After supper, The Girl and I drove out Goni Road to watch the showers spilling over The Hill. I came away with a couple of decent captures. Captured with ILCE-7M3, 2026-05-21 19:37:42, Nikkor 28mm f/2.8, 1/80sec, f/8, ISO-100, processed in DXO Photolab 7.
Last Thursday evening, we had some showers spill over the Sierra Crest into western Nevada. The Girl and got caught in a light shower on evening walkies and hurried back to the house. We were lucky and caught the edge of the shower, so we were not wet; just damp.
Juan’s Mexican Grill in the Comstock Casino on Goni Road runs Taco Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am nearly always up for some Juan’s tacos, salsa and chips, and a Modelo. I decided that I needed tacos in my face and The Girl decided she wanted to go with. Since it was cool, I thought “Why not?” and so put her in the rig.
The showers were still spillover The Hill after supper, so I decided to drive up Goni Road to see if I could get a decent capture. I had the Sony A7iii, a few Nikkor prime lenses, and The Girl, so up the hill we went.
We stopped just short of the entry gate to the cinder mine and pulled up. I got her out to sniff about (but no hunting permitted) and looked around myself. I then retrieved the A7 and a Nikkor 50mm f/2 and made a few captures. I decided that a wider lens might improve the composition and swapped the 50mm for a Nikkon 28mm f/2.8 and made a few more captures.
After a few minutes, I was cold, so we loaded back into the 4Runner and continued to watch the scene — me for the view and The Girl for critters. As the light faded, we headed back down the hill. On the way, I noticed a woman with her camera on a tripod, looking over Carson. I stopped, then called out “Any luck?”
“Maybe,” she replied.
“You can’t do any good unless you try, right?”
She smiled back at me, “Yep!” I wished her good luck and left her to her art. The Girl and I returned home, where she got her kibbles and I put on my comfies so we could settle on the sofa (after she ate). If I do not go settle on the sofa in the evening, I get pressure. She will come tell me that it is time for snuggles.
I reviewed my images and decided there are no portfolio grade captures in the set. I do not think any have enough drama and I do not have the editing skill to force it. Still, I am satisfied that I made the effort to get out.
I spend part of my evenings on the sofa. I will either watch some Netflix/Prime, or read. I will finish the last book in The Expanse series soon. Those have been enjoyable and I love the stories, settings, and characters. It will be sad when I finish my first read.
On a sad note, I learned that a lawyer I did a project for a few years ago abruptly died. I needed a reference for a possible project and reached out only to hear from his widow that he passed. He was not an old man by any stretch.
Life is definitely fleeting and subject to change. Enjoy every sandwich as a favorite musician once said. Too soon the last sandwich is eaten and we fade from view. I am grateful. Life is good.
God bless…
After supper, The Girl and I drove out Goni Road to watch the showers spilling over The Hill. I came away with a couple of decent captures. Captured with ILCE-7M3, 2026-05-21 19:30:49, Nikkor 28mm f/2.8, 1/100sec, f/8, ISO-100, processed in DXO Photolab 7.
She clearly wants something, but I do not remember what it was. Captured with Sony A7iii and a Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 wide open. Light post processing with Snapseed in my iPhone to render the image in black and white.
An Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 lens came into my possession a while back. It is in regular rotation whenever I carry the Sony A7iii. While a little soft wide open, that f/1.2 look is highly desirable. The lens deserves some additional testing as well as the other f/1.2 lenses in my inventory. These include legacy lenses from Nikon, Konica, and Canon, as well as the Zuiko.
They were building a new pond at Mason Valley WMA. Shot with Sony A7iii and Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 at about f/8. Light processing with PhotoLab 7.
A couple-three weeks ago The Girl and I were out at Mason Valley WMA for an outing and to play some radio. I am using my weekends to get away from the house when possible. I work from my home office so I spend a lot of time there. It is a mental-health necessity to get away from that environment periodically.
After activating the park, I walked Sera again. For the moment, she is on two walks per day of about ten minutes each but on lead for control.
After our walk, we loaded up and headed for the park exit. Along the way, I noticed some equipment where they (staff or contractor) were excavating another pond. I decided to stop and get out my camera for this trip, a Sony A7iii with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 adapted to the E-Mount. It was far too bright for the fast aperture, but the lens also works well stopped down and I find the f/4–f/8 range to be adequately sharp.
So I walked the area for a few minutes and made a few captures. The Sun felt good and the air was clean. It was a good day.
The Girl was waiting for me when I returned.
Life is good.
She wanted to be let out to hunt. She is not ready to be off-lead and running around. So, I got the look. Shot with Sony A7iii and Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 at about f/4. Light processing with PhotoLab 7.
