Mid-December

Zoinks! Here it is the middle of the month, going to try and type something out to all those who might be reading and just share some thoughts.

Thanksgiving was good and got some photo work done around the 'Little North Santiam River' while we spent a few days at a lodge that my spouse's employer owns. Went with another family so we had two sets of parents and three crazy girls all together! That pretty much wound up the end of November and since have been just doing the regular day gig (govt. work) and making it through the day.

December and we have been pretty busy it seems? Most weekends something is going on and getting Christmas shopping done and things mailed to family that lives in other states, etc. Where does the time go? We have currently turned into a regular winter location in Salem, Oregon and have daytime temps in the upper 20's and some SNOW! Which is melting a little bit and turning to ICE! I actually got out on my snowboard (Sunday Evening) and made a few turns on our street with minimal scrapping on the pavement below. Pretty exciting!

I added in a shot as I was toying around with a camera and a candle holder we have. Our daughter had gathered the leaves and they fit between to cylinders of glass and then use a tea candle on the inside. I was playing with different shutter speeds and also using "bulb" mode so I could manually control the shutter with a shutter release cable. I actually shot this photo using "Raw" and then did some work and converted to the easy to use 'x.jpg' format. With Cropping, etc I have made the file pretty small overall, saves space. I thought it was kind of cool and hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for reading - Tim

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

As I sit here and look out the window of our new bungalow in West Salem, I thank my family for being the rock and helping keep me steady. I think of my family back in Wyoming and Nebraska along with other relatives in Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa and California. I think of all the friends I grew up with that are still living in the heartland and hope they are sharing a wonderful day with their families.

Yesterday (11/26) I was on a bicycle ride just west of the hills of West Salem and had to stop along side the road. I did this so I could take in the wonderment of the late afternoon sun bathing the hillsides and the fields of grass seed and wheat that were laying dormant for the winter. The hazelnut orchards and vineyards that have seen their harvest and wait for another year when they again will bring work and another bounty for people to enjoy.

I stopped because so many times I am riding along by myself or with others and never take the time to enjoy what is around me. Even though it was but a minute it is the kind of minute that will stay in my mind for recall on those days when the rain is coming down and I am not able to be outside. It also makes me think that sometimes me/we all need to slow down and realize that there are many things more important than a new bike or some camera gear. There is Family and Friends, our health and the joy of being alive everyday.

I hope that anyone who reads this will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy your Family, Friends or whomever you may be with this day. Take a moment to relax, think about what is important to you and try and do something for someone else this holiday season that will make a difference in their lives.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Where Was I & is it really November?

Holy cow! I have been meaning to get back to this and then I come up with an excuse and do something else. Overall though I really have some good excuses and the main one is the selling of our prior house and purchase of our now current home. A big move of about seven blocks in our neighborhood but we get some more space and a lot quieter street. I will not have the 'sunrise' that is the photo at the top of his blog.

Anyway, we have been to coast for a weekend back towards the end of September and since have been packing or unpacking. I am working via laptop so have to use jump drives to move files from the mothership PC to the laptop for doing things like this. I will get back in the habit soon and start to put out some more material.

Anyway, while at the coast I was trying to practice shooting (with camera) the general birds out there. Seems gulls are the predominant species! Anyway, I have a somewhat scratchy photo of one in flight and a few others that I feel good for publishing to my smugmug site. I also put in a shot of a Northern Flicker working our bird feeders at our previous house. It has not found the feeders at the new house....yet!

Well, gonna go for now. I have a had a nice day off, so thank your veterans for this holiday, oh yeah, that would include me as I am a veteran from the Army '86 - '90.

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Bring on the Fall!

A nice overcast day today with a few rolling showers and at times some quick down pours. Summer comes to a head on Monday (officially) and this Sunday is the last day of summer! But why would I be excited? There will start to be more overcast days which makes shooting (cameras) almost anytime during the day much easier but you lose some of those sunsets and sunrise days. The give, the take!

I was out in the late morning doing a short 24 mile ride on the bicycle when I went by a field between Hwy 99W and Riddell Rd in Polk County, Oregon. There were six hawks, I believe they were 'Red Tailed' Hawks as they are pretty prominent around here. It was unusual to see so many in one medium sized field all feasting (I think mice or voles). Anyway I went back later in the PM when some showers were rolling through and took a few shots. The one included here is a hawk up on top of an evergreen tree as I was about 70 yards away, leaning against a pole next to another tree and trying to keep my big lens (Sigma 135-400) steady and dry! It was good to just see them and watch it take flight just a few shutter clicks latter.

