make a range trip for more potent weapons. The Girl accommodated the band “snap” on release quickly and is no longer spooked when I release a shot. Successful shots require skill and I can practice on walkies without having to worry about my shots hitting unintended targets. The maximum range of the slingshot is not more than a couple hundred feet and most of the energy is spent on the sandy soil so I’m not worried about bounces traveling far beyond my target.
This is fun. It’s practical. It’s cheap. It’s better to be outside than at the computer.
This is one of the structures along the perimeter of the quadrangle area. The structures are used only for storage now. At one time this was a thriving community of teachers and orphans.
I started carrying my Fuji X-T1 a few days ago on our daily walkies. I decided that enough time passed that I should be carrying a real camera again, with good glass. Mornings are one of my favorite times to make images, especially early when the sun is low.
The Girl and I have walked this area many times (almost every day since returning to Carson). It was once an orphanage and school run by the State of Nevada. Now it’s only a collection of structures used by the state for storage. Sometimes the structures are used by Carson City Sheriff’s deputies to work K-9 units. Most of the time the area is populated (sparsely) by canines and their handlers.
We love the green, the large trees, and the fact that off-leash work is permitted. Most of the others who visit are friendly, or at least polite. The Girl loves to romp in the grass and there are plenty of California ground squirrels to chase. They are cagey, though, and she has yet to catch one of them in this area. (Some others have not been quite so fortunate, though.)
On this particular morning we walked on the capitol grounds. I was hoping for something interesting to present itself for a photograph. There was no joy, however. But this capture was one that pleased me. So I thought I would share it.
The site of the historic Carson City lumberyard and flume, with a very happy dog.
It’s difficult to imagine, but a century-and-a-half ago this site was covered with logs from the Sierra Nevada waiting to be processed into timber for mining and other applications. A large flume was used to convey the harvested logs to this site, where they were staged for milling.
Now it’s a linear parkway and a favorite place for dogs and handlers to play. When we do morning walkies in town, it is one of our favorite routes. The Girl loves the fact that ground squirrels populate the area and provide prey to chase. Then she loves the cool, moist grass (obviously) for a nice romp and roll after hunting rodents. I like the cool that emanates from the grass and the shade of the large trees surrounding the site. Plus there is a sense of history that hangs here. I know that men worked this area to make a living. Their energy still lives here. It is nearly tangible.
The Girl’s vet called me a couple of days ago. The mass he was concerned about was a hemagiopericytoma, which is an old term for a soft tissue sarcoma. The pathologist called it Grade 1, which means that there is a 15-percent probability that it will return or metastasize. The margins were clear so he got all of the dangerous tissue. It is the best we can do and I’m not going to worry about it.
But I still f*ing hate cancer. I remind myself regularly that there is only here, there is only now.
