The World According to Arpp

New Years Day Drive

2012-01-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Another video with my new camera, cruisin up the valley to the Galena lodge.
I have never seen so many people along the road, snowmobiling, cross country skiing and snowshoeing in the fresh snow.

A Link to the video

I guess that a 95$ a day lift ticket for the ski mountain is a bit too much for a lot of peoples pocketbook these days.
Vehicles hauling snowmobiles have been passing by for weeks, just to see them returning an hour or so later because of the sparse snow cover. So now they're happy.
So enjoy this little clip, music by the way is from a group from Italy, the "Stone Pillow", and a couple tunes from the album "Country Girls" Bella, Bella, Piasanos

Lookin out my back door.

2011-12-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

Lunar eclipse? Heck Yah !
I got up and went outside, it was 4 degrees and breezy, the eclipse had started at 6:30,
and wasn't especially interesting. After going back inside to make coffe, I decided to photograph it anyway. Right from my living room, out a window. Even from inside, my hands started complaining and I evidently didn't get the focus right. Doh !
But the colors did show brighter, and it was worth it.

All the times I have photographed the moon, I can't say that I've gotten a good shot yet.

I must say, I have the most
interesting back yard. :C)

Also, through reading up on this coming eclipse, I found an interesting bit of software
that you might appreciate. It;s called Stellarium, a whole sky interactive viewer. Put in your own co ordinates to personalize it and enjoy.
Even the satalites, (with names and information), go shooting through the sky.
Oh yah, and it's free.
Stellarium.org should take you there.
Ciao for now...........

Momentary Lapse

2011-11-17T20:34:00.001-07:00

Just a try here to embed a video I made tonight, my first time lapse with Movie maker and a tethered camera.

First timelapse from Chuck De Luck on Vimeo.

Rollin On The Umpquah

2011-11-08T17:37:00.001-07:00

Yep, that's right, the Umpquah. In Oregon.
click on the picture to sh
I took a road trip to see a high school buddy before the weather turned.
Beautiful drive, nice weather. The Umpquah River flows through the area and we followed it to the coast.

Quite the fertile area as flowers were still blooming and lawns were still being mowed, and in Idaho there's not any leaves left on the trees.

The Umpquah was alive with salmon headed inland, a half dozen could be seen anytime.

As contrast, here's a video from today. I'm learning the video aspects of my new camera, and realize it takes some specialized gear. (which I don't have yet)
So bear through the shakes, it will get better.

Dang small size, but I just read Google's license agreement, and that just fuels me to get my own site, and leave this place.
See ya later.

End of Summer

2011-10-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update.
Tater Tot sent me a link of the latest video she was in.
Dancing at the Hillsong College and enjoying life.

She still looks good in a pink tutu and slippers.

I just posted on my nature log about a crew of sheep shearers I met in the Sawtooth Valley. Clicking the sheep will take you there.

Two Timing

2011-04-11T17:23:00.000-06:00

Well, I've been two timing, with another blog.
I added a blog for my Master Naturalist class, a journal type of log/blog
It's got a link on this page, on the right, at the top.

Otherwise it's Chuckslog

And no, no Spring in sight yet. Daily snow showers, 2 feet of snow on the ground still.

Later Tater Tot

2011-01-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well little Tater Tot is off on another adventure.
She's off to another continent for a while.
Good Luck and God speed.

Winter Solstice Burn.

2010-12-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

In the heat of the night, in the middle of the snow, The Willow Woman burned and put on quite a show.

The regional Idaho burners from the Titicaca camp paid homage to the arts with a local burn with local supplies. (mainly willows)

Dancing Dirty Feet

2010-11-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

The Dance Troupe "Dirty Feet' performed tonight at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey Idaho.
All I did to these photos was resize them so as to get them up an out to share.
It was a great show, we all had fun. And you can guess who's daughter was dancing in the troupe. :C)

If you see a picture you want, just holler.

Woke up this morning to the sound of ........

