Slow Improvement (Dec 2009)

Still waiting upon the rehab of my desktop, so lets jump back & revive an early post from 2009. I was a novice birder back then and knew even less about photography. Take note of the finger, blurring the bottom of the photo.  I had a lot to learn.....

What were they? I Didn't have a clue.
So there it is. Good picture if you like silhouettes. Otherwise its obvious Mr Novice Birder-Photographer (me) needed help. These two flighty rascals had shown up at my platform feeder several times a week since December. The problems were, first of all, they darted in and out from the nearby pine trees with no warning, landed on the platform and stayed there an average of 1.3 seconds. I was never ready and they hardly ever came in more than once or twice per visit. Secondly, when they did  visit, it was usually early morning or toward evening. Morning visits were shaded by the house and evening visits, I'm looking directly into the sun from my living room vantage point. These birds are quite rare here in Minnesota. For the unaware, or visually handicapped they are tufted titmice. Grrrr.

Winter Wonderland

Still waiting  for a rehab report on my desktop. So  the balky laptop is recycling a 2010 weather report. Then it was lots of snow. Tonight the weather forecast predicts temperatures at -25 F.  Some wind too. 
Yes here in Bluff  Country a.k.a the "Banana Belt" of southern Minnesota, we consider ourselves lucky to live in the warmer part of the state. Now  no  whining  when subfreezing temperatures  spread temporarily into the more southernly parts of the lower forty-eight, well. .... get a life folks!  GSD's love the cold weather. There are always squirrels and rabbits to chase.  Odds of catching something increase in the deep snow. Snowmobile trails are especially fun!

The key to warming up is to keep everyone involved in snow clearance operations.

After a very mild & late fall winter has definitely arrived here.

Well maybe not quite this much but still...................

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, snow is glistening A beautiful sight, We're happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland.

Eulogy

She was a good old gal & served Troutbirder well these many years. Now she is in the computer hospital in Cresco Iowa. I wait anxiously  for news of her recovery or demise. Here at home her younger sister, the laptop, really leaves me mostly helpless except  for reading the morning paper & emails.  A jumpy cursor and hunt & peck won't work for blogging. I may have to recycle some old posts in the meantime. Patience is a virtue of which I'm in short supply of.......Still in the immortal words of General Douglas MacArthur "I shall return.".....:)

Historical Photography Quiz (Part V)

 

It was a very hot July day and we were on a vacation trip to Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Heading north though the beautiful Hudson River Valley we made a stop to examine a famous American battlefield. It was tramping through a wooded area that I came upon an unusual monument.   The monument is dedicated to “the most brilliant soldier of the Continental Army” though he is not mentioned by name.   Surely he was wounded though as we see a bullet hole in the boot. His name was……?
Click on Mark Twain above to jump to Troutbirder II and check your answer....

The Burning Bush

Love is a burning thing                          

And it makes a firery ring
Bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire
I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
And the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire

The Burning Bush

Across Our Front Yard ... A Ring of Fire

 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.