Coffee and Pictures in Fresno

I mentioned yesterday, at my Facebook, that I'm in Fresno visiting family. Actually, my wife's uncle's in intensive care, and we're not sure how long he's got (he had a stroke two years ago and pneumonia now; breathing tubes have been inserted, etc.). We're staying at my wife's sister's house, in Clovis, out by Herndon and Fowler. We did our visiting at the hospital yesterday, and I didn't take a camera. So, I took the camera today when I went out for coffee this morning. Driving south down Fowler I slowed down to take pictures of a couple of turkey vultures that were making themselves at home in front of a nearby farmhouse. I stopped the van and walked over to the fence to get a look. The pictures of the vultures are blurry. Sorry. I'm not sure why, but I'm using the zoom. It's a Canon digital, my wife's, and I hope to get something more advanced soon. I'm starting to have fun again with photography:

I took a few shots of these birds. Normally soaring overhead, they are pretty majestic, although scavengers get a bad rap. One of the guys got spooked and took off just as I was walking up, here. After I took this picture below, this guy flew up here.

Here's the house. I already noticed it yesterday. Twenty years ago this part of town was all agriculture. There's wasn't a bit of track-housing development, but you can't stop progress, I guess. It's all a mix of old farms with horses and such, and modern urban development:

I stopped off for coffee at Starbucks. I thought about buying a copy of the New York Times, but at $6.00 for the Sunday paper, I decided just to read inside the store for a bit. The Times is going to a full subscription mode soon. I think it's a mistake (folks want to blog it anyway, so forget about it if you gotta pay). But the paper's so dreadfully liberal I won't make too much difference in my blogging, in any case:

I drove for a ways, back down Highway 99, and took the Highway 43 cutoff west toward Hanford. It started raining pretty good. I wanted to get a picture of this country store a few miles down the road. We saw the place yesteday, and the El Mexicano advertising really stuckout:

I'm still kind of shy about taking folks' pictures, but I did click one guy as he headed back out to his car. His clothes looked like he'd been working, worn and soiled. His face was haggard as well, perhaps from many years in the hot sun:

I took one more shot after the cars cleared out:

I started back west on Conejo. I stopped by a dairy farm, Nash Holsteins, according to the sign next to the farmhouse:

Walking down the side fenced area, some friendly cows came over to say hello:

Really nice cows. They were just feeding across the way, so I don't think they were looking for a handout, like animals at a park or something. They just like people, it turns out (more here, here and here):

I like the farm homes throughout this valley. Reminds me of Small-Town America. This one was up the road from the Nash Dairy Farm. It's real country out here, like it's been for decades and decades:

Before heading back home to my sister-in-law's, I wanted to get a couple of shots of this funky old gas station with a warplane sticking out of the roof. This is along old Highway 41, which is really Elm Avenue. This used to be the main highway southwest, toward Paso Robles and Morro Bay. I used to travel this road all the time when I was at UCSB in the 1990s:

Here's another angle. Sorry I don't know the make and model of this plane (vintage WWII, by the looks of it):

Almost back home, I snapped a shot of downtown Fresno heading north on Highway 41:

Then I got another cup of coffee at Starbucks:

My wife and I are loading my boys up in the van early tomorrow. We have some business to attend to at home, and I'm looking to report from the GOP Orange County Central Committee Meeting tomorrow night. Mark Meckler of the Tea Party Patriots is expected to speak, so check back late tomorrow or Tuesday for that entry (if I can get it done).

P.S. I'm getting a lot spam, so comment moderation is enabled. I won't be able to clear 'em till way later, but don't be shy in any case ...