I have added in another shot of a Red Winged Black Bird that I caught along the side of the road back in mid-April. It just sat there singing while I shot from the car across the road.

You gotta love these birds! Now get out and enjoy what the world around us has to offer!

Thanks for reading. Tim -

First Showing!!!!

Hey! Thanks for stopping in and seeing what is new.

Just wanted to put out to anyone reading that I have two pieces of photo work that are on display at the Enid Mount Joy Gallery in Keizer. This is their September Wildlife exhibit, it is located within the friendly confines of the Keizer Arts Association. The location is 980 Chemawa Road NE in Keizer in the Keizer Heritage Community Center.

The show is from September 6th through September 24th and the hours are as follows:

Gallery Hours are:

Thursday: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Friday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

If you get a chance to get out there, please check it out. Not just for my work but the work of a number of other local artists. There were paintings, some bronze work and a very wonderful piece that was done on glass and the medium escapes my mind right now. It was really awesome and I had never seen that type of work that I could recall!

That is about it! First week of September out, Kids are back in school and I am somewhat tired from a windy bike ride today.

Tim -

End 'O August & Beer Ingredients

Here we are at the end of August and some cooler temps here in the PAC NW along with some rain this past month! I actually got caught (while cycling) between two sets of showers moving over the Eola Hills on my way back home as I was skirting the county roads in Polk County. Was good to get quite wet on the bike and keep it up right and now am letting the shoes doing some drying.

Well, speaking of the topic "beer ingredients" I was out for a ride a few Sunday's ago and rode by some "Hops" fields over the river on the Marion County side of things. They are coming in quite nicely and should be harvested soon and sold to multiple brewers and others who might use this crop. I am a fan of the IPA's and they are usually a little hoppier then the average beer. Anyway after riding by them in the AM, I went back out in the mid-evening and got a few shots. I have only unloaded the shots from one camera and not the other yet so I have included a few of what I have. Five years ago while riding with others I had to ask what these were and they told me as I had no idea they grew on a vine. It is amazing when you see these huge fields of Hops while going along the road, and with a little moisture in the air they can have a very wonderful aroma! Makes me kind of thirsty!

Other items; I Had been doing about 10 photos per week to Smugmug for almost four weeks when last week I kind of got out the process with some Physical Therapy, another little leg injury and two days of vacation from work I just lost track of time and effort. Will get back in the swing again on that as this week progresses, and might have some more time in the evening now that school will be starting and that should take up some energy from the daughter.

Well, that is it for now. Not much in the way of enlightenment I don't think. Hope it has been a super Labor Day Weekend and now on to the fall Season!

Tim -

August - Dog Days

Here we are heading towards Mid-August and the 'Dog Days' of summer! Where I grew up in Nebraska this became the hottest time of year with humidity equalling the air temperature. I would sweat in the shade in the middle of the night it was so hot at times.

Well, now here we are in Salem, Oregon and yes we do get some temps in the 90's but overall we only get 2-3 days of this in a row and then it is back into the low and mid 80's. We actually just had a few days here in August with the highs in the low 70's with night time temps in the 50's and 60's. If you have never been here in the Pacific NW, don't believe the rain stories....we seriously get very little rain June - September and even in our town the annual average is only 42 inches of precipitation per year. Keep moving and the moss will not grow on you much!

Anyway, I was going through some older photos and came across this one in a set of shots from July of 2007. This is a view looking [N/NE] from our deck over the roof tops and you can kind of make out Mt. St. Helen's in the background in the middle right. When we do have these evenings it is good to sit out on the deck, enjoy a beer and watch the view!

Wherever you are I hope that you enjoy your sunsets and sunrises and everything around you. Enjoy every moment and never take to much for granted!

Tim -

Wyoming - Jellystone and Night Rodeos

Howdy!

Have been back about a week now from a visit to Wyoming. Cody in particular as that is where my folks live so it was time to have a short (4+ day) vacation to take my daughter to see grandma/grandpa. Thankfully got some reasonable tickets and flew from Salem, OR with a stop in Salt Lake then on to Cody. That saved us at least 4 hours of driving each day to catch or go home from airports.

While there is a bunch of things to do in that part of Wyoming, Cody itself has some interesting things going on. The gateway on the East side, Cody is about 50 miles from the East-Gate to Yellowstone. In Cody they have a Night Rodeo and from my folks house you can watch it (with binoculars) and you can hear it! We did not make it this time to the rodeo but will when we venture out again next year.

