Killing A Few Minutes In Long Beach at a Koi Pond/Japanese Garden

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

If you happen to be near Cal State - Long Beach, on any day other than Monday or Saturday, and have 10 minutes or so to kill, visit the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden.  As for the "10 minutes to kill", I am not being sarcastic, this garden is very small.

Though this is a Japanese garden, it lacks some of the major attractions of any Japanese Garden.  There were no cherry blossoms and there were no banzai trees.  There were a couple of weeping willows and some local trees trying to be bent into banzai form.

Foot bridge with Weeping Willows

Cattails

Cattails

Cattails

Foot Bridge

The prime attraction of the Garden is the koi pond.  The pond is well stocked with koi of all ages.  The koi are used to being hand-fed by kids and even reach out above the waterline to receive the food that is sold on-site.  This was the first time I got so close to koi that I noticed their little barbels on the side of the mouth.  

Koi

Koi

Koi

Koi

Heron Watching Koi

Koi

Koi above the surface

Another interesting resident of the garden was this very red dragonfly...

 

Last but not least, was this blue heron that was flying around the garden area...

Heron Flying Across the Pond

Happy Heron

Heron Still Flying Across

Heron

Wet Necked Heron

Heron

Heron

The complete collection of photos from this trip can be found at our Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden flickr set.

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Bighorn Sheep Herd at Zzyzx (Part II of Tales of the Zzyzx Bighorns)(w/Lamb Pics)

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

The two lamb videos/slideshows in my earlier post about seeing the bighorn sheep herd at Zzyzx in May, 2013 did not come out all that well.

Seeing a 2-week old bighorn lamb within 100 feet or so, is pretty rare (although here is a ewe and 2 lambs from another sighting) and absolutely spectacular.  This lamb deserved a more significant posting of its cuteness.

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Bighorn ewes have a six-month gestation. In temperate climates, the peak of the rut occurs in November with one, or rarely two, lambs being born in May. Most births occur in the first two weeks of the lambing period. 

Lambs born earlier in the season are more likely to survive than lambs born later. Lambs born late may not have access to sufficient milk, as their mothers are lactating at a time when food quality is lower. Newborn lambs weigh from 8 to 10 lb and can walk within hours. The lambs are then weaned when they reach four to six months old. 

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For your enjoyment, I present the raw images of a 2-week old lamb exploring his new world and searching for shade.

Eventhough I am pretty young, I can gallop over these loose and jagged rocks!

Looking for shade

I think I found shade

Hmm.  Can I fit in here?

Lookin' Good!

Great shade!!

I am really liking this spot!!

Hey Dad...Look at this great spot I found!

Time to head home

Eventually I will learn to breath with my mouth shut!

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Part III of this post cycle/string (coming soon) will contain pics of the grown bighorns of this lamb's herd.

Note: All our bighorn sheep photos are available for licensing on very reasonable terms.

Sunsets, Lava Tubes and More on the Waikoloa Coast of Hawaii's Big Island

by Steve Reiss (Dalmdad Landscape Photography - www.dalmdad.com and https://www.facebook.com/Dalmdad.)

The Hawaiian Islands have miles and miles (and miles?) of lava tubes just under their surface.  Some lava tubes become tourist attractions (Thurston Lava Tube) while others become construction hazards into which bulldozers have fallen.  As can be seen, there was only about 1.5 feet between the roof of the tube and the ground the dozer was plowing.

Picture found on web (Gary13b/Photobucket)

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This lava tube is on Hawaii Route 19 (Queen K. Highway), on the South Kohala Coast, between Kona International Airport and the resorts at Waikoloa Beach.  We passed it a couple of times and it was always in a shadow, so I kept driving, hoping the next time we pass it would be more attractive to photograph.  

Finally, on the way back from Volcano to our hotel, we passed by at sunset.  The overall lighting from the sunset was about as good as we could hope, so we stopped.

When we stopped, three girls happened to also be visiting the tube.  They were a jovial and giggly group, I give them that.

Three Gals Visiting Lava Tube

The drop off from road level to the lava tube was pretty steep and laced with loose, sharp rocks.  There was not a chance in hell that I would try to climb down there.  I was left to admire my shadow.

Me, Myself & I

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