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Sept 25, 2014 – The morning coffee scene – The merganser story – Hey, what makes a good photograph?

I looked out the window and what did I see? Deer, the bay water, the dock, bell — well, yes saw all of theta – but that is not the story I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you of “V” for victory, lets eat breakfast at these minnow traps, bunch up, head for the other shore.

A v of Mergansers heading my way – why in a V? In flight I know about the advantage of riding the wind created by those in front. But in the water? – Look it up and tell me what you find. Thanks

My friend baits the minnows to get them to swim into her traps – but the mergansers opened their mouths under water and created a new trap – That is why “V” for victory – Mergansers win – I decided to sneak down to the water and record this on digits – just so I could show you all what happens to the best laid plans of human fishermen – No “V” – Fisherwomen looses.

But say the mergansers to each other – bunch up – here comes that crazy human with the black box – We do not know what it is but it may shoots us or eat us????

Head for the other shore – they did and I went back to the house, walked along side my garden, and finished my own breakfast! –

Took this garden photo as I walked. I will send to you a digital rose – why? Because you took the time to view my blog – Thanks.

More are on the way. But I must go now and work on the garden I am preparing for the Deer. Well just preparing the soil for next springs plantings.

September 25, 2014
Sept. 19, 2014 – Boy, this is a long photo essay — There is a beginning and there is an end and a lot of manure in-between!!!

This is the end of my story – and a beautiful one it is – But to appreciate it we must go back a ways – to the beginning!

Before we go back a ways, lets look at one more “Beautiful End”

Backward toward the beginning. We want to find out how our flowers came to grow so beautiful. According to the Farmer’s Almanac Manure creates nutrient-rich, moisture-retaining soil for your plants. “The most common sources of manure are cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats, and poultry. Now we know – it was the horse poop that made them grow. Let us continue on back.

Not just any poop – but poop from Iceland.- well from an Icelandic horse. My Perla is the Icelandic breed of horse. – Her Dad was born in Iceland – Perla was born in Canadia – Now she is a Drummondite! This photo was taken of horses roaming free in Iceland. Perla is the color of the one on your left, has the face of the one on your right, and a big mane like each of them. When Perla’s father lived in Iceland, I was told, that he was protected by the Hidden People – I believe it.

Oh, say you “What are Hidden People?” — Huldufólk (Icelandic hidden people meaning “pertaining to secrecy” and fólk “people”, “folk” are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk.
Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden álfhól (elf houses) for elves/hidden people to live in. Some Icelanders have also built tiny churches to convert elves to Christianity. President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has explained the existence of huldufólk tales by saying: “Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies.”

According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people and fairies can be broken down into the following percentages:
• Impossible, 10%
• Unlikely, 18%
• Possible, 33%
• Probable, 15%
• Certain, 7%
• No opinion, 17% [58]
This is Engraving of a man jumping after a female elf into a precipice. An illustration to the Icelandic legend of Hildur, the Queen of the Elves.

An álfhól (elf houses)

Now that we see the beginning where Hidden People protected Perla’s Father – and we see he moved to Canada and met a wonderful wife – that is another story – any way they produced the foal that produced the poop that produced the beautiful flowers – well, worked for God who produced them! Let us move forward. – How did the poop get to the garden?

First Perla’s poop is gathered – every day

This is Allen my friend. He and his wife Tess own the farm where Perla lives – they are real natural horse people and have taught me so much. He has 7 such piles of horse poop compost .. as you see in the background – well only 6 now because…….

See Grandpa standing in 5 yards of poop loaded into the truck helping to scrape the last tractor load from the loader bucket– before I had breakfast – and temp around 40 degrees in mid-September!

Here is Carlyle, another other good friend – he stopped by a 6:15am for coffee and to tell me he had time to drive his truck to the horse farm and get me a load of “Black Gold” as Tess calls it. – Carlyle left me no option – “Get out of those PJ’s and lets go now!”

Here is the end of the middle of the story – truck is now empty – Carlyle is very happy to have helped me – I am very happy to have such friends as Carlyle and Allen and their families.

Here is the real end of the story – my current project is to use the poop compost and work it into soil to grow “Forbs” for the deer – look it up – then you will know what a “Forb” is – So, instead of keeping the deer out of my garden – Next year, — I want to create a garden just for them – then they will not have to steal from bird feeders, jump my garden fences, or eat only dry brown grass. Hum—Wonder if they will try to keep me out of their garden” – Check back next year.

Keep on riding – always keep friends, and keep fun projects in front of you. Always wonder about the cultures that shaped your projects or other things you do – like baseball, tennis, vollyball etc. – who invented the idea of playing with a round object anyway?

September 19, 2014
Sept 17, 2014 – The season is changing – and I really love the change – Don’t you? But read on!!

