Bamboo Capture

I suppose it will come as no surprise that Mike and I enjoy taking photos of the world around us. We've done a little photo editing in the past and are very interested in doing more. The problem is that editing on a laptop is less than ideal. Making corrections to small areas that require intricate detail using a track pad or mouse is not easy.

Last weekend we undertook a project to help us visualize some changes we were discussing. Specifically, we were trying to figure out how a new landscape feature would fit into our yard. We wanted to compare a few different sites and positions so the idea would gel a little better in our minds.

We decided to mark off the areas we were considering so they would be visible, then we photographed the various sites. Next, we went to the store that sold the item(s) we were considering. We took photos at various angles that matched the angles we shot at home.

I planned to use Gimp for my edits, as I have had a lot of success with it in the past. As I contemplated how we would execute the project, the Bamboo tablet came to mind. My stepfather John introduced me to the Bamboo years ago. At the time, I didn't really understand its power and utility. Yesterday, the benefits hit me like a brick wall.

Bamboo makes a tablet and stylus system that lets you draw on the tablet to make precise edits to a document or image. After reviewing the various options, I decided the Bamboo Capture was the best fit for our long range uses. A quick trip to Best Buy (which included the use of some gift cards -- thank you, Dad) and we owned it!

The Capture as shown on Wacom's website

The Capture experience, also from Wacom

The Capture made short work of our editing task. I didn't read any instructions or follow any tutorials. The tablet was incredibly intuitive and easy to use out of the box.We place our item of consideration in several different spots and got to see the final look, with just a few clicks.

I am in love with the Bamboo... I can't wait to use it more!

Spring Weekend

We've been blessed with a warmer than normal Spring this year. All of the plants are blooming early, which means we have to start our work early, too.

Mike wanted to put down crabgrass killer on Saturday. The problem was that we have grass seed in the dozens of divets in the yard that we needed to protect. We came up with a solution.

The solution worked great, though we are still unhappy that the divets are there in the first place.

Next it was time to aerate. We haven't done it for so long and were really overdue.

While Mike was doing all this work, I did some planting.

3 new mugo pines

Heather by the patio (next to four others)

Heather by the milk house

A blueberry tree added to the stand of others we already have

As always, Mattie wanted in on the fun. He is such a helper.

 

How are you spending your Spring?

Hanging out

St. Patty's weekend was such beautiful weather that we decided to set up the patio early. We got out the table and chairs (and gave them a bath), the chiminea, patio heater and grill.

We had a great cook out for dinner on Sunday :)

Mattie patiently waited for his dinner. Too bad we didn't share :(

Early Spring

During our window installation on March 9, I took the opportunity to check out the flowers in the yard. I just love it that Spring has sprung early!

 

Beautiful!

Composting

Mike got me my first composter many years ago as a birthday gift (for which I asked). This retails for $169 today.

This photo is from Gardners.com; I do not know who this man is

He also got me the super hot compost starter so that we could get a jump on the process (retail $18.99).

 

We have used our composter non-stop since getting it in 2005 (I think). It is such a lovely source of good material for starting new plants and for sprinkling on our existing perennial beds. I'm thinking about compost again since Spring is on its way to see us -- pretty soon!

If you are interested in composting, you may consider checking out this great guide on which composting method is best for you over at TreeHugger. Their primer covers all the bases and will help you get started.

More flowers

Gosh, I am just flower obsessed and cat obsessed. Oh well, you knew already!

Mike's sister also gave us this plant...

So pretty!

A peony for your thoughts...

Our peonies are out now. I have snap pics quick while they last! Those pretty plants turn quickly...

I had fun taking photos of these... The first, from far away is in iAuto mode. The rest are in sepia and soft focus.

This plant was a gift from Mike's sister

soft focus 1

soft focus 2

sepia 1

sepia 2

I just love flowers!

Rhoddy-o

So, are you ready for day two of this week's flowers? Our second plant(s) to bloom this week are our rhododendrons.

By the barn and milk house

By the driveway

By the front door

By the road

Even though the first three photos are of the same color rhoddy, they are in fact different. Really!

Happy days!

Flower Power

Our lilacs had turned after our long weekend away. Bye bye blooms... But the lovely thing about our yard is that we have new blooms now!

First up, the iris(es).

I'll more for you in the next entry!

Busy Time, Quiet Times

We had a busy Columbus Day weekend. I posted some photos on Facebook (link to photos here, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114225&id=705851667&l=9d317e4b55, even if you don't have a FB account) to show the summary, so I won't duplicate here. Anyway, we cut the grass, cut back plantings, and started cleaning the barn on Friday. We continued progress on Saturday by getting and unloading a ton of pellets and then sealing the driveway. On Sunday we completed the barn and worked on screening some of our giant mound (7 yards) of compost from the neighbor.

