Cowboy'n Up - Getting western the Wyoming and Idaho way!

Cowboy'n Up - Getting western the Wyoming and Idaho way!, a set on Flickr.

Yellowstone Dinner Party - grizzlies and wolves

A grizzly bear boar, grizzly bear sow, her three cubs dine on the bounty of Yellowstone with a pack of wolves in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park

Grizzly 610 and cubs emerge from hibernation

April 8, 2013, famous Grizzly sow 610 emerged from her den with three fat, happy and rambunctious cubs. Below are the spring photo sessions with the Grizzlies. To the delight of many grizzly 610 one of 399’s cubs from her 2006 crop of cubs,  Grizzly 610 continues to be emulating her mother as she seems to be comfortable near park roads and relaxed with yet attentive with her cubs. She seems comfortable with people and vehicles as is 399 as she straddles her between wilderness and humanity. For those who see 610 and her brood the experience will be as special. And those who know her family history will likely be even more appreciative.

To learn more about these great bears visit 

Grand Teton Park’s Famous Grizzlies 399 and 610

Godspeed Lady Thatcher!

The world has lost one of its greatest champions of freedom. Margaret Thatcher led Great Britain courageously for more than a decade. During that time, she rolled back the suffocating blanket of Big Government, sparking an economic revival. And she implemented a foreign policy based on the principle that British sovereignty and the freedom of all those under the protection of Great Britain shall not be violated. Nicknamed the "Iron Lady" by the Soviet press after a 1976 speech declaring, "the Russians are bent on world dominance."

Margaret Thatcher has her place in world as well as British history. Her very name is used to denote a way of thinking: Thatcherism. Thatcherism as a powerful collection of beliefs about the capacities of human beings in a political society. The ideas were not new but were put into operation by a very remarkable woman. It was the happy coincidence of the right person, in the right place, at the right time.

It was Thatcher’s partnership with Ronald Reagan that we Americans think of first. It was characterized by loyalty, commitment and a jauntiness that proclaimed success was inevitable. As it proved to be, both in domestic policy and in bringing down the Evil Empire of the Soviets without firing a shot. Mrs. Thatcher spoke constantly of freedom, and the absolute need for America to exert international leadership in the cause of freedom. Thatcher was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. Bush in 1991.

Her achievements were remarkable, starting with the fact of being the only woman Prime Minister in British history -- something America has yet to achieve. She enjoyed 11 and a half years in office, longer than any other 20th century politician. She won three successive general elections, two of them being landslide majorities, and lost none. The secret of her success lies in a combination of qualities, which both saw her into leadership and were the essence of her period in power.

When she became leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, Britain was on the brink of disaster, threatened by total collapse. The weak Labour government with a small majority presided over a bankrupt economy in hock to the International Monetary Fund and threatened from within by a challenge to law and order itself. When she was forced from power in 1990, she left a sound economy and a confident and well-ordered society. She loved the jokes claiming she beat her all-male Cabinet ministers with her handbag, and reveled in being the "Iron Lady."

Prime Minister Thatcher is a great example of strength and character, and a great ally who strengthened the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. Yes, the special relationship Obama turned his back on since the beginning of his presidency.

Margaret Thatcher was a conviction politician and left a remarkable legacy.

Godspeed Lady Thatcher!

Two Christians Beheaded in New Jersey By Muslim Man: Media, Silent!

MUSLIM ACCUSED OF BEHEADING 2 CHRISTIANS IN U.S.

Authorities in New Jersey allege a Muslim man beheaded two Coptic Christians, burying their bodies and heads and hands in separate graves near Philadelphia, bringing the horror of the persecution of Christians in Islamic nations to the United States.

The report said investigators alleged Ibrahim killed the victims then severed their heads and hands, and buried the remains in the back yard of a home in Buena Vista, N.J.

The report said the victims were from the Coptic Christian community in the area. One of the victims had come from Egypt not many years ago    ...............................................................rest of story

Cunningham Cabin

Cunningham Cabin, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

John Pierce Cunningham built this home on the frontier in Jackson Hole Wyoming in 1885. Grand Teton National Park.

