Motly August

The Motly Month of August

zoooom, click on the above photo to see a 1:1

I am getting used to my camera, one increment at a time. Most of these are handheld shots but some are on an old tripod which I thought was adequate but turns out, it wasn't and I have since replaced it.

These are photos from shooting in the same neighborhood were I used to stuff frogs in my pockets and dig up tiny freshwater clams to take to school for show and tell. Our little community and place in the road was called "Point Pleasant." It was situated on a country road of the same name about 20 miles south of Sacramento, CA. This was before groundbreaking of I5 which now goes through the middle of it. On this adventure, I thought it would be fun to photograph some of the same things that I grew up with.

The dragonfly above was especially fun to photograph as it would hover in place once in a while and if I happened to have the camera focused and in the right place, I could capture him. The result is a dynamite photo of a perfectly sharp dragon fly.

Bottom right, there weren't any of these water lilies growing in my neighborhood sloughs, back 40 years ago. They are not native but none the less pretty to all except for the farmer who pumps water up these small canals and has to contend with his pumps getting choked up with them or inadequate water flow because of the water blockage. So you see, pretty is in the eye of the beholder.

Tree Swallows fighting for pecking order in a tree.

Hey Mathilda, Pass this along to Fred at the top, jump or get off of the pot already. (This is your basic Western Pond Turtle.)

Why do turtles climb tree trunks? To dive off of the end? Because it's there? The water is cold? Their afraid of the water? So Hawks can see them?

Your basic Tree Swallow

When I was a kid (just a few years ago ;=) this kind of customization was just a fantasy. I actually had a 56 Chevy four door hard top after graduating from High School. I had it painted a metallic green to avoid comments of "Hey, is that your daddy's car?" After having it painted, there were no more embarrassing comments such as that. Car designers back in the 50s would hide the gas filler cap. In this 56 Chevy model, it was behind the left tail light. If you ever see one of these older cars and you can't find the gas filler door, look in an unusual hidden place, for it.

The car pictured above is indeed a 56 Chevy but it is a two door sedan. It was displayed in a "Hot August Nights" car show of custom rods in Reno, NV.

The polka dot tummy of an obvious female squirrel. A lot of people including myself, think that this is a chipmunk. The markings are similar but this squirrel is larger and the stripes do not extend over the head as in a chipmunk. Technically, this is called a "Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel." To tell the difference look for stripes on the face. If there are stripes on the face then it's a Chipmunk.

We called these "Fence Post" lizards. They are probably one of the most plentiful food sources for predators, in the entire state. Turn one over and they have the prettiest blue markings on a white under belly. They will shed and grow a new tail if caught by the tail.

You're probably thinking Condor or Turkey Vulture. You would be wrong. This is a Pelican!

cropped from the above photo.

MOTS (More of the same.)

A small kiss from a mustached critter from the deep, the Sasquas of the Pacific.

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