Pa Climbs A Tree

Makin' The First Cut
Originally uploaded by boondockma

For the last couple years Pa has been eyeing a particular tree in our yard. This tree had been dead for some time, and was starting to lean. The biggest problem with that was that it was leaning towards a power line.

Now Pa is pretty good at eyeballing things, figuring out what direction trees might want to fall, and how to manipulate them to fall another direction. This particular tree though, had an added element which made things a bit more difficult to deal with. There was another tree nearby, which was quite healthy, and had a branch which grew out in front of the dead tree. This branch would have caused the dead tree to fall in to the power line, which would not be a good thing at all!

Yesterday, Pa decided the only way to deal with the situation was to climb up the healthy tree and cut the offending branch off before proceeding to cut down the dead tree. And so the adventure began....

Healthy tree is a very tall Spruce, which does not possess a multitude of lower branches for climbing, and the ladder Pa owns , while fine for scrambling up on the roof of our house, was not tall enough to reach the first available branches on the Spruce, so he had to find another way. This is where the old Willow tree came in.

The old Willow tree stands quite near the Spruce, and seemed climbable enough to Pa, and so he began. Although it wasn't nearly so climbable as he had imagined, he did manage to make it up far enough that he could reach out and transfer himself to a branch on the Spruce. He then spiralled himself up and around until he reached the target branch. He settled himself in on the branch, about 30 feet above the ground, and let down the rope he had taken up with him. Nathan then tied the hand saw onto the rope and Pa pulled it up and went to work.

By the end of the day, my 50 something year old husband had finished sawing off the limb in the big spruce tree, proceeded to cut down the dead White Cedar, and had cut it into rounds which our young 'ns transported to their appointed places. I must admit, while I, being the concerned wife, had my moments of worry, and holding my breath, I did rather enjoy seeing (and hearing) Pa's banter last night. His eyes were sparkling. His face was lit up. He sounded 20 years younger.

He really enjoyed himself! And we all enjoyed the heat emanating from the woodstove.

Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to post more than one photo at a time here, so I had to choose one from the set of four I posted on my flickr last night. Rather frustrating in that I really had fun putting that set together. Thank you, Bev, for explaining how to post more than one photo! It worked! Once again, I was amazed at what my little Canon could do. You can even see the sawdust clinging to the blade of the saw, and flying up in the top picture!

And so it was...just another day at our boondock home..

Feels Like New !

Thanks to all who commented on yesterday's post! After reading through the comments, then rereading what I posted, I realized that I gave the impression that we had acquired a brand new camera!

Actually, the camera I'm having so much fun with is a couple months old. It just took me awhile to get up the nerve to get to know it beyond the basic point and shoot level. Although a couple months still seems pretty new to me, after becoming better acquainted it really does seem brand new again!

For those who were wondering what camera this is, it is the Canon Power Shot A470, one of Canon's moderately priced, "lower end" cameras.

The photo I took yesterday was utilizing the super macro function.I've been using that function quite a lot the last couple days, and am amazed at the results I can get with it! Another option I've been playing with a bit is the zoom. If you stop by my Flickr site, you can see shots of the moon I took last weekend. They're particularly exciting, but, they represent the beginning of my new familiarity with my camera. The first shot is taken with the regular point and shoot method. The second one was taken by zooming in once. At the time, that's all I thought I could do. Now I'm eagerly anticipating next months full moon, and keeping my fingers crossed it will be a clear night, so I can give it another try!

The next day I got to playing around with my camera and, quite by accident discovered I could zoom in to multiple levels, anywhere from 3.5 to 14. I'm still experimenting with this feature, and expect if I pair it with other features I may be able to find applications where the highest level might work for me. For now though, I've found 8.5 (or in some cases, 10)is about as far as I can go without experiencing some rather annoying "noise". As I recall that's pretty much what one can expect in most any of the AA utilizing cameras though, so for the price, I figure I really can't complain.

