Every now and then you just get the urge for something. Well tonight I wanted s'mores. Don't know why and don't care
Didn't really feel like building a fire in the fire pit... So I remembered my backpacking wood burner stove. Not like I will be using it anytime soon for camping. So what the heck? Set it on the table on the deck, poured a little drink and put on old baseball games and watched through the window (opening day today, or should have been). Made s'mores for my wife and son.
No I am not losing it, just taking one day at a time.
I know other parts of the country and world are a mess and I am not making light of that situation. But...
Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.
Really giving the NOCT something to do on a dark evening... with a Glencairn glass on the table. I can't help wonder whether there might be a wee dram of single malt Scotch whisky in that glass. This is delightful George... I love the creativity and whimsy of it all.
CGrindahl wrote:
Keep the images coming everyone. It is good for the spirit to play with cameras and Nikon manual focus lenses...
Absolutely Curtis - the more we see the better for our souls
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Ken Hill wrote:
Went out for our bike rides this morning and lots of people gardening, walking and a few others on bikes. Met a man with a small backpack. Lot less than an ALICE pack. With no sleeping bag or mat. Said he was going to hike the Appalachian Trail, all 2200 miles of it. Pack didn’t seem large enough for shelter, food, fire, footwear, first aid. Said he’d stock up every 3-4 days. Asked if he had a firearm, knife said no. Then took off.
Well it’s about 550 miles from here to the foot of the trail in Georgia. Guess he’ll be passing Leighton in a couple months. ...Show more →
We're all confin4ed to barracks for the next 21 days - no walking, jogging , dog walking, biking et., Essential journeys only - doctor, pharmacy, supermarket. No liquor sales - fortunately laid in some stockjust in time
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gbohannon wrote:
Yeah. I was going to isolate on a state park trail and take the large format film camera. Well I guess a lot of others had the same idea because they had to close the state parks due to so many people.
Judging by the tripods I see of photographers at beauty spots, any form of isolation would be impossible
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gbohannon wrote:
We were invaded with Cedar Waxwings this afternoon and they made short work of the berries on our holly tree. It was at least 50 of them at a time. I grabbed the 200mm f/2 Ai and went on the front porch to get some shots. I probably could have had more keepers with the 200-500 autofocus but what fun would that be
Nature carries on.
George
Beautiful birds and well captured - 4500 ISO on the 850 is amazing.
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saph wrote:
Not sure how much I can get around in these lockdown days but Jay's pics are making me want to take some 28 or 35 PC pics.
Samy we're in total lockdown and today is a gorgeous day -perfect to get out "there". I love autumn - the weather gets calm, balmy days, little wind and lovely temperatures. Just have to settle, and bore you all, with images from our house. Stay safe all of you.
Samy, thanks I was quite fascinated wih the lights hitting the forest with not many leafs. I could really feel that spring is coming in.....Nice shot with the 5,5cm micro lens.
George, looks like you are doing well! Nice little stove there, a little fire and a nice drink is a great moral boost. I´ve been thinking of getting a Firebox Stove, perhaps the nano-version. It´s so much nicer to have some fire instead of just burning gas when making a cup of coffee. I agrees - tomorrow is tomorrow
Feeling a little better from the cold now so I´m hoping to get out a little today on a photo session
Here´s a shot I took last night, from my bathroom with an open window. Clear skies but cold.
D800 and Nikkor-N.C 24mm f/2.8 The Yard by Kristian Hagelin, on Flickr
bobbelbob wrote:
George, looks like you are doing well! Nice little stove there, a little fire and a nice drink is a great moral boost. I´ve been thinking of getting a Firebox Stove, perhaps the nano-version. It´s so much nicer to have some fire instead of just burning gas when making a cup of coffee. I agrees - tomorrow is tomorrow
Yep, nothing like the smell of wood burning while camping. The stove works for me, takes longer to boil water, but I am in no hurry when camping. Always able to find fallen twigs and branches to burn. I don't have to worry about getting above the tree line or being in the desert on the east coast
Glad to see you are feeling better and look forward to your pictures.
I will be offline for a day while I do a supply run up to my mother and stay there tonight.
Oosty wrote:
Absolutely Curtis - the more we see the better for our souls
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We're all confin4ed to barracks for the next 21 days - no walking, jogging , dog walking, biking et., Essential journeys only - doctor, pharmacy, supermarket. No liquor sales - fortunately laid in some stockjust in time
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Judging by the tripods I see of photographers at beauty spots, any form of isolation would be impossible
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Beautiful birds and well captured - 4500 ISO on the 850 is amazing.
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Samy we're in total lockdown and today is a gorgeous day -perfect to get out "there". I love autumn - the weather gets calm, balmy days, little wind and lovely temperatures. Just have to settle, and bore you all, with images from our house. Stay safe all of you.
Hi Peter, please do "bore" us with the images from your house, but your images are never boring. While you are heading into autumn (my favorite season), it is going to the mid 80's here today. So summer not too far away.
