On The Road To Smith River

Posted on September 26, 2013 by foresterartist

dogs, traveling, golden retriever, photography

Teka with the wind in her face.

We have been on the road a lot lately, but it is now time to check in with you all. One weekend not long ago we took the Blitz and Teka to a hunt test in Smith River, California. Go a bit North of Smith River and you’re in Oregon. Here are a few pictures from our travels and a bit of pen and ink.

pen and ink, pen, drawing, cormorant, wildlife, nature

The cormorants moved like poetry in the surf.

Sailer yard art, you have to love it.

We stayed at a RV park with this ship in the front yard. I thought lumberjacks had big yard art, but I have to admit the sailors win the “BIG” prize.

cormorants, wildlife, photography, nature, Smith River

A pair of cormorants in the surf were my inspiration.

Blitz, Teka, Golden retriever, photography

Blitz and Teka on the beach near Brookings, Oregon.

Sitka Spruce cones.

Blitz chills after an exhausting day of events. “Don’t get up Blitz, but I need to get into the refrigerator!”

Blitz, golden retriever, The Backdoor Artist.

Mary and Blitz take a stroll on the beach.

sunset, Smith River, nature, photography

Sunset where the Smith River meets the sea.

Blitz, road trip, Smith River, golden retriever

On the road home and Blitz dreams of ducks.

A San Francisco Day

Posted on August 13, 2013 by foresterartist

Lost in the wilderness again.

The Empty Nest….Not Quite

Posted on July 19, 2013 by foresterartist

Osprey

Osprey portrait in pen and ink.

The osprey family has been quite busy lately. The young birds have been practicing for their first flight.

Osprey, fledgling, nature, wildlife, photography

The young osprey in training.

The parents had been flying around the tower trying to entice the fledglings to take wing.

This is how it’s done kids.

Then the heat came. We had seven straight days over 108 and it peaked at 116. It was way too hot in the nest tower!

Trying to assume a cool position in the tower.

This was the incentive to motivate the young osprey to fly. After the first day of extreme heat, they fled the tower.

Osprey, fledgling, nature, wildlife, photography, nest

The osprey nest was finally empty.

Down along the river in the shady oak trees is where they took refuge.

This is much better than roasting in that steel tower.

When the heat settled down, back to the tower they went. After, being in the tree I thought they might not return to the tower. As it turns out they weren’t entirely ready to give up the nest.

The nest tower is still home.

They still want to roost there at night, and they know this is where they get fed. They are like teenagers that still depend on mom and dad.

When it’s time to eat, they tell their parents in no uncertain terms.

The parents seem to debate each other whose turn it is to take care of the noisy offspring. They rarely go into the nest anymore unless they are dropping off a fresh fish meal.

I fed them last time!

Bare Bear Butt Bliss

Posted on July 17, 2013 by foresterartist

Mary posted the latest pictures from our wildlife camera. Some pretty neat shots and a composite she put together.

Sneaking Bliss

The area where the trail cam is located has blackberries and some old apple trees. Both favorites of the local black bears. They come by to check the ripening status of the fruit.

We like our little get away up in the mountains. No cell phone coverage, no electricity, it is a place we can truly be unplugged.

Enjoying the view of our neighbors, even if it is their backside – bliss.

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From Every Mountainside Let Freedom Ring

Posted on July 4, 2013 by foresterartist

Eagle, Bald Eagle, 4th of July, Independence Day, nature, wildlife photography

Bald Eagle resting in a pine tree along the Trinity River.

“I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.”

James Madison

Live, love and guard your freedom. Have a happy independence day.

Our Growing Osprey Family

Posted on June 27, 2013 by foresterartist

pen and ink, osprey, fledgling, art, artist

The Fledgling.

The osprey chicks don’t look much like chicks anymore. They are nearly fledglings.

Feeding the babies.

Parent brings a fish. They have grown fast and eat the fish on their own.

Careful where you stand while taking pictures.

Projectile poop keeps the nest clean.

Sorry, didn’t see you there, hehehe.

Wing exercise is important preparation for that first flight.

The osprey parents are constantly flying in and out with fish.

We hit a hot spell a little while back, 109 F one day and 111 F the next. Osprey will fluff up their feathers and pant like a dog in the heat. When it gets that hot one of the osprey parents will stay in the nest and shade the chicks.

It’s been hot here!

