I love where I live.
This gallery contains 13 photos.
This pen and ink of a dusky grouse was inspired from a trip to the high country last summer. I always knew this bird as the blue grouse, but in recent years the name was changed to dusky grouse. Dusky … Continue reading
The butterfly and bumble bee turf war is on. He never saw it coming.
Take the high road to find mountain hemlock.
If you want to find mountain hemlock you have to get high, or should I say, go high. The mountain hemlock is a high elevation tree of the Sierra and Cascades mountains. You can find mountain hemlock growing at elevations from 6,000 feet to 11,000 feet in the Sierras of California.
Red fir, lodgepole pine and western white pine are common neighbors of mountain hemlock.
Mountain hemlock grows in a wide band along the Pacific coast. Its range extends from the Sierra mountains of California in the South to Southern Alaska in the North. In Alaska it grows in extensive stands down to sea level. This is common with most trees that have a wide north to south range. The farther north you go, the lower elevation you grow.
The hemlock cones look a lot like spruce cones.
It is not commonly harvested in California, because it is not common in California’s managed timberlands. As a result, I don’t run into it very often in my job.
A delicate looking tree living in a harsh place.
Tsuga mertensiana is the scientific name, but let’s really look at this wonderful tree. Hemlocks have a different personality from the other western conifers and that’s what I enjoy about them. They have a bit of a fairytale quality.
The blue green foliage has a soft appearance and feel.
From its delicate needles to the droopy tips the mountain hemlock has a poetic gestalt, or gesture as artists are so fond of saying.
The tree tops almost have a joyous look about them.
The ubiquitous Douglas squirrel is a common resident up here.
Blitz is back on duty keeping the squirrels in line. What would I do without her.
Blitz giving her best regal pose. Well done girl!
“Whoa squirrel, gotta go!”
After a long day of practicing forestry and chasing squirrels it’s time to head for the barn.
This gallery contains 8 photos.
We’re into our Winter logging season now. In California, logging in the Winter period is much more restrictive than during Summer. We are limited to operating only in “dry rainless periods” or “hard frozen conditions.” Right now we have both. … Continue reading
A friend told me last year that when Jupiter is in the night sky, you can see some of its moons with a good set of binoculars. Jupiter is back in our eastern sky just after sundown, so I tried shooting it with my little Nikon 510. Here is the result.
Jupiter’s major moons Europa, Io, Ganymede and Callisto are all visible in this shot. Don’t ask me which one is which.
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Last night, on my way home from the woods, I was treated to a beautiful moonrise. The sunset wasn’t noteworthy, but the silhouetted trees were nice. Early this morning, well before sunup, Kinta the puppy needed to go outside to … Continue reading
For me this is the sunset season. We don’t get a lot of the climate conditions in the Summer for spectacular sunsets, unless we have smoke in the skies from wildfire. Over the Winter we get spectacular sunsets, which I enjoy as I drive home from the woods. I get home after dark, but while I drive I watch the sky as it changes. Last night was stunning.
American Black Bear, (Ursus americanus), the biggest predator in our woods.
When working in the woods I’m usually alone, but really never alone. Do you ever get the feeling that someone or something is watching you? I had this big brute spying on me one day. He didn’t think I noticed him.
My neck is tingling! Is someone there?
The watcher was a big black bear boar.
Now, to answer the age-old rhetorical question.
You know the question. Yes indeed, they do poop in the woods. Just sayin’.
Hey, where’s my fierce guard dog?
Blitz decided she would wait it out in the truck. She knew the bear would leave after filling up on a yummy forester meal.
This gallery contains 6 photos.
The other night Mary and I were awakened to what sounded like gunfire, and a lot of it. I jumped out of bed and flung open the front door. This was the sight that hit us in the face. Our … Continue reading
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