Thanks For Everything

Greetings to the wonderful community of Blogland! My sincerest apologies for being absent, and I regret to say, that it will be a permanent situation, at least on Blogger. All is well, though! My life is so full; fuller than I ever imagined it could be. 

This last post is an effort to express my deep gratitude for the blogging community. For almost 8 years you let me vent about life and hone my photography skills. Many wise souls in my circle offered advice and counsel for life's struggles. And even when some photos (many) were of questionable quality, you'd still find a way to say something positive. Some of us exchanged gifts and cards with each other. Phone calls were even exchanged with a couple of you. Without YOUR encouragement I would never have grown as much as I have, especially these last three years. I hope I have been a source of support for you, too.

As wonderful as blogging is, in the end, I just couldn't keep up and still do all the things I enjoy doing outdoors. On some days I had to decide if I wanted to kayak or blog. Hmmm, gardening or blogging? Photography or blogging? You get the picture. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those energetic types that can go all day and all night. This ol' gal needs her beauty sleep (and lots of it). 

In November, we lost Sparky to congestive heart failure. Double D purchased this beautiful marble frame and gave it to me for Christmas. Oh, the tears! Sparky disliked having his picture taken, so I didn't have any crisp images to put in it except this one. I called him my "little monkey" because he had such a cute face that I adored. Anyway, I thought the frame said in essence what I want to say to you: Thanks for everything. 

2/9/2002 - 11/16/2015

If any of you are interested in my new ventures, please add my new website to your feed: www.gailadixon.com.

Thanks again for everything. I truly did have a wonderful time.

SX50 Test Run

Happy Monday morning to you all!

I've been playing with the Canon Powershot SX50 quite a bit, and though it's been a frustrating experience, I think I've finally figured out through trial and error, and tutorials on the internet*, how to obtain fairly sharp images. However, it's been raining and/or cloudy since I got the camera, so I haven't had adequate light to know if I can get the same sharpness I am seeing from others who own this camera.

On my DSLR (Bertha) I shoot in aperture priority, sometimes at 1600 ISO to get a fast shutter. Since the sensor in Bertha is full frame, there is no noise at this ISO level. No-can-do on the SX50. The main trick with this camera is to have a shutter speed of 500 or more, an ISO below 400 (preferably), and let the camera choose the aperture. Also, I have better luck using the back screen for finding my subject, rather than looking through the viewfinder. The viewfinder pretty much sucks on this camera, imo. Put her on a tripod and use the back screen with the other settings, some bright light, and it's a great little camera.

No cropping on any of these, just resized, noise removed, and sharpened slightly for the blog. I think this is going to be a good option for kayaking and for times when I do not want to lug all the heavy gear.

The Autumn Carnation azaleas I planted are going crazy! There are hundreds of blooms on three small bushes.

Downy woodpecker. Not sharp, but I was amazed at how much closer the zoom allows than my 400mm.

Izzy. Double D has made her rotten.

Sparky. My first rescue from the emergency pet clinic. He's 12 now and on three medications for
congestive heart failure and thyroid disease.

*I found this link very helpful on how to achieve sharp photos with the Canon SX50. I hope this helps someone else out there who owns this camera, or is thinking of buying it.

Linking with Saturday's Critters. Please check out other submissions on Eileen's fun new meme!

Flora and Fauna, Part II

Leftover fall foliage, Bluebonnet Swamp, 1/25/13

Dried grass, Bluebonnet Swamp, 1/23/13

Unknown blooms, Tickfaw State Park, 1/26/13

Glistening pine needles, Tickfaw State Park, 1/26/13

Calliope Hummingbird, Bluebonnet Swamp, 2/2/13
I've been waiting to get a clearer shot, but I've not seen him since and may not again. Sigh.

