HOT, HUMID, & A HUMMER:))

AT LAST.....A HUMMINGBIRD:)) (click to enlarge)

Saturdays are busy days for Kelly at Deerpark Lodge so she was out the door early this morning. Humidity had rolled into the area Friday & to-day turned out be another cooker. The humidity really draws out the mosquitoes & biting flies so I didn't get far with the dogs on our walk this morning before the bugs drove us out of the forest. It just kind of turned into a low energy morning & I sat on the front porch with my camera watching the antics of all my bird pals coming & going to the feeders & bird baths. It's quite a pecking order they follow & I can also tell you it's really hard to get a humming bird to sit still!!. RED BREASTED MALE GROSBEAK

Had a mobility van run this afternoon so that made 3 this week. At this fast pace I might even be able to make enough money this summer to actually buy a whole tank of gas for the motorhome by October. Guess I shouldn't complain because at least I have something. There are a lot of people out there right now with no employment at all, not even part time. Kelly phoned to say she saw Stella to-day for the first time since she went missing a couple weeks ago & it was quite obvious that Stella was a happy dog to be back with her owners again. She had been picked up by someone in a black SUV & luckily 2 small children had seen it happen. When Kelly made up all the 'Stella Is Missing' posters she put the children's description of that dark colored SUV on the poster. Kelly distributed those posters far & wide & went to a great effort to make Stella's disappearance known throughout the community. We think this was a contributing factor to Stella's eventual return. Stella's picture & the car description were everywhere & finally Stella's owner got a call from someone saying, "I have your dog & am willing to return it." A meeting was arranged in Clan Gregor square here in Bayfield & Stella was returned to her rightful owner. We think the pressure was just too great for this person who may originally have thought they were just picking up a stray mutt off the street. Anyway, it has all worked out well in the end & Stella was once again racing around over at Deerpark Lodge to-day just as happy as can be. Yaaaaay Kelly:)) Yaaaaay Stella:)) And Yaaaaay to all the folks in Bayfield who were keeping an eye out for her:)) STELLA:))))))

It was nearly a year ago to the day that I made a very big mistake with my motorcycle that could have ended up costing me a whole bunch of money but thanks to the keen eye of a young gas station attendent in Goderich I was spared that fate. You can read about my big mistake......HERE.NOTICE THE TINY FLY ON THE LEAF TO THE RIGHT....NEVER SAW IT UNTIL I CROPPED THE PHOTO IN PICASA

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know your getting old when you try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

THE DAY I MOOSE SALUTED THE OLD NORTH WIND!!

A LITTLE FRIEND ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

It was RICK'S spaghetti sauce that saved the day for me this afternoon. Kelly had sent an email last night telling me to take a plastic container out of the freezer to-day around noon because that was going to be our supper to-night. It was around 2 P.M. that I sat down at the computer to catch up on a few blogs. As I was reading Rick's blog about fixing & mixing spaghetti sauce I had this uncomfortable feeling there was something I was supposed to remember that had to do with food. Oh no!! Kelly could be home any minute & that plastic container was still in the freezer!! I zipped out to the kitchen, filled the sink with super hot water & plopped the frozen container in there. Checked it about 20 minutes later & it was still frozen solid. Oh no, what to do!! Noticed the micro-wave had a defrost setting so I had to hurriedly get creative with a bunch of microwave numbers & about half an hour later I saw some good serious soggy signs in the container of veggies. Put the container back in the hot water & left it there until Kelly rolled in the driveway about an hour later. Quickly drained the water & set the container on the counter..........no problem & supper went off without a hitch:)) Thanks oh great spaghetti master!! HERE'S AN INTERESTING LITTLE FELLOW IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

Had a question about the black thing sticking up on top of my telescope lens. That large black lens I've been using with my camera is first & foremost an astronomy telescope. That device on the telescope contains a small battery which projects a small laser like red dot onto the center of that rectangular glass portion. When looking for objects in the dark night sky it can be difficult to find a specific area. By looking through that finder device you just align that red dot with whatever your looking for in the night sky & that automatically aligns your lens with the object making it easier to locate things. If it wasn't for all the tall pine trees surrounding us I would be making a lot more use of this telescope at night......but:(( I ADDED THE LITTLE RED DOT IN PAINT SHOP BUT THAT IS WHAT YOU BASICALLY SEE AT NIGHT

The American southwest is notorious for it's big winds & we have sure found that out first hand over these past few years. We were boondocking in the desert about 6 miles south of Quartzite, Arizona back in January of 2008 with continous winds sweeping in from the north each night. It was really reeking havoc on our sleeping & making me extra irritible.....if that's possible!! I blogged about that big wind & my coyote theory the following night & mentioned that in the morning I had gone outside & totally 'Moose Saluted' that old north wind just to let him know what I thought of his nightly antics. Wasn't long & I had some emails asking what a moose salute was so rather than trying to explain it I took a picture of myself demonstrating the moose salute & put it in next days blog. Here is that blog about the wind and...............the Moose Salute!!

