Next month I celebrate my third anniversary at Pacific Science Center. Many things have become routine, but I still find myself in awe of the place. Hopefully, that feeling won't go away anytime soon.
I get to work at 6 a.m. It's still dark most of the time and I'm pretty much alone in there. It's still spooky and scary and totally awesome to walk around in the dark through all the exhibits. I especially like the dinosaurs. They're turned off, there's no sound, and very little light. But their eyes still glare down and those teeth look terrifying. Love that!
Hope to be writing something similar many years from now.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sweet Cache
My geocaching buddy/grandson and I went out to run some errands and find a cache today. Kelton turns four next month. He's got this treasure hunting thing down quite well. This particular find was soggy and in need of serious repair. But it was still fun and we topped it off with a trip to the bakery just around the corner for some maple bars and apple juice. Sweet times.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tough Old Cat
Joyce and I were out walking on our road yesterday when we spotted this black cat. He came right up to us and started purring. We recognized him right away - it was Midnight, one of our old cats who vanished years ago.
Midnight was one of four kittens we took in from some friends. They were the friendliest cats we've ever had. Great molers and mousers, they were always purring and wanting attention. But one by one they all disappeared. We've never seen any of the others, just Midnight. He's sorta feral now, mean as heck with ragged ears but he still purrs for awhile before running off to wherever he lives now. For as old as he is and living outside, he's actually looking pretty good, so somebody must be feeding him somewhere and giving him shelter.
Cats. Weird little critters.
Midnight was one of four kittens we took in from some friends. They were the friendliest cats we've ever had. Great molers and mousers, they were always purring and wanting attention. But one by one they all disappeared. We've never seen any of the others, just Midnight. He's sorta feral now, mean as heck with ragged ears but he still purrs for awhile before running off to wherever he lives now. For as old as he is and living outside, he's actually looking pretty good, so somebody must be feeding him somewhere and giving him shelter.
Cats. Weird little critters.
Sunrise Moon
Sunrise is my favorite time of day, so you'd think getting good shots at home would be simple for me since we've lived here so long. It's not. The Orchard Compound is carved out of the forest so when the sun comes up it takes quite awhile for the light to actually get into us, especially in winter. So, this shot is pretty boring. A few minutes later the light was better on the trees, but the moon was gone. A few minutes earlier the moon was brighter but everything else was too dark. This was taken looking to the southwest with the sun off to my left. A few more clouds up there would have helped, maybe catching a bit more color from the sun. Next time.
You know what they say, the first rule in improving your photography is to shoot more often. Just need to get my lazy butt out of bed and shoot more!
You know what they say, the first rule in improving your photography is to shoot more often. Just need to get my lazy butt out of bed and shoot more!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Hobart Hell Hole
The property next to The Orchard Compound in Hobart, WA has been the scene of a bloody suicide, a recent shooting, years of illegal dumping, and some squatters who moved in and have been stealing from all the neighbors. My wife, Joyce and I are on a mission to have King County clean this place up once and for all. The video below gives you a sense of what's been buried on this small piece of land for the last quarter century. What you can't see are the years of abuse, violence, heartache and more. The unimaginable that is buried there makes us cry just to think of it all. Please, can someone help us get King County out here to close this little bit of hell and help some family move in and bring life back to this place?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Hobart Sunset
I've been so focused on the awesome sunrises this week almost forgot about sunset. On Wednesdays, Joyce and I telecommute from Hobart. So, as I was sitting at my desk at home today, just happened to notice the great light at sunset. When I grabbed the camera and ran out, there was a great sunset to the west that I started to shoot. But when I looked over my shoulder I saw the moon and this great vapor trail from a passing jet way up high. But what really got me you can't see. At this time of day, the bats are very active. They zip between the trees at dusk. And believe it or not, there had to be at least three big bats fluttering around when I shot this, but they didn't show up.
Either way, east or west, it was a great evening.
Either way, east or west, it was a great evening.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
No Pat Down, Just Search
Pacific Science Center is preparing for a great new exhibit at the end of March. It's all about geocaching and GPS technology. So, I'm doing some research. That means doing some geocaching when I can. Today was another gorgeous winter day in Seattle, so I went out for about 20 minutes and found a cache near Key Arena. It was kinda sad since the arena, which I still think of as the Coliseum from my youth, is rather empty since the Sonics left town. The other thing...this was a puzzle cache which means you have to do some puzzle solving to find it. The puzzle involves Sheryl Swoopes' number. But today the Storm announced they've released her. Anyway, a fun search. No pat down involved as the sign says. Just a nice walk and some fresh air.