The biggest negative aspect I've found with this camera is the problem with glare on the viewing screen. There are certain situations where the the sun gets in the way, and I just can't see my subject. Honestly, I can't understand why some sort of a shield couldn't be installed on this otherwise great little camera with nominal cost adjustments.

Digital photography is new to me, and I was never an expert in photography anyway. I think this is an excellent camera for beginners, like me, and/or for those (again, like me) who are on a budget. I'm quite pleased with this camera, but have no doubt I'll be looking to upgrade at some point. Of course the kids are both looking forward to that point in time, as they know who this little gem will be handed down to ;-)

Monday, Monday...

Rain On White
Originally uploaded by boondockma

It's Monday once again and, after several days of appreciated sunshine, this morning, we awoke to rain.

I had so much fun this weekend, getting to know my new camera that the morning rain threatened to bring my mood down a bit. Then I thought why not take pictures of the rain?

To be honest, I didn't take pictures of the rain as it fell. Rather, I waited until it stopped raining for a bit, then I headed outside armed with my little camera, and started snapping away. Among other features, I've discovered the "macro" setting, and it didn't take long for me to realize that using features such as macro, and zoom, the batteries tend to wear out rather quickly! I'm now on my third set of batteries. Hmmm. Maybe we'll need to rethink the longer lasting, rechargeable batteries we'd decided we really didn't need ;-)

In the meantime, I'm managing quite well with the regular AAs, and I have added several new photos to my flickr collection. If this keeps up, I may find I need to upgrade my account there! LOL

I do hope you all had just as wonderful a day yesterday as I did! The kids and I spent most of the day roaming around the yard in search of photo ops. Pa treated me to a wonderful dinner. He fixed chicken out on the grill that he'd marinated in a combination of soy sauce and a fresh lime. He also prepared rice, which I enjoyed topped with sweet chili sauce, and then he steamed some asparagus. All this was further enhanced by the salad I made from the fresh organic greens our neighbors brought over. What a fantastic meal! I was still thinking about it as I fell asleep last night.

Saturday Night At The Movies

Since yesterday was Mother's Day, I opted to wait until today to post my weekly movie review. This week the kids chose to watch Superman with Christopher Reeve. It had been awhile since I'd seen this film and so had forgotten bits and pieces, which made it enjoyable for me to watch a second time. I must say, the larger digital TV we have now certainly adds another element to it! If you haven't seen this film, it's worth checking out, although there is a bit of violence so may be more appropriate for older children.


Hope you all are having a fun Monday! And remember...If life gives you rain...take pictures! :)

Flowers For Mother's Day

More Rhodies
Originally uploaded by boondockma

Flowers in Spring always remind me of my Mother. Perhaps that's because my childhood memories are full of flowers around the yard. There were the 4-o'clocks along the back of the house. The Irises on the side of the house, and in front, just below the living room window, were the Geraniums.

Flowers make me feel good. They are like comfort food for my eyes, evoking the same feelings I had as a child when I felt loved and comforted, knowing my Mom was always there for me, ready to sooth hurt feelings as well as any cuts, scrapes or bruises I may have suffered.

I can close my eyes, breath in the sweet aroma, and be instantly transported back to that time of my youth, back to the house I grew up in, with flowers all around. The scent alone is enough to make me feel better when I feel ill, reminding me how my Mother was there for me whenever I was sick as a child. Her mere presence was enough to make me feel better.

I'm thankful for flowers and for the warm, loving memories I have of my Mother. I'm also so very thankful that I have the opportunity to see my Mother at least once a year. Those are times I get to make more memories with my Mother. The difference being that I'm no longer a child, and those memories are now shared with my own children as well. I hope they cherish those memories as much as I do.


I Love you, Mom. Thank you for the wonderful memories. Happy Mother's day!

Weird But "True"... From An 11 Yr. Old Boy

This morning, as I was gazing out the window, enjoying the beautiful spring colors the sun's rays were enhancing, my son decided it was the right time to provide us with his latest revelation.

This was really quite an astonishing bit of trivia and I knew immediately it was a fact I needed to share with the world, or at the very least, those who might choose to drop by my blog.

