Picture of the Day - Quartzy Whale Vert

Today I went fossil-collecting at Field #2 in Templeton and found this petrified whale vertebra that is highly silicated. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Post-Storm #3

Today I decided to sneak onto one of my favorite rockhounding spots (#3) in Templeton and see what I could find after the recent rains washed away more soil but after things had dried enough to walk on the dirt. It was almost too muddy to be there but I did find two pieces of Miocene-era petrified whale bone and a gorgeous brecciated jasper with agate fill which I plan to have Galen polish for me. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - My Final #3 Hunt

Today my bother by another mother, Ron, and his son Ethan and I got run out of Secret Field #3 in Templeton, CA. The actual owner of the property or one of them as he framed it, drove up and flagged us down to talk to us. He told us that although we had permission to be there from the lessees of the property, his out-of-town partners didn't like the legal risk of having guests on the property. Ron and I don't believe the latter part of the story and suspect he is the sole owner and wanted us out but felt bad about it so put it off on the fictitious "other" owners. Thanks a lot lawsuit-happy America! Below is my final haul from this short-lived (the last nine months or so we enjoyed it on the whole and I enjoyed part of it off and on for the past dozen years or more) biconoid and petrified whale bone locality. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

My Big Whaleboner

Today while hunting for Miocene petrified whalebone from the Monterey Formation and biconoids from the Franciscan Melange in Templeton, CA, I discovered this end-piece of a large petrified Miocene whalebone, parts of which are highly silicated. This is the first such piece of I have ever found in regards to end-pieces with ball-joints. It is also one of the largest pieces of petrified whalebone I have ever found.

Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Tropical Storm Lidia Sunset

I was out rockhounding in Templeton early this evening and captured this image of the sun setting through a gathering gloam as a line of dying thunderstorms approached from the east. A bit later it rained in the area shortly after sunset. This moisture originated from the death of Tropical Storm Lidia which expended itself in the area of Baja California. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

My Home Group Fam Sans Selfs

Tonight's gathering of my adaptive family which is my church home group/bible study featured a particular grouping of people who have never all been at the gathering at the same time and includes some people who often can't make it, but did tonight.

Unfortunately, the host couple was out of town for the day/evening and were not in attendance as they usually are. We were so blessed to be able to meet in their home despite their not being there and it was very cozy with it raining outside the entire time.

These people keep me rooted and real and I have grown so much with them over the years.
Love you guys/gals! All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

*NOTE: one of the attendees, pictured above, Photoshopped the image below which shows Ted and I made to look like we're hanging from a rafter and have placed a Magnum upon it. Thanks Darcie. [Updated 12/18/2016]

North San Luis Obispo County CERT Gets Hosed

This morning the North San Luis Obispo County CERT assembled at the Templeton Fire Station for a Templeton Fire Department-sponsored hose-training drill at the training grounds nearby. This was done with memories seared into many minds of images of civilians wearing only shorts, T-shirts, and tennis shoes helping San Francisco firefighters haul hoses and fight the conflagration of just one block of the Marina District in the 1989 M6.9 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Interim Templeton Fire Chief Keith Aggson formerly of Atascadero Fire Department (which department is our patron agency) was the force behind this event even happening and he is to be commended for his initiative in this matter and his underlying vision of how useful an asset CERT can be to local departments which can't be said of all of them unfortunately and I shall leave it at that.

The drill started with the team being broken up into two parts and later those parts were further divided in half. Each group or grouplet watched the experts manipulate the hoses and hook them up and deploy them and then break them down. We as CERT members then imitated what they did and hopefully learned enough that we will retain that knowledge when the inevitable disaster strikes. At the end of the drill we watched the pros fight some small practice fires and then we as CERT members once again imitated the experts and hopefully will remember enough of this to be useful when the time comes. 

What follows is the story of our drill in photographs, all of which are shown in the order they were captured.

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