Tag Archives: ezpixels

weather vs geology hike

Only a small group took a chance that we might get to enjoy MSC steward Dan Gruber’s excellent geology hike but it was not to be 🙁

This shot shows why photographers love inclement weather.
This shot shows why photographers love inclement weather.

One mile in and we feel rain beginning. Should we go or not?
One mile in and we feel rain beginning. Should we go or not?

We opt to return. Dan gives a short geology lesson first.
We opt to return. Dan gives a short geology lesson first.

Heading back with conversations of a late breakfast :-)
Heading back with conversations of a late breakfast 🙂

what was blooming in the desert today?

The desert is blooming VERY early this year. I saw the following today.

Chuparosa
Chuparosa
Wolfberry
Wolfberry

Jojoba - male
Jojoba - male
Jojoba - female
Jojoba - female

Deer Vetch
Deer Vetch
Stork Bill Filaree
Stork Bill Filaree

Common Fiddleneck
Common Fiddleneck
approx 2 in tall. Still looking for identity
approx 2 in tall. Still looking for identity
Golden Eye
Golden Eye
Poppy! We only saw one and I botched the capture :-)
Poppy! We only saw one and I botched the capture 🙂
Lacepod
Lacepod
Rattlesnake Weed
Rattlesnake Weed

super zoom compact cameras

Click image for a larger version. Use your scroll bar to navigate.
Click image for a larger version. Use your scroll bar to navigate.

The Canon SX10 IS with 20X OPTICAL zoom camera continues to amaze me! Although I usually carry an SLR when I’m hiking, I do not like to carry big lenses so I miss many animal and bird shots but this test shows I won’t have to miss them anymore. At first I was just using the SX10 as binoculars but now I realize that I can get pretty good
photos from extreme distances. I would need to carry a very heavy 600mm lens to get this close. Since I’m usually just documenting flora and fauna, this kind of result is more than adequate for me!

I read yesterday that Nikon is introducing a 24X optical zoom compact (available in March). Compacts are obviously are moving up in quality by leaps and bounds. Both the Canon and Nikon are under $400.

sign of history

1 Comment

2009_02_04
Today I finally saw something I’d head stories about since I started hiking in the Preserve.
The story was about a cactus that had grown through a glass jar.
2009_02_04_2
So how did it happen? Back in the old west days, cowboys would set jars and cans out for target practice
and this cactus obviously grew up and through the neck of a broken jar. Pretty cool!
2009_02_04_3
We saw remnants many old glass jars in different colors and lots of tin cans.

flower fly

2009_02_01_2
Fellow steward Jennifer W, spotted this guy/gal at the end of yesterday’s hike. We both felt sure it wasn’t a bee but didn’t know how to tell. I did some research and found it is commonly called a flower fly and the way to tell it from a bee is: huge eyes, short and stubby antenna with a bristle half-way down, there is nowhere to carry pollen and finally, there is only one pair of wings. It is always great to learn something new!

I then submitted images to BugGuide.net and within a couple of hours had an answer. It is of the family Copestylum. They couldn’t be specific with species but I’m thrilled with just that information. Thanks Bug Guys!