Hoot Owl by My Window

We just got back yesterday from a trip up to Washington and Idaho. I was visiting relatives so I got to watch not one but two parades and I was lucky enough to watch two fireworks displays as well. The weather was great we only had one rain shower. We didn't see much wildlife. Most everything I spotted was from a distance. We spotted one Marmot, four Osprey, one Bald Eagle and some Whitetail Deer with fawns. They were pretty cute. The usual baby ducks at the marina were nice The best sighting of all were two newly fledged Great Horned Owls behind my brothers house. They were little whiners constantly calling out to Momma for food. I never spotted her but my brother said that she had fed them a Marmot the day before we had arrived. I must say they were a pretty cool sight to see. The last image was of Mount Shasta as we were flying home. It still has a lot of snow! God's blessings upon your upcoming weekend, chris All images were created with two Canon EOS cameras and lenses. #TeamCanon

Free

This morning I felt free. With help from Michael the Technical Support Representative from Canon (Thank You) I was able to resolve the issues between my computer operating system and my camera uploading software so that I could once again upload images directly to my computer. I had a backlog of a weeks worth of photography to catch up on. The first images I uploaded were from the 4th of July. What better images to celebrate freedom than that? We went out to the Mendocino Coast that day and road bikes and played on the beach. Thank you Lord for gving us that freedom. Here are a few images from that day. God's love and blessings to all who have helped maintain that freedom, chrisAll images created with a Canon 7Dand a Canon 17-85 mm lens. Exposures varied.

Typical Hometown 4th of July Parade

Yesterday we celebrated the 4th of July in the small town of Willits where I live in Northern California.We celebrate in a pretty big way for such a small town. We commemorate the holiday with "Frontier Days" starting in late June going through until the 4th of July. Then much to the dismay of travelers we close U.S. Highway 101 for part of the day for a mile long race and then a parade. After the parade there is a huge BBQ and then a rodeo.




Frontier Days had its beginnings back in 1926. Then many of the prominent citizens and the American Legion hatched the idea of a rodeo as a fund raiser for building a new hospital. Later in 1927 Frank Howards (the owner of the race horse Sea Biscuit) son was killed in tragic accident on the Ridgewood Ranch south of Willits. Dr. Babcock, who ministered to the boy, approached Howard about erecting a hospital in Willits in memory of his son. Howard built the Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital shortly thereafter. The American Legion decided to keep the fundraiser for continued funding of the hospital.



There is your short history lesson for the day.There will be a test! Here are the images from the parade.There were musicians,rodeo sweethearts,old cars and trucks etc.
I had a great time there watching it and photographing it with my family. God bless,

chris