There was such a wonderful response to when I recently posted some of Jeannie’s paintings from previous days that she picked up her paint brushes again.
To say that I was delighted is an understatement.
So I present a painting of Louis, a dog belonging to Jim and Janet Goodbrod, when he was a puppy, that’s Louis not Jim!
Jim and Janet used to live just around the corner from us but moved some time ago up to Roseburg. We are going to visit them today and Jean is taking the painting with her as a gift to the Goodbrods.
But to close with another thank you. Because it really made such a difference.
But first we want to remember Prince Phillip. Dear Prince Phillip. Jeannie and I watched the whole of the funeral and it was very moving.
So in terms of the photographs already shown yesterday, we had done the Hog Creek landing and the next view point and we are now up to the bridge itself.
Except that I forgot to show you another photograph of the Canyon.
The sheer walls of Hellgate Canyon
The very dramatic scene with its incredibly steep flanks was just amazing!
Now to the viewpoint just before the bridge.
We had the very good fortune to take a shot of a fisherman just upstream of us.
A rock formation on the opposite bank.
All around us were spectacular sights.
Take this shot of a bird approaching a tree standing stark on the top of a small ridge. That was just to the right of the road facing the bridge.
And the bridge itself!
It really is a very scenic place.
That is the end of my set of photographs. My eyes were truly opened.
A few days ago there was a conversation on the photography forum Ugly Hedgehog about the camera opening one’s eyes. It struck a note in me and Jeannie and I went out in the early morning, taking the camera, to shoot photographs of the Hellgate Canyon.
It is not the first time we have been there but it is the first time I have gone with my eyes wide open!
But first some history of the Rogue River. And thanks to WikiPedia for the following.
The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about 215 miles (346 km) in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewaterrafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Beginning near Crater Lake, which occupies the caldera left by the explosive volcanic eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama, the river flows through the geologically young High Cascades and the older Western Cascades, another volcanic province. Further west, the river passes through multiple exotic terranes of the more ancient Klamath Mountains. In the Kalmiopsis Wilderness section of the Rogue basin are some of the world’s best examples of rocks that form the Earth’s mantle.
Hellgate Canyon is just 8 miles from where we live on Hugo Road. But just before Hellgate is the Hog Creek parking area. We stopped there and then went down to the landing stage on the edge of the Rogue River. I took some photographs.
Looking downstream.
Sign of a previous high water.Just a close-up of a rock.The level of the river seems pretty low.
Then we motored the short distance further on to the view point above the canyon. Took more photographs.
A faint reflection of the rocks and trees on the bank behind the river.
Then onto the viewing spot just before the bridge.
I am going to pause this now and continue it on Sunday.
Yesterday we drove down to Phoenix, Oregon to deliver the Sun Tricycle to the new owners. Daniel and Cherie were a delightful couple, albeit more my age than younger. But they had been through one heck of a disaster. Because last year they were both asked to flee the fires with very little notice and only recently had they found a new home and were still settling in.
Daniel rides his trike and wanted to get one for Cherie. We were delighted with the sale and we hope we all will see each other in the near future.
Anyway, Daniel is quite an artist and Jean mentioned she used to paint before the Parkinson’s tremor made it much more difficult. But Daniel insisted on photographs being taken of a few of Jean’s paintings and sent to them via email.
Jim Ingraham of our local Caveman Camera Club sent out an email last week.
Wednesday, March 17th will be our next education meeting. It will be a light painting field trip with Dale George as the teacher/instructor.
We will meet at Reinhart Volunteer Park (also known as All Sports Park) at 7 pm. When you go into the park take your first left. Just go to the end of the very long parking lot and you are there.
As much as I don’t want to say this, I gotta…Observe social distancing and wear your facial covering. I want all members to attend. I cannot and would not attempt to enforce this, do what you’re going to do, but please be respectful of others.
Bring camera, tripod, remote shutter (not absolutely necessary), fully charged battery, warm clothes, maybe a headlamp to see your camera dials.
Daylight savings time will be in effect so it won’t be getting dark until 7:30 or so.
Let’s get out of the house and have some fun.
Jim Ingraham
Education Coordinator
Now I didn’t have a clue as to what a “light painting field trip” was but Jeannie agreed to come with me so we both turned up on the 17th at 7pm.
This was the area of the park where we all assembled.
oooo
oooo
oooo
oooo
oooo
In the main a single individual stood in front of us waving a light board in a synchronised manner. It was a flashing board. But there were times when he was joined by a woman and they both swung their own light boards.
Apart from cropping the images a little these photographs are as they were shot!
Talk about incredible!
(The shots were taken with a Nikon D750 with a Nikon 24-120 mm lens attached.
The settings were approximately 30 seconds Bulb f7.1 ISO 320.)
A man in California who took up wildlife photography a decade ago had never seen anything quite like what he saw this fall — and he was lucky he had his camera with him.
Every morning, Russell Greaves, of Huntington Beach, California, goes out to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve behind his house to immerse himself in that slice of the natural world. He often sees coyotes, enough that he’s begun to recognize individuals in the area.
