Egret

I love the variety of bird found here in Lincoln hills in the winter.  When the hawks, egrets and herons return we know that summer is over.

The most frequent of our daily walks takes us to a pond full of mallards.  It is a favorite breeding spot for these ducks.  Mallards aren't the only birds to be found here, though.

A few days ago I brought my camera hoping to get a shot of an owl that has been hanging out in the area.

The owl was nowhere to be seen on this afternoon but a little snowy egret could be seen hunting at the edge of the pond.

It took little notice of me as I clicked away, hoping for a great shot.  The one at the right is the sharpest but the one at the top may be my favorite.








Check out Wild Bird Wednesday at Paying Ready Attention to see more of our avian friends.

Down to Earth

We spent the Christmas Holiday in Southern California with the family.  While there we all went to the California Science Center to view the space shuttle Endeavour.  Of course, I left my camera at the house and had to use my camera to get a few not too good shots.  It was impossible to get far enough away to get the entire vehicle in one image.

I was impressed by the quality of exhibits about the shuttle program that visitors passed on the way to view the Endeavour.  The galley and "potty" had been removed so that visitors could get a closeup view.  

This spacehab, where astronauts could do experiments, store tools and live was also on view. I had no idea it was so small!  My closet is bigger.

Docents, many of whom had worked on the shuttle program, were available to answer questions.

 The plan is to build a building where the shuttle could be placed upright with ramps allowing visitors to get a better view.

For more information visit

the California Science Center website

If you are interested in this part of the NASA program I encourage you to visit the California Science Center if you are in Los Angeles.  In addition to the Endeavour there are many exhibits especially designed for children.  It even has a walk through aquarium.  

It is a far cry from the old Museum of Science an Industry that occupied the site in my youth.  That one I never found very interesting when I was taken there by my parents. This museum would have had me begging for return visits.

Find more views or our world at Our World, Tuesday.

Christmas Lights Move Down

When we first moved to Lincoln Hills, some eleven years ago, our neighborhood ranged in age from early 60s to mid 70s.  Then many of the neighbors gaily decorated their houses, hanging lights from the eaves.

Now we are older, some of us have passed away, and most of those who remain no longer feel comfortable climbing on ladders. While some hire others to hang their lights and a few intrepid souls still climb on ladders, many now hang their lights on the shrubbery or simply hang a wreath on the door.

We meet around the mailbox and talk about our ailments as we wonder about the golden years.  In truth, though, most of us have had them.  They were the years from 60 to 70 or 75.  Age is catching up to us though and we think of the three, all in their 80s, who we lost in our neighborhood this year.  We wonder, who will be next?

Follow this link to see more images of Our World

I have realized that some of those who once followed this blog, when I was actively posting, might wonder what has happened to me.
I'm well but we haven't been traveling much and I find that I haven't anything new to photograph and I don't like to keep repeating myself.  Perhaps inspiration will strike now that the blog has been dark for a while.

I've been thinking about Ted Cruz and his suggestion that we only allow Syrian "Christians" into the US.  I'm wondering if he is familiar with the parable of the good Samaritan or Matthew 25:35 in which Jesus says " I was a stranger and you invited me in".  Sometimes it is inconvenient to be a follower of Jesus.

Critters of Glacier National Park

We saw plenty of wildlife on our recent trip to Glacier.  Unfortunately they did not sit still and pose.  A better wildlife photographer than I would spend all day in a blind, camera on tripod, waiting.  Unfortunately, my tripod broke in transit and I didn't have the time needed to patiently wait.

Our most exciting encounter was with this bull moose.  It was in the grass near the dock when we got off the boat in the Many Glacier area.  Considered more dangerous than a grizzly, he was none too happy to see us.

Less threatening was this marmot we saw along the trail on our way back to the lodge.

Around Logan Pass, the goats ignored us, sharing the trails with the human hikers.

A group of rams ran across the trail and quickly moved away from human contact but still close enough for a shot of the impressive horns on this guy.

We just caught a glimpse of this bear from the bus.  It is barely good enough to see that it has the concave shaped face of a grizzly rather than the convex profile of a black bear.  While I wish it had been out in the open for a better shot I was glad I was in the bus rather than in the woods, up close and personal!

Linked to Camera Critters

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Or, how I spent my summer vacation.







We don't always spend our vacations camping.  Sometimes we try something different.  We wanted to visit Glacier National Park in Montana but didn't feel like driving that far and we were less than enthusiastic about camping in grizzly bear country, so I booked a tour called "Great Lodges of Glacier".  A tour that put solid walls between us and the grizzly bears at night.
    To get to the starting point we flew from Sacramento to Portland, Oregon and then rode Amtrak's "Empire Builder" overnight to East Glacier, Montana.

After that is was Jammer Joe's responsibility to get get us from place to place in one of the historic canvas topped touring buses.  These buses, built in the 1930s were renovated between 1999 and 2002.  Be sure to bring sunscreen when the canvas is rolled back for viewing the magnificent Rocky Mountains.

 The tour stays at four lodges operated by Glacier Park Inc.

 The first stop is Glacier Park Lodge in East Glacier.  The lodge is located on the Blackfeet reservation and is across the road from the railroad station.  It was built by the Great Northern Railroad to lure tourists to travel west on their trains and opened in 1913.  

In the lobby, the roof is supported by huge timbers, whole tree trunks 36 to 42 inches in diameter and 40 feet long.  The logs still have the original bark.

These lodges are not for those who feel the need to be connected.  There are no televisions in any of the lodges and cell phone and wi-fi coverage poor to none.

Next stop was Canada at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes Nation Park, the Canadian portion of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.  The next morning there was time for a hike or sightseeing in town followed by afternoon tea in an area off the lobby.  The highlight of the tea was the amazing view through those picture windows.

Then it was back to the United States for a two night stay at the Many Glacier Hotel.  This was our favorite due to the magnificent setting.  A boat ride across two lakes led to several trails.  We chose to walk the two miles back to the lodge, talking and calling out "hey, bear" lest we startle a grizzly in the woods.

The last night of the tour was at Lake McDonald Lodge, the only one on our tour not built by the Great Northern Railroad.  The tour would have taken us to the train depot or airport in Kalispell but we asked them to drop us at the Belton Chalet in West Glacier.

This is another of the original Great Northern hotels and is now privately owned.  It had been allowed to fall into disrepair after Word War II when it was sold by the Railroad.  Now lovingly restored, it maintains its historic charm while giving guest modern conveniences.

The staff drove us to the park service's Transit Center where we were able to catch the free shuttle to trail heads.

Linked to Our Word, Tuesday