mbreally: 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

October Cell Phone Dump

OCTOBER!

Time passes...and soon we will all become skulls.

September Cell Phone Dump

Got the XT350 pretty setup...now if I could only stay on it...

Medieval Mace

So I was bored and decided to make a functional medieval mace...cause you know, why not?

Start with a steel ball. Make spikes.

End of July Cell Phone Dump

Misc Photos from the month of July, 2017...

The boys...

4th of July in LA, an MBReally Tradition...

At the airport...no driving this time.

Lunch Break Ride & Herp

So I rode to work and wanted to check out this pond for tadpole action...

There were tadpoles...

It's already June.

A few pics from the 1st. Summer is here.

My old bike.

Memorial Day Weekend Camping NorNev

Tom and Kris came out to Reno for a long weekend camping trip.

Here is Toyotathon in my driveway as we prepared to head out for 3 days in the NorNev back country.

More Snakes?

Yes, more. The gettin's been good and this road is five minutes from home so here we go, another three snake night.

This gopher was by far the largest specimen I have seen. I didn't take an actual measurement, but I would say 4.5' or more.

So I went hiking in El Dorado county in a last ditch effort to get out and find some California Mountain Kingsnakes while spring weather was still in effect. Again I failed to turn up any zonata which is a real bummer since I know I was in the right place at the right time. However, I still enjoyed hiking around and I did have some luck overall in the snake department.

I got to my spot about 6:30am and within three rocks I flipped this nice boa.

Dogs

16 Years And Counting

For our 16 year anniversary, we went on a date up at Stateline.

Tahoe is FULL!

I brake for snakes.

So recently I became aware of a road near where live, very near, that is chock full of California Kingsnakes. These snakes are very common throughout the state of California, but their range does extend into Nevada, where they are for obvious reasons, a great deal harder to locate. This isolated population is under severe threat due to heavy construction in the area and much more auto traffic. Last night it was warm, and there was a full moon, and I wanted to test out my new lightbar in the dark. So at 8:45pm I went out too see if what I heard about this road was true. I was skeptical at first about finding anything, usually because I don't have good luck road cruising, but to my surprise and heartbreak, the snakes were out en masse.

As soon as I pulled onto the road, I spotted this baby gopher snake. Gopher snakes are very common throughout this area, so this was no surprise. Still, I was happy to have found the snake before oncoming traffic did.

Slimer Update

So Harrison (aka) Slimer is getting on well with his big brother and resident autistic psychopath, Luigi. CeCe doesn't seem to mind him much either.

Family.

Maui 2017 - Part 6 (Mantokuji Mission of Paia)

It's only fitting that this is the last post about our trip to Maui. As often as we can, we like to stop and photograph interesting cemeteries and graveyards. We passed this one heading home one day and decided to stop and shoot under the setting sun. Pics by me and her.

Maui 2017 - Part 5 (Ali'i Kula Lavender Garden and Stickers)

During one of our rides we stopped at Ali'i Kula Lavender Garden. This is a really pretty spot to walk around for a bit. Lots of pretty landscape and amazing plant life.

Maui 2017 - Part 4 (Snorkeling)

This could have been lumped in with Part 3, but I feel it deserves it's own post. I shot the underwater pics and videos with my waterproof Pentax Optio, which kinda sucks. I should probably invest in a GoPro at some point.

Me making my way through the rocks.

Maui 2017 - Part 3 (Animals!)

When traveling, especially to far away places, animals are always on my radar. Whether wild or domestic, endemic or invasive, we are always interested. There's nothing more intriguing that getting off an airplane and hearing bird sounds you've never heard. Like food, this is one of my favorite things about traveling. Here is a collection of some animal highlights from the trip...

Clown kitty from the Farm Sanctuary on Maui.

Maui 2017 - Part 2 (Food)

I have to say, the food on Maui was outstanding. I knew it would be good, but just how good surpassed my expectations. This was really nice, since to me, eating is one of the best things about traveling. Back home in Reno, we seldom get really good food. And you can forget about sushi, Japanese and good seafood in general. So naturally we had our palates set to indulge in a most glutinous fashion on as much of this as possible. This post contains photos of all the food we ate, quite literally, for the week we spent on Maui. If you are hungry right now, go no further, because it will be tough to satisfy your appetite after this!

OK, so this one isn't from Maui, but the food we brought on the plane from SFO to get us primed up for some good Asian food.

Maui 2017 - Part 1 (General Photos)

This year, we decided to check out Maui instead of Mexico for our spring vacation. Below are some general shots from what turned out to be a very nice, relaxing trip!

Upon arrival, the skies were heavy, gray and dumping rain.

Highlights from 4/22-4/23

In an effort to keep my blog more up-to-date, here are some highlights from last weekend.

I often feel just like this...(Baby Animal Days @ Andelin Family Farm)

Introducing Harrison aka Harry aka Slimer

No one needs another dog when you already have two. And this was a tough decision for us both. We lead very busy lives and things are tough to stay on top of as it is. But when I was contacted by For Pet's Sake and told about a new little guy that was up for adoption, the wheels started turning. A couple months went by and we kept thinking about it. Thinking about how it probably isn't the best thing to do, but it's the right thing to do if you can swing it. Everyone needs a home...a forever home.

So while everyone else in the world was celebrating weed day, we were celebrating puppies. Here he is. A couple-few years old now, rescued from death-row in an Antioch shelter. They were going to put him down due to a bad case of kennel cough. But he was spared by the Dog Schindlers of For Pet's Sake and nursed back to adoptable health in Reno. And now he's with us, making Luigi jelly and CeCe just like whatever. Hopefully he will work out!

Save me!

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Sunday, April 16, 2017

Never skunked...a fine Easter Sunday.

It's been a few years since I hit one of my favorite Sonoma County snake spots. I've never been skunked herping here. And since I was already over in the area visiting my dad for the day, I figured I would hit the spot on Easter Sunday. Sundays are good, holiday Sundays are even better as you are less likely to see any people out and about. Not matter what, you will always find snakes along this road in Sonoma County. I was hoping for some Kings, but the weather was really cold (48F) and very wet. To be honest, I thought I might actually get skunked on the un-skunkable road, but nope...three snakes in 4 hours. I did see and smell a few actual skunks though...


Crotalus oreganus oreganus - the most abundant snakes along this road.

Houston, TX

So I had to go to Houston, TX for a weekend for work. I was able to steal away for a few hours one morning to check out the herp scene in the 4th largest city in America. It turned out to be pretty cool, as far as herping goes, but man, Texas does not seem like a place I would ever want to live.