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OpticsBlog – Thoughts and reviews of binoculars, telescopes, scopes, sights, and much more - birdwatching, astronomy, target shooting - pretty much anything related to optics, nature, and life!Tuesday, August 31, 2010Waterproof digital cameras for fishingAnyone who does a lot of fishing will, sooner or later, want to get a pic of that “big one” or that “special one” and, if you are a die-hard catch-and-release fisherperson as I am, you’ll want to get that pic before you release the fish and also do it in such a way that you can release the fish without harm. I’ve never been of fan of fish shots that show a fish dangling high in the air from a rod or from someone’s outstretched arm. That kind of pic may be better for bragging rights, but a fish suspended in the air is a very unnatural pose for a fish and it risks too much harm. I much prefer shots of the fish in the water, gently supported by hand or net or, if you must remove the fish from the water, a pose where the fish is cradled gently just above the surface of the water. Back in the days before digital cameras, we used to carry point and shoot film cameras or even disposable film cameras if you were worried about dropping a good camera in the water. With film cameras, of course, you just hoped you did a proper job of framing and waited till you got your prints back to confirm it. Then, too, many of the so called waterproof film cameras I tried, back then, were less than reliable. Many a "big one" got landed but managed to escape the photo album. Digital cameras have changed all that. Have used and can recommend waterproof models of both Pentax digital cameras and Canon cameras. The instant review feature of digital cameras lets you know, instantly, if you got the pic. The LCD screens make it much easier to shoot with one hand while you hold the fish or rod with the other and no need to grapple with the rewind lever to cycle the camera. Most of all, these waterproof digital cameras are reliable and capable of some excellent pics, regardless of the subject. Taking fish pics has never been easier. Monday, August 30, 2010GPS for flyfishingBill and I purchased some used fly fishing gear, over the weekend, that satisfied my lust for quality fly rods and reels by having labels such as Abel, Orvis and Scott. The new purchases make a great addition to the gear I already have, so look out, northern Wisconsin trout, bass and panfish, here we come! Next stop is the store to buy new waders, vests and some fly tying materials and … okay, flyfishing is seldom cheap, but, oh, what a way to go poor! Let me die with a fly rod in my hand (or maybe binoculars) on some secluded north country brook trout stream. I will also be adding a handheld GPS to the list. No, a GPS is not normally considered fly fishing gear and, yes, I hesitate to take a lot of technology into the bush, but there are just too many small and large trout streams, lakes and spring ponds within a two county radius of our new north country home than I can commit to memory. It’s going to take years, even with a good GPS, to find all those honey holes and I want to spend my time offering flies to the trout rather than stumbling around in the back country. (Tough job, but someone has to do it.) This will call for a GPS with serious mapping ability and, right now, I am leaning to a Garmin GPS in either the Garmin GPSMAP 76 or Garmin 60 series. Will also be packing the usual small digital cameras, so look for some fishing pics, later in September. See you on the stream! Friday, August 27, 2010New telescope eyepieces It’s time. I’ve been putting off buying more telescope accessories until we have relocated, permanently, to our new place in northern Wisconsin, where the skies are dark and free of light pollution. I just found it hard to justify the expense while living in Milwaukee, where skies are not so dark. Now that we are about to make the final move, though, I have taken a hard look at more telescope eyepieces and, possibly, a new finder scope for my small APO refractor. Part of the challenge will be to convince my husband, Bill, to spend the money on more Televue eyepieces or Pentax eyepieces. People who are not astronomers and even some astronomers balk when they see the prices for these premium telescope eyepieces, but those of us who have used them know the importance of choosing the right eyepiece. It can make or break a good telescope. After all, an optical system is only as good as its weakest link and the telescope eyepiece is invariably the weak link, especially when you buy inexpensive telescopes. It’s amazing how you can turn a clunker of a telescope into a good workhorse of a scope by simply upgrading eyepieces and once you’ve used a great telescope eyepiece, such as a Televue Nagler or Televue Ethos, it is very hard to go back to the cheap stuff. Hmmm. “Hey, Bill! Come look at this.” Thursday, August 26, 2010Fall in the north countryTemperature