Old age ain't no place for sissies. ~Bette Davis

Last week we spent the day at my mother in law's house. We helped her celebrate her 92th birthday.

This is a woman of fortitude and will power.

Her name is Violetta, or Vi. I have known her for fifty one years.
These are the two people who take care of her.

This is Vi's daughter and her granddaughter. They make it possible for Vi to stay in her home now that she is in her 90's and I think they deserve a special cake too... but we only got a birthday cake for the birthday girl.

At 90 Vi took a nasty fall and broke quite a few bones, but she recovered.
At 91, a few months ago, she fell again trying to straighten some curtains. She left her walker in the hall way and strolled over to the window in her bedroom, to straightened the drapes. When she backed up she trip on a suitcase that was being prepared for a Mothers day trip to Reno. She is still recovering from that fall and has a leg gash that is not healing.
Her life has become a controlled dance of limited behavior.
Has it been 12 years since she was dancing at my son's wedding? She was always ready for parties and
get-togethers with friends and family. She loved to get all dolled up and go on "dates" with her husband, who is gone now. She loved him so.
Now life is quiet and as she puts it, " A bit boring." But, she is an example of strength and "Don't show them that you're cryin'." She practices what she preaches. She has always told me that there is no way but through something and no use in fussing about things that you have no control over.
So, she is growing old gracefully... and rather quietly... with family to take care of her.

We went to her favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. She ordering a burrito, eating less than half and taking the rest home... but she still ate some cake and ice cream.
Happy Birthday, Grandma. You are an example to us all.

Gourd art with Dremels and Other Dilemmas of Life

I hosted our SCAT art group at my house on Wednesday and because of some wonderful quirk of nature, the weather cooperated by being cooler than usual. This was a nice change in the weather and fortunate, because we had to work on our project outside. It was still very warm but not into the 100's like the week before.
My friend, Mary Jane, did a mini workshop on using a Dremel drill to decorate the outside of a gourd.
She showed us a beautiful example of what we needed to work toward.

And explained, in detail, how to achieve this affect using the right drill bits. How we would cut the curves into the gourd and remove the brown outside layer, leaving just the right amount to "shade the edges.

In theory, I understood what she was telling us and some of us caught on really fast. Some of us are very good at this sort of thing. Some of us had already started on this project ahead of time.

Me?... not so much.

Wait! I'm not finished yet. Staying on a curved line with a tool that moves clockwise, when you're left handed and want to go to the LEFT, is hard. I used a broken piece of gourd because I wanted to practice. Kind of looks like Freddie Kruger's scratch marks in Nightmare on Elm Street doesn't it?
Mary Jane was so kind. She helped all of us and tried to show me what I was, obviously, doing wrong.
We all worked diligently. The afternoon got quite a bit warmer.

We wore our masks when drilling. Gourd dust is notorious for creating chaos in the lungs, so you always want to wear some kind of mask while your working on one.

It was getting quite warm in the sun so everyone was trying to sit closer to the house, in the shade... except for the "redhead". She was trying for a suntan, like me. Some of us always try. I've been trying since I was in junior high school. You'd think that I would learn.

Red was doing a great job with the "curves". So, I kept working on my piece of artwork and even thought Mary Jane presented us with another gourd to inspire...

I never quite got it. This is how it looked right before I said something like, " I'm going to take a break and do what I know how to do."  Under my mask I was sweating and swearing to myself.

Just remember that in showing all of you this, I'm pouring out my insecurities and laying them on the table. Please do not comment on the quality of this gourd piece. It's hard to admit that carving is not "my thing", but it obviously isn't.

I brought more ice tea and water out to everyone, got my camera and did MY thing. Then we moved inside for dessert and drinks with lots of ice in them. We sat and enjoyed each others company. This is such a wonderful group of woman. I'm glad I know all of them.
They weren't allowed to leave until they took some tomatoes and I offered them some hollyhock seeds to go. I've been drying all the seeds and I have A LOT. Only three people took me up on my offer to send hollyhock seeds to them. The will each receive enough for their whole neighborhood shortly.

That night I came back from my walk and stayed out in the garden until after dark. I shot this photo of a French marigold just before dark with my new Speedlight flash and diffuser.

