December 30, 2012 I've had it! Enough is enough...

Enough really is enough.....already.  I was so determined to hold out for the broadband that is supposed to be arriving in 2013.  They will dig the line in for free, if you signed up early.....which I did.  However, my dial up has been getting worse and worse since August.  I rarely get more than 0 kb/s.  Yes, you read that right.  0 is usually my speed with a burst of 2 or 3 kb/s on a good day.  Yesterday, a friend sent me a pretty big file email.  It took an hour.  Then, stepdaughter sent me a lovely photo that took 2 hours.  I really liked it.  Then....the next thing, and I still don't know what that is, is still in the server.  I tried to look in web mail, but that was down because I had looked earlier and the speed was so slow it just wasn't loading.  I went off to get mail and left it running and it finally loaded.  That was before the above mentioned.  So, I started it over, since the computer, when on dial up, gets 2 hours and 1 minute before it disconnects on its own.  I did that twice.  I did a yoga routine, made supper, ate it, amongst how many other things, while trying to load that email.  So, I can't get my email and no one fixes web mail on weekends.  I can't even load the home page on Facebook this morning.  I honestly think a lot of days, my speed is negative 0 kb/s; but, that doesn't register.  OK, enough grumping.......right.  I did look up the telephone number for HughesNet yesterday on the computer.  I have it written down and was going to call tomorrow.  But, I think they answer on Sundays too.  I just was thinking people working on days other than Sundays and holidays might be in better moods.
If I get HughesNet soon, that means I have to start changing all my business contacts and info in the computer and all that stuff.  I don't look forward to that.....because, I am not a computer genius.  I get by.  But,  also can get very frustrated trying to find or fix things I don't really understand.

OK, slow speed, although the blog actually loaded for me to write something today, adding a photo is really being a pill.  But, it is happening.  I took this photo, on the shore of Lake Superior, on my way home from doing errands on Friday.  There was enough wave action to upend this piece of ice and make it look so cool, from the time I got on the beach, walked down it with Toby, and I got back to where I started from.

December 26, 2012 Winter Wandering

It's a fine time of year for wandering about.  Toby and I did just that, yesterday.  Some years I am skiing regularly by now.  The recent rain finished that for a while.  About half my trails are in ski-able order.  But you know.....wandering is fine.  Especially, it is fun, when you have side trips along the trails like big beaver ponds to wander about on.  You can check on how many otters or mink have checked it out.  Usually, a coyote or wolf has checked it out too.  I did take a couple of shots of some of the series of mink tracks meandering aimlessly, I think, through the cat tails.  I don't believe they would translate well to this small format though.  Then again, some years we have so much snow by now I need snowshoes to keep the ski trails in operating order.  So, you never know.  You take what you get and make the best of it.  Yesterday, with the nice sunshine.....that wasn't too hard. 

From the beaver ponds, we got back on the trail again.  You can see it meandering through a clear cut.  Some day, it will block the views of the big hills again.  But, for now, I have quite a view as I travel through the young popples toward the big hill.  That big ridge in the background has the Superior Hiking Trail going across the top of it.  I go up on that fairly often too.  However, on snowy years that is definitely a snow shoe option.  And, the getting up some places on snow shoes can be pretty steep!  It is actually one of those places you could use those poles you see people carrying when they are walking out on snowshoes.
I actually took quite a few photos yesterday.  Some, like the hoar-frost in a couple of places, could've been much better with a macro lens along.  However, I tend to travel light when I am out in the winter.  And, you just never know when you might find.  I have had some thoughts about hiking in to the canyon on Kugler's creek, over east of us.  But, I am unsure what a mess I might find after the rain we had.  That place is a pickle any time of the year to actually get where you want to go, get some kind of decent light, and actually take a photo.  My husband keeps telling me to bring a long rope and hoist myself in and out of the part near the big falls.  Well, I am not 18 any more.  Climbing ropes never was a strong point of mine.  Add to that.....very unstable rock while packing camera equipment......I don't think so.  It is one predicament I really don't need at my age.  I also really doubt that Toby would think too much of the idea of hanging out way up there, on top, while I went down there.
Anyway, Toby and I had a wonderful afternoon, out in the sunshine, leaving the world problems behind someplace.

December 24, 2012 Guns, Kids, Society...who is really to blame?

