My father passed a couple of decades ago. I remember him today and wish I could share a cup of coffee and some conversation with him.
Today, I’ll also be thinking about our two sons. They make me proud of them and blessed to be their father. Men of integrity will do that.
It was Thursday evening, and I was sitting at my computer. I’d been there for about an hour and desperately needed to get up and stretch. The relay that controls the water pump clicked again. Sylvia would be watering the garden.
The camera lay beside the computer keyboard. I picked it up and stepped out of the basement into the walk-out area. The evening sun was to my right. I looked, liked what I saw and took a photo.
Sylvia was in the garden. We talked for a bit examined the plants–especially the new asparagus bed. It is coming along nicely in most cases, but some of the roots (what we planted) have not sent up shoots yet. It’s nice to see the marigolds and salvia adding their brilliant color. Red peppers are in blossom as are the golden zucchini. Now if the garden will keep its promises.
The other day, Sylvia showed me the card that we are sending to her father. It’s a nice Father’s Day card with a nice sentiment printed inside. She asked me if there was anything I’d like to add. I thought for a few moments and then said,
Some folks like roses,
And others like pinks.
Flowers are fragrant,
My poetry stinks.
Sylvia opined that she’d pass on adding those lines to the [otherwise] lovely card. I agree. Wise choice.
Participating in:
If you are like most of us amateur photographers, you use the automatic settings on your camera. My first full-time job was as a TV cameraman. I enjoyed it, but when the opportunity came to move into engineering I went for that and the better pay check that it brought. In those days, I used manual settings on my still shots. (I didn’t really have a choice, but I would have chosen to set aperture and shutter manually if I’d had the choice.)
Today’s digital cameras are very sophisticated. Even the inexpensive models have sophisticated technology. The automatics work well in most situations. Sylvia and I use a generation-old Panasonic that has optics by Leica. Multiple modes allow us to adapt easily to existing conditions.
Still, it pays to be familiar with how your camera process a scene. Let me share an example. I’ve posted numerous sunset pictures on this blog over the last three and a half years. Some of them have been very dramatic. A large part of my success results from knowing what my camera will do. Yes, it will show me on the screen, but how do I get it there. (Don’t you love that instant feedback? You don’t have to wait weeks to finish a roll of 35 mm film and then wait for processing.)
Let’s start with a wide-angle shot of a typical sunset.
It’s not very exciting, is it? No clouds or haze to pickup colors for the wide shot. Less than a minute later I took the next shot after zooming in on the sunset.
Whoa! Where did all that color come from. And that cloud . . . It doesn’t even show up in the wide shot. Pretty good, right? Wait two minutes. That’s all just two minutes and re-frame the picture slightly.
Just including less sky, made it appear darker. The sun position in two minutes shifted enough to increase interest. See how it seems to sit in a “socket” formed by the trees?
Bottom line: Patience and familiarity with your camera pays big dividends. Shoot lots of shots. Examine them closely and learn. Please deleted second rate shots. As a good friend once told me, “The main difference between a professional and an amateur is that the professional destroys his second-rate work.”
The three shots above are all as they came from the camera. I did resize them for faster download. I made no other alteration to these images.
The computers are in the basement and fully operational. Thanks to Sylvia’s help, it went smoothly and relatively quickly.
It has been a while since I shared an item from my e-mail inbox with you. Not many items that come way are worth passing along. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from my good friend, Roy. This story is worthy of a read. To put it in context, Roy and I are in the same Sunday School class where we have been studying the life of David. In class, we had a discussion of how David was prepared to be king. As in our own life, sometimes events didn’t seem to make much sense. Later, the significance becomes clear. Here is the story that Roy sent me:
A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances would always say “my king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect. He makes no mistakes!”
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty from losing a finger.
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman asked “Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger.”
The slave replied: “My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows why these things happened. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!”
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
Later, the King left for another hunt, this time alone. He was captured by savages who engaged in human sacrifices.
On the altar and ready to sacrifice the sovereign, the savages discovered that their victim did not have one of his fingers. According to them, only a whole person with all his/her parts intact could be offered to their gods. The King without a finger was deemed an abominable sacrifice for their gods. So they released the King.
Upon his return to the palace, the King authorized the release of his slave. He received the slave affectionately.
He asked his slave, “my dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?”
The slave answered, “my King, if I had gone with you on this hunt, I would have been sacrificed instead because I have no missing finger. Remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong. He let you put me in jail so I would not be with you on the hunt.”
My life story is another illustration of this point. I will not trouble you with that.
If I don’t post tomorrow, it will be because it took longer to move the computers to the basement than I thought. Sylvia and I used to have our computers in the basement. It is comfortable there–especially in the heat of summer. Early morning in the [upstairs] office is very nice, but by midday it becomes very hot and afternoons are torrid.
I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Or maybe not.
Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And one bat-eared begonia.
It was evening as Sylvia and I sat side by side in our recliners resting after working in the garden (Sylvia) and mowing (me). She said to me, “I had to haul rocks back to the garden today.”
“Why?” was my reply.
“To keep things from blowing away in the wind,” she answered.
Sylvia had put down the newspapers that we had at hand and all of the landscaper’s cloth. She does that to control weeds in the area between the rows and even around the plants. It’s an effective mulch and saves a lot of labor. The newspaper we already have, so it is economical. The landscaper’s cloth can be used for several years. It allows water to pass through and into the ground while preventing weeds from growing. The cost is greater, but so is the benefit. The garden does look good now.
Not much newspaper you may observe. We recycle and that’s what we had. Perhaps if we were to plan ahead . . . ?
Tiny little asparagus shoots are up and the rhubarb is showing signs of life as well. It’s going to be a great year.
Wednesday morning, I sat at the computer visiting my favorite blogs and sipping on a cup of Guatemalan coffee. From time to time a popup window would inform me of another link placed on my Wordless Wednesday post. I picked up my coffee mug. Empty.
Empty cup in hand, I started for the kitchen for a refill. I almost made it.
That’s when I saw her standing on the front lawn. I watched for a bit and then returned to the office for the camera. She had been nibbling the nice green grass. As I snapped a pic, something else had her attention.
We’ve seen several from this group at times over the last few weeks. This was mid-morning and that was the middle of our expansive lawn. (Yes, it takes a lot of work to mow all that.) She had seen enough. She turned.
She didn’t raise her tail to warn others. It was a slow jog. Not in fear. Merely cautious.
Still at a jog she passed the garden, rounded the birch tree as she made her way to the bottom edge of the lawn. Then with a bound. She made into the tall grass, brush and trees. Gone.
As I thought about the scene that I had just witnessed, the garage door opener activated. Sylvia had returned home.
Sylvia came into the house and told me about the deer on the front lawn. (She had watched it as she drove up the driveway.) I showed Sylvia the pictures I had captured. Our conversation then turned to other matters.
Participating in
During out weekly telephone conversation last night, my son, Scott, told me about this fascinating new sport. I can see this catching on with bored humans, probably not so much with cats, however. Did you ever do anything like this with your pet?