This was my setup for the Washoe Lake SP activation, after I discovered I left the station battery behind.
Saturday morning I woke, made coffee, and sat down to collect my thoughts. It was a normal day. Well, it was until I decided there were a couple of tasks I needed to get done. So, I busied myself photographing the Fuji X100V and the X-E2 that were on my list to sell.
Once that task was done and the images reviewed, I wrote the descriptions and listed each camera on fleaBay. I realy do not like to use the service anymore because their fees are excessive. My cost to sell is on the order of 15 percent. But, it is the devil I know so I continue to use them.
That task done, I asked myself what was next. By that time, The Girl had wandered into my workroom, checked in with me, and moved to her daytime mat. I gave her a ruffle of the ears and a shoulder pat and turned back to my work.
“Nope, this is not going to do. We need to get outside.” So I fed her, took her out, and started to gather up a few things. We both needed some outside time and I decided to make a run to Washoe Lake for some air, some exercise, and some radio play.
The rig was basically loaded, so I grabbed a couple of water bottles, her gear, and we loaded up. I grabbed McD’s for lunch and we drove to the park, nibbling on fries as we drove. (Yes, she gets fries…)
At the park, I got her out and we got a short walk in. The wind was down and the Sun felt good. I let her sniff about while I got out my table, chair, and her mat. She stayed in the rig while I deployed the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 antenna with the mil-extension and the mil-whip. I used my hand-built counterpoise set — three wires about 16-feet long that I deploy symmetrically about the antenna. I’m confident I get a better ground plane from multiple wires and it takes only a couple of minutes to deploy them.
I then turned to setup the station and found that I had… wait for it… left the station battery behind. At that point, several thoughts passed through my mind, none of them printable. With the antenna deployed, I could not leave the site to retrieve the battery.
However, I had the Elecraft KX2 shack-in-a-box in the rig. So, I put away my exterior equipment (save the antenna), got the little radio out, connected it to the antenna, and turned it on. It powered right up, so I checked the 20m band but it was busy. So I moved to 15m and found an open frequency. I spotted myself on the POTA.app website and started calling.
I was puzzled that the little rig was putting out only seven watts. I checked the antenna match and power output settings and found nothing. Then, in the middle of a contact, the rig shut down. The battery was depleted.
It took only seconds to retrieve the spare from the rig’s kit. I plugged it in and powered the rig on. In my haste, I had changed frequencies, did not notice, and lost the contact I was working.
So, I paused, took a breath, changed back to my frequency, and found it occupied. “Poop!” I thought (well, kinda-sorta). Frustrated and harried, I searched for an unoccupied frequency, adjusted my log (HAMRS on my iPhone), and edited my spot. I restarted my call, CQ POTA DE AG7TX AR, and started working callers again.
We came up on the close of the day (1600h PST == 0000h UTC), so I took the last call and then cleared the frequency. I powered down the little radio, closed my log, and sat for a minute. What might have been a frustrating experience turned out fine. I had a spare radio that had a good battery. I made about 20 contacts (more than enough to make my activation), solved a couple of problems, and had a good day.
I recovered the station and the antenna and put them away. I got The Girl out of the rig and we took a ten-minute walk around the area we have been working. She sniffed, pulled on the lead to go faster, peed, and pooped — all the doggie things. Her gait is improving and maybe the muscle mass of her left hip is increasing. She limps less and all of that is good.
The day ended well with us heading back to the house for a good evening. I got the KX2 kit from the rig and put it on the charger. Both batteries needed to be charged.
The Yaesu FT-897D station at the end of my Mason Valley activation. I left the microphone in the 897 box. Shot with Sony A7iii and Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 at f/4.
I woke Sunday morning with the time change screwing with my natural rhythm. I made coffee (a substantial habit) and sat down at my desk. There are a few websites I check daily while I have coffee. As I worked through my second mug, I looked out the window and noticed the Sun shining. I checked the weather and we were in for another lovely day. So I checked the radio weather and it looks like propagation would be OK if not good.
I decided to go activate Mason Valley WMA. It is only a bit more than an hour away, is not heavily used (at least the area where I like to play radio), and I have not activated it in a long time (a couple of years). So, if propagation turned out to not be good, it was not a long trip to have spent.
I took The Girl out to eliminate and sniff. Then I fed her before I started preparations to go. (If I do not do things in the proper order, she will not eat.) I checked the KX2 and swapped batteries on the charger. This meant I was not taking the little rig with me. I grabbed a snack, The Girl’s gear, and we headed for the rig.
