Cub Lake

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Having been immersed in projects all day, my mind is darting about from thought to thought. I am writing this on Tuesday for publishing Wednesday morning, and I hope you will not expect anything more than random musings. Heck, it may not even be coherent.

I am missing my walks down at Cub Lake and out on Lower Valley Trail. Unfortunately, one of those boggy spots I mentioned Tuesday is right at the head of the walking path. Eventually, I will feel strong and stable enough to tromp right through the slick mud and slippery grass to pick up the path. Just not quite yet. The photo from Cub Lake was taken a couple of weeks ago and is indicative of my wishful thinking.

For now, I am still seeing quite a lot of our drive out to the road and today I ventured out along the road in front of neighbors' yards. The ground out there is uneven and wears me out faster than a level path, but that's good therapy for me.

Monday was a day for one of those hectic trips to Los Angeles. A medical appointment and some errands did not make for a romantic Valentine's Day, and there was no time for a trip to the camera store. However, we did enjoy lunch together at our favorite restaurant. I relished every bite of my pork taco and refried beans.  It was a low key and tiring day, but we spent it together and that's the best part of Valentine's Day.

Mostly Boggy, with Some Sunshine

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Since we moved here, the small pond at the BVS Equestrian Center has been nothing more than a hole in the ground. When I drove down there Thursday, I was quite surprised to see a real pond—full of water. Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised. We have had quite a lot of rain this winter. All our trails are still slick and there are small sections of the walking paths at the Cub Lake recreation area that remain under water.

The Husband has had his share of frustration with the wet trails. A couple of days ago, he took the chestnut out for a trail ride and ventured off the valley floor. Unfortunately, at the end of a steep grade, Lancer hit one of those slick spots and, after a brief slide, ended up standing three-legged with a scraped hind leg. After being hand-walked for about half-an-hour to the Equestrian Center, where The Husband hosed off the leg with warm water, Lancer was ready to go again. After a couple of days off, I'm happy to report that neither is the worse for wear.

We have been enjoying a long, lovely stretch of sunny weather, but this week the forecast includes rain. Not much snow this winter, but plenty of the wet stuff. It may be a few months before I start doing part of my walking down at Cub Lake.

Kern County Cowboys

Apparently, when Waylon and Willie were singing "Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys", they didn't get through to some mamas in Kern County. There are quite a few cattle ranchers up here. On our way to the DMV, earlier this week, we passed a bunch of cowboys branding calves and just had to steal a couple of minutes to take in the sights. The scene we saw was a rare treat for us. We see lots of cattle roaming the hills up here, but we have never run across a work day like the one we encountered that morning. There were half a dozen horse trailers parked off to the side and quite a good collection of riders along with those working on the ground.

It was fascinating to watch everyone work. No hotdogging, no drama, just getting the job done—roping, branding, castrating, vaccinating, all the jobs that have to be taken care of with each batch of new calves. The calves were squalling and their mamas were bawling—afraid for their babies. But, in the midst of the smoke, the dust, and the bawling the cowboys and cowgirls seemed to be in good spirits.

We parked across the road and watched the folks work for a bit before we had to scoot. We were hoping they might still be there when we came their way again. But, the crew was too efficient. By the time we got back the place was cleaned up, and you would never know that all those people and all those cattle had been there a couple of hours earlier.

Free at Last

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Lately, I haven't published posts about places I have been and I am combing through archives for photos. That is because I haven't been anywhere! Things have been very quiet in my life for a several months now.

But, things are finally changing. My endurance level has increased and, in the last few weeks, the pain level in my back has decreased dramatically. My left leg is still a bit strange. But, at least it actually feels like it belongs to my body.

Besides, my being mostly housebound was about more than physical issues. I haven't had a valid driver's license for months. It came due for renewal late last year and the last thing on my mind, at that time, was driving.

Tuesday, The Husband and cruised down to Arvin for my appointment to take the written test. (Yes, the photo, above, is another of those drive-by's and taken with the G7. I would love to say that I spotted the hawk first, then waited for the right moment. But, that would be a lie. We were moving way too fast. I am grateful for all gifts, great and small.)

All went well at the DMV, and I now have one of those temporary paper licenses that fills in, until I get the official one in the mail. By the way, I have read that, in California, the delay on those plastic cards can be two months—or more. Interesting, since the temporary license expires in two months. Hmmm. Wonder how that works?

