Austin with Koko - Gnarly Roots

Anyone following this blog for any length of time knows that I like roots and patterns made by roots, these being examples of such.

This is it for our Trip to Austin with Koko.  She did great, and we're looking forward to taking her to Dallas in just a short time.  Time to dig for more not-yet-posted pics from the past...

Austin with Koko - Railroad Reflection

The water in the Colorado was calm, so caught this reflection on the Butler Hike and Bike Trail next to Leroy Island.  Topside image below:

Austin with Koko - Crane Bookmark

For some reason cranes intrigue me.  This and this one are another couple from past adventures.  The lines, the angles...all check boxes for this aspiring photographer.

Austin with Koko - Turtle Bookmark

 

Austin with Koko - Snail on Stalk Bookmark

This guy doesn't quite measure to what is posted here, but felt it was worthy of the effort to make it into a bookmark.  It's very closely cropped in from the much larger frame below:

Austin with Koko - Water Hand-Off

We were fortunate in that a race was just beginning downtown as soon as we crossed the bridge featured yesterday.  Liked the way these guys were lined up ready to hand out water along the route.  At one point during post-capture I wondered why the volunteers' hands were bluish in color, but discovered that they were wearing gloves.

More of a macro-view below, with focus on the runners at the far end of the street:

 

Austin with Koko - Bridge Reflection Bookmark

On our first (and only) full day in Austin we parked in a convenient spot close to downtown, then walked around with Koko in tow.  She behaved beautifully, and thrived on the extra activity these old fuddy-duddies were able to provide.

Forget what street this was, but this is one of the bridges over the Colorado.  Once on the other side I saw an opportunity when these racing jigs were caught in its reflection.  Think it makes a pretty good bookmark.

Austin with Koko - Backpack Poodle

I named this series "Austin with Koko" but, oddly, did not capture any blogworthy images of her while she was with us.  It was a trip back in April of 2021 just to see how she'd do on a long car ride with a stay in an unfamiliar place.  Turns out she did very well in both aspects, though obviously disapproved of anyone else being at our rest stop along the way.

I did get a shot of this doggy, however, unable to resist swinging the Bigger Cahoona up for a quick one.  What an awesome way to carry your pooch around.  Reminded me a little of my brother-in-law in Taipei, who carries around his chihuahua wherever he goes (except possibly work, because he's a policeman).  His dog is so small that he totes him around in a fanny pack, modified with mesh so he can breathe and look out at the world.  The casual observer would not even know that he has a dog in tow.  Don't mess with it, though - being a chihuahua, he'll snap your fingers off if you reach into his cubbyhole for a pet.

Dallas Arboretum - Flamingo

Flamingos make good subjects because they are so colorful, slow-moving, and odd.  And the wife and I were surprised the other day to discover that they can bond with humans just as a pet would.  On the Secrets of the [Columbus] Zoo show (Nat Geo Wild) a flamingo had imprinted on a keeper and the bond was so strong that, whenever she would enter the enclosure, it would break away from the flamboyance and run to her for "snuggles and kisses", as they say.

Dallas Arboretum - Monkey Silhouette

This past January (2022) we went to the Dallas arboretum.  This being an arboretum, naturally the Bigger Cahoona tagged along.  To my surprise, however, very few pictures were even attempted...it was all inside, very crowded, and dark.  Keeping the ISO set at 800 did help, and this is one of two blogworthy keepers of the day.

Dallas Love Field - Balsa Exhibit

One I've been waiting to publish for a long time.  I was in Dallas on criminal justice business back in November of 2008, and pulled into Love Field after seeing a sign advertising an aviation museum.  This was one of the glass-encased exhibits.  After all these years I remembered the subject and angles, finally taking the time to look it up.  The pics above and below were captured by the trusty Fujifilm S7000 and its magical sensor.

Always been very enthusiastic about airplanes, helicopters, and aviation in general...a passion fed as a child by my Uncle Ed, who flew F-4 Phantoms in Vietnam (61 carrier landings), then was part of the Blue Angels team of the '60's (you can look it up), then sold helicopters for Bell.  After he gave the family a tour of the helicopter facility in Fort Worth one day, I began saving pennies to buy one.  Naturally - perhaps even thankfully, looking back on things - that plan never came to fruition.

But the interest has never waned.  Even at the age of 64 I still get caught up in wild-eyed enthusiasm when seeing a bi-plane, helicopter, or an airliner fly overhead...and a sense of nostalgia when it's one of those small high-winged Cessnas I used to fly.  There is simply no man-made object more beautiful than these machines built to whiz us through the sky, even the oldest of the lot:

Koko with Levi (as puppies)

This is Koko's brother Levi, her best friend to this day...taken in November of 2020 when they were four months old.  Kinduva goofy guy, but we all love him to death.

