Friday, May 11, 2012

A SUNNY DAY TRILLIUM WALK IN THE FOREST

 DSC_0007

Despite another sunny day, temperatures are still a tad cool here right next to Lake Huron, the third-largest fresh-water lake on Earth.   Ignoring the cooler air I did spend about 40 minutes on the motorcycle late this morning cruising some nearby country roads.  Later, Pheebs & I headed off on a nice hour & a half walk through a hardwood forest located next to our morning Pine tree trail.  Countless Trillium flowers  still abound on the forest floor so I was able catch a few photos.  How soothing to hear Spring songbirds high overhead in a tall canopy of newly greening trees.

DSC_0023

On my way to Grand Bend Wednesday night I drove through a little place called St. Joseph.  There is a building here where our local Mennonite population makes furniture, etc.  I couldn't help but notice all the colorful recycled plastic beach chairs on display outside.  Not sure if these chairs are actually made at this location but their bold colors certainly did catch my eye in the setting sun.
 DSC_0010

Just after publishing the Blog Thursday night a movement outside the sunroom window caught my eye.  It was dusk & I hadn't brought in the bird feeders yet.  There on a branch about 12 feet in front of me was the big rascally Raccoon stealthily reaching down to unhook our largest bird feeder & drop it to the ground.  I quickly opened the sunroom's patio door & the Coon leaped from the tree landing on the ground with a thud.  He scampered off around the corner of the house into some foliage.  As maddening as it is to have a Raccoon around wrecking stuff I was kinda feeling sorry for him & hoping he had not hurt himself when leaping from the tree.

DSC_0026 DSC_0027

AN ELF’S VIEW FROM ‘UNDERNEATH’ A TRILLIUM

When I first started using Google’s Picasa photo editing program a few years ago I got hooked on pressing the ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button. It seemed to instantly make photos look better, or so I thought. Took a long time for me to ‘unhook’ myself from using that button & I never ever use it now. Too often it puts way too much vivid color & contrast into photos giving them an unnatural appearance & color cast. When I look back at my photos from about 3 years ago & beyond I have to give my a head a shake & ask myself, ‘what was I thinking.’ That was my Picasa ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ era. Whenever I decide to use one of my photos from those years I generally have to now drag it back into Picasa & re-do it with my newer way of thinking & editing.

 DSC_0003

SOMETHING HAS GONE TO SEED BUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT WAS, POSSIBLY A DANDELION

Nowadays, the Picasa photo editing button I use first with every photo is ‘Auto Contrast.’ This is my starting point & from here I move on to whatever else has to be done to give the photo it’s natural look. I fiddle back & forth with the following buttons until I have what I want. Straighten-Auto Color-Retouch-Sharpen-Saturation-Glow-Graduated Tint & Lighting, using Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows, & Color Temperature. My advice to anyone wanting to significantly improve their photos using Picasa is to back off that, ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ button & start with 'Auto Contrast' next time & work on your photo from there.

DSC_0002

TOOK THIS PHOTO IN OUR BACK YARD THIS AFTERNOON & WHAT LOOKS LIKE A PIECE OF DRIFTWOOD AT TOP LEFT IS ACTUALLY PART OF A SAGUARO CACTUS SKELETON WE BROUGHT BACK FROM ARIZONA…PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS LOWER RIGHT 

DSC_0019

SOMETIMES WHILE LYING ON THE GROUND TRYING TO TAKE A PICTURE OF A FLOWER, THIS GREAT BIG DOGGY MONSTER COMES ALONG & TRAMPLES ON MY SUBJECT….AND SOMETIMES ME TOO
It was Kelly's first official working day back at Deer Park Lodge and it turned out to be a long one with her putting in 10 hours.  With more upcoming medical appoints next week, Pheebs is going to have to adjust to being alone for a bit now.  Not one of her favorite things I can assure you.

DSC_0011

THE TRILLIUM FLOWER IS ONTARIO’S FLORAL EMBLEM

Going through some old drawers in our shed today looking for some mis-placed TV cables I came across an old tune up bill from Ruby's Garage in my hometown of Tavistock Ontario.  Bill was dated March 16th 1967.  I have had soooooo many vehicles over the years I cannot remember what I was driving at the time but I'm guessing it might have been a Ford Falcon.  Here is the itemized bill........

6 Spark Plugs --- $6.00

1 set of Points -- $2.70

1 Condenser ---- $1.35

1 Fan Belt ------- $2.65

                            $12.70

Tax                            .64

Tune up & check

for floor shift ---  $5.00

Total ------------$18.34

It would be interesting to know what that same bill would be at today's prices.  Not sure if Points & Condensers are even used anymore.

