KEEPING TABS ON HAPPY RV FOLKS

Overcast days with a gentle rains can sometimes make for great photos.  Bright colors, especially yellows will stand out vibrantly against duller backgrounds.  No stark sunlight with contrasting deep shadows to contend with so photos appear softer with the overall even lighting.  Flowers can really stand out.  So, next time you have a gentle rain falling, grab your camera & raincoat before heading out the door.

<<<< YELLOW PRIMROSE

Not a lot of folks have more than one RV but Ivan does.  You might want to slip over to his site & have a look at his comparisons between the truck camper he took to Alaska last summer & the 5th wheel he just returned from the southwest with few days ago.   He had miserable stormy winter weather hot on his heels the last few days heading home & it chased him all the way right up into Canada.  IVAN & ROADTRIP 2010

SAND CHERRY BLOSSOMS

And check out two very happy RV'ers in Benson Arizona as they finally wrap up renovations to their Casita at the Saguaro SKP Co-Op Park there.  JERRY & SUZY are looking forward to spending many quiet cozy hours at their favorite computer work stations.  By contrast,  LAURIE & ODEL are holding on to their hats as nearby Mississippi tornadoes & heavy rains rock them in their Motor Home.  Laurie was on Facebook today saying it is the hardest & longest sustained rain she has ever seen.  Meanwhile, MIKE up there at the North Ranch SKP Park near Congress Arizona is so excited about their new sticks & bricks digs that he's just about beside himself.  Also noticed on Facebook today that MOTTY & PATTI have been traveling along Route 66 in Oklahoma & have now made it into Texas.  Motty has taken some nice pics along 66.  Lots of happy campers out there:))

  THE RAINS ARE GREENING UP OUR FRONT YARD

Over the years I have probably had about a dozen different photo accounts on the go at any one time.  Bubbleshare, Flickr, Smug Mug, Picasa, Photo Bucket, Webshots, & others that I can't remember.  And not remembering is not the best thing.  About 4 years ago I had downloaded the Flickr program, dumped a bunch of photos in it & then moved on to other things forgetting I had the program. 

PRIMROSE

A few weeks ago when I decided to enter 4 photos in the Bayfield Calendar contest I noticed they were using the Flickr program to host the entries.  No problem I thought, so dug out my old Flickr program & uploaded my 4 photos into the contest.  I didn't give any thought to all the photos I had loaded in there a few years ago so while browsing the recent Calendar entries on the Bayfield Flickr site this morning I happened to click on a link associated with my 4 photos.  Well, the link not only took the viewer to my 4 Calendar entries but it also took them to reams of other photos I had taken. 

KELLY & HER 'GRANDS'

In 2008 I had done a whole series of mundane photos of our house interior, exterior, & grounds for insurance purposes.  Anyway, to make a long story short I had to go through all those photos & change the privacy settings to make them, 'not for public viewing.'  So, all you photo bugs out there with multiple photo programs floating around in Cyberspace, you might want to go back & check out your settings & preferences.  And, about the Bayfield Calendar photo contest.  The contest closed April 22nd so I guess the judges are still deciding on winners for the upcoming calendar.

POND WALKER

And a shout out to TRENT & TERESA.  Thanks for the nice compliment guys & your checks in the mail:))  Glad your enjoying SOMA FM & Groove Salad.  Ambient  music, it's the only to fly....................10-4

DON'T BUG ME!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((   During a recent visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not a retiree should be put in an old age home?"
"Well", he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the retiree and ask him or her to empty the bathtub".  "Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup."
"No" he said. "A normal person would pull the plug.  Do you want a bed near the window?"

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

NEVER SET FOOT OUT OF THE HOUSE TODAY:((

CHECKERS

A gentle rain came in the night & stayed most of the morning. I could hear a lot of giggling going on in the gardens as the flowers soaked up the much needed moisture.  A cooling breeze off the lake made the 52F temps feel much cooler & that pretty well kept both of us house bound for the entire day................................

TIS THE SEASON FOR TRILLIUMS

I would have to say it was probably one of the least physically days I have had in any kind of recent memory.  My whole day was spent parked in front of computers wrestling with 4 separate hard drives loaded with photos, photos, & more photos.  I normally would not have become this disorganized with all the pictures but with the 5 Gig Verizon cap we struggled with all winter I couldn't upload each days photos into their proper Picasa Web Albums or Smug Mug account.  As it was, we blew threw our 5 Gig limit every single month.

