RE-VISITING THE DOCK

Vicky is a woman who works down at the dock at PPS fishing. Everyday, rain,
sun, wet or dry, or on this day, just down right freezing..........And this is one of
Vicky's little dogs. I believe I saw another one in her truck. As you can see, he/she
(looks like a 'she' to me!) is dressed for the weather. Photo #1...posing his/her cuteness.
Photo #2....."Alright. You can leave me now, thank you very much...yawn~yawn).
Guess it got too cold even for this little prince/princess since her owner picked him/her
up and put him/her in the shelter of the truck also.

TRAIN MUSEUM

We were up in Coos Bay yesterday and I was waiting in the car
for my husband to do some info gathering. Bored, I started
looking around at something to photograph. I think you
can tell what might have caught my eye! I don't really have too
much interest in old trains but I do love bright colors,
especially complimentary colors like those above. And for any
that DO enjoy looking at historical trains, this might encourage
you to stop by and take a closer look. It's right on Hwy 101 North.
I do remember when I was a kid and the engineer would always wave
to the children. We'd count the cars and the little red caboose was almost
more of an important part of the train than the engine, although I have no
idea why. Maybe because it was always so cute. OK....I can hear all the
guys moaning and complaining at that description! So.....maybe the boys
liked the caboose because it was 'The End"!!

SUNSET THRU THE GATE

Again, every sunset has it's own minute to minute unique mystery and beauty.
This breath-taking view was seen down at the dock the other night.... the night
I shot the urchins. The cold spell we've been experiencing might be uncomfortable
but the clear air and lack of wind has given some amazing views of waters. Not
only this photo, but different lakes, sloughs, estuaries and rivers......all stunning. The
reflections that are seen are, at times, as clear as the scene giving the reflection....(what?)
But, for better or worse, warmer air and a return to rain is in the forecast. It's the
Oregon way.

IT'S SAFE! THANKSGIVING IS OVER!

I can't think of any other place I've lived where I've seen turkeys.....WILD turkeys
at that, wandering through town. I've heard and seen other photographs of the
infamous white turkey and suddenly there it was along with the rest of the
flock. They were just sort of hanging around in front of a house on Jefferson St.
When I got out of the car and started shooting (camera) that was when, naturally, every
car in town seemed to be driving down Jefferson! As they meandered across
the street and up into the shrubs of someone else's house, I got a few more
disappearing shots (camera) but these were the three best. Always in driving down Hwy. 101
I see wild turkeys at times and they always looked plain and brown. 'Course between the
distance, speed of the car, and my eyesight, I missed a lot, didn't I. I'm surprised
at what pretty markings they have. Years ago when I lived in California, a neighbor
of ours, Buddie Byrd, (True name...I promise!) had a wild turkey hen take
up residence at his house. She LOVED Buddie and would follow him everywhere! He'd scratch her back and she just go into ecstasy. Sort of the joke of the neighborhood. But, unfortunately some other wild critter
got hold of her and so the tragic end of Miss Hen and her love for Mr Byrd.

CRAB BOATS ARE A COMIN'

My first trip down to the dock yesterday to look for the urchins that weren't there
yet, but I found the crab boats lining up to deliver their loads. It's been great weather
for the crab fishermen....the wind has been down, the sun bright and from the
taste of the crab at last night's dinner, the crabs are fairly full (and SO delicious!).
In the first photo you see some of the boats waiting to deliver.....then they move
down a ways to have the hoist lift them up onto the dock and onto their waiting trailers.
The second photo, I just liked. Actually, it shows how fairly small those boats are
compared to the enormity of the ocean. And the weather can change very rapidly
and become dangerous very quickly.
And the third is the delivery.....these crabs were VERY active, using those claws
with tight grips on anything they could find. Notice the worker's gloves......I wouldn't care if I had gloves made
of iron! You would not catch my delicate little paws anyway near! And when I
cook them up at home, I grab a hold with kitchen utencils and generally look the
other way as I put them in the boiling water. I think ever so briefly of becoming a
vegetarian.......notice I said BRIEFLY. Crab is probably my favorite seafood.... And
like any self-serving bad memory, it disappears into the mind-mist of denial.

YUM!

URCHINS

I went down to the dock late this afternoon specifically to photograph urchins.
I first went down around 2 o'clock and was told they might be coming in about
4:30 or 5 o'clock. Back down I went at 4:30..........and it was FREEZING!! We're getting
the influence of some Artic air anyway and whatever was blowing right off the
Pacific made me realize that I didn't have warm enough clothes in all my closet
to keep me anywhere near comfortable. But.....I'm finding I am doing more and more
things outside of my comfort zone for the price of a, hopefully, good picture.

I had to wait there for a little while until the boat carrying the urchins was in
close. Then, rather than wait until they hoisted the boat up, I found I could look straight
down from the dock (holding onto a bar good and tight!) and shoot from above.
And I liked them in the baskets that they bring them up from the sea floor in rather than the touts
they're thrown in once on deck. But....aren't they a beautiful color? I did no alternating
of color....just a bit of cropping and a smidge of sharpening. I caught other interesting
sights this afternoon and will save those for another day.
In the meantime......Stay warm!!!

