A beautiful quiet day 10-31

Boy did those quail grow!  First there were quail and then when we looked again these big birds were cruising through.

Turkeys, like vultures have unattractive heads, but their feathers as so pretty.

It has been over 20 years since I've lived anywhere that flowers are blooming this late in the fall!!!  Woo hoo!!!

Larry said hi to this feline and it decided to grace us with its presence.

Bye bye October 10-30

Not too much going on here...just usual stuff, truck maintenance, house maintenance, yard maintenance all they same things that most everyone is doing.  We got some stuff hung on the walls in the family room and today I ironed all the curtains in the family room and bedroom...I wanted to make sure I liked them before ironing them...a tip from the lady at the store.  Ironing them was a tedious chore, but what a huge difference it makes...I've seen those quick design shows on T.V. and when they don't iron the window treatments...ew.

Larry built three planter boxes for our garden and we spent a few days moving them around until we figured out how we wanted them placed...now he just has to plant them in the ground.  Those dirt mounds you see in the left of the picture will go into the boxes.  We still haven't figured out what we are doing with that area of circular sand.

I finally took the time to finish one of the watercolors that was begun back at a workshop in May.  I'm happy with it...not world class but I feel it is the best I've done to date so that's good.  It is watercolor and the tree and rocks were painted with a palette knife...very fun.

Crystal clear 10-26

Sunny clear day today.  I went to the store and the air was so bright and clear...all the particulates that have been floating around in the air were all washed away and it was like looking through a window that had been covered in dirt that was now clean.  So very fresh.  As we came home through the state from Oregon last week the last of the harvest was in full swing, farmers were plowing and clouds of dirt hung in the air and climbed to great heights, and with smoke and just general pollution it was very hazy.  It was breezy and not overly warm unless you were out in the sun. 

Larry burned again today...along one edge of our property the phone company had cut the trees and brush and had just left it and I guess the previous owner didn't care, but it looked trashy with all those piles of dead limbs.  It looks very nice now and we have another pile of ash...a nice little pile is all that is left of enormous piles of limbs and leaves.  These pictures are from yesterdays burning.

Two piles of ash

This bird was enjoying taking a bath in one of my birdbaths yesterday...after all that rain it felt the need to drench itself...it was sodden by the time it was finished...it bathed about 5 minutes and I got these pictures through the window.





I am amazed that so many people have never seen a hummingbird at rest so I thought I would share these pictures....they are very hard to spot, but with the telephoto lense and the fact that I was standing right underneath the bird I was able to get these lovely shots.

The arrow is pointing to the hummingbird...the picture should get bigger if you click on it and you should be able to see it.

Back on the Grid 10-25

This was early, it actually got worse.

Sorry you had to miss me yesterday.  We had quite the big storm, it started Saturday night and continued all day Sunday and into Sunday night....big wind, drowning rain AND our power went out so we didn't even get to veg out in front of the T.V. all day.  The wind was 25 mph with gusts of 45-50 and by noonish we had already gotten 3 inches of rain...by the time it was finished Sunday night we had about 5 inches.  The power went out around 1300 hours and it didn't not come back on until 0330 this morning...that is a long time, so no internet, no blogging, no mindless television. 

Before dark Larry went out to check on the trailer and he discovered that the blocks under the front feet of the 5th wheel were sinking into the mud causing the trailer to list slightly...not good at all...our concern was that it would continue to sink with all the rain that was still to come....he put the tripod under the hitch just in case and it either helped or the trailer had just sunk as far as it was going to because it was fine this morning.

The deer were still roaming around in the storm.

This morning we were up early as we went to bed early last night.  Larry had to take the truck to the doctor...glow plug number seven to be replaced...one to go...the rat bastards won't replace them all at once so we get to take the truck into the dealership 8 different times, and take up a lot of our time as they fail...warrantied but still a pain.  I wandered around taking pictures of the fog and inhaled all that fresh wet trees smell.  Most of the water had disappeared and the air was just so fresh all day.

The rain makes the colors so saturated.

Later Larry went to the fire department and got his burn permit and spent the afternoon feeding the huge piles of oak limbs, fruit trees and oleander branches into the fire...it was amazing how much there was and it has been reduced to two piles of ash and now the hillside looks tidier...

Our illumination (I had lots more) and we read with flashlights.

Pictures from this morning:

I took scads of pictures today of birds and I'll share them later.