was down to 40 degrees, last night, up at our Rhinelander, Wisconsin home. That’s pretty cool, considering it’s still August, but I have seen it colder in August in the north country. Regardless, the cool nights are just a reminder that fall is just around the corner and it’s time to make some adjustments. The fall season in the north country is a great time of year. For many folks in northern Wisconsin, fall means some great fishing for muskies or time to work the dogs in the alders and poplars for grouse. I’m not in a position to do either, this year, though some fall fishing for some bass in our lake is definitely on the agenda and I hope to check some of the small area streams for trout. Mostly, though, my in the north country fall will be about some birdwatching and working with the film and digital cameras and I hope to do some serious digiscoping. Hey, how could I live in such a beautiful spot and not take some pics? I will also need some time to do some kayaking and scouting for trails to ski, later in the winter and, oh, how could I forget fall nights for astronomy? Now that I have a dark sky, I expect my astronomy binoculars and telescopes to see more use than ever. As for cutting firewood for the wood burning stove … I’ll leave that one for Bill. I just don’t have the time to squeeze that one into my busy schedule. Wednesday, August 25, 2010Digital free environmentA New York Times article I read, this morning, suggests that a constant and steady barrage of self-inflicted digital input from cell phones, iPods and a wide variety of portable internet capable can lead to brain fatigue, so we need to take a break, now and then, and escape to a digital free environment. This is not exactly earth-shattering information and it is unlikely to alter anyone’s digital habit, but it does has a ring of truth, based on my recent experiences. We have been involved in relocating to our new home, up in the north woods of Wisconsin, all summer and we typically stay three or four days at a time, to remodel and move in our belongings. No internet access, yet, in our new home, so it’s been three or four days of nothing digital, then back to Milwaukee for four or five days of a typically digital lifestyle. I have to say that there has been a difference in the way I feel with and without the internet to access. Life is quieter, more relaxing, less harried and frantic without the internet, though I also have to confess that I would have gone online had we been connected. My writing assignments require internet access, after all. Still, for those of you are digitally addicted, the good news is that you can break the digital habit. Instead of spending hours online, for instance, I spent my free time, up north, doing the outdoor things I so love. My birding binoculars, my astronomy binoculars, my spotting scope, my kayak, my cameras (okay some of them are digital cameras) and my hiking shoes all got a good workout this summer, much as they have back in the days prior to the internet. Getting away from the computer and internet for days at a stretch has helped me re-establish what is important in my life, that’s for sure. It’s been a nice change, for instance to sit with Bill when dinner is done, rather than have both of us rush to a computer and get online. Hopefully, this lesson will not be forgotten when we do eventually get online in our new home. Tuesday, August 24, 2010Long distance bird watchingThere is nothing like setting up a birding spotting scope on a tripod at a large lake or reservoir and watching ducks, geese and wading birds at sometimes incredible distances. In my spotting scopes I have, in fact, identified some waterfowl at nearly a mile distance under ideal conditions and all from the comfort of a lawn chair with a good view of the lake. I’ve done this for more years than I care to admit, but just about anyone can do it and have a great way to spend a morning or afternoon in the bargain. I can just about guarantee, too, there is a lake or reservoir near you that is a hotspot for migrating waterfowl, too. All you need, other than a lake, is a spotting scope and tripod, of course. Then add your favorite bird guide, a thermos of coffee and maybe a snack. When the weather is nice, I often use a lawn chair, but waterfowl migration in the early spring and late fall often means less than ideal weather for lawn chair work. Not to worry, though. Long distance waterfowl observing does not have to be a test of your endurance in rough weather. Not at all. A vehicle makes an excellent birdwatching blind. In fact, stepping out of a vehicle can spook and flush many birds during fall hunting seasons. Stay in the car, out of the wind and cold and you’ll see more birds. Waterfowl hunters on the lake will probably appreciate it, too. When observing from a vehicle, just substitute a car window mount for the tripod and you are ready to go. You can even listen to your favorite football game as you keep an eye on