We celebrated our hard work by dinner out at PF Changs on Sunday night. It was our first visit and we really enjoyed the food. We got the Chang's for Two ($39.95) which included 2 soups (our choice: egg drop), 1 starter (our choice: calamari), 2 entrees (our choice: Mongolian beef and Almond & Cashew chicken), and 2 desserts (our choice: carrot cake and chocolate layer cake). Yum!

Monday was technically our day off. We took a quick trip up to Tougas Farm (named one of the top 10 apple picking orchards in the US by USA Today) and got some doughnuts, apple cider, and pre-picked apples. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so napped while Mike finished shoveling compost.

And now we're back to a regular work week ;)

Even though I haven't blogged lately, I have been thinking about it. The post below from Hooked on Houses caught my eye today. We all know of the Curtis family. I really enjoyed the pictures of their house -- what a great place to live! So, here I am back on action, and sharing little tidbits. Enjoy!

Tony Curtis & Janet Leigh’s House in Palm Springs:

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh were one of Hollywood’s Golden Couples in the 1950s and early ’60s. Who could forget Tony Curtis in movies like Some Like It Hot (a personal favorite of mine), or Janet Leigh in Psycho? This old Life magazine photo was taken of them in 1959 at home with their daughters Kelly and Jamie Lee. The contemporary California home they lived in–which they nicknamed “Camp Curtis”–is on the market for $1.295 million.

According to the listing by Marc Lange of Capitis Real Estate, the 3,204 square-foot house is in the Movie Colony neighborhood of Palm Springs. There are 5 bedrooms and 5 baths.

Tony Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz. Janet Leigh was born Jeanette Morrison. Bernard Schwartz and Jeannette Morrison don’t have quite the same ring as Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, do they?

Tony Curtis was Janet’s third husband. She married her first husband when she was only 14 (!). Curtis left Janet in 1962 for a 17-year old German actress named Christine Kaufmann.

Janet Leigh died in 2004 at the age of 77. Tony Curtis is now in his 80s and married to his 5th wife.

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh’s daughter Jamie Lee Curtis is an actor, photographer, and a children’s author.

It would be hard to beat these views:

For more photos and information, check out this article from the LA Times or see the real estate listing. (Thanks to Nita for telling me about this!)

Check out my Celebrity Houses page for links to all the famous houses I’ve featured. Most popular this week: Star Stylist Rachel Zoe and Coco Chanel.

Looking for something unique and beautiful for your table? I’m loving this Crumpled Porcelain Collection and Sapling flatware from My Sparrow.

Fun Weekend

Please don't let the lack of posts let you think something is amiss in our little world. We've been having a good time, and that has kept me from having time for blogging!

We took Friday as a vacation day and headed to camp for a long weekend.  We got up Friday morning ready for an adventure. I starting with an attempt to make Aebelskivers, a Norweigan treat, for breakfast. The experiment ended up being a messy flop, but we had fun all the same. I tried two batches before giving up and make a giant pancake for two with the remaining batter.

Next, we headed off for a hike to Rounds Mountain.



View Larger Map

We used to make the hike, top to bottom, in one and a half hours. We knew the path would be overgrown, but gave it a shot.

We greatly underestimated the degree of over-growth. The path was barely passable. It was covered with weeds and briar coated plants that reached out and snagged us.  It took us about 40 minutes to cut a trail 1/2 mile long. Mike used this feet instead of the clearly needed machete or scythe that we did not bring. He was covered with cuts and blood and we were both drenched in sweat when we decided to turn around and bail.

We got back to camp only to realize we'd both being cut to ribbons. Even though I trailed Mike, my fragile skin looked worse for the wear. Below is a photo showing part of the damage. It was taken 24 hours after the hike.

That part of my legs didn't actually look too bad... Luckily, a few soaks later and I am looking much better.

Our next adventure was a trip to Bob's to find out the extent of damage to our trailer. We noticed a wet carpet in the bedroom. They investigated and found that a trim piece had dried out caulking that was letting water wash into the insulation below the trailer. It all has to be replaced, as well as removing and replacing some caulking around the outside. Fortunately the damage was caught very early on. We were lucky.

We headed back to camp and ended up having happy hour with friends. The time was happy and fun until Mike was trying to staple a tablecloth to a table using a staple gun and stapled his thumb instead. Ouch! He didn't even blink, he just pulled the 1/2" staple out of his thumb. He was really hurting on the inside. Fortunately, the healing process seems to be going smoothly. No swelling, no discoloration, no temperature. The site is very sensitive when he hits it wrong and his outer thumb is partially numb. He may or may not go to the doctor (boys).

We hung out at the fire and had a nice evening Friday night, then off to bed! Saturday was the Ghetto event, a pig roast. We needed to rest up. The event ended up being a lot of fun. There was a corn hole championship with a $50 first prize. Food was good and socializing was great.

We came home Sunday in time to have lunch, go for ice cream, cut the grass, wash the cars, and wax the Accord before dinner. Whew! What a weekend!

We hope you had fun, too! Smiles!

