First Impressions

August has been mostly hot and quite humid.  If I go out at all it has to be early.  If you go to this particular pine tree you will get the attention of this particular female Blue Grosbeak, she has held vigil here all breeding season!



I think she ate this grasshopper herself...lol cause that shot was taken first no grasshopper in this second shot. 

These images came from my new but used camera! Like I said it's exactly like the one I've been using a couple years now, but notice no black corners on the top edges.  

It is not as good as mine was when it was newly purchased....but I think it will do me until I'm ready to invest more money into a camera...

I did get a better shot of the white breasted nuthatch ...while this image below was a disappointment, not crisp, of the immature Little Blue Heron..I may not have the white balance set right. 

...this action shot was not too bad...

And for the video, I think it's okay..

Even tho there is no learning curve checking to be sure all the settings in the menu are set to my liking is the one thing I need to do by comparing it to my old settings...

So that's exactly what I did now it is set up exactly like my old one bit for bit. So first impressions over all I'm pleased. I uploaded these images right into blogger, but I think Blogger reduces the quality of images, in an attempt to condense the space we are using...so next post I'm going back to Flickr hosting I've been slacking on uploading to Flickr, because I think it's a sinking ship.

These are shots I uploaded to Flickr.  Do you see what I mean it's brighter, it is sharper, bigger etc. 



and a zoom



and look who is hiding in the marigolds!



So just putting them in blogger seems to reduce the quality.  That's why I have always hosted my photos off site.  

So over all on a scale of 1-10 I'd give this camera a 7.5 it's not the 10 my current one when new and it's the not the 5 that my old is now.  If that makes sense.

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

ONE MONTH can go by fast RIGHT?

Last day before heading back to work after the holiday break ....and a gorgeous fall day here so had to go out and enjoy it!  We went to Sandhills Wildlife Refuge...about 15 miles from us..

We took a hike around the dogs enjoyed that...and we spotted a few cool things; the grasses are awesome this time of year.

there is photo blind wayyyy back behind the lake, toward the upper left in this photo...

trouble is the birds wanted to be far from the blind...

Best I could tell there was Canada geese, ring necks, and coots, and at least one Pied-Billed Grebe

back to the other side of the refuge

a couple of birds came to check us out...

and a curious Robin

TOMORROW big changes here! WE have to replace 2 floors in our house! They said a MONTH omg not looking forward to the invasion.  BUT It has to be done.

We both enjoy our privacy so to not have it is gonna be nasty and we dont really know what kind of shape the house will be in during this renovation!

SO even though I think it is good to live in the here and now, this time IM ready to zoom this clock forward to Dec 24th!

PEACE

Trying Times....

This photo shows my purple martin houses, I do have another photo  taken  on a nice fall day but I couldnt find it, but found this one...

Can you see the very tall martin house? MY X is forcing this land be sold because he is  a  confused but anyways I   have 2 of them I am moving these bird houses so they wont be nested in till I can get them in a new location ...normally I  get E. bluebirds in one and Great Crested Flycatchers in the other...

MY wish is to keep the land as a sanctuary for animals but...my wishes wont happen...i have a court date on Wednesday...oh the times that try a WOMAN's souls...

Went to Sesqui State Park yesterday with my best friend to clear my head... it was quite COOL and breezy...so not much was going on bird wise, lately the weatherman has been way off base with his predictions!! WE did get the rain they promised on Friday...
so my friend and I went for a walk around the lake overhead we heard brown headed nuthatches, pine warblers, red bellied woodpeckers, but WAYYYY up high in the tall pines....out on the lake there were Pied Billed Grebes, some mallards and double crested cormorants dying drying....lol on old pilings posts..




and of course the Canda Geese were around....they always co operate for a photo...



as we walked the trail around the lake we ran into some high water....from Fridays rain...

lots of robins in the grass looking for worms...

We didnt see a lot but it was nice to be outdoors after a hard week of work and dealing with crap'ola...I dont like lawyers, and I dont trust people who wear suits and heels so very stressful times for me...
I have to look at the big picture that we are meerly walking thru life and what has gone before and what will come after is not as important as  what we are doing at the MOMENT !

PEACE

Update from my Corner-

                                                    

my junk shop purchases

  I've been home since Thrusday... I had a good time up in the mountains---Indy and I enjoyed our hiking and junk shopping...I purchased that painting--by an amatuer painter Jim McPeak...I know the hard work that goes into it so I can appreciate the fact that this one ended up in a junk shop! I paid $8 for it---and see that little pitcher in the window--that was my other purchase--I love anything that has a native motiff on it and the colors were perfect to add to my collection- We saw some super birds at the duck pond or better known as Oak Grove lake- 


   

 Then we saw this beautiful blue eyed Double Crested Cormorant-diving for food and gliding so easily in the water...then he flew overhead with wings outstretched like a glider...

   

And a sleeping Canada Goose, 

 And the Pied Billed Grebe...been a while since Ive seen one of these guys...they dive to the bottom of the pond for food--they are small...about the size of an American Coot-

   

 I finished up a painting I was working on...call this Moon Enlightened Its a fantasy genre' a unicorn screaming at a very BIG full moon while he plays in a waterfall--

   

 And that wasnt enough to keep me busy so I wanted some tye dyed shirts and couldnt find any in my size...they had them for kids..(that should be telling me something) so I got 3 colors and did my own, just like we did when I was 16!! NOW onto my sox--haha.