Then, when it got really dark, I took a flashlight and back lit the same marigold, without a flash, and got this shot.

And then the moon...

which will be full in three days. It's the first time I had EVER gotten detail on the moon surface. I'm so pleased. It's not tack sharp but I'll work on this until I get a good one. I want to work on the back lighting because the photography forum, that I joined, is having a contest using the technique called Contre-jour. This means "into the light". You can read about it here. I can't wait to work on this process and see what I can do with it. 
I think I was over compensating for my gourd drilling failure...staying outside in the dark... trying to do something amazing and creative, but the bottom line is that you can't be good at everything. Life is short... you have to pick your battles and your artistic endeavors.
I can loose time (and myself) when I'm walking around with my camera. I realize that photography truly is a passion and I can only say that about a few efforts in my life. Like raising children, gardening and writing stories, photography takes dedication and a willingness to swallow your ego, love what your doing and fertilizing your brain with information about the subject.  These special things in my life were and are a challenge, a learning process and  most of all they need PASSION.
 Next month we are going to do some felting at our SCAT meeting. I CAN DO FELTING. I can felt my little heart out. My confidence is back all ready, just thinking about it.

Wordless Wednesday: Last Hollyhocks

Wordless Wednesday: My Bumbles

Medusa... with doll parts

I've been having a summer slow down. I just haven't been able to come up with blog subjects that are interesting and noteworthy... until this afternoon.
My daughter in law, Robbin, sent me this photo that she took at the Exploratorium in San Francisco today. She took the Beans (my grandchildren) to see all the wonderful things there are to see in this amazing place.
This is the photo she sent me.

Scary isn't it? Just one of the most bizarre thing you've ever seen? It's completely made up of doll parts... feet, hands, body parts and a couple of very wicked eyeballs. Even the beam of light coming in from the window adds to the strange feeling of the piece. It's called Medusa and the artist is Freya Jobbins.
I will be going to the Art Is You workshop in Petaluma this fall, with my sister, and one of the classes that we are going to take is called Wild Things. The teacher, Clarissa Callesen, will show us how to make strange dolls from old stuffed animals and doll parts. My daughter in law thought that "Medusa" would inspire us for this class. It certainly does.

Then, my oldest son spent last week in Las Vegas. He sent this photo of the downtown casinos and the fire that was burning on the hills outside of town on Mt. Charleston. I think this is a really good photo and wanted to share it with you.

 I would love to see Las Vegas again. We've only been there once, many years ago. It was 118 degrees in the shade. Now, that's "fry an egg on the sidewalk" weather. We saw Arnold Schwarzenegger‎ at Lake Mead, asked him for an autograph (for our boys) and he refused. He said he didn't sign autographs on vacation. I've never forgotten that. I didn't vote for him when he ran for governor. Maybe that was my way of saying, "What would it have hurt to give us an autograph for our boys." There were other reasons I didn't vote for him, but that incident has always stuck in my craw. This was before the Terminator, before Maria and before politics. He was just starting out. He was bodybuilding and had been in a few movies. There was no one around. He had three bodyguards with him, on an empty dock. What would it have hurt?
Las Vegas is bigger and has more amazing casinos now. It kind of looks like Disneyland doesn't it?
Some day we will go down there again, in Fall or Winter, and then the ol' Prospector and I could continue into Arizona and drive to the town of Williams, where you can get on a train and go on a tour of the Grand Canyon. Just another trip to add to our "bucket" list.
Hope your weekend was a relaxing one. Take care.

Wordless Wednesday: Beautiful Distortions

Rafting on the Mokelumne

A couple of weekends ago our oldest son came up for a visit. We surprised him with a raft trip down the Mokelumne River.
 The Prospector and I had been on the American River, above Sacramento, with the boys and some friends  many years ago. The water had been very still and we actually had to get out and push the boat down stream that time. We had fun, but it wasn't exactly white water rafting. This was different.
This trip was put on by a group called ORRS and the Foothill Conservancy, who want to make this river into a wild and scenic designated river so it can be protected from dams, water agencies and other foolish people. I need to learn more about this, so I can't tell you too much. I'm learning myself. I only know that this is a beautiful river and if it's not protected someone will come along and muck it up like so many other natural places.
We met at the local supermarket parking lot and signed in. Then they put us in a van and drove us to the river. We went south on highway 49 to Electra Rd, then east along the river to a beach called Box. I have no idea why it's called Box but that's its name.
They gave us life jackets and helmets and showed us how to wear them, how to use the orrs, how to listen to our fearless leader and how to fall out of the raft graceful. Falling into the water was not something that I intended to do, but you have to know WHAT to do if it happens.