Grandma, daughter and I all went to Yellowstone to see 'Old Faithful' and take a drive through part of the park. On the way we able to start a "Bear Jam" and I was lucky enough to get some shots of a Grizzly from my point on the road. The bear was about 150 plus yards away and I only had a 200mm lens so I could not get a super shot. Of course I didn't want to ask the beast if it would pose so never got a clear face shot. I included about the best shot I have and have cropped it in from the original.

Anyway, if you are out there in Wyoming land head to Cody and take in some Rodeo, do some rafting, go to Yellowstone and just relax. Things move pretty slow around there so you don't need to be in a hurry.

until next time.

Tim

Just Hawking Around

So back in June on the 16th I am coming home on my bicycle from work and a hawk flies overhead and perches on my neighbors roof. I figured it would fly away by the time I got into my house grabbed a camera and headed out, but no it had not. It actually flew across the street to a fence to watch the hood.

So I started moving slowly and went across the street and got a shot before it flew to another tree, which my curiosity made me get close to and by doing that it flew out to a bush. Now I was shooting towards the sun around 6 PM but didn't want to move anymore. Really didn't want to stress the hawk and you have to take what you are given. The hawk rested on the ground, then the bush and it was only about 25 feet away so luckily I had been shooting with a big old 70-200/f2.8 so I could get some reach.

What I did not know was the hawk was looking for dinner! It made a small little jump towards the ground then just rammed into the bush that you see it sitting on. BOOM! about a dozen sparrows go flying out of the bush (they had been absolutely silent) and then the hawk came out with one in its clutches. Of course I had been so in tune with what it was doing I had quit shooting and was just watching......Dinner was served!

Enjoy the shots - I believe this is a 'Cooper's Hawk' based on the ambush method of attack! Plus the size, tail feathers and Head based on most of my research I am sticking with the Cooper's Hawk.

Thanks for reading!

Tim-

Opal Creek - Oregon Cascades

A Sunday or so ago my wife, daughter, myself along with our dog went up to the Opal Creek area for a day hike. We ended up doing a seven mile loop which was a little more than we should have for the seven year old and our dog who was dragging too by the time we got back to the car. This area is a little over an hour of travel time East of Salem, and is kind of busy on the weekends, as it is rather an easy hike overall. Still a very wonderful area and to remain intact for years to come.

Anyway, this is a protected "Old Growth" area which used to have a little mining village so along the road/path you see some of the old mining equipment that was used and left behind. Further up the road is the community area of 'Jawbone Flats' which is where there are cabins that can be rented and they do learning camps for the area teaching of the ecosystem and what the old trees still do and the value to the system.

Of course there was the Little North Santiam River, which was flowing rather well from a tremendous snow pack and the spring melting. So the roar of the river stays with you as you pretty much hike/walk along this old road cut.

One of the little critters that can be found there is the 'Western Red-Backed Salamander'. The one I shot here happened to be working its way across the parking area so hopefully it did not get squished from a car later on.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Long Time No Blog & Horsepower!

Hey ya out there!

Keep meaning to get to this blog site but have been passing it up even while at work! Can you believe that I would rather work at a real job then post something out here? Anyway......

Things have been moving along the past month, have put out about 5 photos per week of just regular stuff to 'Smugmug' and recently posted a few shots of the 2008 Silverton Road Race which was held June 1st. I was really out there to sell off some wheels I had but took the cameras to catch some action and/or shoot some of the local countryside! You can check out my smugmug area and get into sports photography/OBRA racing where there are several galleries.

Here is a shot of my newest Bike in the stable....2006 Ducati Multistrada 620. I bought it back in late February (had 73 miles) and got my safety courses and endorsement done by mid-march. Since then have been using it to commute when I do not ride a bicycle and do some scouting rides for future bicycle training, etc. Got out today with a couple of friends and rode the back roads up to Woodburn (60 miler round trip) to look around at the outlet mall. Good will power as I bought nothing even though I was very tempted in a few stores. I meant to ride my bike today, but have to have priorities and there will always be time to pedal.

I am for hire for shooting teams, events, etc. I am currently pretty cheap at $50 for the first hour then $40/hour after that which also includes any computer time if you want some photos to be checked. Of course I have to unload them from the camera and be able to cut them to CD or DVD. Anyway that is a plug for my small company TRE Photography.

Have a great rest of the weekend! Tim

Small Update on Smugmug

Hello to whomever is reading!

