Art

Drizzly Day in the Country

Just before 7:00 am this morning, I’ve always been an early riser, more Blue Jays than I had ever seen before swooped down in the drive to begin eating and drinking.  It was sprinkling and still very dark but I was able to make all of them out.  Knew that it would make an awesome picture with well over 10 Blue Jays only in this tight group.  Of course when I came back to that window after fetching my camera, at least half of them had flown away.  I quickly set the ISO to 800 but realized it was not working after the first two shots.  Not much better at 1600 ISO.  Hand held, dark and rainy.

I have been ill for over a week now with some kind of viral sore throat, bronchitis deal. I do get allergies around this time and I came down with it after running errands a couple of days in a row in thick fog. Even when I try to breathe through a scarf, it can still effect me adversely.
My apartment backs up to woods with all kinds of wildlife out here. Before I became ill I took pictures of some deer grazing right outside my window. I apologize for the poor quality of shooting through my screen. The windows have a special immovable screening that covers the entire window for safety and security or they are just cheap.

These are some shots I got a month or two before when I was outside, which are a little clearer. I try not to get to close and spook them as I did this fawn. His brother could care less I was there, he was hungry!

Sees me…
There’s his brother…
Both…
Starts to run…
Still running…
Going…
Going…
Gone!

These are even earlier still.

Notice me taking pictures..
keep eating…
Little one in the shrubs
Pops out…
Notices people coming…
They start to run away…

My next post I will be sharing my Cheesecake recipe with you all!  First Cheesecake in a very long time and sadly it will not be my last!  Next one will be Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Forgot to take a picture of a mock pumpkin mug cake that I nuked in 90 seconds.  Came out perfect.  Just a plain cake replaced liquid with Coffee-mate Pumpkin Spice.  I will include this recipe when I complete the Pumpkin one within the next couple weeks only adding some actual pumpkin pulp next time.  I just purchased the sugar pumpkin to pressure cook in my Instant Pot.  I prefer fresh pumpkin to the canned any day.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are very striking flowers and fields of them are so impressive to behold.  I have seen only two such fields that I can remember.  I used to grow a row of Sunflowers in my garden along the edge where our small cornfield was.  I really wish I would have taken pictures of that garden and many other things.  Photography was not a priority back then and was expensive to develop.

My post is dedicated to Sunflowers but I am thinking about my cornfields right now.  One year was dedicated to what I believe was the “Silver Queen” late corn, very sweet and tender, and another year we planted hulless popcorn.  Never together because of possible cross-pollination issues.  I have since found “hulless” at markets, but not often and none has ever been as tender as the popcorn we grew so many years ago.  We hung the ears out to dry and then stored them in large mason jars still on the ears, kernels removed right before popping.  Not sure of how to do this at first, we somehow dried them to perfection because they popped beautifully.

One of Those Nights

Wondering if I should move again.  Just not happy here but not unhappy either.

My wanderlust knows no bounds! Wish I had wings.

I think I need to start drinking, lol!  So jealous of those that can drink, enjoy it.  I never have.  It burns my mouth, I start to feel tired after a few sips, too many calories and a waste of money.


Love it out in the country, but sometimes I miss the noise, pollution and crime of the cities. Wait, no I don’t. I do miss the ability to shop and socialize with certain people that were always too busy for me even when I lived near them. To be fair, I was always too busy myself.

I really miss my sister!

As a writer and an artist, I am an introvert and empathic by nature.  It’s actually painful for me to socialize at times.  I love a good conversation with the right person but frankly most people bore me to tears or scare me.  Very few know how to actually converse about anything interesting, myself included unless I’m in the mood.  My sister was the extrovert and how I met some in my life that I would not have made the effort had she not been a part of my life and reached out to them.

Soon the summer will end….

and fall will begin….

My favorite time for some reason. Maybe all the pretty colors?
There’s that, Autumn colors, Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin everything, warm woolen sweaters, bonfires, apples, cool crisp air that is so welcome after hot, humid summers.

Butterflies Are Beautiful

I feel sad that our later generations might not ever see these beautiful creatures except in some “Butterfly House.”   Over 50 years ago butterflies were plentiful, this is no longer the case.

There are numerous reasons why this has happened.  Besides the overuse of pesticides and herbicides in our culture, most of our fields are now parking lots just like the song.

Enjoy these lovely Monarchs, it’s about time for their migration in Michigan. They claim they fly through the summer but I have usually seen them in late summer in my area.

Not sure what tiny butterfly was sitting on my doorbell.

Point Pelee National Park

Ontario, Canada.

Land where most of my people are from.

These are pictures from a trip taken 10 years ago with my digital.  It was very different from another trip taken there 20 years before that when our children were young and there were such nice bogs at the time.  Could not find that area, if it even exists anymore.  I have a few pictures taken with a disc camera from the 80’s of the bogs but if any of you are even familiar with that format, you know the quality was not very good.  I had a 35 mm but purchased a Kodak disc because it was smaller, auto focus and didn’t want to risk my good camera in that environment of water and sand.  I always took a cheap camera to the beach.

Mom found an old abandoned Coke machine in the woods.

 

Bog taken approximately 30 years ago at Point Pelee National Park, Kodak Disc camera.

 

Graphic Art Techniques & Attempts

Created using Microsoft PhotoDraw text and animation effects.

I have not done much in the way of fine arts in the last 20 years or more.  I am sadly out of practice.  Ever since I began taking more photographs and purchased my first Graphics Software, Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 version 2, I have gotten very lazy.  I have given up on the idea of spending many hours concentrating with pastel or paintbrush when I can receive the same results in a few minutes with my original photographs, a computer and decent software.  In fact I can do much more with less effort.  I am so spoiled that I thank God this was NOT around during the time of Rembrandt & Leonardo Da Vinci or we would have missed out on so many great works.  I do think that Da Vinci would have come up with  better software ideas than all of them!

I have really enjoyed the years I just experimented and piddled in all kinds of mediums just for the heck of it.  I posted the “Fish Curtain” I did with transfers and free hand painting on a muslin panel last year.

Please view the video I created presenting a few computer graphics followed by brief instructions for each.  If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments.