Tony Tiger (yes, he now has a name) and Jazz aka Jazz-man aka Jazzy. It is difficult to get a picture of both of them. This is the best I’ve taken since they were tiny babies. Tony Tiger has a sore on his nose. Guess he stuck it somewhere it didn’t need to be. They are happy to see me in the afternoons and I’ve finally gained Tony’s trust. He’s still a little leery, but once I touch him, he’s fine. Jazz is like Muffin, he loves attention.
A cemetery stroll this afternoon yielded these old, old tombstones. I’ve actually read the diary of the patriarch of this family and found their daily lives were interesting. At the time of his writings, the horse and buggy were still the mode of transportation and trips into town were few and far between. He was one of the first judges in this area and owned acres and acres of land. You can certainly tell by the size of these tombstones compared to the other old markers from the same time period they were prosperous members of the community. Time has not been kind to the old stones, but the names are still legible and even though they have been long dead, I feel as if I know them after reading the judge’s words.
Samanthie said: “Use the shape however you wish..as a window, stained glass, tile etc. just make it so the image can be seen within the challenge. Distortion is fine as long as the shape isn’t so distorted it can’t be seen..”
My design…
Back in action here and I am oh so happy again. Seems back when the antenna pole blew over that was holding the wireless radio receiver (I think that’s what it is called), the guys that repaired everything spliced into the existing wire coming around the eaves and into the house. It got wet at the splice with the recent rains and shorted out. It didn’t harm the receiver which meant the tech guy didn’t have to climb the tower or lower the pole to replace the receiver. There are huge trees across the road from our home and in the direct path of our precious signal and the reason our receiver is stuck up in the air so far. They tell me now they have better receivers and if we ever have to replace this one, they can try mounting it on the rooftop instead of high in the sky. Anywho, anyway, anyhow…. I once again hope I never, ever, ever have to deal with dialup for more than a day at a time. It drives me nuttier than I already am! 
I went out late yesterday afternoon with my camera and walked in one of our pastures looking for photographic opportunities. Well… dumb me was on the wrong side of the trees by the time I realized the sunset was gorgeous and disappearing very fast. By the time I made it to a clearing, the sun was gone. Guess I’ll learn to pay attention to the skies instead of the stinky ol’ cows! 
p.s. Our wireless went down last night and the backup dialup wouldn’t let me connect either. I’m on dialup now and the tech guy is coming out tomorrow. They can’t find what’s wrong on their end, so it must be here at the house. OH! How I miss the speed! 
My original photo of this fall display was not great, so I spent some relaxing time tonight playing with it.
Muffin’s kitten is hard to photograph. His eyes disappear into that black fur or the background around him is washed out. I have tried to enhance this photo in PSP and so far, this is the best I have. Believe me, I’ve tried many times to get a decent shot! He’s a sweet cat and we are keeping him. He and his brother are fun to watch wrestle and play and I do not want to part with either one of them. At least they won’t be depositing babies under the house!
And I know I’m not done! I spent an hour snapping photos this afternoon and once again, the yellow baby is the most photogenic. I’ll eventually post more, but I think this is my favorite of the captures. I caught his face (minus the tip of his ear) and really liked this pose while he was wrestling with his mama.
Oh! One more thing, this photo was made with my Konica Minolta SLR camera, not the point and shoot recently purchased. While the Canon is fantastic for the price, convenience, size and ease of use, it just doesn’t hold a candle to the SLR, but it is not supposed to! Canon makes top of the line SLR’s too (for those of you that do not know) and they are the choice of professional photographers as well as amateurs. I just don’t happen to own one.
Ed already had a film Minolta camera and lenses when I started researching my camera purchase two years ago. I went with the Minolta because he had those lenses and they are interchangeable with the digital. So, if you think I’m a consumer that hangs with the same brand over and over, that’s not the case. We’ve been Canon and Minolta fans for years… even had a couple of Casio digital cameras. Ed is using a Sony right now and I’ve had a hankering to try a Nikon too. I doubt that will ever happen, but you just never know what may come your way…. right? No law saying we can’t eventually try them all…. or is there?
I could live like this year round! Seriously, cool enough at night to pull covers, warm/hot enough to still wear my shorts in the daytime. I’m sure I would miss the changing of the seasons, but I do believe I could live without the hellish heat of the summers and the sometimes (okay rarely) icy cold winters.
Of course my online friends from the frozen north would laugh at me for thinking my winters were cold when theirs are far worse… as in -40 below (or more) windchills? Can you imagine? Me neither and I don’t really want to think about it. I’ll simply enjoy what the fall brings and be thankful for the rest of my seasons too!
Patricia said, “You can do what you like as long as the Challenge shape can be seen.”
I created the background and the scene on the flag ages ago. The flag creation and the jack o’lantern are new.