This is beautiful fall photo: When you have your tomatoes out on the picnic table – to ripen –you know the season is changing from summer to fall – really it is approaching winter when this happens!

Beautiful fall photo : When you see the herd all eating a serving of hay, yet the grass is still green, you know the season is changing from summer to fall. According to Pennsylvania Agriculture Extension: As pasture matures:
Leaf % decreases
Stem % increases
Protein and energy decrease
Fiber and lignin increase
Pasture intake decreases
So we feed hay – in my friend’s case – 4 times per day. Yesterday it was my job to assure the noon feeding – that is when I snapped this shot.

Beautiful fall photo: I know it is almost impossible to explain the joy I can get from walking a 10 acre field picking up al the poop that hay produces – but yesterday was a perfect fall day. I took my camera and toured the property snapping shots – mushrooms, weeds, birds, and of course horses and horse poop. – I will show you some of my shots throughout the next week. Oh, how often does a horse poop? Manure is
passed an average of ten to 12 times per day, possibly more often with horses allowed adequate movement 24/7. – this is According to a Horse News magazine. We count on 15 x 7 that is over 100 piles each day!

Beautiful fall photo: – When the geese and sandhill cranes start to gather you know summer is changing to fall. A goose down lost in the pasture with the morning dew! Is that pretty or what?

Beautiful fall photo: The fall night sky I think is different – or do I just remember my childhood fall chores – moving chickens (we always did it on a cool fall night because that is when you could catch the range chickens) from pasture to the winter chicken house – or sitting on a hay wagon husking corn because we did not get it all done by the time the early fall darkness set in, or………many other fall night time chores.

Beautiful fall photo: No, not me, dumby – – The fall wild flowers in the background are beautify;- Fall is when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade!!! So, it is beautiful to have the opportunity to sit in the sun and enjoy the season and the change — and that I did for this self photo! On the Island, I get to see three full seasons in only 6 months. On Drummond Spring is May and June (40-60degrees) – Summer is July and August (60-75 degrees) and Fall is Sept and October (40-60 degrees) Of course each year is different – this year cool temps are early. Oh forgot to tell you winter is 6 months long. 20 below is quite common. Too much for me – I like them all – but not 6 months of winter anymore – That is why I run off to Florida for most of the winter – and I thank my friends for keeping my horse, Perla, and for staying my friend even though I run off – and I thank God for the health and opportunity to afford such a life.

Beautiful fall photo: fall without color would not be fall – so here is the traditional fall photo!

Still have a rose or two on it’s way to glory – and I did not tell those in bud form that summer is over!

September 17, 2014
Sept 15, 2014 – Horses today – nature tomorrow – We had one beautiful ride – 2 hours through my own neighborhood – well, not a neighborhood, but more like my own Island Outback!!

Practice makes perfect – – Me and Perla are getting better – I say “Get up on the table and stay there until I say get off” — And that she does. The problem, Perla says in her own way “I will get off when I am damb well ready!” I have waited for what seemed like an hour – then she gets off!

In my pasture – we are getting ready for the trail ride. You know I used to go hunting with friends and more then once we traveled miles to the good hunting spot and then realized we left our guns back at camp — and my mind was young then!!! Today we forgot our bridles at the other barn, but it was because our minds are old!! We train well — bridles are not required – halters will do — and they did! What do you think of that?

While trying to decide what to do with no bridles I decided to be a photographer and capture me and Perla as a shadow. Our ex-president said “There’s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” by Ronald Reagan — That was a little deep, but Daniel Boone made straight talk.” All you need for happiness is a good gun, a good horse, and a good wife.” I am in great shape!

But we rode through the woods, passed our whitney Bay, on to lake Huron – Here we are!

With my super tele-photo lens, I know we are are there, because, I see a bright red freighter off in the distance heading for the Soo Locks and on to Lake Superior.

I learn much on every trail ride – Am I the Donkey or is Perla the donkey? – today we came to a little run-off in the trail – no more then 6″” across and no more then 3″ deep — Perla had just wadded through a puddle that was a foot deep and 15 feet across – no problem — but the run-off caused her to go bonkers – ballistic is more like it … jumped like a rodeo bronco – I held on and then all was well on the other side????????? She is a real donkey say I. Bye for now.

September 15, 2014
Sept 14, 2014 – I am back on the Island !!! — Cool weather – 39 Degrees in the morning – I have been out photographing and “playing” with Perla instead of doing the mowing, driveway maintenance, garden maintenance, barn paint maintenance, — you got the picture. — I will post just one photo now – I have many more of nature (and a special one of Perla in training) to post but I must go get ready to trail ride now. My nature photos, taken yesterday, show woodpeckers, ducks, deer, rocks, — I missed getting a shot of a mom and young eagle, they flew out of range before I could get my camera focused on them — but I recorded their image in my brain — they are beautiful birds — I will post some of my photos of nature later – so that you may enjoy a little of our Island too!!!

