I guess it was the squirrels’ day off.
(You can still scream it in Picard’s voice if you want to.)
Category Archives: Photography
There Are THREE Rabbits
Filed under Critters, Photography
Another Sunset – July 23rd
Is everyone else’s head spinning? Like, even more than usual, and “usual” has been quite the trip for the last several years?
Taking time to breathe & watch the sunset is important. Good thing we had one of the good sunsets.
Stability is out there somewhere, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for it to arrive. Enjoy the ride!
Filed under Photography, Sunsets
Old White Guys, Am I RIGHT?!
With the Volvo back in the driveway and the daily temps hovering around 100 degrees, it’s normal to see a lizard or two hiding under the car (protected from birds) in the shade (the concrete’s plenty warm, but not TOO hot).
As I went out to get the mail today I noticed a couple hiding in the shade (not this guy – these pictures are from 2020.) and as is my wont, I started talking to them.
You know, the usual stuff. Complimenting them on their choice of a spot which was safe, warm, and with multiple escape routes. Warning them about any mockingbirds I had seen. Chatting about the weather and heat. And so on.
I thought it was a private conversation, but then the roofers working on the neighbor’s house spoke up. I didn’t understand so I just waved, but I’m sure it was whatever the Spanish phrase is for, “Look at that batshit crazy old white dude talking to lizards!”
Filed under Critters, Farce, Photography
Fly The Plane!
My reaction to the news was a string of expletives that would have shocked a sailor and would have killed my saintly mother, and even then it felt inadequate.
So we need even MORE calm this evening.
There’s a lesson that I heard early and often when taking flying lessons. “Fly the plane!” Things happen, things that are unexpected, things that catch you off guard, things that surprise and distract you. You have be prepared at a cellular level to remember tha no matter what happens (a door flew open, the engine quit, there’s a fire or smoke, a bird strike) the first rule has to be to “Fly the plane!” The reasoning, in short, is that while bad things might be happening that will be disasterous in five minutes or ten minutes, if you lose control of the plane you now have two overlapping emergencies and losing control of the plane can kill you in seconds, so you’ll never have a chance to solve the unexpected problem.
This happened to me a couple of times. One time the door latch cut loose and the pilot side door popped open when I was just taking off, just a couple hundred feet off the ground and slow and climbing. Suddenly, tons of noise and wind and stuff blowing around the cabin. The plane will fly just fine with the door unlatched, THAT won’t crash you. Stalling the plane by climbing too steeply, or turning to bank, losing control when you’re low and have not room or time to recover, THAT will leave you the first one at the crash site in a ball of fire and a small crater. So “Fly the plane!”
Similarly, in 107 days we absolutely must prevent a psychotic rapist, felon, and traitor from getting anywhere near the Oval Office, and it would be really helpful to take honkin’ big majorities back in the House and Senate so that we can get legislation throught to fix some of the problems that have come up in the last dozen years. SCOTUS reform and accountability. Women’s reproductive rights. Trans rights. Voting rights. Repealing Citizens United.
Those are the things that we need to accomplish and winning the election in November is how we get them done. We got a surprise today, we’re caught off guard, we’re distracted. “Fly the plane!”
We have a lot of work to do. The initial signs seem good as of this evening, order is being restored. It might almost get exciting, as opposed to terrifying.
But we have to stay calm and “Fly the plane!”
Here’s some calm. (Ascutney again – DUH!)
The path ahead might not be flat or easy, but it can be beautiful and we can have a fantastic time travelling on it, working to reach our goals. It will be worth it. You know what to do.
Filed under Flying, Photography, Politics, Travel
Random Old Photos – July 20th
Sherman, set the Way Back Machine for 2014! From the date, I’m guessing we were on our way back to Springfield for the 40th high school reunion, but this time instead of flying direct into Boston and driving north, we flew into Burlington via O’Hare and drove south.
One of my favorite places in the Burlington Airport is this pedestrian bridge between the main terminal and the parking garages. From here you get a nice view of the gates and runways (it’s not that big of an airport, a small fraction of the size of someplace like LAX or ORD, and even smaller than someplace like MCI or SAN) and to make it comfy for you while you’re waiting and watching planes, they have this row of extremely comfortable rocking chairs to use.
If you’ve rushed to get ready for your flight and hustled to get there early and have time to kill and unwind, or if you’re worn out from a long flight in and just need to breathe before your brother-in-law from Monteplier gets there to pick you up, it’s a perfect place to kick back and watch planes.
It’s almost enough to make it worth changing planes in Chicago or Newark to go into Burlington instead of Boston.
Filed under Flying, Photography, Travel
If You Have Your Health – Part Deux
Nine days ago I had my second root canal of the last four weeks, and commented that, “I would have liked another photo with my mouth full of clamps and tubes and tools and drills and hoses and all of that nonsense, but they were busy.”
