AFTER KELLY’S DOCTOR APPOINTMENT THIS MORNING WE ARE STILL IN MEDICAL LIMBO

FOUND ME A FEW CRITTERS AROUND THE GOOSE POND ON A SHORT EVENING WALK EARLIER TONIGHT
Humidity was heavy in the air as Pheebs & I once again set out in search of the Supermoon Sunday night. Double checked our areas Moon rise time & headed for atop a hill about 3 miles northeast of us. Set up my tripod & telescope lens & waited, & waited. I knew any photos I was going to get were not going to be clear. Way too much haze. It was such a nice warm summer night Pheebs & I stuck it out anyway. Pheebers had a blast racing around all over through the fields & up & down the country road. When I finally spotted the Moon it was already about 20 degrees above the horizon line coming out of a low cloud bank. It was very ochre in color & very faint. Certainly not that big bright crisp looking Moon we are accustomed to seeing in Arizona's clear winter skies. I did take about a dozen photos anyway but they turned out as expected, not so good. Didn't really matter though because it was just the fact of being out in the country on a warm summer's night doing something I enjoy.......and with my very much most bestest Pal too:))
 
ALL SET UP WAITING FOR THE MOON TO RISE…D90 IS ON THE TELESCOPE LENS ATOP THE TRIPOD WHILE THE NEW D3100 IS ON THE HOOD OF THE JEEP WITH TELEPHOTO LENS ATTACHED
Because of our current stretch of humid weather we had planned on taking the air conditioned Santa Fe to Stratford this morning. Of course the car's A/C quit working 2 days ago so we took the Jeep. We were on time for our meeting with Dr. Heffner & I can't say we came away from that meeting not knowing a whole lot more about Kelly's condition than when we went in. There is still some fluid around Kelly's heart so she is scheduled for another Echo-cardiogram of the chest area in a couple weeks. Also an abdominal ultra-sound. Doctor did say Kelly’s Liver enzymes were elevated so another barrage of blood tests are scheduled. Valley Fever tests are still not back. Lupus test was Ok. The words 'Auto-Immune' were mentioned a couple times but as it stands, still no hard & fast diagnosis as to the cause of Kelly's problem. Doctor said if Kelly's condition worsens she is to call his office. So basically, we are still in kind of a medical limbo..............

HEY DAD, WHERE’S THAT SUPERMOON YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO SEE
The drive back to Bayfield was soooooo hot & the weather people said it is our hottest day of the year so far. So great to get home & walk into cool air. Didn't even get Pheebs out for a walk this afternoon. For me, the heat is just too stifling & with my oily skin the humidity just turns me into a big walking ball of sticky paste. That oily skin thing works great for me during our Arizona winters though when a lot of folks have problems with dry skin from the desert's dry air.  Luckily it doesn't bother my skin so the winter climate is fine for me.

Thought for sure Sunday I was going to have to take my Nikon D3100 back to Henry's Camera store. When I affixed my older 18-55mm lens to the new camera I had a lot of difficulty getting the camera to lock onto 'auto-focus'. Maybe twice out of a couple dozen tries. I rely heavily on auto-focus because it is far more accurate than my aging eyes. Not having auto-focus working properly was totally unacceptable!! Figured for sure it was a malfunction of the new camera. Went on-line & saw some other D3100 owners were having a few similar problems. Tried a few fixes but nothing worked. Has to do with the contact points between the camera & the lens. The lens I have is definitely the correct lens for the camera but the two of them just simply disagreed & would not get along. Decided to try my 75-300mm lens on the new cam. They worked perfectly together with the auto-focus being quicker & faster than before with my D40. So that told me it was not the camera's fault but the older lens. Been using that lens since day one nearly 8 years ago so figure one of the auto-focus contacts in the lens is probably the problem. So what to do.

I had originally planned on putting my longer telephoto lens on my slightly larger Nikon D90 body & my standard lens on the new D3100 but have now reversed that which may just work out even better in the end. It is the telephoto lens I use to catch things like birds in motion so with the newer & faster working D3100 that just may be the best combination in the end. Had it not been for the load of gravel on my Nikon D40's sensor I would still be using it. Great reliable camera that never ever let me down. I will keep it is as a back up cam.  And my poor D50 still sits brokenly quiet on a shelf in my bedroom after meeting a nasty end near Elfrida Arizona about 3 years ago.  Fell off a table onto a concrete floor:((

CAMERA FLASH REBOUNDS OFF LICENSE PLATE BACK INTO THE LENS CAUSING LIGHT REFLECTIONS…EASY TO SEE HOW UFO RUMOURS CAN GET STARTED
One clear cut advantage of staying with the same brand & style of a camera over the years has been the reasonably easy transition from one camera to the other. Menus are basically the same as well as knobs & dials etc. Didn't take me long to tweak the D3100 to the way I liked it so that was a big plus for me. I will have to read up on some of the newer woozles & waazles though. Maybe something practical in there I can learn & use. And to clear up a little something about Sunday night's post. Saying folks should spend a little of that expensive camera money on a few good photography lessens was not directed at anyone out here in Blogland. But I will give you an example of my thoughts behind what I said.