From January 14th, 2008
The big wind gusts finally let up last night around 9:30 only to return around midnight with reinforcements. I don't know if that is what woke me up or if it was our border collie Checkers growling like crazy. Next thing I heard were the coyotes & it sounded like there was a herd of them right outside the door somewhere having some kind of a convention. Yips, hoots, yelps, whines, cries, & barks.......they had it all. I think there is probably an old Indian legend around somewhere that says it is the panting breaths of many howling coyotes that cause the mighty winds to come sweeping across the sleeping desert floor in the dead of night.
When I first went outside this morning I noticed the wind had finally abated so without further ado I proceeded to put our awning down & clipped on the camouflage netting. Then, just to be a smart ass I poked my head around the end of the coach, stuck my thumbs in my ears & gave that big old north wind a good old fashioned Canadian Moose salute. Well, you know what happened!! Within half an hour I was scrambling like nuts to get the awning retracted & ended up chasing our Canadian flag across the desert floor after having it being blown right off the flag pole. That wily old wind had returned my Moose Salute with a vengence & he's been chasing my butt all over the southwest ever since........!!

GOOD OLD CANADIAN MOOSE SALUTE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( It's not how you win or lose, it's how you place the blame!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

YAAAAAAY....STELLA IS HOME SAFE & SOUND:))

THIS LITTLE GOLDFINCH WAS HAVING A VERY VIGOROUS BATH THIS AFTERNOON (click to enlarge....Goldfinch is facing left)

Received a phone call this afternoon from Stella's owner to say Stella (the missing Burmese Mountain dog) had just been returned home by a lady who had been keeping her for the past couple of weeks. Don't know all the details but she was apparently well looked after & is now happy to be home. Yaaaaaaay Stella:))

ADDED A TOUCH OF YELLOW TO THE BIRD BATH ON RIGHT TO GIVE IT A BIT OF COLOR

Loaded up the 2 big furry guys this morning & we took the big wheels for a drive up to Goderich & back. Sure was nice to be back in the rigs driver's seat even if it was just for a short time. The Sons of The Pioneers boomed out of the speakers all the way there & back. Max & Checkers were all excited thinking we were off to see their pals, Gleason, Pearce, & Corky, at the Arizona ranch. Had to tell them, sorry guys, not yet.....but soon:))

THE GOLDFINCH AT TOP LEFT IS ON FINAL APPROACH TO THE BIRDBATH AS A LITTLE BLACK CAP CHICKADEE WATCHES FROM THE WATER'S EDGE I WAS TOO SLOW ON THE TRIGGER & ONLY CAUGHT HALF OF THIS BLUE JAY LEAVING THE BIRD BATH:((

Had trouble with our external hard drive yesterday so took it along this morning to the computer place in Goderich to have it checked out. All our travel photos are stored on that external hard drive & I didn't want to take any chances on losing them. I also have most of the photos on DVD's as well but that hard drive is the working copy so to speak. MAX & CHECKERS WERE READY TO RUMBLE THIS MORNING. MAX IS MAD AT ME FOR NOT GETTING HIS BEST SIDE!!
THE BISBEE KIDS ON THE DASH ARE WATCHING THE ROAD AS WE HEAD HOME

With the positive response to last night's blog about Picasa 3 I've decided to throw a few more photo examples in to-night's blog.

I ADDED SOME PICASA 3 SOFT FOCUSING TO THIS PHOTO TO GIVE IT A MYSTIC FEELING. I ALSO USED "GLOW" UNDER THE EFFECTS HEADING TO GIVE THE WATER SOME SPARKLE

(when I look at this photo now I realize I should have cropped a bit more off on the left side to rid that overexposed rock...I will do that to the original later but it just gives you an idea of what you can do.

Kelly comes home Friday so that will mean some real food again. I can cook stuff OK if I have too but I think my main problem is that I'm just to darn lazy to go through all the motions so I just eat stuff like cereal, porridge, & Oktoberfest sausage, etc. Whatever is easy to throw to-gether in a few minutes. Swampin down a tin of salmon is always pretty easy too. I've never been a big food person but I sure do eat enough of the darn stuff sometimes!! But never seconds. I just eat what's in front of me & then quickly remove myself from the area, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CROPPING THE SURROUNDING BACKGROUND OUT TO FEATURE THE FLOWER. AN EXAMPLE OF ADDING TEXT TO A PHOTO

Was doing a little reading up on Microsoft's new operating system due to launch on October 25th of this year. It's called Windows 7 & sounds good so far. I like the fact that it isn't a power hog like XP & especially Vista.