Seattle Sunrise
Although sunrise is my favorite time of day, yesterday's was more or less bland. Not so this morning. The sky held many colors. I almost worked right through it, but my beloved called to remind me to look outside. Joyce is blessed to be working on an upper floor of a downtown Seattle skyscraper, so she has a gorgeous view. My office has a panoramic view of Pacific Science Center's loading dock and dumpsters. And within a couple of week's our office will move to a room with no windows at all, so I need help remembering to look at what's going on outside.
Hopefully, if you're in the Seattle area you, too caught a glimpse of sunrise today. Looking the other way brought a terrific view of the Olympic Mountains. Well, just the VERY tops of the tallest peaks. There was a huge fog/cloud bank shrouding everything else. But it was still beautiful.
Hopefully, if you're in the Seattle area you, too caught a glimpse of sunrise today. Looking the other way brought a terrific view of the Olympic Mountains. Well, just the VERY tops of the tallest peaks. There was a huge fog/cloud bank shrouding everything else. But it was still beautiful.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunrise Geometry
I've been thinking a lot lately about Pacific Science Center's arches. Trying to come up with a new way to photograph them, a different perspective, something I've not seen before. So, I wandered outside this morning at sunrise to see what I could see.
Unfortunately, the sunrise was rather uninspiring. The sky held very little color, which may be a good thing. No red sky in morning warning to worry about. But nothing leapt out at me as I wandered around beneath those famous landmarks looking skyward.
But as they usually do, the arches continue to amaze me. The many shapes that emerge are fascinating. And while they're concrete structures in the heart of the city, they're also teeming with life. Birds are everywhere! Somehow, I managed to snap this and not get one of those feathery inhabitants in the shot.
Unfortunately, the sunrise was rather uninspiring. The sky held very little color, which may be a good thing. No red sky in morning warning to worry about. But nothing leapt out at me as I wandered around beneath those famous landmarks looking skyward.
But as they usually do, the arches continue to amaze me. The many shapes that emerge are fascinating. And while they're concrete structures in the heart of the city, they're also teeming with life. Birds are everywhere! Somehow, I managed to snap this and not get one of those feathery inhabitants in the shot.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Deer Friends
It was just after dawn this morning when I spotted a half dozen big bull elk out in the pasture. With no time for setting up a tripod in the gloomy light, I tried to get some shots. Only one amounted to anything, and it wasn't much. Then these two wandered by, so I tried again. Same story. Too dark, and my hands too shaky to get a good, focused picture. But I had fun trying.
Just like the elk, these guys will be back. Actually, the deer never really leave. They're like our quiet neighbors.
Just like the elk, these guys will be back. Actually, the deer never really leave. They're like our quiet neighbors.
Ghost Elk
I was up before dawn this morning and spotted a half dozen big bulls out in our pasture. All with enormous racks. Didn't have time to use a tripod but I attempted to get some shots anyway. All failed. This was the only one to amount to anything, and it's pretty bad.
Funny how the smaller the image, the better it looks when the focus and other attributes are off.
Still had fun trying to get pictures and not scare them off. They all eventually ran off as I tried to be discreet with my Nikon D40. At that time of day on a Saturday morning, it is deathly quiet. The sound of the shutter firing is like a gunshot. But I know they'll be back.
Funny how the smaller the image, the better it looks when the focus and other attributes are off.
Still had fun trying to get pictures and not scare them off. They all eventually ran off as I tried to be discreet with my Nikon D40. At that time of day on a Saturday morning, it is deathly quiet. The sound of the shutter firing is like a gunshot. But I know they'll be back.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Learning To Hike Quickly
The weather was great again today in Hobart, so after work I forced myself to get up and go hike for a couple of hours. Since the Taylor Mountain Trail is just down the road two miles, I drove down and started out. It's all uphill the first mile or so and while that doesn't sound too tough for most, for this flabby old computer idiot it's tough enough. Just enough to get my blood pumping and lungs working. Hopefully, I can keep this up for awhile.
It all started with geocaching, but that's just the premise. The real goal is to get out, get off my butt, and get moving. So far, it's working.
By the way, this was taken with my first generation iPhone, then run through the CameraBag app (I threw text on in Photoshop). Thanks to Chase Jarvis (chasejarvis.com) and some timely iPhone tips, I now know to frame the shot with the button already pushed. Then let go when the shot is ready. DOH! I am SO stupid! Why didn't I notice that before?! SO simple.
