A SUNNY DAY TRILLIUM WALK IN THE FOREST

 

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.

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.
 
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.

 

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.

 

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.

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 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.
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- 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