the birds. FinderscopesA finder scope on a telescope is truly a blessing when it comes to using a telescope, assuming, of course, that it has been properly adjusted and also assuming that it is a correct match, both for the type of telescope you are using and the type of observing you want to do. Otherwise, that finderscope can be one of those telescope accessories you curse rather than praise. Red dot finderscopes for telescopes are both cheap and easy to use. They are best for a quick point at brighter objects, such as planets and bight stars. I’ve used them happily for many years and have even experimented with mounting firearms red dot sights on a telescope, though that never worked, simply because red dot gun sights typically have adjustments that fail to go dim enough to be used at night. A red dot that is too bright simply produces too much glare when you are trying to see dim celestial objects at night. Stick with red dot sights that designed for astronomy. Optical finder scopes with magnification are still my preferred finderscopes for tricky navigation and detection that involves faint stars and faint objects. Sometimes, you just need that magnification that an optical finderscope can provide, but there is a catch, here. Those little 6x30 or 8x25 finder scopes are really not up to the task for detail work with a telescope. No going cheap and small for this type of work. When you need the help of magnification, it is a mistake to use less than an 8x50 class finderscope. On telescopes I have owned that came equipped with a 6x30 finder scope, I upgraded to either a red dot or an 8x50 and never regretted the decision. Friday, August 20, 2010 Bill backed a rental truck darn near as long as our driveway, up to the garage, this morning, as we prepared to load it with our furniture. I chided him a bit on getting too large a truck, but he assured me that, if anything, it might be too small for all the stuff we have in our house. That rocked me a bit. How could a gal who arrived in Chicago back in 2004 with everything she owned stuffed in a 1995 Geo Prism now find herself loading a 28 foot rental truck with furniture and maybe still not have enough room? I still can’t believe it. I’ve always been the type to travel light. Even with all my film and digital cameras, binoculars, a spotting scope and maybe small telescopes, I bet I could still get it all in a 1995 Geo and maybe have room for my bicycles if I added a bike carrier. For all my writing about this optical gear, it doesn't take up that much space. Okay, maybe I'd have to upgrade that old Geo to a full size SUV, but I wouldn't need a rental truck. I’ve always suspected that part of my need to travel light is an underlying insecurity that and suspicion that I would never find a place I could call home and, especially, someone to make a house a home. Travel light and be ready to move on a moment's notice has been my lifestyle for too long, I suspect. Now, of course, my life is on a much different path and it is still hard to grasp, at times; I no longer walk, alone and, believe me, no one ever accused my Bill of traveling light. We may need that truck, after all. Thursday, August 19, 2010Wilderness Lately, I’ve had this urge to disappear into the wilderness with my binoculars or my digital cameras or my spotting scope and just sit, quietly, for an entire day and if I never saw a single bird with the birding binoculars or the spotting scope and never raised the camera to take a single pic, it would be fine by me. I’ve done this very thing, in fact, though the years have taken their toll and I'm not able to explore the wilderness the way I once did. Not to worry, though; I've always see plenty of birds and taken plenty of pics before returning to “civilization”. Hey, I don’t carry binoculars, digital cameras and all that gear just for looks. Still, there is always that one day when you forget the gear and you confront the truth that it is really all about being, there. That is why wilderness is so important to me and so many others like me. Just knowing wilderness is there soothes and comforts; just knowing wilderness is there let’s us see the big picture of our place on this planet; just knowing wilderness is there makes the world somehow seem right and our personal problems a little more bearable. This is something that so many clerks, bureaucrats and politicians don’t understand when they put a value on wilderness based on number of visits by the public or when they estimate board feet of lumber, ore tonnage or barrels of oils contained. I know there will always be those among us who must put a number on everything and, yes, we need those types, but, in truth, we need all types to understand the value of wilderness. It is bigger than all of us. I know may not get back to the wilderness in my remaining years, but I still desperately need it and so do so many others. Wednesday, August 18, 2010Fall color photography preview We’re probably about a