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by kritterspaw

Sand Patterns

While I’d like to post my 3rd and final video on the pizza oven, it’s just still a long way from done.

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It’s coming along… slowly though it may be.  Here’s a pic to show you the current progress.  So many people think… pizza oven, what’s taking so long.  So let this picture give you a different perspective and a teaser until the final video details it’s many still left undone steps.. like building our own roof, our own doors, countertop border, stone facade, etc.

So this blog entry offers a distraction from the pizza oven.  Wouldn’t want anyone thinking we’re all work and no play.

We recently got back from Page, AZ.  Now there isn’t much in Page, AZ as far as charming towns, shopping, or restaurants.  But it is full of natural wonders, textures, shapes and colors.  Page is home to Antelope Canyon (see my photos posted on kritterspix.com).

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I am far from an avant garde photographer.  I concentrate mostly on landscape & wildlife.  Having said that, Page is full of interesting difficult-to-capture textures and colors.

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I love what my friend Gayle shared… now all I have to do is learn to make countertops out of my textures.  Thanks, Gayle.  You’re awesome.  You’ll be the first to get a set when I do!

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by kritterspaw

Grand Tetons

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There is something truly majestic and spectacular about the awesome mountain range that makes up Grand Tetons.  It’s towering jagged terrain is awe inspiring.  It sets up the backdrop for the thick forests, willowy birch trees, and vast meadows.  With the Snake River winding through it, it’s no wonder so many well-off people call this place home.

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After leaving Yellowstone, we were happy to be in place that seemed more relaxed and friendly.  We loved the rugged environment, the more skittish animals, and the out going people.

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We saw some great animals… elk, deer, and finally our coveted moose.  The scenery was truly magnificent.

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For more photos, check out my photo blog, kritterspix.com

by kritterspaw

Yellowstone National Park

buffboy halfPSiWe just got back from our big trip to Yellowstone National Park.

For more photos check out my photo blog, kritterspix.com.

We were less impressed by the scenery than by the animals.  We got up close and personal with over a dozen animals, from the big three (bison, elk, and bear) to fox, marmot, pika, deer, antelope, moose, and numerous birds (eagle, osprey, and white pelican).  It was a lesson in humanity to see how people stop on the road, and get right up in the animals faces taking selfies… and the animals tolerance of this stupidkind.   We witnessed one couple charged by a bull elk when people got too close.. they tend to forget that they are wild animals.

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For our part, we are trained in our environment (living in the woods), to be respectful of animals and keep our distance.  No doubt we could have gotten closer… or a better angle.. but we didn’t want to interfere with the animals.

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It was just cool to see them… and the variety we were fortunate enough to witness.

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Yellowstone is broken into a circle-8 scenic byway.  People warned us how crowded it would be.. but it was less crowded than we anticipated.  Maybe it was just the build up from all the ney-sayers.  The upper northern loop (on the west side) was far more crowded.  This section one can find Old Faithful, and  is ‘hot’ with geyser activity… and people.  The geyser sections were much more full of people.steamtreesPSi

gpyPSiAdmittedly the geysers were fascinating to observe. But we were happy to stay on the south eastern loop, in the Lake Village where there were less people, and more animals.  Which by the way, was also where there was a deadly bear attack the day we arrived, making everyone, locals and tourists alike, bear aware.

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Next stop, Grand Tetons.  We hope to see moose.

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by kritterspaw

My Fire Fighter

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John just got his FireFighter Cert.. moving him from Volunteer to Reserve.

Most of the calls we get up here are rescue and medical emergency calls for which the guys are first responders and ambulance drivers to get the patient to nearby hospitals.  We do get our fair share of ATV / quad accident and vehicle roll overs.

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The fires we get are mostly forest fires handled by the Forest Service (with the rare assistance from our community fire department).

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Last year we had a number of fires.  The General Fire, Jack Fire, and several others.FIreMergei

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John’s training was pretty daunting with all the book learning, memorization, and physical training.  We’re glad he’s through it and back home where we can get back to working on other things.

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by kritterspaw

Why I Blog

I saw this most interesting post on a beautiful blog, who stopped by the other day to visit my blog.

Leanne Cole PHOTOGRAPHY at http://leannecolephotography.com/2015/02/13/up-for-discussion-why-we-blog-2/ started this fascinating discussion, ‘Why I Blog’, and I couldn’t resist but join in.

In 2009 after watching Julie & Julia, the movie, I realized how easy it was to do a blog.  The movie mentioned, blogspot… and it’s free.  So I in Dec 2009 I started a blog, krittersmenu.blogspot.com.  It chronicled the food we ate every day for a year.  Life got busy, and so I took a year+ sabbatical from the blog.  When I restarted it, my interests and life had changed and my blogspot blog became a hodge-podge of photographs, travels, food, and projects… an eclectic mix to be sure.

I found blogspot to be very cumbersome to manipulate, customize, track, get comments (most people continued to have issues with commenting).  So in Dec 2014 I made the plunge to separate my blog into 3 separate blogs:  kritterspaw.com (my general ramblings), krittersmenu.com (foodie blog), and kritterspix.com (photo blog).  With this new more organized format I switched to WordPress, finding it very easy to customize and use.  With the new blogs I made a commitment to a whole new philosophy for my blog.  It’s purpose became to help drive me to do better… to take and post better photos, to post interesting discussions, travel, projects, and foods.  I try to post on each of the 3 blogs at least once a week… though I am not always successful.  But that forced me to go out and take photos once a week; to make and eat post worthy foods once a week; and make progress on my projects once a week.  In a few short months it has driven me to produce better food photos, and take my camera with me more often to enable to capture unexpected photos of elk, eagles, etc.  I actively try to take better studio photographs for my food and projects, and it has inspired me to growth in great ways.

As an added, unexpected outcome, I have found people I never knew before reaching out to me and sharing their thoughts, their blogs, and their opinions.  I have also found that my photo blog serves as a venue to send to magazines for potential publication as a sort of portfolio.

While I’m new to WordPress and my new blogs, I am finding them very gratifying and satisfying in so many ways.  It’s allowed me to share my interests with a broader audience, without sending limited emails to selected segments.  I don’t do Facebook or Tweeter, and am social media ignorant, but I find this medium inspiring and thought provoking.  Thanks for visiting and sharing.

by kritterspaw

Neighborhood Eagles

hawkclose_PSPSi We’ve had a number of sightings of big birds in the area.  At first we thought they were hawks.  But after getting a couple pix of them, we discovered they are golden eagles… and bald eagles.

It seems they migrate in the winter, so it would seem that they may have found a winter home in the area.  How cool is that?  Be on the look out if you’re in Happy Jack, AZ.

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by kritterspaw

Pygmy Owl

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I can’t image a better way to start the year than with the visit of a new creature to our magnificent haven.
I thought this was a simple bird huddled up in the cold. Then it turned around! OMG!

It wasn’t much bigger than a small sparrow. You could literally hold it in the palm of your hand. John called it a pigmy owl. I’d never heard of such a thing.  I looked it up online, and sure enough, it’s an actual designation, a Pygmy Owl.  Fantastic!