It’s really hot on the tower.

This hot neighboring osprey shades it’s babies.

Lions, Deer, and Bears Oh Mine

Posted on June 27, 2013 by foresterartist

Mary and I have our little get-away spot we love to go to. When we are there, we have lots of friends stop by. Check out her post!

Sneaking Bliss

We originally set up hidden cams at various locations to catch claim jumpers. It’s a nice treat to capture the local critter population. Here is a sampling of what passed through the last 2 weeks. Of course, panning a little bling with my Tim is pure bliss.

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Wildflowers To Welcome Summer

Posted on June 22, 2013 by foresterartist

Tiger Lily, nature, wildflower, photography

The Tiger Lily

Bleeding Hearts, nature, wildflower, nature, photography

Wild Bleeding Hearts

Deer Brush

Poppy, California Poppy, nature, wildflower, photography

The California Poppy. The state flower of California.

Wild Rose, nature, wildflower, photography

The Wild Rose

My Wink From Heaven

Posted on June 12, 2013 by foresterartist

Tiger Lily, lilies, wink, photograghy, God, love, photography, nature, anniversary

The first Tiger Lilies of the season.

Yesterday, I had a little wink from Heaven. It was Mary and my thirtieth wedding anniversary. We did dueling blogs about how we met at The Blind Date – Her Side and The Blind Date – His Side. The day before that I posted a watercolor called The Tiger Lily, and I talked about how they were my favorite flower and I felt compelled to bring them home for Mary. I also, mentioned that they were late bloomers.

Forest, forester, ponderosa pine, forest

Lovin’ the woods!

I was in the woods yesterday and had the girls with me, Blitz and Teka. I stopped at one of our usual water holes so the girls could drink, swim and air out. We walk over to the creek and lo and behold there were Tiger Lilies, lots of them. I don’t remember seeing them on our anniversary before. They were early this year. I could almost hear the wink! I wish I had bought a lottery ticket.

Lovin’ these Tiger Lilies!

So, of course I picked a bouquet of them as I am compelled by contract to do. Then I threw in a couple of Columbine for good luck.

Tiger Lily, lilies, wink, photograghy, God, love, photography, nature, anniversary, columbine

Columbine for good luck.

I placed them into a lovely silver vase to create the perfect ambiance. Just call me The Florister Artist.

Martha Stewart eat you heart out, The Florister Artist is in the building!

Blitz and Teka helped.

Tiger Lily, lilies, wink, photograghy, God, love, photography, nature, anniversary, golden retriever

Teka searches for the perfect Tiger Lily, or squirrel.

They celebrated with me and we were ready to go.

Nothing gets a girl to roll in the grass like beautiful flowers.

All that was left to do was deliver the package. For that I used FTD, or Forester’s Dirty Truck. Hey, it gets the job done.

FTD special delivery.

The flowers were delivered along with kisses and hugs. Mission accomplished and Mary was all smiles, although she did pitch the vase. Excuse me, I mean recycled the vase to be precise. Then we enjoyed a beautiful and delicious dinner of stir fry and egg fu yung that she made for us. The stir fry was more colorful than the flowers. It was a lovely and quiet anniversary.

Colorful stir fry. It’s making the flowers look dull.

So, do you think it was pure coincidence or was it divine intervention. I know what I think. I think those Tiger Lilies were my little wink from heaven.

A Memory In The Mist – Revisited

Posted on June 7, 2013 by foresterartist

When I first posted A Memory In The Mist I thought it would be an unusual sight for most folks. With so many people unfamiliar with teepee burners and their use, and add to that a picture of one decaying into the earth, it would be something different. I decided I would show you a few more images of full standing burners that are still around. They represent something from the past that was left behind by the forward march of technology.

pen and ink, ink, drawing, sketch, sawmill, teepee burner

This pen and ink represents an old-time sawmill with a teepee burner.

In the old days, before sawdust was used for particle board and bark was used for landscaping, it was burned. Much of it was burned to power the boilers at the mill, but excess wood waste was just burned. Today’s mill residues that cannot be used in other products are burned in co-generation plants to generate electricity. Nothing goes to waste anymore.

teepee burner, beehive burner, photography, sawmill

The Carlotta, California teepee burner was an extra-large one.

A big one like the Carlotta burner could handle a lot of mill residue. With the mill gone the old burner stands like a grave marker of the old mill site.