Photo Challenge: Snow // Pond Digger Ranch

Winding through the Pond Digger Ranch Wildlife Rehabilitation Foundation in Cherry Valley, CA. Digital stills taken with a Fujifilm X100V. Film stills taken with a Hasselblad XPAN and 45mm f/4 lens on Kodak Portra 400 film. Video taken with a GoPro Hero 10.
"Farewell" composed, performed and recorded by Graham Nystrom.: / grahamsound
Here's some history on the Pond Digger Ranch from Leslie Triplett, taken from their website: www.ponddigger...
Ever since I was a kid, animals have been finding their way to me. I grew up on a tiny farm in San Bernardino, which permanently infected me with a love for all creatures great and small. When we moved to the city, I could no longer have farm animals, but I soon discovered wild life rescue.
I vividly recall one summer night, when I was in junior high, my good friend Matt Fry knocked at my door. My mom answered, and discovered to her surprise, Matt, wearing heavy, leather, welding gloves, with a 3/4” thick rope around the neck of a tiny 4” opossum. He simply stated, “I know Leslie likes weird pets.”
The opossum’s teeth glistened in the yellow glare of the porch light, as he threatened us with all of his tiny might. Trying his best to be “dead”, he let saliva drip off of his tongue so that we would believe he was not a tasty meal. My mom was a tolerant woman, and unbelievably allowed me to keep this tiny bundle of teeth and slobber. “But you can’t TOUCH him!” She admonished.
Of course, within hours, I was snuggling the furry little wonder, scratching under his chin, playing with his tiny pink toes, and letting his tail curl around my wrist. This, and many other tiny feathered and furry critters brought us in contact with the local pet shop, that helped with wildlife rescue, which then connected me with the local rehab community, and eventually to California Fish & Game. Now I was running with the big dogs.
In 1984, my mom said, you need to get a job to help feed these animals! I began working at Daryl’s Pet Shop. Much to my mom’s chagrin, they fed my addiction to the feathered and furry, until my home became a virtual mini zoo, housing both permanent pets of the every day variety, and temporary wild residents, that I merely stewarded for Mother Nature until they were ready for their return to nature.
I spent the next 26 years there, taking care of pets, and eventually finding my perfect match when I married Eric, The Pond Digger. He had an affinity for critters on par with my own, and he often came home with furry finds to add to our family himself. Eric brought home our first horses, those beautiful draft ponies, Jules and Odin, our first goat, Miss Billie Jean the Ranch Queen, and our first giant tortoises, Mel and Tank.
In 2017, we acquired Pond Digger Ranch in Cherry Valley, which allowed us to extend our rescue efforts to include farm animals. And, just like that line in the movie says, “If you build it, they will come,” it wasn’t long before homeless ducks & chickens, goats, horses, tortoises, peacocks, and even alpacas began parading through the front gates of the ranch, looking for sanctuary.
Some of our critters bear the physical scars of the tough life they had before they came here, such as Penelope and Van Gogh, while some are more damaged on the inside, still too nervous of strangers to let themselves be touched. No matter their reason for being here, they will stay for the rest of their lives, safe and cared for.
Although the farm animals will never leave, we work with many injured and orphaned wild animals that stay just long enough to get better, and then are returned to the wild.
Each year, our wildlife rescue efforts help hundreds of birds and small mammals. We help rescue birds of prey like, hawks, falcons, and owls, song birds such as blue jays, finch, and doves, and small mammals such as bunnies, squirrels, raccoons, and opossum. We work hard to get these critters back to the wild where they belong.
#hasselblad #fujifilm #snow #pov #asmr #gopro #photowalk #ranch #cherryvalley #wildliferehab #xpan #x100v #landscapephotography #film #nature

[@StillWinding]

The only thing more exciting to Southern Californians than rain is snow. This was such a fun challenge trying to get the exposure and white balance correct while running around taking photos like a kid in a candy store. Thanks to Leslie and the Pond Digger Ranch for letting me visit!