Chris Brooks

Fledgling Blue Jay

2026-06-03T16:36:02-04:00

Shoot. I was deep trimming a shrub here at Keuka and about two thirds of the way through one of my blue jay friends (I’ve been feeding them whole peanuts in the shell) got very pissed off at me.

Blue jay fledgling

I searched and searched and finally found a nest near the top of the shrub. The little guy is hiding out on the ground and I’m hoping the parents can see the fledgling through this. I’ve ceased my trimming activity.

Wildlife Photography

2026-05-31T09:56:22-04:00

About 10 years ago I sold off or gave away all of my Canon photo gear, which I had used for sports and wildlife photography. After struggling with a Canon PowerShot SX70 on my last Africa trip, I resolved to re-enter the serious wildlife photography game.

After much discussion with three photographers experienced with the Canon mirrorless world, I settled on the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, starting with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens and RF 2x extender. I’m very happy with the results! So many opportunities right here at Keuka Lake, plus I made stops near Erie PA and at Allegheny State Park last week.

Baltimore Oriole

Blue Jay with peanut

Chipmunk

Common Merganser mom with ducklings

Eastern Cottontail

Eastern Phoebe

Green Heron

Northern Yellow Warbler

Red-winged Blackbird (male)

Red-winged Blackbird (female)

Album Club: Sixteen Stone - Bush

2026-05-29T09:37:41-04:00

Discussed on May 29, 2026. Picked by Jim.

Song Ratings

#	Song	Jim	Chris
1	Everything Zen	Bench	—
2	Swim	—	—
3	Bomb	—	Cut
4	Little Things	—	—
5	Comedown	—	—
6	Body	—	—
7	Machinehead	Starter	Starter
8	Testosterone	Cut	—
9	Monkey	—	Bench
10	Glycerine	—	—
11	Alien	—	—
12	X‐Girlfriend / Comedown (acoustic version)	—	—

Legend: Starter = would start a playlist

Bench = solid

Cut = would skip

Jim’s Notes

My biggest surprise about this album is why didn’t I know about it when it was popular in the ’90s?!? I was listening to Collective Soul, Creed, Goo Goo Dolls, Smashing Pumpkins, 3 Doors Down, Third Eye Blind, Eve 6, Pearl Jam, etc. and I missed this album?!? Crazy!
I feel like the lulls and quiet moments in the tracks make the loud parts punch harder and are more effective than they would otherwise be.
Is the reference to Strawberry Fields in Glycerine a nod to The Beatles?
X-Girlfriend is like a Minutemen song with less interesting lyrics. :D
Machinehead is a memory trigger along with a few other tunes that immediately evoke my time cycling indoors on the Zwift platform.

Chris’s Notes

This holds up way better than I expected. Honestly hard to pick a cut for this album. I started with Testosterone but the more I listened to it, the more I liked it. Start to finish every song has something of value and I think the obvious cut is X-Girlfriend, the song at the end. But that’s a throwaway end track.

And by the way, my version does not have the Comedown acoustic version but I did listen to that – pretty awesome. I’m going to learn that. The cut came down to Swim or Bomb for me as a cut. But I could have kept either one. But I’m telling you that run from Little Things all the way through Alien is just solid music that holds up really well.

My starter is Machinehead. That’s the song that’s always stuck with me. It’s a song they opened up with in their concert when I saw them with Goo Goo Dolls and No Doubt. Comedown might be the better song but Machinehead is just such a great rocker.

Alien is like their November Rain from Guns and Roses. It has this epic orchestral feel to it. If I were going to characterize where Bush fits in terms of influences, I would probably say Led Zeppelin and Guns and Roses. And that’s a pretty solid compliment for this band.

35 Years

2026-05-19T16:17:11-04:00

Julie and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary yesterday. In normal fashion for us it was low key, no gifts, culminating in a dinner out at a new-to-us restaurant.

Backpacking with Julie in Olympic NP

Julie is my trusted partner in so many areas: planning, cooking, adventuring, accountability, parenting, grandparenting (!). Yeah, pretty much everything.

Yes, I had to pursue her and convince her to go on a first date with me. Then to say committed to me. Then to marry me! All within the span of a year. When you know, you know.

Streamsong Golf Trip

2026-05-14T07:06:33-04:00

About a year ago, I started planning a trip to Streamsong for my two brothers-in-law and son, Jacob. It is exciting to have a group to start traveling and enjoying golf together in some cool destinations.

