Since travel in the Sierra Nevada Mountains right now is unwise, I’ve looked far closer to home to find material for my not-very-scientific look at how climate change affects the Central Valley.
Luckily for me, being a creature of habit, I happened to have two years of photos from the same exact location on the San Joaquin River at pretty much the same time of year—there’s only a ten day difference.
The first photo is from 3-21-2022. The water level is far below this decaying, paint-covered culvert. Native grasses grow on the riverbank along with shrubs just getting their leaves for the year.
The second photo is from 3-31-2023. The culvert is two-thirds submerged in swiftly-moving, muddy water. The dense bank of reeds behind it is also covered in water, and at some points the water over there was seeping past the river bank toward the hiking trail.
These photos clearly show the impact of not only the massive amount of rain that hit the area, but also the beginning of the snow melt. Honestly, given what this year’s photo shows, I’m slightly scared of how things will change this week as we finally leave winter temperatures behind. Not only will the San Joaquin River rise, but also the Kings River and other waterways in the eastern part of the Valley. There’s already some pretty dire news coming from Tulare County as the old lake reforms, destroying thirty-seven structures.
So, yes, this is what I do for fun. I voluntarily go and stare at things others might find mundane in order to see if I can find a pattern in how things are changing in order to convince people something needs to be done before its too late. The people in Tulare County are suffering and will continue to suffer because the people in charge there didn’t listen to people smarter than I who said the same things I have about the lack of water management in anticipation of big storms. Maybe if people see photos of what’s going on, it’ll have more impact. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to get deeper in the shit to show the real bad flooding. There’s no one covering damage to myself or my gear, and I can’t risk either. For now, I’ll do what I can and wait until it’s safe to head into the mountains to see how the burn scars fared during the storms.
If you’d like to support my work and help me plan trips up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, join my Patreon today!
Monthly Check-In
March did not decide to stay for long. Despite the speed at which the month passed, I’ve tried to keep busy and work on the various projects I’ve got out in the world.
Photography projects have been a bit slow thanks to the weather—it’s kept me inside because of the rain, and the storms are aggravating my chronic pain, which makes doing photoshoots indoors a massive pain flair trigger.
That being said, I did make it out between storms to take some for-fun photos. I also captured quite a few stock photos of the San Joaquin River as it breeches its normal banks to flood the section near Children’s Hospital and Woodward Park. 
While walking to the river to work, I was surprised by a pair of hawks who were fighting over a small meal. Later, the pair caught up with me on the other side of the river parkway and posed for some photos.
To celebrate the beginning of Spring, I’m running a sale in my Ko-Fi shop. You can get 30% off any jewelry item through April 8th. 
Over in the Printify shop, I’ve unleashed quite a few new designs. Two were actually custom orders I made on the detailed instructions of, “Something with hippos,” and, “He’s obsessed with the biohazard symbol.” The customers, and folks who’ve seen the items, love them.
Secretly? I’m thrilled that the hippo shirt came out so well because that kind of chaos being out in the world makes me smile. 
It’s That Time
February lasted ten years and five seconds at the same time. I’ll be honest, it kicked my ass a bit and I’m not incredibly proud of what I’ve accomplished or how I’m doing mentally.
But time waits for no one. I’ve got to press on now that March is here, and that means telling you all how you can support your local weird artist with an apparent allergy to pants.
First things first, the new Printify Shop is up and running with five designs on various products. 
New designs will come over the next few weeks.
FYI, most of these designs will center around reptiles and amphibians, with some funny one-liners thrown in for variety. Why reptiles? Because I think they’re neat and if I have to spend hours staring at pixels editing graphics, it’s gotta be something I love with all my heart.
Tip: If you see a design you like but it’s not on a product you want to buy, you can send a suggestion via Patreon. If I can make it happen, I gladly will. But keep in mind that some graphics don’t work on every product, and some products Printify sells aren’t available globally due to how their system works.
There’s also my Patreon page, where supporters get first dibs on news about my current projects and exclusive photos.
