Midwest Mountain Bike Festival - Day 2

It was a busy day at the festival. It started off with a pancake breakfast by the Eldridge Lions which was held at the Sac Fox campground shelter. From there is was over to the main festival area.
Group rides were organized. The kid's ride headed out. At that time, I decided it was time for me to ride. My goal was to ride the other loop (Parkview Loop). Carol (FORC member) recommended to also ride the Pine Bowl that comes off of the Parkview Loop.
The Parkview Loop is a little longer, and sections of the trail has tighter clearances and sharper turns. Then again, there are some longer straight-a-ways. The loop is a green trail (as was Long Grove Loop I rode yesterday).
Pine Bowl is a blue trail, yet I found it easier than sections of the Parkview Loop. Did not have the tight turns.
All-in-all, by the time I was getting near done the Parkview Loop, I was tired. Could see/feel I was losing the control of my bike. No crashes - thankfully. After the ride and a sandwich, I decided to head to the room for stretch my legs and maybe take a nap.
After the rest, it was time for the "Not Lame Games". First was "Huffy Toss". The goal was to see who to throw a "Huffy" bike the furthest. The other game was "Bicycle Dodgeball". Riding bicycles, throwing bicycle tires at the opponent in a classic game of dodgeball.
During the games there was a constant drizzle - making the grass very slick. It was also getting cool and damp. I decided I had enough for the day - skipping the potluck BBQ and the beer potluck.
Raining very hard on my drive back to the room. May have to grab the hybrid tomorrow to ride pavement.
Today's photo shows my Fuel EX7 on the Parkview Loop.

Reptiles in the garden

Me: Look at this plant!
Friend on garden tour with me: Wow.
Me: The leaves look like they're made of scales. What do you want to bet that it's got snake in its name?
Friend: Or alligator!

We asked our hosts, and sure enough, it's Microsorium musifolium, Alligator Fern.*
Cool! I think I would have used snake, though.
Speaking of which, I spotted a big rat snake sneaking under the chicken coop yesterday. (Actually he was just sitting there, but he had a very sneaky air about him.) I ran for the camera, but he had slithered away by the time I got back.
We've been using golf balls as laying enticements. They say, "lay your egg here, this spot is great" in language that chickens almost can't help but agree with.
Lately though, the golf balls have disappeared. That snake had a suspiciously round lump near the end of its tail. And a stomach ache, I imagine.
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* Also known as Crocodile Fern. You will also see the botanical name as Microsorum musifolium (without the last "i" in the first word).

A day in the life of a plant pathologist

Other than, "How tall are you?, " the question I get asked most is, "What is a plant pathologist?".
I guess that "plant pathologist" conjures up images of a person in a white lab coat dissecting a dead plant on a cold, metal table. A forensic pathologist....only for trees.
Most of the time, I'm not playing the role of a coroner (sometimes, though!) but rather studying the diseases and insects that interact with and affect the health of landscape plants. As a field plant pathologist, most of my time is spent at nurseries or in landscapes looking for signs and symptoms of fungi, bacteria, viruses and insects.
It is a lot like CSI most of the time. I have to asked a lot of questions to find out what happened prior to illness. How often was it watered? When was the last time it was fertilized? When did you notice it was in decline? Have you done anything to this plant recently?
CASE STUDY
A few weeks ago, I started seeing this on the Camellias at a few nurseries and in gardens:I had been told a few years ago by another pathologist that it was a virus called Camellia Ringspot Virus. Although the leaf spots look very viral, something about it didn't add up (you have to go with your gut a lot), so I took a second look when it appeared this winter.
The circular leaf spots occur on older foliage following cold weather. As soon as the new leaves emerge in the spring, these diseased leaves fall to the ground.
As it turns out, this ring-spotting is caused by a fungus. And this fungus overwinters on the infected leaves that fall to the ground beneath the Camellias. After a week or two on the ground, a large brown lesion will develop on the leaf.
If conditions are right, the fungus will sporulate and fruiting bodies will become evident on the leaves. This is an image of the fruiting bodies though a dissecting microscope:The black squiggly stuff is actually masses of spores that are being pushed out of the fruiting bodies. Plant pathologists call these spore tendrils. It's kind of like a really bad pimple.
When you look at these spore tendrils under a microscope the spores are visible.
This is how I am able to diagnose the disease that is affecting a plant- by the spores. Just like a flower is the definitive way to determine the species of a plant, spores are the way you determine the species of a fungus. In this case, Phyllosticta (the asexual phase of Guignardia).
Case closed!
And that's what a plant pathologist does (sort of). Wow, right?
If you are a bit geeky, this article has all the information you'll ever need: A New Leaf Spot Disease of Camellias caused by the Fungus Guignardia.

