Although I have been around the Internet since my last remainders post, apparently I did not capture a lot of the sites and include them here. Hmmm…
It was a busy day and is not quite over yet. I am working on a hydrology report for a client that I need to get out. Then there is another hydrologic analysis that needs my attention. I am called to staff the radio room at the NV EOC tomorrow morning. The EOC was stood up this week in response to the Davis Fire south from Reno and north from Washoe Lake in Washoe County. That is just north of me about ten miles.
Next week and the week following are field work. So I am busy this month. Busy is good.
I checked Facebook this afternoon, briefly, to post a music video I came across from one of my blog posts. It was good when I posted it and is still good. So I decided to share.
After posting the link to YouTube with a smile and small chuckle, I noticed a PM waiting. I opened it and it was from my friend Sandy. Then I nearly hit the floor. My old friend Jim M. died Monday. I have no other knowledge than he is gone.
Just. Like. That.
I felt that heart-hit that comes with such news. I wept, openly. Jim and I knew each other since back in the 90s when I came across his weblog, long idle and soon to be long gone. His love of photography and words match my own and we became friends. I still remember Sunday Morning Coffee with Jim. We would type back and forth on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) for an hour or so every Sunday morning.
He was there for me during my clinical depression. He was there for me when Wife died.
I do not carry much regret, but I carry this one — I was close enough to visit earlier this year. I did not take the time. Now, that time has passed.
Now his wife Sandy has a long row to hoe. Her griefwork will be different than mine, but yet it will be the same in that it has to be done.
I have a few more thoughts, probably. But they need to rattle around in this brain of mine before I can make sense of them.
Vaya con Dios, my friend. You are missed.
The image? Well, with The Girl sick I walked from the house and made a few circuits through downtown Carson City. Old Cactus Jack is still there, beckoning the tourists to come in and spend a dime, or a dollar. I saw the setup and made the capture.
The Girl and I are walking up at the Spooner Summit site again. The heat returned this week, so we seek altitude to find cooler temperatures during our hikes. In addition, I just love the forest this time of year. The bear brush is beginning to show signs of fall (yellow leaves). Very soon the days will cool and snow will come.
This old stump is a remnant from a fire that occurred in the area some years ago. The floor mast has mostly recovered and signs of the fire on the ground are limited to a few burned remnants of trees and the plethora of stumps where dead trees were felled as a matter of safety. I presume the wood was recovered and used for gainful purpose.
I have been carrying the Fujifilm X-T5 body with the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 lens quite a lot. It is a standard lens for the APS-C sensor of the X-T5 and I think renders one of the better images from the Fuji glass.
I used one of the Fujifilm film stock recipes from Ritchie Roesch’s Fuji X Weekly website, the Kodachrome 64 simulation. I loved K64 back when it was available. The warmer colors suit my vision well. It is a pity that Kodak stopped manufacturing the stock. I would shoot it now.
Yesterday was a good hike, once I got up the hill. I was huffing and puffing on that first steep climb out. But the rest of the hike was good even if I was a bit pressed for time.
I paused, briefly, along the way to make a few captures. I like this one of The Girl. She was not completely on-alert, having just surveyed the area for chipmunks. But, she had taken the high ground and was holding it.
She is a blast. I love her so much. Life is good.
I have been very busy the last week and the upcoming weeks will be no different, I expect. But, today, The Girl and I got out to walk one of my favorite trails near Spooner Summit along US50.
Soon the snow will come and walking there will be more difficult. I might buy a pair of snowshoes and learn to do that. The Girl might have to have snowshoes for doggos, too.
But this morning, the trail was lovely and the couple who got there before me were far enough ahead that it was as if I was along (with The Girl, of course) on the trail.
I carried the Fujifilm X-E4 with the Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 mounted today. That is a marvelous lens that is fast, plenty sharp, and renders out of focus areas nicely. In fact, I think I see a hint of bokeh balls in some of the images.
I often set the lens for f/8 and just run it. However, for some images I will open up the aperture to reduce the depth of field and isolate the subject a bit. But not for this image.
I really like textures. The granite of the Sierra Nevada provides plenty of subject matter. The iage is straight out of camera. #SOOC
The walk was good. I came away with a frame the pleases me. The Girl is tired (so a happy dog).
Life is good.
While walking The Girl in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, I noticed that the colors of the bear brush1 are changing. This started a couple of days ago. The lodgepole pines, of course, have not changed.
I can feel the difference in the air as well. Over the last couple of weeks, it is not as warm in the afternoons. Fall is coming.
I look forward to it as it is after the summer heat and we move into the cooler months. I love the weather here in the high desert. it suits me. The heat lasts only a few weeks and the remainder of the year has wonderful weather.
I enjoy being outdoors with The Girl. We have fun. Life is good.
1I am sure this brush has a formal name. I recall calling it bear brush from back when I was a kid. I think it will stick.