2010-10-24T18:25:00.000-06:00

Snowplows

      Yup, Idaho rain, about 3 inches.
After one of the best Indian Summers one could wish for, the weather has
                           turned, and the six months of Winter have started. The temps are forcasted in the teens for
   the next weeks lows.
                           Halloween has always sucked here for trick or treat, as you have to have Winter wear
over your costume.

                           And then there was the Idaho style "gridlock" on the highway. I watched these guys run by
                           last week. It reminds me of the local saying, " Idaho, where men are men, and the poor
                           sheep are nervous".

They wouldn't be running from the sheepherder, or would they?

So Halloween is creeping up on us.

Put on your party gear and let it rip this year.

By The Way, Nothings Burning.

Still here, slow year. Burning Man)( 2010 Photos

2010-09-25T12:21:00.000-06:00

Well believe it or not I'm still here.
Dam slow year, not worth complaining about though, lol
The fox hasn't showed up in months. New neighbors with a large dog chased it away once, then the mange started back and maybe took the little vixen.
I miss little foxy. Hoping its kits didn't get the mange and survived. (unlikely though) :C(

Well Burning Man was a hoot this year. Cold and wet, then hot and dusty.
"In dust we trust"
Forgot my tripod for the camera this year , so I maxed the ISO and got the shots, but some are noisy/grainy.
Click the pic to go to the slideshow on flickr.

So the question is, what to do until next years Burning Man)( ?

Thanks Doc, said the Fox

2010-04-11T16:40:00.000-06:00

Oh what a poor Winter this has been.
No work, finicky vehicles, no snow, and then the fox got the mange.

At first glance, I thought the fox had been hit by a car, it had lost so much fur off it's back and tail.
Then I noticed it was rubbing it's face in the snow and that hair was falling out too.
After a two hour wait at the Vets', he gave me some medicine to try. And I'm happy to say it worked.

Click on the link below to see how well she's progressed.

Foxy Mama's comeback

Oh, and she is definitely is a mom again, little teats showing, and now the fur on her belly has been worn off.
Maybe she'll bring them by again this year.

I think things will start to pick up around here as we adapt to the new world order. Life will change.
Like the motto for Burning Man )( last year, "Evolve or Die"

And I did order two tickets for Burning Man )( for 2010. Lots of plans, lol.

The Burn Goes On Forever, and the Party Never Ends.

2009-12-22T15:56:00.001-07:00

Just a post to the photos from the party last weekend in Idaho of the local burners and burner wannabes.
The weather warmed up, (it wasn't as cold as it's been), and there was just enough snow to make it a very good night.
The Willow Woman burn started as I got there, so I never saw it unburned. The beat sticks and the drums serenaded the Woman till she passed into ashes.
So what to do until Burning Man)( ? lol
A good size storm is just finishing dumping about 6 inches of new snow, so everything's alright in this drinking town with a skiing problem for the holidays.

Brrrring Man and Thanksgiving.

2009-11-29T10:30:00.007-07:00

We got another storm with enough snow to open the ski mt. on Thanksgiving, better than last year.
It's been warm, (relative Idaho warm, lol). with no new snow.
Here is the Burning man)( burn barrel I'm now in charge of till next year.

Three years now the fox has been coming by, since I first saw it running off with the turkey carcass as big as itself. The family came by for Thanksgiving and the fox stopped in for a visit too.
She looks great in her red winter coat. It's usually dark when she stops by, so no new pictures of her.
But here is another Arppilicious Thanksgiving turkey shown off by Christina.

Well Holiday greetings to all, time to do a bit of shopping for Christmas. Online of course.

Fall winds down.

2009-10-30T16:34:00.007-06:00

Well it's been better weather, Indian Summer of sorts. Still chilly. But we got an inch of snow this week while East of the Rockies got feet.
Sorry Sun Valley Ski Resort, but I don't ski. :C)

The fox came by just while I was sitting down to play, too bad my virtual pet was moving and you can't see my level 70 wolf.
The piece is for putting the "Phantom Hill Wolf Pack" on alert when I see hunters go by.
Yah, up yours too hunters.