It all started with geocaching, but that's just the premise. The real goal is to get out, get off my butt, and get moving. So far, it's working.
By the way, this was taken with my first generation iPhone, then run through the CameraBag app (I threw text on in Photoshop). Thanks to Chase Jarvis (chasejarvis.com) and some timely iPhone tips, I now know to frame the shot with the button already pushed. Then let go when the shot is ready. DOH! I am SO stupid! Why didn't I notice that before?! SO simple.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Kira's First Swing
Here it is, the middle of January and the weather's so nice our grandkids are outside playing in the sun. After all the snow, rain, and flooding this is heaven.
Kira turns two in April. Her brother, Kelton turns four in March. The last time it was nice enough outside to play, Kira would have nothing to do with the swings. Now, it's a different story.
Spring and summer should be fun this year.
Kira turns two in April. Her brother, Kelton turns four in March. The last time it was nice enough outside to play, Kira would have nothing to do with the swings. Now, it's a different story.
Spring and summer should be fun this year.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Hobart = Heaven
For anyone who's never been to Hobart in Washington state, this is the perfect place to view it. A once thriving logging community is now a simple hamlet with mountains in the background and small farms, livestock, wildlife and families below. The community you see between Mount Rainier in the distance and where I shot this is Hobart. This trail takes you above it with panoramic views in all directions. I could even see the highest skyscraper in downtown Seattle from here. It was behind me.
On this day it was quite breezy, but so incredibly warm. After recent record setting snow and torrential rain and flooding, it was like a dream come true in the middle of winter. Just wish I'd been there earlier in the day for better light. The trail is easy to navigate, but a bit steep if you’re not used to it. Those on horseback or mountain bike will have no problem at all.
If you are inclined to visit, follow the Issaquah-Hobart Road south from Issaquah until you get to the Highway 18 interchange. The trailhead is clearly marked. There's plenty of parking, many trails, and more than a few geocaches up there. Horses, kids, hikers, mountain bikers are all welcome. Those with strollers or wheelchairs should probably go down the road a few miles to Landsburg and the start of the Cedar River Trail. It's much easier.
By the way, The Orchard Compound is just off to the left in this image. We’re up against the Cedar River Watershed, where Seattle and surrounding communities get much of their drinking water. Much of the forest in the left of this image is the watershed. One of these days I’ll have to arrange to be up there while someone is out back of our barn burning something smokey so we can pinpoint our little place with Mount Rainier in the background. It’s on my list of things to do.
On this day it was quite breezy, but so incredibly warm. After recent record setting snow and torrential rain and flooding, it was like a dream come true in the middle of winter. Just wish I'd been there earlier in the day for better light. The trail is easy to navigate, but a bit steep if you’re not used to it. Those on horseback or mountain bike will have no problem at all.
If you are inclined to visit, follow the Issaquah-Hobart Road south from Issaquah until you get to the Highway 18 interchange. The trailhead is clearly marked. There's plenty of parking, many trails, and more than a few geocaches up there. Horses, kids, hikers, mountain bikers are all welcome. Those with strollers or wheelchairs should probably go down the road a few miles to Landsburg and the start of the Cedar River Trail. It's much easier.
By the way, The Orchard Compound is just off to the left in this image. We’re up against the Cedar River Watershed, where Seattle and surrounding communities get much of their drinking water. Much of the forest in the left of this image is the watershed. One of these days I’ll have to arrange to be up there while someone is out back of our barn burning something smokey so we can pinpoint our little place with Mount Rainier in the background. It’s on my list of things to do.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Cold, Hard Cache
My three-year-old grandson, Kelton and I went out today for what’s fast becoming our weekly geocaching adventure. This time we stayed close to home. We drove down to the start of the Cedar River Trail at Landsburg. That's about three miles away from home. This is where Seattle and surrounding areas get most of their drinking water. They suck it out of the Cedar River at Landsburg, send it down a huge pipe to the Lake Youngs Reservoir near Renton, then from there it goes out to Seattle and surrounding areas.
The trail is the old railroad right of way. Years ago, we used to walk along the river when the tracks were still there. We even have a couple of old glass insulators from the telegraph poles that lined the route. All of that is long gone now and the trail is great. It runs all the way to Renton, crosses some old trestles along the way, and ties into all the other big trails in the area. Very nice.
