Friday, April 25, 2025 →

From a few weekends ago, Tree Swallows racing through the skies above Black Butte Lake. A Tree Swallow, nearly a profile view, in flight against a clear blue sky.

A Tree Swallow flying, directly below showing its belly and wings, against a clear blue sky.

#TreeSwallow #Birds #BirdPhotograhy #BlackButteLake #Fujifilm

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 →

Cool orange headed beetles on our milkweed today A pair of small beetles with orange heads and dark bodies are clinging to the stem of a green Milkweed leaves. A smaller beetle is atop the larger beetle. The background is softly blurred. #Beetles #InsectPhotography #Milkweed #NativePlants #Yarden #Fujifilm

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 →

From this morning, a Cranefly on a Milkweed leaf #Cranefly #Milkweed #NativePlants #Yarden A close-up of a crane fly is on a green leaf surrounded by blurred foliage. Craneflies are really weird looking.

Monday, April 21, 2025 →

Colorado's outdoor companies are buckling under Trump trade war:

“I’m the U.S. manufacturer using U.S.-made materials and Trump is putting me out of business,” she says. “We figured out U.S. manufacturing and we figured out how to take care of our people and it came crashing down. I’m doing everything Trump wants but we are being punished by this tariff bullshit.”

#USPol

Saturday, April 19, 2025 →

Ospreys are amazing. Last week, before our eyes, one plunged into Black Butte lake and caught a fish! To grab a fish, an osprey plunged deep into to lake water, while keeping its head above the water. There is a large dead tree branch overhead, and the background is full of Willows.

A osprey, with a captured fish in its talons, flying low over a body of water surrounded by trees. Branches frame the foreground, and the bird's wings are spread mid-flight.

A blurred image of an osprey in flight over a body of water with lush green trees in the background. The osprey has a more noticeable fish in its talons. #Osprey #Birds #BirdPhotography #BlackButteLake #Fujifilm #SOoC

Wednesday, April 16, 2025 →

You got this  #WrensDay #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifim #SOoC

A small Bewick's Wren is perched on a winter naked Willow branch. This Wren, for once, isn't singing but is squat against the branch, looking out. It has a really long narrow and dark tail and white stripes on its head. Its body is mostly gray.

Monday, April 14, 2025 →

At Black Butte Lake this last Saturday, we were treated by a flying formation of American White Pelicans. They are captivating flyers. #AmericanWhitePelican #BlackButteLake #BirdPhotography #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoC

Against a blue sky, four American White Pelicans are in a straight line formation, spaced by mere feet. They are photographed as a diagonal across the frame. The rear edge of their wings are black, the rest of their body is white.

Sunday, April 13, 2025 →

Useful FastMail Rules that rely on Headers by @jsonbecker

Mail rules on Fastmail that make my life better: json.blog

Rules include newsletters & Democrat political email

Sunday, April 13, 2025 →

Yesterday: Damselfly and a Mosquito at Black Butte Lake #Damselfly #BlackButteLake #Fujifilm #SOoC A blue damselfly resting on a rock surrounded by wet, sandy ground with small pebbles and a mosquito to its left. Both are surrounded by wet brown muddy muck.

Saturday, April 12, 2025 →

Spectacular day at Black Butte Lake today A single tree stands atop a grassy hill in the distance, framed by lush green trees in the foreground. Below is a body of water reflecting the greenery. The sky is bright blue with large, fluffy clouds.#BlackButteLake #Fujifilm #SOoC

Saturday, April 12, 2025 →

Okay, dilapidated front yard sprinkler valve assembly is removed and system capped off. The water line diverged before the valve assembly so I simply capped it off after the T so the backyard assembly and hose bib still gets water. PVC primer & cement hardly used and will go bad before next need 😜The image shows a cluster of irrigation valves partially buried in the ground, surrounded by soil and gravel. Wires are connected to the valves, which are part of a lawn or garden sprinkler system. The wires are disconnected from the sprinkler line.A removed irrigation valve assembly next to a house foundation, surrounded by dirt and rocks. A shallow pit where the sssembly was is nearby, and an irrigation box lid leans against a wooden fence. A red PVC cutter tool and a hand trowel on the ground.The image shows a pit with cut PVC piping connections, surrounded by dirt and gravel. A red pipe cutter is lying on the ground nearby. A disconnected sprinkler valve assembly is discarded to the right. A PVC cutter tool is visible.A small, muddy excavation pit next to a building with exposed pipes and finished clean (compared to older pipes) white cap fittings. There are tools and work gloves nearby, along with gravel and a trashed valve assembly.