The Cunningham Cabin is a double-pen log cabin in Grand Teton National Park. The cabin was built as a homestead in Jackson Hole and represents an adaptation of an Appalachian building form to the West. The cabin was built just south of Spread Creek by John Pierce Cunningham, who arrived in Jackson Hole in 1885 and subsisted as a trapper until he established the small ranch in 1888. The Cunninghams left the valley for Idaho in 1928, when land was being acquired for the future Grand Teton National Park.

Cunningham and his wife grew about 100 acres of hay, later irrigating another 140 acres to provide feed for 100 cattle and eight horses. His brother, W. Pierce Cunningham, settled his family nearby. By 1924 the Cunningham ranch comprised 560 acres. By 1926 Cunningham had moved out of cattle and was raising sheep on the land.

J. Pierce Cunningham was one of the original county commissioners chosen when Teton County was organized in 1923. He was also, at various times, justice of the peace, postmaster and game warden.

After 1895 the Cunninghams, who had built a more commodious house, used the cabin as a barn or a smithy. A small fortification was erected in 1895 during unrest involving the Bannack Indians. Traces of foundations survive. The cabin was the scene of a shootout in 1899 between a Montana posse and two horse thieves, who were killed at the scene. The dead men, who had worked for Cunningham the previous season, were buried in unmarked graves nearby.

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Physical concepts of our National Debt

A One Hundred Dollar Bill

$100 - Most counterfeited money denomination in the world. Keeps the world moving.

Ten Thousand Dollars

$10,000 - Enough for a great vacation or to buy a used car. Approximately one year of work for the average human on earth.

One Million Dollars

$1,000,000 - Not as big of a pile as you thought, huh? Still this is 92 years of work for the average human on earth.

One Hundred Million Dollars

$100,000,000 - Plenty to go around for everyone. Fits nicely on an ISO / Military standard sized pallet.

One Billion Dollars

$1,000,000,000 - You will need some help when robbing the bank. Now we are getting serious!

One Trillion Dollars

When the U.S government speaks about a 1.7 trillion deficit - this is the volumes of cash the U.S. Government borrowed in 2010 to run itself.Keep in mind it is double stacked pallets of $100 million dollars each, full of $100 dollar bills. You are going to need a lot of trucks to freight this around. If you spent $1 million a day since Jesus was born, you would have not spent $1 trillion by now...but ~$700 billion - same amount the banks got during bailout.

Comparison of $1,000,000,000,000 dollars to a standard-sized American Football field and European Football field. Say hello to the Boeing 747-400 transcontinental airliner that's hiding on the right. This was until recently the biggest passenger plane in the world.

15 Trillion Dollars

$15,000,000,000,000 - US national debt (credit bill) has just topped the 15 trillion 2 months before Christmas 2011. Today 4/1/2013 =$16.8 Trillion Dollars. The statue of Liberty seems rather worried as United States national debt passes 20% of the entire world's combined GDP (Gross Domestic Product). In 2011 the National Debt will exceed 100% of GDP, and venture into the 100%+ debt-to-GDP ratio that the European PIIGS have (bankrupting nations).

$ 114.5 Trillion Dollars

$114,500,000,000,000. - US unfunded liabilities
To the right you can see the pillar of cold hard $100 bills that dwarfs the WTC & Empire State Building - both at one point world's tallest buildings. If you look carefully you can see the Statue of Liberty.
The 114.5 Trillion dollar super-skyscraper is the amount of money the U.S. Government knows it does not have to fully fund the Medicare, Medicare Prescription Drug Program, Social Security, Military and civil servant pensions. It is the money USA knows it will not have to pay all its          bills.
If you live in USA this is also your personal credit card bill; you are responsible along with everyone else to pay this back. The citizens of USA created the U.S. Government to serve them, this is what the U.S. Government has done while serving The People.
The unfunded liability is calculated on current tax and funding inputs, and future demographic shifts in US Population.
Note: On the above 114.5T image the size of the base of the money pile is half a trillion, not $1T as on 15T image. The height is double. This was done to reflect the base of Empire State and WTC more closely.

