Tracy Bookman Photography

Though not a Great Horned Owl, it's the only owl photo I have been able to get.

At least that’s what Mr. Owl thought.

Here’s a little story that will give our readers a little glimpse into our life in the country.

This evening, I was hiking in the forest by our home and heard a few Great Horned Owls calling to each other, so I thought I would try to “call one in,” which means to try to attract one close enough to see it well.

I found a spot by a tree at the top of a hill that had a clear view of the trees around me and sat down to begin my “owl attraction technique.” After about 10 minutes of motionlessness while calling in the owls, I decided that it wasn’t going to work so turned my head to my right and spooked Mr. Owl who had been sitting on a tree branch about 15 feet above my head and a little to the right of where I sat. He flew off to a safe distance away and perched on the top of a pine tree and watched me. Now he was about 60 - 70 feet away and looked like he was wondering what I was.

So I continued with my owl call, remaining perfectly still and after a few minutes, he came in for a closer look, landing on a branch in a tree about 15 to 20 feet right in front of me. After a couple more minutes, he must have decided I was too big to eat and flew off to the top of another tree.

This is just one more reason why we love to live out here in the sticks.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs photographer

Our hunting location for the 4th rifle season this year

I’m 46 and I’ve never been hunting before.

There, I’ve admitted it.

So, my son, Benjamin, and I are planning our first trip this fall. It’s one of those things that I really want to begin doing with my sons. We all love the mountains, so it’s a good way for us to be out there and be together with a common goal besides just hiking.

Yesterday, we went to our hunting location to scout it out. It’s a beautiful part of the state and it’s behind private land, so the hunting pressure should be pretty low. Afterwards, we stopped by our friend Jim’s house to test out the rifles we’ll be using. Jim is the one taking us on our hunting trip and so we spent the whole day getting full lessons on the art and science of hunting.

So from November 28, to December December 5, our office will not be accepting any portrait

Benjamin experiences his first rifle shot and its kick, but, he nailed the target (a bowling pin) at 80 yards and split it in half!

appointments. We will be returning Emails and phone calls once a day, and we will make every effort to have everyone’s orders run and delivered before we leave. If you have any needs for portraits or portrait orders around that time of year, please give us a heads-up and we can make special arrangements for you.

Hopefully, later this fall, we’ll be able to report on a different kind of Wild Thing You Can Eat!

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The first-time-hunter photographer in Colorado Springs!

Some of the cattle at Lasater Ranch

As many of our clients and friends know, I love farming and ranching, and would love to live and work on a farm or ranch. We currently have dairy goats and we’ve had meat and egg chickens in the past. This is something that I really enjoy.

Well, in the summer of 2007, 3 of my boys and I spent a night at Lasater Ranch in eastern Colorado. At the time, I was planning to write a freelance article about Lasater, but our photography schedule, and life in general, kind of got in the way. I still hope to write the article about Lasater, and will look for outlets to publish it, so I thought that I would share some of the images from our time at the ranch.

Our visit to the ranch was very enjoyable, and I would encourage anyone to take advantage of the “Field Days” they have there to see for yourself what a real, and health-promoting, cattle ranch is like. Andy Duffy, the ranch manager, made us feel like old friends coming out for a visit. He showed us all around the ranch in the Lasater Suburban, a beat-up old SUV that seems like it might be held together with duct tape and baling twine. We got to see many of the pastures where they rotate their herds and got lots of great information about the ranch. Andy showed us where we could go the next morning to get some photos, and told us how to get in and out of the pasture. It was great to feel so trusted on his ranch to be able to come and go into the pastures to get our photos.

Andy Duffy, Lasater's ranch manager, shows us some of the cattle just before dark

I really like the philosophy of the Lasater operation. Not only do they NOT use any medications which are so ubiquitous to the industry, but they allow the herds to start and finish on grass. This gives their beef a distinctive flavor that you don’t find in feed-lot beef. We visited the ranch a couple years before, and Tom Lasater made us a pot roast lunch that our children still remember!

But, that’s not all that distinguishes the Lasater operation from every other ranch. Their cattle are bred for disposition and are “gentled” when they’re young.

My boys and I let ourselves into the pasture in the morning and found the herd. We were a little nervous about it all because we’re used to goats, not cows and bulls! But, the cows were all very curious about us and just wanted to come see what we were. As you can see in the photo,

Aaron feeds some of the Lasater herd

Aaron, who was 8 at the time stood in the midst of them and fed and petted them. What a great time this was for all of us! I’ll be very thankful to Andy and Lasater Ranch for a long time, even if I never get my article written!

