Saturday, December 10, 2022

Here’s my lead mare, Rosie, during one of our recent snows. She is Sunni’s older (full) sister and guards a trio which includes Pimmy Donkey. This image is a good one for posting later to the Facebook world.

I am tangled in a mess. I purchased a new phone, from google, and elected google-fi as its carrier. The phone coverage should be fine, but google is without brick and mortar locations. All google-fi business (and support, if one finds it) is online.

I’m stuck in multi-failures to move data from my old to a new phone.

This change was appropriate because I’ve accepted self-servicing as the future. That became apparent when I worked in a grocery store. Most customers complained of hating to self-checkout. However, that will become the norm unless the economy shifts, with employees becoming easier to afford, attract, hire, and retain.

I thought, why not give all online a go? Won’t google make everything relatively easy?

Well, not for me.

Complicating the hands-on challenges is that I’m also transitioning from an iPhone to a Pixel 7. After several years of having and enjoying iStuff, I’ve concluded at heart I’m a droid person. Probably because my online life began and matured with android products. Now, after several years with Apple products and without serious complaints, I’m opting for a Pixel. I used to have one and liked it.

Brick and mortar locations like Verizon’s make changing over easy. There, the knowledgeable humans do all setting up a new phone, transferring data, and fine tuning. I’m very lost after a week of interacting with google support and attempting to transition my data. Add in time pressures; a complete turnover must occur during a window allowing a return of old phone for credit.

I’m unloading but not exploding. The local weather helps with ongoing snow and winds, discouraging outside escapes to play. It does encourage short treks out with a camera to capture old views now looking new. Plus, there are my dogs, happy with me, outside or inside, and regardless of what I’m doing or my mood.

Dear Friends: Now back to work, and with hopes of retaining my long-time phone number. Diana

Friday, December 09, 2022

Remember this header photo from one of my recent blogs? I used Photoshop and managed to extract my Christmas cactus from an overall messy image. I gave it an abstract background but couldn’t straighten the plant and improve its overall effect. I’m a newbie to Photoshop and didn’t know how.

After working more with Photoshop and learning, here’s that plant again.

Now, remember this image of my other blooming Christmas cactus?

It wasn’t straight, I didn’t like the background, and have practiced with Photoshop. Here’s the update. It has been straightened but is edited imperfectly. I’m challenged to improve it and to insert a non-white background.

For now, I’ll settle for what’s what and be pleased for making some progress. I’ll work more with this complex cactus using Photoshop to make it pop more fully and give it a background.

Dear Friends: One step at a time in working through this complex editing software. Diana

Thursday, December 08, 2022

The header is last night’s December “Cold Moon” at its fullest. This was my first space-capture with a new zoom camera. This image doesn’t disappoint and practice will improve future ones.

Speaking of practice, I did shoot into the sky at midday several days earlier.

This is a common sight overhead, I think it’s purpose is to train new pilots.

Another common sight is Broken Top and wild geese. It’s my first image of geese in flight and represents a high moment. Geese overhead in formation and noisy are an exciting sight. This image of them flying above my favorite Cascade, Broken Top, is a winner.

We’ve had a long string of days with freezing weather and snow. It’s tiring in the cold, feeding large animals and working on the property. My camera is a worthwhile buddy in this stressful weather, a reminder of good sightings.

Dear Friends: I’ve been shooting on autofocus and now will shift to manual focus and compare. Diana

Wednesday. December 7, 2022

This was a “throwaway” shot during my camera practice yesterday. I was standing about thirty feet from Sunni and randomly clicking the shutter. While eating hay from the ground she suddenly looked up. Bingo! This capture ranks high among my favorite images.

It’s cool in photography that a least planned capture may offer great potential. Taking time to explore a raw image’s details might reveal hidden gems. I’ve benefitted several times from doing that.

Several years ago, I cut uninteresting bits from three photos and stitched them together to create a story. That early composition became Pimmy looking at the moon above the Cascades.

That pleasing result upped my game and made me start considering Photoshop. I’m trying to learn that software these days.

The header picture of Sunni could use a background. That’s a challenge because of how her mane is blowing. The trick is to capture all the wispy mane parts. I’ve not yet figured out how to isolate all including the wisps.

This will be brief for today a new refrigerator arrives to replace my kitchen unit. The now-kitchen one will replace the current garage unit which will be hauled away. This morning, I must create a wide enough path through the garage for a refrigerator and dolly to pass and empty both refrigerators.

I’ll see you again on the other side.

Dear Friends: Last night, my zoom camera might have captured the Space Station, hopefully. Diana

Tuesday, December 06, 2022

Here’s one of my best images of these two good friends, Rosie and Pimmy. From a few years ago and without snow on the ground, it’s also a nice memory of warm weather.

Several times daily nowadays, I haul out sleds of hay for these two and their buddy, Sunni. Here are Rosie and Pimmy, photographed more recently and just before this season’s early snowfall.

Now that I’m again active with a camera, I’ve begun posting images on Pimmy’s Facebook page (“Pimmy Donkey in Central Oregon”). Pimmy always is popular and the new postings are being “liked.” I’m encouraged to photograph ever more creatively she and her buddies.

This is a quick hello and on a slightly warmer morning, it’s up to 28 deg F. There’s snow still on the ground, but with sunshine, and maybe even some melting today. I’ll be out and with a camera to capture some “new looks.” It’s amazing how imagining views through a camera heightens imaging possibilities in the most common sights.

Dear Friends: I’ll look forward to introducing some fresh and fun captures tomorrow. Diana

Monday, December 05, 2022

Yesterday morning several inches of snow fell. The header photo of my horses reveals the overall landscape.

