Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Photography

La Bella Luna

I post this photo of “The Good Moon” that I took earlier this evening as I was out with Damsel looking at all the several planets visible after sunset. This included Venus (seen for the first time this year), Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. It was indeed a spectacle.

However, the moon led the show tonight, with Tycho crater along with the Lunar “Seas” in the image I captured while trying to “fine tune” the camera settings on my Canon SL3 to render the image above. (Click to enlarge.)

My camera settings were 1/250sec shutter, ISO 400, aperture f-13, Focal Length 250mm. I am still experimenting with the SL3 and lenses, but as of next week I will have a new mirrorless Canon R-10 to continue experimenting with my camera settings.

27 Feb 2026 by Arizona Astronomy Notions Photography 0

Car Show and Fly-In

We attended the annual Wickenburg Fly-in and Car Show this morning on a beautiful January day here at the local airport. Among the sights to see (and hear) was this magnificent PB4Y Privateer which did a 150 foot elevation pass along the runway centerline before circling to land and taxi to its display position. What a sound!

We also saw literally hundreds of cars and dozens of different aircraft.

There were rows and rows of classic cars and hot rods. (Look at the weather – clear sky and 70°.)

Damsel took this photo of a gyroplane on the aircraft line:

One of the more unusual entries in the car category was “El Grinch,” this odd-colored Jeep:

It was a fun and interesting event and a nice way to spend a couple of hours this morning. Click on any image to view enlarged.

17 Jan 2026 by Arizona Aviation Classics Entertainment Nostalgia Photography

Rosemary Orchids

All of these tiny blue flowers that appear several times a year on our rosemary bushes attract bees and other pollinators. Today, they attracted me and my new Macro lens, to wit; an EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens. The image above is of one of our several rosemary bushes behind the retention wall north of the RV Drive. The image below is one of the tiny flowers up close using the new Macro lens.

I was not in optimum lighting for the above shot since the sun was getting low in the sky, but I managed to get a pretty good look up close at one of the flowers on the bush. Additionally, the wind was a factor and the image may have a slight blur due to motion of the subject. Nonetheless, I am pretty satisfied with the new lens and its close up performance. I am still learning to use the correct camera settings, and as time and experimentation go on, I’m sure that I can improve with it.

I can’t get over the little flowers resemblance to some orchids we see in other photos of flowers. Click on either image to view enlarged.

08 Jan 2026 by Arizona Home & Garden Notions Photography

Lemon Tree — Fruit and Flowers

For the many years we have had this tree, we thought it was a “Lisbon Lemon,” but now, we discover it is actually an Improved Meyer Lemon (Citrus × meyeri). We made the discovery when we uploaded some photos to AI asking why we were simultaneously having new blossoms and ripening fruit on the tree. It turns out that this is normal behavior for this species.

While most citrus trees follow a seasonal cycle, Meyer lemons are unique for their “everbearing” nature. It is very common to see fruit in various stages of maturity (green, yellow, and ripe) alongside fragrant white blossoms all on the same branch at the same time.

Here are some close-ups of the blossoms and fruit:

The last two photos were taken using a newly-acquired Canon EF-S 60mm 1/2.8 Macro lens. We bought the lens specifically for close-ups of our desert flora and fauna. These two photos turned out to our satisfaction and we are pleased with the new-to-us (very slightly used) lens.

As for the lemon tree, we anticipate harvesting the fruit within a month.

07 Jan 2026 by Home & Garden Photography

2025 Cops Who Care
 Classic Car Run

Today, we attended the annual Cops Who Care Car Show and Toy Drive. The weather was great and the show was well attended by both cars and visitors. The toy table wasn’t doing too bad either — gonna be a lot of happy kids this Christmas.

When I was a kid in the late 1940s, my folks had one of these Ford Coupes modified with a bench seat for their three little boys to sit behind the driver/passenger seat. It’s a 1933 Year Model, same as Dad and Mom’s.

Also, when I was a kid, there were a lot of these Studebakers on the road as I recall. This Convertible is a member of the local Studebaker Club in the Hassayampa Valley.

We enjoyed the time spent at the Wickenburg Community Center today and look forward to attending again next year.

07 Dec 2025 by Arizona Charity Classics Nostalgia Notions Photography Something Shiny

The Raging Hassayampa River

The local weather has provided us with much needed rainfall, but not without some flooding in certain areas. We have been OK here in our domicile, but some have had minor flooding in town, with some more major incidents throughout the state. The normally-dry Hassayampa River (clickable image) had running water on Wednesday when Damsel took this photo.

We’re high and dry here and the rain storms are expected to subside into our regular sunny fall weather after this coming weekend. So, we expect to be OK for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. Our retirement itinerary has us shopping tomorrow (Thursday 11/20/25) and stocking up on groceries such that we won’t need to shop during Thanksgiving week.

We’ll post about our Thanksgiving Holiday next week.

19 Nov 2025 by Arizona Environment Notions Photography

Monongahela River

We’re still roaming around the land of ancestors on this excursion. Today, we visited the place of my paternal grandmother’s birth in Barrackville, West Virginia. One of the major landmarks in this area is the Monongahela River, which is in northern West Virginia and Southern Pennsylvania.

Some facts about this river from Brave Leo AI:

The Monongahela River is a 130-mile-long river that flows through north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. It is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia. The river flows northward, joining the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River.

The name “Monongahela” comes from the Unami language and roughly translates to “falling banks”, referring to the geological instability of the river’s banks. The Monongahela River is an important waterway for industry, carrying coal, coke, iron, and steel. It is made navigable by a series of locks and dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The upper reaches of the Monongahela River basin are known for their whitewater kayaking and rafting opportunities. The river also has a significant history, including being the site of the Braddock Expedition during the French and Indian War in the 18th century.

Clickable image.

23 Jul 2025 by Notions Photography Retirement Wanderlust

Categories

Archives