Clementine Throws A Fit, Squirrels Find a Home and A New Book Gets Published

Well, what a time we have been having. This is the time of year when we start battening down the hatches here at the ranch and start checking out gear for our winter photo safari. Clementine and Shadow are our most important participants. Regular readers will know that Clementine is our Winnebago motorhome and Shadow is our little Ford Focus tow car.

This week I went out to fire up Clemmie and her battery was dead. Not to worry I just boosted the engine battery with the house batteries and let her charge for twenty minutes. But, a couple of days later it started to rain and I noticed I had left the the driver's window down. When I went to put it up the window moved like glue. The battery was dead again. When I checked under the hood what did I find but a million pine cones some industrious squirrel had squirreled away for the winter. It appears we aren't the only ones preparing for winter. I was convinced the little varmits had chewed the wiring so the next call was to AAA. Away went Clemmie to the Dodge dealer in Kalispell 75 miles away. Clemmie's chassis is a Dodge Sprinter with a Mercedes diesel engine.

The Dodge people spent a day rooting around in the engine but couldn't find anything amiss. Apparently, it wasn't the squirrels fault after all. So, they sent me off to an RV dealer to check for a wiring problem and/or a battery drain. That is where she remains. Hopefully, we'll find out what the problem is next week.



We did manage a little trip to Lake Koocanusa. That's the Koocanusa in the back ground and Koty Bear looking handsome as usual. KOTY'S KORNER



The picture above shows Mt. Baldy across the Koocanusa and as you can see it already has snow on it. Those mountains are actually in British Columbia. Not only is fall in the air but a little bit of winter too. Now is when I start worrying about not beating the snow on my way out of town. If there is anything that gives me the terrors it's driving on snowy, icy roads. MOUNTAIN and LAKE LANDSCAPES



On our way home from Kalispell we did take time out to take a walk along the Whitefish River in Whitefish. The above photo is of a beautiful old willow bending it's branches down along the river. With the exception of the leaves on the right hand side the entire photo is just a refection of this stately old tree.



This last photo is of a giant sunflower. It was still in great shape. It seemed to be leaning over asking us what we were up to on this fine fall day. It reminded me a little of "Day of the Triffids" a story I once read in grade school. FLOWERS are among my favorite subjects to photograph. They are so colorful and alive.

The Fine Art o...

A few of my favori...

By by: Kinsey Barnard

Book Preview

Last but certainly not least I finally got my book THE FINE ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY published and I'm quite pleased with the results. Check it out if you have a chance.

That's it for this week.

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey

©Kinsey Barnard

Osprey, Kocanee, Lagoni and Fall Colors

As usual, we took our weekly walk along the Tobacco River. The Fishing Birds were perched in their trees looking for salmon to catch.



And, of course, the kocanee were there for them to catch. I was just playing around with this photo of the salmon. I love the way the motion of the water turns the fish into more of a colorful abstract photo rather than just a picture of some fish.



Up at Burma Pond just a bit of fall color is beginning to show.



But, down on the trail to Lagoni Lake it's beginning to look a lot like fall! Lagoni was the destination for our main outing this week. We had never been there before so we thought we'd check it out. It's a short drive from 93 to the trailhead. The trail is pretty short too. It's maybe just a mile in distance.



But, once again we struck pay dirt as this turned out to be another pretty little lake. We really like to explore water sites as they have a tendency turn up some of the best Landscape Photos.

We also tried to get to Stillwater lake but our efforts there were thwarted by a downed tree. We will return for further exploration of this area because there is definitely more to see.



The above is a photo of a moon set we had that was pretty awesome.

That pretty much sums it up for us for now. We are starting to get things ready for winter cuz the chill is most definitely in the air.

©Kinsey Barnard

Nothing So Regal As The Eagle & Loon Lake

It's that time of year again; when the fishing is easy at least for the bears and the eagles. It's salmon spawning time. Bald eagles are a pretty common sight around these parts but I never cease to be in awe of them. This guy was looking for kocanee salmon, on which to dine, along the Tobacco River near Eureka Montana. BIRDS OF PREY



We almost missed the kocanee altogether. Koty wanted a drink so we jumped down the bank to the water. I was just standing there, off in my dream world, when I noticed these red/orange string like things under the water. At first I thought it was some plant life anchored to the bottom flowing backward with the current. But, as I kept looking I soon realized what I was really seeing were kocanee salmon spawning. And, just think, these are the types of things we get to experience when we go to town to run errands!



A little later in the week we decided to try and find Loon Lake. We are always trying to find new places. Our search took us first into the little town of Fortine. Passing through I happened to see this "Montana Planter" on a porch and thought it looked kinda cool and very Montana. We love to photograph some of the fun stuff one sees along the road. AMERICANA



It's kinda tricky finding stuff once you get off the paved roads and on to the Forest Services roads. These roads are single lane, dirt tracks and mostly don't have much in the way of signs. You can easily find yourself off on some logging road and never even know it. Which is exactly what happened to us. Though we were on the wrong road one thing we did discover. Things are beginning to change and Fall is in the air. FORESTS & TREES



We finally figured out that we were on the wrong road, back tracked and found Loon Lake. We didn't see or hear any loons but it was a very pretty little lake and well worth the trip. It's amazing, all the gems secreted out in these forests. We never tire of searching for them. For us, it's like finding treasure. LOONS



The lake sported it's own little island and, although I am a color fanatic, I wanted this shot in black and white. I couldn't say why. Now that I see it, I still like it in back and white and I still couldn't say why. :) BLACK & WHITE

That was our week. Hope yours was a great one too!

©Kinsey Barnard