The windmill at Black

Sadly, the timing for this trip was a little rough as Dave and Mike’s dad and Jacob’s grandfather died just a few days before our trip was to start. But we decided that it would be for the best of the group to stick to our plan and find a way to celebrate Jerry while we enjoyed some beautiful golf in Central Florida.

Playing The Chain

Streamsong was our destination, a course that I had played about four years ago with my nephew and was excited to return to, especially with the opening of the new-to-me course called The Chain. That’s where we opened up our adventure on the arrival afternoon, playing the nineteen-hole match-play short course that’s right near the lodge. I set up a number of partner games for us to play throughout the golf outing. And given the design of The Chain, it made sense to start with a two versus two match play, and we turned it into a skins game. What’s unique about The Chain, and the reason it’s named as such, in tribute to the mining operations on which this golf course was built they have these giant chain links that are buried in the ground and can be as far as a hundred yards away from each other. Whoever wins the prior hole can choose where to tee off the next hole, which means some of the holes could be eighty or ninety yards, or they could be a hundred and sixty to two hundred yards. And it created some interesting choices and variety for all of us that we really enjoyed. The greens were wicked with very challenging hole locations, but that’s certainly part of the fun.

Florida cottonmouth

We hadn’t yet seen an alligator while at Streamsong but we were greeted coming off one of the greens on The Chain with a Florida cottonmouth, a very deadly pit viper that I don’t think I’d ever seen in real life before but managed to get a pretty nice photo of.

Walking Blue

On day two, we played Streamsong Black followed by Blue, walking thirty-six holes and playing in some moderate heat but with pretty significant winds throughout the day. The courses were very challenging, especially with the wind, and we all felt a little battered and bruised, I guess black and blue, by the end of the day. My golf game struggled. I had some good holes, but we all really had some challenges playing there.

The view where Red and Blue intersect

On our final day, we played Streamsong Red in the morning with the hope of some lower winds, but it still blew up, and the course was just as challenging as the Blue and Black were. We were all pretty fatigued from the long day prior, um, and the heat was ramping up even a little bit more, so we were all getting a little on edge by the time we were in the middle of the back nine. Jacob put together a very solid final round; the rest of us struggled.

Our foursome

Things relaxed a bit on the eighteenth tee as I pulled out a flask and some souvenir shot glasses from Streamsong, and we all shared a toast of early times in tribute to my father-in-law, Jerry. Overall, the resort was great. The food was as good as could be expected, at times pretty decent. The beer was cold, the service was great, and they always provide shuttles to get you around where you need. We enjoyed the high-quality practice areas throughout.

Mike and I will return in February next year with 10 other folks from the Keuka Lake area.

Gerald Saxton - 1941 - 2026

2026-05-12T08:16:44-04:00

When I started my solo drive to FL then NY from CA I mentioned that Julie flew back to NY to help her dad the day before I left. She was able to be with him in his final week as he passed at the end of April.

Four generations of Saxton-Brooks

I knew Jerry from shortly before Julie and I married, so over 35 years. He is inextricably linked to Keuka Lake in my mind, and in our sons’. In 1992 after getting stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB Julie and I took a late spring drive to the lake for my first visit. Jerry took me out on the family Flying Dutchman in cold water and cold air for my first sail. I can’t say I enjoyed it much but it was the start of a love for sailing.

Around the campfire with Jerry, Julie, and Matthew

Once Matthew started at West Point in 2015 we began spending our summers at the lake. So my time with Jerry pivoted from maybe-a-week-a-year to living with him at the cottages for at least two months every summer.

Projects with Jerry

I fell in love with the pace and the feeling of mostly living outdoors. And I became a caretaker and owner, engaging in my own maintenance and improvement projects under the tutelage of Jerry. There was never a situation that came up where he couldn’t add his experience and wisdom. Yet he was bold with new ideas and welcoming of change. We added a heat pump A/C to his primary living cottage. I built elevated garden beds. We added an outdoor shower. And he worked on projects all through his last summer at Keuka.

