After our tour yesterday, we drove up Highway 1. We stopped just north of San Simeon to watch the elephant seals for awhile. I was surprised what a great viewing area this was. You are able to get fairly close …
After a totally forgetable breakfast, we made our way back to Hearst Castle, to take tour number 3. One thing I noticed since our last trip down there in the 80s, was that digital photography has made it much easier …
After spending several days helping out Mom and visiting with Grandma, Lori and I traveled down to Hollister to stay with Carol and John. We all took an over-night trip to San Simeon to visit Hearst Castle. We took tour …
Christmas Eve we had dinner at Mom’s and opened presents because Derek and Jasna were leaving on vacation. Earlier in the day, I had spent the morning trying to get Lori’s Christmas present. I had wanted to get her a …
On the way down to San Jose for the holidays, we stopped at Scott and Betsy’s Victorian home in Alameda. They graciously allowed us to use their home for a photoshoot with Natalie. Natalie had the perfect figure for this …
“Lori and I spent the weekend putting in our latest flood control project. Since the last flood came in from the side we added some protection by using 1×12 boards at the bottom of what will eventually be a deer …
There was a fire on Main Street tonight, but the good news is that it was only one of tractor floats in the annual Ferndale Lighted Tractor Parade. This year I decided not to set up my big studio lights …
This one we’re guessing is a White-tailed Kite. Again not a great photograph of it, but the same lousy conditions as the one I photographed yesterday. Now I know why a large, fast lens is a requirement for photographing birds. …
Lately it seems like we’ve been seeing a larger number of predator birds in the trees behind us. (Speaking of backyard trees, we lost about half of one of the big cottonwoods. Ironically it wasn’t the one that’s been leaning …
For my birthday Lori got me a SPOT, which is as much for her as for me. So what is a SPOT? It stands for Satellite Personal Tracker. The device allows you to do the following, as long as you …
Last night I was changing one of the light bulbs in the antique fixture in the dining room and since it was dark I had the fixture on so I could see what I was doing. I’ve done this countless …
The biggest chore I had for today was redoing some of the electrical in my office at home. Like the garage, I’m finding that the electrical in the house must have been done by an amateur, with no knowledge of …
Lori has long wanted Ferndale to have a Victorian event, so she helped organize Victorian Christmas. People were encouraged to dress up in Victorian clothes, and there were several different groups caroling throughout the day. Lori made a new dress …
We were expecting it to be cold, wet and windy this morning when we put the lights up, but fortunately we only got one of the three, the wind. It was actually so windy that I woke up about 4:30 …
he FVFD received its new water tender a couple of days ago, and today I took it our to learn how it works. Since high school, I’ve always wanted to get a ride in a big rig, preferably a Peterbilt. …
Also going up on Craigslist will be my KLX300. I’ve had it up for sale before at our garage sales, but everytime I think about selling it I go and ride it which is a mistake because it’s so fun …
Now that I don’t have a retail operation anymore, I have a cash register I don’t need. It will eventually go up on Craigslist. But if you have the need for an antique cash register, it’s available for $1500.
In preparation for hanging the lights on the tree, we did our annual testing tonight. Probably 150-200 broken or burned out bulbs were replaced. It’s amazing that a higher percentage don’t have to be replaced given the abuse they go …
Katy and Ben brought their 4 month old son Julian to the studio so we could take some photos of him and his proud parents. Julian did a great job modeling, just like his mom.
November 7 Ferndale lost one of its most important and famous citizens, Hobart Brown. Known worldwide as the founder of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, he was an ecentric individual, in a good way. Tonight the town celebrated his life with …
Back to our trip last Sunday. The reason I took Lori out to Sinkyone was because we had just watched an episode of Nature about Yellowstone and she really loved seeing the elk. I had just read about Sinkyone and …
When Lori and I got married my mom gave Lori a custom cookbook filled with recipes that I liked. Lori was planning the week’s menu so she pulled out the old recipe book and asked me if there was anything …
This is a beach at the north end of Shelter Cove. Since Lori had never been to Shelter Cove before I had to show her the west coast’s biggest land boondoggle. It was a great day to spend at the …
Lori and I went out to Sinkyone Wilderness today. To get there you go out to Shelter Cove and then take Chemise Mountain Road out along the Lost Coast. It turns into Usal Road which is the dirt road that …
Mention that you’re from Humboldt County and you have a weed problem and people are bound to think of something other than this. This is just one of my weed piles and they’re piling up faster than they’re decomposing. I’m …
I was sitting on the couch watching TV when Artie came in and went into the kitchen. That’s his usual behavior because that’s where the food bowl is. Meg jumped off the couch and went over and stared at him. …
Just in time for the rainy season the house and barn are getting new gutters. The house never had any when we bought it and it looks nicer having them on, and I’m sure it will help preserve the siding …
Lori and I spent the day putting in the posts for the beginning of our deer fence on the north side of the house. We’re still waiting for the baseboards to arrive which will also act as a flood diverter, …
I saw this bird sitting in one of the willow trees in the back yard. I tried getting a picture of it while it was sitting there, but the only camera I had at home was my little Pentax so …
As the nights start getting colder, Lori felt sorry for Artie. Meg and Ricky usually sleep all curled up together, but Meg is not about to share her warmth with some cat that didn’t eminate from her womb. So Artie …
I was experimenting with shutterspeeds and flash with Ayrica again. At least I was until one of my lights decided to stop working. Well it lasted 5 years, better than a lot of electronics these days.