Did you know that one of the causes of Global Warming is a combination of termites and rotting houses? That's right! According to Nathan, "It's true!" It seems when old houses rot, the termites get in there and start munching away. Evidently termites really like old, rotting houses, and they tend to overindulge, which it may surprise you to learn, results in gas! Yup! I heard it straight from the mouth of he who knows all, my 11 year old son. The termites eat the rotting old houses, and in Nathan's own words, "They fart!", and this is one of the reasons for global warming.

Now, aren't you glad you stopped by today?

Feelin' Good!

After more than a week my body and I finally seem to have found a way to get along! I do find it rather irritating to note that when we have these little disputes my body always seems to win the battles. I remember a time when I was on the winning side of those disagreements at least half the time. I guess those days are behind me now. Ah the joys of getting older... At any rate, I am feeling better today. Just trying to power my way through the low energy level as I fully recover. I also discovered that there is one good thing about getting sick. Once you recover, you really appreciate feeling good!

The sun came out today! What a fine treat that is! The kids have been outside enjoying themselves, playing with the cats, collecting bugs, and running off at least a portion of their pent up energy. I expect my visits outside to suck up some fresh air may have helped with the recovery business as well.

This morning we all gathered at the dining room window and watched as a squirrel entertained us with his antics. He had discovered two of the bird feeders we have set up in the trees. He would scamper up one tree, climb out on the limb and do his best to reach the feeder hanging down in front of him. He'd give up on one, scamper down and across to the other tree, running up and out then stretch way down, as far as he could in an attempt to get a good hold on the second feeder. At one point we thought he may have finally met his objective. It was the milk jug feeder. He stretched way down, and somehow moved his little body out to grab hold of the lip. He let go of the tree with his hind legs and managed to hold on for a nano second. The feeder swung wide as that poor little squirrel swung and tumbled back the other direction. He managed to grab hold of the trunk of the tree, ran down and headed off without missing a beat. I think we watched that little fellow for a good hour before he finally gave up. We were really wishing our camera had a zoom option so we could've caught at least a bit of his antics to share, as well as being able to watch it all again ourselves.

We're hoping to finally be able to make our way into town tomorrow. It's been two weeks and, though we could probably make it another two weeks with no problem,we're looking forward to replenishing our supplies, not to mention, pick up some items to liven up our meals a bit. I'm thinking some fresh fruit and vegetables will find their way into our cart. Perhaps another fruit salad would be nice...or I have my eye on a pasta salad that utilizes fresh vegetables I thought might be fun to play with. Hmmm. Now that I think about it, why do I have to make a choice? There's really no reason I can't do both! Yeah, I'm really looking forward to our next shopping trip ;-)

Foggy Days 'N Restless Nights

This last week has been a rough one for me. Just haven't been feeling on top of my game. As the title says, my days have been foggy, no energy, and just not feeling good in general. I even took a couple naps throughout the week, which is really out of the ordinary for me! Had a hard time keeping up with even the most basic of tasks, and really didn't feel well enough to go in to town. Fortunately, I do my best to keep us stocked up in case of emergencies, so we had plenty to eat, and Pa was able to run down to the little local store for those perishable items we ran low on.

Saturday Night At The Movies

This week's feature presentation was Dr. Dolittle: Tail To The Chief. As with the previous movie, we missed seeing Eddie Murphy, but Kyla Pratt
is a fine actress, and this film was more entertaining for both the guys and the gals than #2 was. There were lessons to be learned in this film, which, as parent doesn't hurt my feelings in the least ;-). The Dr. Doolittle films are obviously not based on high reality, but make for fine family films, when you're looking for a more fun, light hearted fare but may be yearning for something beyond the animated choices in kids films. We're giving this one a 4 out of 5 stars rating.

Today, I'll be concentrating most my time on getting the weeks lessons together for the kids. Hopefully, before Friday arrives I'll have enough energy (both physical and mental) to think of something entertaining for "Fun Friday".

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!