Picture of the Day - My Memorial Day 2014

This was my father's gravesite today during the Memorial Day service at 11 a.m. at Atascadero Cemetery.

This trio of vintage U.S. military aircraft from the Estrella Warbirds in Paso Robles flew over this morning's Memorial Day proceedings and did the Missing Man Formation seconds after this image was captured.
Both photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Santa Margarita Ranch Photo Tour I

Yesterday afternoon right after my final Cuesta College Spring 2014 semester final I drove directly to my security job working a wedding at Santa Margarita Ranch from 3 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. Needless to say, it was a productive but exhausting day. I had a spare half hour before work and elected to get on-site and be in position to work before something could go wrong like car trouble or other such. I decided to spend that time taking these images after I had checked in with ranch staff and was debriefed on the day's duties. Below is what I captured of the Main House structure and grounds as well as of the Big Barn In Back where the wedding dinners are served. The grassy grounds adjacent to the Main House which are not fully pictured here are where the ceremony was held as they usually are.

*Note: this locality (both Main House and Big Barn In Back are both reputed to be haunted). During the day these two structures are innocuous-looking enough but in the middle of the night (I have spent four overnight periods with them in the past) they have a very different vibe that I have not experienced anywhere else on Earth at night.

Main House and front lawn.

Rustic, old Main House has a very different mood in the middle of the night.

East entrance to front porch of Main House.

Some interesting stones line this path to the right and left.

West-looking view of front porch of Main House.

View north from the front porch of Main House with view of front yard and Wedding Green beyond where wedding ceremonies are held (note white fold-up chairs at right).

Eastward view of front yard of Main House.

Main House viewed from northwest corner.

Eastward of front porch of Main House.

Caddywhompus Window internal view.

Earthquake bracing for failing wall in room of south wing of Main House.

Imprints of straw and such in the adobe bricks of a wall in a room in south wing of Main House.

Water tower

Northwestward-looking view of Main House and south wing.

South wing of Main House.

Caddywhompus Window external view.

Fountain at northwest corner of Main House.

Windmill adjacent to the Wedding Green.

Westward view of the Big Barn In Back.

Big Barn's south side room with stalls view looking west.

Classic old carriage.

Big Barn's south side room with stalls view looking east.
All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Godzilla Attack!

Last Wednesday a clever hacker took control of an electronic traffic control sign on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco which alternated between these two messages.

Both images by Ali Wunderman (all rights reserved)

U.S. Marines vs. Wildfires

I came across this online tonight and found it most impressive! It features the USMC out of Camp Pendleton, CA, last Thursday participating in the suppression efforts revolving around last week's wildfires in San Diego County.

Santa Ana Winds vs. No Santa Ana Winds

What a difference 24 hours makes! These are two views from the same location on the post of Camp Pendleton, CA, last week separated by only 24 hours showing how quickly conditions improved once the Santa Ana Winds diminished. Images courtesy of 3rd Marine Air Wing. 

Anti-Santa Ana Winds From 7000 Feet Up

This image was captured from 7,000 feet up in an aircraft today and shows the Tomahawk Fire raging on Camp Pendleton. Note the Santa Ana Wind is not present with the smoke being blown inland by an onshore breeze.
Photo courtesy by Phil Konstantin (all rights reserved)

Picture of the Day - My Steynberg Address

This was the scene earlier this eveningat Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo right before the readings of the winners of Cuesta College's annual Tellus literary journal contest in which I won 2nd place in the short story category for "Mein Klau". My entry was so long I had to abbreviate it.  During my reading I started feeling an anxiety attack coming on and I further abbreviated my presentation which was frustrating. This occurred for a cocktail of reasons. I was thrown off a bit by my having to figure out what to read and what to not read unlike any other presenter, I had not had enough sleep the night before, I was over-caffeinated, and fatigued from the school and recent rock show chairmanship duties, stressed and distracted about some drama with mom, felt self-conscious about my work in the context of a room filled with 40-50 mostly strangers. Despite this mixed bag of a success and set-back I was getting a great reception from the crowd and received the most effusive crowd reaction of any presenter which seemed to love the edgy social observation in my work. My beloved English professor Dr. Roland Finger is at left.
Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Fiery Moonrise

View of the Washingtonia Fire in San Marcos, CA, as viewed from Carlsbad, CA, this evening as the moon rose.
Photo by Luis Sinco courtesy of Los Angeles Times (all rights reserved).

Two Views ~ Three Fires

As many of you know Southern California has been buffeted by Santa Ana Winds the past couple of days and will be for another day or so. Today saw California's first "fire siege" of 2014 which was centered exclusively in San Diego County and rather suspiciously so I might add. Below are two images captured at nearly the same time from very different altitudes of the first three serious wildfires of the day, to wit, the Highway Incident, Tomahawk Incident, and Poinsettia Incident, counterclockwise from top right.

Photo courtesy of C. Gilbert Run via Twitter (all rights reserved)

Photo courtesy of D. Smith Show via Twitter (all rights reserved).

A Ruin Ruined By An Earthquake

A couple of weeks ago I was hanging out with my new friend Chelsia and exploring the Adelaida area and happened by this old ruin of a small house on Klau Mine Road. It clearly had been damaged rather severely by the 2003 San Simeon Earthquake which amongst other things toppled its chimney. I trow not if it had been already abandoned by that point or if the quake had caused it to be red-tagged. What follows are some images of it I captured that day.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Tequila-Monster Rises

As the previous posting here indicated, yesterday morning my little canine monster "Tequila" was in deep trouble finding herself largely paralyzed. This forced me to fear the worst and contemplate losing her the most seriously I have yet since taking on the duty of being her human guardian. Today she ran around like a crazy happy dog at Kiler Canyon Farm during the weekly harvest and then she took a walk with me in town all without any hint of paralysis. In fact, the vet would be unhappy to hear of how active she was today having suggested I keep her sequestered for a week. She and I both thought "Ef that" and fully celebrated life today. Below are some images I captured of her in all her cute glory tonight. I'm still amazed at her turn-around not really expecting yesterday to end well for either of us.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).