Leaving Skye - Glenelg ferry

A Greek island, perhaps? Rocky shores, crystal azure water, sunhat and sandals - where else could it be but Skye. On our return to the mainland we crossed by the Kylerhea to Glenelg ferry, which goes between the narrow strait between the island and the mainland. The road bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh has replaced the romance of going over the sea to Skye at the main crossing point (and the queues of traffic), but there are still ferries at Glenelg and at Armadale in the south of the island. The Glenelg ferry is a community enterprise, and is the last manually operated turntable ferry on the west coast. (The two girls are mine - my daughter and her French friend. The hat, sandals and dog belong to someone else.)
The road to the ferry is spectacular, with a series of single-track switchbacks. First of all there are vistas of the island you're leaving.
Then the mainland of Scotland appears across the water.

The ferry makes the crossing every 20 minutes or so. We waited in a 'queue' of 4 cars, watching the loading on the other side of the water.

I have no photos from our own crossing. It's a very friendly ferry, and I was engaged in conversation by a German tourist who related his family's wonderful time on Skye, complete with golden eagle spotting, and then their plans for a dash to Orkney.
There's a small-scale lighthouse on either side of the water, in close-up below, and just discernible in the following shot of the turntable being manually turned.


Every ferry should have its attendant dog, who either comes along for the ride:

Or keeps a lookout from the shore.

If you cross before 4pm you can prepare for the next section of switchback single track road by having tea in the village hall at Glenelg. We were just too late, but having taken the ferry once I'd want to cross to Skye this way again, and hopefully include a scone or pancake at the village hall.
And if you'd like to see more of the Glenelg ferry, there's a blog (of course) about this national treasure.

Squirrels and Amarcrinum

It's not supposed to be over 100°F every day in June, but that's happening in Austin in ... The heat may be on, but these weirdly fragrant Amarcrinum still opened, probably because they were given one of the best sites in our yard, a smidge of the only border that offers morning sun with afternoon shade. You can grow almost anything with that exposure - even in Texas - but most of our lot gives us the reverse - shade in the morning turning to baking, parching, frying afternoon sun.
We woke this morning to the sound of little paws skittering madly across the roof, and all day long the trees have been full of chattering, sex-crazed squirrels. While on my way to the garden shed I startled this busy pair and was able to snap a photo because Kerri taught me that a blogger never leaves the house without a camera. The image is so clinical that I'm not sure whether to thank her or blame her for this post!