THESE TWO HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER PHOTOS DEMONSTRATE THE POWER OF THE "I'M FEELING LUCKY" BUTTON. ONE CLICK OF THE BUTTON BRIGHTENED UP THE PHOTO & I COULD HAVE FURTHER LIGHTENED IT BY USING THE "FILL LIGHT" FEATURE FOUND UNDER BASIC FIXES

Not much else new to-day so maybe I'll just throw the cameras in the van & go see if I can track me down a sunset................:))

COLOR HIGHLIGHTING THE FLOWERS IN "FOCAL BLACK & WHITE"

-Hummingbird feeder & single flower photo were taken with a Nikon D40 & 700mm telescope lens.

-The two RV photos this morning were done with my Canon A720 as was the motorcycle pics yesterday.

-The flowers & pond shots were taken from inside our sunroom through a glass window using a Nikon D50 & 200mm zoom lens.

-The birdbath photos were taken from inside the sunroom as well using the D50 & zoom lens at 200mm

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Life is like a roll of toilet paper.....the closer you get to the end the faster it goes.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

I AGREE WITH RICK.....TWO THUMBS UP FOR PICASA 3:))

THIS PHOTO WAS MADE A WEE BIT BETTER WITH PICASA 3

Spent a couple pleasurable hours on the motorcycle this morning cruising around the local countryside enjoying a mighty fine southwestern Ontario morning. Took a few photos from the bike which I will use to show some things you can do with a certain photo program. That yellow bandana tied to the handlebars is my WSI. (wind speed indicator) When that bandana is ramrod straight out pointing back that tells me I'm approaching 750 MPH & it's time to shift into third gear:)) THIS IS THE SAME PHOTO WITH NOTHING DONE TO IT. NOT A GREAT EXAMPLE OF DIFFERENCE BUT THERE ARE SUBTLE CHANGES IN COLOR & SHARPNESS...COMPARE THE INDICATOR BUTTONS & SPEEDOMETER....GRASS IS GREENER & RED BUTTON ON HANDLEBAR STANDS OUT MORE.

Noticed on RICK'S blog this afternoon he was talking about Google's excellent digital photo program Picasa 3. I have been using this program for the past 3 to 5 years now & would recommend it to anyone out there looking for an easy to use free photo program. I see many photos on blogs that are good but could be made a lot better if folks would just take that extra few minutes to work on them a little bit in the Picasa program. Rick explains & gives examples in his blog how to start off with the. "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. That alone can make quite a difference in a photo. "FOCAL BLACK & WHITE"....NOTICE THE YELLOW BANDANA IN THE OTHERWISE B&W PHOTO

Here is basically how I handle a photo in Picasa 3. I get the photo up on the screen & then under Basic Fixes hit that "Lucky" button Rick talks about. I then decide if the picture looks better & it usually does. I then sometimes click the "Auto Color" button next to see if it will adjust the color the way I want. Then I go to Effects & click on "Saturation" & see if I like the way it punches out the colors more vibrantly or not. Then I'll slip up to the "Sharpen" button & stretch the slider bar to sharpen the picture a bit. Then I might go to Tuning & add some "Contrast" to the picture to darken it down a bit maybe or I might use the "Color Temperature" to warm up a sunset. You can also lighten your photo if it's too dark by using the "Fill Light" slider bar under Basic Fixes. Also under Basic Fixes you will find the word, "Crop" & this is where you can really make or break your photo. I do a lot of cropping in my photos & it all has to do with composition. If you don't get the composition right when you take the picture then you have a second chance to re-do the shot in the Picasa photo program by cropping it the way you want. I ADDED "SATURATION" TO MAKE THE YELLOW BANDANA COLOR STAND OUT

There are a bunch of other creative buttons for working on your photos & the best way to learn is just to get a photo up on the Picasa screen & start pressing buttons to see what happens. Everything can be undone very easily so you are not going to ruin your photos. Try the Sepia button for an old time look or turn your color to black & white. Soft focus is very creative & you have slider bars to adjust your softness. I use my "Straighten" button a lot because I have a tendency to get my horizon's crooked. That button alone has saved many a photo for me. Try Focal B&W for another really neat effect. I HAVE TOTALLY EXAGGERATED THE SKY TO SHOW HOW EFFECTS CAN BE ADDED IN "GRADUATED TINT."

