Reflection

Just a sea turtle (honu in Hawaiian) swimming by showing his reflection in the surface of the water.

Team Meeting

Taken at Canadian County Free Fair

El Reno, Oklahoma

 

Caught this little Cowgirl  getting last minute instructions before entering the arena to show her horse!

Where's Waldo II

Can you see my house?

OK, so it's only wishful thinking on my part that this is my house. I guy can dream can't he?

Crowded Skies over Hardy Bay

If it isn't a good picture it better be interesting... LOL This one falls into the interesting category.

Every fall the Salmon come into Hardy Bay waiting for enough rain so they can head up river to spawn. Wherever there are fish the Seagulls follow hoping for an easy meal. Trouble is the Bay can get quite crowded at times between the fish, fish boats, birds and everything else that goes on during fishing season!

Fortunately this airplane has a propeller not a jet engine so no repeat performance of the "Miracle on the Hudson" in Hardy bay!

I lied

I found another California sunset, just for Tex! LOL

Bring a Shovel

QUICKSAND!!

 

Nuff said!

Anybody need a saw?

Or maybe you just want to go for a swim?

Same Bee different camera

Previously I posted a cell phone picture of a Bee on a clover flower... What I had forgotten is that I took some pictures with my real camera (D90) of the same Bee on the same Clover flower. So just for the fun of it here is a comparison.

One More California Sunset

As Paul would say; it's sunrise some where.

Seal Beach, La Jolla, CA

I found these seals snoozing on a rock just as the sun was setting. How they get up on the rock I just don't know.

Kaleidoscope of Color

Whirlwinds

A fast and furious beat from the drummers and singers at the pow wow drum had these guys dancing at full speed. Twisting and twirling moves had the colorful feathers from their costumes and headdresses moving in a blur of color. A slow shutter speed of about a half second was used to try and capture the action and put motion in the pic. Seemed to work well for what I had in mind?

 

This is my last pic from the Red Earth series. Thanks for all the nice comments!

 

 

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Can you feel the cold air yet?

With the Labor Day weekend coming to an end all the swimming pools are closing and the kids are back in school. I guess this means summer is over and the cold weather is on the way.

I think I'm actually looking forward to the cold weather this year, it was way too hot this summer.

New cell phone...

Finally replaced the old cell phone. The new phone has an 8mp camera in it along with all the other smarter than me features. LOL

So today I was playing with the new phone and took a few pictures including the one above. I'm thinking to myself as I look through the pictures on the phones high resolution display that I can just leave all my heavy camera gear at home from now on and take all my pictures with the new cell phone...

But that all changed when I loaded the pictures onto the computer and had a look at them on the big screen! The phone does an alright job but there is no comparison, not even close when it comes to the detail and quality produced by a good lens and nice big sensor to capture an image.

Serenity

A sunrise photographed on a beach in Honokowai, Maui, Hawaii. That is the isalnd of Moloka'i in the distance surrounded by clouds.

Forest flower

While hiking a mile above sea level in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State I found this curious little flower growing in the dim light on the forest floor. Absolutely no idea what flower it is. Interesting how every little hair reflected the flash, almost gives it an iridescent look.

All alone in the world...

...on a paddle board in the pacific ocean. Might not be such a bad thing!

View From A Bench

The garden bench made a perfect spot to sit for awhile to take in this scene. Lots of things to see and think about from this spot. Closest to me was a sculpture of a ball sitting on a tree trunk that was also sculpted. A curious but pleasing to the eye piece. A gazing or spirit ball perhaps? Lore has it that they bring good luck and prosperity, while warding off misfortune and evil spirits!

Just beyond the low bushes and partially blocked by the branches of a pine, stood a tipi in the style of the southern plains tribes. The entry facing east, the direction of the rising sun. Tradition!

Beyond the tipi, the modern skyscrapers of OKC takes over the landscape, towering over my humble scene from a bench in the park. But they didn't awe me! The ball reminded me of the circle of life. Just as the seasons of the year make the circle, the tipi made a circle, albeit longer by a hundred years plus. Here, on the banks of the North Canadian River,* I am confident that the conical structures of the tipi could be seen stretching up and down the banks long before statehood. Now a tipi stands in the shadows of the tall buildings, perhaps in the same spot as an early day one stood? Now that awes me!

*known these days as the Oklahoma River as it travels thru OKC

 

 

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Water Art

I found this statue in front of a small water fall in San Diego. I liked it because the birds stood still!

Three Panel Statement

 

Power of Hope   Unconquerable Spirit   With The Vision of an Eagle

 

by Enoch Kelly Haney

Seminole

 

Osceola, a Seminole resistance leader, is shown plunging a knife into a proposed treaty with the U.S. government, capturing the unconquerable spirit of the tribe.