More info about the National debt and what it means to your

Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture's photostream

Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture's photostream on Flickr.

Big Mule Deer Buck, new snow, Jackson Hole Wyoming

Redwood Rain Forest

Redwood Rain Forest, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

Redwood Rain Forest in Klamath California.

This was on one of my "mad dash" photo trips where I was trying to travel 3,000 miles in a week and photograph as much of it as I could. A sunny day in deep forest isn't ideal conditions, it is better for it to be overcast so the clouds can soften the light and eliminate harsh shadow which narrows the dynamic range from impossible to possible. Because of the impossible light I bracketed my shot for HDR processing because of the latitudinal deferential of the dynamic range. I processed this photo a few times over the years but was never happy with it. This time it worked to the effect I finally achieved an OK photo after hours invested. Too much time but not considering the lessons learned along the way it was time well spent. If this place wasn't a thousand miles from my home I would have rather re-shot it under better light.

I love the redwoods and I once lived in them 150 miles south of here but it takes a lot of rain to build trees like these and I hated the rain. I do wish I had been a photographer then.

When I shoot HDR I hope no one can tell.
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Sunrise Two Medicine Lake

Sunrise Two Medicine Lake, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

Two Medicine Lake at sunrise provides a mirror refelection of Mt. Sinopah and the Lewis Range as the frosty 15 degree air builds a fog over the Lake. The mountains and lakes of Glacier National Park provide a copious panoply of opportunity for the visiting photographer.

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Christmas Present ~ a few thought on Christmas

By Daryl L. Hunter

Growing up as a child in America, as all children, I loved the Christmas season, the Christmas tree, lights, lawn decorations, candy, mistletoe, cookies, Santa Claus, elves, reindeer and most of all presents, it was a magical time of year.

It sure was a surprise at age 12 when I found out that Christ was the root word in Christmas, my secular home had never pointed out the connection. Today I remain more secular than anything else and I question myself, why do I get so flipping angry when ACLU types are trying to remove all vestiges of Christmas from the public square when I am not religious.

The answer must be, the homogenization of Christmas is just another symptom of the dismemberment of traditional American Culture, another victim of the Culture War, call me old fashioned but I liked the America of Christmas past, the time of the singular Scrooge. Today Christmas to me is a lot less about presents and more about turkey, tom and jerrys with friends, family and tradition, but embarrassingly with only a perfunctory explanation and observation of the meaning of Christmas to the kids.

When Christmas retailers insult the patrons of their biggest season by removing the Christmas greeting it makes me want to not buy, when I was told that a member of the Start Bus Board forbade the drivers from displaying the Merry Christmas programmed into their electric signs I was outraged, When Christmas trees became holliday trees I was apoplectic.

I have a hunch that the ACLU and their minions are offending more than just their sworn enemies, the Christian right. If their goal is “not to offend” it is a fool’s errand as it is an impossible task because to accommodate the 15% of Americans who are not Christian you have a remaining 85% at risk of being offended as an unintended consequence. If their goal is to offend, they have aspired to a goal they have a gift for achieving.

My hope is my 6 and 9 year olds find the magic in Christmas that I had the privilege to enjoy as a child; I hope it is still possible in this increasingly divisive and hostile social climate. As for me and many others I suppose, I have had a giant intangible stolen from me by the secular leftists of the ACLU and their Christophobe allies and my Christmas’s will never be the same.

All the people of the western world are going to have a Christmas on 12-25 of every year, most will have a day off from work whether they celebrate Christmas or not. It stands to reason that a Muslim, Jew or atheist would celebrate an extra day off so merry Christmas to you all.

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I originally wrote this in 2006 for my Column "And Rightly So" for a Jackson Hole newspaper "Planet Jackson Hole" but it is a Christmas tradition of mine to repost it every year here on my blog.

