January, 2009

Yesterday after the snow stopped flying I drove out to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes. It’s a great place for sledding in the winter. If you know my Brother Curtis ask him about sending his 7 year-old nephew down the hill to make sure it was safe before he would go down. Anyway, here’s an panoramic image of the sledding hill. The panorama contains 15 separate images in all. Theoretically I could print it 130 inches long.

Sledding at the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, Fremont County, ID 2009

We rarely get fog in Rexburg, but we had fog today. I went out after dark to see what I could find to photograph. I ended up walking in the city golf course, which borders the airport. The light was extraordinary.

Industrial Tank at Night, Rexburg, ID 2009

Tree with Airport Lights, Rexburg, ID 2009

Spruce Trees at Night, Rexburg, ID 2009

Spruce Trees at Night (further away), Rexburg, ID 2009

We had been stuck in a miserable weather pattern of bright blue cloudless sky days for over a week now, but today we finally got a change. It was overcast and sort of foggy and slightly snowing, it was great. Anyway, I had a couple of free hours this afternoon so I took a photo drive and ended up in St. Anthony where I found a couple of gems. Enjoy.

Deer Head Hanging in Front Yard, St. Anthony, ID 2009

Art Trailer, St. Anthony, ID 2008

Winter started out pretty harsh, but we haven’t seen snow for a while now and temperatures have been hovering just below freezing for a couple of weeks (although the temps early in the morning are usually near zero). I’d actually like a bit more snow to clean things up a bit. I’m posting a photograph of a partially melted/wind blown field near town. Could it be the first sign of spring, or am I far too optimistic?

Exposed Dirt in Snowy Field, Rexburg, ID 2009

Kevin and Ethan asked if I would take them ice skating today. I agreed. The City has an outdoor ice skating rink at the municipal golf course. It costs two dollars and that includes skate rental. Anyway, they had a good time. Ethan had never been before and fell quite a bit at first, but got much better after a bit. Kevin had gone with his friends last week and was pretty good. I sat on the sidelines and watched.

I took a drive this afternoon to find something to photograph with my new camera (Canon 5d Mark II), and my new tripod head (Bogen/Manfrotto303 QTVR Panoramic Head). They are both pretty sweet tools. Anyway, I made my way to the Ashton fish hatchery. I’ll have to visit again when I’ve got a bit more time. Here are a couple of results:

Ashton Fish Hatchery #1, Ashton, ID 2009

Ashton Fish Hatchery #2, Ashton, ID 2008

Ashton Fish Hatchery #3, Ashton, ID 2009

Today I went out birding and photographing for a bit and found a couple of neat birds. Along the South Fork of the Snake River near Heise I discovered a Northern Pygmy Owl sitting on a wire. Then just after sunset I discovered a Great Gray Owl in a willow near Chester.

Here are a couple of photographs-

Northern Pygmy Owl, near Heise, ID 2009

Great Gray Owl, near Chester, ID 2009

Today was a beautiful, but bitter cold winter day. The low was -10 and I think the high was 9. The wind wasn’t blowing though and the sun was shining. Here’s a panoramic image of a potato cellar taken as the sun was setting.

Potato Cellar in Snow, Rexburg, ID 2009