 Wayne LaPierre is on the hot seat these days.  For those of you who don't know, he is president of the NRA.  Should he be?  There are a lot of issues going on these days, since the Sandy Hook shooting.  But, as usual, it is all about who to blame.  So, the media gets all over the guns.  Then, people start on the guns because that is all the media talks about.  Then, the NRA starts taking heat!  But really folks, who is really to blame here?  It kind of goes back to what I talked about before - accountability and responsibility.  They go hand in hand.  Even talk show hosts like the Brit, Piers Morgan, who is totally anti-gun, has a town hall style meeting show to let both sides speak.  However, the people on the side of owning guns is always cut off and not allowed to make his point.  Funny, isn't it, how the anti-gun people do not want to listen to any thing that isn't their opinion.  Then, you have the pompous asses like Michael Bloomberg who thinks no one should own a gun except the police.  However, he always has armed bodyguards to protect him.  Everyone wants it their way with no concessions to anyone else.
Ok, let's not get off subject too far here.......
Guns - they are an inanimate item.  Sitting on a rack or hanging on the wall, they do no harm to anyone.  They just are.  Period.  So, why are we blaming them?!
Kids these days.....well, let's just say...some of them are not very nice.  Go hang out around some kids these days at a high school and listen to the filth coming out of their mouths.  If I had talked like that when I was a kid, I'd have gotten smacked, but good!  That kind of thing wasn't tolerated, and shouldn't be.  There are kids in classes who have to have a special, paid person to be with them, one on one, all day, every day, because of their issues, to try to mainstream them in to classes so as to get an education and not be different.  Some have some attention deficit disorders.  Some, for whatever reason, are just plain disruptive in classes right down to having temper tantrums and the whole nine yards.  Some of these teens are big kids, besides, and can almost be frightening or threatening in the class rooms.  Then again, there are some very nice, intelligent, helpful kids in the schools that I can't say enough good about.  But, whose fault is it when kids are so disruptive in classes?  When they are teens, they are old enough to know better, aren't they?  But.....were they ever taught right from wrong?  If not, then who do we blame, if not the "bad" kid?  Well, hate to tell you....but it goes right back to the parents.  We have a lot of parents in society these days who should not be.  They drank too much or did too much dope/drugs when the mom was pregnant, and in some cases, still is using.  They don't have the time or inclination to pay any attention to their kids.  They think the school should do it.  They don't get any love or discipline at home.  What is a kid to do?  If they are lucky, they will have a really good friend with good parents that care and understand the situation and take them under their wing.  If not......we have problems.  Back to the responsibility....who is responsible for seeing to the welfare of the children?
Parents....every time, it should be the parents.  The parents should be accountable and responsible for making sure the kids are where they say and doing what they should and behaving in a reasonable manner.  Older teens can be harder to fit in to that mold.  But, if they have been brought up properly, this should not be a big issue.  Then, the school teachers can be aware, as a back up, for if there is a problem with a child.  From there, we could go to counselors to remedy some of the issues.
Parents......paying attention to what their kids do in their free time is important.  Are they spending all of it immersed in violent video games that take them from reality in to another world?  Are they monitoring what they watch on TV?  A kid in a home with all things good, such as loving, attentive parents, will have no problem knowing right from wrong, video games or not.  Kids who have no support at home and completely inattentive parents may react differently.
So, bottom line is......it starts with parents and their place in society.  Parents should be the first to know if their kid doesn't have a realistic outlook on life.  Whatever the issue, caring parents should notice these behaviors.   Kids need discipline and love.  They need it on a regular basis.  They need to know people care.
So....to all you parents out there, the ball is in your court.  Pay attention to your kids.  Give them responsibility with consequences if they aren't.  Be accountable to your kids and make sure they are accountable too.  Having decent kids starts at home.  Put the blame where it belongs.

December 24, 2012 Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  My favorite big buck left me the other antler in the front yard this morning.  He was waiting by the door for his treat.  He got it!  :)  What a guy.  Here are the both of them, for the set.

December 23, 2012 Over the hump....

Well....we are past the shortest day of the year!  All sunny days and being productive from here on out.......right!!   Maybe in our dreams that happens; but, I suspect real life is different.  I usually don't notice the days seeming longer until about the end of January.  But, we have had three sunny days in a row now, so that is a good thing.
Yesterday morning, my favorite big buck was standing in the yard nibbling alfalfa, waiting for me.  He saw me in the window so he headed for his "magic door."  He was  wearing only one antler.  So.....work cut out for me.  There is very little snow so far.....which means......I should be able to find the one he shed!  Well, I went out and brought them a new supply of treats, took Toby for a walk, which included a loop on a deer trail he might have been on, and back in the house to make breakfast.
While we were eating breakfast, I noticed the two 8 point bucks were having their usual morning match to see who was the toughest.  All of a sudden, one backed off and just stood there a minute.  When I could next see him, he was minus an antler too.  He had just lost it in the scuffle.  So, now I had reason to go out and find that one too.  After an hour or so, the deer all moseyed off for their morning siestas.  Into my warm clothes and boots I get again, ready to go retrieve that 4 point half of the 8 point antlers.  That was easy.....I walked across the yard to where I had seen them pushing each other and there it lay on top of the snow.  Now, to go find the treasure!  I headed out one trail I sometimes see him leave on in the morning and made a big loop around some of the areas that trail covers and back toward the house.  No luck.  Figured before I made the next loop, I better get the mail.  So, I got Toby and off  we went.  Then, back to the deer trails.  This time, I started on one other one I thought he used a lot coming in in the morning.  I got out there on that trail and was back to the house in 5 minutes to show my husband my "treasure."   Oh.....what a happy person I was.  I absolutely love shed hunting.  I don't usually do much this early....because there is usually too much snow and because, not many have been shed yet.  However, now and then I know there is a big one to be found and will make efforts to find it.  This time, it paid off.  Now, the waiting game starts, watching for the  other one to fall off.  This morning, both bucks still had one each and the other two bucks had both of theirs.  No shed hunting today!