Huge Mule Deer Buck

Huge Mule Deer Buck, a photo by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture on Flickr.

These huge Mule Deer Bucks lay down in the sagebrush and you can't hardly see them, their antlers look like dead sage.

I have had the pleasure of photographing this great buck for three years, read the story on link below.

A Trophy Buck ~ through the years
daryl-hunter.net/a-trophy-buck-through-the-years

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"Shifty" By Chuck Yeager

"Shifty" By Chuck Yeager

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. 

  

If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket.

I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for

his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 ..." at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . do you know where Normandy is?"

At this point my heart stopped.

I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland ,

into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero ... and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said "Yes... And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are left, and those that are, 

can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that

I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man

very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it.

And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on Jan. l7 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade. No big event in Staples Center . No wall-to-wall, back-to-back 24x7 news coverage. No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right! Let's give Shifty his own memorial service, online, in our own quiet way.

Please forward by email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

Chuck Yeager

"SHIFTY" - an incredible American hero!

SHIFTY DIED JAN 17, 2011..........May God rest his soul.

Please do me a favor and pass this on so that untold thousands can read it.

We owe no less to our REAL heroes....

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Copied from e-mail I received, I don't think Chuck will mind

Let's avoid the blame for fiscal cliff

OK, first of all I am a very conservative voter who considers himself a conservative RINO. I vote republican because I won’t ever again vote for an independent that will take a vote away from the republican candidate.

That said: I think the argument can be made that we should let the taxes go up on high income earners only if we exclude S corporations. It is small business that we are trying to protect. When democrats cry about this one, their hypocrisy can be exposed. It will suck for the high-income individual, but I don’t think this will hurt the economy much; most in that income category pay most of their taxes in capitol gains anyway.

The democrats won’t separate the S corporations from individuals because they want this move to be a surreptitious tax upon middle-class business owners, yes we must protect these entrepreneurs. I would hope that if we let this tax go up to 39% on high earning  “INDIVIDUALS” and excluded S corporations that our smarter constituents would understand this tactic if sold properly.

The concept of cutting taxes to increase revenue is impossible for the stupid to understand.  The democrats cater to the stupid, lie to the stupid, then mobilize the stupid against us. Tough luck for the USA that the uninformed have an equal vote as the informed.

In a perfect world I’d like to hold our ground, and we could, but since a majority of the American public is proven themselves stupid and gullible, I think without throwing the gullible a bone it will kill us in 2014 and 2016 if we leave ourselves open to be blamed for being unreasonable. I think it would be reckless politics to take the blame for us going off the fiscal cliff.

Crop-Factor Myth – misconstrued misnomers and disseminated confusion.

Are we confused yet? Many of us with a foundation from the photography of yesterday seeking an understanding of a new paradigm of digital photography have been unintentionally misled. With the switch from film to the original camera sensors we had to get a new understanding of our equipment both new and old. The first digital camera sensors as well as most sensors today recorded an image on a smaller recording surface than the 35mm film image of yesterday. Our images shot with wide-angle lenses of our film days no longer appeared to be wide-angle images. Our telephoto lens images appear to have more magnification. Yes, this was disconcerting so we attempted to understand. Well meaning camera techno geeks explained in terms intended to simplify concepts but only confused. To make matters worse, in the quest to explain, misleading explanations have misinformed those who have never put a film camera to their eye so incorrect construal of Crop-Factor conception is universal as old hands shared bogus information to those who had never known film.

