Month: May 2008

Hang It and They Will Come (Part 1 of Many)

Two years ago, my wife and I moved further out into the country…. basically built a house on 15 acres in somewhat isolated woods.  We tried our best to limit the amount of clearing so we could enjoy the sights and sounds of nature – our little escape from the hectic stressful lives we live during the week.  The first year was focused on getting the house built and managing the new property.  Last year I finally got around to hanging a birdfeeder in a tree just outside our balcony which happens to be placed perfectly out my master bedroom window so it is the first thing I get to see in the morning (thanks to LASIK it is no longer just a bunch of fuzzy shapes).  I soon became fascinated by the daily visits of various birds and eventually evolved to trying to take pictures of as many as I could.  Now, it has been a long time since I did a lot of photography, but this has turned out to be a little challenging due to having to shoot through windows, trying to focusing on nervous birds and fighting the lighting.  There is improvement as I experiment with settings and angles but clearly a long way to go.   The side effect of all of this is I’ve become intrigued by the differences in the birds – sizes, colors, social behaviors, eating patterns and food preferences.  My wife says I am bordering on obsessive and likes to rib that is an “old” person’s hobby.  It occurred to me while going through about 400 pictures to date that this might be something interesting to blog about from time to time.  So……. you guessed it.  I do not know the frequency yet, but I there is a lot to draw from and hopefully you will enjoy see what I have the luxury of witnessing every day.   If you can help out with any naming corrections or additional input, it would get GREATLY appreciated.  So with my trusty Nikon digital camera and “Birds of North America – A Guide to Field Identification” – by Golden Field — special note, I am using the same bird guide I have had for my entire life – published in 1966

Today, I thought I would start with some quick shots of the yard and focus on the Chickadee.

Continue reading Hang It and They Will Come (Part 1 of Many)

Book Recollection: Ronnie

Anybody who knows me knows I like the Rolling Stones…. and that I absolutely can’t stand the Beatles but that pretty much goes without saying since those two bands really don’t mesh well.  I was excited to see Ron Wood put out an autobiography since I have actually drifted towards him as my favorite guitarist.  Not to slight Keith, but he is pretty much in a downward spiral.  I also really like his artwork and almost broke down and bought one about 6 years ago when I was in Denver the night they were playing – as Ron mentions in his book he used to pair up his gallery showings with the concerts.  I didn’t feel like spending the money at the time ~$1100, but 2 years later that print was worth much much more than that…. someday I will have one.  The book was a pretty quick read and clearly English.  As with the Slash book, it really didn’t dwell much at all on the craft of his guitar skills as opposed to the wild life and numerous debts.  The early years were interesting since I really didn’t know that much about his past before joining the Stones.  It is amazing how many famous people he has met, rocked with, wife swapped and lost money too.  What was really nice is the book is full of his photographs and his artwork – he actually sketched all of his houses.

Here are some highlights that stuck with me:

Continue reading Book Recollection: Ronnie

A house is on fire … somewhere

I was going through my digital pictures I’ve been taking for a future blog subject when I came across an image I forgot I had taken.  In complete coincidence, I happened to be holding my camera when a news broadcast came on the television from our local news station.  There were working on a breaking story about a house that was on fire.  I had actually seen this from the highway on my way home and was wondering where the fire.  I was in luck!  News 25 was gracious enough to give me a graphic showing exactly er…. hmmm .

Peoria House Fire

well it appears to be burning somewhere in the heart of Illinois.  The good thing is they actually know what state it was in unlike my previous post about ESPN