Willow Grace

Liberty

2008-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

“Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority--literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.” - Ignazio Silone
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Here's something fun to try: In iTunes (or wherever) create a playlist search of "America". These are the first few songs that came up on my search:

"Voice of America" by Asia
"Peaches" by The Presidents of the United States of America
"American Idiot" by Green Day
"Give Me Novocaine" by Green Day from their American Idiot album
"Feelings" by Offspring from their Americana album
"She's Got Issues" by Offspring from their Americana album
"Kids in America" by Kim Wilde
"America" by Yes
"Young Americans" by David Bowie
"America" by Simon and Garfunkel
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Bird Bath

2008-07-03T00:09:00.000-07:00

Jimmy captured this bird getting ready for a bath in the neighbor's yard.
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Girl Cracks Me Up Like

2008-07-02T00:06:00.000-07:00

Monica and I instant message every day. She always cracks me up where I am literally laughing out loud. We have our own IM language and carry on full conversations just with smileys.
Photo is from last fall when her and her family came to our hideaway for a few days.
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Hello July

2008-07-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hello July, you very well may be my favorite month. Despite the your typical hot days, you surprise me with uncharacteristically cool days, like today for example. It's almost 10am and it's only 58 degrees and breezy. Which is great because with all the wildfires your neighbor June gave us last month (over 1400 when I checked yesterday), it's been mighty smokey in these regions and your breeze helps me breath better.

Well July, here are another few reasons I love you so much:
-I is an American and I loves me some fireworks on the 4th of July.
-We celebrate 3 family birthdays: My BIL Steve's, mine and my MIL's.
-3rd annual family and friends week extravaganza at our hideaway.

I know July, that in the past I've made claims that the summer months are oppressively and agonizingly hot, but this year at least, you are starting out in the lead. That is till November rolls around. But right now at this moment, you're my favorite.

Daylily in my neighbor's garden at the hideaway last July.
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Bye bye June

2008-06-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

I took a couple of classes this weekend at PMP with Becky Fleck, an artist and designer for Basic Grey, my favorite sb paper company.
I took the 1st class with my friend Doris, but she had to abandon me before the 2nd class. I guess her duties at her temple bazaar were more important than another class with me. I wonder about her priorities sometimes. Not only that, but we weren't able to finish the album in class, so I suggested that we get together on Wednesday to finish it. Well, the woman is leaving for Italy on Wednesday, once again leaving me in the dust. Whatever. Well...I showed her. I finished both albums on my own before I went to the temple to help at the bazaar on Sunday. Here are just a few pics:

Adventures of the Heart
This is a cool journal-style album. The idea is to journal about your goals and dreams at this moment in time.
Adventures of the Heart

A spot to write down goals.

A spot to write down your beliefs. Quote on the left reads: "You can't set the course for where you are going until you know where you are."

The back page has a pocket to tuck in your own personal mantra.
There are several more pages to list other aspirations and dreams.

I Wish You Enough...
Another heartfelt mini-album where the author leaves wishes for a loved one.
The front of the album. I didn't have the forethought to change the color of the album till after the pink was glued down. Oh well, Jimmy didn't seem to mind, he's secure enough to have a pink album. ;)
I did however, change it up on the inside pages.
Journaling reads: "I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear"

"I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting"
There are 4 more pages in this same style.

(Have a great trip, Doris! I'll miss you. Take tons of photos so you'll have something to scrapbook!!)
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Beyond

2008-06-29T00:06:00.000-07:00

Maybe I am, but at least I know my contractions well enough to know when to use you're vs. your.