AN EXAMPLE OF "CROPPING"

And don't worry.......if you don't like what you create, just undo the changes you made & take the photo back to the way it was. Only takes a few seconds. "SEPIA TONE" GIVES PHOTOS THAT OLD TIME LOOK

I have a professional Photoshop program in our laptop but have never used it simply because I've never been able to understand it. Maybe if I understood it I would still come back to Picasa 3......who knows. You can download the free PICASA 3 here. From there it's just a few more easy steps to download Picasa's sister program, PICASA WEB ALBUMS. ""SOFT FOCUS" LETS YOU PLACE THE SOFTNESS WHERE YOU WANT IT. THIS IS NICE FOR PORTRAITS.

Like I said earlier........I see a lot of OK photos in blogs that could be made better if folks just took the time to make them better with a simple easy to use photo program called Picasa 3. And like Rick..........no, I do not work for Picasa or have anything to gain by recommending it, except.............your photos are going to look a whole lot nicer & that is going to make YOU feel a whole lot better........:)))))) BLACK & WHITE

P.S. And I used the "Straighten" button on all these motorcycle photos to get my horizons level!!

GROANER'S CORNER:)) Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is stand up and say, '*My name is Bob, and I am an alcoholic'?

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 FEW DUMP TRUCK LOADS OF BIRDSEED MAYBE!!

MORNING DOVE.....AND YES, I KNOW I'M PRETTY

Spent a few relaxing hours to-day learning more about my front yard bird pals. Yesterday I was convinced the notorious Grackle Gang had driven all the other birds away but this morning it looked like a big bird convention in the front yard again with birds flying around every which a way. Even a few new ones that I have been looking for in my bird ID books. The feeders went strangely silent after lunch & it wasn't until I saw the neighbor's cat lurking about that I understood why. OH OH.....LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER CRITTER IS WASHING UP BEFORE THE BIRDSEED BUFFET DINNER TO-NIGHT

Figured there is no way to solve the messy eating Grackle problem so I will just have to buckle down & get myself a full time 80 hour a week job that pays enough to spend all the paychecks on birdseed. Our RVing friend Gerald lives just around the corner from us & drives a walloping big gravel truck for the summer months so figured maybe if I bought in bulk I could get Gerald to drop me off a couple of big dump truck loads of birdseed every couple weeks. I think the Grackle Gang has me in the palm of their feathered feet:(( AWW COME ON DAD TAKE US FOR A RIDE IN THE VAN

Kelly headed off to Cambridge early this morning to pick up her daughter & two grandkids & then head over to Spencerport, New York. I left shortly after for my eye appointment with the Optometrist in Clinton. Seems I have the start of cataracts in both eyes but not to the point where I need anything done yet. Said to come back in a year & he would see how the cataracts were coming along. My eyeglass prescription had changed a bit but not worth spending over $600 for a set of new glasses!!!! I have trouble reading small magazine print & smaller print in blogs but that's just the way it will have to be for another year until we see which way we're going with that cataract thing. I HAVEN'T GOT A POSITIVE ID ON THIS FELLOW YET

THIS REDWING BLACKBIRD SEEMS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF GROWTH ON IT'S BREAST UNLESS THAT'S A CROP OF SEEDS IT'S CARRYING

Have been noticing subtle changes in the flower gardens as the approaching season change begins to set in. Once lush lime colored ferns are taking on a hard edge look as fronds darken & decay around the edges. Our round canopy Basswood tree is beginning to shed a few large leaves & the day lilies are finished for another year. Some flowering shrubs are growing tired & sagging under the weight of old summer growth & leaves on our Virginia Creeper vine & Sumac trees are showing early stages of fall color. We are approaching my all time favorite season of the year............Autumn:)) HAVEN'T BEEN USING MY UTILITY TRAILER MUCH THIS SUMMER

ANOTHER SIGN OF THE AGING PROCESS........EVERYTIME I SIT DOWN ON THE TRAIL FOR A REST THE BUZZARD'S BEGIN GATHERING!!