month and some weeks from fall color season, up north, but I’m getting really pumped about it, right now, for a couple reasons. First, the north woods are heavenly in the fall for color and, second, friends and I also combine a walk through the fall woods with a tour of waterfalls along the shores of Lake Superior. Our north country “waterfall” trip is a photographer’s delight, of course, but it has also rewarded me with some excellent birding, so I carry not only digital cameras, but also binoculars, though the binoculars tend to be compact binoculars with all the hiking and climbing we do to see the waterfalls. This year, I’m going to add tripods to my carry list. In the past, I carried only digital cameras to save weight and digital cameras, of course, typically have image stabilization, so I managed to get by without tripods. This year, though, I am going to go the old fashioned route and concentrate on film photography and, since film cameras and camera lenses I own were made many years before there was image stabilization, I will carry a tripod. Of course, this year I will also have Bill with me, so maybe I should say he will add tripods to the carry list. As an “artist” I need to reserve all my strength for my creative processes. Right, Bill? Photo courtesy of my friend, Claire Barnett Tuesday, August 17, 2010North country birdingIn another few weeks, my bird feeders and I will be parked about 250 miles north of Milwaukee, here. It won’t be easy to say good-bye to my suburban Milwaukee back yard – it’s been a most remarkable back yard for birdwatching and feeding birds, not to mention digiscoping with the spotting scope and digital cameras. I won’t know for sure how my new back yard, up north, will compare in terms of bird activity until I set up the bird feeders, of course, but I will be very surprised if it is the equal of this one. By any standard, my suburban Milwaukee yard has been excellent plus for birds. Oh yeah, I will miss it. My new north country yard may not be as busy in terms of birds, but I know it will be different in terms of the types of birds I will see and that has me very excited. After all, it is anything but a suburban back yard and I’ve already spent enough time, up there, to log some very non-typical back yard birds right from our deck. My binoculars will not collect dust, of that I am sure. Our frontage on the lake also looks ideal for some Wood Duck houses and that could provide some wonderful digiscoping opportunities. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Tough job, but someone has to do it. Monday, August 16, 2010Sitting on the dock I think the world would be a better place if everyone had their own dock. Okay, I know that would make for some crowded lakes and seashores, but I, for one, would be willing to share my dock. There is room enough for several lawn chairs and I'll even supply the chair if you don't have one. From my dock you can sit and do some birdwatching, take beautiful pics with any digital camera, set up and use a telescope, check out the distant shores with a spotting scope, wet a line for some panfish, launch the canoe or kayak for a relaxing paddle around the lake or, just as importantly, plain old sit and relax. When was the last time you did that? Our dock is a great place for a time-out when life gets hard or too stressful. It ranks five stars out of five for quiet. Unlike some north country docks, there is no noise from jet skis, power boats, loud neighbors and other things to intrude on the peace and calm. Our lake doesn't attract that kind of crowd. In fact, you won't see another house or dock from our lake. Just you and the lake, the trees and the wildlife and your lawn chair. I'll save one for you.Friday, August 13, 2010Another weekendAnother weekend approaches and, thee days, not sure how I feel about it. We’ve been using our weekends, all summer, to travel to our new home, up north, to do some moving in and remodeling and that is both the good news and the bad. I love our new home; the instant we pull into the yard, surrounded by forest, my heart cries for joy, but when I think of all the work that needs to be done, those cries of joy turn to cries of anguish. Whatever happened to weekends as a time to relax? Not us, not this summer. I now have a backlog of things I would normally do on weekends that cry for attention. I keep reminding myself that it is just a temporary slow down in all my activities, but it makes me nervous, just the same and, worst of all, I feel like a criminal for stealing away for an hour, or two, to do some birdwatching, photography, fishing, biking, kayaking and bicycling when I know there is so much work to do. Yes, the time is coming when I will put down the paintbrush, the grout bucket, the broom, the vacuum, the saw and park the lawn mower so I can pick up the digital cameras, the birding binoculars, the kayak paddle, the bass rod and all my other toys and that thought is what gets me through the long days of work on the weekend. Right now, though, I need a vacation from my weekends. Thursday, August 12, 2010Meteor shower, tonight.