Higher ISO is very good on the 850 as long as you have even light from shadows to highlights. Can get a little noisy if you have to do a lot of recovering of shadows.
CGrindahl wrote:
Really giving the NOCT something to do on a dark evening... with a Glencairn glass on the table. I can't help wonder whether there might be a wee dram of single malt Scotch whisky in that glass. This is delightful George... I love the creativity and whimsy of it all.
Curtis,
Not a true Scotch whisky, but a Virginia Highland Whisky from the Virginia Distillery Co. It is an American single malt and aged with Scotland whisky. I picked some up on the way back from the Staunton trip last year. It is very good.
CGrindahl wrote:
Great to see you Ani. You're not going to tell me that people who live on ranches in the middle of the mountains have been ordered to shelter-in-place, are you? I saw a list of occupations and their vulnerability for this disease and the safest was loggers. I would expect you and your husband are far on that side of the scale. Hope all is well. Kirkland had some serious problems but that too is close to a big city. Stay close to your horses...
Thank you Curtis. We are on lockdown. But we are both healthy and safe! Our little town of Sultan has a few cases but we are all trying our best to stay compliant. Rick and I are okay with being at home, since we have always worked from home, played from home, so we are not panicking.
Our garden preparations, our animals and homesteading are in full swing. Wood splitting is my new gym workout. We are planning to produce twice as much produce to help in case this quarantine takes longer in order to help friends, family and neighbors.
Staying close to my ponies is always a peaceful meditative place so I will be doing just that!
Not a true Scotch whisky, but a Virginia Highland Whisky from the Virginia Distillery Co. It is an American single malt and aged with Scotland whisky. I picked some up on the way back from the Staunton trip last year. It is very good.
Very impressed! If the Japanese can make single malt Scotch whisky there is no reason someone in Virginia can't do it! Fascinating story, though I was disappointed there was so little said about the whisky from Scotland with which they blend. Trader Joe's sells Finlaggen Single Malt Islay whisky for $19.95 and it is a wonderful bargain but it too is a mystery. No one knows which of the distilleries in Islay are producing it. I expect there is ample capacity to provide your friends in Virginia plenty of whisky but for a real fan it would be interesting to know their source. Is it Highland, Speyside, Islay?
Glad you're enjoying it. My challenge is finding Clausthaler without having to mortgage the house I no longer own. I'm not going to Traders simply because it is a madhouse. I had to try Leighton's preferred non-alcoholic beer, O'Douls but have yet to open a bottle. I'd much prefer to be reporting on Lagavulin or the port casked whisky from Virginia Highlands, but alas I'm finding it easier to navigate these times with a clear head.
You're a good son to be taking care of you mom. A doctor suggested that folks over 60 not leave their homes. My response was "Good luck." I don't have any kids in the neighborhood to do my shopping, so I do it with as much care as possible. Yesterday I visited the Good Earth, a fully organic store nearby. They've reserved the hour from 9 to 10 a.m. for folks over 60. They have only one door available and it is manned. They also have rather elaborate sanitizing stations at both entrance and exit doors, as well as wiping off all carts before they're used. It is probably the safest shopping experience one can have under the circumstances.
gbohannon wrote:
Yep, nothing like the smell of wood burning while camping. The stove works for me, takes longer to boil water, but I am in no hurry when camping. Always able to find fallen twigs and branches to burn. I don't have to worry about getting above the tree line or being in the desert on the east coast
Glad to see you are feeling better and look forward to your pictures.
I will be offline for a day while I do a supply run up to my mother and stay there tonight.
George
Thanks George. Have a nice (and safe) trip to your mom!
CGrindahl wrote:
Very impressed! If the Japanese came make single malt Scotch whisky there is no reason someone in Virginia can't do it! Fascinating story, though I was disappointed there was so little said about the whisky from Scotland with which they blend. Trader Joe's sells Finlaggen Single Malt Islay whisky for $19.95 and it is a wonderful bargain but it too is a mystery. No one knows which of the distilleries in Islay are producing it. I expect there is ample capacity to provide your friends in Virginia plenty of whisky but for a real fan it would be interesting to know their source. Is it Highland, Speyside, Islay?
Glad you're enjoying it. My challenge is finding Clausthaler without having to mortgage the house I no longer own. I'm not going to Traders simply because it is a madhouse. I had to try Leighton's preferred non-alcoholic beer, O'Douls but have yet to open a bottle. I'd much prefer to be reporting on Lagavulin or the port casked whisky from Virginia Highlands, but alas I'm finding it easier to navigate these times with a clear head.
You're a good son to be taking care of you mom. A doctor suggested that folks over 60 not leave their homes. My response was "Good luck." I don't have any kids in the neighborhood to do my shopping, so I do it with as much care as possible. Yesterday I visited the Good Earth, a fully organic store nearby. They've reserved the hour from 9 to 10 a.m. for folks over 60. They have only one door available and it is manned. They also have rather elaborate sanitizing stations at both entrance and exit doors, as well as wiping off all carts before they're used. It is probably the safest shopping experience one can have under the circumstances.