I started the rig and then realized I did not have a battery for the Yaesu FT-897D. Hmmm… I almost violated the First Rule of the Day… again. Well, for the second day in a row. I retrieved the Bioenno 30Ah battery from its charger in the camper and stowed it in the carry bag in the 4Runner.
Then we headed for McD’s for a breakfast sandwich and another coffee. Provisioned, we headed through town and then east on US 50 while I chatted with Older Son.
The trip was uneventful and I remembered the trail at the park to my preferred operating position. I got The Girl out for a short walk and enjoyed the air and the Sun. Then I put her on her mat and started setting up the station. Again, I used the Chameleon MPAS 2.0 and the Yaesu FT-897D. The radio would not power up. Hmmm…
I checked the connections, but no joy. I thought this odd because I had used the radio only a week ago. I returned to the rig and checked the 897 box. I had a spare power cable. I retried it, swapped it for the cable connected to the radio, and the radio powered up. Hmmm… I thought. That is odd. There was nothing physically apparent from a brief examination. I will need to check it.
With the station setup, I picked up my iPhone to spot myself on the POTA.app website.
“#!#$$#%%#$#!!!” no freakin’ signal. Plus, in my haste, and had not posted an activation on the website. So, I took a drink of water, paused, and decided how to solve the problem. I could a) just start calling and then send my park number as part of the first exchange with a request for a spot or b)drive a half-mile back towards the main road to pick up a cellular signal.
I elected Plan B. So, The Girl and I drove back toward the main road until I got a good signal. I then posted an upcoming activation, and we returned to the OP. I set the radio to an open frequency on the 17m band and started calling (CQ). I was greeted with a caller after a couple of calls and started working stations. At this point I knew that the Reverse Beacon Network would pick up my general calls (CQ POTA DE AG7TX) and then the POTA website robot would scrape by call sign from the RBN. This would keep me spotted so that callers could find me.
The Sun was a little too much, so I moved the rig to shelter the station (and me) a bit. The hatch does a pretty good job of providing shade.
I worked the bands for a couple of hours until the number of callers fell off. My farthest call of the day was an operator in Sweden whom I have worked a number of times. When the upper bands are working, I get calls from Europe and sometimes South America. That is fun.
Satisfied and ready to head back home, I recovered the antenna and station. With the equipment stowed, The Girl and I did another walk. We then loaded up and headed home.
I reflected on the weekend as we drove home. The Fujifilm X100V sold Sunday morning. I knew I would want to pack it and get it prepared to ship Monday. I thought about supper and decided I had not had enchiladas in a long time. There is a Mexican place in the CVS lot on US 50 on the east side of town, but it was closed. So, I started for San Marcus Grill. I called a buddy who has been trying to engage for a shared meal, but he was just taking supper from the oven.
So, I was solo. The Girl would be fine in the rig while I got a bite of supper. I parked in the lot, dropped the windows a bit, and opened the moonroof a bit. She would have plenty of ventilation.
I went inside, was finally seated, and the helper brought chips and salsa. I ordered a Margarita because I have not had one in a very long time. In fact, I have all but given up alcohol since the first of the year. It was not that I felt addicted; but I thought the habit was not my best self and decided to try an experiment wherein I reduced my alcohol intake substantially to see how I feel.
The result is that I have almost no reflux overnight and I think I sleep a little better. So I will maintain the regimen even if I allow myself an occasional Margarita or glass of wine with supper.
I ate most of my enchiladas, so I did not pay the Dog Tax. Forgiven, I drove us home, put the battery on the charger, and fed her. We then settled in for the night. It was a good day.
There were things learned, of course.
Be sure to check the punch list.
Wait, I do not have a punch list.
If I do not leave necessary parts of the station in the rig, then create a punch list… even if it is just a note that I need to get a battery, radio, antenna, etc from storage and put it in the rig.
Have a backup plan. On the Saturday outing, I had a QRP radio in the rig and had batteries for it. This saved the activation.
On the Sunday outing, I had an Elecraft KX1 and battery in a box in the rig. That was my backup. And, I knew it was there.
I did not have a DVM in the rig. I should be sure to have a small toolkit in the rig with a ohm meter for continuity checking. Fortunately, I had a spare power cable so was able to operate.
I have a propensity for ad hoc activations. While this is OK it can lead to failures, such as a forgotten battery, no cellular signal for spotting, or other problems from lack of a punch list or moving equipment/items to and from the vehicle.
I should spend a few more minutes before leaving the house to post my intended activation, check the kit, and be sure I have everything needed for a daytrip.
As usual, I learned a few things. I hope the lessons stick. It was a good weekend. The weather was good. The Girl is healing, albeit slowly. I played some radio. One of my excess cameras sold (the X100V is still in high demand).