Sign leaving Hope, Arizona.
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These Are The Days

2008-06-28T00:02:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I made this album in a class at my then fav scrapbook store, which has since closed. I just finished it this morning, adding pictures from last summer when the family came up to the hideaway for a week. The words in the album are from Natalie Merchant - "These Are the Days".

these are days you'll remember

never before and never since, I promise
will the whole world be warm as this
and as you feel it, you'll know it's true
that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are days you'll remember

when May is rushing over you with desire
to be part of the miracles you see in every hour
you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are the days
that you might fill with laughter
until you break

these days you might feel a shaft of light
make its way across your face
and when you do
you'll know how it was meant to be
see the signs and know their meaning

you'll know how it was meant to be
hear the signs and
know they're speaking to you
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San Juan Bautista

2008-06-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, Phin and I went to San Juan Buatista for a fun day of photography. I had never been there before so it was a lot of fun exploring new territory. Such a nice relaxing day, photographing the mission, browsing though supah cool shops and eating great German food.

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Growth

2008-06-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Went to a crop at Picture Me Perfect last night with Phin and we worked on this very fun album. The album was a kit by Nichole King who taught the class at PMP in May. It was so cute, I had to put photos in it immediately!

This is my 700th post! Wow, I can't believe it!
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Santa will be happier this year: we have a new chimney!

2008-06-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

We've just finished our biggest construction project at the hideway. I'm sure this post will be pretty boring to most of my bloggy friends, but I know several family members and friends lurk here so I wanted to share our newest cabin update here.

When we bought the hideway in 1999, we certainly weren't focusing on the chimney. Sure it looked a little worn out, but hey, the rest of the home looked great, so it was an easy oversight for us. Also, when we bought it, we saw it once, then came back to the bay area and called in our offer the next day. The 2nd time we saw it, escrow had closed and it was ours. So a lot of the details we left to inspectors. But as you can see here:
There was already noticeable disrepair when we got the cabin 9 years ago.

A few more years passed and more chunks fell off.
In fact, in 2005, some friends were visiting and a big piece fell off during the night and fell on their car, busting their bumper. Lesson learned! Tell everyone who comes to visit to park far away from the crumbling chimney and don't walk under it!

You'd think that incident would have motivated us to fix the chimney asap. Well, we would have but there were a few ducks that needed to get in a row and stars that needed to be aligned first.

Which gave the chimney more time to fall apart. So much so, that unbeknownst to us, there was a hole that lead directly into the house. A hole big enough for a rodent to fit in...So last fall, I was chillin' on the couch, reading a magazine and watching tv, enjoying a relaxing Saturday morning while Jimmy slept in. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement at the fireplace. You see, our fireplace has vent holes that lead to the outside of the firebox. I look up from my magazine and what do I see? A squirrel peaking his little head in, looking right at me! I yell "WHAT THE FREAK!!" (insert actual profanity there). Which scared the squirrel, thank God, and he ran out and as far away from the crazy lady as possible. (don't forget to click on the pics to see the details)
Jimmy woke up, I told him the story and he filled the hole with this ugly foam to prevent any other rodents (cute or otherwise) from entering our home.

Well, finally the stars were aligned and we started talking to contractors this spring. We contemplated between real river rock vs. rock veneer. We got different bids and did a lot of pro/con lists. And in April...
the old chimney came down.

and the new chimney...
was taking shape. It took 2 semi-truck loads of rock to make this chimney (plus some extra for a wash that we needed filled). But the cool thing about these rocks is that they have a bit of local history behind them. The rocks are from the town of La Grange, a small town in the Sierra Nevada Foothills that was part of California's gold mining history. During the gold rush in the mid 1800s, miners moved millions of rocks from the river beds in an effort to strike it rich. These displaced rocks ended up in massive piles throughout the foothills and are still there today. So our chimney has a bit of local history behind it: the rocks came from over 150 years ago during the gold rush era.

Now, I have to say, that I think the contractor who did this is an artist. We could tell by talking to him throughout this project that he was passionate about his work. He wasn't there to just slap on a chimney, he contemplated each rock that went into each groove. He spread the rocks out across the driveway and looked at each piece and how it would fit into the design. He would loosely place 3 rows of rocks on to make sure they fit right, then take them all down again before mortaring them in. Talk about labor intensive: put 'em on, re-arrange, take 'em off, mortar them back in one by one. By the way, some of those rocks weighed over 40 pounds each. Most of them weighed over 15 pounds.

