Archive for the ‘California’ Tag
Alas, I cannot bring back the California Grizzly Bear, which was last sighted in 1924 and declared extinct shortly thereafter. It was hunted to extinction after the gold rush caused ’49ers to encroach on the bears’ habitat.
I do have a couple of stories about the bear that first graced the flag of the very short-lived independent California Republic. That happened in 1846 … and apparently California has been dependent ever since.
Bear baiting, where bears were put into fights against bulls, were a big spectacle in the California of the 1800s. Horace Greeley, a newspaperman of great accomplishment, saw one of these fights and observed that a bear fought with a downward swipe while a bull countered with a horn’s upward thrust. This caused Greeley, it was said, to coin the terms of bear & bull markets for Wall Street.
This wasn’t fake news (joke! It’s a joke!), but it wasn’t true. The popular term (OK, not so popular with most) for a bear market has a very different beginning, which you can read about in Merriam Webster’s article, here.
California has plenty of wild spaces where grizzlies could thrive, but efforts over the last few decades to move up to 500 grizzlies back into California have not been successful. You can draw your own conclusions about whether California is wild enough to support the mighty grizzly bear.
The bears that I make are all from Black Walnut, and measure 19″ from nose to tail. They stand about 9-1/2″ high.
These bears and everything else that I make in the Woodshop are now available on my new site, MrMsWoodshop.com. Special offers for this one-time-only launch month are free shipping for any order over $50, and 20% off everything, site-wide, when you use the promo code “MrMsLaunch.”
Here’s the link to go straight to the page for these California Bears.
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It took me forever to get these done.
I had the idea. I had the design.
I even had the California boards done for months … but didn’t have the bases done.
For months.
Finally, though, I had my breakthrough and finally got 2 pairs of 2-person Cribbage boards done.
As with all of my boards, the base holds the cards & pegs. The tops are interchangeable, so you can choose the bottom and top that you most like.
The standard “race track” 2-player version is a common design; it’s the board that most people have used. The California board is my own design. Every California I make will have yellow wood in it … California is the Golden State, after all.
Half of these are now sold (note that I neglected to photograph one of the 2-player sets … and it’s sold. Sorry!). I was intrigued that the purchaser of the California set went stripey-stripey. No plain wooden pieces for her California!
I continue to add to the collection of custom 3- and 4-player boards. More of those designs will soon follow; check out the links below to see the other cribbage boards I have made.
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The Cribbage Obsession
This Cribbage Thing Is Catching On
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Death Valley National Park. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 10/20/16.
Photographer Michael Sprill wanted to capture the Milky Way over the amazing landscape of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. He used a long exposure to capture the night sky and a flashlight to shine on Silex Spring, spotlighting the geothermal pool. He was very excited about the results, “The steam coming off the water really makes the photo look magical!” Photo by Michael Sprill. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 11/20/16.
Another beautiful sunset on the road through California. That funny looking thing is a Joshua Tree, in Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Ben Pelta-Heller. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 11/25/16.
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The bigger elections have always had a polling place in a neighbor’s garage, about a dozen houses away.
Not this time. We were consolidated into a larger precinct, and several hundred voters converged on the nearest park to do their duty as a citizen.
I didn’t even have to show an ID. I self-identified, signed in, and got a ballot.
Every registered voter gets a sample ballot so they know what they’re up against. Candidates can buy space to put their statements into the ballot; I think it’s the best money any campaign can spend.
Long explanations of every ballot initiative are in this 200+ page missive that was sent to our home.
Yeah. We voted at this place.
If you couldn’t get out of your car, they would bring a ballot to you. Drive up voting, if you will.
No waiting at all at 4pm.
Ready to begin.
The big choice….
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You Don’t Know How Voting Works
Proving You’re You
First Tuesday After the First Monday in November
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California’s Redwood National Park. Photo by Aron Cooperman. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 6/28/16.
