Lucerne Valley, Old shack - 146

Hello and Welcome.

Day 146 of my 365 Day Photography Journey.

I had a lot on my plate today; 450 miles to drive for a recall and then a photog shoot with my grandson for invitations, a storm blowing through California, fresh batteries in my camera and all that country side. I was controlled and only stopped 4 times.

Here are just a couple photos from one stop. I hope you enjoy the photos. I know I do.

A shack in Lucerne Valley.

The sky was just amazing.

Make a great day.

San Bernardino and a clear day. -143

Hello and Welcome.

Day 143 of my 365 day photography journey.

It's not very often you hear San Bernardino and clear day mentioned together in the same sentence. I had some work to do in Big Bear and was very pleased to see a clear valley below. My only frustration was finding a good location to pull off the road. My patience paid off twice.

The winds seemed to be blowing out to sea which is good for clarity.

San Bernardino looking towards the I-10

Looking in the Fontana Direction towards the I-215

Make a great day.

Stoddard Peak Hike - 140

Hello and Welcome.

Day 140 of my 365 Day Photography Journey.

Panoramic from Stoddard Peak

Lee, Kristin and I decided to hit the trail today. In this case we hit Stoddard Peak Trail, off Mt Baldy road. From where we parked it's about a 4 mile round trip; 3 miles on a fire road and 1 mile through thick brush. The trail has about a 700 foot elevation change from where we started. We cut off two miles of semi residential walking because Lee, being the sharp details person she is, read the directions.

The moon that greeted me as I packed for our trip.

Lee fortunately saved us a lot of unnecessary back tracking, because she still had the trail map on her phone. We crossed the saddle below (see the photo below) and started to descend down the other side. I looked ahead, saw the descent and knew something was wrong. We should be going up not down. I asked Lee if she still had the map on her phone. She did! The trail had been hidden due to clearing of the fire road. We had walked right pass the entrance leading to the peak.

The climb was pretty steep.

Kristin faithfully waited on us.

Stoddard Peak, Elevation 4624

Lee again being the ever attentive to details persons notices this tin can under some rocks. It contained, a mint (which I ate), love notes, some very personal (If the rocks could talk), some sad, most glad, a rain poncho, a pen and a notepad for our entry. We left two pieces of gum in exchange for the mint I took.

I asked Lee before we left if she was sure she wanted to wear pants. I was a little concerned with the heat. She turned out to be the smart one, again. You can't see the damage so much on my legs but you can see it on Kristin's legs. The last 1/2 mile is through some pretty dense vegetation. So Lee's legs are just a beautiful now as when we started.

Lee says she wants this "Gingerbread house." (Photo below) It doesn't look to me like it was made of gingerbread, but what do I know about "Gingerbread houses." 

We made a great day. Did you make a great day?

Birds at the Sanctuary - 139

Hello and Welcome.

Day 139 of my 365 Day Photography Journey.

The birds have started to visit; Mocking Bird, House Finch, White Crowned Sparrow,Slate Colored Junco, Oregon Junco, Audubon Warbler, Cactus Wren and European Sparrow. If you read my blog a couple days ago, you know I deleted some of them on accident. I'll get photos of my missing visitors soon. Here is what I do have.

f. House Finch

f. White Crown Sparrow and m. House Finch

House Finch f./m.

House Finch watching the White Crown Sparrow

The following 6 images are extremely noisy because I had to use a 1600 ISO to capture them. I shot these after the sun went down and it was getting very hard to see them with the necked eye.

f. Slate Colored Junco

f. Oregon Junco

f. White Crowned Sparrow

f. White Crowned Sparrow and m. House Finch. Notice the size difference.

I don't think the birds know I made a great day for them.