The Prospector and I ended up in a raft with six other folks... seven adults and a 10 year old girl. The young girl sat in the middle of the raft, didn't row and never said a word during the whole trip. Our son was in another raft. We wanted to be together but it just didn't work out that way. Which was good because I didn't have to act like I wasn't scared when we hit the rapids.
\You will notice that there are no pictures taken in the rapids. That's because you are rowing, leaning, listening to the leader tell you what to do and  generally working your tail end off so you don't hit a boulder and  dump everyone into the water. It's way more work than it appears when you watch from the shore.

When I had a few minutes of not rowing, I got my little point and shoot camera out of its Ziploc bag and took some shots of the river and some of the scenery. I didn't bring my good Nikon camera. Just my luck it would have been thrown into the water at some point and that would have been the end of a very expensive camera. I have decided to buy a waterproof camera for this kind of adventure... with a float attached so it doesn't sink. think of the possibilities. They're not too expensive. Our guide had one attached to his Cotton Carrier. The small camera was right in front of him and hands free. All he had to do was turn it on. He was shooting video and having the camera on his vest front was really handy. He recommended a Nikon  Coolpix AW100.

Some guy was fishing. He said he hadn't caught anything yet, but he sure looked like he was having a good time just being on the river.

I loved the parts of the river where it was deep and smooth. Rivers are like pacifiers for the soul when they are moving slow and deep. You feel yourself being wooed by the peacefulness of the water and the sound of the raft moving through it. You hear birds and sometimes cows mooing on the surrounding hills... and the sound of water. That's all... OH, and the sound of screaming coming from the folks in the boat behind you as they go through the last bunch of rapids. Then yells of "WE DID IT!"

 We could have gotten out and walked home from here. We live close by, but this was the first time in 15 years that we had been IN a boat ON the river.
The rapids were really fun. Only one was a class 3. The rest were very exciting, but not too difficult to negotiate for us... the "newbies".
I'm hooked. I would go again.  It's an adrenaline rush to go down rapids, rowing and avoiding the rocks and potholes and getting wet... and having the boat turn backwards or almost flip. You have more control that I ever thought you did. It's all about maneuvering the boat correctly and rowing fast, slow, forward and back to control where you go. We all worked very hard at it, listening to our guide and moving together to get through the rapids and into the wide quiet areas. It was truly an exciting and fun experience.
We reached the Middle Bar area and the "take out" for the rafts. We had to carry the rafts up from the river and help get them on the trailers.

Then we climbed into the vans and they returned us to the store parking lot in town.

They only do this a couple of times a year. So if you live anywhere near the Mokelumne River call 800-3-GO-OARS and have some fun. Children have to be 8 years or older.The little girl with us was 10 and I think that the rapids were a little scary for her.  A few times I asked her if she was OK, she shook her head up and down... but she never said a word.
Pacific Gas & Electric controls the Electra Dam and the water flow for the river. You have to be very careful not to swim, float or kayak, by yourself, on this part of the river because of the changing water levels... but going with a group and experienced guides is a safe and wonderful experience.
I'm so glad that we got to do this. We plan on doing it again next year.

Sunday photo fun

I was fooling around with some images I took in the garden on one of those really hot nights last week. I call this faux HDR. Here's what HDR really means. I was just playing around with putting identical photos together.
I took two images that were identical. Lighten the jpeg image and left the RAW image as is. Then I merged then together on Picassa, did a bit of darkening, sharpening and cropping on the new "collage" photo and here it is.
This group of bees were settling in for the night.