Today’s find was hidden near one of those stream gauge sites. It has a zip line across the river and they use the site to gauge the flow of the river. After all the recent snow and rain and flooding, the river was still running very high and fast today. Our hike was just shy of two miles, round trip from truck to cache and back. An easy hike, but Kelton’s little legs were giving out toward the end. But he made it. He’s turning into a pretty good hiker and treasure hunter, even when the weather’s cold.
The trail is the old railroad right of way. Years ago, we used to walk along the river when the tracks were still there. We even have a couple of old glass insulators from the telegraph poles that lined the route. All of that is long gone now and the trail is great. It runs all the way to Renton, crosses some old trestles along the way, and ties into all the other big trails in the area. Very nice.
Today’s find was hidden near one of those stream gauge sites. It has a zip line across the river and they use the site to gauge the flow of the river. After all the recent snow and rain and flooding, the river was still running very high and fast today. Our hike was just shy of two miles, round trip from truck to cache and back. An easy hike, but Kelton’s little legs were giving out toward the end. But he made it. He’s turning into a pretty good hiker and treasure hunter, even when the weather’s cold.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
One Of Those Days
Today was one of those days. No, not one of THOSE days. It was one of those days you savor, like a fine wine. It was good.
It started, as all our days do, very early in the morning. Joyce went to work in downtown Seattle and I got to work at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. On the way in I stopped at a Starbucks in Issaquah and ran into none other than the legendary Dick Foley. For the uninitiated, Dick was a familiar face on KOMO TV in Seattle back in the 80s and 90s. But before then he was one of the wonderful voices of The Brothers Four, an incredibly popular folk group of the 50 and 60s. I’m happy to say he still looks great and that melodious voice of his is as smooth as ever.
After that, I arrived at The Slough and went through my normal routine of online duties. Managed to help a few fans of Pacific Science Center (where I work), contributed to an ongoing discussion of how to help people, linked up with some people I haven’t heard from in years, and handled a bunch of other issues related to work. All in all, it was a rewarding time. But at the end of my shift I spent about 45 minutes hiking around The Slough and that’s what capped off a great day.
I scored two geocaches, something I’ve become obsessed with as we prepare for a new exhibit at Pacific Science Center this spring. Just hiking around the Mercer Slough Park is rewarding, but finding some caches while you do it is great. Plus, the weather was outstanding! After all the recent snow and rain and flooding, walking around in cold, sunny weather was intoxicating.
Then I came back to Pacific Science Center’s offices at The Slough and had a short, impromptu brainstorming session with some co-workers. My job is to tell the stories of what our people do. Since they spend their time teaching young students how to care for the environment, and then teach others how teach even more people about the same, it’s a great story to tell. Listening to our people talk about what they do was rewarding and renewing. I never tire of it. I came away with new story ideas and an even deeper appreciation for what our organization stands for.
Today is Thursday where I am. Tomorrow is a day off without pay for me. It’s all part of our organization’s painful efforts to deal with the economic realities of this time. That includes layoffs that mean we no longer get to work with some very talented folks. But going through my routines on this day reaffirmed my love of what we do, of my belief in our commitment to lifelong learning, and my desire to try to help others on a daily basis. It’s a simple thing, but enjoyable and rewarding. Today was a great day for me. Hope yours was as well. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be. Let’s make it so.
It started, as all our days do, very early in the morning. Joyce went to work in downtown Seattle and I got to work at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. On the way in I stopped at a Starbucks in Issaquah and ran into none other than the legendary Dick Foley. For the uninitiated, Dick was a familiar face on KOMO TV in Seattle back in the 80s and 90s. But before then he was one of the wonderful voices of The Brothers Four, an incredibly popular folk group of the 50 and 60s. I’m happy to say he still looks great and that melodious voice of his is as smooth as ever.
After that, I arrived at The Slough and went through my normal routine of online duties. Managed to help a few fans of Pacific Science Center (where I work), contributed to an ongoing discussion of how to help people, linked up with some people I haven’t heard from in years, and handled a bunch of other issues related to work. All in all, it was a rewarding time. But at the end of my shift I spent about 45 minutes hiking around The Slough and that’s what capped off a great day.
I scored two geocaches, something I’ve become obsessed with as we prepare for a new exhibit at Pacific Science Center this spring. Just hiking around the Mercer Slough Park is rewarding, but finding some caches while you do it is great. Plus, the weather was outstanding! After all the recent snow and rain and flooding, walking around in cold, sunny weather was intoxicating.
