ROOT ISSUE

Tonight, CNN awarded it’s selection of heroes, people who made a difference in the world. All good choices of course. The one that stood out for me was the woman who is cultivating 9 acres of land outside of Charlotte, NC, so that inexpensive fresh fruits and vegetables could be accessible to people who might not be able to afford them. Even if we can afford them we tend to make poor choices because we do not know better.

We depend on others to distinguish non-gmo grown food from the gmo grown food. I acknowledge the problem of feeding a growing population and diminishing farmlands. Increasing the need to improve the yield per acre.

My trip across the country this past summer convinced me it is possible that we can feed the population without resorting to gmo seeds.

FARMING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY

The women in the above photograph, from the Central Valley of California, still framing where their forefathers settled at the beginning of the 19th century; arriving from Pennsylvania. I spoke with them for a while; they would stand out in any crowd. Happy with farm life and anxious to continue and improve.

Did I monition that Luther Burbank was an ancestor?

CAMERA CAR

DAY AND NIGHT

I am still coming to terms with settling back into life at “home”. The summer was such an event; seeing a small part of America. The weather which wreaked havoc in the Midwest and brought rain and wind to the Northeast, has given way to sun and clear skies with 65 degree temperatures. The contrails high in the sky exhibit the cold clear air.

BEAVER MOON

Tonight is one of those full bright moon’s, a beaver moon, that makes you wonder where the light is coming from.

THE MOON

THE MOON, the cold orb that lights the night.

COLOR OR BLACK AND WHITE?

Today’s rain brought warm temperatures, postponing the inevitable; it will get cold. This is the same image one in color one in black ad white.

Which one do you like best?

NO SOLAR ECLIPSE HERE

The Solar Eclipse was supposed to happen at sunrise. I laid out my gear; got up early and arrived at the spot I had chosen and waited for the sun. I never saw the sun that day as it was heavily overcast; however the high tide and an offshore storm coupled with an offshore breeze brought out all the surfers.

PENUMBRAL ECLIPSE

Last night was the penumbral eclipse of the moon. It was so subtle here that I am not certain I saw a change. Perhaps if I had been further east.

WANDERING EYE

After a summer of photographing, I am faced with choosing what is best, favorite, touches your senses, tells a story. Naturally it depends on what is the goal, the story to be told. Almost every photograph I took has a story, a memory, a thought.

OARFISH

Catalina marine science instructor finds 18-foot oarfish

In the late afternoon of Sunday October 13th, 2013, Catalina Island Marine Institute instructors returned home to find an 18-foot-long oarfish in the crystal waters of Toyon Bay. (Submitted photo)

By Nadra Nittle, nadra.nittle@langnews.com, @NadraKareemon Twitter

POSTED: 10/14/13, 3:25 PM PDT | UPDATED: 8 HRS AGO

The head of the 18-foot-long oarfish found by Catalina Island Marine Institute instructors in Toyon Bay in the late afternoon of Sunday October 13th, 2013. (Submitted photo)

A marine science instructor has made what’s being called the discovery of a lifetime: She found an 18-foot-long oarfish Sunday in Toyon Bay on Catalina Island.

While snorkeling, Jasmine Santana of the Catalina Island Marine Institute discovered the obscure fish, which had evidently died of natural causes. When she reached the bottom of the bay, she spotted a silver creature with eyes the size of half-dollars.

Santana’s colleagues saw her struggling to move the dead animal and came to her aid, ultimately discovering that it would take 15 people to move the animal to the beach.

Mark Johnson, a longtime CIMI staffer, said in a statement that he’d yet to witness such a sight during his tenure at the institute.

“In 32 years here, I have never seen anything like this,” he said.

Because oarfish dive more than 3,000 feet deep, sightings of the creatures are rare, according to CIMI. Oarfish have the distinction of being the longest bony fish species, CIMI reports.

Officials from the institute sent tissue samples and footage of the oarfish to an expert at UC Santa Barbara, where the species of the creature will be determined.