Brad Sondahl's blog

Brad's Blog

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August 1, 2020
I heard a call I couldn't place a couple days ago, and it was a pair of pileated woodpeckers. They were only briefly on the same tree, but were around long enough to get a few good photos. I like the way the comb resembles a rooster comb in this one...

Aug. 6
We hiked along Priest Lake from Kalispell Bay for several miles on Sunday, only saw one mountain biker on the trail.

There were a lot of boats on the lake, but it's a big lake (about 30 miles long) so they weren't too intrusive...

It's the time for harvesting and preserving--these greenbeans got blanched and vacuum packed yesterday. I've been focusing on picking cherries before they get overripe... We've also been getting lots of raspberries and peas...

A bird in the wild is worth two at a feeder, when it comes to nature photos. This male blackheaded grosbeak is a frequent flyer at our feeder. but this was taken when he perched up above on a branch, and poked at the little knot on the branch. It's possible some other bird lodged a sunflower seed in it for cracking...

August 7

This female western tanager was outside our back porch by the feeder today. A male was there briefly a week or two ago.

This picture can be a bit confusing. It's a picture of the mill pond, with willows sticking up in the middle of reflected clouds and having mangrove type roots exposed from the falling level of the lake. The sky clouds morph into highly reflective lilypads which make the background whitish.

Aug. 10
We went back to Two Mouth Creek by Priest Lake on Sunday, to find new cascades...

This is looking down from the top as it drops 3 or 4 feet...

Aug. 14
We've had an ongoing bird party with the feeder and bath, but across the street our cherry tree has had its own party going, with ravens, crows, finches, western tanagers, starlings, grosbeaks, and robins all spotted in the upper branches in a 5 minute photo survey:

But first here's a mystery bird from near the feeder I'm hoping my birder relatives can ID-- and Susa gets the prize --it's a juvenile spotted towhee..

Starling

male western tanager, mating color fading

raven (a raven is in size relative to a crow, as a crow is to a blackbird).

Aug. 15
I took a lot of waterfall footage a couple weeks ago, but my computer is underrated for video editing, so after several failed attempts I got it to compile and upload:
https://youtu.be/ugD_rWKMq3E

Aug. 21

Butters and I walked around the Mill Pond today:

I like the way the clouds echo the masses of lilypads on the pond...

My memory is like a sieve, but sometimes I'm amazed at what sticks. When I saw this, I thought spangled frittillary, and a quick google proved my mind correct, though I have no conscious recollection of gaining that knowledge. For the record, though, it's a great spangled fritillary, or it may be the northwestern fritillary

Aug. 27
Even with a wonderful new camera, a lot of photos in low light come out like this:

Fortunately the camera takes bursts of photos, and the next burst had calmed down a lot. But before you look below. try to find the wren in the photo above....

Although I throw away a large percentage of my photos, I like the first one of these almost as well as the second... Photography is painting with light...

Aug. 31
It's been a long month, with busy pottery sales making for long work days. Today I did take time to pick our bartlett pears--around 75 lbs. With no rain for about two months we've done a lot of watering, but the size of the pears is generally small...

books read

Time out of Joint by Philip K Dick. If the Truman Show weren't directly based on this book, it should have been, as it has more levels of paranoid possibility than the Truman show, with a similar premise..

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding by Alexander McCall Smith. Mysteries without violence, what a concept...

Midworld by Alan Dean Foster He built a compelling universe, with this one a jungle world ala (but long preceding) Avatar. I would rather have seen this brought to life on the big screen...

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher I've read nearly all of the Dresden Files, and really enjoy them, but this had the feel and weakness of most superhero mashup comics--too many characters, too much convoluted plot. It is a problem of series books that more characters develop over time, and it's easier to go back to the well than dig a new one, but...

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