All Righty, Then
It’s Summer, oh yes indeedy, it is Summer! And Texas, like many other parts of the country is under fire. No, not by idiots running around gunning innocent people down. Literally under fire. Parts of West Texas and closer to Dallas have been besieged by raging wildfires sparked by many different ways, but many started by our intense heat and drought. Last week in Dallas we saw three days in a row with temperatures of 109° and we’re in 50+ days without rain. It’s hot. Searing hot. Land that hasn’t seen significant rainfall has grasses that have turned from luscious green to brittle brown. Dust devils have whisked up leaving us in fascination because they look like tornadoes yet spawn under non-rainy skies. But, we are suffering as much as our Western neighbors. Lake Mead is drying up, something no one really could have thought would happen, leaving those that have depended on that water source to wonder when will they see relief. The Great Salt Lake, too, is drying up.
Amid all this “wonderfulness”, gas prices have shot up. For me, it’s yet another round of stay-at-home because I can’t afford gas to go anywhere except for those places that are necessary. And between the heat and gas prices, who wants to go anywhere anyway? Last year I got a membership to the Dallas Arboretum. I haven’t used it at all. My bad. But, a bunch of physical health problems rather curbed my activities, and that place was once of them. So, in hopes for a better year, I will renew my membership when it comes due. I need to take photos! I miss taking photos! And no, I have no desire in this heat to travel to the areas under fire to take photos, especially with these gas prices!
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Where Did The Moon Go?
Sunday night, I had my camera all ready to go. I was excited about getting to see this lunar eclipse and maybe, just maybe I might get some good photos. Battery was all charged and everything. And then….the clouds rolled in. Nice thick storm clouds. Bleh. Well, okay, we need rain badly here, so I guess I’ll just have to wait for the next eclipse. Except that we didn’t get any rain. Oh no….not us! The storms stayed just a bit North of here, one city up; they had nice lightning and thunder and rain. All we got were some very very minor sprinkles that lasted, uhm, 1/2 second, and that was it! ? But, do you think the clouds would go away? Not on your life! So, no, I didn’t get to see the eclipse, and my little nifty camera and tripod did not get to see the dark of night sky with a gorgeous blood red moon hanging in it, either. ::: sigh :::
HOWEVER, a friend of mine in North Central Florida was able to get a few photos, as she was fighting the clouds, too. [I’m jealous, you know!] She sent me three and I asked her if I could post them here and she kindly gave her consent.
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Back in Business!
I love Amazon! Especially being a Prime member. Battery charger and two batteries were delivered last evening and I now have one charged and back in my camera. I will, of course, be charging another one this evening. And the batteries for my little Nikon Coolpix S220 will be getting charged as well. I am back in business! I feel rather lost when I don’t have a camera handy. Sure, I have my phone, which is with me all the time, but it’s not quite the same, although it has come in handy from time to time. I think Roby is glad the camera has been “down”. Poor puppy gets photographed a lot!
May 15 – 16 2022 is the full moon and I really enjoy being able to take photos of the full moon. And this month is also a lunar eclipse. That means that the moon will appear to be blood red. That would be something awesome to get a photo of! According to cnn.com a partial lunar eclipse will begin at 10:27 pm ET Sunday and the total lunar eclipse will begin at 11:29 pm ET. The total lunar eclipse will end at 12:53 am ET Monday with the partial eclipse ending at 1:55 am ET Monday. It’s pretty late for a lot of people, including myself. This will be one of those tripod nights for me. [I can remember the last time I used my tripod to take moon photos, I just can’t remember the year it was. ☹️]
So, getting that battery charged was an essential, and now I can take tons of photos with the assurance of having my battery charger handy.
Now, if I could only find the other charger…… ?
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Where in the heck did it go?
I can’t FIND it! I have looked all over, and even checked out Roby’s “stash” hiding place [where he kindly hid my hammer, btw] and I just can’t find it! I have looked all over the place and it’s just not here. On top of that I am missing a battery! I’ve looked everywhere I thought that might be but no luck so far. I DO have a way of charging my battery, but it involves hooking up the entire camera to a USB port. Not very convenient, to say the least. I try to keep two batteries charged at all times, but at the moment, that is a wee bit hard without the second battery or the charger. I admit, I have a third battery, but have never used it nor charged it. It’s brand new.
