Walking in the deep snow can be difficult. Bison use their strong necks to push forward and make a path, their shaggy faces keep them from getting too cold and they take turns leading the way. These adaptations allow them to thrive in the harsh winter conditions of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Photo by Jim Peaco, National Park Service. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/23/16.
Sunset at Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park. Photo by William Brinkman. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 1/29/16.
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The first constitution of the USA was titled “Articles of Confederation” and was in force between 1781 and 1788. It created a single house of Congress and no executive – but for one year during this period (1781-2), John Hanson served as “President of the United States in Congress Assembled.” Hanson was followed by Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788). George Washington was the first President under the Constitution of June 21, 1788, ratified by 1790.
John Hanson – painting attributed to John Hesselius, c. late 1760s
Portrait of Elias Boudinot by Thomas Sully
Thomas Mifflin
Richard Henry Lee. Portrait by Charles Willson Peale.
Nathaniel Gorman. Portrait by Charles Willson Peale.
Arthur St. Clair – painting by Charles Wilson Peale.
Cyrus Griffin
An epic shot of lightning & the Milky Way over White Sands National Park. Photo by Mike Mezeul II. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/25/16.
Usually, towering rock formations are the main attractions at City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho. However, recent conditions there gave us this awesome sight: a sun halo. Ice crystals suspended in the winter air catch the sunlight and produce this dazzling effect. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/21/16.
Rocky Mountain National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/21/16.
The General Sherman Tee is the world’s largest tree in the Sequoia National Park. The photographer used light painting to get this effect in their nighttime shoot. Photo by Christian Loya. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 1/20/16.
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From the Bureau of Land Management’s Tumblr post, 1/22/16. Photos by their employee, Bob Wicks.
Some of my favorite photo locations are in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, located in northern Arizona along the Utah border. The area contains colorful sculpted rock formations that are beyond description. Most famous is “The Wave” which has a very limited number of entry permits issued through a lottery to protect its unique and fragile features. However, South Coyote Buttes (permit required) and the White Pocket (no permit needed) offer equally spectacular and unique formations. The area offers year-round photo opportunities, although winter access to remote locations may be blocked by snow, and back roads become impassible when wet at any time of year. Summer visitors should bring plenty of water and plan outings to avoid the unrelenting mid-day sun.
Photo tip: The many slickrock basins hold water at certain times and provide for great reflections of the adjoining formations. To capture water reflections, photograph in early morning and late evening when glare is lower and the water is more likely to be calm. Optimally the sun should be shining on the subject that is being reflected. Interesting skies with textured clouds also make excellent reflection subjects.
The Vermilion Cliffs themselves form a dramatic rampart in the southern part of the monument and offer endless photo angles. Make sure to stop at the California condor release site, just two miles up House Rock Road from the main highway. The majestic condors are visible year-round at the site which is used to reintroduce them into the wild. A very long telephoto lens is needed to get good photos of the condors.
Photo tip: The “golden hour”, such as the time close to sunrise and sunset, almost always offers the best light for photography and this is especially true in the Vermilion Cliffs and other areas of the Colorado Plateau. Here the rock colors come alive with vibrant reds, oranges and golds with low sun angles, but become washed out during the mid-day. Photographing with sidelight (camera pointed 90 degrees from the sun) will ensure that you have more texture and three dimensional qualities to your images.
1. A light switch by the door. Wouldn’t it be great to throw one switch and have a lit shop?
2. My startle reflex needs to re-calibrate now that I have galvanized ducting above my head for dust collection. The first time a wood chip bounced down the metal pipe, I ducked & covered. Don’t really need to be doing that.
3. A really, really good splinter removal kit. The well-used hemostat that my surgeon gave me just isn’t getting it done these days. Yes, it was a gift from my surgeon who thought I might need it, and he’s been proven right again and again. If you don’t know the scary story of my surgery, read The Table Saw.
4. A sign or a mascot is needed to give the place personality. Because, clearly, I don’t have enough as it is.
5. The old pegboard’s got to go, and when I redo the workbench I’ll make a place for my cabinets filled with screws and hardware. I’ve got 7 different little cabinets holding drawers and drawers of totally essential stuff, and only 2 cabinets have good, ready access. I need to fix this before I dump a whole cabinet. Again.
6. I need to make a new lid for my table saw. I used that table surface all of the time … and abused the cover so much it fell apart. That was months ago … I’m sure I’ll have time to build another one. Soon, right?
7. Resurface the workbench & build a new glue box to do the assembly on. I just need to find a piece of melamine for the cover, and I’ll be set. As long as the Lady doesn’t make me use it to make a soap mold, that is.
8. A desk for when customers come by. I’m not sure talking over the table saw is regarded as “quaint” by everyone.
9. I now have 33 parallel face clamps, which is great, because I now can do 11 simultaneous glue-ups. Unfortunately, I only have mounted storage for 17 clamps, so there is a problem in the making here. I’ve also got 4 quick-release clamps with absolutely no place to store them. It’s well known that you never have enough clamps in your shop … and you never have enough storage for the clamps you have. I hate it when I’m a living proof of concept.
10. I need a place to hang my apron (yes, I now wear an apron in the shop). I’m currently hanging it off a cabinet knob when the work is done, but when I do that, I can’t access the lower cabinet to turn off my tunes. I think I need a strategically placed nail … something I so rarely use these days.
11. To complete the shop transformation, I have a few building projects for this year. These will be done. Eventually.
12. A place to hang my warning light (AKA Dust Sentry) for the dust collector. When the barrel is full, the light goes disco. Only problem: there’s no good place to hang it. Every shop needs a good place to go disco.
13. I don’t have a clock in the shop, because I don’t need one. It’s time that I need.