Nevertheless, for now, I am a legal driver. I feel like a kid who just got out of school. At last, I am free to see how much driving I can do without stirring up my back. Being more independent will open up considerably more photo opportunities.  Hot dog! Time to fill up those hard drives.

To Computer Hell and Back

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Edit: Fixed the link.

I never went into detail about the computer chaos last week and thought I would elaborate a bit. When I booted up my system that fine morning, I found that two hard drives (a 500 GB and a 1TB) contained no data. Big surprise to me. They happened to be the master drive and the backup drive for 2010 and 2011. No big deal.  Eeeeeek!

After innumerable deadend efforts to locate the source of trouble, (including painful excursions on hands and knees under the desk checking connections) a System Restore restored the missing data. It was good to breathe again. The particular shade of blue I was acquiring is not a good color for me. I took a short break (believe me, I needed it), then returned to open CS3. I was ready to get to work, finally. But, no. I was greeted  by a charming little note from Adobe informing me that I had five days in which I must repair and re-validate my program. What?!!!

Now, to grasp the full impact of this notice you have to know something about the way my brain functions. When I see long strings of number, my eyes begin to cross, I start sweating, and breathing fast. (Admittedly, breathing fast is preferable to not breathing at all, but it still is not ideal.)  Naturally, the Adobe form and instructions consists of, you guessed, it several interminable strings of numbers. What we had was a 9.7 stage episode of formaphobia.

The Husband wasn't around to revive me had I passed out, so I braced myself and called the Adobe phone number hoping for the best. Somehow I got through the repair and validation still conscious. I even had a valid and fully functioning CS3.

By that time, I was wrung out and decided that, in the time that had elapsed from the moment I entered computer hell until I emerged, I had clearly lost an hour of my life.

Flash forward to 2031. Anita is winding down. When the moment comes, The Husband looks at the clock, shakes his head, then turns to the doctor and says, "I know she would be ticked off about this." "She had a good," the doctor begins. But, The Husband interrupts, "Had it not been for that computer scare back in 2011, she would have have had another hour to live. She would have been able to see the series finale of Justified." Of course, by that time Timothy Oliphant (as Raylan Givens) is quite gray and moving a bit slower, but Anita would still say, "That man does know to wear a hat and cowboy boots."
             
Note: I  realize that, in light of my silly ramblings, it's a bit macabre; but, yes, the photo, above, is from our Death Valley Trip. Let's not read anything into that. Okay?

Is There a New Camera in My Future?

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For the last couple of days I have felt an urge to experiment with my Canon G7. Off and on I have enjoyed shooting with it, but I bought at it at just about the worst time to have purchased that camera in Canon's line. The G7 shoots only jpeg and I cannot talk myself into being satisfied with that format when I have worked so long with RAW files.

The last couple of days, I have been reminded of how nice it is tote the lightweight camera. It's quite handy for my walks. The photo above was taken during my Sunday evening walk/therapy session. I walked two-thirds of a mile in my trip to the mail boxes and back. Finally, I am moving beyond our drive. One thing was clear: for now at least, a DSLR would have been heavy by the end of the jaunt. Still, as convenient as the point and shoot is, I miss the controls of my DSLR's, and I miss the heft of the heavier cameras when it comes time to frame and trip the shutter.

Unfortunately, I recognize this urge to use the G7 for what it really is. I am flirting with an upgrade to the G12. There are several reasons. Better performance at higher ISO's would be a welcome bonus. The sensor in the G7 is several generations old, and I feel confident that the G12 would give me more flexibility to shoot in lower light. Still, the ultimate frustration with my current version of a point and shoot is the inability to shoot RAW files. That is the true source of this edition of gear lust.

No doubt the smaller camera would always be my second choice and picked up only when conditions make a DSLR impractical. Not surprisingly, the G7 suffers badly when compared to the 40D and 50D. I have no illusions that a G12 will fare dramatically better in a direct comparison.

I am still on the fence about this. I know there are many photographers who are deeply satisfied with the Canon S90. While some of them are people I greatly respect for their more informed opinions, I find myself stuck on the notion of a G12. I can't determine whether I am dense, stubborn, sentimental, or just old enough to be stuck in my ways.

We shall see how this turns out. But, for now, the G12 is the clear front runner.

Closing in on the 21st Century

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Believe it or not, The Husband and I have only recently entered the wireless world—with our computers, that is. Yes, we may be old fogeys, but we have had cell phones for some time now, thank you.  