A couple of months later he was over again, when I was heavy into creating bookmarks.  I got a wild hair and took a picture of his hair, resulting in what you see below:

Koko's Divider

This was taken when she was much younger, with the Big (not Bigger) Cahoona, our Nikon D300s.  We put a divider between the kitchen and living room areas, so she would occasionally check out what was happening on the other side of her world.

Koko with Stairs

Haven't done much traveling other than Washington lately, so am having to dig into the archives to find blogworthy pics.  And what better subject could there be other than our dear darling doggy, Koko?

Chenjean and I had thought about getting a dog in retirement, just a few years away Lord willing.  But once the Covid pandemic hit in 2020 and we were home all the time anyway, we thought Why not when the opportunity arose.  And that opportunity arose when our son Andrew and his wife decided to get a dog, letting us know in the process that there were still a couple in the litter available.  These were miniature Australian Shepherds.  Andrew and Ellen had done lots of homework and found a reputable breeder up north of the Dallas area, so we thought Why not take advantage of that?  Things just fell into place, and here we are with Koko.  It was a lot of work, but a decision we do not regret, as Koko's presence has added substantially to our quality of life, and it affords us more opportunities to spend time with Andrew and Ellen on the siblings' play dates.  A win win.

I've had trouble getting good photos of her, though.  Outside it's not much of a problem, but some of the cutest Kodak moments happen indoors where it's considerably darker.  Also, I didn't spend enough time acclimating Koko to the camera and the noise it makes.  Thus, the capture-able moments are few and far between, with the pic above being a rare exception when she stayed still long enough to commit something to sensor with my middling lens.

And how could anyone resist making a bookmark out of a shot like that!

Washington State - Amaro Farm, B&W Sheep Pic

After fiddling with this picture quite a bit in post-capture, decided that it's one of my favorites of all taken on our trip to Washington State.  After shooting it as a window shot (see below), stepped up to the opening and rested my elbows on the lower sill to steady the camera.  Then, after playing with the color in post-capture, decided that it's best as a black-and-white.  At bottom is the original pic.

As can be seen in the top picture, aside from removing all color, the ear tag and some foliage was cloned away.

Sohis concludes posting from our trip to Washington State.  It was a marvelous trip, especially in light of the fact that the whole family was together to enjoy the adventure.  After hanging around the San Juan Islands we drove down to Seattle, where unfortunately both Chenjean and I caught the Covid virus.  Had me down for a couple of weeks after returning to Houston, but back in the saddle and posting again, which has been great.  Now it'll be necessary to dig among the archives to find other pics to keep this going...

Washington State - Amaro Farm, Tractor Window Shot

They kept the very young lambs in a separate barn, to use as a finale of our tour.  There were probably 20 people milling about, looking into the pens and taking turns holding the critters for pics.  It was hot and stuffy - there was a heat wave on at the time - so I separated from the others to (literally) focus on capturing pics in the outskirts of the hubbub.  This is when I saw these great opportunities for window shots.  Observe how the front of the tractor looks a lot like the face of someone wearing goggles.  That, plus the angular shadows on the tools, make this a keeper.

Washington State - Amaro Farm, Barn Cat

Occasionally a photographer will get hung up about equipment.  I'm no different, observing that Canon images generally exceed the quality of what can be captured with a Nikon rig.  Grass is always greener I suppose...

However, that is wasted energy.  Technical quality is important - but still photography isn't just about that.  It's more about the moments you capture.  Being in the right place at the right time to get the composition, lighting, and - most importantly - a subject in just the right place at just the right time.  And here we are with the pic above.  This cat couldn't be more content, laying on the proverbial mattress of straw, oblivious to everything going on around it.

Washington State - Amaro Farm, Liquor Still / Old Glory

One of the last destinations on our round-the-island circuit was a place called Amaro Farm, where you can see the "Cutest Sheep in the World", as registered and fully certified by the country of Switzerland.  While the sheep - particularly the lambs - were cute, I don't get into farm animals that much so directed creative energies to other subjects.

The apparatus above is a still.  Yes, a still, for hard liquor...not yet operational, but complete in its construction.  The new owners of the farm were in the process of getting things up and running, and figured this to be a good money maker.  I was drawn to it because of the earth tones and crisp, clean lines.

This and the next few posts turned out to be some pretty good keepers, but these aren't what I'll remember most about our visit.  The owner, a very gregarious and friendly fellow, is an Air Force veteran and retired DHL pilot.  As a veteran, he has a huge American flag mounted on the front of their principle barn.  When I pointed out that this was great, and "the bigger the better", he proceeded to tell a story about a woman visitor.  She was almost elderly - probably in her 60's - and loudly told Mr. Amaro that this was an offensive symbol, and should be taken down.  After saying this loud enough for the entire group to hear, she stormed off in a huff, got into her car, and drove off.

