Beachcomber's Daydream

Both Lenore and I have coin collectors within our families so it stands to reason that we have a few old coins floating round our house. Nothing major of value. Yesterday Jay came in and told me he'd found an unusual coin in his room. It turned out to be a zinc copy of a CAC Brasher Doubloon, America’s First Gold Coin, There were many copies made of this coin that sold in the 1960's in tourist spots in Florida and other locations along the east coast. An original gold Brasher's Doubloon sold for over seven million dollars in 2011. I decided to create an image a beachcomber would have day dreams about.If it were real that is! God bless, chris 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Mathew 6-:19-21

One of the Locals

It has taken me many years to develop a relationship with some of the birds and squirrels where I live. When I first started putting up my bird feeders I could rarely get close to any of the critters in my backyard. Just opening the back door was cause for them to flee. With time I have been able to move much closer to many of them. Many of the smaller birds like Juncos and Chickadees are relatively unafraid when I'm in the yard. The ravens and Bandtail Pigeons are still all but impossible. I thought I had a break through last year when I had a chance with a first year Raven that was in pretty poor shape. He at least I think it's a he lets me at least be on the patio in the yard without flying away.But that's as close as I can get. The most approachable are the Douglas Tree Squirrels. I have reached the point with at least a few of them to where I can walk up to within about six or seven feet or so as long as I don't move too quickly or make any noise. Even with this familiarity I still use a photoblind when I am photographing them. They are more relaxed and not as tense when I am hidden from view.Here are a few images of a local Douglas Tree Squirrel from my photoblind yesterday morning. They are just the cutest little guys. For some reason they remind me of little teddy bears God's love and blessings to all, chris

On Watch

Yesterday was Father's Day and my family treated me really well. I was presented with some dark chocolate, cashew nuts and some beef jerky. All good things to munch on in the photoblind. I also received a new pair of Birkenstocks and some boxers as well. Now I'm perfectly outfitted. I was thoroughly spoiled. Best of all I got to spend the whole day at the pool with my family. Annika was working as lifeguard so we just saw her briefly on breaks. All the rest of the time she was on watch. She worked and we played Bananagrams (never won) and had BBQ hamburgers.Most of the time we just sat talked and read. Towards the end of the evening I waited until the lighting was softer and I photographed Annika in her guard chair. I asked her to look over at me and she responded sternly,"No Dad. I have to watch the pool."Way to go Annika. Those simple words made me proud to be a father. I talked her into a quick glance over at me for a second which she did. I really like the image with an out of focus swimmer in the background. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Garlic

Today I was chopping up some garlic for a great salad dressing and I realized it would make a great image. As far as the dressing goes you have to like Cilantro or it's not worth it. A food taste study has indicated that you either like Cilantro or you don't something to do with some sort of gene in your taste buds. While I'm at it here is the recipe for the dressing.Soon I'll post an image of the dressing once I get a creative setting in mind.

Cilantro Lime Dressing 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt. (I use honey yogurt), 1 Tbsp Lime Juice, 2 Cloves Garlic finely minced, 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 whole bunch Clantro chopped, 1 tsp Sea Salt. Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. You can add more olive oil to thin it out as needed if the cilantro bunch was too big. Put it on a great salad and enjoy. God bless and good eats to all, chris

Allen's Hummingbird

Yesterday afternoon I had a fantastic time with a male Allen's Hummingbird in the backyard. He was really comfortable with the flash and he came back to the flowers I had set up numerous times. He was quite the model and I am extremely happy with the images that I came away with. God's blessings and have a beautiful day, chris

Dusty Slides a Look Back in Time

Last night I was looking back at some old images on some dusty slides from a trip to Sanibel Island in Florida in 2004. I still think Florida bird photgraphers have got it made. You can walk right up to an egret. Lie on the ground next to it and make an image! Birds just don't let you do that here in Northern California. Alright, I guess I'll just have to admit it. I'm jealous. In any case we had a great time and I would love to go back sometime soon.We had an absolutely wonderful time collecting shells,swimming and skim boarding. There was a lot of amazing wildlife from gators to birds. A lot can happen in nine years.Back then I was still photographing using slide film and dabbling in digital with a P+S and my hair was still brown. God's light and love to all, chris

Wabi Sabi

I have always liked the look of flowers that have aged on the stem and are slowly breaking down. They have a special beauty all of their own. Japanese culture has a term for it "Wabi Sabi". It is described as one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. Lenore recently commented on an image of roses she had posted stating, "Even old roses with falling petals are beautiful. May we feel the same for the elderly among us?" Her statement really made me pause and think.

This afternoon I was dead heading the roses and I found beuaty in the discarded petals and heads as I collected them. A great example of Wabi Sabi. God too finds beauty in our imperfections, seeing us as the perfect beings that he has created. I'm sure it is his desire that we see others around us in the same way. Perhaps the Japanese are onto something important here? God's light and precious love to all, chris