Category Archives: Personal

Photography in the Eastern Sierras by Cat Connor

I dearly love the State of California; it is one of the most picturesque places in all of the world, with many varied and extraordinary landscapes and vistas. It truly does have something for everyone.

I grew up, primarily, at the beach. I saw many a sunset. Oddly, though, I’ve never really cared for ’em. I’ve never found them particularly romantic. Maybe I’ve seen too many of them, or maybe I just don’t like to throw anything away. And that’s what a sunset is. Sunset is the end of a friendship you had with the day. It’s – as I’ve written before – “the part of the relationship where all the little things you thought were cute grate on you like fingers down a chalkboard and you can’t wait for it to be over so you can go back inside.”

Personally, I believe I’ve got the soul of a cowboy. To this day I love all the great westerns; the panoramas, the wide open spaces. And – even though two of my most favorite cowboy films (Silverado and Tombstone) weren’t filmed there – I’ve had a deep and abiding love for the Sierra Nevadas. I love Yosemite, Kings Canyon, the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails, Death Valley and Mount Whitney. Being alone in the open cathedrals made of forests, rock, light, water, and stone makes me feel at peace within the magnificent machine built by our great Creator. I am a solitary wayfarer experiencing a world created just for me.

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Just One More…

Just one more day, Lord. Just one more day. I am petty and I am small and I always come to you and I always ask for things that are petty and small,for I am human. I am a child of the Most High God, and I will ask and I will plead and I will beg you for things that are beyond my grasp because I believe they are not beyond your reach. I will make deals with you that will fall through and I will make promises I won’t keep. You know that. I know that.

But, Lord, he’s my dog.

And if you can’t do that, then give me just one more hour. I don’t want to be the adult and put on a brave face and be the strength my son needs to get through this. I want to cry. I want to break down and be adrift in sorrow because my best friend for the last ten years is leaving me and I will never get to see him again. He’ll never greet me at the door. He’ll never steal my pizza. He’ll never take up all my bed and snore and pass the most horrendous gas ever. And he’ll never be my responsibility again.

But, Lord, he’s my dog.

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Happy 224th Anniversary, United States Coast Guard!

The United States Coast Guard was created as the “Revenue Marine” by an act of Congress on August 4, 1790 at the request of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.  Not only is this branch of the military the oldest seagoing service of the United States, but also the only branch that has a racing stripe.

Yeah, I know the U.S. Navy lists it’s founding as 1775 – when the Continental Navy was formed – but we should all remember that the Continental Navy was disbanded in 1785, and the United States Navy wasn’t founded until 1794.

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HMS Beagle library goes online

The Guardian newspaper reports that Charles Darwin’s library of books – all 404 of them – that he kept onboard the HMS Beagle are now online over at the Darwin Online Beagle Library project.

From the article:

The lost collection of books that kept Charles Darwin company aboard HMS Beagle and provided inspiration for his later works on evolution has been made publicly available for the first time today.

Hundreds of titles that filled the shelves of the ship’s library on Darwin’s five-year circumnavigation of the globe in the 1830s have been brought together and made freely available through the Darwin Online Beagle Library project.

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Big Bear Old Miners Association Chili Cook-Off

Saturday, July 12, 2014, Bartlett Parking Lot, Big Bear Lake!

The 2014 Big Bear Old Miners Association International Chili Society sanctioned Chili Cook Off will take place beginning at 10 AM and continuing until 8 PM on Saturday, July 12 at the Bartlett Street Parking Lot in the heart of Big Bear Lake Village

Admission to the chili cook off is free to all wishing to attend; however, for the chili enthusiast, there is a $5 fee for a tasting kit. The contestants will be preparing Red Chili; Chili Verde and Homemade Salsa for judging. The chili judging takes place in the afternoon. On site there will be numerous vendors offering a wide variety of gift items and souvenirs. The afternoon ends with the announcement of the chili contest winners.

Come and enjoy great family entertainment in the mountains.

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