DSC_0009
Here’s something that may be of interest to all you diesel pusher drivers. Peter over at AMERICAN TRAVELER has a hard time staying warm while driving his rig in cold weather. With the heat sourcing engine in the back of the rig he’s having difficulty getting any hot air up front. I’m sure he would welcome any helpful thoughts or suggestions about that.
DSC_0015

TRILLIUMS NESTLED UNDER THE UMBRELLA LIKE MAY APPLES
SUE & MO are still busy out there in Oregon tracking down covered bridges. You will find some mighty fine bridge photos on their site as the Gals travel around in their RV.
DSC_0029
GROANER’S CORNER:(( Many of us "Old Folks" (those over 60, WAY over 60, or hovering near 60) are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We're unsure about the kind of image we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to conform to current fashions. Despite what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together and should be avoided:
1. A nose ring and bifocals
2. Spiked hair and bald spots
3. A pierced tongue and dentures
4. Miniskirts and support hose
5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads
6. Speedo's and cellulite
7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar
8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor
9. Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge
10. Bikinis and liver spots
11. Short shorts and varicose veins
12. Inline skates and a walker
13. Thongs and Depends.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

17 comments:

  1. Those beach chairs have me just itching for summer and the beach. I love the colours!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Laughed at your "groaner"... hey... where's your c'est la vie? What the heck's wrong with wearing what you want or being what you want to be? Okay.. a thong and Depends may be a little too much.. but... if you're comfortable... why not? That aside, I love the shots of the beach chairs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such gorgeous photos today!! Love them!! SO amazed to learn that Mennonites sell/make those chairs?? They usually wear rather drab clothing...never would have thought they would sell something so bright. And ah, the lovely Pheebs...such a sweet, cute face!! I love my doggies to have some kind of blaze and other markings on their face, makes them so much more expressive I think. Thanks for sharing!
    Elizabeth in NC

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the colourful beach chairs, and the bill for your tune up, I do remember when, I was doing them that year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That Trillium is certainly a beautiful flower. I think Pheebs is just trying to help. Cute picture of her.

    ReplyDelete
  6. the chair pictues are beautiful!..all the colours are reminiscent of summers gone by and summers to come!!..have a great weekend, Al!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I find it odd that your raccoon gives you such a hard time with the bird feeder. Our raccoons here don't like bird food at all. We have a family of 4 living under the woodshed next door. I saw one stroll through our back yard yesterday, stopped at the bird feeder to sniff at it (it's just a cake pan nailed to a 3-foot high stump), and then walk away. We watch the jays, juncos, grosbeaks, and pigeons come every day - along with some chipmunks and a squirrel (after a valley-wide die-off we finally have one!) - but no raccoons.

    I love all those colored chairs. Your photographs of them are stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In 1967 bought a used car for $200. It was a clunker, but it got me back and forth to school.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I Love the brilliantly colored recycled plastic beach chairs! I'll bet they're durable and glow in the sunlight.

    The trillium bring back fond memories of walks in PNW forests.

    I'm just learning the new photo editing software that came with the Nikon. I can see how one could over do which looks so garish.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am trying hard to wean myself from too much color editing in Picasa. I wish that sharpen would really "sharpen"...I get lots of blurry photos lately..Hey! Maybe they're really NOT blurry...maybe it's my old eyes????

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ah! The I Feel Lucky addiction. I know it well. I also do a Batch edit with that button. . . have also found that the result is different with each camera.

    Thanks for the great tips Al!

    Sharon at Princess and Cowboy

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ahhh loved that tune-up bill. I remember points and condensers!

    I bought my first car for $50 in 1976, did a tune-up in the garage with my dad. We had to rehang the gas tank back under the car (it was in the trunk when we bought it. We put on used tires for $5 each, drove it a year, and sold it for $65. Made a profit! LOL
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Never have used the I feel lucky button. The first thing I generally do is crop. :)

    A thong and depends?? Oh my!

    ReplyDelete
  14. butterbean carpenterSaturday, May 12, 2012

    Howdy BB,
    YOUR PICS ARE THE BEST!!! I know you
    work at it, but they are!! Mr Coon better watch jumping out when the
    WonderDog Pheebs is close by!! Just
    don't let her chase him into the water; coons drown dogs that way!!
    How does Kelly work from Arizona &
    then have to work 10 hours a day when she's at 'home'?? I thought Mennonites were like Amish, they worked in wood not plastic!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love those colorful beach chairs. And of course Pheebes is rather gorgeous too!
    Nina

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love those colorful beach chairs. And of course Pheebes is rather gorgeous too!
    Nina

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the idea of those colored chairs. Your photos of plants are amazing. You convince me to camp at Lake Huron. What's the nearest airport there?

    thanks,
    J. Harp
    writer @ camping tents for sale

    ReplyDelete