I was shocked and flabbergasted to hear of this.  The American flag, an "offensive" symbol?  We - and she - live in America, after all.  She was of an age to have been raised in a time when patriotism was very much a virtue, and the sight of our flag would cause one to swell with pride and, occasionally, shed a tear or two.  And someone now thinks it's offensive to proudly display this symbol of freedom?  I just don't get it...

Washington State - Lime Kiln Lighthouse #3

...and here we are with the proverbial shot of the lighthouse through the branches of a tree.  Focus-shifted sampling below:

Think next we'll go to a place called the AMARO FARM.

Washington State - Lime Kiln Lighthouse #2

A couple of other angles taken of the lighthouse.  This being a whale-watching area, and me carrying around a big-rig camera, I dutifully traipsed over to where some were when signaled.  We did see a small pod of Orcas, but they were way in the distance and the shots captured were nothing compared to what is in this post from Maui, so won't be posted here.

Washington State - Whale Watching Outpost at Lime Kiln Lighthouse

 

Decided to stop and see the Lime Kiln Lighthouse as we were making our way around the island by car.  This spot was famous for more than that, though.  Evidently this and other rock outcroppings nearby are good vantage points from which to watch whales as they migrated through the straight.  I never cared too much about watching whales, so focused on the structure as a subject while zeroing in on those who do care about watching whales:

Couldn't help but think of this pic, captured in Athens back in 2009, as it also features a crowd of people sitting on a rock to watch something...in this case a sunset:

Washington State - Weathered Wall in Roche Harbor

Not exactly in line with the high-brow, upper-middle-class neighborhood we were in, but was attracted to the weathered look of this wall...not unlike what was captured in Sanderson, Texas, back in 2012.

Glowing and Found Edges of same below:

Washington State - Roche Harbor Crapper Keeper

This guy was by far my favorite boat of the whole bunch, because these folks clearly have a sense of humor.  Something you don't think about, but - just as in RV's - you have to do something with the waste created while you're on board, don't you?

Washington State - Rules Are for Fools / Boat Sale

To look at this might make one think that boat people are mavericks, brazen enough to thumb their noses at society.  Well, that can't be all bad.

And you gotta have money.  Once while on vacation in Florida with some friends, we visited a marina where they sold boats...cabin cruisers like the one my dad owned.  I wanted to find out what it would cost to duplicate the experience nowadays.  We spotted one of similar size, took a brief tour of the thing, and asked the sales guy how much to buy.  Without even blinking he answered that it would be $185,000.  But hey, it came with two driving lessons!

Washington State - Roche Harbor Kayaks

Would like to have had a drone for some boat pictures, such as this one.  Gotta love the color...

Washington State - Roche Harbor Boats / My Dad's Cabin Cruiser

OK, one more boat panorama.  I like boats, but don't like to be in one, unless it's a cruise ship.  As a youngster in Orange, Texas, I saw my father in constant frustration at the problems his boats gave him, and vowed never to own one.

But it wasn't without the occasional adventure.  We actually had a cabin cruiser at one point - a big blue one that my dad once used to take us on vacation.  His goal was to travel the inter-coastal waterway all the way from Orange to Florida.  It had an inboard-outboard motor, and was big enough to fit my parents, us three boys (Mike hadn't been born yet), and our German shepherd dog.  It had a kitchen, bathroom in the bow, and living area with padded benches that folded out into beds.  The thing broke down halfway, though, and we had to settle for Louisiana as our vacation destination.  I remember it well, though only five years old at the time...

Washington State - Mansion View of Roche Harbor

Suppose you can't be in a harbor without taking lots of boat pictures.  This is Roche Harbor, at the northern tip of San Juan island.  One of our little family group didn't think I should be standing where I was taking this 2-shot panorama, and when I looked around realized why.  We'd walked right onto someone's side lawn!  No fence or anything, so I didn't get too hung up about it.

Here's a zoomed-in shot of same.  Wanna make a puzzle out of it and drive someone crazy?

Lastly, this is the house, from the other side, on who's yard we were trespassing.  Word was that it took three years to build, and the townsfolk down below didn't care for it much:

Washington State - Friday Harbor

Though we stayed on San Juan Island, only two pictures taken in Friday Harbor were considered keepers.  The 3-shot panorama above and the picture below, which looks like a panorama but was cropped from a single frame, were both captured on the ferry as we headed back down to Seattle.  As stated early in this series, the weather was made-to-order for visiting the islands; however, that being the case, the sun was out full each afternoon which was lousy for photography.  So here we are with lots of post-capture required to brighten shadows and darken highlights.  I'll take it, though; as also stated earlier, having "good" weather beat slogging around in the rain, which would have been cold even in summer at that latitude.

The pic above reminded me of these posts from another trip to Seattle...

Washington State - Lavender Farm, Picnic Tables

 

Washington State - Lavender Farm, Wagon #2

Pretty much the same as yesterday's post, from a slightly different angle.  Didn't feel the need to darken the sign here.