They always sleep in the flowers, out in the garden, but this was the first time I had seen this many on one flower. There were six or seven of them vying for sleep space.
Still working on my focusing. Practice, practice, practice. 

Hope you're weekend was a happy one.

(Taken with a Nikon D5100 camera and a Nikon 105mm macro lens.)

Paying attention is required

Happy 4th everyone.

I hope that all of you are having fun , staying cool, eating good food and enjoying family.
Spent the week here by myself. The Prospector went on a fishing trip in British Columbia and has been gone all week. When he leaves for any length of time, this is when Murphy's law always seems to rear its ugly head. This morning it was in the form of a huge Rattlesnake.
We have a resident King snake that lives under the old goat house, but he has either gone on to better hunting grounds or been dispatched by a hawk or owl. Haven't seem the King in a while. He is obviously not taking care of business around here.
This morning, early, the dogs were barking at the back door. I thought they saw the cat. She likes to prance around where they can see her and then runs into the garage, just to annoy them.
I yelled something like, "Hey, stop barking at Annie." and they ignored me... kept barking and started doing their "something wild has entered the area" bark. Cutter gets a sort of hysterical edge to his bark and turns in circles. That he was doing.
I went to the back door and looked out toward the garage.
There it was, slithering across the concrete, the biggest Rattler I've seen in a long, long time.
This is when I went into overdrive. I called my neighbor and he said he would be there as fast as he could.
We always have a plan. The Prospector had already showed me where to grab the bucket and the "snake wrangler", a long tube with a rope inside of it that you pull to tighten.  The plan was for me to loop this around the snakes head and lift it into the bucket. But this was a BIG snake.
I took the wrangler, left the dogs in the house and went out through the front door and around to the front of the garage. I found a container... a big, empty, green plastic planter. It was deep enough, I thought, but now I wasn't sure I wanted to do this. When I looked down the sidewalk I could see the snakes head right at the corner of the garage. I hoped that it would stay right there until my neighbor came. It did.
"D" arrived, had his revolver with him and we went through the garage and came out a door that put us behind the snake. It was over before I knew what happen. The big snake was dead.

 

My neighbor is a very good shot.
This was an old Western Diamondback Rattlesnake and a beautiful specimen.

It was a venomous snake that chose to come into my yard. I can't tell you how this pains me, but I cannot have these rattlers near the house. If I were braver, I would scoop them up and take them to the river like I use to, but when they are this big, and as I get older, I cannot try to relocate them and I will not just scoot them away. We have had too many larger dogs bitten and I will not take the chance with my Corgis.

This one had 14 rattles.
The more a Rattlesnake sheds, the more segments are added to its rattle. When the Rattlesnake vibrates its tail, the segments click together to produce the buzzing rattle sound.

The smooth pear-shaped button of new born Rattlesnake

An unbroken rattle with a button at its tip

A broken rattle ending in a tiered nubbin

The tissue that makes up the rattle is like a thin brittle fingernail. Just as a human can tear a fingernail, when the rattle gets longer than about 8-10 segments, some may break off and be lost. If the string of rattle segments ends in a smooth rounded button, all the segments are there and the rattle is complete. If the rattle string ends in a squarish or tiered nubbin, the rattle has been broken and some segments have been lost.
  You cannot tell a Rattlesnake's age by simply counting its rattles.

(The above information is from this site. Thanks to F. Wayne King for the illustrations.) 


This seemed like an old rattler with a broken set of rattles.

The end of the rattle was rough and broken.

Its markings were really amazing.

"D" took the snake with him. He will skin the snake and freeze the meat. This is a good thing. At least the snake will be of some value as food.
The weather is still very hot. I check the whole front yard, bushes and all the corners where a snake might be resting, before I let Carl and Cutter out. This is a labor of love.
They have their anti venom shots but they are little dogs and must be protected.
Annibel, our barn cat, takes her chances everyday. I always check the chicken boxes before I retrieve the eggs.
I continue to watch everywhere.

"Look before you leap, for snakes among sweet flowers do creep."~German proverb~
( and along garage walls, under wood piles and in unsuspecting corners.)

Have a Happy 4th of July.

Wordless Wednesday: Seagull... on the edge.