Oh yeah, hat tip to Dickens for my use of his meme.
Life is good. I am grateful.
After completing the Mason Valley WMA activation, I paused to make an image of the site and the Chameleon MPAS antenna. It was a good day. Shot with Sony A7iii and Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 lens at about f/8.
We had a bit of snow Thursday, with maybe five or six inches of relatively heavy snow. Although it was early (about 0630h local) and not very bright, I stepped out the front door (briefly) and made this capture with the Sony A7iii and a new-to-me Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 manual focus lens. I brought the brightness up slightly in post.
I need another mug of coffee, my second. I think I will go make one and take Sera outside to eliminate. It looks cold outside, so we will not be long.
OK, so I took her out and she peed. I am right — it is cold… but not too cold. Winter is good. The snow provides snowpack in the mountains and that means water in the spring and early summer. The cold reduces the insect population and helps maintain the ecosystem that I so enjoy here in the high desert. The capture is from Thursday morning when we had snow. I used the Sony A7iii and a new-to-me Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 at f/5.6 as I recall. It was quite early so there was not a lot of light. I had to bring up the exposure slightly and made the edit in my iPhone with Snapseed.
And… I have another mug of Joe. That makes for a good morning.
We had a good snow this week with five inches or so here in Carson and several feet in the high Sierra. Much of the snow in the valleys is already melted. That means some ice on the roads, but I do not plan to drive much today. I do see a grocery run in my day and I will probably have supper with an old friend.
I see a workout and a walk also in my day. I have a few chores on my to-do list as well. I think I will enjoy my coffee and then get on with it.
I have probably posted a billion images from The Red Hut Diner here in Carson City. There will probably be another billion posted before my expiration date arrives. There is always an opportunity for street photography there. Shot with Fuji A7iii and a new-to-me Tamron 70-210mm f/3.8 Adaptall-2 zoom lens. Post processing on my iPhone to render a black and white image with a tiny bit of grain.
A best buddy just sent me a couple of images of he and his wife at Valentine’s Day lunch. It looks like they had bar burgers. I responded that I am a little jealous.
Had Wife lived, we would have done something special for the day, even if it was just lunch of bar burgers. Or, we might have gone to supper and braved the press. This was one of the things I loved to do — celebrate special days or special occasions with her.
I am sorry that those days are gone. It is not that life is not good; it really is. I am truly grateful for the days, even when they are difficult or I feel poorly. But that communal life was something that I deeply enjoyed and I miss it.
I had breakfast at The Red Hut Diner this morning, or probably better to say brunch. I did a bunch of work early and when the meeting ended I was hungry. I decided to treat myself to breakfast (and bring a treat home for The Girl). I did both. The biscuits and gravy were good, as usual.
I made this capture with the Sony A7iii and a lovely Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 AIS lens. Post processed in PhotoLab7.
Whew… it has been a week. I received a call early in the week for some help with a project. The question was whether (or not) an alternate outfall could be used for a proposed treatment/detention pond. I had limited data to work with.
So, I went to work to understand the existing system and assess whether there was sufficient capacity to accept outflow from the proposed pond. That lead down a rabbit hole of the existing system for which we do not have complete data.
I learned that we will need to do a more complete analysis of the system capacity and how much of it is currently used. So, I wrote up what I learned and forwarded it to my client yesterday.
Part of my current struggle is with The Girl. No, she is not a problem, but on Thanksgiving Day she got into a kerfuffle with a coyote (best I can tell — I never saw the fight or the animal). She was marked up a bit but of greater concern was that she was lame in the port rear leg. The incident caused us to make a trip to the 24/7 animal hospital in Reno for treatment. There it was identified that she likely tore her ACL in that leg.
I took her to her vet here in Carson for a follow up and she was healing nicely. This resulted in an ACL workup this week and the news is that she has a torn ACL. This is a common injury, particularly with athletic canines (she is) and requires surgery to repair.
The cost is not cheap but doable. The recovery will be three months or more. That is a lot of reduced activity time for a high-drive dog. But, we will do it.
This also puts me in the research mode to understand her injury and the various surgical (and recovery) approaches to treat it. That is what I need… another rabbit hole to go down.
I was up early this morning (just after midnight), rolled over, and could not go back to sleep. So I was up for a bit, reviewing YT videos of the surgical approaches and recovery regimens. I heard her shake, then she showed up in my workroom for some attention, which she got. She asked to go out, so out we went.
I noticed the sky was mottled with clouds and backlit by the Moon. So I returned to the house and retrieved the Sony A7iii and affixed a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens to it. I used the combination to make a series of captures of what I saw. The frame above is the one I liked best of the lot. I did a bit of post-processing in PhotoLab and might make another run at it to produce a black and white image.