So about 6 or 7 weeks later, we have our beautiful finished chimney:
And thankfully we think it's a masterpiece! We can see the attention to detail that he put into it. The flatter rocks on the outside corners that subtly line the whole thing. Very little mortar shows. It beautifully tapers to the top. And that amazing cement cap that tops it off. Gorgeous!

The one flaw with it being so gorgeous that it totally draws our attention to the other eyesores of the cabin. Like that beat-up deck. Good golly that deck needs to be repaired! Thankfully it's on the 2009 to-do list. Which led us to thinking...we're hoping to wrap the deck around from the side entrance all the way to the front. Which means the deck will go right next to the chimney. So, we were playing with lighting ideas...
And we're thinking about putting recessed lights into the floor of the deck that shine up towards the chimney. Yes, we want to showcase the beautiful chimney in all it's glory. And we're not ashamed to either. Like I said, the man was an artist and we want to show it off. :)

And although the changes may seem subtle to someone not focusing on the chimney, instead of driving up to this:
where to our eyes that crumbling chimney was such a distraction,

we get to drive up to this:
and we're tempted to burst into a glorious song of "Alleluia"!

So Santa should be happier coming down this chimney this year! He won't have to worry about loose rocks bonking him on the head on his way down. Not to mention friends being able to park or walk underneath it.
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I've drawn a blank so I'm resorting to blogthings

2008-06-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

You Are 28% Cynical

Generally you give people the benefit of the doubt. But there are exceptions.

You buy into many of the things that mainstream society believes, but you're not anybody's fool.

How Cynical Are You?

and...

You Act Like You Are 24 Years Old

You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life.

You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up.

The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

Which, considering my upcoming birthday (40th), I'm not sure how I feel about this. Altho it can't be bad that I'm optimistic about life and excited about what's to come, right?
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Yo, Pop. I miss ya.

2008-06-13T01:26:00.000-07:00

I never called my dad Pop. It was always Dad or Daddy or more often Daaaaaaaaad. Anyhoo, with Father's Day on Sunday, I thought I'd do this little tribute to the man who raised me, spoiled me, loved me unconditionally, and taught me patience. He had an abundance of it.

My dad was born in 1904 and lived a mostly healthy 87 years. He came to America when he was 20 years old in the hopes to start a new life, work hard and find the American Dream. He landed in San Francisco first, traveled along the west coast, finding jobs in Seattle, Alaska, Los Angeles and finally in a remote Southern California desert town. Somewhere in between, he became a United States Citizen and served in WWII.

When he began his life in the desert, he worked at a then-famous (built in the 40s) desert resort/inn, catering to many Hollywood types like Clark Gable, Gene Autry, boxer Joe Luis, Phyllis Diller, Gregory Peck, as well as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans who loved the community so much they built their home there.

I have no idea where this photo was taken. For some reason, I have it in my head that it's Seattle. But I'm probably wrong. I'm guessing it was taken in the early 50s.

Again, I don't know where this photo was taken either, but those houses in the background scream Los Angeles to me. Cool car back there, too. Wonder who it belonged to?

At the resort. The pool was kept heated during the winter months. Something very unique back then.

Working at the inn.

Another one at the resort.

Hitting golf balls into the empty desert. Perhaps near his house? At a friends?

Fast forward...oh, 10-15-20? years:
In the mid-to-late 60s, my mom worked as a nanny for the man who owned the desert resort.
Man meets woman (1966), they get married (1967) and a child is born (1968).
He has his first child at the age of 64: me! He's dressed in his work clothes for the inn.

Me again, 1968.

A typical Sunday. Must be 1969.

Sometimes it snows in the desert.

A party where we got all dressed up, Christmas 1970. Possibly at the resort.

Well, when you grow up Catholic, it's expected to get your holy communion when your around 7.

Sometime in the 80s, my dad is honored as one of the very first pioneering Filipinos in the High Desert. Go Dad! PS: Thanks for going there and meeting mom.