Otherwise it's wood cutting time. Practicing Poi, Chuck

Two weeks of Fall

2009-10-04T11:13:00.003-06:00

Well, two months of Summer led into two weeks of Fall. lol
It's 4 inches of wet snow today.
Oops, all the things outside that didn't get Winter prepped.
"Cest la Vie"

The BRC Video

2009-09-26T14:56:00.010-06:00

The last post has a link to better pictures, but try the video, it is fun.

Back from the Burn.

2009-09-25T19:32:00.010-06:00

All right, all right.......
I know I said I'd try to post from BRC, but sometimes, even the best laid plans don't get laid. lol
Ok, so circumstances directed me in other directions and all worked out quite well, considering.
So I had the most fun allowed in BRC and made the best of Reno and was completely guested by the Tahoe / Reno Burners. Thanks again to all who helped.
So I posted my adventure in photos at Burning Man on flickr today after days of editing and file recovery from an unhappy hard drive. Click on the pic to go to the gallery. Thank You.
I'm going to animoto after this post to see about making a video from these pictures. That'l be next post, or the Balloon Races in Reno pictures will be next.
The weather in Idaho has changed and Fall is coming in. Time to get out, go fishing or/and gold panning. Who knows. :C)

Burn Baby Burn !!

2009-08-27T19:25:00.003-06:00

Well just a couple days to Burning man.
Already it is an experience with the survival basics, no food or water, the logistics of 50,000 people, the events calendars, the drive, the camp, the photos from past burns to look at, rules to learn...
And after all this, I still am sure most of it will be a surprise.
If wifi works on the playa, I'll see if I can update from Burning Man.

Nappy Fox

2009-07-26T22:31:00.007-06:00

Alright, the fox is in the mix.

She's cute, but ran out of the kitchen last night with one of my shoes.
I haven't seen either one today. Shoe or fox.

The grass is up to my chin out there.
These pics are from the evening before, nappin in the kitchen.
(probably dreaming of chewing shoes) lol

The middle picture is a nice printable sketch.

PIT Project Warm Springs

2009-07-25T19:33:00.009-06:00

Wow, 2 posts in a week.
This was my next adventure. A week in the Frank Church Wilderness working on a PIT project I mentioned in an earlier post.
It was wet starting the week out. But it dried out and warmed up to almost hot by the next weekend.
When the group headed out of Challis Sunday morning we met up with packers Geoff and Jenny.
The entire had been razed by fire hot enough to kill everything, but not burn it up.
The SCA boys, (Student Conservation Association), had the camp setup and were felling trees for our project with a crosscut saw.
The Wilderness allows no power tools.
They Felled , we peeled and we cleaned logs and put the Warm Springs Guard Station back in order.
Next year we go back to replace the sill logs and finish the roof.

Click on the photo to go to the flickr set. Why they are always sorted backwards I haven't figured out yet.

Like as before, these photos are small and barely printable, suitable only for the web, mainly due to theft issues. If you see a photo you want, in a larger file size, just ask.

In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark.

2009-07-23T13:43:00.007-06:00

Hi all,
My first adventure this month, July 2009, was an Idaho State University Class which spent 4 days in Montana, exploring the trails and learning of the expeditionary team of Lewis and Clark.
We met at the Travelers Rest near Lolo Montana.
After touring the nice little museum and grounds where L+ C camped, we were off to look for signs of their passage and the Nez Pierce trails and history.
We saw trees peeled by the Nez Pierce to get the cambium layer which provided some nourishment in the Winter. The fishing weirs built by the natives to harvest salmon were still discernible being built from rock.
Rock cairns, old camps and lots of new flaura to examine. Many learned people in the group made it easy to get questions answered. Very nice !
Click on the pic to go to the flicker set.
The pics are as always small and low quality, so If you need a better photo, just write.
Feel free to add comments or identify plants.
Last week I was in the Frank Church Wilderness for a week working on the Warm Springs PIT project.I'll be posting that adventure in a day or two.
Chuck.

