Working /  by Dave Hileman

These are the boats of some very hard working people, those who harvest oysters in the James River. They were tied up at the marina on the James in Newport News.

The Office

Four graceful ladies

The less usual rounded stern

Radical Cow /  by Dave Hileman

We were parked along a two lane road (touring:) to check some directions and i noticed this cow staring at us. I got my camera out and rolled down the window to take the shot while the animal just slowly chewed and stared. I think the cow was trying to intimidate me for interupting lunch - with mohawk hair, steely glare and, of course, all dressed in black. Well it worked and off we went.

Saint Patrick's Day Be Upon Ye. /  by Dave Hileman

Here are my two carvings with the famous hat. The leprechaun is last year and the gnome is the first of my new series the Holiday Mad Hatters. I just finished April Fools day but you will have to wait for that one.

The penguins are a newer version as well. They are on blocks of ice - isn’t that cute:) The one with the bluish ice is the newer version

Finally the old soldier is one I did for our friend Tom (Lt Col, Ret.) It is larger than most of mine. He is pleased that his fatigue coat and hat still fit. I need to learn how to do different eyes. All I can muster are cartoon eyes. It was a fun carving.

Patient is in Recovery /  by Dave Hileman

Yesterday we received word that the evaluation of the cause, the scope of the problem and solutions were done. Not the final work but the initial work. The Oliver people figured out the cause and have a plan to fix that issue. That is good news. It was an anomoly that they are confident will be safe and there should be no reoccurrence. The work will take the better part of the next two weeks including getting some parts that may not arrive until early next week. That is news we can deal with easily.

The insurance company, AMICA, accepted the estimates and are sending me a check for the repair minus our deductible. Excellent news. I will say that we have had AMICA for 15 years and it is a tad more expensive however, even though this took a bit, they have been excellent to work with on our three claims. When our Honda was totaled by a man who drove through a red light (and was cited by the police for three violations) they got us a full amount check the next day. They were equally prompt with the broken water pipe in our ceiling and had a very good company here working in two days.

The scope of work on the trailer includes a lot of new wire, a new furnace, new safety equipment, testing of all the systems, brake work and install of a buss, a shunt and some new solar connectors.

We also are having a window replaced that lost its seal and water seeped in between the two layers of glass, a window blind that was starting to drift down when raised, some new hoses on the LP tanks (maintenance) and a new shower bracket. That is not under the insurance company.

We will be excited to get the Oliver back and do a week or two testing everything to make sure we are back in good order. We will do this mostly in Tennessee and Kentucky area. We have late April and early May obligations but we might get a week in at the beach in May before we head in late June to Florida for a wedding and Pennsylvania in July.

You may resume humming, “Back on the Road, Again”

Oliver in the wild at Texas state park near Big Thicket National Preserve.

Clay-colored Thrush /  by Dave Hileman

Another new bird found in Texas before we had to leave because of the breakdown of the electric system on the trailer. Just a bit of an update. AMICA insurance is covering - at least that is the information currently and I expect that to be the case, the repairs to the Oliver less the deductible of course. As of last Friday little was done but with the go-ahead from the insurance we expect that will change. We hope that is the case. We would love to be back on the road by the first of April even if we cannot afford to go far. We have also asked for four small jobs to be done and an upgrade on another item.

Back to the bird. In North America the only place these are found is the very tip of Texas on the Rio Grande. They love oranges and other fruit and so are attracted to feeders like this one by bits of orange and orange zest. They were active and skittish birds and never seemed to stop, so hard to capture even at the feeding station. Note the one on the left has been banded. My NA bird list now is at 409.

Camellia /  by Dave Hileman

How rare is it for me to have a name for a flower. The camellia is one of about 3000 varieties found in the world but not native to the US. Now they common in gardens and parks. This one is in a park in Newport News, VA and shot after a rain shower.

Glamorous Photography /  by Dave Hileman

Photography is not as it is often depicted even on a modest site such as this. I like to post photos of sunsets and sunrises, purple majestic mountains, breaking waves on ocean shores and beautiful locations in our National Parks with glorious waterfall and eagles swooping across the landscape. Photographing the bears of Katmai or moose in Yellowstone is an exciting experience. But what happens in between all those events? Lots of waiting, driving, missed shots, poor shots, ordinary shots and days of nothing very special. And there are days with nothing that you even thought worthy of a photo!

I went out with Dennis Mook on Wednesday last and it was that kind of day photographically. It was cool, grey, occasional rain, and things we hoped were there were not. No oystermen unloading boats, no birds on the ponds. I shot today’s photo in the gravel lot of the marina where the oyster boats tie up and thought at the time, maybe the color is good. That is how desperate I was.

