Awesome Happens

I took this photo at about 3:54pm.  About two minutes later a cloud passed in front of the sun and the light disappeared.  That's awesome.  I ran this photo through a different filter and put it here.  I also cropped it a little different.  This one does not show the light as much as the other.  It DOES, however, show the grain of the woods.  I was partial to both and would be interested in your opinion, while keeping in mind the adage that my dad always quotes, "opinions are like assholes: everyone has one and yours stinks."  Still, I'm interested!  Grain or light?

I was quick with this photo.  Not so quick with a photo of Gypsy that never happened, though it totally should have!  I had brought my towel to the living room after a bath when Gypsy flopped down in front of me and lay on her back, doing a good impression of a Pooh Bear scratching her back.  I took the towel and spread it over her.  She lay there and let me do it.  It came up to her chin and looked very much like she was sleeping under some sheets.  I reached for the camera, but- no card.  Crap.  By the time I recovered a card, she had moved.  Oh, well, Gypsy has the added bonus of being cute often.

As for some awesomeness I don't deserve, it happened this afternoon.  I taught music for a few days in a row while the kids practiced singing the hymns for each of the services to be sung at an Assembly for Veterans' Day.  I also taught them a little about each branch of the service.  I drew some pictures for a teacher a few weeks ago for a certificate of appreciation to be given out at the Veterans' Day assembly.  Last week another teacher asked me for one paragraph descriptions of the armed services.  I typed up some that I hoped would be considered appropriate.  These teachers were working on the same project and all thanked me profusely.  They invited me to show up and watch the assembly if I did not have a job.  I did, but, as luck would have it, I managed to get to town in time to stop in at the assembly.

It was great to see the kids that I had helped practice singing songs actually sing the songs.  It was touching to hear my name mentioned in reference to the drawings.  It was awesome to stand and sing the Star Spangled Banner with the rest of the elementary, and it was good to pay respect to local veterans who had shown up for their own students.  What was totally unexpected, and heartily touching was when a woman stopped me on the way out and thanked me for the drawings.  Given that I give out a lot of drawings all the time, it could have been for one of those, but the timing seemed off.  If it was for the drawings I did for the Veterans' Day certificate, well, I don't know that I deserved the thanks.  Especially, since I think she was the one who was standing in for an uncle who has cancer and was in the Army.  I should have thanked her for coming in for him.

It's a little early, but, I'd like to thank all the veterans who served this great nation.  Thank you.  You are awesome.

A New Dawn

Behold the first Dawn after we signed the Letter of Acceptance.  Looks pretty, huh?

We have a lot of work to do this weekend.  Carpet cleaning, child-proofing, general catching up, and celebrating our eleventh anniversary are on the docket this weekend!

May all your mornings be so beautiful!

Silent Killer

The silent killer these days is the bout of digestive system distress I have suffered from today.  I was able to go shopping with Cora and I was also able to operate the camera a little.

this last one is from Thursday.

I Love a Fast Film!

My camera has a super-sensitive...err...sensor.  The sensitivity is measured as ISO, which is basically the old ASA from the film days.  Remember?  You used 100 ASA/ISO for bright daylight and you used 400 ASA or more for evenings with a flash.  I used 1600 ASA film once and liked it because it made, after a 2 minute exposure, the night look like day.  Well, this lovely, wonderful camera of mine goes all the way up to 6,400 ISO.  Have a look at the picture below.  It used a 1/4 second exposure, and captured this.  Admittedly, the street like was on, but WOW!!

The lens has Vibration Reduction, which is why I was able to hand-hold the camera at 1/4 second.  Is it me, or does that picture look AWESOME?

OK, well, how about this one?  And please keep in mind that I was just testing my camera's abilities and not going for mega-artistic expression.

SO, I have to say that Night Shots probably won't be a problem.

I LOVE that camera!

Life is Beautiful, As Long As You've Got The Right Camera!

Until then, though, life is dull and grey.

A Sign?

I don't generally subscribe to the supernatural.  In fact, I am highly doubtful MOST of the time.  Today, however, I may just have to take this as a sign...

To STOP DOING DISHES...

Are you guys with me??

A Day

Clown fish are cool.

Trains are cool.

Clown fish really are cool.

Cora left today to join her sisters.  Her sisters were going to be there as support for her when she cut her hair.  She is tired of it being so long and, well, can explain it better on her site.

