After the rye harvest

After the rye harvest
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

This morning on the way to water exercises at the pool at Crooked River Lodge. I was glad I had left early because it gave me time to take more than 100 shots of this assemblage of nine sandhill cranes and about 50 Canada Geese. (This is only half the field.) The backlighting was intense and I only had the purse camera which only goes out to 3x. Still, I cranked off about 140 photos, including some nice ones of them flying away. This is the largest group of cranes I have seen all summer; there is a family of four that have been here and there in grain fields and cut hayfields for the last month. They are the ones that breed in the Waldron Fen, I think. The crane migration must have begun with the more northerly cranes because I have been seeing groups of them in the sky for almost two weeks, calling to each other and flying south.

The clouds are swan-white

The clouds are swan-white
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

I could post a swan photo every day for a month, but I plan to restrain myself. Some people don't bother, but I like a little restraint myself.
This morning at senior citizen's water exercise, the topic seemed to be recipes for the George Foreman grill. One woman does bacon in hers. Another marinates chicken in oil, balsalmic vinegar and tarragon before grilling. She also does mandoline-cut sliced raw potatoes. She never uses butter or grease, but has a butter-flavored spray. There were so many grilled sandwiches that I couldn't keep track.
A different topic develops every day--it is sort of interesting to see what will come up. Since the teacher is looking for a house to rent and/or buy, there has been a lot of real estate discussion. One day last week we heard a lot about nearby camping places at the various lakes and parks near here. We have only had one day of gruesome accident stories. I do notice a refreshing lack of health complaining. The pool is at the Crooked Lake Lodge and is VERY clean. Most of the people I've met (not everyone comes every day--today there were only four of us) have lived in MIchigan for many years, if not all their lives. So they have seen a lot of changes, as have we all.
Good night.

Mother and Cygnet

P1220899squ
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

These guys were quite willing to pursue our boat for corn chips. It's not a good idea to feed wildlife, but I have to say that someone else had surely been doing it before my grandsons started. Such eager consumption! Don't they look fine against the dark water??
I am trying to do too many things at once, and this blog is only a token of my confusion. Do I want poetry, haiku, photography, literary analysis or art?? Beats me.
But tomorrow is another day. Good thing.

Emu in sepias

Emu in sepias
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

Emu rules! The hair look is astounding, as is the regal glare, I snap a few every time we take our dachshunds to the kennel near our son's home. I did a very slight fiddle on this one and I like how it came out. For some reason it reminds me of Toulouse-Lautrec's poster of Jane Avril. I'll have to figure out why. The colors? The personality? The trouble with these fiddles is that the first one is always the most interesting and when I try to make a similar one, it doesn't turn out as well.
Only three more days until I have to fly away for Greece. My suitcase will weigh just about 30 pounds if I don't bring the folding stool, which is quite hard for me to use. Then I have a backpack with two cameras and a few other things, including some spares if my luggage is lost. (Shoes, underwear, toothbrush and T-shirt, contact lenses and spare glasses.) And an adjustable pillow filled with those little plastic beads. Wish me luck!!

Easter Joy

Easter Joy 2
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

It's been a while since Easter and I am still working on the photos. We had quite a lovely egg-coloring session, thanks to daughter-in-law J. who brought the supplies. The beautiful focus and attention of a child this age is so pure and lovely to be around! I'm going to visit her and the little sister next week.
I've been tired and cross today for no real reason. I got another list of the birds of Greece. I doubt I'll see many of them. I asked the trip leader which birds he saw on his last trip and he mentioned the pier mascot pelican on Mykonos and lots of pigeons! Oh, well . . .
A dog named Amber has been reading this blog. Woof, Amber!

San Diego Birds

San Diego Birds
Originally uploaded by jhhymas

In a blog about memory,sometims you have to go backwards. This is from a long-ago trip to San Diego's Wild Animal Park. It's a view from the train. I love all the bird shapes and even the funky blue color, caused I suppose, by the film and the shadowed light. Or by cheap developing from a slide, I seem to remember. I thought it was a great photo at the time, but now I have gotten better. I particularly loved the egret shapes in this, but the other birds are great, too. It was a long time ago, and with my special friend, Diane.

I found an amazing blog today that makes me embarrassed to be doing this one. The author is a poet and reviews operas, books and other things from Washinton, D.C. Another blog is a cooperative effort by several people and the things they put up are really substantial and interesting. When I learn how to make links, I want to link to blogs like these. Good night!