At my high school graduation party at the 'resort' which at this time turned into a hokey throwback to the 50s. Too bad. But they still had pretty good food. Pay no attention to the girl with the big glasses and big hair.
edit: Jimmy reminded me that I had contacts and short hair by graduation so this pic was actually taken in 1982 when I was in the 10th grade. By 11th grade I had chopped off that crazy big hair.

Both of my parents walking me down the isle.

Happy Father's Day to all fathers, past and present and all men who have the hearts of father's.
Peace out.
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I just can't help myself

2008-06-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

I went to Disneyland again! Sure, I just went 6 weeks ago, but when Phin suggested going, I couldn't say no! How can you say no to the Happiest Place On Earth?

When I went in April, we missed the fireworks show and it's one of the best firework shows I've seen. It's 2nd only to the New York City 4th of July Firework Show that I saw in 1996. But the Disney fireworks show is a theatrical extravaganza. The fireworks and light show are synchronized to the music of the various themed lands, for instance Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and so forth, plus the most popular rides within that land like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. And keep an eye out for Tinkerbell!! She actually flies in and sprinkles her pixie dust magic over the castle.

Click on pics to enlarge and see Tinkerbell in 2 of 'em.

technical details for those who want it:
Camera: Canon Rebel
Lens: Tamron 28-200 (handheld)
ISO: 1600
shutter speed: 1/15 sec
Aperture: auto but varied from f/4 to f/22
(I admit I'm very happy with how these came out. Probably the best fireworks shots I've taken. I'm most pleased because I used the big lens without a tripod. I think it's because I increased the ISO and found the magic shutter speed to work with where I was standing. None of the photos have been altered aside from straightening.)
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Snapshots of Carmel

2008-06-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

Carmel Highlands, 2006

Fire station, 2008

Carmel Mission, 2004
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What A Week!

2008-06-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last week was very eventful!! My cousin and her family came to visit as an early celebration for my and Jimmy's birthday. I am so grateful that they were able to do this trip! It was her son's first visit to California and while we had a great time, there were a few bumps along the way, but not enough to dampen our spirits. Here are a few of the highlights (I'll spare you the lowlights).

Berkeley
We spent a half day in Berkeley, shopping for UC Berkeley sweatshirts, lunching on hoagies and walking around Berkeley's beautiful Rose Garden.

San Francisco
Walked around Pier 39 in San Francisco and talked to the sea lions. Do you know the difference between sea lions and seals? Sea lions have visible ear flaps.

Watched the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

Carmel and Monterey
After a wonderful lunch in Carmel, saw lots of sea life at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We also played a good bit of Rock Band, saw the Sex and the City movie (loved it, it's fun and sarcastic and had a few moving moments, too) and ate good food. And not only did they come to visit for a whole week for our bdays, I also got an amazing new designer purse, too!
Thanks again V! I'm so glad you guys came to visit. xoxo
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Here leezard, leezard, leezard

2008-05-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

Arizona Lizards

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Graduation

2008-05-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

The Claremont Colleges
Alma mater to 3 of our immediate family: Jimmy, Eretz and for the Class of 2008 our niece Bretz. Who happens to be Eretz's daughter.
And employer to 2 more: Sretz and Mretz.

I think they should dedicate a building after us. Or a sports facility.
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Far From Paradise

2008-05-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

I'm the type of person who usually blogs about the warm fuzzies in life. I try focus on the affirmative. No need to dwell on the negative. Or at least publicize it. But sometimes, I come across something so distressing that it sticks with me for days, weeks, or a lifetime.

Right now, this something is the Salton Sea.

I can't explain the technical or environmental issues that have/are happened here, but I can tell you what I saw and what I felt when we went to the Salton Sea last Friday evening.
As we approached the Salton Sea, it looked like just about any other lake in the California desert.

In fact, there were glimpses of paradise.

But here are a few things about this body of water that's not typical:
-The surface of the sea is over 200 feet below sea level.
-Currently, agricultural runoff via nearby rivers, is largely responsible for sustaining it.
-There's no outlet, so evaporation is the only way the water is lost, leaving more salt than water.
-Because of the evaporation, the concentration of pesticides and pollutants left in the sea increases.
-Approximately 400 species of birds have been documented at the Salton Sea and it's a major resting stop for migratory birds.
-Thousands of birds have mysteriously died since 1996 at the Salton Sea and is still a significant issue today.