This year’s goals for Patreon are:
* Get enough supporters to fund at least one three day trip into the Sierra Nevada Mountains to finally get photos of the fire damage and slow recovery
* Use supporter feedback (and funding) on this year’s projects to pick photos to enter into the county fair (Deadline is usually end of summer, so we need to get moving on this goal ASAP)
* Another goal TBD based on what goes on from now until summer
Lastly, don’t forget about my Ko-fi jewelry shop (that also has digital photos for your screen backgrounds of a digital frame, btw!)
Right now the shop’s stock is a little low, but that’s because I really would like to clear out the current designs. That’ll give me a chance to sink some funds into the shop’s supplies and make new, unique pieces for you all to enjoy.
A few examples of what’s left in the jewelry shop:
Thank you all for your support as the years go on. I truly appreciate your kind words and any time you may spend sharing my art with others to brighten their day.
If you’d like to find other ways to support my art or just follow the journey via social media, all the links are available on the always-updated Contact Page.
News!
As some of you saw, I’ve been poking away at a new project recently. It’s far from finished, but this is one of those things where in order for it to work, other people kinda need to know.
So, without much rambling because my shoulder hurts from editing graphics in Hyperfocus Mode, here’s a NEW shop with t-shirts, journals, magnets, and much more coming soon.
Head over to the shop to meet this little guy! (And buy something because he’s cost me too many hours trying to make a clean, high resolution version. This is not that version.)
New Patreon Post
There’s a new Patron-only post up on Patreon!
Usually most posts are unlocked, but this one includes the design for something I might put into production, so I didn’t want it too public.
But I’m also trying to be more creative and share that creativity to make myself feel better so… yeah, locked post seems the best option.
You can join Patreon for $1 a month to unlock pretty much all posts. $5 is the top tier for now until more people join and I have the funding to do more outdoor photo work.
And remember, if you can’t afford to support now, you can still hit the Follow button on Patreon to get email notifications for new public posts.
Late Winter Lull
The tightening of the social media belts by rich men who honestly need to find better hobbies than screwing over artists has been quite evident since November.
There’s not much I can do to combat it except expand places to advertise. So, with my apologies, here’s a little peek at some items in my Ko-Fi shop that you might like.
A New Year Gift
It’s a new year full of new things, and I hope that some of those new things make you smile so big, your face hurts. Really. You deserve nice things once in a while and 2023 better pay up, or I’m coming for it’s throat.
That being said, a new year also means you’ll need a new calendar. I originally made a full 2023 calendar as a Patreon exclusive during my birthday week, but since I’m feeling nice and festive, I’ve unlocked all the posts.
To get your calendar, visit these posts on Patreon and download the files. They’re sized to be laptop backgrounds, but you can pop them into a digital frame to use as a hanging calendar, too.
A Little Blue
For the new folks, don’t forget that I have a Patreon page where you get first access to whatever artistic thing I’m up to at the moment.
Today’s new post comes from a winter fae themed photoshoot I did yesterday. In the process of prepping, I got to teach myself how to work with foam clay and up my wig styling game. Hope you enjoy it!
Please consider supporting me over on Patreon so I can do some more fun photoshoots or other art projects.
You’ve Heard of Hot Ones . . .
Now here’s Aut Ones, the video in which two generations of autistic people stim by eating a ridiculous amount of hot sauce and play a video game.
Was it a good idea to eat about 6 tablespoons of hot sauce by myself without a gallbladder? No. Was it fun? YES.
Did you enjoy our antics? Will you be trying a hot wing challenge of your own before winter vacation ends?
End of Year Business
As the end of the year sprints toward us, many creators and artists like myself are taking the time to assess how business is going in order to change things for the better (hopefully) when January 1st rolls around.
I’m not that thrilled with where things are, but that I’m functional is a small miracle given where I was a year ago. So to celebrate that growth, I’m having a little jewelry sale to roll into the new year.
I hope the coming year brings you all hope fulfilled and tons of love to keep you afloat. Thank you for your support.
R.C. Murphy 