Rest of article with accompanying explanatory graphics

An Indian Buffalo Hunt for Yellowstone

By Daryl L. Hunter

One brisk fall morning before sunrise I set off from my camp outside Gardiner Montana to photograph elk at Swan Flats in Yellowstone National Park. Up before the coffee shops opened I was swizzling my second can of iced Starbucks Double Shot while Ian Tyson’s “The Gift” blared from my speakers as I enjoyed the predawn glow on the Hoodoos south of Mammoth as I wound my way up the mountain.

s
Buffalo grazing at Mud Volcano

Eagerly anticipating a great day of wildlife photography, upon cresting the hill at Golden Gate just past Rustic Falls, to my surprise I saw three tepees pitched east of the road along Glen Creek. As I surveyed the scene for photo opps I noticed up ahead, crossing the road, a band of Indians, horseback, in buckskins, packing quivers of arrows and carrying spears. Cool, this must be a movie set but where is the film crew.

I hurried down to the nearest turnout so I could photograph them as they moved trough Swan Flats as the light crept down the face of Electric Peak to the west. As I was setting up my tripod, to my delight and surprise the indians broke into a gallop chasing a small herd of bison who moments before were peacefully grazing but now were running for their lives........................................................................Rest Of Story

Great Horned Owlet

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Great Horned Owlet
Originally uploaded by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture

Grizzly Bear sow and cub

Grizzly Bear sow and cub
Originally uploaded by Daryl L. Hunter - The Hole Picture

Grizzly Bear sow and cub, Grand Teton National Park

Greater Yellowstone ~ Window on Wilderness

My video and photography travels from 2001 around the Greater Yellowstone Region where I had the opportunity to film nesting Bald Eagles, fighting Bighorn Sheep, Wolves hunting elk, elk making friends with grizzlies, frolicking grizzly bear cubs etc.

Jackson Hole Wolf Drama

JACKSON WYOMING – On a cold and snow day two miles north of Jackson Wyoming in the valley called Jackson Hole a wildlife drama played out right above the highway that travels between East Gros Ventre Butte and the National Elk Refuge.  This spot was conveniently located right above a large turnout that rapidly became a busy hub of activity for Jackson Hole photographers, wildlife enthusiasts, and distracted skiers who wanted to witness one of nature’s life and death dramas that are usually only available to many on Net Geo Wild and other programming on TV.

On the butte about a hundred yards off the highway, a black wolf was harassing a mule deer buck that had already lost his antlers but still proved far from defenseless. For two days, the wolf would make aggressive moves at the buck. The buck having wisely chosen brilliantly defendable positions to maximize his survival refused to be a pushover meal for this voracious predator.

To many spectators it appeared the wolf was playing cat and mouse with the buck because the wagging tail and the playful nature of the wolf, he did appear to be having a great old time. But I, the skeptic believes the wolf was enjoying what I believed to be a tactic of harassment and attrition, the wolf hoping the buck would wear out and lose his will to fight on.

The buck would find a relatively flat spot where he could face the wolf were behind him would be a drop off where the wolf couldn’t come up from behind or if another wolf joined the other they would both or all come from the same direction. Here, the buck would catch some restless rest between assaults from the wolf.

As the standoff played out the wolf received several good examples of what a sharp front cloven hoof feels like when applied to the head and body and, the wolf’s respect for the buck grew exponentially after each successful whack.

For those who thought it was a game for the wolf I think my video tells a different story. When the buck attacks the wolf seems to be quite head shy because of lessons learned the hard way yet intermittently he continued his assaults.

The wolf from time to time would rest and snooze as did the buck, the deer probably less restful than the wolf. The wolf would also leave now, and then I assume to go eat some field mice to hold him off for what I assume he thought would be his main course. When the wolf would leave the buck sometimes would search around the butte for a more defensible position and get a bite to eat. The wolf would return to where the buck had been then sniff out his new position, and the harassment would start anew.

As the buck gained confidence from the new respect paid by the wolf, the buck would move a short distance from his rampart defenses to eat but always on the lookout for a change of behavior of the wolf so he could rapidly refresh the wolf’s memory of his powerful hooves as he moved back to his defensible position.

Many believed the wolf was a young one just trying to learn his trade and this may be so because after two days effort the wolf departed and left the buck to fight another day, and hopefully next year in October this buck can once again become photo fodder for my camera.

Wolves - Images by Daryl Hunter