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..

Dinghy sailing in Montana

I watched this guy sail his dinghy on the Flathead River in Montana from a bridge. It was some of the most radical dinghy sailing I've ever seen. The wind was strong as was the current and the pictures make it look easy, but this guy is a true master, and his sailing was a beautiful thing to watch.

Loreen Miller bike ride pictures

Here are a few pictures from the 2009 Loreen Miller Cancer Patient Care bike ride. It was raining in the morning when I got up and that was a welcome change in the weather. The clouds lasted all morning and without them it would have been a hot ride. I rode the 50 mile ride as I thought it might be really hot to try and ride farther, plus I haven't been cycling as much as usual. I really suffered on the first climb but later in the day I started to feel stronger and stronger and at the end of the ride I felt as good if not better than I did at the start. So that's encouraging.

This guy had the most interesting jersey. Skull and bones.

I rode with these two ladies on and off. Wendy and Shelley, if I got their names right. They both do triathlon and were very fit. I ejoyed their company and did my best to keep up with Wendy on the climbs. I've noticed more and more tri people, especially women doing the bike rides lately and I think that's great. Of course in triathlon you aren't supposed to draft, so there's a whole culture of non-drafting out there as a result. I was taking turns pulling with another woman earlier and she commented that it had been a long time since she had drafted and how much fun it was. It's one of the things I really enjoy about group cycling as there's nothing like the thrill of being in a long train of riders going fast. Of course I always like to sit on if possible, like I'm doing here :)

At the end of the ride they had the best food I've ever had at a bike ride. Also they had the Angus Scott bagpipe band and I always like to hear them as they can put together some cool combinations. There were a couple of young dancers that I enjoyed as well. All in all it was a geat ride as usual.

***
From the website..

Who are Cancer Patient Care’s clients?

Cancer Patient Care clients are active cancer patients and their families who are fighting the invisible burden of overwhelming debt. Often our clients were financially stable until cancer invaded their lives. CPC helps them meet their basic needs.

***

Invisible burden indeed..

I won't go into the whole health care issue but we might not need this if everyone were covered.

My first Pow Wow

I went to my first Pow Wow last weekend. The drums called me in after years of listening to them from a distance. I really enjoyed it. There was some great dancing and native costumes. A lot of it is dance competition which I didn't really expect. There were groups of drummers around an open pavillion that took turns drumming and singing. Drumming seems to be a male dominated thing.

There were lots of Montana area tribes represented. Blackfoot, Kootenai and Salish, Flathead, Cree, Lakota and others. Everyone got involved young and old. Lots of beautiful people. The smell of pine pitch burning in fires filled the air. It was really cool.

For some reason I always felt I should keep my distance. If I were a tribal member I'm not sure I'd want a bunch of people like me showing up, but everyone was cool. I'd recommend going to a Pow Wow if you've never been to one. It's a good way to get outside of the bubble.

New Hobie 16 sails

They say that there are two things a man can love, a woman and a boat. I have a boat... And now my Hobie 16 gets new sails.

I know,..the old sails looked cool with the rainbow colors, but the new sails will rock, and the boat wil be faster.

Rainbow Lake Montana

This is Rainbow Lake AKA Dog Lake by the locals, just inside the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. It's known for its rainbows and also for its dogs, although I've never actually seen a dog here, but I'm sure at one time there were many dogs, or at least one dog...

I took the canoe out as the sun went down, not on Dog Lake, but on Flathead Lake. I could hear the Native Americans beating the drum down at the end of the bay. They are having a Pow Wow. As usual, I'm outside of the bubble, alone in my canoe, like Lt. Dunbar, or more like Lt. Dumb Bear.. What a sense of belonging and community they must have. I envy that.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll muster the courage to go over there with my camera.

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

I'm only happy when it rains.

It rains for two days and people at work throw a big fit. What's wrong with this weather?! they say,.. even though we can't actually go outside because we have to work,..

I'm only happy when it rains.
feels good when things are going wrong,
I only listen to sad sad songs.
I'm only happy when it rains.

you want to hear about my new obsession?
I'm riding high upon a deep depression
I'm only happy when it rains.

It will be in the 90s by the end of the week. Perhaps the cold blooded will be happy.

Pour your misery down on me..

(Shirley Manson a little out of context.)

Niarada barn

My mom told me that my Dad knew the people who lived next to this. I suspect they owned this barn back when as it's the only place around. He used to come here and hunt pheasants. I have his old shotgun. This old barn has been photographed a lot. I sometimes see people out taking pictures of it. It was 90 degrees today here. That isn't too bad but this is a hot old dusty old place. Cold in the winter. Hot in the summer.

The Flathead River

Here's a picture of the Flathead River. I drive along it on my way to Flathead Lake. The water comes from the Glacier Park area through Flathead Lake and then it merges with the Clark Fork River a few miles from here and goes on into Idaho. You can't tell in this picture but it usually has a turquoise color.

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

Feel good moment

My bike ride to work today was really pleasant as it was cool out. I left soon enough that I had plenty of time and didn't have to push. Sometimes I feel so sorry for people in cars when I ride to work. They look stressed and unhappy for the most part. I did see one pretty young woman yesterday who was singing to her radio as she drove, so at least she was happy. That made me feel good.