Not being wireless in our office, had me tethered to my desktop computer. Unfortunately, that arangement is no longer practical. I am doing much better, but I still need to change my position frequently. The old game of settling in at the computer and losing myself for sometimes hours on end in photo-processing, or writing, is not an option. I needed to get my laptop into action.

The transition to wireless was a piece of cake. I confess that we both had been putting it off, because we know that, all too often, the simpler a computer task appears the more frustrating it can become. After sailing through the set-up, I can now take my laptop anywhere in the house and do a small portion of my computer business. Wow! This new-fangled stuff is great.

But, you know how things work in the wonderful world of electronics. One thing always leads to another and here I am thinking about a netbook. My aging laptop weighs a whopping six pounds, and the three-pounds or under specs on netbooks sound awfully tempting. I am amazed at how heavy six pounds feels on my lap. Of course, there is no way I would expect to process photographs on a netbook. Still, I wonder if I might use it for some writing and reading online. Anyone have first-hand experience?

Gee, trying to catch up with the times is tough.

A Break from Winter

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For a few weeks now, I have gotten up each morning unable to believe the beautiful autumn weather. Once, I had found myself thinking, "Oh, boy. We'll pay for all this bliss by mid-February." The negative thinking reminds me of one of my favorite stories.

Everyone knew that not only did Mrs. O'Reilly always find the dark clouds and miss the silver lining, she was bound to spread the word so everyone else would see just how bad things really were. Still, Mrs. O'Leary, from next door, never lost hope that she could get her neighbor to see the bright side of life. On a fine spring day, both ladies were hanging out their laundry. "Ah, the blue skies are sparkling", cooed Mrs. O'Leary, leaning on the fence, "and it's a lovely breeze that's cooling my brow. Sure, it's a fine day, isn't it Mrs. O'Reilly?" "Maybe", growled Mrs. O'Reilly. "But, it's raining somewhere".

I suppose there is a bit of both ladies in each of us. For now, I am concentrating on the brisk, but comfortable temperatures and all this sunshine. In spite of freezing temperatures almost every night, we have had days that were downright warm. The boggy portions of our property are gradually drying and each day is more beautiful than the one before. It has been like having an unexpected winter vacation, and we didn't even have to crank up the RV. The Husband and I are loving it. Oh, and Galen is pretty happy about it, as well. Multiple play periods outside with one of his humans makes him a very happy pup.

Highway 58

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Things got a bit tense around here yesterday afternoon. I was close to pulling out some hair over computer crazies. I even had a brief fantasy of driving the entire setup to the dump and taking up knitting.  Finally, as of about half an hour ago, the system appears to be normal. At least on the surface. Since the chaos was likely just one of those wake-up calls we get now and then, I am back. Mostly. At least, I cancelled the order on the knitting supplies. Therefore, with things somewhat settled, on to what was to be yesterday's post.

Tuesday was a day for errands in Bakersfield. The Husband normally dreads the trip, but I always look forward to the drive. It isn't the errands that appeal to me it's the scenery along Highway 58. 

Rolling hills, neatly groomed by grazing cattle and dotted with old oak trees, provide miles of beautiful landscape. Rarely can I control my urge to indulge in some drive-by photography while on that stretch of highway, and Tuesday I didn't even attempt to curb my impulses.

Of course, if I had my way, it would take us two or three hours to make the hour drive. I would want to stop every two or three hundred yards even though there are only three or four places that offer an option for pulling off the highway. Instead of trying The Husband's patience (as well as asking him to risk life and limb), I set my camera to shutter priority and shoot away.  

In a Photoshop Daze

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For the last several days, I have been a photo-processing fool. I have been steeped in Photoshop—working on files from recent shoots, the trip to Death Valley last spring, and a large order from my dear friend and client, L, at Silent Knight Farms. I see sliders and layer masks when I close my eyes.

The unexpected turns in my life that began in June, last year, put a major dent in my schedule, and I am about as far behind as a person can get. But, it's work that I enjoy. I love the experience of seeing a RAW file come to life on my screen. I enjoy the work so much that I need to pinch myself periodically as a reminder to get up and stretch my back.

The photo above is one of my favorites from SKF and the one on the left was taken in Death Valley. By the time I got home from each of those trips, I was already dreaming about returning as soon as possible. Silent Knight Farms is all about horses—gloriously beautiful animals turned out to do what they love to do: run like the wind. Death Valley is matchless—a truly awe-inspiring landscape. It is a joy to be at either place with a camera in hand.