Oh man, I had to come out of hiding to correct you. O'douls is nasty and it's NOT my favorite, Bucklers, made by Heineken is. Now, back to hiding.
I'm going to try to post some when I can, but I'm extremely busy trying to work with the City of Staunton to have some sort of farmers' market. I should have quit the manager job when I retired from vending last year.
Ohhh the pain of it. I'll still drink it Leighton... it was cheap and I guess now I understand why...
Hard to imagine a farmers' market could work but perhaps you're not practicing physical distancing as we are in California. I won't touch money right now and as much as I LOVE going to the farmers' market here in Marin it tends to be a madhouse. At the market yesterday they had someone at the door encouraging folks to distance AND get out of the market as quickly as possible. I think he was also managing how many were in the store at one time, but that wasn't clear.
Good luck sorting this out. I understand that farmers who have produce and other food products need to sell them before they spoil. This is another of the challenging elements of this pandemic. We can wait for a few photos but even your presence on the thread is a gift Leighton.
CGrindahl wrote:
Ohhh the pain of it. I'll still drink it Leighton... it was cheap and I guess now I understand why...
Hard to imagine a farmers' market could work but perhaps you're not practicing physical distancing as we are in California. I won't touch money right now and as much as I LOVE going to the farmers' market here in Marin it tends to be a madhouse. At the market yesterday they had someone at the door encouraging folks to distance AND get out of the market as quickly as possible. I think he was also managing how many were in the store at one time, but that wasn't clear.
Good luck sorting this out. I understand that farmers who have produce and other food products need to sell them before they spoil. This is another of the challenging elements of this pandemic. We can wait for a few photos but even your presence on the thread is a gift Leighton. ...Show more →
Yes, we are practicing physical distancing. That's why it's not going to be business as usual. Our plan at the moment is to open 2 weeks later than normal. We are only going to allow the vendors to bring items pre-ordered from customers. The customer will have to stay in their car and call the vendor when they arrive. The vendor will then take their order to the customer. The vendor will then use disinfectant, and repeat until all their orders are gone. Not sure how this is going to work, but I guess it's better than nothing for them. Of course, this could all change by the time the middle of April gets here.
This seems like a good plan. Restaurants locally are making food available in this way... pickup or curbside handoff. There still are risks but hopefully everyone will use best sterile technique for handling things.
I just watched a chilling video released ten years ago on the topic of the history of pandemics by a public health specialist/medical doctor that will likely not be well received by folks who enjoy eating chickens and pork. But really this is not the time to be putting our heads in the sand and ignoring how diseases develop and are propagated. Take a look folks... this is very well done AND terrifying.
Oosty wrote:
...We're all confined to barracks for the next 21 days - no walking, jogging , dog walking, biking et., Essential journeys only - doctor, pharmacy, supermarket. No liquor sales - fortunately laid in some stock just in time
The conversation here is whether liquor stores are "essential" businesses to keep open and in most communities the answer is a resounding YES! Glad you stocked up so you can enjoy a bottle of wine or a cocktail at the end of the day. And NO walking? Wow... that would definitely make my confinement much more challenging. Getting out for a stroll definitely improves the day. As I look outside at the moment I see sunshine and blue skies. I really will enjoy my ramble to day. Stay well my cyber friend.
So before I head out this afternoon I thought I'd share what I caught yesterday before the rain drove my inside. The 50-135 f/3.5 AI-s is a fine performer with tubes. Again, it is the push-pull focusing zoom ring that makes this so easy to use. If you haven't tried this method of getting close to subjects I encourage you to give it a try with different length extension tubes. Obviously, the longer the tube the closer you need to be to the object. Long tubes work better with longer lenses. I think the PK-13, a 27.5mm tube is ideal for shorter telephoto lenses. Even if you're inside, you can play with tubes. Auto ISO gives you a great deal of freedom. Remember that tubes greatly reduce the focal plane so if you're using tubes consider stopping down the aperture ring. I'm shooting at f/8 in manual mode. Give it a try. I'd love to see what people come up with...
I can report that O'Doul's is one step above donkey piss... Leighton knows what he's talking about!
Only five more bottles to go, but I definitely have to re-think this matter. I may have to spend a couple extra bucks a six pack if I want decent non-alcoholic beer... though it shocks me to say I'd be concerned about such a thing given my great love for Lagunitas outstanding ales I've enjoyed so much over the years AND talked about on this thread. I may have to buy a six-pack of Maximus...
Curtis: I much prefer the red O'Douls to the green. The green is pretty nasty. I find the imported ones are more tolerable - Becks, Kaliber. I know there are better ones out there, I think I had a non-alcoholic Heineken once when I was in the big city - but not available at our wilderness trading posts here
O'douls is nasty and it's NOT my favorite, Bucklers, made by Heineken is.
