Sedona AZ (December 15, 2021) – In preparation for the 2022 grant application process, the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County will host free virtual grant application workshops. The workshops will equip organizations with information to apply for funding in 2022. Representatives from nonprofits, public schools, government agencies, and tribal entities interested in applying for funding next year must attend one of the three workshops offered to be eligible for funding consideration. The first workshop offered is a full-length session for organizations who have never applied for ACF funding or whose application wasn’t previously successful (i.e. application was not reviewed…
Author: Tommy
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By Ted Grussing … this morning the normal routine was implemented … on my end, it was rolling out well before sunrise, exercises, grab some coffee, camera and out the door. Hook up the boat and down to the lake with friends … launch the boat and begin exploring the lake and the lives of all the creatures who call Lake Pleasant home. It is a transitory place for many as they spend the season here on the fall migration … and permanent for others including the burros, coyotes, cougars and others … the fish who supply the food for…
Flagstaff AZ (December 14, 2021) – Health First Foundation solicits interest in its 2022 Northern Arizona Community Health Grant Cycle, which looks to fund innovative and sustainable nonprofit programs addressing chronic health conditions. Letters of intent are required before grant application and must be submitted by Jan. 14. Health First has delivered up to $1.5 million in grants each year to improve health in the five counties of northern Arizona. Individual grants typically range from $35,000 to $200,000. “Many people in our region have unaddressed diabetes, heart disease, respiratory issues, cancer, dental disease, and obesity,” said Health First President and CEO…
Flagstaff AZ (December 14, 2021) – With the arrival of snow and wet weather, the Flagstaff Ranger District and Mogollon Rim Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest are beginning to close many forest roads for the safety of visitors and to protect forest roads during the winter season. Main forest roads are expected to be closed across much of the forest where snow has fallen, and the closures are expected to begin tomorrow (Dec. 14). Forest Service personnel will be patrolling forest roads starting this afternoon through mid-week to inform forest visitors and swing gates. Each year the Forest…
Cottonwood AZ (December 14, 2021) – ‘Vin de Filles’, an Arizona wine grown, produced and bottled by women was released during its first annual Fund-Raising Party in mid-October at Page Springs Cellars. The group of female volunteers ranged between the ages of 11 and 68. They nurtured two different grape varieties, Malvasia and Syrah since the beginning of the 2020 winegrowing season for their pied-de-cuve co-ferment. Jenelle Bonifield, a professional female photographer photo-documented the journey: pruning, shoot thinning, suckering, leaf pulling, hedging, netting, harvesting, pressing and bottling. Lauren designed the label showing homage to Page Springs Cellars and adding a…
Sedona AZ (December 14, 2021) – The city invites the public to attend its next artist reception on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers and Vultee Conference Room at City Hall to celebrate some of Sedona’s most seasoned local artists such as Jacque Jordan Jackson, Ruth Holland Waddell and Theodosia Greene, as well as posthumously Dorothy Tanning, Harriet McInnis, Lillian Wilhelm Smith and Ruth Jordan. Special music guest will be Erroll Foldes. Masks are required at the event due to pandemic concerns. This exhibit is on display through Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. “After…
By Ted Grussing … memories of two consecutive days in February of 2018 when I flew to and photographed the peaks after a beautiful snowstorm. The photo above was taken early afternoon on the 16th and the view is looking up a ski lift and some runs coming down the ridgeline leading up to Agassiz Peak. The peak is 12,356′ and the shot was taken from 11,520 feet. Most of the Snowbowl runs are to the left side of this shot. The trees were powdered with snow or hoar frost and the entire mountainside sparkled in the sun. If you…
By Tommy Acosta It was a vicious and unexpected kick to the cojones when Covid variant Omicron slammed into world consciousness the day after Thanksgiving. Just when the fully vaccinated figured they had finally achieved a modicum of protection against the killer virus, now we learn that Omicron cherry picks its victims, preying mostly on the fully vaccinated, even those who have taken the booster shoots. What a double cross. What a betrayal by those who pushed the vaccines as the bono-fide protector of life against the previous Covid mutations. It’s just not right. They believed, even when reports came…
By Amaya Gayle Gregory I am what I am. I look how I look. My health is what it is. The people in my life are what they are. Life on this planet is what it is. I do not have access to the wondrous perfection seekers pursue. I have not found something others don’t have. The gazillion things in life come and go, just like always. Everything is in constant movement; nothing is constant. The needle on the scale tends right; the needle fades left. Health improves just in time for a new health crisis to appear. Relationships begin;…
By Ted Grussing … it was a beautiful day on Lake Pleasant today and a distinct absence of humans on the lake … the birds came out to play and celebrated having the lake pretty much to themselves and put on a celebratory display of silliness like this shot of a great blue heron doing I know not what, but obviously enjoying himself. We drifted up quite close to him and he just posed for us … then it was like all heck broke loose for about 30 seconds. Glad we got to enjoy the big kerfuffle . A greater…
By Dave Myers Sedona AZ (December 9, 2021) – Happy holidays from the Oak Creek Apples Macintosh User Group (OCAMUG). There will not be an Oak Creek Apples meeting in December 2021. Plans for January 2022 will be announced in early January. The OCAMUG is exclusively an educational institution for the public on the use of Apple Computers and other iOS devices, including maintenance, security, and software applications. OCAMUG is a 501.c.3 organization and donations are tax deductible. Membership in the Oak Creek Apples is open to anyone who wishes to belong. Thank you for your interest in and support of…
By Ted Grussing … I have had a lot of questions lately about feathers and their functions and the ability of a bird to control them. There are numerous types of feathers that a bird has and they serve different functions … some like the downy feathers nearest the body trap body heat and are covered by other feathers called contour feathers which also serve the purpose on the wings of providing the aerodynamic shape of the wing and overlap the flight feathers which are controlled by the bird in flight to give it extreme control over its flight. The…
By Ted Grussing … there is a certain freedom in flight and I was thinking about that today as I stopped at the ponds to get some shots on my way to pick up some groceries at Basha’s … yeah, I know it is really out of the way, but it was a nice day and I don’t have any commitments for a while. I got some nice shots of herons in flight and a few other species … looking at the grace they display in flight I went back through some of the shots of me flying AZ2 my…
Flagstaff AZ (December 7, 2021) – Logging operations will begin this week in an area just west of Interstate 17 across from Munds Park as a result of the Munds Park Timber Sale. Perkins Timber Harvesting will be operating in the area with heavy machinery to harvest logs in the area, which will benefit the forest ecosystem by thinning overstocked stands of ponderosa pine. Thinning all improves foraging habitat for wildlife and reduces catastrophic wildfire risk to the community of Munds Park. Log truck traffic will be prominent along Forest Roads 253 and 253B, with trucks entering and exiting I-17…
By Ted Grussing … this hen common merganser was having a little problem deciding whether or not to take off and in the photo above she is showing her hesitancy to leave the surface of the lake and commit to airtime. She was kinda halfheartedly running and flapping her wings and ultimately decided that she would remain on the water. In this shot you can see her doing a wing beat and the water being splashed all over the place … and she looked so regal while doing it. Aborted takeoffs by planes are not nearly so graceful … The…