I live near the headquarters of Snyders Honey in La Honda. Here’s Mr. Snyders offering me a taste of pure local La Honda honey right out of the honeycomb. It’s really the best honey I’ve ever tasted. Really!
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Fireworks in Moraga
The fireworks show in Moraga has been my favorite way to celebrate the 4th for the past 5 years running. There’s an abundance of high quality effects that are nicely choreographed. What I like most is the intimacy of the gathering. There are never hordes of annoying spectators. It’s a relatively small gathering of nice families and friends. I can always spread out my blanket on the grass right up front.
Posted in Art, Home, Photography, iphone Tagged 4th of July, fireworks, iphone, Moraga Leave a comment
Raku Fountain
Of the 30 fountains I have made, this is the only one I have left. These were really fun to make. They are raku fired earthenware that involved thrusting the red hot fountain, directly from the kiln, into to a metal trash can filled with shredded newspaper. This was fun at night with the huge flames leaping into the air. This procedure creates a reduction environment (no oxygen) as the fired clay rapidly cools. The end result is a unique glazed finish that is quite beautiful.
I filmed and processed this video on my new iPhone 4. Not too bad, but there’s no easy way to transfer the HD quality video off the phone yet (Steve Jobs says a way is coming soon).
Quartz-filled Ceramic Pyramids
It’s hard to believe that I’ve made and sold hundreds of these ceramic pyramids and I only have these two left for myself. The dark one on the left is 7 cm high. The one on the right has a redwood base. The gold overglazed style was my favorite; I don’t have any of those left. Each pyramid was proportioned after the Cheops pyramid of Egypt and was filled with white translucent shards of quartz crystal.
Heritage Grove
Heritage Grove is one of the nicest redwood groves in the bay area. The best thing about it is that it’s only a couple minutes away from where I live. There are beautiful lush ferns, a thriving banana slug community, and a year round stream. There are a few memorial benches along the path where one may sit in quiet solitude to contemplate the nature of existence (or just decide what to have for lunch). This is probably one of the nicest photographs I’ve ever taken. It was taken using a tripod and High Dynamic Range with my Canon 5D DSLR camera. Click on the thumbnail for the enlarged view.
Heritage Grove
Posted in HDR, La Honda, Photography Tagged 5D, Canon, fern, heritage grove, pescadera, portola park, redwood Leave a comment
Baby Goats
I went to Harley Farms Goat Dairy in Pescadero today for some goat cheese and got to pet the new baby goats. They were very affectionate. Sort of like big kitties. After that, I stopped by Duarte’s for artichoke soup and then paid a visit to the nearby Saint Anthony’s cemetery. There’s some fascinating stories and unusual grave markers there.
Baby Goats
Baby Goat
Colorful Headstone.
Unusual Tentacled Headstone.
Do Not Enter
Posted in La Honda, Photography Tagged artichoke soup, cemetery, cheese, Duarte's, goat, headstone, Pescadero Leave a comment
Beer Can Chicken by Linnell
Linnell’s sister, Leslie, gave me a clever handcrafted ceramic beer can chicken roaster for my birthday recently (Earth Day). It was hand built by one of the artists at the Moraga Art Gallery. Linnell tested it out today and it worked wonderfully. The chicken was crispy on the outside with a moist and flavorful inside. A medley of roasted vegetables and a delicately seasoned steamed artichoke completed the meal. An Itallian Pinot Noir made a satisfying and full-bodied pairing. Linnell whipped up a fresh strawberry and Grand Marnier sorbet for a truly exceptional dessert. Here are some photos from the afternoon. Click on a photo to see full size.
Tomatoes
Chopped vegetables go around the chicken.
Mounted and Ready to Bake
This smells so good!
Charlie keeping an eye on things
A Delicious Meal
Sam Mac Donald Park Hike
I spent several hours hiking around Sam Mac Donald Park near Pescadero this morning. It was cool and overcast. Perfect weather for hiking in a redwood forest and for photography. Here are a few pictures from the hike. There were scads of deer and banana slugs. Click on each to enlarge.
Hiker's Hut side deck.
Beautiful trail.
Interesting tree stump.
Helicopter in La Honda
Apparently a utility worker was electrocuted today in La Honda. I was almost home after spending Mother’s Day in Alameda, when I encountered emergency vehicles and a helicopter in the middle of the road near my house at Reflection Lake in La Honda. No word yet about the worker’s condition. Here are some pictures:
Chopper at Reflection Lake.
EMT's Loading Electrocution Victim onto Chopper.
Chopper Taking Off from Reflection Lake
Posted in Home, La Honda Tagged Chopper, Electrocution, Emergency, Helicopter, La Honda, Reflection Lake Leave a comment
Epic Banana Slug Documentary
My epic documentary about a racing La Honda banana slug is fast approaching 100,000 views on YouTube. This amazing film has been unexpectedly popular and has collected hundreds of inane comments from viewers. Who knew?