Sooooo, in my frustration, I broke down and bought a new battery charger. It plugs into an outlet, and it comes with a car charger and two batteries, giving me five batteries in all to work with! And more pieces to lose! I only have three camera cases [yeah, none of them have the elusive charger and battery!, I’ve looked.] Hopefully that will come sometime tomorrow. Oh, I have two more cameras; my Nikon D3000 and a little Nikon Coolpix S220 and I KNOW where their chargers are. Of course! I think, though, the S220 could probably use a new battery at this point because it seems as though the battery drains faster than I think it should. So, I have ordered two of those, with no battery pack.
Now watch, once the new battery charger gets here I will find the other one.
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Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
And Happy Holidays!
Kindness and Compassion rule!
With love always,
Jason and Roby
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Going to the Park
With the advent of cooler weather it was time to get out and take Roby to the dog park. I have to admit that I was apprehensive at first because I didn’t know if he would be scared of all the dogs or he would be aggressive toward some of them. My little adventurous puppy was neither! Shy at first, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, but after a few dogs came up to him and were friendly Roby opened up and found a couple of dogs his size to run and play chase with. And boy, did he ever run hard! stretching those little legs out as far as they would go. I don’t know, but it was almost like seeing him “fly” – he was free to run as fast as he could chasing, playing, and a couple of times tumbling. It was so fun watching him have fun!
We now have been four times, going on Sunday’s late afternoon. This Sunday, when we got up and during our wake up snuggle, I asked him if he’d like to go to the park. Whoa! PERK! Those ears stood up and he sat back and looked at me and I asked, “yes, would you like to go to the park?” He definitely knows that word and what it means for him. Excitement galore engulfed him and every inch of him started to wiggle, along with excited barking. I wasted no time getting him ready. And myself, too. Once he did his business, he headed to the car and barked to get in.
Now, he does not like riding in the back seat of the car, but it’s necessary because he’s too big to hold and I can’t see around him while driving. Plus, he once gave me a slight concussion when jumping from the passenger seat into my lap! So, into the back seat with him. Only problem there is he cries and whimpers because he’s not close to me. And in a closed car he is LOUD!
Once we got there, it was pandemonium in the back seat. Bouncing puppy, happy barking, paws on the window – he wanted out NOW. After I got him out he basically dragged me to the small dog area. Roby was ready to play. And play he did. He ran hard, chasing and being chased, and meeting new friends. For an hour. He had the best time playing and I had the best time watching him and talking with other humans. Oh, of course, I was greeted by other wonderful furkids. Did I ever mention I love dogs? When it was time to go, Roby was ready. He was so tired I had to lift him into the car. On the way home, it was quiet in the back seat. Roby was worn out and it was nap time when we got home.
I’m glad Roby is enjoying the dog park. I took Bentley once, but it was not a good experience. A little girl ran toward us and he lunged out at her. He didn’t bite her, but it upset me enough that that was the one and only time I took him to the dog park. The only other time he went [well, it was a couple of times, actually] he didn’t play with the other dogs, he just stayed to himself and close to Rebecca. I think Bentley just enjoyed playing with his sisters at home and didn’t care to play elsewhere. And that was okay. Roby, though, has no one but me to play with, so it’s important for him to get out and around other dogs of other sizes. The dog park is the perfect place for him. At least he gets to really stretch his legs once a week.
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He Survived!
Well, despite dad having a nervous breakdown, Roby did great with his very first haircut! I decided that for the first go round I didn’t want a lot cut off him, but that he definitely needed a good face trimming, especially around the eyes. [His face turned out really well, I think.] And I also didn’t want anything done to his beautiful tail. The groomer did a really good job and said that there were a couple of things that Roby didn’t like or wasn’t sure of; he definitely didn’t like having his toenails trimmed and when it came time for the clippers he was rather shy but the groomer let him sniff the clippers and then waited until Roby was okay with them. Even though there wasn’t a lot of cutting that happened, I am completely satisfied with the way Roby’s cut turned out and I am looking forward to the next haircut which will most likely be in November. Let me say, we were both exhausted after that day and the nap we took was hard and long!
He’s still my fuzzy boy – for right now!
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Nine Months Old!