View of eagles' nest from atop the levee. Notice the red barge floating behind the trees. 2/2/13

Northern Cardinal, Bluebonnet Swamp, 2/5/13

Wildflowers among the cypress, Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, 1/27/13

Wildflowers, Bluebonnet Swamp, 2/1/13

American Goldfinch, Bluebonnet Swamp, 1/25/13

Purple Finch (immature or female), Bluebonnet Swamp, 1/25/13

On another note (but still somewhat in the fauna category), I'd like to wish my little Sparky a happy birthday. Ten years ago today he was presented as a lost stray at the emergency vet clinic while I was working there. We immediately locked eyes, then souls, and have been connected ever since. He's about 11 or 12 now and the effects of old age are starting to slow him down. Spark Plug, I love you. You're my sweet little monkey and always will be.

Please visit Madge and her wonderful meme. Thanks for hosting!

I had a plan

Oh, yes I had a plan; however, as with most of my plans, it went horribly awry. My idea was to take Christmas pictures of the dogs. I had the props, a fully charged camera battery, the Christmas tree decorated, and a fire blazing. Have you ever tried to pose three dogs at once? I'd get one situated and the other two would wander off. Reminded me of my three toddlers from long ago. So I got the bright idea to lure them with treats. Lawdy, lawdy, Miss Claudy! All they were interested in was my hand and pocket. I tried outside shots and inside shots. Outdoors I was rewarded with muddy knees and shoes and nothing to show for it. Inside I was clean, but just as frazzled. Well, see for yourself how all this played out.

Daddy tried to help, but he only has two hands. Okay, two will do. He got the squirmy worms posed as best he could and I metered the shot all wrong. I had to rescue in Lightroom which caused major grain, so I imported to PS and added this lovely texture by Kim Klassen called Word.

Now Chance decides to enter the frame, but the settings are still all wrong. Then I got the giggles because nothing was going right which resulted in camera shake. You see? I cannot shoot indoors. I hate it. I suck.

Let's try outside! Light is too bright, creating harsh shadows. No matter, my precious babies are not cooperating anyway.

I gave up on the chihuahuas (temporarily) and decided to work on Chance. "See boy? I have a treat!"
He only looked at my hand from there on out. :/

Finally! A pose. But the sky is blown. Jeepers, what's a mother to do?

Okay, let's return to the chi chis and try the patio chair. Where's Izzy? Oh, never mind, I can at least get one dog to pose, right? Sigh. I guess not.

I know! I'll lure Sparky with the treat by putting it in the angel statue. Chance, unfortunately for Sparky, figured this out much quicker. And he's much taller. :/

"PLEASE MAKE HER STOP. I BEG OF YOU."
IZZY!!!! Where'd Izzy go? Oh, there she is, hiding in the monkey grass, hoping I won't find her. Ever. I think she's pretending to be a lawn ornament.

Oops, Chance discovered her hiding place, too.

Back in the house we go! Let's try a more controlled setting. "Nah, ma, I don't feel like cooperating. If you don't give up that treat, I'm going postal on you. Doggie style!"

I just want one shot with your face and the antlers in focus! Just one, dadgummit!

Aaaaaannnddd! That's a wrap. This is good as it's gonna get. Notice that I did not put my watermark on a single one of these. Heh.

Okay, I need a nap now. I think reliving it added to my exhaustion. Hope y'all had a more productive afternoon than I. Or is it me? My English Major daughter will know. I'm off to make dinner, so I'll be back later to catch up.

Has anyone else had trouble with my blog pics downloading? Only one person has mentioned it so far, so I don't know if it was just her or if everyone is having that issue. Thanks!

Happy Birthday Sparky!

Love you, little man! Can't believe you're 7 already.

Sparky Has A Blog!

It's been in the works for a while and I finally made it happen today. All of his Dogster diary entries have been moved to the new blog titled Sparky's Pooping Grounds. Not sure if we're going to stick with that name - let's just say it's a working title for the time being. I miss writing for Sparky and I hope this new home gives me the inspiration to start again.