“A lot of people here just love the coyotes,” Greaves told The Dodo over the phone, during his morning walk on Tuesday.
Russell Greaves
One morning in October, he saw a familiar wild coyote. It was a mom who had given birth to a litter of pups six months before.
“She had had four pups,” Greaves said. “The pups would come out and play around, while dad went out to hunt. But they’re out on their own now.”
Russell Greaves
It was nice to see the mom again — but there was something different about her. And as she got closer, Greaves couldn’t help but laugh.
Russell Greaves
Somehow, the mother coyote had found a pizza — and she decided to go ahead and take it with her.
“It was nearly half a pizza,” Greaves said. It’s not certain where the coyote managed to find this enormous meal. Greaves said that there are some homeless people who camp out in the woods and perhaps she swiped it from them.
Since her pups had already gone out on their own, she probably wasn’t planning on sharing, Greaves speculated. “I thought, ‘This has got to be for herself.’”
Russell Greaves
More important than this meme-worthy sight is the balance the residents of the area have struck with the natural world — something sorely lacking in other communities across the country, where coyotes are often brutally hunted in killing contests.
Admittedly, not everyone loves the coyotes quite as much as Greaves does, but many people are fascinated by the wild family living nearby, and people take precautions to ensure a peaceful coexistence. “We tell people to not feed the coyotes. They’re not here to eat human food,” Greaves said. “We tell people who are walking their little dogs to be careful because the coyotes are around.”
Russell Greaves
“The coyotes come back to the same habitat because they like it here,” Greaves added.
And the coyotes are lucky to have people like Greaves, who love having them there.
Another international story of love and caring for our dogs.
This time about homeless or stray dogs and in Peru. Again it was written by Stephen Messenger and was shared on The Dodo website. Again it is about the fundamental goodness that is in a great many humans spanning continents.
ooOOoo
Nice Restaurant Owner Prepares A Free Meal For Every Stray Dog Who Visits
“They pay us with their happiness and wagging tails” ❤️
By Stephen Messenger
Published on the 26th February, 2021
One evening five years ago, an unexpected customer dropped by Gerardo Ortiz’s restaurant, Ajilalo, in Peru. It was a stray dog, a look of hunger in her eyes.
Ortiz could have easily turned the dog away. But he didn’t.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
That evening, Ortiz offered the dog a free meal, made just for her.
And thus began an adorable tradition that continues to this day.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
Each evening, from then on, the hungry dog came and received a free meal from Ortiz’s restaurant.
But it didn’t take long for word of Ortiz’s kindness and generosity to spread among the community of local stray pups.
More dogs began to arrive with that first visitor— and Ortiz welcomed them all with a meal.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
Nowadays, numerous stray dogs arrive to the doors of Ortiz’s restaurant each night. Many are regular “customers,” while others are first-timers — all hoping to fill their bellies thanks to Ortiz’s kindness.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
Often, as Ortiz is working, he’ll look up and see a new dog’s face at the front — waiting politely to see if the rumor that free food can found there is true.
It always is.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
“For me, they are the best customers,” Ortiz told The Dodo.
And his human customers hardly take that as a slight. Inspired by Ortiz, they often bring food for the visiting dogs as well.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
“Thankfully, our clients have reacted well to the dogs,” Ortiz said. “They are affectionate toward them.”
Restaurante – Ajilalo
Ultimately, Ortiz’s sweet routine of feeding all the stray dogs who visit does more than keep them from being hungry. It lets them know that their lives matter — a truth that Ortiz is happy to prove to them each and every day.
Restaurante – Ajilalo
“They do not pay us with money, but they pay us with their happiness and wagging tails,” Ortiz said. “They are very grateful, and we enjoy giving more than receiving. Since I was a child, I have loved animals. My mother always taught us to help others, both people and animals. She’s my inspiration.”
ooOOoo
This is such a wonderful share. Snr Ortiz confirms what we know absolutely. That people who care for animals care for so much more. As Gerardo says: “It lets them know that their lives matter.”
I am minded to remember when I first met Jean in December, 2007. Jean was living in San Carlos, Northern Mexico, and had been for many years. Her husband, Ben, had died in 2005.
Jean was rescuing street dogs off the streets of San Carlos and surrounding areas, caring for them, neutering or spaying them, and then finding homes for them mainly in Arizona, USA. Many, many dogs owed their lives to Jean’s love for those dogs. In 2010, after I had gone out to San Carlos with my Pharaoh to live with Jean and her dogs in 2008, we came North to Arizona to find a U.S. home and be married. We came through the Mexican-US border with 16 dogs, all of them with their paperwork in order. I will always recall the American border agent, after I had approached him with all the paperwork, leaning out of his booth and calling to the agent in the next booth: “Hey Jake, there’s a guy here with sixteen dogs!”
Jean and I were married in Payson, AZ on the 20th November, 2010.
Mr and Mrs Handover
Very sweet memories and the start of a loving era in our lives.
Learning from Dogs 