It’s hard to believe Roby is 9 months old because he seems so grown up now; I have a hard time remembering he’s still a puppy. Oh, we still have lots of puppy play, and he still tests his limits, but he learns fast. I think his favorite thing to do right now is jump from his bed on the floor up to my chair and then back down. He can do this over and over again and one time almost went flying over the top of the chair! I’m glad I was sitting in the chair at the time he did it or he could have really hurt himself.
He’s still a happy puppy and when we go out for walks he’s beside himself when he sees his favorite people. His tail wags so fast I’m almost positive it’s going to come off his backside! Of course, he still barks a lot on our walks, which can get to be embarrassing, especially at 1:00 or 2:00 AM. I guess he just has a lot to say and doesn’t mind saying it! I hope he always stays as happy as he is now. I have to admit, I’m a sucker for his grinning smile.
He definitely needs a haircut. That is still his puppy coat, but the good news is that he is getting his first haircut this coming Monday. I pity the poor guy that is going to cut him, knowing how resistant Roby is to new things. It is really going to be a challenge. I kind of like his scruffiness, but his hair is beginning to mat now, so it’s time. I’ve been brushing him, but that isn’t an easy chore, and he most definitely doesn’t like his belly being brushed. I have this vision of this little dog coming back half groomed with razor burns all over, and through no fault of the groomer. So, we shall see, we shall see.
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They Just Have to BE
Some might wonder why I made the post about September 11th. Well, it was two-fold. First, it was a reminder about the 20th anniversary of that horrible and devastating day. But secondly, which was never mentioned in the post, it was also about photography and videography.
Our first glimpse into what happened to the Towers that morning was through the news, which the majority of us watched on television. That was thanks to the journalists and videographers that were digitally filming the events that were unfolding. And then, too, were the digital photos from journalists but also from others with digital cameras. And probably the most recognized photo is of the Falling Man captured by Associated Press photographer Richard Drew. Other people also jumped from the towers that day and many were captured on video.
But, there were also many private citizens that captured the events digitally, on film, or on video. They recognized the importance of capturing these events for posterity, for history, for remembrance of how our lives changed forever that day. The images those people took that day are just as important as the photos taken when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated and when his brother John F. Kennedy, our President, was also assassinated. They tell a story – a story we can never forget, just as the films of the bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, and all the films we have seen of WWI, WWII, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, and the many wars in the Middle East. The stories that did change our lives forever.
Many of us will never be so “lucky” to capture tragedy, as if we really want to be there to do so, but now with the increasing quality of photos and videos on our phones, we can be there.
And so, my post on September 11th was fitting even though there was no mention of photography of any kind. Photography is our way of preserving history, whether we capture major events or just the events and people in our lives. Photography, whether by amateurs or professionals, is important Don’t throw away or delete your photos. Save them. Print them. Put them in albums for future generations to see. They don’t have to be award winning. They just have to BE.
Posted in Perspectives, Reflections, View Point by Jason with no comments yet.
September 11, 2001
This year marks the 20th anniversary of that horrible, shocking, and devastating day. Some of you may remember that day; some of you were probably too little to remember that day. All of us, though, either watched in disbelief, were there in some way, or….. This year is not a celebration, per se, although we should celebrate the lives lost – who they were, what they did in their lives, and how they, the innocent, live forever in our hearts. And then, of course, we should remember those that were in the towers, terrified beyond belief, desperately wending their way down flights of stairs to get out and away with their lives. These people especially need our continued prayers and support, hugs virtual and real, because they grapple with survivor guilt and PTSD every day. We cannot, and should not, ever forget them. Nor should we forget the brave men and women in and out of uniform fighting to save lives and eventually recover bodies when possible. They, too, have suffered in unimaginable ways.
Know that this day, September 11, 2001, was like none in the history of our country, and God willing we should never know another day like it ever in our future. The days that followed pulled the people of this country together in ways we’d never experienced, even during WWII. This happened on our soil, in our house. We were wary, yes, but we also were a country of family. We BONDED together. Our music was patriotic and though flags flew at half staff there were flags everywhere showing the love we have for our country and our fellow neighbor. For a few weeks love surrounded us and protected us and if there was any hate, I don’t remember it.
So, this September 11th, remember and say prayers for the survivors as well as for those that lost their lives. And make note…..this is not a celebration, but a remembrance. We will never forget!
Posted in Perspectives, Reflections, View Point by Jason with no comments yet.