I was working on the PC last night and was logged into my smugmug site and since I had some processed photos I actually uploaded them to the site in the "Animals" area. A few of the photos are of some Big Horn sheep that I was able to photograph last December (07) while spending the part of the Holidays with Family in Cody, Wyoming.

A couple of other shots were of some 'Gulls' while we did our annual family pilgrimage to the Coast for my spouses birthday.

If you want to check them or other shots out, please check my smugmug site where you can purchase any or all of the photos available! There is a link over on the right.

Have a great day! Week! Weekend, Month, Year!

Tim

Eyewear

Hi folks!
Just thinking about eyewear and the various brands that I have used or currently use. In my snowboard days it was and still is 'Smith' products and also have used their products for use in cycling and running. Usually with interchangeable lenses to compensate for varying light conditions. I still have an older pair of 'slider 2' at home and use them working around the yard, or under my helmet when I am riding my motorcycle.

Oakley's - can not go wrong with these folks, but you also thin out your wallet and I think you are spending more money for a name. My pair right now has interchangeable lenses, but you must be careful about taking in/out as you can break the catch pieces on the edge...bam! Out more money!

I have used some 'Axleys' but not really impressed by them. I also use some 'Ryders' and for a less expensive alternative found them to be very good eyewear and lenses. I have interchangeable on this pair also and for running me all of about $50, well worth the investment.

This leads me to my most recent trial....Tifosi optics. I recently purchased the "Slip" model with the Fototec lens and find them pretty awesome. I really like the ability of the lens to lighten and darken with the changing light conditions and they only ran me about $60! They have good ventilation and fit my bit larger noggin pretty well. I have not tried other brands (with this type technology) but do not want to spend the money on them (well over $125 - average) just to see if I like them. Would be happy to test them for FREE if anyone is reading this that has those connections! I would really like to test some more of the Tifosi though as in the past four weeks I have been very impressed for the versatility, fit and function of the eyewear. Can not say enough about the prices as they are very reasonable.

Thanks for reading, Tim

Kings Valley and Experimentation

Went out to take some shots at the Kings Valley Road Race this past Saturday April 12th. Absolute beautiful day, a few high clouds and the sun beaming down with temps in the upper 50's for a 10 AM start time.

Had driven the course a week prior so was trying to get some locations to catch the packs, using mostly climbs and one section of flat and then to the finish.

Not my best day behind the lens as I was messing with the 'burst' mode on the camera and doing some messing with E/V values which allows me to over/under expose the shots. This is going to cost me a little more time in the post production which is not something I enjoy all that much. It is so much nicer to get the shot in the moment instead of trying to come back to it a day or two later. I was also using my other Pentax digital SLR with a 12-24 wide angle lens and it works great when things are sitting still, but when folks are churning the gears out....well, not always the best, but it was fun to use and shoot at some pretty high speed.

Included is a the shot of south end of the women's peloton heading north through Kings Valley! I will have the rest of the days shots posted to my 'smugmug' area by mid-week. Will be posting approximately 150 of the various categories.

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Finch and upcoming Kings Valley

I have been pretty lazy and have not gotten a photo of my new two wheeled toy! Soon I will and hope you are impressed by the horsepower I will be able to put down with this steed!

In the meantime, things are clipping away, day by day. I went out scouting the route for an upcoming bicycle race (kings valley) so I will be out there shooting some photos for the day[4/12]. Part of it to get shots for the teams web-site and the other to post out and hopefully sell a few afterward. With today's economy more folks seem to spend their money on $4,000 plus bicycles then a few bucks on a shot of themselves racing. Like their mom was out there and got a better shot? Of course this pertains to the bicycle culture life in Oregon, not the general public.

Cropped in on a 'golden finch' that was hanging out by the feed grounds in the backyard. This shot is actually last year about this time but I have quite a few variations of Finch's that come to get the free dinner. In the next few days I am going to start posting out to my 'smugmug' account and get that up to date. Need to have some fresh photos out there to choose from you know?!

Well not much else, just got back from the gym and need to relax my legs. Thanks for checking in. Tim -

A Few days off & some Bald Eagles

Well I took a little vacation time off from the real $$ gig to hang out with my daughter, well at least for one day! Monday was a shopping day and other activities together but today, she thought it more fun to have a friend over and then go to grandma's later in the PM today (3/25) so I was left on my own for a few hours. Dad time was only a few hours today.

So I loaded up some gear and headed to Minto-Brown park and got out along the path that goes along side the Willamette River. Water was down enough so it was dry and very passable on foot or bike. The reason to go there is there is a nesting pair of Bald Eagles that are on the West side of the River but it is private property so to try and get close from that side is not very easy. So I go to the park and watch them and try to get some shots of the big majestic birds!