Then I came back to Pacific Science Center’s offices at The Slough and had a short, impromptu brainstorming session with some co-workers. My job is to tell the stories of what our people do. Since they spend their time teaching young students how to care for the environment, and then teach others how teach even more people about the same, it’s a great story to tell. Listening to our people talk about what they do was rewarding and renewing. I never tire of it. I came away with new story ideas and an even deeper appreciation for what our organization stands for.
Today is Thursday where I am. Tomorrow is a day off without pay for me. It’s all part of our organization’s painful efforts to deal with the economic realities of this time. That includes layoffs that mean we no longer get to work with some very talented folks. But going through my routines on this day reaffirmed my love of what we do, of my belief in our commitment to lifelong learning, and my desire to try to help others on a daily basis. It’s a simple thing, but enjoyable and rewarding. Today was a great day for me. Hope yours was as well. If not, hopefully tomorrow will be. Let’s make it so.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Dark Knight Is Back!
The biggest movie ever? The best movie ever? The best sci-fi movie ever? You could argue the answer is yes to all those if you're talking about The Dark Knight. One unarguable point: this film is best seen on an IMAX screen. And if you're in the Seattle area, it is best seen on the biggest screen in town at Pacific Science Center's Boeing IMAX Theater. If you didn't see it last summer then you owe it to yourself to see it during re-release starting January 23. Awesome is an understatement.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Magnificent Moles
I really hates moles. They tear up The Orchard Compound constantly. But today I discovered they are even more industrious, clever, malicious than I thought.
Almost all the snow and ice from the recent storm is gone, so I went hiking around our place. I'd seen mole hills in the snow but today I saw the tunnels they had been digging UNDER the snow! Crazy! With all the vegetation pressed down, you can see their tunnels that had been dug while there was still lots of snow and ice on top. The tunnels were not quite in the dirt, mostly in the grass and weeds. There is a deep hole there on the right of the image, but the rest were above ground. They were all over the place.
They may drive me crazy, but ya gotta admire their abilities.
Almost all the snow and ice from the recent storm is gone, so I went hiking around our place. I'd seen mole hills in the snow but today I saw the tunnels they had been digging UNDER the snow! Crazy! With all the vegetation pressed down, you can see their tunnels that had been dug while there was still lots of snow and ice on top. The tunnels were not quite in the dirt, mostly in the grass and weeds. There is a deep hole there on the right of the image, but the rest were above ground. They were all over the place.
They may drive me crazy, but ya gotta admire their abilities.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Geocaching Mystery
So, my grandson, Kelton and I headed out to do some geocaching on a very dreary, wet winter day. We had great fun, found two caches, but ran into a bit of a mystery with one of them. If you're a geocacher and can shed some light on this, please let me know.
Here's the deal: I went to geocaching.com with my brand new Garmin Nuvi 500 attached to my MacBook Pro. Found this cache (GC17B78) and clicked the "Send To GPS" link. No problem. But every time I opened the cache on the Nuvi, the device turned off! I thought maybe the GPX file was corrupt somehow, so I overwrote it several times. But it still didn't work. The Nuvi works fine on all the others and we've had no trouble with it at all. It's just this particular cache. Has anyone ever encountered this? Any clue what might be going on?
We ended up just printing the page and walking until we were at the coordinates. It's an easy cache and loaded with lots of good stuff. Sadly, the fish hatchery is covered with mud right now because of recent flooding, but no fish were lost. We look forward to going back when the weather's nice and the mud is gone.
Here's the deal: I went to geocaching.com with my brand new Garmin Nuvi 500 attached to my MacBook Pro. Found this cache (GC17B78) and clicked the "Send To GPS" link. No problem. But every time I opened the cache on the Nuvi, the device turned off! I thought maybe the GPX file was corrupt somehow, so I overwrote it several times. But it still didn't work. The Nuvi works fine on all the others and we've had no trouble with it at all. It's just this particular cache. Has anyone ever encountered this? Any clue what might be going on?
We ended up just printing the page and walking until we were at the coordinates. It's an easy cache and loaded with lots of good stuff. Sadly, the fish hatchery is covered with mud right now because of recent flooding, but no fish were lost. We look forward to going back when the weather's nice and the mud is gone.
One Very Wet Find
My grandson, Kelton and I went geocaching today. A very cold, wet, dreary winter day. But we had great fun. This cache was placed in the shadow of I-90 in the heart of Issaquah, WA. Pretty easy to find, but since this was just his second find and my third, it was perfect for us. One of these days we need to hike that trail. It's the old railroad line that goes up the east side of Lake Sammamish.
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