Category: photography

Lost… and Found

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I found my pen…

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.

Lesson learned…

The Ocularis Rebel

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This is the slingshot in my walking kit.

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.

NDEP

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The Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, NDEP, is housed in this building. We walk past it many days.

On many mornings, we walk past the building that houses Nevada Department of Environmental Protection, among others. The structure is rather striking from the old state school property, where we meet other doggies and chase ground squirrels.

On our way home, particularly on warm days, The Girl puts on quite a show on the grass landscaping outside the building. Our antics brighten a lot of mornings for folks outside for a walk or a smoke. I hear them chuckle and see them smile at our interaction and her crazy love of the cool grass and shade.

This is a good thing. I like this part of the route quite a lot.

Old Man Willow

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We walk by this old willow often.

Along the wetland that was once the Carson Flume and Lumberyard is a cluster of old willow trees. In the summer, their shade provides a nice respite against the direct sun. They also provide a place for the birds to sit and sing.

We often pause on our walks here for a few moments to listen to the birds and enjoy the shade. Then we press on.

A Couple Month’s Difference

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The linear park changed a lot over the last couple of months. There is now much vegetation and it doesn’t look like the desert.

We often walk the linear parkway from Room Street east to Saliman Road (and sometimes beyond). There are lots of birds and a few other critters we encounter along the way. Some areas are infested with California Ground Squirrels, which The Girl loves to chase. Dogs are permitted to be off-lead and it’s a good place to give her a run.

The winter months held this area in bleak grays. There was some water, of course, and a few waterfowl. But mostly it was cold, gray, and dead. When we walked the path a few days ago, I noticed that it now looks like a wetland. (It is.) The contrast was a little startling and called for an image.

Healing Nicely

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This is a happy, if somewhat impatient dog. She’s healing nicely, although she still looks a bit Frankenteinish.

A couple of mornings ago I opened the inside door to let in some morning sun. The Girl immediately gravitated toward the warmth. (She was putting some not-so-subtle pressure on me to go on walkies.) The pose demanded an image.

Although she still looks a bit Frankensteinish, her wounds are healing nicely and the sutures will be removed tomorrow. They don’t seem to bother her and she leaves them alone. She’s really very easy to care for, unlike me.

Nevada State School

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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.

Carson Lumberyard and Flume

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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.

Deer Stand

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Brother-in-law’s deer stand on their place near Vienna, Missouri.
Last weekend we drove from my in-laws’ place north to Vienna, Missouri to visit their youngest daughter and her family and to celebrate grandfather’s and grandson’s birthdays. It was a beautiful day and much too nice to be inside sitting around watching television. (I remembered why I don’t care much for television programming as well. The sports were OK; but the remainder — not so much.)

The field their place overlooks was clear and I thought a walk would be good for both the Girl and me. So I asked permission to walk down to the end of the field and look around. Permission received, the Girl and I headed off to the chagrin of the other dogs in their pen.

I puttered around the deer stand a few minutes, the Girl making happy sounds behind me. I wanted an image of the stand and of their place before we headed back for supper and celebration. As I finished my last capture, I discovered why the Girl was making happy sounds… she found something to roll in. She trotted over to me, looking quite proud of her self, grinning and laughing.

“What have you gotten into????”

She looked at me, still grinning.

“#$%%@!!!@ Ki? You stink!”

She was no longer grinning. But I couldn’t hold the anger long and her joy was contagious.

“Alright then… you get a bath and you’re not going to like it.” And with that we headed back to the house. I acquired soap, a towel, and the help of my nephew. He held her collar while I wet her down and washed her. She started to shake a couple of times.

“If you control her head, she can’t shake,” I told nephew.

Clean but wet, I toweled her off a couple of times so she wouldn’t get cold. Her collar went into the trash. I had intended to replace it anyway.

Supper and celebration were fun and appropriate. The Girl smelled pretty good as well. FiL and I stopped at Wally-World on the way home to buy a couple of cheap collars, one to wear and a spare in case the first failed.

Roadtrip

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A random selfie when the sun was on me one morning…
After a couple months of absence from my space, I decided to post something. I was away from home last month and am still traveling. But I’ll be home soon. It will be a good thing.

Travel took me to the east coast for a project meeting. The meeting went well enough, I think. There was a lot of intrigue, or so it seems, in the project panel. There were definitely undercurrents I did not understand. I think I still do not understand them.

But, the meeting was completed. I spent some time with Daughter and her family. I worked on two proposals and one statement of qualifications. I have paying work to do.

Now I’ll go see Wife’s family for a couple of days. Then I’ll head home through Denver to see Older Son and DiL. That will be good, too.

Then I’ll be home for a bit. I’m ready for that.