The shot included is not that good but it gives you some perspective of how big a nest might be! You see the one eagle perched on a branch outside the nest, and if you can barely see it there is another head just above the nest [click the picture and should make it fill a the window]. I am hoping they have laid their eggs and are now in the process of getting some new eagles to be around in a few months?! I was using my biggest lens a Sigma 125-400, shot at 1/180 of sec., f/8.0....did I say I was reaching as far as my lens would take me? This shot is actually cropped in so there is a lot more extraneous stuff in the original. My distance was approximately 175+ yards from my point to them.

Overall it was good to be out watching the river flow by, see the eagles and talk to some other folks that were also checking out the birds.

Then came home, picked up the daughter at Grandma's and shot some hoops in the driveway. Not a bad way to burn up the last day of vacation!

Thanks for reading, Tim -

Breakfast on Bikes

Hello folks-

last time I left you and I mentioned something about 'Breakfast on Bikes' that our regional Bicycle Commute coordinator is doing on the last Friday of every month. I am giving you a shot of my fender of my

Redline Cross bike that I use as a commuter. It is mostly made up of parts from a cannondale road bike that I had and disassembled but sold the frame/fork/headset, etc.

Anyway, when Eric puts this on where ever it might be in Salem you should commute and stop by and get some coffee or a snack on the way to wherever you have to be that AM. Here are some of the donors to

the effort -Coffee provided by the Coffee House Café, pastries by Cascade Baking Company, and fruit by Lifesource. Be sure to support our generous donors!

I have given a number of photos to Eric to be used for promotion of this on-going event and possibly to be used by the BTA itself on a quick blog by them. Oh yeah, I have two pieces of photography in the silent auction for the BTA's annual even this Saturday (22nd) so if you are there, bid high as the money all goes to support their cause! Bicycle advocacy and safety!

Gotta go select my NCAA basketball brackets now!

Tim

It's been a couple of weeks

Noticed that the time was going by out in the real world. It is almost mid-March and I have not posted anything for almost two weeks. Did you miss it? Anyone?

Well, slowly getting taxes done and some photo work also. I am finally getting some photos to my regional bicycle commute coordinator (Eric L.) from a 'Breakfast On Bikes' that he put together on the last day of February. I will get a shot of that out on the next one, I promise! He is really working on promoting Bike Commuting and I couldn't agree more, at least to find alternatives to the SOV (Single Occupancy Vehicle).

I have been getting some miles in on the bicycles and on 3/9/08 took an all day class for motorcycle safety and passed my skills test. That waives having to take the skills test at the state DMV offices so now I have to study and take the written knowledge test, hopefully pass and I will be street legal with my motorcycle endorsement. I recently purchased a 2006 Ducati Multistrada 620 as a running errands, commute ride. Yes I still ride the bicycles in 3x/week but wanted to have another alternative. I can also use it to get to some photo locations and not burn as much fuel. Will get a shot of that another time also.

Will be working on photos this weekend and trying to update smugmug and looking at a revamp of my regular site. Included this time is a shot I took back in Aug. 2003 of smoke rising from the B&B Complex fire in the Cascade foothills of Oregon. I was sitting on Highway 20/22 after traveling East from Bend, Oregon using the Old McKenzie Pass road as the main highway was closed from this rather large fire. I happened to catch the spotter plane as it was probably doing boundary checks and aerial mapping of the fire for ground updates.

Tim -

End of February - Leap Day!

Wow! Can you believe it? Last day of Feb. Tomorrow and it is "leap day" where those folks born on this day get to celebrate their birthdays. Must be hard doing that on a four year cycle. Let me rant for a bit here and get you some updates.

I did post three photos to my smugmug account on Tuesday night and am getting closer to posting at least two a night to start to build up the stock out there. I have plenty of images on the PC to review and get out for sale and display. I will have two pieces of matted and framed work in the silent auction for the BTA at their annual awards program in March. I am trying to find the positive in my lack of time to do all the things I would like to do and have changed up my work out routines to hopefully allow me to get a little more done.

Have been doing some successful commuting by bike to work this month, but have flatted three times in four weeks?! What gives? This last one I actually had a nice little shard of glass in the tire and it pinned holed the tube. I should not have swapped out my specialized armadillo tires this early. I am going to keep patched tubes with me for the commute as it gets a little pricey putting in new tubes every time. I have recently added some more Horsepower to my two wheeled collection. I bought a new Ducati MS620 motorcycle to help with gas savings and be my back-up when I do not ride the bicycles. I do sometimes commute with my spouse when it is raining as she only works two blocks away and I get to stay pretty dry that way in her car!

