Monthly Archives: September 2008

The secret of Lake Mitchell

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I think I’ve figured out how they keep Lake Mitchell full of water…it’s right next to a well!

Sorry, I’m feeling silly tonight after some late-night garage time. I wanted to play with my pressure washer and my air compressor, so I had to figure out how to use both. Obviously I washed my air compressor with my pressure washer! Then I used the air compressor to push the water out of the washer’s hose as I coiled it to put it away. I like putting tools away…I’m one of those people who scrubs down his lawn mower, including under the deck, before oiling everything and putting it away.

It would take a LONG time to catalog all the neat little places, like Lake Mitchell’s recreation area, that surround the Bismarck-Mandan area. I found a few a while back when I took a little jaunt down some gravel roads that took me up that way, popping out somewhere near Wing, before turning back to park the camera for some family time. I have some interesting photos from Lake Mitchell that I’ll post in the near future.

What I’ve been doing this week instead of bloggin’

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Being daddy! My two little boys are so amazing and precious. Jonathan started crawling and loves to smile at his daddy, and PJ is learning the ropes of being a big brother. Having two little boys under the age of two doesn’t make for a lot of spare time, so my photography habit has been fed in a hit and miss fashion. Sometimes I’m fortunate enough to combine the two, and photograph my boys! For the most part, however, the camera has stayed behind. It isn’t easy, but being daddy is very rewarding.

Foggy morning church

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We had another foggy morning today, and it gave me the opportunity to photograph the sun as it rose above the steeple at Buckstop Junction. A friend mentioned that as he drove in from north of Mandan, the river valley had a really neat silhouette effect from the fog as well. Mornings like this are so incredible and make getting up early worthwhile!

From our “just when you thought you’d seen it all” department…

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One of the last things I thought I’d find in the middle of a field in central North Dakota is a big pyramid of bowling balls. Some look like they’ve been painted black with what looks like stove paint (regular flat black turns gray) but maybe they’re just aged. Some are left with their original color(s). This stack of bowling balls was next to a brush pile in a field well east of Bismarck.

I’d love to hear the story behind this one.

Misty morning hop

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As I ventured around the periphery of Bismarck-Mandan via obscure gravel roads Saturday morning, I noticed a lot of fog in low-lying areas. I noticed this old abandoned farm house poking through the fog in one area and grabbed this quick photo of it. It was a long way from the road, so in compliance with my “not without permission” policy, I simply took the best photo I could put together from the road.

More proof that liberals are liberals first, above all else

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In taking a firm stand not to put Sarah Palin on her show, Oprah just threw the “two” in “the ol’ one-two” punch to her credibility:

Punch One: Oprah declined to have Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on her show. Not the first black Supreme Court Justice in our nation’s history, but a qualified man who rose from impoverished roots. He’s a conservative. A Republican appointee. Oprah decided she was a liberal before a black person.

Punch Two: Oprah declined to have VP candidate Sarah Palin on her show. Not the first female VP candidate, mind you, but by far the most popular…a regular superstar, if you will. She’s a conservative. A Republican candidate. Oprah decided she was a liberal before a woman.

For a bunch that needs to “group-ify” everybody into factions in order to appropriately pander to, and make victims of, everyone they see…Oprah has just shown that her allegiance belongs to neither of the two most prominent demographics to which she belongs: black Americans and women.


Oh, there IS one group that which Oprah belongs to which she’s not afraid to put on her show: liberal millionaires. The list of them appearing on her show is quite long, and includes such prominent members as Barack Obama. So much for “the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates” eh?

Wispy clouds

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These were some of the last clouds of August, taken mid-afternoon. It’s not often that I shoot clouds without something else in the frame, but these were just too cool. I also threw on a couple of filters to get better color, contrast, and some lens flares.

North Dakota skies are fantastic, no two ways about it. Whether they’re clear or cloudy, we’ve got it good.