Of course, I had to take this little fella with me, and it didn’t take long for him to become rather warm as he’s made of cast iron! It was so peaceful out there today with far fewer people. I would rather have all the extra people there though than that damn evil virus. Be safe, friends!
I took a drive out of the city for a little while today to the usual places I like to visit, please excuse the redundancies. Today there was much less traffic out there than the last trip out about one month ago which is great. There is usually a little less traffic in summer due to the heat, but it’s even less now which I suspect that damn virus is responsible for.
Without a zoom lens, it’s very difficult for me to capture good photos of those sweet little Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels. Only one attempt to photograph one was slightly useable. This amateur photographer can’t justify $2600 bucks for that 70/200mm zoom lens for the Nikon Zed 6 lens. Unless someone wants to help with the cost, haha!!
This is round one of about sixty photos taken today. While outside in the sunshine, I grabbed a couple photos of the truck with the new wheels for insurance purposes as suggested by my local insurance dude. It was very hot out there, even at 3200+ feet above sea level!
About three days ago I added some Moon Juice fertilizer to the new Sago Palm’s roots. I keep an eye on them daily, the larger tree on the right side still has the awful discoloration of the fronds which as you may know, does not mean the tree is dying.
It’s heat-stressed by the block wall, and shocked from the transplanting according to the nursery. Neither tree looks any different as yet, I will check to see how often the fertilizer can be applied. I watered everything early this morning before the forecast 108 degrees sets in!
I have lived in Las Vegas for a bit over seven years now, to the best of my memory, this kind of heat has been here just once although it’s been close to one hundred fifteen before. This is extremely dangerous heat!
The National Weather Service is warning the public here ahead of time, taxpayer money well spent. I’ve seen these extreme temperatures before in Baker, California in years past, one hundred twenty is fairly common for that area.
Guess who’s going to be staying at home during these extreme heat days? I will try to avoid driving too, that much heat is not good for any piston engine!
Just two clicks from my travels yesterday. I love palm trees…
Here are some photos taken on the way home from the nursery earlier this morning. Now children, never, ever take photos while driving, and at around sixty-five miles per hour! This is a job for experienced drivers and photographers only.
I always pronounce Cement as Ceement, I suppose this is because of my Michigan upbringing. Or not. Anyway, these are more reworks, re-colored a bit. Today, I plan to drive north to the nursery where I purchased the Sago Palms armed with photos of them both. The larger palm isn’t looking too god regardless of my watering it as suggested by the nursery.
Gladly, there is a warranty period on the trees which is very nice. If the tree croaks, they will replace it at zero cost to me. I love free stuff! As I’ve said before in this space, John has not a green thumb but I’m not so sure this is my doing. Honestly, it’s a great excuse to get out of the house for a bit and get some fresh desert air!
If you are a regular visitor to my humble blog, then you are familiar with Wilson, the world-famous Desert Tortoise. It seems only natural the these two should get together, but money man as I call him has the better deal.
Wilson, the poor little dude must endure the summer heat and whatever else the desert weather throws at him. He’s some kind of plastic, money man is cast iron and will become as hot as a firecracker in my backyard!
Photo one is a bit fuzzy as I couldn’t kneel or lay down on the faux grass to focus the Nikon, it’s really freaking hot!! Whoda thunk it could get so hot! It’s only 104 right now…
Welcome to the valley where you’ll be stopping very frequently for the insanely long traffic lights. You become used to them, but they still frustrate me daily. And today was one of those days that I see far more moron drivers.
More tailgaters, more reckless drivers and drivers who are driving so fast and using lanes that are not lanes, that they are a serious danger to the public. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t a cop on every corner, waiting to snag these idiots.
Actually, one did get snagged by a Metro officer who was rolling next to me, yet I didn’t see him. He turned on his gumballs and blasted the siren, but not for me. It was the guy in the left lane next to me, guess what? You are…
Busted, LOL! thank you, Las Vegas Metro Police. The other day, two officers pulled up next to me at a traffic light, we were stopped. The officer looked over my way, I gave him a thumbs-up, he responded with a smile.
It really cranks me off when I see and hear people saying things like **** the police and worse. I am not an Anarchist, are those who say this crap anarchists? Or just your average assholes…
I am heading home after buying a new CPAP mask
This week, Las Vegas is going to get scorched as the mid and late-week temperatures will push up to 112 to 114 degrees. Gladly, I had the HVAC tech have a look at my cooling systems yesterday. It’s a very old system, maybe as old or almost as old as this home which was built in 1996 but it’s still ticking along just like me! Could you live in Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert?
And here is the forecast for the next several days!
Some of you remember the new chrome wheels that were put on my truck several days ago. I was asked to bring the wheels back in fifty to one hundred miles for the retorquing of the lug nuts. Done! I’m glad that the wheels are perfectly balanced, the original wheels have always had a very slight vibration regardless of the weights.
Anyway, just a couple boring photos are all I captured on this little jaunt. The HVAC guy was here early today to inspect my AC system.
He found that the freon level was just a bit overfilled so he drained off the excess and cleaned the outside unit up as well as hosing down the condenser coils which are a mess. The fins are all pushed in and flattened which never helps with the cooling capacity.
To replace the outside unit would require a crane since the unit would be too large to fit through the gate, and approximately $3400 dollars, cash on the barrelhead. Yikes, I’ll run the old fart machine until it finally surrenders to the Mojave Desert heat
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This photo makes me think about the millions of years these mountains silently stood here, always watching. If only they could speak to us…
Old and new photos here. The Wash photo was taken about two or three years ago in a wash that ran behind my apartment complex. It was a very nice place to ride my bike, there isn’t anything like this near my house. Note how beautifully groomed the wash is! It gets plenty of use by the public, and runs for a very long way too. There is also a Disc Golf course too.