Our final golf outing with Jerry

One non-obvious thing about Jerry and me: I spent far more time with him in my adult years than I did with my own dad. At the end of every summer when we would all part ways again, he was effusive in his gratitude to Julie and me, generous with his hugs, and clearly at peace with where his life had taken him. Last summer I was surprised when he told me he wanted to get out on the golf course again - not to play, but to just drive the cart and be with family. We did this twice - once with Julie and Judy, and another with his sons Dave and Mike and with our sons Jacob and Matthew. It was a special treat to spend a day like this and enjoy lunch after in the clubhouse.

Lastly, we are all grateful that he had two different summer visits by his great-grandson Rory. While it is sad to think that Rory won’t remember him, Jerry was able to meet and enjoy him all while appreciating what a great father his grandson Jacob is and will be.

Album Club: Lust for Life - Iggy Pop

2026-05-09T11:20:14-04:00

Discussed on May 9, 2026. Picked by Chris.

Song Ratings

#	Song	Jim	Chris
1	Lust for Life	Starter	Starter
2	Sixteen	—	—
3	Some Weird Sin	—	—
4	The Passenger	Bench	—
5	Tonight	—	Bench
6	Success	Cut	—
7	Turn Blue	—	Cut
8	Neighborhood Threat	—	—
9	Fall in Love With Me	—	—

Legend: Starter = would start a playlist

Bench = solid

Cut = would skip

Jim’s Notes

Can definitely hear the Bowie influence on the album. Iggy sounds like Bowie on Tonight even.
I didn’t care for the call and response approach to Success where the response was almost always a word for word recitation of the call.

Chris’s Notes

This album was incredible. I knew about the Iggy Pop / David Bowie collaboration during their time in Berlin but did not expect the Bowie feel to be so omnipresent here.
I like this original version of “Tonight” more than Bowie’s 1984 version. Related: didn’t know “China Girl” was also a cover of a Bowie/Pop collab.
Great live performance

Wilco x2

2026-05-07T19:38:34-04:00

A month or two ago I realized our planned drive from Napa to Florida lined up perfectly with Wilco’s gulf coast tour schedule.

Wilco in Jackson

Sadly new superfan Julie wasn’t with me. She joined me a year earlier in Tallahassee for an amazing show, our second time seeing opening act Waxahatchee (she’s a wee fan of them too).

Wilco show poster for Jackson

I tried to give away the extra tickets via the Wilco subreddit but the first night in Jackson I had no takers. And a front row seat at that! After a tasty and unhealthy southern meal on the north side of town I parked downtown for an evening with Wilco.

John takes the helm

The “evening with…” designation means no opening act and two full sets plus an encore of Wilco. Three hours and a chance to roam their vast back catalog. The Jackson show was amazing, including a rare chance to see John Stirratt take the guitar and lead vocals for “It’s Just That Simple” from debut album A.M. from over 30 years ago. If you’ve been reading this blog since I started it over 20 years ago you’ve known for a while that my Wilco love goes way back. John was not yet with predecessor band Uncle Tupelo when I would see them at Cicero’s basement bar near Wash U in St. Louis, joining for the much lauded Anodyne.

Wilco in Mobile

The Mobile show was the next night, and my hope was a divergent setlist similar to what I might see in a Chicago residence or festival. I was a bit disappointed as the Jackson and Mobile set lists were more alike than different. In hindsight it makes sense: Jeff’s been on a “solo” tour with his family band all winter (Julie and I saw Jeff in Phoenix) and they (1) haven’t been hanging out producing a new album and (2) didn’t have time to do that much different than their last tour.

Chris and Eddie outside the Saenger theater

I did find Wilco buddy Eddie who reached out to me before the show to snag the extra ticket. He bought dinner for me at a beer garden next to the theater and we shared our love for the band and history seeing them (and similar acts). Thank you Eddie!

Texas and Louisiana

2026-05-02T21:58:46-04:00

I crossed Texas west to east without getting on an interstate. Didn’t feel slowed down and the enjoyment ratcheted up.

Golf in big sky Electra TX

My only Texas night was in Electra at Crooked Creek Golf Course. The course is a 9 hole track with different tees for a back nine. Completely flat and walkable yet everyone was roaming around in carts. When I checked in to pay the green fees she paused thinking maybe I didn’t owe anything because I was walking. I assured her that I should still pay green fees. The course was fun.

Scissor-tailed flycatcher

An on course highlight was the many observed scissor tailed flycatchers. A first for me, and fun to find the bird on the cover of Wingspan.