I will figure out what to do for The Girl. She is not a pet; she is my companion on this walk through life. While I am sorry she got herself into trouble, I remain grateful for her presence in my life, grateful I have the resources to take care of the surgery, and am simply grateful. I remember my buddy and am grateful he was a part of my life. He was good for me. He is missed. And, life is still good.
The Mexican Ditch and Trail, shot with the Sony A7iii and the Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro, at f/8. Post processing with PhotoLab to clean up the image.
It is the first day of the week, Sunday 24 November 2024 and I am beginning this week’s (ha!) list of remainders.
MrLeica is a YT content creator and blogger who treats Leica cameras and glass, among other things.
After a couple of decades of being afraid to eat ham and bean soup (DiL… “Oooh, that’s bad, Dad!”), I found this recipe. I am going to try the the trick of using canned navy beans and washing them before making my soup to see if I can avoid a disaster (so to speak).
As part of their holiday sales event, Simpleshot (makers/purveyors of slingshots) did something I really do not care for — they shared my contact information with other small business in the outdoors market. I forgive them; it is easy enough to unsubscribe. One of the new vendors is Wazoo Gear. It made me chuckle when I free-associated “out the wazoo!”. Their offerings look OK to me. Simpleshot is recommended too.
Apple Music and its predecessor, iTunes, continues to lose the album art for my music collection. I have thought for a while now that I might want to disengage from the music connection to Apple. This list of music players might be an option.
Here is another set of iTunes alternatives. I think there might be a full entry on my love/hate relationship with iTunes and Apple Music.
I made this test shot with the Sony A7iii and a new-to-me Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 manual focus lens, which is probably considered legacy glass.
A couple of days ago I carried the Sony A7iii and a new-to-me Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 manual focus lens. I seem to be using and writing about a lot of Nikon F-mount lenses of late. The Sony A7iii is getting a lot of work as well. My other cameras are languishing.
The Silver Saddle Ranch compound, viewed from the south of the horse-working paddock. Shot with Sony A7iii and a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro lens at f/8. Post processed with PhotoLab for black and white conversion and some cleanup.
The Girl and I got out Sunday for our daily walk. With the change in weather, we are walking Silver Saddle Ranch once again. The risk of snakes is abated but there remains a risk of other critters. I sometimes see a large coyote and there was a report of a mountain lion working a sheep ranch nearby.
I am reminded that life is inherently risky. The risk can be mitigated to some extent, but none of us get out alive. There is no such thing as safe. But, I digress.
I found a Vivitar Series 1 90mm f/2.5 macro lens in my inventory. (I actually found a second sample and I have no idea how I got two. They were purchased long ago.) I carried it mounted to the Sony A7iii Saturday and Sunday and came away with a couple frames that are OK, by my estimation.
We had a great walk, except that Goofus, AKA The Girl, had too much energy and ran too hard. She limped around the house Sunday evening and Monday morning. So, I am going to have to mitigate that to some extent. With the coyote I saw yesterday and the mountain lion report, I need to keep her closer in anyway. She can still range out a bit, just not more than a few tens of feet.
The lens is quite good, especially given its age. It is plenty sharp, focuses quite close (and I have the extension that will let it focus to 1:1) without the extension, and the rendering is good. It was built by Tokina. Those lenses built by the Komine and Tokina companies were generally of higher quality than the run of the mill Vivitar glass.
The reputation of the Vivitar is that it produces a very nice background blur (bokeh) and renders an image well. It is useful for general photography when the focal length is appropriate.
So I made a few images as we walked. It is my way of rebuilding after focusing on problem solving. I give my mind a break from the analytical work and feed my soul.
When we came around to the northbound part of our trail, I noticed the scene of the ranch compound. The wave cloud over Mt. McLellan added to the scene. It also begged to be in black and white, at least to me. I made the capture, while The Girl waited impatiently for me.
Because of the traffic, I put her on lead until we passed the compound. When I saw the way was clear, I released her from the lead but kept her close anyway.
As we approached the rig and the end of our outing, the Sun popped out from behind the clouds. I paused to make an image of the entry sign. I am working on a Silver Saddle Ranch gallery and the sign will make a nice theme photo.
When I reviewed the image, I noticed some chromatic aberration along the hard lines of the top of the stone. It is not prominent, but it is there. This is not unusual for vintage glass and is easy to correct in post processing. It also diminishes with an increase in f-number.
It was a good walk. Even with the overcast and cooler weather, I returned home refreshed. The Girl came home tired, and a tired dog is a happy dog.