<<< JUST AN OLD CROW SQUAWKING AT ME FROM A TREE
About 5 years ago we overnighted west of Casa Grande Arizona while moving from McNeil to Quartzsite. I was outside the Motorhome setting up a couple chairs. A fellow came walking down the road with a camera around his neck. He saw my camera & came over. I had a Nikon D50 at the time & this guy was carrying a D80 so we had something in common & began talking about photography. This fellow dazzled me with his camera knowledge & I had the feeling he may have worked for one of the major camera manufacturers in a sales capacity at one time. He sure knew his stuff. He suggested we walk over to their rig after supper for a coffee & he would show me some of his pictures. I fully expected so see some very remarkable photos. To make a long story short, that is not what I saw. I don't know how many photo albums he brought out but it was a clear cut case of someone being very knowledgeable about the technical end of his camera but not knowing some of the basics of photography. Nice fellow for sure & it was not for me to criticize his photos, point out anything, or make any helpful suggestions. But I have never forgot that encounter that night & it has always stuck in my memory. We all work very hard on our blogs & we write them to the best of our ability. The old saying, 'a picture is worth a thousand words' is so true so I always figure it is best to try & carry that thought right into our blogs with our photos.

 
I'm a late bloomer when it comes to good old country music. And I do mean the old country music. Don't care much for the new stuff. Think it was about 15 years ago round about the time we got ourselves our first computer. Came across several music download programs at the time & began putting music libraries together over the years. Turns out one of the largest libraries I have now have is old Country Music. In fact I've taken to the habit of listening to our cable TV's 'Old Classic Country' each morning now when I get up. Country music takes me back to when I was a kid. The old hits were on the radio but I may not have paid a lot of attention to them at that time. However I sure have remembered them. Hank Williams has become one of my favorites. Patsy Cline & Jim Reeves. Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, & the long list just goes on & on. I especially like those old country music ballads. With the bunch I hung around with years ago country music wasn't cool. The singers I aforementioned were seen as hayseeds from Hicksville. I, like many other hippy inclined people were into the groovy stuff like Jimi Hendricks, The Doors, Stones, Steppenwolf, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, etc.

OK, OK, ONE SUPERMOON SHOT FROM SUNDAY NIGHT (NIKON D90 WITH 700mm TELESCOPE LENS) >>>
I think it was the discovery of Roy Rogers & The Son's Of The Pioneers that really caught my ear about a dozen years ago & turned my head in the direction of Country music. Loved the harmonies & the stories of the wild west they sang about. Don't know what it is about the newer country music I don't care for but just give me Hank Williams & the boys & a few of those live Grand Ole Opry performances. Another thing I like about the music of yesteryear is the fact that each singer & each band had their own unique & distinct sound. You knew instantly who was singing & playing. The voices & instruments were real & the raw talent by all performers was first & foremost & right out front.. What they sang & played is what you got. And I like that about country music of yesteryear.

AWWWWW GEEEEEZZZZZ DAD THIS IS GETTING REALLY BORING…………………………
I remember someone asking if I would be going to see the new Lone Ranger & Tonto movie coming out soon.  After seeing the previews for the movie while at the Superman movie last week the answer to that question is an emphatic no.  Looks like more of that same money making Hollywood gloop.  Guns, fiery explosions, & more boring Hollywood fight scenes.  If your going to throw a pile of supposedly realistic fiction at me at least make the fiction somewhat believable………………… 

HEAT & HUMIDITY WERE EVEN TOO MUCH FOR DOGGY THIS EVENING
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A little 3-year-old girl was playing with her miniature tea set. Her father was in the living room and her mother was out shopping. The little girl came out to the living room and offered her father a cup of tea, which was in fact just water. He thought this was really cute, so she did it several more times.
When the mother came home, the father had the mother stop and watch the little tea ritual, as her daughter brought the father another cup of tea (water) and he drank it.
The mother said, “Very nice. But has it occurred to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?”
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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.