Back in December the first, I was asked by my manager "Are you still willing to go out to travel?" I said yes. I figured I knew where he was talking about. Bridgeport, CA for two weeks. I was to play as a data collector for some testing. Of course, I was leaving on a flight I didn't have booked yet on December 5th. Fortunately, I was able to contact someone from my company that could get it for me real quick. Anyway, flying out to Reno, NV I was very disappointed because there was no snow anywhere except high up on the mountains. The mornings were chilly somewhere in the single digits.

I had brought my camera along, like I always do expecting to see interesting shots and even some critters. Not a single thing out there in the Sierra Nevada for nearly two weeks except birds. There weren't even any snow for the first week we were there in the mountains. The temperatures actually got to the mid fifties at 7000 feet. I took a lot of landscape pictures though.

We made it back to Reno again staying this time at Circus Circus instead of the Hilton Garden. What a mistake that choice was. The casino was smokey and the hotel in general just wasn't that grand. I did make it out of there with six dollars more than I entered. Then it snowed the night before we were to go to the mountains. Lake Tahoe was pretty before and after the snow. Not much to see when the snow was coming down with all the steam rising off the waters.

The mountains had gained at least at base camp eight inches of snow. I was just full of glee when I saw all that snow. Again I had not seen any critters at all out there. There were reports of a mountain lion coming through but I never saw it. The temperatures were below zero for the large part of the mornings starting out at something like -15 degrees F and reaching a balmy 25 degrees F. I was actually fairly comfortable when I was out walking around.

The guards at the place noted me carrying my camera around with the Canon 300L f4 lens and stopped me to tell me about this coyote that always came by the guard shack at about 6:30pm. So, I stopped by and sure enough she came out right at the edges of the street lamp lights. All I could get were silhouettes of the coyote. Then they tell me she loves cookies and danishes. So, the next day I snagged a few danishes from the diner to give to the coyote.

She came out at about the same time and I tossed out the danish in the middle of the lighted area about ten feet away. She snagged that danish and hid behind a bush before I could get my camera up and aimed on her. So, one of the guards (the other had left to turn in some paperwork) pulled a few chunks of turkey sandwich from the other guard's lunch box to toss out for the coyote. After an entire sandwich I managed to get a couple of really good pictures of the coyote. So, here's the silhouette and regular pictures of the coyote, the only critter I saw there aside from goshawks, redtails and owls.

Here's the pics.
Coyote Silhouette

Ms Coyote



-Mr. Mutt

mood: cheerful

This past week I've been down in St. Augustine, FL for some photography at a birding festival. We visited the Alligator Farm. Wow! Best describes the place. There's a rookery in the back with a bunch of gators below in the murky waters. A wooden raised walkway zigged and zagged through the rookery from one end to the other. Trees common to Florida and swampy areas grew up all around. Below in the waters were dozens of alligators from two feet to ten feet in length. In the trees were dozens upon dozens of wading birds squacking, wobbling (the best I can describe the peculiar chortle of the egrets), and other weird noises.

There were Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Little Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Great Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Green Herons, Wood Storks, Brown Ibis, White Ibis, and Cattle Egrets. Now I'm certain that I've left out a bird or two in there. These birds had no fear of us. You could almost touch them. The birds would fly down among the gators to get twigs and branches to build their nests or up in the trees and tear off branches (wood storks did this). It was quite amazing.

One other aspect that I found to be just as equally amazing were the gators. We had bought a year pass that allowed us in an hour before the general public was allowed in and to stay after the Alligator Farm closed down. It was in the mornings that I found to be my most favorite. I was standing next to one of the pilans (sp?) that held up the boardwalk focusing my camera on a tri-colored heron when all of a sudden the boardwalk began to vibrate. Then a snort-like bellow issued from a nine foot gator right below me. When the gators let out a bellow, it would vibrate the ground around them and made the water hop before you heard the bellow. That I found very entertaining and took my attention away from the wading birds until they stopped.

Photos to come. We visited other places as well and I'll post up descriptions for those as I go along.

-Rover T. Mutt

Next week, I'll be heading on down to Florida around Saint Augustine. I'll be there for a full week taking pictures of water fowls, gators gnawing at my feet and swamps.

I can't wait.

-Rover T. Mutt

I just wanted to push that plague post down because I have beaten that miserable flu. Altho, it did leave me with a present that I have just about got rid of; flem in the lungs.

Anyway, someday will come when I have finished punishing myself with college classes. I wonder when that day will come. College seems to be a punishment for those with a brain to abuse. My two cells are all that is left. I must keep them going. Altho, one is about to have a neurological breakdown.

On an unrelated note, my mutt costume head is nearly finished. It needs eyes, a nose and a teeth. The eyes are presenting me the most problems. They seem too small and close together. Eventually, I'll get that sorted out. I'll post a pic of it as soon as I take a pic and post it.

[edit]
Here they are:



Left View Right View Top View
[/edit]

-Rover T. Mutt

mood: tired

Today, I am Plague.

to me.

Happy Birthday ... *looks around at the empty room* ... to me *ears lowered*

Happy B... Aw frig it. I'm getting me a beer. *Turns and leaves the empty room*

Just updating this thing so that I'll be able to continue remembering the password.

Anyway, I haven't touched any costumes lately except for a foam-based yellow mutt costume. This one just seems to eat all my time up. Taking forever. After that, I'm going to rework the hyena that I never finished and from there to monsters.

There. Life on this journal.

-Rover T. Mutt

mood: depressed

I will be updating my website in the near future. In the meantime, I'll attempt to post up here pics of current projects in the works.

Later,

-Rover T. Mutt