Friday, April 11, 2025 →

My latest project is to remove one entire unused sprinkler valve assembly. Took a bit of care excavating but now I know to cut four pipes and cap at least the inlet (the pipe coming from the bottom of the photo). In a perfect world, I’d remove the three PVC runs into the front yard (mostly native plants there & no lawn!) but that’s a lot of work for no practical good payoff whatsoever. #yardenA trench and excavation revealing three standard Orbit sprinkler valves connected to PVC. One line tees off around the valves, presumably to the backyard valve box. There are two wires coming out of each sprinkler head. The soil is moist with some red coloration. Clearly the soil has experienced moist anoxic conditions.

Friday, April 11, 2025 →

Dad and Son Crash Underwater Drone Into Unexploded World War II Bomb | PetaPixel:

The cops asked them for all the footage for analysis and later discovered the bomb they had found was a Nazi SC 500 — a bomb commonly dropped during the prolonged raids of British cities by the German Luftwaffe in the winter of 1940/41, better known as the Blitz.

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 →

Bushtit! A small gray-brown Bushtit is on a tree branch surrounded by green leaves and twigs. It has a rather active pose, like it’s in the process of turning around.#Bushtit #Birds #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 →

Towhees are all the rage right now, so here’s one busy looking for food at the Refuge’s parking area A small brown California Towhee with a dark brown head, reddish brown body, and pinkish legs stands on a parking lot with cracks filled by dry grass, looking down as it searches for food. It is a profile view and only its back is illuminated by the sun.#CaliforniaTowhee #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 →

AirlineReporter has a JFK to Singapore flight report up! World’s longest flight.

Monday, April 7, 2025 →

Loggerhead shrike from the Refuge the other weekend #LoggerheadShrike #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC

A small Loggerhead shrike, mostly gray with black eyeshadow, is perched on a bare tree branch against a backdrop of a clear blue sky and blurred Willow foliage.

Sunday, April 6, 2025 →

Flew from Orland-Haigh Field (O37) to San Francisco International in the Beaver, and ATC told me to taxi to the Coast Guard hanger but it’s been DOGE’d. Closed and locked. #JokingNotJoking #XPlane #FlightSim #ThrandaDHC2 #USPol

A small purple airplane is holding short a closed gate in front of a Coast Guard hanger. In the background, there is hanger with a classic red sign "United Air Lines" with at least two United Airline aircraft tails visible. Many tanks and other parked aircraft are somewhat visible in the distance. San Bruno Mountain is prominent.

Saturday, April 5, 2025 →

X-Plane 12.2 beta is out and it’s nice. It fixes dark cockpits, greatly improves atmospherics, improves clouds (again), and includes a scenery recut with my work on three airports: O09 (Round Valley, California), O37 (Orland Haigh Field, California), Dug Bar USFS. #XPlane #FlightSim #macOS

Friday, April 4, 2025 →

For the first time, I repaired a sliding glass door screen today. The old synthetic one had weakened significantly from UV and recently took a knee. The new mesh is aluminum. It was a bit brittle but I like that it is UV proof. A damaged window screen with a large tear and fraying edges, framed by a white window frame. Sunlight is casting Rosemary plant shadows on the screen.A disassembled slider window screen with a detached mesh lies on a pebbled ground next to a concrete path. Nearby are some tools and a green hose. The frame is intact, but the mesh is in a pile.A window screen is being repaired on a concrete surface. It is secured in place with clamps. A spline is in progress of being put into the channel to attach the screen. Part of the rubber spline or gasket is lying on top of the screen. Half of the area is in sunlight, while the other half is shaded.A sliding glass patio door with a white frame is shown. One side has the repaired screen. The reflection of a lame person taking the photo is visible in the glass. There's greenery on either side, with a pebble-covered ground.