http://mattzaffino.com Thu, 10 Nov 2011 06:03:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en   It's not New England hardwoods awash in autumnal tye-dye, but the play of the low sun-angle light on ocean, sedge grasses and fairways is pretty dang psychdelic. In a more subtle way. It's can be hard to stop taking pictures and get back to playing golf at Bandon. The picture below was made only a few hours after my pals got soaked during their morning round. I spent that time driving down from Portland.  ok this isn't the sexiest golf ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/uncategorized/377/bandon-shows-its-fall-colors-and-oregon-golf-vip-style/ Ahhh Moab! I miss it, especially as the clouds continue to cloak the Northwest. http://youtu.be/yQyQYwXO_Z0 The Slickrock Trail needs no introduction. But this is it. I almost forgot I had these movies, but a long plane ride (another story) gives you time to sift through the files and say "oh yeah I forgot about that!" Glad I found them. Enjoy. Then get to Moab and experience it. Happy Trails, Matt Zaffino   ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/uncategorized/371/moabmountainbiking/     Click on JT's great Great Horned Owl picture to see my slide show, or just go to www.zaffinos.net/Steens Below is the wild ass video. No, not spring break in Mazatlan, actual wild burros on Sheldon Wildlife Refuge, NV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq3N5aiHcKc Family fun in the hot mud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9eiFVRHMFI Waiting for the cattle drive to cross the road, sound track by Xena: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTslFGHTN3c   What a great trip, can't wait to do it again!   Happy Trails, Matt Zaffino               ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/blog/355/steensmountainandfrenchglenwithfriends/ Every time I revisit my Moab pictures it makes me want to re-visit Moab. Right now. Even when the sun is shining in the Northwest, there's something extra unique and distinct about desert light. Like in the image below: a hole in the shadow caused by a looming arch, back-dropped by a rapidly receding rain shower. Which, by the way is refreshingly rare in red-rock country as  as opposed to oppressively omni-present in the Northwest. I'm ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/uncategorized/349/moab-abseiling-and-easy-arches/ Pictures and video from our totally awesome cat-skiing trip near Rossland, BC, with Big Red Cats. Click here or on Sheila to link to my pictures: Below are my videos, enjoy, and hope to see you all next year on a BIG RED CAT! Deek and crew did an amazing job! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwVG7M9puw Here's Torden flying the flag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9LulOwu_-M Skiing the powder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9L09SZVP48 Colin and Sheila with the moves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDJSt6M3CDc Skiing the burn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayWMXYpg_r8 Group ski: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTGkAC77Wr4 After a great day of cat-skiing... Ahhh.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keXKCA76Z9Q What a great trip, thanks to everyone who ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/uncategorized/314/kink-fm-s-next-adventure-big-red-cats-ski-trip-meow-on-the-pow-pow/ That's the question I'm getting most often now. Hey I'm not holding out! What I tell viewers on air is what I REALLY think is going to happen! Could I be wrong? Yes. Portland snow forecasts as you probably know, are complex and tricky. Here are my latest thoughts. Forecast pattern looks similar to what it looked like last night, with a couple minor differences. We may get a little snow in the valley late Tuesday night or ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/weather/312/will-it-really-snow/ I will be back in Oregon long before they will. Hopefully I will see the great humpback whales when the are migrating north along the Oregon coast in spring. But seeing them on the last day of fall off the coast of Sayulita, Mexico, was thrilling. Here are a few picks. They breached very close to the boat. We were very lucky the leviathans treated us to such a show. I thought we would get splashed.  After an incredible ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/blog/293/on-holiday-with-the-humpies/ I love the tropics in December. Even though winter hasn't even begun, officially, a week or so below the Tropic of Cancer in the last month of the year somehow makes the upcoming dark, damp, short, grey days of Portland go by  more quickly and more bearable. So when our friends James and Nicole invited us to their Sayulita wedding, it was a done deal. The knot was tied at the south end of Sayulita on a beach called Playa ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/blog/279/sayulita-sunsets-and-nuptials-on-the-nayarit-riviera/ I'll get to the cats later. Read on if you want to join me for some epic skiing! I LOVE the first ski-day of the year. It's a re-birth. A catharsis. Motivation and milestone and all around YAY! I'm back on snow, sliding, speeding, working those muscles and feeling the frosty air on my face and in my lungs. My dog Xena and I have a tradition. First day of skiing it's just the two of ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/blog/268/ski-season-2010-skiing-cats-and-dogs/ I've gotten several emails from people asking me if I'll be doing a Weather Calendar for 2011. Unfortunately the economy of printed calendars has become untenable as a charitable fund-raiser, so sadly the answer is no Northwest Weather Calendar. But happily, I'm now involved in a photography project that will be even more fun, raise more money to support education locally and be more inclusive. Because YOU get to throw your pictures into the mix. ... ]]> http://mattzaffino.com/golf/blog/261/photo-of-the-year-contest-2/