Astronomy is mistakenly regarded by some as being all about telescopes and, maybe, astronomy binoculars or, perhaps, telescope accessories such as telescope eyepieces. I can see why some folks get this notion after hanging around a group of astronomers. Hey, astronomers like to talk equipment, just like hunters, fisherman and so on. Fact is, you don't always need telescopes or binoculars to do some types of astronomy. Tonight is a good example.
The annual Perseid meteor shower is tonight and, this year, we have a dark sky with no moon, so get out around midnight, point yourself to the northeast and enjoy the show. There is , of course, no guarantee, from one year to the next, as to how many meteors you will see, but that just adds to the fun. My best year was back in the 70s when a friend and I saw almost 100 meteors an hour for several hours, though the average is somewhere around forty. Point is, binoculars or telescopes will just slow you down - the meteors shoot across the sky for about a second - so all you need is your eyes and, maybe, some mosquito repellent and a beverage of your choice and enjoy the show.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010Camera basicsMost anyone who has used cameras, either film or digital cameras, knows that the world looks quite different through a camera lens and that much of the skill needed for a good photograph is a good “camera eye” which is simply being able to form an image in the mind of what a scene before you will look like through one lens or another. Beginners with a camera tend to fire and shoot when they see something that interests them, with little regard to composition or framing, but with experience, almost anyone can develop a good “camera eye” and the instant review capability of digital cameras makes this easier than ever before, plus there is always editing software to tweak a pic as needed. Almost anyone, I said, can develop a good camera eye. Have you ever met someone who is completely oblivious in this regard – totally incapable of picking a good pic out of the environment, even when it is staring them in the face? I won’t mention names, but I do know such folk. Even with the latest in digital cameras, digital camera accessories and software, image stabilization, tripods and so on, you look at one of their pics and wonder what they were trying to capture? What was the subject of the pic? What did they see? I’ve even tried to help with the basics of framing, in one case, but to no avail. My friend just registered a blank when I explained some of the basics. I have to wonder, therefore, if some people are just incapable of composing a photograph. Tuesday, August 10, 2010Home, sweet north country, home I may be getting older, but I am darn sure not slowing down. Just finished up a long four day weekend that included two great shows with the rock band and my fellow musicians, then off to our home, up north, for a couple of days of hard work to continue our remodeling and moving in. Whew! Sometimes I wonder where I get time to actually use my binoculars, spotting scopes, telescopes and digital cameras and be the outdoors gal I am. As much as I love my music and my music friends and as much as I dread all the work, ahead, in our new home, it was still a relief to pull in the yard and just breathe the silence of the north country, this last weekend. Just something about the north country, too, that makes me want to reach for my binoculars, spotting scopes, digital cameras, fishing rods, canoe or kayak and head out for a little excitement. So, how can a place be both serene and peaceful, on one hand and so darn exciting, on the other? Guess that’s the spell of the north country. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I spent most summers of my youth in the north country or that my mother and her family have lived there for generations. The north country is also the place I first got serious about birdwatching and fishing and, now, some fifty years plus, later, I am back home. No place like home, up north style. Faint objects, dark skyThe North America Nebula, the Veil, M33, lanes in the Milky, M31, naked eye. All this may sound like techno babble to anyone but an amateur astronomer, but any amateur astronomer would know these objects and know them, well. In fact, most astronomers would also know how truly dark a sky must be, with no light pollution, to see them at all, even with the finest astronomy binoculars or telescopes. They are all faint objects, easily rendered invisible by the slightest amount of interfering light (here, we are talking about seeing M31 without any optical aid). That is why I suspect some astronomers have yet to see some of these elusive objects. Some of these targets, due to their size, such as the North America Nebula and M33, are best seen in astronomy