Wet Fox Tails

2009-06-14T20:52:00.004-06:00

In a word, wet.
The only difference in the weather is that it got warmer and the snow turned to rain.
A bit more than usual. but everything is a nice green.
Just look at my friend here.
I made another video compilation, just click on the wet fox to see "Fox Tails"

Carey Idaho Rodeo

2009-05-20T08:40:00.013-06:00

We went from rain and snow for the last few weeks to record high temps, (80's).
Now it's the normal JO, JO, season.
(Jacket Off, Jacket On)
When the sun shines, it's hot, when a cloud comes by, it's cold.
Leaves are appearing, and the Rodeo's are on.
I was in Carey, Idaho and visited a family whose daughters were in the rodeo that evening.
One was even crowned queen. Go girl!

I used some of the photos in the set to try a new web service called Animoto. They turn your pictures and music into a slide show that is web friendly. The free version is short but has promise.
Try clicking on the Rodeo Queen.

New Mom x5

2009-05-01T13:50:00.016-06:00

Well the mystery of the gender of the "Kitchen Fox" is finally solved.
I'm watching HER, and her 5 kits from my window.
The pics are through double pane windows so a bit blurry, I don't want to press my presence and have her move.
How cool!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Volunteering

2009-04-20T09:00:00.009-06:00

Well the Special Olympics didn't need any help.
I also volunteered for helping at the local food bank, to no avail.
But I did get a response from the PIT or "Passport in Time" program.
The project I applied for is a week in the Frank Church Wilderness.
Wilderness = no power tools. They aim to pack our supplies in to rebuild a cabin
in the Warm Springs drainage. Right next to the Shower Bath Hot Springs.
The same one that I struggled to find as the trail is not maintained on the lower stretch since the fire.
That's where I found the cougar that had been killed by the fire and immortalized it with a picture on my website.
Click on the picture to go to the PIT website, click "current projects at the top, and then Idaho to see a current view of the cabin.

Otherwise life drags on here with unemployment reigning.
I've even sent for my college records to see what I need to finish my Forest Fire Science degree.

The snow on the valley floor is about gone, with mud and trail closures next.
The Fox still drops by for a snack in the evenings.
I saw it dig up an egg from a cache under a tree in the snow. ( I don't give it an egg every time it shows up so as not to spoil him)

See ya"ll

Franti is comming to town

2009-02-04T19:32:00.004-07:00

Well glory be, Mr. Franti is coming back to town.
He was the best at 48 Straight last year, and now he's coming to perform for the Special Olympics in Sun Valley next week.
I have volunteered to help at the events and hope it's a gig where I can be a photographer.
Either way, it's a way to do good will.
The Pic links back to my 48 Straight album.

The slow trip through Winter.

2009-01-08T16:35:00.007-07:00

Well Winter is here in all its glory. Hah, the mountain didn't open till late because of lack of snow this yaer. We got the snow just before Christmas and things were good for the holidays.
But now in January, the weather has warmed up and been in the 40's .
Jobs are scarce, and doesn't look good for the immediate future.
C'est la Vie as they say.

Any catching up on this blog, I have a couple pictures of Fall to share before I get to the Winter things.

I repaired the computer, ( 1 of the memory sticks was bad and Micron down in Boise did me good with replacement), after days of troubleshooting.

Then there was the firewood endeavor, which went well.

And a parting shot of when the ground was still brown.
The sheepherders horses hanging out at the headwaters of the Salmon River below Galena Summit.

The Blogfox is still coming around. That's over a year now.

Cya ya'll later. Happy Holidays. Chins up!!

Kitchen Fox

2008-09-28T19:15:00.003-06:00

Well the days are filled with work and firewood . The Fall colors are already thinning, and the nights,( or mornings), are right at freezing.
Being near the highway , on Sunday, it's full of firewood haulers, sightseers, and people bringing their boats down from the lakes for the winter.
My main computer went tits up this weekend and I've done all I can to no avail. New Motherboard is the prognosis. Finally got the laptop on my wi-fi net though. A newer wireless adapter lets me go outside with it :C)
Having a couple computers setup helps, but I have no card reader in this one. The latest pictures from this week are in Limbo.
Well I'm off to see what the warranty on that motherboard is.