Cold and rainy day 10-23

A day of puttering around for us.  It was cloudy and rained a bit off and on.  I never even stuck my head out the door today...I was going to go to the store and then decided I didn't need potatoes or celery until day after tomorrow, so that was that.  Larry and I finally got our closet organized and everything put away.  I had a lovely two hour visit on the phone with my BFF Mary, chatted with my sister Lori too and that was about it...the highlight of my day.  I took a picture out of the window of this mama and her young'un....ahhhh, sweet.  I enjoyed watching from the windows the deer passing through, the quail scratching about and the hummer getting drinks from the flowers and one of the birdbaths...a lovely day.  It has rained off and on all day and pouring the last several hours.

Basking in the Sun 10-22

Today I just decided to enjoy the sunshine while I could before these storms start cycling in.  I played with my camera and I got some decent shots of the hummers....this isn't the best, not real sharp, but I liked it enough to share it.

As always after putting the camera down...I had decided to go inside for something, the crazy hummingbird flew right up to my shoe and hovered there...I think it was messing with me on purpose...ha ha ha...they seem to catch on quickly.  For every shot I get I miss about a dozen.  I also played with my glass and the sunlight, shadows etc....I have a LOT of practicing to do.

This original picture is what the following "blue" glass pictures are cropped out of...they were sitting on my windowsill calling out to me.

I left this entry too late...I am brain dead....so I'll just get the pictures on here and head for bed.

My New Creative Tool! 10-21

I am having a blast with my new camera.  I started using it yesterday and love it, love it, love it!  I still have tons to learn about it, not as easy to use as my current camera and much more complicated than my previous SLR's but I am already getting the results I want.  It is a Nikon D5000....I was going to get the Canon Rebel T1s but after handling them I just liked the feel of the Nikon.  The Canon was lighter but felt too plasticy and Larry had read that you don't want to ever drop the Canon.  The man in the camera store told me that Canon's product is superior, but it still comes down to likes and dislikes.  The display on the back of my Nikon is smaller than the Canon's, but it didn't seem as busy to read and the Nikon's spins around and you can close it so it won't get scratched and rotate it when shooting video if need be...not that I anticipate using it all that much for that.  The Nikon doesn't focus quickly using the back monitor view, so I won't be hanging it out windows and looking at the monitor on the back to take the picture.

CLOSE-UP of praying mantis...look at those sharp thingys on its "legs".



This hummer was chattering away way above my head in the oak tree!

























I have been wandering all over the place taking pictures...I can get a wider angled view so I am able to get better pictures of our home and the pictures are just so so much better.  My creative juices are flowing...photography for me is what writing, drawing or painting might be to someone else.  I see the light fall a certain way on something and I have to grab the camera....going into winter the days will be short and dark, but come spring...watch out....I'll flood you all with pictures of flowers!

Today that is what I did most of the day...take pictures, download the card to the computer and then look at them and edit....then working on getting them posted.  Larry got the camera out of my hands long enough to get his hair cut...we had to find a sheltered spot out of the wind...it was pretty breezy most of the day, but it blew out the smoky haze that was hanging about yesterday.

All of today's pictures are with the new camera....it came with two lenses: a 18mm-55mm and 55mm-200mm, enough to get me started!  These are my favorites...later I'll post some of the house, inside and out.

Our trip to Oregon 10-20

Shasta was wearing a little cap on the way north.

We went to Michelle's Friday, they have recently moved to Salem, Oregon and it has been six months since we've seen them...we were way overdue and sadly they are almost an hour further north now from where they were.  We did not take the trailer as we only planned on being there four nights...quicker and cheaper without it, though I always miss my traveling bathroom, kitchen and bedroom.

We had good weather up and back and in between which is highly unusual for this time of year.  Oregon is very green from their recent rains and the trees are just getting into their fall colors, it is so pretty up there this time of year...another week or so and the colors should start peaking there.

Seth was surprised and excited to see us and he and Grandpa figured out all kinds of things.  Saturday Michelle and I went shopping while Larry helped Darel with a wiring problem on Darel's truck.  On Sunday we just hung out all day with Seth...Michelle and Darel went and golfed nine holes while we played with the boy.  Monday we did shopping for stuff we needed and had a yummy Costco hotdog for lunch.  Tuesday we left when the kids left for work/school and it was danged cold for quite a lot of the morning...low 40's and by the time we got out of the mountains into the north valley of California it was 94 in Red Bluff.  We had a great visit, not long enough...yet just long enough...ha ha ha. 

It was great to get home and feels good to have one again.

 

Perfect dismount! (took him a few tries :))

Blogger is doing some kind of maintanence and I can't upload photos...so check back for the pics later...I say with fingers crossed.

Playing chess with his dad Darel.  Seth gets mad when you don't let him win...ha ha ha.