The early history of California is filled with not only Spanish missions and gold discoveries (not to mention the indigenous peoples) but huge tracts of land operated as cattle ranches by the Californios. Here in Northern California, the neighborhood I’m sitting in was once part of the vast San Juan Rancho land grant; and down in Southern California it’s just […]
We took a short trip back out to Folsom Lake this morning — a last chance to get outdoors ahead of a big storm that should be hitting our area before long. Though the skies were blue and cloudless as the day began, it wasn’t long before grey took over; and while the south wind wasn’t gusting too strongly yet, […]
A nice bit of overcast lured me out of the house this morning and down to Mississippi Bar with my cameras. The clouds burned off by 10 o’clock, and although I had the hiking trails mostly to myself, I did see a few other critters — some horses from the Shadow Glen Stables and a scattering of typically curious blacktail […]
Sunday was my fourth outing as a volunteer at the bald eagle nest site; our job, which is coordinated by the Bureau of Reclamation, California State Parks, and local organization FOLFAN (Friends of Lakes Folsom and Natoma), is to help teach people using the trail about the eagles and keep an eye open for anybody disturbing the birds. Just about […]
This week I’m sharing the final set of images from my box of professionally photographed slides. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing them as much as I have! I’ll be taking a break from Memory Monday next week (and possibly the week after that) as I try to decide what’s next. My new scanner has made such a huge difference in […]
Two weeks ago I began sharing some professionally shot vintage slides that form part of my mom’s collection. That initial set were all labeled as Wesco slides; but the remainder of images included in this box are labeled only with numbers — so I can only guess at their locations. I believe that the next two images may have something to do with a county fair in Southern California; they seem to be exhibits of Sunkist brand Oranges. The second photo includes the names Crafton Mutual Orchards in Mentone (Riverside County) and Allen Break & Son in Bryn Mawr (San Bernardino County). I’m guessing that the black horse depicted above may be Silkwood, a record-setting trotter which helped swell attendance at the early 1890s Orange County fairs. The good news is that I’ve finally ordered a new slide scanner, and I hope to be back next week with a new and improved appearance to my slides!
Recently I met a wonderful lady at the Roseville auction who was working as a volunteer to benefit The Last Wild Place mustang refuge in Nevada. She was passionate about her love for these beautiful horses and the need to give them a safe place to live and run free. I was thinking of her when I chose this episode […]