Fish Archives - Bliss Photographics

Posted on July 27, 2020July 21, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Something Fishy Here

Most of you know I maintain a network of Game Trail Cameras across my ranch. Various trails and natural choke points are favorite places of mine to plant them. I have to decide WHERE to put them. This is based on WHERE the unknown creature destined to walk in front of my automatic cameras will inhabit eventually. I noticed a well used path down near a local lake where small animals obviously had tread prior to my discovery of the local highway. Out comes a game trail camera with a view of the path.

Of course I have no control over environmental lighting. Moving animals at night are hard for Game Trail Cameras to freeze. This one did pretty well but at 5:15AM, just a bit before sunrise that day, there was enough ambient light to freeze this little canid (I think a Fox of some sort). What was REALLY interesting was the breakfast it had in it’s mouth.

I wish I knew the back story of this. I can only by implication assume the fish was dead on the shore. The other alternative is he did some early morning fishing which would be different for sure lolol. The Fox may like his sushi from a gas station refrigerator next to the automotive fluids aisle. You know, a little past prime perhaps?? There was a pretty good grass fire here on ranch lately so maybe he had that fish cooked first. Back to reality, the lake is getting lower and a fish may have been trapped in the shallow. At any rate, caught him with his breakfast. Yumm. 😜

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: Something Fishy Here

Posted on April 17, 2020April 10, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Rising Backcountry April Moon

It really was pink for this Moon Rise. Caught the Egg Moon at the moment of lift off from the horizon. This Mountain ridge is 10 miles out from my camera. This moon rise was 94 degrees east on the compass. (corrected for magnetic declination of course). You see magnetic north is not the same as geographic north. There are 8 degrees 44 minutes difference here at the Bliss Dinosaur Ranch. If you use a compass and don’t correct it for Polar Wandering of the magnetic pole, your navigation is off a bit. Makes a big difference the further you go lol.

The tendency to crush perspective is a property of long focal length lenses. This 1200 mm is about 28 inches long. It is looking at an area of that distant ridge that is about the size of a postage stamp at arms length. The distant stamp would cover the moon and the ridge in this photo more or less. This really zooms up on the ridge. The moon too but the relatively closer ridge, is disproportionally enlarges. If I were to jump into a car and drive 5 more miles back, the moon would still look this big but the ridge would look a lot smaller by comparison. The relatively smaller ridge with the moon about the same size would be the result. The moon appears to grow as I move further away from the ridge.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: Rising Backcountry April Moon

Posted on March 30, 2020March 25, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Horizon Rising Moon Set

From Front to Back:

The first ridge of Rock, theTullock Formation, (Tertiary Alluvial Fans ) deposited 130 miles from the Big Horn Mountain which were the Source of the sediment. High gradient Streams ran off those distant slopes bringing the debris all the way out here. The first ridge is part of the “Prairie Dog Hills that span the Montana / Wyoming border 8 miles to my west. . It’s rough country out there too lol.

The Second Ridge is the spine of the “Red Hills” 40 miles distant. The Little Powder River Squeezes into the valley behind some 400 feet lower than the second ridge top. Sediments derived from the Big Horn Uplift were the source material. There are considerable area of “Clinker” Rock in those hills. Clinker is natures ceramic. Underground coal fires bake the clay surrounding the coal layers into a red Ceramic thus the moniker of “Red Hills”.

Finally, the March morning back show looking at the last sliver of the setting Full April Egg Moon (Passover moon). The moon heavily distorted from the atmospheric lensing that low in the air. The color is a result of only the red wavelengths making to my camera through that air. 1200mm long lens on a big heavy tripod. 2 second Time Exposure.

This moon is is also known by other name variations such as the Paschal Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Hare Moon, and the Sprouting Grass Moon. IT will occur Tuesday, April 7th at 8:35PM, Mountain Time. This image is from Last Aprils Paschal Moon. This Moon sometimes occurs in March and sometimes in April. The word Paschal means “Passover” in Greek (a transliteration of the Hebrew word pesach).

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana).

TItle: Horizon Rising Moon Set

Posted on December 24, 2019December 17, 2019 by Frank Bliss

A Smaller Fish’s Last View

Our ranch has an Underground Aquaponic Greenhouse with LOT of things growing in 2000 gallons of circulating water. It’s underground and a greenhouse so it is legitimately called a Walipini. This is an 8 pound Tilapia in one of my tanks that I raised from fry. I have about 700 gallons of fish tanks (7 total tanks) dedicated to fish There is another 1300 gallons that are the same circulating water. It runs all winter and is currently 65 degrees with a rain forest environment.

This particular fish is 5 years old (which is old for a Tilapia). It has mostly eaten fish pellets but will eat duckweed, chunks of tomato, and bugs. I’m pretty sure that he would eat a smaller fish in a heartbeat. He is a BIG fish for the 110 gallon tank he is in. The other fish are mostly smaller or at best as big as this behemoth. I currently have about 150 pounds of Tilapia total in the system.

The Til

I’m trying to transition from a Monster Tomato Plant that over the last 5 years has slowly dominated my float/plant tanks. (Aquaponics grows stuff without soil, nothing but water for the roots). I’m growing Orchids, a monster Hoya, strawberries, some peppers and some parsley at the moment. I will slowly cut the tomato plant back until it’s gone. Slowly replacing plant volume with different vegi’s/fruits. I have found over the last 5 years that I can grow anything I can get to sprout down there.

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: A Smaller Fish’s Last View

Posted on October 9, 2019September 30, 2019 by Bliss

Aquaponic Raised Hybrid (Sterile) Tilapia for Supper

I’ve been raising and eating my own Tilapia (sterile hybrids) raise in an aquaponic system in our 10 feet underground Wyoming Walipini.
A Walipini is an underground greenhouse. It’s very efficient, produces a lot of tomatoes and other vegis… Strawberries and I’m just now starting to grow orchids after 4 years of just fish and vegi’s. The strawberries were hard but I got them to grow and they are producing enough to feed me mouthfulls every morning now.
The tilapia weighed in at 7 pounds each and would feed 8 at a table easily. That’s a lot of fish. I keep about 300 pounds of them currently. Their poop feeds the plants which in turn clean the water.

This system has been running now for almost 5 years (in december.). I have tilapia that old. Caught these guys with a net, placed them in a cooler of ice water and the cold water numbs them do death. Don’t feed them the day before and cleaning is better lol.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.