Asian lilies are noted for large flowers, vigorous growth, and sweet perfume, ‘Casa Blanca,’ an Asian Lily variety, is a standout among them. The huge flowers are pure, gleaming white and delicately flocked in a way that adds richness and texture. When these lilies are in our vase, we find excuses to wander nearby. Click on the thumbnail image to see the full-sized flower.
Pelicans at Point Vicente
Saturday, during our visit to the cliffs at Point Vicente, we saw this flight of California Brown Pelicans soaring along the shoreline in the updrafts.
The four lead pelicans are seen in the image below. You can see the entire flight of ten by clicking on the image. See this article for a close up of a California Brown.
The eleventh bird in the large picture is a seagull who was also soaring the cliffs.
Sharing Targets at the Range
When we go to the range to practice, we generally share a target. We use one for the revolvers and generally change it out when we switch to the 9mm pistols. Most of the time when a target gets perforated to the point of not being able to see where the rounds are going, we will paste on one of those fluorescent glows-where-you-hit-it targets. For shotguns, we put up 2 x 3 foot silhouette targets.
Although we generally know who is hitting where on the target, there is some ambiguity. At the end of the video here you will see that even though there are shots all over the target, we are collectively getting pretty good at hitting the center a lot of the time.
The Eyes Have It
Bear is such a faithful and gentle dog. She was watching me take pictures in the back yard when I turned and shot this one of her. I had the zoom set for close up, and luckily got her face centered in the frame.
After the Rain
We did a little shopping this morning after the overnight rain. We got some sports equipment at Big 5 and some gun cleaning and target practice supplies at Turner’s Outdoorsman. Having nothing else to do and since it was early, we decided to head down to the Palos Verdes Peninsula. it was certain to be clear after the rainfall. We weren’t disappointed – we had crystal clear views of Santa Catalina Island and all the way out to Santa Barbara Island. We posed for this picture at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center with the lighthouse in the background. Click for the full-sized picture.
Speed Loaders
Unlike pistols, where a magazine is preloaded with a number of rounds, a revolver, such as my little Smith and Wesson 442, you need to insert a round in each chamber of the cylinder before firing. My gun holds five rounds and it takes several seconds to load before snapping the cylinder into the frame and commence firing.
We still load the guns the ‘old’ way at the range, but at home, we preload rounds into speed loaders and keep them handy so we don’t have to have loaded guns – until we need them – and likely won’t have the time to put five individual rounds in the cylinder. That way, with a simple twist of the release knob, the rounds simultaneously fall into the cylinder and with a snap, the revolver is ready to defend the Ponderosa.