I overnighted in the van there after considering pushing further east after golf. Major thunderstorms and a tornado warning near Wichita Falls had me wisely choose to sit tight.

More crooked golf in Louisiana

My next night was at another crooked course - Crooked Hollow near Shreveport. Fun course that exceeded my expectations, even with a seven-some and six-some playing ahead of me as we raced to finish before sunset.

The bridges at Vicksburg MS

I quickly crossed Louisiana and the Mississippi at Vicksburg where I spent some time wandering the civil war battlefield and birding.

Arizona and New Mexico

2026-04-26T09:15:28-04:00

I flew through Arizona and New Mexico but made some time for golf and some good food.

Hidden Cove golf

At the end of two miles of washboard dirt road in Holbrook AZ is the Hidden Cove Golf Course. Classic small town golf with an honor box inside the wide open clubhouse. The course is well cared for and situated inside a series of red rock ledges. 90 minutes and 9 holes is a great way to break up the drive.

Camping in Cibola

I overnighted a few miles off I-40 in Cibola National Forest. Classic high desert environment and… cold! Mid 30s overnight.

Los Altos muni golf in Albuquerque

Made my way to my home town from 1982-1984, Albuquerque. I was anxious to move away from there but now I’m always eager to return. Parked at Los Altos golf course where I took two school calls and did some full swing work on the range.

Perea’s New Mexican restaurant

Lunched at Perea’s for a classic New Mexican lunch: stuffed sopapillas with green chili sauce. Picked up some green chile and pinto beans for the road.

Wine display inside Enchantment Vineyards

Ended the day going off interstate (always a good move) to Portales and an overnight at Enchantment Vineyards, a lovely Harvest Host with beer, wine, and on that night a local college steel drum band.

On the Road Again, Solo

2026-04-23T22:32:53-04:00

I started my eastward journey yesterday morning, sadly without Julie. She flew to NY the night before to help take care of her ailing father.

Dispersed camping in Mojave desert

It has been a while since I undertook a solo 3,000+ mile journey like this. Maybe 1990 when I left Indiana for Santa Barbara?

We pace ourselves these days, usually 5-6 hours of driving. I’m finding I can push a bit further into the evening and still find my way to a remote boondocking site before dark. Maybe 3-4 2-2.5 hour chunks.

Practice time in Bakersfield

I found time to stop at our routine (now) golf course in Bakersfield for an hour of practice.

I made a lot of food for the journey - seared venison steak, venison chili, plus leftover biscuits and rolls from the past few weeks.

Album Club: My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

2026-04-19T11:30:53-04:00

Discussed on April 19, 2026. Picked by Jim. I forgot to pick my cut! Not even sure what I would have picked.

Song Ratings

#	Song	Jim	Chris
1	Welcome to the Working Week	Bench	—
2	Miracle Man	—	—
3	No Dancing	—	—
4	Blame It on Cain	—	—
5	Alison	—	—
6	Sneaky Feelings	—	—
7	Watching the Detectives	—	Starter
8	(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes	Starter	—
9	Less Than Zero	—	Bench
10	Mystery Dance	—	—
11	Pay It Back	Cut	—
12	I’m Not Angry	—	—
13	Waiting for the End of the World	—	—

Legend: Starter = would start a playlist

Bench = solid

Cut = would skip

Jim’s Notes

I love albums with a lo-fi, garage kind of sound. Even with all the warts, they are so much more fun to listen to than over produced and highly polished albums.
It’s not the Cars, but this album rocks on the road.
Crazy that none of the singles (Less Than Zero, Alison, Red Shoes) charted.
Watching the Detectives added to the US release as the last song on side 1 (end of album in reissues).
Huey Lewis was a member of the backing band, Clover, but did not play on the album. Per Huey, he was on vacation having toured constantly since 1970.
Generally considered his second best album after This Year’s Model, the follow up to My Aim Is True. I think I like this better.
Nominated for Best New Artist Grammy but lost to A Taste of Honey. Their single, Boogie Oogie Oogie, peaked at number 1 on US charts. I did not recognize it when I gave it a listen.

Chris’s Notes

Didn’t know Nick Lowe produced!
Just an amazing pop album, with crossovers into rockabilly and Buddy Holly 50s rock
I didn’t list Alison because it is an automatic timeless starter
Was surprised to see Detectives at the end of the album in Apple Music - UK release I think?