PELICANS PART 2

I promised the other day to show more photos of all those beautiful pelicans
in Bandon. Here they are. Same birds in both, just different positions. I
think the second is my favorite of the two, although I like the somewhat different
position of the pelican on the left in #1. I'd noticed some of the birds doing this
off and on......I guess it's something to do with allowing the food to slide down
their throats or something. Anyone know?

NOT "JUST A ROCK"

I took this when I was shooting all the pelicans last week. No, there are no birds or
any other animal life here in the normal sense. This is another photo that I am
fond of though. The textures, the colors of different vegetable life, again the reflection.......
and just the over-all feeling of stillness. Especially if you could have witnessed
the kinetic chaos that was going on all around this little space of peace. I didn't do too
much editing here. A little bit of deeping the saturation.....then adding a little more
light to soften it.....and that was pretty much it.

UNDER THE BOARDWALK

I took this photo the last time we were up in Charleston. I like reflections a lot
and I think in this case, the reflection is more appealing than the pilings themselves.
Charleston is one of the more colorful places around. I always find something to
shoot there that I don't normally see in my everyday. And they have some of the
most vividly painted buildings!! One might even call one or two of them........garish??
But in Charleston, somehow, it works.

KRISTEN

I know you were looking for more pelicans but I thought I'd break it up with
pretty little Kristen. This shot was taken at the Hannah Montana class on
Monday. I gather that Kristen wasn't all that interested in dancing. I like her position
here.....she's looking out of the frame at something.....I know what but you
don't. Does that raise your curiosity? One of my photography hero's, David
duChemin, mentioned this in one of his books. I also like the fact that since
Kristen is Chinese, she is set before that beautiful shade of red. And lastly,
Kristen's position..... She's actually sitting on one large ball while resting her
arm on another....and then following that..... the hand to the chin.
I like it.....works for me.

PELICANS BY THE THOUSANDS

What a treat today when we drive through Bandon on the way home!! My friend had told
me about thousands of the big birds but nothing could have prepared me for the sight that
seeing the Coquille River filled with birds from Old Town down to the bar on the ocean!
There were pelicans on the rocks, in the air, in the water, taking off, landing, on pilings.
There were a large number just floating around the water and the flapping of their wings
caused a constant and continued sound of splashing water. In all these thousands of
large pelicans, there was one wee-tiny-little wood duck who, I think, had illusions of grandeur.
Or a death-wish if one of the pelicans didn't take to him trying to join the rest of the gang.
Norm finally convinced me I had enough photos for the day (NEVER! do I have enough!) and
we left by way of Beach Loop, past Lord Bennett's. All the large rocks (or small islands) off-shore
were filled with the silhouttes of hundreds more pelicans. This was such an enormous treat for
me to see......I can't recall ever seeing anything so breath-taking. As you might be able to
tell, I still get pretty excited about it all. I wish everyone outside our area could share in seeing
it also. I hope they stick around for the rest of the winter.....and maybe if the food chain is
moving further north as reported, then the birds are simply following the chow-line (Navy-talk).
I think soon, I'll go back up wearing 'muck-about' shoes and bring my tri-pod and get in closer.
So...all you readers of my blog, prepare to be hearing about the pelicans bombarding Bandon
for the next few days.

HARRY, UNMASKED & GRINNING

Here's Harry again. This time with a big ole' grin on his face. He's growing so
fast that it seems like there are changes while I'm looking at him!! Here he is at
an after-school group that meets a couple of times a week. There was a great
dance instructor that was teaching the kids and a few adults how to do a Hannah
Montana dance. Harry was not interested. Harry likes to definitely do his own
thing! And dancing isn't one of them, apparently. I love this photo of him!!

2 DIFFERENT SUNSETS

I post some of my photos on Flickr and the volumn of sunsets offered is just endless.
Each one more beautiful than the last. Whether over a body of water or over dry land, the
variation excites the senses. The two sunsets above were only one night apart. And
within each night, the changes that occured from one moment to the next was remarkable.
So....I just start shooting and shooting and continue shooting. Later when I have them
on my computer screen, then I can really see what I have and which is the most exciting.
And I always think that each one I'm currently viewing just has to be the most perfect
there could be. Until the next second...........

AN ARTISTIC POOCH

To tell you the truth, I can't remember where I saw this dog. I think it was at one
of the Monday paint out's that Georgeanne holds once a month. This dog has me
just wanting to get in close for a big hug! I really like scruffy dogs anyway and this
one fits the bill.

FROLICKING PUPS

The black dog was the stranger to the other two, and younger.
But the shepherd and lab just had to check out the new guy on the beach.
The first few shots, which aren't shown here, clearly show the black pup with his tail so far down like he was hiding
it. His owner cut him loose from the security of the leash and off he took down the beach, looking over his shoulder frequently to see if he was outdistancing the two predators. They came up rapidly from the rear and to the pup's surprise, wanted only to play in the surf, not eat him!! So the game of chase and catch took off.
Up and down the beach they all went. Every once in a while I heard the pup give a little yelp. Maybe the
bigger dogs were a little too rough, but no damage was done and off they were again. Frolicking for all they were worth and having a great time.