Updates

Sparky finally had his dental this past Monday. Dr. Fred at Midway Road Animal Clinic is ah-mazing. He handled the heart murmur situation to my liking, only keeping Sparky sedated for a short time. He did have to pull all his front teeth on the bottom, but he doesn't need those to chew, so it'll be okay. Already Sparky is acting more peppy and his mouth is minty fresh. Almost. For now, anyway.

I will be traveling to see good ol' dad this weekend. Pray, send positive thoughts, anything. I know I will need it. Debating whether to buy a refurbished Nintendo DS to take along. I'll be bringing my camera, laptop, and ipod, but you never know. Four days in the middle of nowhere without internet will be difficult, to say the least. I'll survive as long as the topic of sex isn't broached or heaven help me, he delivers one of his bitter lectures on how stupid I am for having faith in God.

Thanks to my daughter's friend, J, I have two new sources for locating music: Pandora and finetune. I get bored so quickly with music and this helps me track down exactly the type of music that I enjoy. See my Finetune Player to the right margin of my blog. What I really like about it is that it doesn't start up automatically, although code is available for that. One of my pet peeves is music that suddenly starts blaring at me from someone's blog or other place, and I'm frantically scrolling up and down for the STOP button. It's really annoying, especially if you're at work and even more so if it's music you really don't like. Actually, what's worse is someone who has TWO music players on their page that start simultaneously. Don't people visit their own page occasionally to see what's up? Sheesh.

I am really loving "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab. No doubt that song will be worn out by the time I return from Magnolia. And how is it I have never heard "Million Miles" by Fuel, or not know that the song "Psycho" was by Puddle of Mudd, and never heard Socialburn though they've been around since the turn of the century? Man, am I ever out of the loop. Well, I have a good excuse I think: I'm old. And that's okay.

Sparky

My baby needs a dental in the worst way and I love him enough to spend the money, but I'm having trouble digesting the estimate I received from the vet this morning: low end, $577 - high end, $714. I was expecting about $300-400. Can you say sticker shock? I'm waiting for Double D to come home because I don't want to call him and stress him out while he's working. I had wanted to do a little shopping today, but my heart is not in it now. If I didn't adore the little creature so much or I didn't understand how important dentals are, I could just say "Oh, well. Sorry fella!" But, I can't. Added to all the financial stress is the worry over his heart murmur, which is why the bill is so high to start with. We need chest x-rays and extensive blood panels to be best prepared. Well, off to think some more. Actually, I think shopping just might provide some good therapy, so off I go!

Just Chillin'

Sparky finds the most unconventional places to get some shuteye. Here he is on the first step of the stairs with his head resting on my tennis shoes. Even stranger is that he let me walk to another room and return with the camera to snap the picture, without budging an inch.

Sparky is a Movie Star!

Last summer, Sparky won a contest from 20th Century Fox, sponsored by Dogster, to be in the closing credits of the movie, Firehouse Dog. But, not only is he in the credits, he also appeared in the Dogster montage in the Special Features section of the dvd. Okay, so maybe Firehouse Dog wasn't a huge box office hit and it only scored 4.6 out of 10 at IMDb, but don't tell Sparky. He is very proud of his celebrity status, having his cute mug splashed across movie theaters all over the country. Yay Spark Plug! I always knew you were special.

Oh, Izabella!

What is it about this shivering bundle of white fur that would compel me to shell out $40 for a personalized collar? Heaven knows I try to keep my well-known weakness for handbags under that price. Even worse, Double D is on the Anything for Izzy bandwagon with me. Yep, he was right there in the pet store, slightly nervous because we had located all the letters of her name, except Y. Finally, when he found a Y hidden behind another letter, he punched it high in the air as though he had won a gold medal at the Olympics. Okay, maybe I embellished Double D's role a bit, but he was still an eager accomplice!

