Just Around the Bend

Today I awoke to the sound of rain on the roof top. Later the rain stopped but our ridge top stayed fogged in all day until late in the afternoon. Just a little after four the sun burst through the fog in rays of Angel's Breath.It was incredible! I ran downstairs and grabbed my camera and quickly walked down our road to find a good spot to photograph it. By the time I had reached the first bend in the road the clouds had moved back in and blocked out the sun.Drat! I looked back up the road towards our house and caught the last bit of very faint light on the tree trunks through the fog. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little sunnier. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Great Run of Chinook Salmon

On Friday while I was out photographing the fall colors I did a quick check on the Chinook Salmon run in the Eel River. I only watched them for about a half of an hour. I was really impressed by the number of salmon I saw spawning in the shallow riffles of the river. The females were digging reds (nests) by turning sideways and digging up the gravel by flapping their tails. There was a lot of pushing and shoving for nest sites. The males were pushing each other around to see who would get to fertilize the eggs. A beautiful sight to behold since the numbers of salmon have been down for so many years. I read recently that this may be the biggest salmon run that anyone can remember.I look forward to the creeks rising and seeing some salmon soon closer to where I live! God's love and blessings to all, chris

My Annual Fall Color Tour

Just about every year I make my own personal fall color tour through part of Mendocino County.I drive up over Red Hill into the Rock Tree Valley. I ford Tomki Creek and then drive out Hearst Road to the bridge on the Eel River at Emandahl. Then I backtrack to Tomki Road and the come up over Berry Canyon Road and back to Willits. Today was no disappointment as the fall colors were the best that I have seen in many years. It was just beautiful. The sky was cloudy and it was mixed with high fog that gave the leaves a rich saturated coloring. I had a wonderful drive and made it back just in time to have a quick lunch with Lenore. God's precious light and love to everyone, chris

I'm Stumped

Today has been a mix of mostly rain and sleet with doses of sunshine mixed in for good measure. I got cabin fever this afternoon and just had to get out. I walked down our road and photographed a mossy stump. Later on I took Annika to Ukiah for an appointment and we spotted a rainbow on the return trip home. God's love and blessings to all, chris

A Couple of Native Beasts

Not much came by the photoblind this morning in the backyard. A few of the local squirrels came by for some free seed. The Western Gray Squirrel seemed to be saying, "Look at my beautiful tail!". The Douglas Tree Squirrel was just trying to figure out what that clicking noise was. God's light and love to all, chris

Day at the Polls

If you are a U.S. citizen did you exercise your right to vote today? I voted today and then I photographed "Badger the Wonder Dog" with my sticker. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Iconic Squirrel Pose

Once fall has truly set in the bird photography becomes extremely limited in the variety of birds that visit my bird feeders.Today there was a grand total of three species of birds that visited the feeder while I was sitting in the photoblind. In addition to the birds there were two types of squirrels. Not even the chipmunks came to visit. I decided just to work with what I had and create an iconic Douglas Tree Squirrel image. You know the look. The squirrel is sitting up with it's tail curled up behind its back and it has its paws held up in front of it.I hope I have succeeded in that with a richly colored,detailed and beautiful squirrel. God's love and blessings, chris