This is a photo from my day out hiking with macro lens on the Winter Solstice.  I, of all people, understand why we need small format photos on blogs.  I, for one, on my dial up internet, could never load it if it was a full file.  However, so much detail and all the neat fern shadows are missing this small.  I could tell you to go to my Moose Valley Photography page on Facebook, or my website:  Moose Valley Photography.....but, many times they are small format too, for the same reasons.  But, I am a detail person, so....I like to see the details.   We do the best we can with what we have!

This photo of Toby was also taken with the macro lens that day.  I don't think I ever go out on a photo walk without taking at least one photo of Toby.  He loves to pose!  But,  a lot of people think a macro lens is only for taking pictures of bugs and small plants and things where you want lots of details.  It makes a wonderful portrait lens.  The subject has fine detail and background isn't so sharp so they make a nice fit.  I suspect if I did more people portrait stuff, I would like to use this lens and do natural outside settings for posing them.  Thus....you have your photo tip for the day!  :)

December 21, 2012 Winter Solstice

Yay!  It's Winter Solstice!  Picture above is "Solstice Flowers".....because I can find them out in the snow yet!  I took the photo yesterday with my pocket camera while out for a walk with Toby.  It is a bright, sunny day outside and looks cheerful.  However, there is a strong wind and it feels cold with a low temperature today besides.  I think I may have just enough snow to ski; but, given the nasty wind, I think I will stay in the woods and just walk with Toby when I finish this.  He has gotten quite used to his booties now and the "no ice balls in his toes" thing is going on when he wears them......so, he is quite the sight, prancing down the trail.  If I stop to take photos, he just lays down to watch.

I think this picture of Toby laying in the snow, in a snowstorm, is kind of neat.  The white is so white!  You can't see the edges of the photos.  Because of the weather and wind, I just put my pocket camera in my jacket yesterday and off we went.  Didn't have to worry about getting things so wet.  However, I am not always pleased with how it does on outdoor photos.  It is a different brand, Olympus, than my big cameras.  It does have the pixels and telephoto.  However, it is one more menu and directions to learn and remember....and I have never taken the time to learn it.  It does well on the automatic settings for inside people shots....so, that is what I use it more for.  But, it was supposed to be the camera I always put in my pocket for what ever I might see and have it!  Maybe I should make a new years' resolution.......

This is the photo of the bird's nest in the red osier dogwood I was taking when Toby laid down to watch me.  I was trying to take the photo from the trail of the side view.....but, it just wasn't looking like much.  And......it looked so neat, this little nest in the brush.  So, I bent over to try and take one from above.......and look what I see!  It looked like a little face looking up at me and just made me smile to look at it.  And, if you know me, you will know I didn't touch anything or manipulate it.  It is exactly what I saw.  I thought that was so darned cool.  It still makes me smile to look at the photo of it.  Again.....all with my little bitty pocket camera.......
Well, happy solstice .....to everyone!  Enjoy the sunshine, if you are lucky enough to have it.  As for me, I am off for that walk.  And......I look forward to the longer days that are coming!

December 19, 2012 More grey!

This photo was taken yesterday ...on my way back from my dentist appointment.  It was sooo grey and trying, not very hard, to snow.  Snow is coming down in spurts today too.  I am so glad when we get past the first day of winter and  in to January when we start to get a bit more sunshine.  But, that doesn't guarantee the sun either.....just makes it a bit more likely. 
I finally got out a project that has been on hold for a while....while I pondered what and how to do it.  I have a  whole bunch of 15" squares made for a quilt, ready to put together, that my grandmother made many years ago.  Fabric is 50s era ..... some is kind of strange stuff.  It is for a crazy quilt....which is why I have pondered a while.  I am not exactly sure of how to go about that style.  I finally laid the whole thing out and got it arranged, properly I hope, on the upstairs bedroom floor.  It looks pretty wild, if I do say so.  My mother got the packet after  my grandmother died.  She has done some nice quilts over the years......however, she just couldn't work up enthusiasm for this style.  So, since I was trying my hand at it, I got it.  My plan is to start sewing it together next week.  My husband wanted to know what I was going to do with it when I did get it done.  I don't think he wanted to see that bright crazy thing on "his" bed!  We will see how it turns out. 
But hey......it does brighten the "greys" we are having!  :)
Well......back to work.....and the greys of the day........