The ceiling fan is new, the other four are all alike which looks so much better than three white five-blade fans, and two bronze five-blade fans. They also each have their own remote controls which is really nice. Money well spent on a nice home upgrade!
Here are some oldie pics from around Las Vegas, I think the old Nikon D3300 was used here. Lots of tourists are lined up for a photo op in front of that sign which I find a bit funny. The photo of the base of the Stratosphere Tower was taken at Las Vegas Boulevard and Charleston Boulevard. The goofy flooring sign is somewhere along Sahara Avenue I think? It’s a big city!
I had a short ride around the area a while ago and grabbed these photos. Along the way, I passed a few parks where lots of people were gathered for cookouts and boy did it smell good! At least a few people were masked and keeping a distance away from others, that’s good to see. The little man-made lakes are pretty to look at and are stocked with fish, I don’t know which fish though. There were about a half dozen people fishing on one end of a lake.
Today’s forecast is for total sunshine and one hundred four scorching degrees. Regardless, it’s another beautiful day in Las Vegas Valley. I hope each of my American friends are having a beautiful day, stay safe and be well!
I hadn’t walked this linear park before so I stopped to have a look. The trails go much further than I can walk so perhaps a bike ride is in order. This is one of many Linear Parks as I call them. It’s actually a Wash, a drain channel for flood control. I suspect that this one is also a natural wash that has been converted for public use, yet still functions as a wash. Like the sign says, stay away if it is raining as the wash could flood very quickly! Photos are from yesterday.
These are admittedly not good photos, but I don’t do night photography. There have been zero clouds at sunset the last few days, hence no new sunsets. I have zero plans for the upcoming holiday, do you? This holiday will be very different for many Americans. Myself? No difference really but there will be no trips to Michigan this summer either. John is not a happy camper…
Here are eight photos taken today heading for the doctor office, I am glad that the doctor found zero indications of Macular Degeneration or burst and popping blood vessels. Thanks be to my very diligent taking of medications and diet. I haven’t seen a cloud in the sky today, the temperature at my home is ninety-eight degrees. Not too bad, another great day in the valley.
Chalk it up to boredom but I take photos of almost anything when I’m that bored. The big excitement today is a diabetic eye exam this morning. And that the high temperature will be 104 degrees. Las Vegas will have 100+ degree temperatures for the next five days according to The Weather Channel. Do you like your days hot? Then come on down for a visit!
Can you see all eleven twelve palm trees? 🤔
Well, today has been a bit busy around my house with five new ceiling fans being installed (looks great) and two Sago Palm trees being planted in the backyard which finishes off my very minimalist design. They look great too! Damn, I’m good. I’ll snap some photos of them.
The Sagos need water every morning and evening for two weeks, then they should be OK with the volume of water they receive from the irrigation system. Always be sure to drain the very hot water from the hose first though as it will doom the trees!!
So how much is that piggy in the window?
At least one of these photos has a bit of smoke in it from the Mahogany fire near Mount Charleston. I do hope the fire is contained very soon, we need some rain!
Yesterday, a wildfire started burning in a campground called Mahogany near Mount Charleston. I searched the local news sources again this morning, I couldn’t find any solid information about how much if any containment was happening.
The major problem for the firefighters is the lack of resources, and the very strong winds we’ve had since yesterday with gusts to fifty-five miles per hour. A recipe for disaster. I hope that today the firefighters up there will make some headway in containing the fire.
I would post a link for you, but there aren’t any good choices. I took these photos from my backyard last eve, I am gladly a very long way from the fire, hence the photos aren’t much to look at. Honestly, I don’t like them.
Yes, it’s a word! I dug deep into the archive for this set. It’s a man in a lift bucket, servicing a street lamp somewhere on Sahara Avenue I think.
After yet another scorching Las Vegas summer day, it’s always so nice when the sun dips behind the western mountains. Having a cold one in the backyard after dark under the palm tree, the warm, soft breeze blowing and swirling around you is always a treat after the big heat.
Here are a few snaps from a couple days ago, I’m on the way home after having the new wheels put on my truck. If you are wondering what the temperature will be here today (probably not), it’s forecast for 106 again. Walking through air that hot and hotter at times, is an experience that you will either love or never want to experience again! I love that heat…!
Actually, it’s a very good day, the photos almost demand the title. I had several stops to make today hence I haven’t uploaded anything until now. Our real, actual lives come first since blogging is for me an avocation.
Yesterday, my new chrome wheels were installed on my truck, and I very much like the look! No photos yet, nobody probably cares to see it anyway. Driving around today taking care of business, it came to me that I have come full-circle.
Back in the day, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, my father and I traveled quite a bit to race his 1/4 mile drag boat. We were in several states over the three years we did this and it was an experience that I am very lucky to have had and I am so grateful for those days.
During those years, I was totally blown away by the beauty of the desert southwest in Arizona where we raced several times. I wanted to stay there. Fast-forward to 2013 and the now-ex and I moving to Las Vegas.
As I’ve said here before, I just didn’t want to move back home to Michigan and the gray skies, and cold dank weather most of the year. I made the correct decision in staying here! I am where I wanted to be those many years ago. I’ve now come full-circle!
The firetruck was moving, I clicked the camera very quickly for those photos
Mainly through the lens of a Nikon
by Lize Bard
Landschaftsfotografie in Norwegen
Life in Copenhagen, Denmark, after moving during Covid-19.
We are all just babes in the woods.
a photo journal