Basin Butte link.

2008-08-13T22:21:00.004-06:00

Well it looks like I forgot to add the link to the photo set of Passport in Time.
Click on the picture please.

Passport In Time

2008-08-13T20:59:00.005-06:00

Well it's certainly been a while since I posted, but here's some of the latest.

I volunteered for a forestry project called, "Passport In Time".
A group of people met and worked for a week restoring a USFS building, this time it was the Basin Butte Lookout near Stanley, Idaho. Less than an hour from my place. The first day we met at the Stanley museum at 8 am, where I got the deer and Sawtooths shot.
About 12 people from around the US spent a 5 day week at the lookout removing the old catwalk and rebuilding it and refurbishing the structure.
The smoke from fires in California moved in the second day and obscured most of the view.
It made for some colorful sunsets.

I'm still having issues with Flickr since they freely handout our pictures for commercial use.
Haven't seen the Blogfox in a while. With Summer finally here, the human traffic keeps it shy.
The Braun Brothers Reunion was last weekend and the whole family attended and survived.
If I can find more room online for photos I'll post that experience too.

48Flicker link figured out

2008-04-01T23:10:00.003-06:00

So I got the link to flicker figured now. Stupid me for wasting time trying to do it there way.
Anyhoo, the link to 48 chucks picks links to a flicker account where it turns out I already had an account and had posted concert pics 2 years ago. Huh?
Then I remember signing up at Kodak pic sharing site for a disposable way for me to show the show pics for free which I forgot about. Kodak changed to flickr, and I can now link to any photo I allow to be public domain. But that also allows anybody else to download the photo and use it for any use but commercial. So that makes me wary and will try harder to get back to website revamped. So here's the link to the Chuck's 48 Straight Picks , which at 120 photos,(don't need to look at them all) are 10% edited from all 1200 pics. I'll get them down to 10, you can help with comments. Link to Chuck's sets.

Ciao Y'all

2008-03-30T23:29:00.003-06:00

Well, it's a week later. I fed the blogfox, ( that's what I'm calling the critter), and me, and figured out how to post picture albums.
Even with all the flicker bashers in the pro photo scene, I figured I had to start somewhere, and cheap. Until I get up to reworking my own website, arppworks.com , flicker and blogger will work.
And even with all learned in photoshop over the last few weeks, it turns out Irfanview, the tiny, versatile, and FREE program trumped photoshop again.
Now it's down to figuring out how to link the pictures on flicker to this blog, and the ball will start rolling.
Things like uploading 32mb of pictures on 26k dialup can about bring tears to your eyes. no lol

Well winter lingers on here, 6 inches of snow yesterday, below zero at night, and around 32 in the day. "Spring" in Idaho is the worst season, ice and mud.
The blogfox likes raw eggs, carrying them off somewhere, (a den?), and then comes back. It ate a couple of the dog biscuits I had from last year, but then buried the rest in the snow. Must be full or picky. I wish it would eat a few of the cats around here. :C)
Well it's off to flicker to deal with the 120 photos uploaded last night, at least hopefully uploaded,(it took hours) .
It'14 degrees and not snowing at 11 pm 03/30/2008
Chuck

2008-03-24T20:17:00.002-06:00

As I start this blog, we have company watching.
It's been dropping by most evenings to catch a handout.
I'm still editing photos from 48Straight and experimenting with my new wide format printer.
Weather at 8pm mt is 32 and light snow.

Opening Comments

2008-03-24T20:04:00.002-06:00

Well all, howdy From Idaho'
I thought I'd try my hand at a blog.
This would eliminate sending zipfiles to everyone.
Maybe I'll get creative writing. ( or at least write, lol )