 

Enoch Kelly Haney was the first full blood American Indian to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature and also served a four year term as Principal Chief of The Seminole Nation. Not only a great leader but a gifted artist as well. Probably the most seen of his many sculptures is the "Guardian", a 22ft. bronze which tops out the Oklahoma State Capitol dome located in OKC.

 

 

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Sunset on the Kansas Prairie

Almost always better than a sunrise, just because I don't have to get out of bed early!

Sacred Spirit

White Deer Of Autumn

by Denny Haskew

 

 

This was my favorite sculpture of the two entries from Haskew.

 

 

Spirit, love, forgiveness, and sacredness of human spirit, along with peace, are some of the themes that occur in his works.

I could see some of the themes in her eyes!

 

 

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I don't want to know...

... I don't care what's going on in the world, just leave me alone.

I feel this way somedays.

Not Humming Hummingbird

I finally got one to sit still long enough for me to get a photo.

Courage To Lead

Courage To Lead

By Denny Haskew

 

Chest thrust forward and exposed. Bois d' Arc bows stringed with sinew from the Buffalo, pulled at full draw, holding the straightest cedar shaft arrows, tipped with the sharp flint of the Alibates Quarry. At the release the shafts will try to touch the Sun . The arrows that were launched will disappear in the blinding light. Aimed skyward to fall back to earth from where they came, suddenly a choice must be made. When the arrows comes back in view, run or stay. Lead or Follow!

 

There was no story that I found for the inspiration of this sculpture! The words above are my own interpretation of what I saw!

 

Denny Haskew;

Member of National Sculptures Guild

Represented by the Columbine Gallery of Loveland,Colorado

Member of the Potawatomi Citizen Nation, Shawnee,Oklahoma

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset on Lana'i

I was thinking about Hawaii again yesterday and started looking through my old photos. This is a re-do of a photo I posted when we first started the blog. I re-worked it in the NIK software just to see what it would look like.

Paul suggested that I post the photo that I originally put up a couple of years ago so here it is.

If you look at the larger images you'll notice there is a lot less noise in the new version and the colors are better just to mention a few things.

Sailing The Canal

Tacking

 

Finished the inside sculpture exhibit and was walking the canal path to the outside exhibit when I ran across this neat little sailboat just sailing along. Cutting from one angle to the other just like the big boys do running a regatta.

 

  

Smooth Sailing

 

The Skipper and crew were sitting on shore directing all the movements of the boat by remote control. Noticed a fleet of six that could be rented by the hour or half hour. Think I will bring my grand daughter sometime and we will go sailing. Or I might just come back and Sail My Ship Alone. Either way would be fun!

 

 

Sittin' on the dock of the bay....

Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time

I'm a Pro when it comes to wasting time! LOL

Who Dat?

Another bird from our trip to San Diego. I don't have a clue what kind of bird it was but he was fascinated with the sound of the shutter on my camera. Everytime the shutter would close he would turn his head on it's side and turn around and look at me with the "what the hell are you doing" look.

More from the water

These were all taken with a Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 lens with no flash all while I was nice and dry behind a large piece of glass. These are from the aquarium at Sea World in San Diego.

Artsy-Fartsy Sharks

This is pretty much as it was taken. I just added the frame and a little light to it.

I took this in the shark exhibit in San Diego. You walk through a clear tube that takes you underwater and you can look up and see the sky and the sharks swimming overhead. The combination of the curved tube, the water and the light gave everything this weird look that I liked for some reason.

Sunset silhouettes

If you look real close you can probably see her cell phone in her hand! LOL

Last To Fall

"Bull"

A Work by Clancy Gray

Spent quite a bit of time admiring this other work from Mr. Gray. It was my favorite small piece from the indoor exhibit. The only information I could find about the piece was it's name and artists name. The sculpture I felt needed a story so I took the liberty to create my own. Factual, based on real accounts I have read over the years, I will keep it short, if possible!

Last To Fall
A true tale of the fall and rebirth of the Buffalo!

Usually when a Buffalo is felled by a hunter the other Bison would gather around pawing the earth and smelling the blood. Not so on this day in October in 1890!

     A small herd had been seen wandering around for a few years back in "No Man's Land" in the panhandle county of Cimarron, Oklahoma. On this fateful day in 1890 all that remained was one lonely old Bull. He was the last Wild Buffalo in what is now the State of Oklahoma to be killed. If I had been there I would have tasted his blood and offered up prayers for his Spirit!

