Thoughts about…

Sierra Nevada Birds

This month I elected to take a break from writing. Instead, I present to you a small collection of Sierra Nevada birds I photographed this past month 🙂

This spring I bought a new camera and editing software, and I’ve been experimenting with both. Needless to say, it’s been rewarding searching for and photographing Sierra Nevada birds.

I’m not a professional wildlife photographer, nor do I have aspirations for becoming one. But I am an artist and observer of nature. And I understand the importance of having the right tools for the right job. Not only do they make the experience more enjoyable and productive, they also inspire me to further hone my skills.

The best part of everything is that I’ve never traveled more than five miles from my house on these micro-adventures. Like most people right now, I’m averaging about a month per gallon of gas! I’m sure I’ve said it more than once, but I’m just so grateful to be living so close to open space and wild lands.

A quick note about the photos … it’s possible that you’ve seen some of these birds before (via social media). However, I’ve re-edited everything for this newsletter so in essence they’re new photos.

Lastly, if any of these pictures (or others I post) catch your eye and you’d like prints of them let me know. I can quickly and easily prep and upload them to my RedBubble/merchandise account where you can order various types of prints. The products at RedBubble are affordable and of good quality. I’ve posted at the bottom of this page examples of three Mountain Bluebird images that I’ve recently uploaded.

Click on each photo to see the bird’s name.

If there was one meaningful thing I’d like to say this month, it’s that I can’t emphasize enough the importance of fostering your passions and embracing your curiosity. You don’t have to pursue something that you believe will be profound to the rest of the world. You simply need to devote yourself, for however long the itch persists, to that which captures your interest.

Every moment there’s an exciting world manifesting right before your eyes. But it’ll always appear as wallpaper so long as you succumb to the ruts and routines of life. But once you stop to look closer at a thing, you’ll realize that even the commonplace and seemingly mundane aspects of life are extraordinary.

Here are a couple of short videos I produced last month. For the second video I included my April 2020 newsletter transcription with a short xc ski tour I took on April 5, 2020.

If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my channel. I’m trying to monetize my channel (i.e. earn ad revenue) and need at least 1,000 subscribers (currently I’m at about 435). Thank you 🙂 

Not the most appropriate articles to publish/promote while shelter-in-place orders are in effect. But spring hiking has been on my mind, and the new article I wrote is an “evergreen” article (that’ll be useful every spring). It’s a companion piece to my other article titled Considerations for Spring Hiking and Backpacking at Lake Tahoe. “Tips” is more of a how-to article, whereas “Considerations” features anecdotes and stories about the nature of spring hiking at Lake Tahoe.

Whenever I’m hiking (or xc skiing for that matter!) in March through May, I always get a chuckle out of the bug-eyed tourists I meet who just can’t believe the amount of snow still present. These articles are inspired by them 🙂

Click the image to read its article.

A few new Sierra Nevada bird-inspired designs. This month I was inspired by the Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides). Visit my RedBubble account to see all merchandise options and more Sierra Nevada-inspired designs.

Click each image to see their merchandise options.

Thanks for being a part of my life. Until next time…

-Jared Manninen

Tahoe Trail Guide is an online magazine for sharing my knowledge about hiking, backpacking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing, as well as information about traveling to (and through) the Lake Tahoe region. I refine that information for a younger audience and produce it in a printed format under the title Wilderness Activity Books. Lastly, Tahoe Swag is a collection of art and design products I create based on my love of the outdoors and appreciation for Lake Tahoe.