New toy trial

I had been thinking about a new lens for years.  Narrowed it down a few months ago.

The box just came and had to post up my little trial.  YOLO…I guess 🙂

 

Back to work…….

 

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Swimming in a Spring

I was ready to tweet about swimming in a spring this afternoon.  I wanted to recommend that if ever you have a chance, do it.  Even after I had parked and changed, I found myself wanting to turn from the moderate size crowd and go back to my car.  The thing about most springs is that you have to walk downhill to get to them and uphill to get back to your car.  The areas to enter the water are always congested. Was it worth it? There is something about earth cooled water and the sandy floor of nature’s pools that is both relaxing and revitalizing.

What stopped me from making the tweet was that I started to think about the faces in that moderate crowd. I guess Berthold Gambrel was right, “Writing about an experience is a great way to capture what was most important about it.”

I started to think of the retired couple heading back to their car after a picnic, the little kids playing jokes on each other, the ladies in bikinis, the ladies in wet suits, the guy just sitting on a bench enjoying the atmosphere, the little kids in the shallow area that was the only part of the pool that had clearly been altered by park staff to make it safer for the kiddos, the mom in a tube float with her youngest sitting on the edge holding on to mom, the middle aged mixed race couple that were comfortable and relaxed with each other, the teenage mixed race couple with their new relationship tension and passion, the snorkel that was always moving around but never surfaced, the older gentleman climbing down the steps with fins and snorkel in hand, the different languages that echoed across the water, the group of kayaks coming back to shore after adventure on the other side of the swim area, the young lady stretching trying to find the right angle to capture the scene, the group of young men just hanging out and making plans for the weekend…

I was not there very long.  In fact, the middle aged man blowing up floats for his family in the parking lot when I arrived was just starting down to the pool as I went back to my car.  I was there for a quick cold water walk in the sand. I had no idea my brain was having a soak in all the warmth community can bring.

Be kind to each other. Be kind to yourself.

Go swimming in a spring.

I did not take any photos today so this is an old photo of a similar area

 

Saved by a Stranger at a Bar

I traded cars with a friend so that I could travel to a cabin that is at the end of an un-maintained forestry road.  I made it to the cabin without issue. It was a beautiful drive.

As I unpacked the car, I realized that I had forgotten one of my bags.  It had any medicines and supplements that I might need during the trip. What I was really upset about was the coffee and chocolate that was missing.  I decided that I needed to make a run to a local shop and headed out.  About a mile from the cabin, I ran into this hole:

Holey Mud

Depth marker

 

Depth marker with camera lens for perspective

I tried a few things to break free but it became clear that I was truly stuck.  When I got out of the car, I realized that the left back wheel was off of the ground.

Independence to Choose Civility

Our independence and freedom have come at no small cost.  Most can agree that we are enormously thankful for the sacrifices both known and unknown that have been made to supply that independence and freedom.  

We have an obligation to treat this gift with some level of reverence. What shall we do with this freedom?

~ Who Do We Want to Be ~

Toasted Road Trip

• To the young man at the convenience store that just found out he won $3000 on scratch off ticket.
• To the baby deer that only made it across 4 lanes of a six lane road.
• The the sheriff that was behind me on the tail end of a speeding caravan of cars but did not stop any of us.
• To the trooper that passed me just as “paranoia strikes deep” danced from my speakers.
• To Jefferson Airplane for bringing me down but not sleepy.

“When the truth is found
To be lies
And all the joy
Within you dies”

• To the signs warning that bridges may ice first making me smile as I remember a time when I watched cars getting stuck on a bridge from my apartment window.  And how I now live too far south to see these signs on my commute.
• To the GPS lady that welcomed me to Georgia but did not seem to care when I left for South Carolina.
• To all of things that I forgot because, well, I was driving.  Can’t stop to take notes.
• To the rain that hugged the sky until just now.

How to Identify Mad Cow Disease

Just as I was about to go on a Twitter tirade over all the blind hate tweets, I remembered something I saw 20 years ago.

As luck would have it, YouTube has everything.

Always remember to laugh.  

 

The Broken Circle

The ecosystem in my garage.

A few years ago I witnessed a spider eating a mosquito. As he finished the meal, a lizard stepped in and had his own. 

Yesterday I spared the life of a small spider and told him to eat lots of mosquitos.  

Today, I find this: 

 

I just got bit by a mosquito and the snake is still in the garage. I guess I should be happy the bear did not stay.