That left me free for the afternoon.  Not one to do normal things, I set out to see if I could find a what to the top of the Rattlesnake Hills.  I could, as it turns out.  I had to do a little creative driving, but I managed it.  Below you can see the roads were pretty good.  There were a bunch of cows in the way.

They were curious about me as I passed.

After some tense driving I found a high point and stopped.  Here is the view.

I think my truck is cool.  I have always liked the look of it.  I don't car if it is 9 years old.  It's a pretty good looking truck.

There are a few valleys hidden from the rest of the world.  It looked as though man had forgotten their existence.

I walked around the hill top looking for evidence that the US Navy had used it for target practice.  I found none.  I did find a few spring flowers!

I turned the truck around and went looking for that valley, since the maps say it has a road down through it.  Turns out it was a cow trail.

Yes, perhaps vehicles had been this way years ago, but I thought it best to check the road ahead before my two wheel drive tried it.

I found that the road did not go much further, rather it ended in a small canyon.  As I was checking out the road ahead, I chanced upon two coyotes.  I did not even think to take a picture, though I could have.  I was enjoying the sight, then they saw me and took off.  ONLY then did I remember the camera.  Still, here's their den.

This is the bedrock, which seems to show the columnation that is so common with basalt.  Still, usually, you see it from the side, not from the top.

Here is why the truck could not continue.

There it is in the background.  It was a beautiful little valley.

There were some tracks of a wheeled vehicle going a different direction.  i followed them to see if there was an outlet.  I found none and assume the vehicle had turned around and returned the way it had come.  Like I decided to do.

I got out to inspect the bottom of the draw and like this picture of the truck looking back toward the Lower Valley...that's Toppenish in the background.

There were some young calves that were in my way on the way back.  I let them cross in front of me.  I gunned the engine a bit more than I needed and startled them.

I got a moove on...get it, MOO-ve?  Yeah, I know, I am a comic genius.  They did not go far and stopped to watch me drive by...then followed.

Apparently they believe every vehicle brings hay...they were wrong.

This is the time to see the flowers of our desert area.  Most are small.

I made it back to paved roads without any trouble.  Overall, it was a fun outing.

Happy Spring Dog!

The apple blossoms are blooming and animals are feeling a friskiness that they haven't for a while.

Specifically, Pepper.  She romped out in the front yard of my in-laws for awhile today.  She was in high spirits.  I mean, look at her eyes!

My mother-in-law's tulips were in full bloom.

Gypsy is even smiling.

I saw some beautiful apple blossoms today and couldn't help but take some pictures.

And, of course Pepper made ME smile.

Photo Phun

If you have a camera and an industrial plant available to you, I highly recommend taking a few pictures.  I took a little while this morning and touched up a few photos I took the other day.  I approched each one a little differently.

Below, I liked the green from the fluorescent lights and so I used that and enhanced the greens to get what you see below.

I also tried a little gem that I'd never noticed before...see how it warped the photo above?

And sometimes black and white, with an appropriate amount of contrast, is just the right thing.

Same here.  Except, I need to remember to bring a tripod next time.

The next one is just a part of the original photo.  I think I modified it enough to give it a Sci-Fi feel.

I always like to add contrast.  I like these.  I think they would make a good set.

Last night, we had my family over and had a great time with them and playing Wii.  The new game we have offered a lot of options for group play!  It was a lot of fun!  See Cora's site for some pictures!  Or, look at colormehome to see the kids coloring some of the potential dragons.

Birthdays Party

OK, my family has always celebrated birthdays.  It's the way they do things.  Cora and I don't always have a party to celebrate...especially since we seemed destined to remain childless.  However, certain nieces and nephews seem to believe that even grown ups need to have a birthday party.  To placate my niece and nephews, we hosted a get together.  We had a bit of dinner and some snacks and cake.

We also played Wii.  I COULD post dome really embarrassing video of my mom doing hoola hoop dance thing, but I doubt strongly she'd keep me in the will...or on her Christmas list, so I won't.  Instead, I will post a couple photos taken tonight during our get together.

Below are the backs of some heads focused on the TV.  We played Wii.  Everyone seemed to enjoy taking part.  Others enjoyed watching.  Either way, everyone seemed to have fun!