Hopefully you enjoy the photos that we were able to get that morning. It was definitely an experience that we all loved. By the way, here’s a little plug for Lasater… you can buy their beef at Whole Foods.

If I am able to get the article written and published I’ll be sure to mention that here and let everyone know where they can get the publication.

-Tracy
The farm-and-ranch-loving Colorado Springs Photographer

Tracy teaching one of our annual Wild Things You Can Eat field trips

You know how sometimes people ask you what your hobbies are? Most people assume my hobby has something to do with photography. Actually my hobby is wild edible plants. I like to find out what kind of plants are out there that I can safely eat!

In fact, this has become such an interest for me that I lead field trips every year at Rock Ledge Ranch and teach kids and adults about wild edible plants too.

There are a couple of books that I regularly use as field references. These books have been great helps to me. You can find links to these books on Amazon on the sidebar to the left.

First there’s The Best Tasting Wild Plants of Colorado and the Rockies.

Then there’s Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West.

Those two are the books we’ll use as references in our field trips.

Finally, of course, there is Euell Gibbons’ seminal work, Stalking The Wild Asparagus.

If anyone is at all interested in joining us on one of our field trips, you can get information at the Wild Things You Can Eat weblog.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The wild-plant-grazing photographer in Colorado Springs

Again, this is not a post about photography, but honestly, we’ve got a growing colony of kefir culture that we would like to give to some of you…

You’ve probably heard about kefir, but may not be sure what it is. Kefir is a cultured or fermented milk drink. It’s kind of like yogurt, but not as thick. If you’ve had plain yogurt, you’ll know what to expect from the taste of kefir. If you don’t like the taste of plain yogurt, don’t be afraid to try kefir. You can use it in other food, and there are lots of benefits of doing so, far more than yogurt, and it’s free to get started making kefir.

How do you make it?

You need to start with an active kefir culture. These are generally housed in a starter grain mixture. When you introduce kefir grains to milk, they immediately go to work colonizing it. After only 24 hours, you should have a thick, slightly sour-tasting, kind of effervescent drink. You can drink this on its own, or use it to make other things. I use it exclusively to make breakfast shakes.

Again, the benefit of kefir is that it is an source of abundant beneficial bacteria. We have heard recently that illnesses and diseases could be circumvented if the gut was healthy since up to 80% of your immune system resides there.

If you would like to give kefir a try, we have kefir grains we will gladly give you to get you started.

Now, this post isn’t so much about photography, but I thought I’d let you know a little bit more about who we are. We’re very much into using natural means to preserve our health, and to that end we have discovered a couple of drinks which we enjoy using. The best part about these drinks is that to get started on them is completely free!

Many of you know that we brew a tea called Kombucha. Well, the somewhat disgusting organism in the photo to the left is a Kombucha mushroom, which I got from one of our clients - a local chiropractor. My friend Tim, whose daughter also makes Kombucha, jokingly calls this stuff Mushroom Moonshine.

What, exactly is a Kombucha mushroom? I’m not really sure. But, I know that it produces a drink that is really becoming the rage right now. I have found at least 4 other families that have Kombucha brewing in some dark recess in their homes presently.

Here’s the concept: You make a batch of caffeinated green or black tea - about 1/2 gallon to one gallon - and add a bunch of sugar while it’s boiling. Then, you remove it from the heat and let it cool sufficiently and then add it to your jar with this mushroom in it. Then, leave it in a dark, warm place for 4 to 10 days before drinking it. The yeasts which are naturally present and which are in the mushroom, colonize the tea and eat the sugars, fermenting the whole drink. The result is a slightly fizzy, tangy drink that’s full of beneficial probiotics and enzymes.

What does it taste like?

I think it tastes kind of like Ginger Ale mixed with apple juice with, depending on how long it ages, a hint of apple cider vinegar.

As for it being “moonshine,” at its strongest, it will only contain .5 - 1% alcohol. That’s considerably less than the amount in pure vanilla.

INTERESTED IN STARTING A BATCH OF YOUR OWN?

The great thing about this mushroom is that you never need to buy one. Once you begin making the tea, the mushroom reproduces itself very rapidly, by growing new layers, called scobies. In no time, you have many more layers on your mushroom which you can simply peel off and start a new batch.

We have 3 batches going right now, and have plenty of starter scobies for anyone who wants to give it a try. Just let us know if you want one and we’ll give you what you need to get going.

Thanks for reading.

-Tracy
The Colorado Springs Photographer