Well, I tried out WordPress’ new block editor this past week, and I can’t say I enjoyed the experience. I try to be open minded about change; sometimes I love new stuff right away, and other times I’m fine with it after a period of adjustment. Maybe this is a case of the latter, but I spent way too much […]
It’s been nearly two years since I was able to visit Anderson Marsh at Clear Lake and walk the trails, and my visit last week offered a stark example of how even a slight change in weather patterns affects the plant and animal life in vital habitats like creeks and marshes. It looks like we may be heading back into another drought year — although I’m still remaining hopeful that our latest round of storms will help. On my previous visit, in May 2019, everything was fresh and green. The inlets of Cache Creek were full; I photographed turtles sunning themselves on logs and crawdads scurrying around underwater. This time, I found evidence of a recent prescribed burn and the inlets were parched and bare. I did see a good number of birds as I hiked along — including a pair of Valley Quail foraging along the sides of the dry creek bed.
I’ve visited Anderson Marsh State Historic Park a few times now, usually during our springtime visits to Clear Lake. The park is located just off Highway 53 near the city of Clearlake. The old farmhouse was once part of a working ranch, and during normal times is often the scene of historic re-enactments and other events. Even though it was […]
Long before I bought my current outfit and began trying to photograph birds and other wildlife, I learned from watching nature documentaries that the best photos are usually the product of hours and hours of patient waiting and often hundreds of lousy shots. It’s all too easy to forget that important lesson when you see all the great images shared […]
We just returned home after spending the last few days at Clear Lake, California’s largest freshwater lake. There are so many beautiful hiking trails in the area, most of which I’ve never visited yet; I also enjoy revisiting favorite spots like Anderson Marsh State Historic Park at the south end of the lake and Rodman Slough, at the north end. […]
Here are some more of my mom’s slides from her California Mission projects in 1979-80. The top photo shows Mission San Miguel, featured in last Wednesday’s post. The remainder are part of the collection shot at Mission Purísima Concepión, along with her slide captions.
I’m working my way through several boxes of slides, trying to follow some rough chronological order. That means using hints like notes written or dates stamped on, and sometimes even the appearance of the slide frames themselves, i.e., some are plastic (1980s) and some are discolored white cardboard with red or blue around the edges (1950s and 1960s). Over the […]
Summer 1973 — These photos are from a trip my parents took to Hearst Castle and Solvang on the Central California coast, leaving us kids home. But don’t worry! A few years later they returned and took me along with them. Sadly, I don’t recall too much about Hearst Castle except that it was beautiful and overwhelming; I’d love to […]
From 1982, images of the buildings and grounds at Mission La PurÍsima Concepción de María Santísima, Lompoc.