 Everyone had to read a story it seems.  However, Cora was quick enough to get a photo of me reading.  Below you can see my rapt audience.  Yeah, they are pretty much the cutest audience ever.  I enjoyed it.

It was a good day!

The Pipes Are Alive With the Sound of Music

Yesterday, I had a job near where Cora works.  So, we drove to work together.

I had a pretty good day.  They were the fifth graders I have been revisiting all year long.  For some weird reason, the teacher keeps asking me back.

Of course, last time, I illustrated my customary subnotes.  It began with a submarine.  The second picture was of a surface warship going fast(destroyer with a bone in her teeth) it was placed near where I described an outburst of one of my students.  When I described my resolution to the problem of the student, I drew a picture of a submarine firing a torpedo next to it.  At the very end, when I described the way the kid came back to class after visiting the principal, I drew a picture of the surface ship sinking.  The sub won.  I think she appreciated the metaphor.

When I got off work I drove to Cora's work and went inside.  She suggested I take some pictures to supplement the ones they had up that were several years old.  This, of course, meant I would need to have the camera and a tour.  by chance (not really), I had the camera with me.  You never know when you will get a picture worthy of blogging...for instance, the "Club" picture I shared the other day.  (I would not run around with the camera if it wasn't so small.  It fits easily into a pocket)

So, we went around and took some pictures.  We will see how they are received.  In the meantime, here is a picture of Cora and me...don't I look cute in a bump cap?  We had just been in a cold room, so if we look cold, that's why.

Today, I subbed music at the El again.  Which does explain why the kids usually ask me if I am subbing for Music when they see me.  The teacher said she likes me because I can manage even when she doesn't leave me particularly detailed instructions.  I think that's a compliment.  

I had it easy, though.  The kids were composing their own scores.  All I had to do was look over their work and make sure they had gotten everything right.  (I can't read music, but I fake REAL good)  

It was enough to build one's ego, though.  As I stood just inside the doors toward the end of recess, i overheard some of the kids say, "Mr. Huffman's teaching Music! And we have Music today!!!"  "We get to have Mr. Huffman!"  It makes you feel good.  

Tomorrow, Cora and I are having my Sister and her family up, along with my parents, for a mutual celebration of our birthdays.  It seems our niece and nephews don't understand how one can have a birthday and NOT have a party.  This is a nod to their needs, plus, it's a decent reason to get the family together and play Wii.  Be assured we will have some embarrassing photos tomorrow!  

For now, you'll have to make do with the pipes below.

It Started With Sunshine...

Dinner was in the oven.  Cora was exploring the internet with the Wii (don't ask me why, because she has a Laptop and a phone that gets the internet).  I had just finished drawing a dinosaur for one of our next coloring books.  The sun began to shine.  It was fairly mild outside.  I looked at the dogs.  They looked restless (I am sure Cora will tell you they were laying down sleeping or something).  I said something like, "Wanna go up on the hill and let the dogs run?"  but, what I really meant was, "Hey, let's get some family time out in the good old outdoors!"  Cora replied with something like, "Do I have a choice?"  Which really meant, "OH, YEE-ESSS! I love creating memories and getting out and hiking and letting the dogs run FREEEE!!"

After a little bit of driving on questionable roads...well, Cora was white knuckling it...we made it (O.K., I need new shocks and it might have felt a little more frightening than it was, O.K. I was clenching, a little too).  The weather had changed just a little:  The sun had gone.  

Still, Cora enjoyed herself!  We decided to get a family portrait...and realized Toby was staying out of the picture...

So, I held him up and Gypsy hid...figures!

The wind was blowing, but Gypsy was hot.  I like this picture.

And the camera never fires at the exact moment you need it to, still it's a dynamic photo...

Cora might as well be searching for Toby, who would run off in one direction and return from another after descending out of view.  We were on top of the hill and he would inevitably turn up from a direction we did not expect.  I doubt he ever stopped the whole time, except to mark every other sage brush and bunch grass he could find.

I enjoyed it and I think Cora did, too.

Spring is, without a doubt, here.  Below is a balsam root.  A plant the Native Americans used to travel to harvest each year.  Now they are simply a pretty spring flower.

Have I mentioned I love Macro?

Toby and Gypsy investigating a suspected Gopher Park.

Happy Easter All!  I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!  Ham is about ready, potatoes are boiling and broccoli is almost done!  Bring on the full tummy!!