Backpacking Grand Gulch - Collins to Kane Gulch

2026-04-09T14:03:38-04:00

Julie and I joined Jim and Mike for 5 days of backpacking in Cedar Mesa in April 2026.

Our route through Grand Gulch

Logistics

We booked our backpacking permits via rec.gov in Bears Ears National Monument. You don’t need to specify where you are camping, just where and when you will enter and exit.
- We also booked a visit to Moon House the day before we started the trip.
Given our route was a one-way path, we had to drop a car (Jim and Mike’s) at Kane Gulch ranger station then pile into our van and drive to the trailhead. We did that the night before and camped at the trailhead. This is allowed without a permit and the Collin parking area is well suited for this.
The road to Collin is about 45 minutes from Kane Gulch ranger station, 25 minutes of that being off-road with some rocky ledge climbs. It wasn’t hard but it isn’t trivial either.
Our biggest concern going in was water supply so we each carried 5-6 liters of water at the start. It rained most of the first night and following morning so water was never really an issue, other than forcing us to bushwhack most of day 2 because of the flooded gulch. Every night we were able to camp near a water supply and use boiled, untreated water for cooking.

Day by Day Reports

Suggestions

Side trips are the norm in Cedar Mesa. You’ll be scanning the canyon walls continually for ruins and rock art, often dropping your packs to go explore. So if your normal pace is 2 miles per hour when backpacking, factor in more stops and diversion than you would normally plan for. You might only make a pace of 1 mile per hour.
Likewise, weather and conditions can change your routing significantly. These trails are not maintained and usually not marked. You’ll follow deer trails and human trails; sometimes they are the same.
Bring binoculars to scan the canyon walls. And look for birds.
Purchase Kelsey’s book for accurate but imprecise guides to finding the cool stuff in Cedar Mesa (and surrounding areas).

Day 5 - Leaving Grand Gulch

2026-04-05T13:23:07-04:00

We had made enough progress in Friday that our Saturday hike should be short enough to be back at our vehicle by noon.

Part of Turkey Pen ruin area

Our camp was by Turkey Pen ruin. Eight years ago we could wander the area freely and visit the turkey pen, but sadly in 2022 the BLM had to close off the entire area because of erosion from foot traffic. Given this is the closest ruin to the ranger station, I suspect folks were also getting too handsy.

Hiking through a mini slot canyon

The hike out of the canyon was a bit more challenging than I remembered (we went opposite way last time) but still beautiful. Rock scrambling to climb over ledge pour offs.

Back at the trailhead

At about 11:20 we made it back to the ranger station. Mike’s rental car awaited us there. After giving our reports to the rangers there, we drove back to the trailhead (45 minutes or so with plenty of offroading) to fetch the van. While navigating a steep rock climb in the van coming out from the trailhead area I had to back up a bit to put the van into 4wd low and bumped the back left into the sandy bank. We didn’t notice until 25 minutes later that we had snagged off a piece of the black trim in the rear left panel. So an extra 50 minutes of driving for Julie and me to retrieve and re-attach.

Hotel, laundry, burgers, and beer awaited us in Green River. An amazing and challenging adventure.

Day 4 - Bullet junction to Turkey Pen

2026-04-04T20:29:37-04:00

Day 4 was a grind! But still awesome. We had a stretch goal of about 10 miles and we made it to about 9, largely because we had to continue until we found water.

Sheiks Canyon

It was a beautiful morning and in short order we reach Sheiks canyon where we dropped packs to head up a wee bit to find Green Mask ruin.

Green Mask

Julie and I were last here about 8 years ago but visiting is still so worth it.

The site has a massive panel of rock art, with a huge potential timespan of creation (3,000-8,000 years).

Mike and Green Mask

The mask isn’t that big as you can see from this photo. It is easy to miss as you gaze through the larger and often more abstract pictographs.

Not much more along the way to camp other than a perfect watering hole and spot for lunch. The afternoon became tedious as the air warmed and the gully dried out to deep sand.

Rock art in Grand Gulch

We had a big surprise an amphitheater before Turkey Pen ruins: a fantastic panel of petroglyphs and pictographs. Don’t have a name for it!

Trying out the water at camp

We camped at the only water for miles just below Turkey Pen. The water was… awful. Strong sulfur odor and lots of stuff floating. It was fine for cooking and coffee but nobody wanted to drink it straight after filtering.