Here's another almost picturesque photo.

But are you ready for a closer look?
It's not sand that lines the sea shore...
it's salt...barnacles...

fish bones and carcasses.

Millions of fish carcasses left because of massive die-offs.

And there are more dead fish floating in the sea.

I don't think I need to go into detail about the stench.

Some of the die-offs are unexplainable, others occur every year during the hot summer months when the water evaporates and oxygen levels decrease dramatically.

While a few people claim the water is safe, my eyes tell me differently.

Of course, my observations totally oversimplify the actual issues. Jimmy and I talked it for hours, he's spent countless more researching it. And I've scratched the surface reading about it online. I'm a visual learner, just reading about something doesn't have nearly the impact as actually seeing it in person or being able to touch or smell it. And even though my tendencies are to gloss over the icky stuff, I know when I've been slapped in the face of reality.
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Desert Flowers

2008-05-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

We left Sedona Friday morning. Saturday went to our niece's college graduation in Claremont, then drove home after dinner with the family, getting home at 2:15am. Sunday, as you may imagine, was a do-absolutely-nothing day aside from spoiling the kitty.
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Sedona: Day 2

2008-05-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve never had much affection for the desert. Jimmy and I both easily criticize it. However, neither of us have seen a desert quite like Sedona.
I’m certain that much of our admiration of this beautiful place has to do with the time of the year we’re visiting. Spring has to be this little of bit of desert’s magical time of the year. Not only do the reds in the rock and soil seem to just burst, and the greens are still green not sun burnt brown, but wildflowers are everywhere.
But as I learned the hard way…
…wear appropriate shoes when exploring the desert. Yes, despite my thoughtful footing, I still managed to get one of those cactus needles stuck in my foot. I took this photo after the fact to remind myself of my stupidity.

Many of the rock formations in Sedona are named by what they resemble, like Coffee Pot Rock, Chimney Rock and even Snoopy Rock.While we don’t know the actual name of this rock, you can imagine what we nicknamed it.

Today, we traveled by car, staying on pavement rather than brave the dirty bumpy roads. We decided to go to Montezuma Castle National Monument.The Sinagua people built this dwelling in the early 1100s and lived here till the 1400s. It’s built about 100 feet above the ground.

It has 5 levels, about 20 rooms and housed around 35 people. Several more Sinagua people lived in other homes built within this mountain, but most of the ruins have been destroyed. I encourage you to click on any of the links above to learn more.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a connection to Native Americans, so for me to merely say this was an awesome place would be an understatement.

Later in the afternoon on our way back to Sedona, we stopped for a quick geocache.

and saw beautiful rainbow with the pot of gold leading right into Sedona.

We got into town with enough time for another geocache near the airport till we joined the 100+ other people at an overlook to enjoy the sunset
and end the day sunkissed, happy and feeling blessed.
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Sedona: Day 1

2008-05-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

We are in Sedona, Arizona.

We drove over 12 hours yesterday, arriving just before midnight. While it was a v.e.r.y long drive, it was very nice, too. We drove through the California desert where we grew up, so it's always fun ~~making fun of~~ reminiscing about the high desert. As a bonus, we ate at one of the western most Cracker Barrel's for dinner. Bring on the sweet tea!

That catches us up to today, Wednesday, our first day in Sedona. After lunch at Oaxaca Restaurant uptown, we headed to the Sedona Off-Road Center to rent a Tomcar for the afternoon.
The tomcar is a street legal vehicle made to handle rough terrain. And while all the roads we were on are legal forest service roads, the dips, bumps, rocks and dust definitely made it a very adventurous ride that brought us to locations we couldn't have seen in a regular car.

These are a few favorite pics of the day:
Along Schnebley Hill Road

Indian Paintbrush

At a vista point overlooking Sedona

Soldier Pass Trail

Balancing rock

I tried my hand at the wheel. It was a lot of fun, but admit that I prefer being a passenger so I could enjoy the views rather than the road.
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Yee Haw it's a Roundup!