Deciding to sort pictures into my Smug Mug account further complicates things because I really haven't used it much before so I am basically starting from scratch with 4 or 5 years of pictures.  The thought did occur to me that I may never get this project finished.  The uploads are slow & the files are many. I am going to need an awful lot of rainy days on my side, but already sun filled summer days are fast approaching.  And, the question did enter my mind.....why am I doing all this anyway!! 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

A BIG PHOTO ORGANIZING CHALLENGE AHEAD

Been working on the desk top's Live Writer today in an effort to get all 3 computer Live Writer's to function the same so the blog remains consistent.   No easy task for memory cells already on overtime but I have made some headway.  Biggest stumbling block was my desktop LW format. Typing space was very narrow compared to the laptops.  Took me awhile to figure it out & had to go to 'Blogs'-'Edit Blog Settings'-'Editing.'  Once there I clicked the 'Refresh Theme' & LW updated the desktop computer & my screen switched to the wider format like the lappys.  I was instantly transported once again to Happy Camper status:))  Might be a few things to tweak out yet like print &  photo spacing, plus picture sizes.

I began a project today that I have been putting off for a long time.  Way too long!!  With the addition of the second laptop this past winter & tripled my confusion by downloading photos on 3 separate computer hard drives plus an external hard drive.  No big deal if you just take a few pictures here & there occasionally.  I have literally thousands scattered about!! 

I do have them in some kind of order on each computer though but I want to bring everything together in an organized fashion & separate into groups plus I have all last winter's trip to assemble into Picasa Web Albums.  I also have a Smug Mug account & plan to finally use this photography site to begin organizing photos into categories .  Flowers, Animals, Sunsets, Locations, Special Occasions, etc. etc.  I plan to go all through my stuff choosing only the best photos to be shown in Smug Mug.  I have a sunrise/sunset category in there right now that is so long it would put you to sleep so I have to get in there with my delete button & do some hacking & cutting.  I do have a few other albums on the site but I will be doing a lot of editing in them as well.  You can access the site by going to AL'S SMUG MUG SITE but keep an eye out because I will be in there somewhere very soon madly hacking away!!

MAGNOLIA BLOSSOM

A cool cloudy morning but we finally coaxed the sun out about mid afternoon.  Looks like the days will be warming up this week.

Phil had a question about how often do I use a tripod for my photos.  Wished I could say, 'a lot,' but that isn't the case.  A tripod is essential for getting those really crisp & sharp photos, especially of flowers.  They are also imperative in lower light situations like early dawn.  So, why don't I use my tripod?  I can hardly even think up a good excuse for that question.  Too lazy to carry one I guess.  I'm not a perfectionist either so that's why I am not a professional.  I pretty much hand hold every photo & am reasonably steady at doing that but it still doesn't excuse not using a tripod.  My enlarged photos wouldn't stand up in clarity to the next guy beside me using a tripod.  But, they are OK for the blog here & I have no intentions of ever printing or enlarging anything anyway.  Just not interested in that.

And speaking of tripods, I have 3 stand-up tripods & 3 table top pods   One Slik 88N tripod I have had since the mid 80's & it's held together with duct tape & wooden splints.  I usually mount my binoculars on that one.  I do have a larger pod that I use with my telescope lens.  That lens/telescope is so heavy it cannot be hand held so is always mounted on a tripod when I use it.  Mainly for birds or moon shots at night.  Anyway, hope that helps a bit & thanks for asking Phil:))

I normally shy away from photo contests & stuff like that because I do not have a competitive personality.  It's probably why I don't care for any kind of sports either.  Bayfield is having a photo contest for people to send in 4 of their best Bayfield photos for an upcoming calendar to be sold in the village.  Normally I wouldn't enter something like that but Kelly talked me into it & below are my 4 reluctant entries.  It is now four days before the contest closes & so far there are 67 entries which can be seen here at BAYFIELD CALENDAR.

Inner harbor	Sunset Cruise
Pioneer Park	Lone Bench

On the Bayfield Calendar site you will see the name 'Stargeezerguy' guy below my photos.  That is the name I use on my Flickr photo account which happens to be  hosting all the photo entiries.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  What is the difference between Bird Flu and Swine Flu?
For bird flu you need tweetment and for swine flu you need oinkment.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.