Wild Horse Island Bighorn

Here's a very small detail of a bighorn on Wild Horse Island that I took in low light as night fell on the lake. I thought it looked sort of impressionistic when I zoomed in. It was so dark I didn't have any hopes for a picture but I took pictures anyway.

Learning to water ski

Leaning to water ski at the lake each summer is a time honored tradition for the young people. For the not so young people it's a chance pass on knowledge and learn just how not so young they are. The next morning anyway..

I usually don't post pictures of people I know, but I like this picture too much.

Bigarm Bay

Here's a picture of Bigarm Bay on Flathead Lake. I keep taking the same picture over and over. It's like Groundhog Day in Bigarm Bay.

I retain all rights to my photos.  Please do not use any of my photos without permission.

Memory card, hot water tank and a mandolin

I was looking at all of the photos on my various memory cards wich were all full. It gets to the point that you have to make the decision to keep them or not. I finally made a folder and put some of them in it and cleared off one card. I'd show you some of them but I don't have them here, and honestly,.. they weren't that great.

My hot water tank started to leak. So tomorrow I'm going to buy a new one and install it. That will be fun.. It shouldn't be too big of a deal actually. We will see.. I don't mind not having hot water so much, but not having water at all could be a bad thing, so I'll have to resolve this situation once I start in.

Also I've been thinking about buying a mandolin. I used to play a mandolin when I was a kid before I played guitar, and I backed up my dad who played banjo. They are strung like a violin and I played that in orchestra, so since I (sort of) know how to play I might as well get one. They don't cost that much and I was thinking it would be an easy thing to travel with, and it's nice to have something to do with your hands while you are sitting around. Who knows? I might get into it. The guy below in the Rhonda Vincent video on mando rocks.

My first song will be called: Memory card, hot water tank and a mandolin.

Sun pickle recipe

It's time for sun pickles again. I went to a local farmer's market type place down the road from where I live and bought a bunch of small cucumbers and some dill. Here's the basic recipe:

3# of cucs
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup Kosher salt (I used about 1/3 cup of salt and I think you could get by with less)
2 table spoons of pickling spice.

Wash the cucs put them in 1 gallon jar add above and then fill with water.
Let sit in sun for three days and shake once a day.

I backed down the salt and added a sliced jalpeno pepper, (I like it hot) some galic, some onion, and some fresh dill. The cost has gone up a little in the two years since I first made this. The cucs were twice as expensive, but I have almost enough to make one more batch. This time I had everything but the cucs, dill and the pepper. I'm in around $12 not counting what I already had, the canning/ pickling salt, vinegar and pickling spice. The thing I like about these pickles is how crisp they are. I'm sure you could use any kind of salt.

Here's a link to when I made SUN PICKLES a while back with photo.

It's going to be almost 100 degrees tomorow, so that will jump start the process.

Wild Horse Island Rainbow

A rainbow off the shore of Wild Horse Island in Flathead Lake. The air smells so sweet here in Montana.

Bee picture

Here's a picture of my bee working on a thistle. It's a Scottish bee. Or a Scottish wanna bee.

New Hobie Cat 16 sails

There must be a lot of people out there who need new sails for their Hobie Cat, so here's what the new sails look like on my boat. Made in the United States, so that's a bonus, unlike some windsurfing sails. Hobie sails are a good value compaired to windsurfing sails. One thing I noticed is that the main pops over in a jibe just like a windsurfing sail as the curves in the battens flip over.

They came with a new number so if you want your old number be sure to tell them. I don't really care as I'm not racing. It was a big improvement. It seems to have put the center of effort back where it should be and the bow doesn't seem to push in as much. Now I wouldn't mind getting a boom vang, which this boat didn't have. It's raining right now so I'm not sure if I'll get to sail. I only like it when it rains anyway,. unless I want to sail.

Rainbow Lake Photo

I'm going to put this photo of Rainbow Lake Montana into my favorites on the side bar. It seems to be getting a little interest. I really need to do some housekeeping over there.

I love it when someone comes across this blog and looks at the pictures, and reads the silly things I've written. Now and then someone will come here and spend a little time. They mostly don't leave a comment, they don't stay very long, they just float around a little and then float away. Like the spirits of people coming and going almost without a trace.

One of the things that I hated about art school was the shamless self promotion of it all. I hate most art shows for that same reason. I'm not posting here for self promotion. I don't care what people think of my pictures. I often don't like them myself.

I retain the rights to all of my photos.  Please do not use without permission.

Boundaries

This isn't the best picture in the west but it's all I've got. Well not quite... There wasn't anyone around, and it was strange to feel comfortable on one side of the fence, but not really the other. If I climbed over the fence I'd have this guilt trip about it, like what the heck am I doing on this side of the fence?!..

The heat spell finally broke. It was just too darn hot, that's all. Well I guess I can take this picture down after a while, but I'll leave it up for now.

Homeless people

Where is home? There's no question about it when you are young. I guess for some people it's pretty clear. "Go Home!" I say to a dog if I find it in my yard. And it trots off,..but looks back at me as if to say I'm leaving but I really don't know where I'm going..

I guess if you are single and don't have a family you really don't have a home. I might have made a good homeless person. I think that's the most pure form but I'd have to get rid of my stuff. Home is a place to put your stuff. I admire people who don't have a lot of stuff. They travel light. Homeless people travel light..

There are people who had it all. They had a husband. They had kids. They had a house. They had a home. For years it went on like that. But then..

The kids grew up and left, The husband died. And then they had a house full of stuff, but was it still a home?

There are people who had it all. They had a mother, they had a father, they had a sister, they had a brother, but now they are alone.

I always felt at home on my bike. Always going somewhere. Always moving. Without a lot of stuff.

***
I think the heat has finally gotten to me..