2008-05-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Some of ya'll might not realize just how much the cowboy and Old West attitude is still a part of California culture.
I suppose that if you live in the big city like I do 95% of the time, then it's not that prevalent. But once you get out of the urban areas, if you're not in agricultural farm lands, then you'll find yourself amongst thousands of cows, horses and the good folk who ride or corral them.
Well, our hideaway is a stone's throw from gold country, so in addition to cowboys and cowgirls, it's not unusual to see some ol' gold minin' folk... like this fellow here:
And since folk like this aren't too uncommon in these parts, the town has thrown a big ol' shindig every May for the past 51 years that celebrates that old west spirit.

It's called the Motherlode Roundup and it's a big thing in these parts. When I heard about it for the first time Friday night, I knew I had to go to the parade the next morning figurin' I'd get some fun pictures.
Here's the Wells Fargo Stage Coach, taking us back to the 1800s.

Another old carriage bringing the newlyweds through town.

While rodeos are taken pretty seriously around here, there were a few cowfolk who had to ride their bulls and broncos in a more...21st century way:
For instance, Miss California Rodeo Salinas rode in on her bull with a wee bit more contemporary fashion. That is if you consider a bull's head (is it real? I don't know) attached to a Dodge pickup (is it a Dodge? I don't know) contemporary fashion. edit: I've been told it's a Toyota. (Do I care? I don't think so.)

And I'm certain that the only reason this young cowboy wasn't on a real bucking bronco is because they wouldn't want to endanger all of us parade watchers with an unpredictable wild bronco terrorizing the parade route.

All kidding aside, there were lots and lots of real cowgirls and cowboys riding their beautiful horses.
and me being me, I'm more apt to photograph the tenacious cowgirls, even when they're all dolled up in their fancy parade costumes.

But there were lots and lots and lots of horses in this parade.
This group of fine riders are The Twain Harte Horsemen.

And while I love photographing horses, after about the 220th one, they all start to look the same to someone who isn't a horseman.

I needed a little variety. So I happily got to photograph this beautiful...
mule. There weren't very many mules in this parade. They were under-represented, lemme tell you. So were the donkeys, for that matter. Ever wonder the difference between the two? Wiki can tell you here if you're really curious.

Otherwise, we can move along to the other non-horse entrants:
Not only were these girls pretty good dancers, they looked like they were havin' a whole lot of knee slappin' fun.

Aside from horses, there were a lot of cars in the parade, too. Lots and lots of cars. This particular one had some fun crazy gold country personality.

My personal parade favorite are the bands. I love me the high school bands. Probably because I was part of the drill team unit in my high school band. There were about 6 bands in this parade. Bands were under-represented.

And happily, men wearing coyote hats were under-represented, too. He was the only one I saw.
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My Cameras

2008-05-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I get asked what camera(s) I use so thought I could do a post on all the stuff I use. I don't typically carry all of these around with me, but I do keep my pocket camera with me at all times.

Canon 40D. This is my main super big beefy camera that I acquired in December. Wow, I love love love this camera. It's super fast, handles beautifully, reacts exactly how I want it to react. It is however big and heavy. I truly think it was made to fit a man's hand more than a woman's hand. After carrying it for a few hours, my right hand starts to cramp. But it is so very very worth it.

Canon Rebel (XTi). This is the newest version of my older DSLR, which is no longer made, the original Digital Canon Rebel. I still use the Rebel on occasion but after constantly using it for 4 years, the shutter button isn't reacting the same way it was in the beginning. My version has already gone through 2 upgrades and I still think it's the absolutely best thing out there for it's value. (Monica...if you're thinking of a DSLR, this is the one you should get).

18-55mm Canon lens. This is the lens that comes with both of the cameras above. When I got the 40D, I got just the camera body only since I already have this lens. It's a great all purpose lens. I use it for photographing people, low light situations ie: indoors or when I don't want to use my flash, landscapes and macro shots.