Blackie's Pasture

Tiburon = Shark!!! Today, we went to "Blackie's Pasture" in Tiburon (which translates to shark), where I've been many times before, but have never told you about how special it is. I am very lucky to have so many places to frolic here offleash - open space and other parks where doggies like me get to play. Blackie has his own website (www.tiburonpeninsulafoundation.org/blackie.htm) if you want to know more.
There is a life-sized sculpture of Blackie standing in the pasture where he spent so many years, by Albert Guibara. It was erected in June 1995 to honor Blackie.
Kids love to toss me my kong, cause I bring it back every time heheh! These siblings were fighting over who got to toss it to me!
There are many people memorialized at this "park" for the things they have contributed to their community: Tiburon.
Of course what I love best about "Blackie's Pasture" is the swimming!
C'mon Dad, I'm ready!
Note the San Francisco "marine layer" coating the City!
Again!
Here it is! Again!
That's enough! Let's take a walk!
A little kong toss on the grass now!
Okay Sammie, time for our picnic surprise - just behind this tree!
Check this OUT!!! A gazebo!
This is a very special place, I'll have you know... About 40 years ago, a Tiburon native, Barbara Meislin had a daughter Lori, aged 7, who died from a mysterious disease. She donated this gazebo to the Tiburon Foundation in Lori's honor. A very special place, indeed.
The ceiling has stars all over it.
This is what is says: "Beloved little lady Lori Margo Meislin Child of Sunlight, Child of Starlight, child of Moonlight, Grace, Shine Your Joyous Light of Love on all who Find this Place * The 25th Day of June 1994.
As we make our way south, we watch the "marine layer" dissipate until we can see the city of San Francisco - woowee!
As we are munching on our picnic, Dad pulls out a treat for me - some roast beast cold cuts! Then a new friend trots up! Her name is Samantha too! We shares our goodies together and made palsy-walsies! Too cool!

I just gotta have some more swimsies, so Dad obliges, tossing me the kong (hmmm - one of the last times, I suspect...)
And here is the San Francisco Bay Bridge, closed this weekend, causing all kinds of havoc all over the place. Still in the fog....behind Tiburon and Belvedere Island... behind all kindsa boats.
Hey! Here's Luma! She's had 26 puppers for Guide Dogs for the Blind. What an awesome woman she is! Ya gotta loves her!
One of the last tossers from Dad on the way back to the car. Whooo! Has this been a pawesome day! But veee-eery thirsty!
Look! It's Dennis! Naw... not really, but Chontsil looks like him!
And here's Alex! Isn't he amazing!
Jes checkin' things out again... oh, man. Don't wanna go home.

The Difference Between Enough and Excess

From the book From Clutter to Clarity by Nancy Twigg: Our Father's desire is for us to revel in the freedom and simplicity of enough (see Matthew 6:19-21 and I Timothy 6:6-8. To do that, we must trust his provision and learn the difference between enough and excess. We need to throw off 'everything that hinders'. The mind-set of wanting more is a hindrance because it lures us to step out of the safety and security of trusting God's provision and into the oppression of overload.

First Race Shoot with the Canon 60D

Today I took the new Canon 60D with Tamron 18-200mm lens to Moorehead Mayhem mountain bike race in Ida Grove, Iowa. Was the first time shooting a race with the new camera.

I knew I would have to crank up the ISO as I was in deep tree cover. But, the location gave me a good view of the trail - and could catch riders 2 different directions at one place. To have any chance of freezing rider movement, I shot in Tv mode and at 1/60 to 1/125 sec. As such, had to use ISO 800 to ISO 1600.

During the first race, I took time to review some of the jpg images I have captured. Finding dark images, I was going to add some exposure compensation and found that for some reason, it was almost 2EV dark! Changed the compensation to 0, and that made a big different.

The upper photo is the jpg images as captured and saved by the camera.

Fortunately, I was also saving the files as camera RAW. This means that I will be able to correct the exposure in Photoshop Elements. The lower version of the photo is after converted in Adobe Camera Raw and touched up in Photoshop Elements 11.

The reason I purchased the lens was so that I could use one lens, rather than swapping from the 18-55mm zoom and the telephoto zoom while shooting. The lens performed perfect for that. Just what I need for shooting races on the trail.

And, the reason for the new camera body - the number of shots I could capture before the camera had to stop to write the files to the SD card. With my Rebel T1i and srandard class 4 cards, I would only get 4-5 shots when the camera paused to write files, I did not experience and problems today - the camera and and Promaster Performance SD kept up.

I have sorted the jpg "proof" copies and have then ready for posting to my race and events web site: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com. They should be posted tomorrow (Sunday) morning when I go to Panera Bread.