No News is Good News? 10-11-08

Being a worrier from birth, I don't think that is true. But in this case I just don't have any news. I spent the day yesterday from 8:30am to 9:30pm with Corky at his house. He has picked up an intestinal bug and is on two different antibiotics and liquids every hour. His mommy had a commitment for the day, so I was nanny and head nurse. He seems to be doing fine and we learned that he will not take Pepto Bismo (neither will I), Gatorade, chicken broth, or Propel. We made do with vanilla yogurt mixed in a little milk or water. He seems fine, a little draggy with the pills. We think he picks these things up from the grass when he goes on his walk, although we always wipe his cute little feet when he has been outside. Now we are considering Baby Wipes which have some antiseptic properties.

I give you these pictures of wildflowers to bring some joy to your day.

Common Clover - Carbondale, KS 2004

A variety of wild sunflower - Front Range of the Rockies 2004

Indian Paintbrush - Glacier Nat'l Park 2005

Silk Floss Trees 10-10-08

Hummers 10-09-08

These pictures of hummingbirds feeding from a lady's hand have been going around online for at least a couple years. They came to me just about two years ago - Oct 2006. I believe they are all Anna's Hummingbirds. [They are not - Anna's are found only in the Western states - these pictures were taken in Louisiana.]

I find these pictures not only amazing but very calming. And these days that is something I need and maybe you do too.

If you know who the lady is or where the pictures were taken I hope you will let me know. [Karen Stiehl Osborn sent me the URL for this lady's website. Check it out at http://www.abigailsings.com/hummingbirds/ ]

Exploring the Earth 10-08-08

This morning I check Jeanne Williamson's blog: http://jeannewilliamson.blogspot.com/ and have spent most of the day wandering the Internet. Starting with the site she gave:
http://tinyurl.com/4dbwgd
continuing with the photographer's site: http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/ These are views of the Earth that very few people will see other than in a photo.

Somehow that led me to Tom Dempsey's blog:
http://www.photoseek.com/blog/ currently talking about cameras and equipment. And ultimately to his photography site: http://www.photoseek.com/
This guy is an amazing talent, attested to by all the books, magazines, etc., that have used his photographs. Which can be seen extensively on his site. He has wandered the earth pointing his camera at everything around him. The site includes text accounting of his journeys which I find fascinating. It would take more than a day to look/read all of it, so I have bookmarked it and will visit again - especially when I cannot get back to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. I recommend all these sites to anyone who wants to see things and places they will never visit in this lifetime. WOW - No misspellings found!

Weird Views 10-07-08

I went to LBeach to stay with Corky for a few hours this evening. There was a gorgeous sunset, but I arrived too late for my camera to be effective.

These are the trees and houses across Marine Stadium from Corky's backyard.

Hmmmm, I thought another of the pictures looked more interesting so I manipulated it in Picasa - something I have not played with before - I generally just use Picasa to make my pictures look more real. Here I was working to make them less real. I'm not sure what this image looks like, maybe a prairie fire?

I took some more pictures deliberately moving the camera with a very slow speed. The resulting pictures reminded me of "camera tossing" which I read about several years ago. I Googled the two words and found quite a few sites. Here is just one http://www.cameratoss.blogspot.com/ I can see using this type of image for printing fabric to use in quilt making.

In the Park - the duck brigade 10-06-08

Yesterday was a gorgeous day to walk in Tri-Cities Park - the perfect temperature, about 76F and just a gentle breeze. Corky and I enjoyed it.

There are always a few guys fishing, although I have never seen anyone catch anything. But a lot of fisher people don't really care if they catch anything, it is a sort of meditation. I remember the first time I saw the geese all lined up like this, ..what on Earth, I thought. There are walls just under the water and someone told me that at one time swimming was allowed within those walls. I doubt that, but I don't know what the walls were/are for.

Here are the ducks lined up for inspection! You'll notice the couple throwing food of some kind into the water. Very much a forbidden occupation. The food that isn't eaten gets mouldy and sickens the ducks.

This plaque is on a stone plinth right next to the walkway around the lake, but I have never noticed it before. It seems to me there was something else where this is now located and that may be, since it was dedicated this year.

Some of the trees in the park are quite old, these gum trees are probably no more than thirty years old - more like twenty probably. Gum trees (eucalyptus) are not native to the US, they were first import from Australia to California when the railroads were being built in the 1850s. It turned out the wood could not be used for RR ties, but there are lovely groves of old gums up and down the state. I'll take a picture of one of the really old trees in the park - they may have been planted in the 1880s when the reservoir was constructed.

Tree Murderers Again 10-05-08

I know, they are not my trees, but in this land of major air pollution it makes me feel sick every time a tree comes down.

In this picture from October 2005 one of the two towering long needle pines can be seen behind the flag.

Last Friday the limbs were all removed and tomorrow the tree trimmers will be back to remove the bodies. Twenty years ago when we moved into this house the sky behind this house was filled with tall, beautiful trees. And where the wall is to the left there was a row of five long needle pines that soughed in the wind and cast shade on a hot summer day. All gone.