 In Memory of The Last To Fall

October 1890

I have seen estimates from fifty million to one hundred million of buffalo occupying The Great Plains. The herd that grazed thru western Oklahoma has been estimated to be between four and twelve million alone. One writer of a journal observed a herd  of at least twenty-five miles wide and took over five hours to pass. In other parts of the Plains it was wrote that travelers might be held up two days waiting for a herd to pass. The Plains Indians depended on two things to survive on, the horse and the buffalo. As settlers began to come into the Plains and the Indians were being forced onto the Reservations the Government welcomed the extermination of the bison to gain control of the Indian. Once the food supply, clothing, shelter, culture and order, which was obtained from the buffalo was gone, control could be had. The farmer did not want the buffalo destroying the crops, the rancher claimed they ate all his grassland. The Army wanted the buffalo gone because the Indian depended on the animal for survival. The Buffalo was doomed and almost exterminated! Then by the grace of Vision along came some men who had the foresight to make sure some would survive!

     Charles Goodnight a noted rancher who claimed the Palo Duro Canyon region of  West Texas, along with a few other farsighted ranchers began capturing and raising a few that were left in the 1890's. The New York Zoological Park also began a program where genetics and carefully watched breeding was monitored as the herds numbers stated to rise. In 1902 Congress took action to protect the new herds as some of the buffalo were being released on federal lands. This was kind of ironic to me because just a few short years before they supported decimation of the bison so as to control the Indians! One thing I am proud of though, in 1907 eight cows and seven bulls were sent to the Wichita Game Preserve, now the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, by the New York Zoological Society to be a nucleus of a National Herd. When they arrived by rail at Cache,Ok., the Indians met the train and accompanied the buffalo the thirteen miles to the Refuge. The children were brought close and told stories by the elders. It was wrote the tribal members whooped and hollered with delight the whole thirteen miles at having their old friends return to the praires!

     No longer endangered the Bison's number are many and still growing. As sure as man can destroy, thankfully nature will let us overcome and make a positive re-birth of the once almost lost Buffalo!

     Thanks for letting me share this story. If you only looked at the pics I cannot blame you!lol If you want to see a little more my cousin, Cap'n Jack has a Buffalo Ranch in Mountain View, Ok. and has a neat website with pics and stories of the Buffalo, plus he's a comedian to boot!  www.okbuffalotours.com

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Fuzzy Red Flower

I'm back to not knowing the names of the plants I have photographed. I don't think I want to own that many flower and plant books. LOL

Seen Any Ants?

Toad

by Clancy Gray

Mr. Gray is a High School art teacher in Tulsa,Ok. and a member of the Osage Nation.

Although he named his sculpture 'Toad' I have always heard them call 'horny toads' or 'Horned Toads". Actually they are a lizard if you want to be technical. Their diet is almost exclusively Harvester Ants with a few termites and grasshoppers thrown in. I noticed a few years back that I was seeing less and less of them. Thankfully the wildlife folks also began to take notice. They came to the conclusion that pesticides and insecticides were a large part of the problem. The toads food supply, harvester ants, was getting scarce! Public education and awareness is helping to bring up their numbers along with sightings. Just wouldn't be right to go out in the fields and not see a few Horny Toads running round! Besides, what other critter do you know of that can spit blood from their eyes when it feels threatened!

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Self Portrait

OK, I don't have that much hair and I'm a little taller but if you switch out the plants for a bowl of ice cream then this is me after a long day at work.

A darn good story!

Looking at everyones photos especially Q's it becomes glaringly apparent that even though I enjoy getting out and taking pictures, I'll never be a photographer of any note. Additionally I have come to the realization that I better get some darn good stories to go with my silly snapshots!

To that end here are two very poor pictures and a good story... LOL

Several weeks ago a bit of trauma unfolded across the street from my home in the quiet little West Coast fishing village where I live. Several of my neighbors had spotted 3 cougars boldly casing the neighborhood for stray cats, small dogs and young children! And all in broad daylight!

Needless to say the C.O. (Conservation Officer), the Police and the fellow with the cougar hounds were called to attend to the situation. By the time they got here the sun had set and they found themselves working in the dark. So for about two hours the cougars, hound dogs, and guys with guns all played cat and mouse in and around the neighborhood.

What I found interesting while watching the whole fiasco from my porch was that the big cats didn't leave the area when the men and dogs showed up and for the most part the cougars were following (stalking) the men and dogs rather than the other way around! Eventually the dogs managed to tree one of the cougars. But rather than kill the treed cat the C.O. shot a number of "bear scare" rounds (big loud bangs) near the treed cat and into the nearby woods before packing up and leaving for the night.

Before they left I asked the Police Officer what the reasoning was for bear scares rather than bullets. He told me it was to see if the cougars would leave on their own rather than having to be destroyed. Sure enough next morning no cougars and no sign of them since!

Up close

I never really noticed it until Q remarked about my bird photos, but I actually took quite a few bird photos this trip. I kept having to push Aaron out of the way to get them though. LOL