binoculars; some, such as the Veil and M31 show a bit better in telescopes at low power and, given a truly dark sky, you only need your unaided eyes to see the Milky Way or lanes in it and the Andromeda Galaxy. (Yes, you can see the Andromeda Galaxy without binoculars or telescopes if you have a very dark sky and know just where to look.) It all begins, though with a dark sky and that is becoming ever more scarce as our country becomes ever more urbanized. That explains why today’s amateur astronomer is more mobile than ever before. You really won’t know what that telescope or astronomy binocular can do until you use that gear under a dark sky. In fact, many a die-hard astronomer has chosen to retire to a location that offers a dark sky, free of light pollution in order to use a telescope to full advantage. So, if you are ever in northern Wisconsin, stop by and I’ll show you those objects and much more. The skies, here, at night, will take your breath, away. Friday, August 06, 2010Camera tipFor a photographer, I really don’t have that much to show for all the places I have been and lived. As much as I love working with both digital cameras and film cameras, one might expect I would have box upon box of old photos and many dozens of digital pics stored away on CDs or in my computer that are a record of each place I have lived or the highlights of my life. I don't. It’s not that I have been without cameras – I always have both digital and film cameras in the house, not to mention all the camera accessories like tripods, camera lenses and so on. It’s not that I haven’t taken a lot of pics – I work my cameras, hard and rarely leave the house without one. So where the heck are all my photos? Several things. For one, I am very, very fussy about my photos and habitually purge myself of anything that fails to impress me. Okay, maybe I am too critical or maybe I can’t break the habit of thinking I can always do better, but it’s just my nature. Then, when I want to take a trip down memory lane, very few photos remain. For another, I have been a victim (I hate that phrase) of a natural disaster, namely a flood, that destroyed about ten years worth of slides and prints. That one took the wind out of my sails for a time, but I kept shooting, just the same. I guess the lesson to be learned from all of this is to continue my fussy ways, but temper it by doing a better job of filing my photos into a good, better and best system. That way I still have something for the sake of memories. The natural disasters I can’t control, but I can sure as heck shoot more photos whenever I am out with the camera and any strategy that gets you to use your digital cameras and film cameras can’t be bad, right? Don’t make the mistake of letting those opportunities slip through your fingers if you are a beginner. Take that camera and keep shooting till your finger falls off, especially if you are shooting digital. Thursday, August 05, 2010Hunker down “If you really want to get to know a spot, you gotta hunker down and just let it all soak in.” No, that’s not a line out of an old-timer’s diary or an old cowboy movie; those are my words of advice I have given to others, now and then. You see, I am a master hunkerer. I’ve been hunkering down on the prairie, the marsh, the forest, the mountains, the desert and just about every wild place I could find. This natural hunkering is almost a lost art in this day and age of hurry up everything and gotta have something to show for it mentality. In fact, I suspect that hunkering may become genetically extinct in another generation or two if we humans don’t slow down a bit. Hunkering is all about finding a wild place, taking a deep breath and becoming part of the landscape around you. Oh, sure, some of my best hunkering has been when I have had binoculars or cameras around my neck and I have even done a lot of hunkering with a spotting scope and tripod in front of me. Hunkering, though, is not about the equipment you may or may not have with you; it’s all about becoming one with your surroundings. Carrying binoculars, digital cameras or spotting scopes may allow you to extend your range of effective hunkering, but you don’t need equipment to do some hunkering. In fact, if you are a beginning hunkerer, that gear may get in the way and distract you, but if you can get hunkered down, good and proper, first, you may find that you can more effectively use those binoculars, digital cameras or spotting scopes. Still, I have to confess that I sometimes just leave all the gear at home and go out and hunker to clear my mind of all that technical static. A little hunkering keeps things in perspective for an optics junkie like me. Wednesday, August 04, 2010More old film cameras I have been hitting the used equipment ads, lately, searching for yet another old film camera, though I keep asking myself if I really need another old film camera. Heck, I already own four, not to mention half a dozen old vintage tripods. What’s the