Today I had my third (and please, dear, sweet, Baby Jeezus, let it be the last) root canal of the last four weeks, and some odd stuff happened.
I not-so-miraculously hit every single traffic light as red for miles and miles (all the way from Fallbrook to Winnetka eastbound on Victory for those who know) on what is supposed to be a route with the lights synched. I saw another butt-ugly Cybertruck. (Is there any other kind?) I wound up following a huge pickup truck flying a huge flag for a certain Presidential candidate, making we pray for a can of lighter fluid or a flamethrower. (Why does the orange-colored dude have blue flags? Doesn’t that clash?)
The first two root canals took 40-45 minute and were more annoying and uncomfortable (once we got past the initial “numbing procedure” involving all of those nasty needles in places I don’t want needles) than anything else. Today’s dental session was just under two hours and there were some nightmare moments as the endodontist hit a live nerve several times, causing me to levitate out of the chair sort of like Sigourney Weaver in “Ghostbusters.” Actually, more like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist,” I’ll never be as stunningly gorgeous as Sigourney.
However, before that part of the experience, something came up and the endodontist had to step out for about ten minutes for some sort of emergency with a patient in a different office. When this happened, his assistant stayed with me to make sure that I was taken care of, but then she left as well.
Leaving me unsupervised. A tactical error on their part.
To answer the age old question, “YES! While 99.99% blind, in considerable discomfort, and with a fair amount of equipment and tubes and this thing in my mouth, I CAN figure out how to get my phone out of my pocket, unlock it, open the phone app, turn the camera around, and start taking selfies!” And no, it wasn’t until just this second that I considered what I would have done if I had dropped the phone when I couldn’t get up to retrieve it, thanks!
And for the record, the top edge of that blue plastic sheet that’s right under my nose? It spent most of the two hours TICKLING my nose and making me want to sneeze and cough and choke and convulse.
Do I know how to have a good time on a Thursday afternoon or what? (Still more fun than watching ANY of the RNC.)
Filed under Health, Paul, Photography
Skyscapes – July 17th
Lots of nice, pretty, high clouds today – no rain for us.
I was hoping we might get a colorful, gorgous sunset with these clouds around to be a canvas for all of the colors, but they were gone by then, and we just got a nice gradient effect. Nice, but not spectacular.
We all could use a little bit of spectacular right now.
Filed under Photography, Weather
No Context For You
It was daylight! (Sorta) Why is it so blurry? (It’s handheld.)
1/25 second exposure?? It should have been no longer than 1/250 second at most, and 1/2500 second wouldn’t have been unheard of.
Oh, yeah. That really makes that much of a difference?
Huh!
Filed under Birds, Photography, Travel
It’s Going To Get Worse Before It Gets Better
I’m talking about the world, folks, US politics specifically. We have a long way to go before the November elections and even if we get a best case result out of that (I’m eternally optimistic, but I remember 2016…) it’s going to be insane and chaotic.
So, again, here:
Go find a place like this! There were birds and fish and trees and grass! Turn off your damn phone! (These pictures were taken with a DSLR, not my phone.)
There were folks swimming and kayaking and fishing. (And waiting for the eclipse on this particular morning, but let’s focus on the big picture here, folks!) You can do that too.
It will lower your blood pressure and make you less likely to stroke out. Which would be a really stupid way to go, especially since it won’t make one iota of difference to the evil bastards that are screwing up the world. So stay calm, live to a ripe old age, and if necessary, do it to spite them!
Filed under Deep Thoughts, Health, Photography, Travel
Happy Bastille Day
Not because I’m French, or speak French, or have ever even been to France. (Someday…) Nope, just looking for any reason to celebrate, and having peasants rise up, overthrow the monarchy, and start beheading nobility sounded like a perfectly good cause today.
I thought that the Tour de France was finishing today, but apparently it’s next week, on the 21st. But Wimbledon finished today, along with the Copa and Euro soccer tournaments. And MLB wrapped up the “first half” of its season, with the All-Star break and other festivities starting tomorrow. So that gave me lots of things to do other than pay attention to the news.
These guys made excellent role models for that plan, not caring one whit about the news and all of the stupid things that humans are doing. I suspect they would be happier if we would stop cooking the planet as we’re in the middle of another long summer heat wave, but even after we manage to destroy ourselves, they’ll do just fine I suspect.
They’ll miss the two-quart buffets that I keep putting up, but those will disappear when we move to our Forever Home. I have no idea if future inhabitants of this house will bother to feed the hummers, but I can only worry about so many things, and that’s outside of my pay grade. I’ll probably leave the feeders and if the next tenants/owners want to take up the task of refilling them periodically, great. I’ll be feeding a new group of avian minions about 100 miles to the northeast. I hope. Someday. Soon. Maybe.
Filed under Birds, Critters, Forever Home, Photography
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 