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Redwood National Park
Lady Bird Johnson Grove
Redwood National and State Parks
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If you have not walked among the giant sequoias, then you have not experienced one of the unique and wonderful experiences in California. Three quick facts:
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Sequoiadendron giganteum trees have been found to be 3,500 years old by counting their rings.
- Sequoia trees are the largest living things, growing to an average height of 164 – 279 feet and 20 – 26 feet in diameter. Record trees reach over 300′ in height.
- Mature trees are estimated to have 11,000 cones at any one time, and are thought to distribute 300,000+ seeds each year. In spite of that, the trees occur naturally only in groves on the western slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Giant sequoia trees in the Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Parks. Photo by Tiffany Nguyen. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 10/19/15.
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Kings Canyon National Park
Sequoia National Park
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Summer sunsets at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska are truly special. Kent Miller snapped this dream-like photo of a moose walking along Reflection Pond. In the background, the top of Denali is illuminated by the setting sun at midnight. Photo by Kent Miller, National Park Service. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 7/23/15.
A visit to Bering Land Bridge National Preserve can feel like traveling back in time. The Bering Land Bridge provided a pathway for plants, animals and people to cross from the old world to new. Wildlife like the muskox remind us of our ancestors and how geography has shaped humankind. These iconic herbivores sport curved horns and can weigh between 400-800 pounds. Although their populations have fluctuated over the last century, today they number around 3,800 in the state of Alaska. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 8/31/15.
A trail camera got this shot of a wolf pack in California … the first pack seen in the Golden State in nearly a century! Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 8/21/15.
Bugling elk at Rocky Mountain National Park. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 9/4/15.
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Beauty found in tragedy:
While no one really knows the origin of the Whiskeytown name, local folklore tells of a miner by the name of Billie Peterson who had a mishap in the 1850’s. While hauling supplies back to his mine, the pack on his mule’s back came loose and a whiskey barrel went tumbling down the hillside, breaking on the rocks below and spilling its contents into the creek. From this christening came the name Whiskey Creek, and the small settlement that established itself next to the waterway became known as Whiskeytown.
Known for the sapphire-blue waters of its lake, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California has more to offer visitors. This 39,000-acre recreation area is also home to pristine mountains, 70 miles of hiking trails and stunning waterfalls — like Boulder Creek Falls pictured here. Photo by Jesse Barden. Posted on Tumblr by the US Department of the Interior, 10/14/14.
I admit it: I’m a sucker for a star filter. But the photograph is spectacular, yes?
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Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Whiskeytown Marinas
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The United States Congress designated the Cadiz Dunes Wilderness in 1994 and it now has a total of 19,935 acres. All of this wilderness is located in California and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Tweeted by the US Department of the Interior, 2/18/14.
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Alabama Hills of California
Stornetta
The Butterfly Saved By An Airport
Portraits: Migrant Mother, 1936
Desert Bighorn Sheep
Vasquez Rocks Natural Park Area
Our Hills Will Burn
California Juniper
California Black Oak
California Buckwheat Spring
California Buckwheat Fall
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Jim Carretta shot this female dragonfly in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, northeast of San Diego. Here’s his story:
This dragonfly would not co-operate. It could not be approached from above or eye level, as it would fly off every time I got close. So I started by laying on my back and photographing it from about 3 feet below, SLOOOWLY raising my arm and pushing the shutter. Mostly, I was getting photos of blue sky, a piece of a blurry dragonfly, or just the branch. I couldn’t reach the tip of the branch that way. So I started to raise myself up on one arm, like a yoga-plank pose, one arm anchoring me, the other reaching up towards the sky, my body diagonal to the ground, my right hand only a few inches from the dragonfly. It took about 10-12 shots before I got this one.
Underexposed by one stop to capture the blue sky!
Camera: Olympus 850 SW Stylus
Settings: 1/400 sec, ISO 64, f/5.6
Courtesy of PhotoBotos.com
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Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Variegated Meadowhawk
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