My garden is still very much alive – Roses, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, herbs, onions – various flowers. As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.
Ben Hogan

WOW, I am so excited that the thorny plants in my garden have have roses!!!

September 14, 2014
August 30, 2014 Some photos that feature a day in my life – Retirement is having nothing to do all day and all day to do it in.

See, I Spend all day thinking of nothing to do because Retirement is having nothing to do all day and all day to do it in. If you do not like slide show – see mosaic below.

August 30, 2014
August 30, 2014 THIS IS A COPY OF MY PHOTO CLUB BLOb AT: tgophoto.wordpress.com – Featuring Linda Somers, Eileen Norrington, and Pat Mahon – WOW – September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And autumn’s best of cheer. Helen Hunt Jackson – I will be traveling for two weeks – keep photos coming – I plan to update this blog in about 1 week

Linda wrote: The pic I sent you of the field of sunflowers also appeared in the local paper (not my pic–reporters) with this interesting info. The long-term goal is to grow enough flowers to produce enough biodiesel fuel to power the farm tractors and heat their home. Seeds are harvested with a combine. An oil press extrudes the oil from the seeds, “transesterification” which involves combing the oil from the sunflowers with ethanol or methanol and lye under controlled conditions. The meal by-product after processing is high-protein feed for the farm’s beef cattle, pigs and chickens. Neat!

Eileen wrote: here is one.
Taken with Nikon P510 F/5.9 ISO 400 August 9, 2014 on the TGO Nature Trail
Eileen

I know Pat wrote a note about this phot – But , alas, I lost it – Pat could you comment on it (Via this blog) so others may know of this building – Thanks Jim

August 30, 2014
August 28, 2014 Did you every wonder what defines us? I read in USA TODAY, “What’s the most ‘American’ city? — study says Nashville. Nashville best matches the demographic of the total USA — Race, Religion, Education, Income, etc. — So, cities and infact, the total USA, is defined by things. Oh, forgot to tell you the a city near where I come from is among the most unlike the rest of the USA — That is Altoona, PA — Now you know why I do not quite fit in!!!! So I said to myself, “I wonder how you, me, and others are defined” — So, I started at the top with the obvious items — you know, things I could take a photo of like hats, hair-do, etc. But for my first look-see at what defines us, I actually started at the bottom – Our feet – then I added just a few other items for this first go-around on my in depth analysis of HOW ARE WE DEFINED. Oh what did I add? Our hats, our tattoos, and those we hang out with.

These shoes define me as one of the crowd known as the “Hairy Legs, White socks, and Blue Ribbon beer crowd”

We from around Altoona, Pa are just a little alien – would not you mainstreamers say so.

August 28, 2014
August 26, 2014 — Featuring my cell phone as I tramp around “My Drummond”. I try to see things that other may not see – sometimes I must create them in my mind! That is why I call it “My Drummond.”

I call this the “Missed meal” — or I” beat the fish eating Monster” Depending which side you are on!!!
Some days us Icelandics have “Bad Hair Days”
What the heck is that little black box he keeps holding toward me? — “Hello, can you hear me now?”
My peace and quiet time – “Nice, is it not?”
This, I am sure is a wild orchid of some kind – we have lots of “Lady Slippers” around and they a of the wild orchid family – never saw one like this before – It was found by a neighbor who trimmed back a brush pile to make room for it to grow – After I checked it out on the internet and went back with printed pictures from the internet to verify my identy of it – OOPS – since the brush pile was trimmed the deer said – “WOW they set the table just for me” –No more wild plant for me to identify.
Sure glad my retirement allows me to sit some times and then tramp around “MY DRUMMOND”

August 26, 2014
August 22, 2014 – Featuring – Why do photography as a hobby? To show off an object, to create art, to create a image, to get accolades, to tell a story,………….

Most of the photos I take are, for sure, not perfect. I want to tell you about things in my day. Today i wanted to tell you, at dinner, about the neat tiny toad I say today while doing barn work. This is what I saw – just a little movement in the gravel and grass barnyard.

I followed him/her to the gravel and got a little closer shot — Hopping along very rapidly.

But how big is this toad? well I tried to hold him in my hand and take a shot with my cell phone in the other hand — that little bugger would jump right out of my hand before I could press the shutter. Finally I got him to stay on a stone I held long enough for a shot — pooooor photo quality – but it gets the story of his size to you. – Thanks for looking and listening!

Hey – finding little things in the outdoors is always fun – Go find one NOW!

August 22, 2014