So not worth it, right? No, it was great. Got to spend a few hours taking photos which is simply fun, spent time with a great friend, saw some places I had not been before, we shared stories and ice cream and had a completely excellent day. “But you did not get any award winning, wall worthy amazing photos,” someone might say. True and I actually don’t —ever. I shoot to please myself, to remember, to have mementos of nice places and beautiful days, to spark my interest in traveling, history, birds, nature, people and places and to spend time with fine folks. The pictures when they come together are a bonus. Occasionally even beautiful.

So, enjoy the blue port-a-potty it is an amazing photograph.

10 - 2 - 4 /  by Dave Hileman

Those were the times of day when you needed a “Pepper” for a quick refresh. And were a part of the advertising of Dr. Pepper for many years. Formulated in the 1880’s in Waco, Texas it began to be sold by 1885 from this soda fountain in the Corner Drugstore where Charles Courtice Alderton developed it.

Re-Visit # 13 /  by Dave Hileman

We walked a long way in 90 degree heat to get to Tower Arch in Arches National Park. It is the fist one discovered and it was the reason for the park to be established. It is not as well known or visited as many of the others. You drive across a dirt desert road for several miles, park and walk 2.75 miles one way including up two large sand hills to reach this arch. It was neat however to leave the crowds of people at the main area of the park near the road and get to this spot seeing only abut 5 or six other people all afternoon.

Re-Visit #12 /  by Dave Hileman

No news Monday.

This photo is more of a surprise than anything else. I do not know what you think of when you hear, Nevada but I imagine it has to do with neon and excess everything. Or if you know about the area, there are arid stretches, rocks and more rocks, long two lane highways - and all of that is true. However in the Eastern section of the state, midway north to south is there is a National Park, Great Basin with 13,000 foot mountains, heavily forested with lots of mountain streams is not what I expected. .

Sparkling mountain stream in the Great Basin National Park, Nevada.

Re-Visit # 11 /  by Dave Hileman

Anxious to hear this week about the progress on the Oliver. They are going to upgrade the inverter to a 3000 watt unit to better handle the power of the 2 lithium batteries. That would give us a lot of options on usage.

Isn’t this photo just grand? It is made in Arizona at the Grand Canyon National Park. This tower was built years ago but is part of the park that you can tour now. I ventured off the path about 200 yards to find this perspective.

There is a spark of hope! /  by Dave Hileman

Talked to the Oliver service manager Friday late morning. They located the source of the problem - very technical when I first heard the explanation and I will not try to repeat that now but after I think about it and ask some questions I will post what occurred. It is a freak situation and that is good and there is prevention and that is better. Also, a glimmer from Mike (Oliver) who reports having talked to Deborah (Insurance at AMICA) they are inclined to cover. She is waiting for his photos but that news is encouraging. No time frame yet for anything. There is a lot of work to do including new brakes and electronic systems on the wheels that also fried. And we plan to have four or five small things replaced and one big upgrade done. So I guess we ought to be back on the road very late March for a week or three. I will keep you updated here on “As the Wheel Turns or Doesn’t Actually Turn.”

This is the first photo I took with my Fuji X-T2 camera. This is along the James River near Jamestown Island.

Re-Visit #8 /  by Dave Hileman

No trailer news, I did send the inspection report of the trailer I had done on January 4th to the adjuster.

This is my all-time favorite bird photograph. The Snowy Owl was at Chincoteague NWR near the beach. I shot about 100 of him from fairly close range. There were two others about a mile down the beach and I got a photo of them flying away as I neared but did not seem them again. This one posed for more than an hour and the 10 or so of us shooting pictures were pretty thrilled.

Re-Visit # 7 /  by Dave Hileman

Here is where we are at this point getting the trailer repaired and on the road. As of March 1 no work has been done on the trailer. They “did not get to it” after telling me that they expected to work on it beginning on February 23rd or 24th. Now they have pushed it to start tomorrow. MAYBE. The insurance is waiting on Oliver to determine a cause for the melt down before making a decision on whether it is covered or not. They said a factory mistake or a maintenance issue would rule out the claim. I think after 6 years the factory issue is likely moot and the trailer was completely gone over in January for inspection and maintenance issues. So I am at least somewhat hopeful it will be covered. We have a steep enough deductible to make even that uncomfortable but not nearly what I expect this bill to be when they are done. Our plans are now canceled for this winter trip - we do hope to do a week or two in the general area of the factory when we pick up the trailer before heading back home. Now we are just concerned about late spring and summer.

Great Smoky Mountain sunrise. The GSMNP may be our new spring destination.

Re-Visit #6 /  by Dave Hileman

I hope I will have something to report this week. So far not even a return phone call. Time to escalate the effort.

Wild ponies at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.