From 100 yards away, I snapped this photo of Chase watching Osix. Her “slanted expression” hints that she’s on the verge of dashing. The instant my shutter snapped, she did, and he hurried after her. Chase likes Osix, who reluctantly tolerates him.

As I walked through the several inches of snow, Maxwell accompanied me.

Notice that Max is standing in one of my footsteps. He preferred being in the least deep snow and weaved a path that stayed inside my tracks.

Through the haze, my zoom camera captured Pilot Butte, it’s some four miles away. The cinder blocks covered in snow in the foreground are about halfway to the Butte.

There are other interesting images from yesterday. Today, I will download some and publish them tomorrow.

Dear Friends: I finally captured Chase (now nine-months-old) who actually stayed still long enough. Diana

Sunday, December 04, 2022

I walked down my driveway toward the mailbox while also carrying a zoom camera. Way away and high among dead branches I saw what seemed a perched bird, but too far away to see clearly. Instantly, I was interested.

In wintery frigid weather, wild birds aren’t easily spotted. This one wasn’t in a hurry to fly away and I paused peering into the distance, deciding it really was a bird, but one I couldn’t identify offhand. It had mottled colors and a long beak suggesting a woodpecker type.

My zoom camera solved that mystery. I laughed on recognizing a Flicker. Of course, it’s wintertime and Flickers are returning cold-weather birds. This one while staying put was turning its head and searching around. I had plenty of time to adjust my camera and take photos.

Here the bird looks backward.

And here it’s looking forward.

Within a reasonable distance Flickers easily are identifiable. They’re adorned with stunning colors that remain apparent in their rapid flying. They also often perch on a home and drill noisily into its siding or roofing.

I wondered what was keeping this one for so long in that one spot, and what it might be looking for. My best guess was insects, inside the tree’s dead bark or flying around and grabbable.

I like these photos and have not done any retouching. I do wonder how a different sky might affect the image and might practice with them to adjust or alter the sky background.

For a long while, I’ve been too busy to stroll with a camera and looking upward at treetops. I enjoy photographing birds and nowadays have more time to go and sight for wild birds. These captures mark a happy return to that cool hobby.

Dear Friends: This morning, at +18 deg. F and heavy snowing, wild birds will tend to lay low. Diana

Saturday, December 03, 2022

As promised, I’ve uploaded my two Christmas cacti. One’s in the header photo.

I took photos of both and with each in the wrong background. I figured to make repairs with Photoshop by adding icy backgrounds since this is wintertime.

That blue ice might be a little strong. I looked around for difference background ices.

This is my other currently blooming cactus.

I placed it against a lighter icy background, which sets it off nicely.

I didn’t intend to get sidetracked here about experimenting with Photoshop. Attempting to repair not-so-good captures is an involved process. You can see that the original images weren’t straight. I was in a hurry and neglected the setups. I thought it would be easy to straighten them in Photoshop, and it is, but I’ve not figured out how to do that.

My cacti are beautiful “in person” and both very pleasing. I like them, too, as project images. I will keep playing with them and Photoshop to learn more, and better, the ways to manipulate them.

Dear Friends: It’s encouraging after learning some of the basics to be drawn to moving forward. Diana

Friday, December 02, 2022

My two mature Christmas cactus have bloomed!

After several years without having any astonishingly beautiful cactus blooms, I picked up a couple of baby plants last year. They weren’t in great shape and sometimes I’m a casual caregiver. Both are tough plants that survived, and now spectacularly are colorful and welcome.

Cactus plants may be unattractive throughout the year but with almost minimal care can transform into beautiful salutes to the year’s darkest month.

My friend and neighbor, Bill, recently gave me a new Christmas Cactus. Well, new to me anyway. In reality, it’s a starter cutting from his grandmother’s Christmas cactus. The plant is about 100 years old and still thriving in Bill’s care. He created a starter for me months ago, a lovely gift. I’m anticipating a new color surprise when it blooms next December.

Here’s the thing about a Christmas cactus. Until December, it’s an ordinary appearing array of thick green leaves with relatively microscopic changes. In December it becomes a beautiful treasure. Unfortunately, that change is temporary for too soon the plant reverts to its nearly yearlong homely self.

This year, I’ve more to look forward to. Last year, I adopted another couple of baby cactus plants. One is a Thanksgiving cactus that didn’t manage to bloom last month. The other is an Easter cactus which theoretically blooms around Easter. I’ll be waiting.

(P.S. Unable to upload my photos promptly, I turned to DALL-E. Tomorrow I’ll post my real cactus blooms.)

Dear Friends: More to appreciate and enjoy in the year’s darkest month. Diana

Thursday, December 01, 2022

During the winters Mule Deer frequently migrate through our neighborhood. This group at the bottom of my hill watched me but wasn’t fearful. After snapping this image I let them graze peacefully. Such sightings make me feel good because they represent continuing local wildlife. Deer migrations are fewer than when I moved here, for the city was small then with more unfenced and accessible areas.

It’s December and nearing the time of this city’s annual Christmas Parade. I considered entered my donkey, Pimmy, an experienced and very popular parade participant, but have been busy straightening and fixing things gone wrong on the property. There wasn’t spare time to reconsider and refit a Christmas costume.

Last year, I was working and couldn’t participate, but Pimmy marched in the Parade. Here, Julie Gilbert leads her to join the other marchers.

More than just the approaching Holiday is wonderful about December. Christmas arrives to “lighten” the year’s darkest days. Very soon afterwards, the real extended lighting starts to occur. The daylights gradually lengthen, re-energizing us, and we start turning our sights to spring.

Dear Friends: It’s fun, glimpsing backward at ways we’ve navigated this darkest month. Diana