point? It’s not like I plan to open an old film cameras museum. Maybe it’s just my old school mentality that tells me to grab something that is no longer being made or, more to the point, made with the kind of quality that lasts a lifetime. I’ve got nothing against the use of plastics, (oops, polymers) in camera bodies and lenses in todays typical digital cameras; in fact, I understand how keeping the weight down is essential for the proper functioning of things like autofocus mechanisms. Still, there is definitely a thrill that comes when you put an old, all metal, camera body, made to last a lifetime, in your hands. Even better is an old metal film camera that is all mechanical, not having a single menu option; one that needs batteries only for a light meter and didn't need any memory card. Isn't it amazing that you could actually walk into a Sears store, forty years, ago, and buy this kind of durability and dependability for a song? What happened? So, is it just old shutterbugs like me that have experienced this? Will younger photographers, born in the digital camera age ever know what that kind of quality is all about or, will they be forever brainwashed by the planned obsolescence of digital cameras? Are there digital cameras that are actually made to last 40 years or more and keep shooting the way some of my old Nikon film cameras have? Hey, I’m like everyone else – I buy and use digital cameras and replace them every few years when they fail, but I do take comfort knowing my old film cameras will still be waiting, ready to be used for many years down the road, as I cycle through yet another modern digital camera. Guess I’m showing my age, again. Excuse me, gotta get back to the old camera ads. Tuesday, August 03, 2010Binoculars, digital cameras, telescopes at homeI’ve waited for this particular month of August with both anticipation and trepidation. The good news is that, by the end of the month, we will be mostly moved in to our new home in northern Wisconsin; the bad news is that we have to do all that moving, not to mention I have to squeeze in some playing dates, teach some last minute harmonica and astronomy lessons and, somewhere in all the mess, try to find time to do some bicycling, birdwatching, astronomy, photography and maybe even some fishing. One month does not seem long enough at times; at other times, it seems like an eternity. Regardless, I will steal some quiet time and relish every second. Living between two places also has its share of irritations and one, in particular, is causing some grief. I sometimes reach for binoculars, digital cameras, film cameras, spotting scope or telescopes, only to remember that the particular binocular or camera, and so on, is at the other house. I have enough gear to fill one house, but not really two and now there is a greedy little voice in my head that tells me this is just the excuse I need to buy another binocular, telescope, digital camera or whatever I am missing at the moment. Of course, nothing like buying a binocular or buying a telescope to cheer a girl up, but I know that little voice will never really be heard or, at least, not this month. Monday, August 02, 2010Western fly fishing I can always tell when I've had a good vacation. First day back home, or so, my mind is still in the place I left behind and, this morning, my mind is still very much in the mountains of Utah, as I fill my birdfeeders and check out the garden, here in my Milwaukee back yard. Can’t help it, though. Nothing like spending a summer day in the sagebrush at around 7000 feet plus elevation surrounded by tall mountains on all sides. It was so good to be birding and birdwatching in the mountains, again with my trusty Leica 10x25 BL. It was so good to put my “camera eyes” to work on those mountain landscapes and constantly reach for the digital cameras, again. Oh, it was so grand to see a western trout stream, again and have a camera, handy. Bill and I took a day and just drove around the mountains, finally coming down out of the hills outside Heber City. When I saw that section of the Provo River, I frantically told Bill to pull over and have a look. We walked down the bank just in time to see a couple of guys stringing up their fly rods. From their technique, I could see they were beginners, but, just then, they were joined by a fellow I assumed was their guide, because he took time with each one and showed them both how to fish the run in front of them. Couldn’t help but smile, because I fondly remember days on a western trout stream where I did the same for a beginner, or two and at no charge. So, am I going to pack our bags and get Bill to move out west, instead of up north? No, not even close. Though I spent many happy years in the West, the north country is in my blood and, yes, we have trout streams there, too. On the other hand, we do have a camper and will definitely be pointing it west quite soon. |
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