Next, we had to choose a collar color of red, pink or black. I wanted to go with red since she has had pink a couple of times. Black, while fashionable for humans, was out of the question for Izzy's skin...er...fur tone. Dennis insisted on pink. Rarely is Double D ever insistent when we're out shopping, so I thought, "okay, let him have his way this time." Yet...I really wanted the red. After wearing him down, I talked him into the red collar by saying it would be great for Valentine's day. Guess what? They didn't have red in her size. I lost and pink it was!

While I was morphing into a paparazzo trying to get the perfect camera shot of Izzy with her new bling, Sparky shot ME a look that made my heart instantly sad. It was so pitiful, as if to say "Where's my bling? Where's my love and adoration?" Aw, Spark Plug, I still adore you, little man. You still get the prime real estate on the bed with the softest blanket. You always get the place by my lap when we're watching TV. You get more rides in the car than the other dogs. AND, you ALWAYS get the last lick on the dishes. No worries, little fella. You also have a grill that is the envy of the neighborhood!

It's a Wonderful (Dog's) Life

Horrendous breath odor and all, I adore this baby/dog/human hybrid, or BDHH. My "Spark Plug" is utterly devoted to me, unless the scent of food swirls into his orbit. At that point, I am unceremoniously dumped (unless I have the food), but only temporarily. I mean, what else does my sweet tater tot have to look forward to in his limited, boring little life? Over the years, I have attempted and failed miserably at trying to limit his consumption of our highly fattening, mostly non-nutritious American diet. Had I been successful, he would not weigh a startling and staggering 10 pounds. He should weigh no more than 7 lbs; ideally he should be around 6 lbs. We started referring to him as a rump roast with legs recently. Sometimes he's a pork loin with legs, depending on our mood.

He enthusiastically offers his services as a dishwasher and I must say, he is very conscientious at cleaning our dishes after a meal. That little tongue works feverishly to remove every last crumb, growling at the other dogs when they try to help. "Back off, you inferior morons. Mom has put me in charge of this important job."

Other than the food issue, he is just about perfect. If I'm at the computer, he likes to sit right beside the chair, sometimes begging to get on my lap, but my keyboarding eventually annoys him and he jumps off. If I'm watching TV, he cuddles beside me under his baby blanket. If I'm on the pot...well, you get the idea. Lately, he has decided that when we go out to the garage, it's time for a ride. Unbeknownst to us, he waits patiently in the dark until we realize that he is no longer at our feet and discover him there. When it's time for bed, he waits for me to put down my robe, which I place beside my pillow, and he settles comfortably into that. Well, it is the softest robe ever.

Izabella Grace (Izzy) is my other BDHH. She is a toot that makes me smile practically every minute I'm home.

What a little survivor! Orphaned at less than a week old in June of 2006, she was brought to the emergency clinic dehydrated and near death, along with her 2 brothers. Sadly, her siblings did not survive, but she thrived under the care of an exceptional vet tech, Amy, who tube-fed her every few hours. At 7 weeks, I took over, reluctant, but excited. At first, my husband was skeptical that she was even a canine. Weighing less than a pound, she looked more like a gerbil, but I was determined to give this little creature a good life. My argument was that she wouldn't take up much room. As a "micro dog", she didn't really qualify as a full size dog. She's now 1-1/2 years old and weighs 5 lbs, with an exuberant personality and oversized tongue that has no choice but to dangle happily out of her mouth.

Sparky, oddly enough, is extremely protective of her, growling at the other dogs on the rare occasions that they engage in play. Sparky has even allowed Izzy to sleep with us, as long as she stays away from the prized robe.

Izzy loves to play fetch and tug-of-war. She also goes into a frenzy when the Dyson vacuum commercial is on, lunging and barking maniacally. We dvr'd it for our own amusement, because we're totally not perfect parents and like to get a rise out of our baby/dog/humans from time to time. I'm sure Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, would disapprove of this practice. Twisted though it may be, it is quite entertaining.