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Just came across this exercise suggested for seniors to build muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It seems easy, so I'm passing it on. The article suggested doing it three days a week. Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5 lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides, then hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax. Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10 lb. potato sacks. Then 50 lb. potato sacks and, eventually, try to get to where you can lift a 100 lb. potato sack in each and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute.
After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks; but be careful. 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 LOOK BACK AT BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS....2004

A BIG RV WAVE FROM THE COTTONWOOD CAMPGROUND IN BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, TEXAS......and yes, those are real Cottonwood trees in the background

Our hottest day of the summer occured Sunday with the highest humidity I've felt for years. Much the same to-day but not as intense. We were finally forced to kick on the A/C yesterday.LAKE TEXOMA IN TEXAS.....ON OUR WAY TO BIG BEND....Kelly's checking the map because she probably thinks we are lost

When I first put the bird feeders up a couple weeks ago I thought my biggest problem was going to be chipmunks in the feeders but that paled compared to the problem I'm having now. Gangs of Grackles have taken over the feeding stations dumping the birdseed on the ground. They swoop in scaring the other birds & then hang on the feeders swooping the seeds off the feeders with sweeping motions of their beaks. I've had to stop filling most of the feeders because of the waste so bird city is temporarily on hold until I can figure out some kind of solution.

I AM WATCHING AN EAGLE FISHING OUT OVER THE LAKE

I have started an AUGUST photo album & will continue to add photos to it as the month progresses. Thanks to everyone for the nice photo comments. I'll be happy when we're back on the road again & I finally have some new scenery in front of my lens!! A STOP IN MARATHON TEXAS AT A QUAINT LITTLE BAKERY FOR SOME COFFEE & DONUNTS

Kelly is off to Spencerport New York in the morning to spend a few days with her Mom & Dad. They are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this week & family members are rallying for a get to-gether. Kelly's Dad's health continues to deteriorate & this may be the last full family gathering. TOTALLY EXHAUSTED BUT AT LAST WE ARE OFFICIALLY HERE:))

I didn't have any photos for to-day but while looking back through our archives I came across a few pics copied from prints of our first major RV jaunt down to Big Bend National Park, Texas in December of 2004. I don't have a lot of pics from that trip because we lost a bunch in a 2007 computer crash. They weren't that great anyway because back in those days I had just started out in the digital camera age with a 1 Megapixel cheap little camera from Staples. But hey, it was the start that got me back into photography after about an 11 year photography drought. CHRISTMAS MORNING 04 AS KELLY USES THE BINOCULARS TO GAZE ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE RIVER TO THE RUSTIC LITTLE MEXICAN VILLAGE OF BOQUILLAS dEL CARMAN

We were driving a Class C Ford Gulfstream back then & Max was our only critter. We had a short window of vacation time because we were both working & had to be back right after New Years. We went all the way down to Big Bend & back in less than two weeks. I was desperate just to see some mountains & cactus again & that was the closest spot I could find to us on a map. Heading south I remember scanning the flat horizon for mountain peaks ahead as we slipped south of Fort Stockton, Texas. And finally there they were, just disant tips at first, but with each mile the mountains just grew & grew & grew:)) I have never lived in the mountains but for some strange reason I always feel at home in them. PLAYING A GAME OF STICKS WITH MAX IN THE RIO GRANDE RIVER...... THAT'S AMERICA ON THE LEFT SIDE & MEXICO ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RIVER

It was a short but memorable stay in Big Bend & it solitified in both of us our desire to pursue the RV lifestyle someday. I remember Christmas Eve sitting atop a high rock cropping at the end of a long uphill path with the Rio Grande river below us & watching the beautiful sunset over the distant Chisos Mountains. Moments to remember. We stayed at the Rio Grande Village campground that night & I remember Christmas morning hiking along the banks of the Rio Grande in Boquillas Canyon & feeling so much alive. Second night was in the Cottonwood Campground after hiking the awesome Santa Elena Canyon. ON OUR WAY TO SANTA ELENA CANYON WHERE THE SPLIT IS ALONG THE MOUNTAIN RIDGE TO THE RIGHT

We began our return trip by heading through the dusty little Texas towns of Study Butte, Terlingua, & Lajitus, before rolling through Big Bend Ranch State Park & on to Presidio. From there it was north to Fort Davis where we just arrived in time at the McDonald Observatory high atop the Davis Mountains for a big 'out under the stars,' Starparty. That was a very cold but memorable night & I shall always remember it. HIKING IN SANTA ELENA CANYON

The next morning it was pedal to the metal as we raced across the States on our hurried dash for home. I will always remember the depression & discouragement I felt at having to come back to the ice & snow of our Canadian winter. POSING FOR A PICTURE IN THE CHISOS BASIN CAMPGROUND

The following winter was spent in Canada but we've been fortunate enough these past two seasons to once again make it to our beloved American southwest with each stay being longer than the one before & hopefully this year will be a full 6 months. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay:))

A COLD MORNING........LOADING UP ON HOT TACOS AT A ROADSIDE STAND IN TERLINGUA, TEXAS

GROANER'S CORNER: You know your getting old when everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt, doesn't work!!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.