I recently dumped off some photos from my older Pentax istDS and had a couple shots of the moon with Mt. Hood. I didn't notice it right away that afternoon so the moon was getting pretty high up but it is pretty cool nonetheless. The shot was taken back in January from my back deck in Salem. Hope you will enjoy it!

Gotta go work on taxes or something now. If you get a chance, please check out my smugmug photo work and if there is something you might like to see let me know!

Tim

First One of February!

Hello!
Looks like I am averaging about two weeks between postings so far. I do not lead a very exciting life as a government worker and aspiring photographer.

I was intending to get out to one of the near-by National Wildlife Refuges but have not made it. I did take a day off during the week, but ended up riding my bike and running errands that had to get done. On Saturday 2/9 it was such great weather wise here in the Willamette Valley I needed to get out and ride and was able to get in a nice two hour ride North of Salem in Polk and Yamhill counties.

I am still working on some photos (a ton) that need to be reviewed, maybe processed or held for later. Then I need to update the smugmug location and looking at a redesign of my basic website.

I will be contributing two pieces of work (for silent auction), all framed, matted and signed that will be part of the BTA's - Alice B. Toeclips banquet/awards in March. Check out their site over on the right hand side to get more information.

To end I will include a sunrise from back in late October 2007 shot from my back deck. I have done some major cropping in so if you enlarge it, it shall not look so great. Will post again!

Tim -

More in January

Hi folks!

Left you about 10 days ago and am making the commitment to sit down at the PC and get some more blogging done. Seems our very cool or frigid for Willamette Valley standards is turning just a bit. Now that we seem to be getting away from mid 30's for highs we are getting back to rain! I don't think you can win when it comes to the weather here, but hopefully it will not freeze tonight or it is going to be a really bad Sunday.

I got in a run today and did get some bike commutes this week but not much in the way of mileage on the bike this year, maybe a 100+ miles so far? I am getting another new bike put together, a redline conquest pro frame set, with most of the other stuff hijacked off my older Cannondale. This will become my commuter and Cross-Racing bike if I get the motivation to race in the fall.

Hey, I know last time I said something about posting a shot or two of some bighorn sheep, but changed my mind for now. I am posting a shot of an icicle that was by this metal art thingy hanging by one of the doors at my folks house. I spent about twenty minutes shooting this icicle trying to catch drops coming off the damn thing. In this one you will see a drop just getting ready to be free from the main icicle and start its journey downward.

I am hoping to get out to one of the NWR's close to Salem to see about what birds might be hanging around and get some shooting in. Am also planning on heading up into the Cascades one of these weekends to do some skiing, snowshoeing, or sledding and getting away from the rain. Will hopefully get some good shots along the way. This week I plan on updating to my smugmug account with some animals and landscapes.

Thanks for stopping in!

Tim

New Year - New sights

Wow! Over the past month and a half I have been looking at the blog but doing nothing about it. It is time to get serious and this is the year! Part of it has been laziness and the other part finding the time, but like I tell my honey bunny, you have to make the time. I should live by that same thought.

Well, December came and went with no updates so here we are mid-way through January and I am starting again. In December, my wife, daughter and I went back to Cody, Wyoming to visit my folks for the Christmas holiday. Good times, with a 3-4 inches of light powdery snow on Christmas eve and plenty of Mule deer coming into the yard for a little extra feed. Yes, my dad gives them a little bit of cracked corn to munch on, but not a whole lot and I don't think you could really say that it enhances their diet to much. Anyway, they get around 10-14 deer almost everyday and I have included a shot of one of the bucks that was around.

When not playing games with family or sitting around having a beer and talking I did get a chance to drive up the North Fork (Main Hwy) towards the East gate of Yellowstone Park. I will get you a shot or two of some Big Horn sheep that were hanging out near the road along some drainage's. Pretty nice to just sit there and watch them graze, had a few feisty males ramming their horns with each other. Makes you appreciate the animals in this world and being away from larger communities, cars and way to many people!

Well, this is just a start. I am going to work on some of the animal photos and check some of the local places in Salem to start getting some showing's on the walls of their businesses. I will post out when I have some out and about in the community.

So long for now, and thanks for stopping in! I promise to be more jazzed about getting stuff out and since I would like this to be my job someday maybe I should "make the time."

Bye, tim