Living on the Edge of the Sagebrush Ocean
I haven’t made the trip up to the Klamath Basin to see the Bald Eagles for a few years. A visit several years ago was disappointing with lack of water and wildlife in the midst of drought. We have had a couple of decent winters, so I went. It was pleasantly surprising to see all the waterways full to overflowing. Wildlife was there in abundance and of course the stars of the show, the Bald Eagles were plentiful.
The AWMA is a relatively new wildlife area that was created from a historic ranch property along the Humboldt River on the outskirts of Battle Mountain Nevada. I follow several wildlife pages on Facebook and have seen some good photos from a local photographer who visits the area regularly. I took a trip out there yesterday. It wasn’t productive from a wildlife photography standpoint, but I had the property to myself. I had a pleasant few miles of walking through the area. I thought it might be too early for a lot of bird life, and it was, but the habitat is healthy and looks like it supports many species. I will visit again when the birds are present.
The loading chute at the abandoned ranch at the center of the property
I think this is an old fuel tank for the ranch.
The Humboldt. It will be a trickle in the summer but is flowing full with snow run off.
The Machine Shop
Abandoned ranch house. I think that autumn photos here would be pretty.
I have been going out in the evenings trying to find owls to photograph. Barn Owls and Short-eared owls often fly at dusk this time of year. No luck with owls thus far but I did run into this nice little band of Pronghorn. They are my favorite animal. They look so exotic for the sagebrush steppe. Like something that would be more at home in Africa. Their huge eyes and unique colors make them a beautiful contrast on the drab winter landscape.
Getting a nice photo of one of these colorful male Wood Ducks has eluded me for years. They are hunted extensively so they are flighty, pun intended, when I see them on the river. I was driving by a park at sunrise and saw this lone male among a bunch of Mallards. Glad I had my camera.
Rain washes the dust from train windows
as we barrel through the poem of America.
From New York to Chicago, I watch it scroll by—
frame by frame and line by line.
Rivers and lakes reflect the pale winter sky
and haunt my vision.
America, what you were,
and will be again—I see you
in silos rising like fists from farmland.
America, the land itself says, “Fight!”
America, I see you in chipped brick walls
stained with faded logos.
I see you there, waiting
to rise from gone-under towns
and cities spangled in endless dusk.
We can see you now
emerging from boarded-up corner bars,
baseball fields barbed with weeds,
hollowed-out churches
and factories folded in on themselves
like crushed cans reclaimed by the wild.
And we see you, and we know you
in ragtag families packed into vehicles
to head to church on a Sunday,
or to visit a grandfather who remembers war
and what it means to survive
for love of the country that survives because of him
and his brothers—gone.
America, for love, we go on.
America, you defy the narratives
imposed to poison your majesty.
All the poison imposed
to warp us away from our axis:
the true, the beautiful, what binds us
to a shared reality
sealed under the hand of God.
Americans, may we all wake
to the dawn, this day,
with courage,
for we are the whirlwind
promised by patriots
who fought to the depth
of a last breath
to birth America.
And we are here—
there is no other time—
to watch her rise again.
Today is a day of deep mourning for half of America and a day of cynical indifference for the other half of America. May we bridge the gap in the near future or fall into the darkness of a failed dream.
It is that time of year again. The annual migration of hummingbirds has been in full swing the last few weeks. Here are a few of my favorites from this summer.
Photos from a recent walk along the river. These two tiny species are difficult to photograph but I managed. A Marsh Wren and a Bushtit decided to be cooperative.
I am enjoying the process of learning my way around the new camera equipment. It is excellent at insect photography. Sharing some random photos taken over the summer.
I believe that I have mentioned that I am scared of the dark. Even when looking at trail cam photos that are taken at night, I have a little dread of what I might see. So, imagine my feelings when this guy showed up on my cameras. What he was doing out there between 4:00 AM and 4:30 AM I will never know. I can’t imagine wandering around in the dark without benefit of any light source in this area. He doesn’t look like an avid outdoorsman and honestly looks pretty creepy. I am also sure he had no idea of that there are so many mountain lions in the area.
I used to go out to check cameras right at sunrise. No more. In addition to the suspicious activity with humans, there are now 6 mountain lions I have showing up on cameras. Momma lion with her half grown 3 kittens and two of her full-grown kittens from last year who are on their own now.
Monitoring the area for the last 5 years I have never gotten daytime photos of the lions until this summer. When the cats where entirely nocturnal I was more comfortable. Now they appear to be bold enough to be seen at any time of day. I am waiting until midday to retrieve my memory cards, staying hyper vigilant and upping my game from bear spray to wearing a sidearm. I think I will carry an airhorn as well as it could be a good deterrent.
Northern Desert Photography 