Tamron 18-250mm lens. This is the upgrade for my current Tamron 28mmm-200mm lens. It's suppose to be a lot faster than mine, which is 8 years old. Plus it goes all the way down/wide to 18mm and telephotos all the way to 250. I've heard it's an amazing lens, and I'd get it if I didn't already have this one:

70-300IS Canon lens. This lens means business. It's a telephoto lens so if I want that tiny bird way over there to fill my whole viewfinder then this is the lens I use. It takes great macro shots from a distance. It gives that wonderful background blur while focusing on the subject. But it's not an all purpose lens since wide-angle shots are not easily captured since the purpose of the lens is to bring things closer. It's got a great image stabilizer, which is wonderful because usually once you start getting into telephoto past 250mm, you encounter camera or lens shake, which as you can imagine, makes a blurry photo. Usually anything over 200-250mm, you need a tripod. With this lens, you can easily get away without a tripod.

58mm UV Filter. I use filters mostly to protect my lenses from damage. This one, and the one below don't effect the picture you're trying to capture. This 58mm is used on the 18-55mm lens and the 70-300 lens.

72mm UV Filter. I use this filter on the Tamron 28-200mm lens. The only difference between these 2 lenses is how big the 'circle' or opening is. The Tamron lens is bigger, so it needs a bigger filter.

A wireless remote. This is a fun remote to use so I can be in the photo, too. I haven't tried it on the 40D yet, but I used it a lot on the Rebel.

A sturdy tripod. I use a tripod whenever I shoot night shots or low light situations when I know the shutter will be open for a long time. This isn't the tripod I have, but one I'd consider. The one I have works just fine so I'm not likely to go out and buy another one right now, but sometimes it feels unstable with my heavy camera and lenses on it. When buying a tripod, don't just automatically assume they're all the same. You'll want something very lightweight, but something very stable if you have a DSLR attached to it.

Gorillapod. I have an awesome mini tripod, too. Again this isn't it, but I've heard great things about this one in particular. I'd consider it if I didn't already have a perfectly good one already.

Canon SD790. I've mentioned that I also carry a pocket camera. Because, as you can see from all the stuff above, there's no way I'm gonna carry around all that gear 24/7. But I have to have a camera with me all the time. I have a Canon SD630 which is no longer made. This one seems to have the most similar characteristics.

Tamrac Expedition Backpack. This camera bag carries all of the lens and one camera body, plus the pocket camera. It's great in that it fits everything. I prefer backpacks to sit a little low on my back, but this one sits sort of high and since it's carrying a lot of stuff, it's wide so I'm always cautious about my movement, especially in shops or situations where there are a lot of people. While this might not be the best bag for me, I've tried a messenger style camera bag before and that definitely didn't work for me, so for right now, this works. However I'm still hunting for that perfect camera bag.

I know it looks like I'm Canon biased but Nikon makes excellent camera equipment, too. These are the top 2 names in camera equipment. I chose Canon because I had a Canon film SLR 11 years before I got my DSLR and the lenses are all interchangeable. And while I have a lot of nice equipment, it isn't the equipment that makes me a decent photographer. It's so much more about how you see your surroundings and how you want to capture it. It's possible to get great photos from a phone camera so I'd recommend to just shoot more photos as often as possible no matter what tools you have.
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Clark Fork

2008-05-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

Clark Fork is a small river that flows into the much bigger Stanislaus River. It's about 40 minutes north east of our hideaway and we try to go every spring to see the difference in water level, which helps us judge how full our lakes will be during the summer months of lake activities.

Here are a couple of photos from the past 2 years to compare:

2007. Looks similar to this year's photo, but there's actually a little more water flowing in this one. But this was a very very dry summer. I posted about the drought last year here.

2006. This was a record breaking season thanks to tremendous snowfall that winter. It was glorious.

We were surprised to see how low the water level was because we had a lot of snow and rain this past winter. We're hoping that it's because it was still early in the season when we took that first photo and most of the snow in the high country hasn't melted yet.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Wishing all the mother's a fantastic, beautiful day.