Coyotes, Calves, and Mattie. Oh My!

Last night was pretty interesting on a variety of levels. We were out weeding when the neighbor's son came by. They had run out of gas at the bottom of the hill and had a load of dairy calves they were transporting to Kathy's barn. The father was able to get the calves in the barn while Mike took the son down to the gas station for gas.

On the way to the gas station the son mentioned that they've seen coyotes around their house. One even followed him down the driveway recently. Hmmm, that doesn't bode so well for Mattie. We haven't seen a coyote for about 5 years, but I guess they are out there lurking.

I visited the calves in the barn. Two are about a week old, and the new load of five are just days old. They are so tiny and very sweet! Apparently they were "no sales" at auction, so they are very skinny (all bulls). I hope they make it.

Mike visited with the neighbor when he returned from the trip for gas. As we understand, the coyote are not the only threat to Mattie. Apparently Mattie starts his own problems... He decided to take a trip up to the neighbor's yard Tuesday and managed to get in the pen for the sled dogs (12 or 14 of them). They don't like cats. Someone in the house was able to get Mattie out in time.

The part of the story I've omitted involves Mattie sitting (yes, sitting) in the middle of the street. Heavens, this cat is too carefree. I'm wondering how many of his 9 lives remain. I hope there are still a bunch!

I'll try an get some photos of the calves. In the meantime, stay happy!

My Super Nerdiness has been Reiterated...

I know I am super nerdy. You do, too. We all know it...

Given that intro, you won't be surprised to know that I was almost doing back flips in excitement when I noticed Wednesday that Google Street View now includes our house. Woo hoo!!!






View Larger Map


You know I couldn't let my excitement stop there... Nope. No way. I had to call Mike on his cell phone right away. I took a screen shot. Then I analyzed exactly when the photo was taken.

If you examine the image closely, as only I can, you will see some clues:

1. Our mailbox (just off the screen but viewable in Google Maps) is the white one. We use this one for the winter season.
2. The driveway posts are still up. We remove them after cutting the lilies but before the first snow. This means we were in Fall or Spring.
3. The lilies have greenery. It must be late Fall because they'd be tiny at the point in the Spring when the first two situations would exist. The greenery is also a little yellowed.
4. The trees still have leaves and the leaves have not turned. That moves the time of year to late Sept or very early Oct.
   
5. The double-tipped spruce tree is still standing. I posted about losing 1/2 of it in June 2008. The remainder of the tree was removed in September 2008.

Given the 5 points above, I deduced that the street view imagery was collected late in Fall 2007. I have no idea when the imagery was posted to Google's public servers, but it had to have been recent. I use Google Maps for directions all the time and would have noticed.

There are other fun things to note.  Our truck is in the driveway, but Google kind of fuzzed it. The cones are up on the edge of the driveway, so it must have been rainy around then. Both the lilacs and the tree by the driveway look very small. The lilacs are almost touching the power lines now and that tree is huge. Could it have been 2006? But, if you look at the horse paddock it is pretty overgrown. In 2006, Finale would have still been around (Connor and Fiona would have been 2, and I know we were still feeding her then). The neighbor's old car is in front of their barn. The girls got rid of that and got new cars when they graduated college in May 2008. The section of Reservoir St between Castle Rd and Crawford was missing until very recently... Gosh. I know no one cares about this but us, but I am entranced!

Cool!!!

Eee Yuck!

Image from Herpnet 

Does  that picture look nice to you? It sure as heck didn't look nice to me... It is pretty much what I saw on our porch yesterday when I stepped outside. The ugly thing was all curled up sleeping between Mattie's water bowl and the house on the back stoop.


UMass Amherst describes the snake this way:

Milk Snake

Lampropeltis triangulum (24-36", up to 52")
A boldly patterned snake, the milk snake has a light gray to tan body covered with reddish-brown blotches bordered in black. Larger blotches on the back alternate with smaller ones on each side. The head is patterned, usually with a light colored "Y" or "V" within a reddish-brown patch. Smooth scales give this attractive snake a shiny or glossy appearance. The belly is patterned with an irregular checkerboard of black on white. Similarity of patterns causes some to confuse it with the copperhead; however, the copperhead lacks any pattern on the head. Tail rattling may also lead some to mistake it for a rattlesnake, although the two species look quite different.

Mating generally occurs in May, with females depositing 3-24 eggs in June and July. Eggs are deposited under rocks, boards or other debris, in rotting vegetation, stumps or logs, or small mammal burrows, and usually hatch in August and September.

Woodlands, fields, rocky hillsides and borders of wetlands provide natural habitat for milk snakes. They are also commonly found around houses, barns and outbuildings. Small mammals are the preferred prey of milk snakes, who are able to enter burrows and consume young in their nests. Milk snakes routinely eat other snakes, and may also take birds and bird eggs, frogs, fish, earthworms, slugs and insects. Primarily nocturnal, milk snakes can be found during the day under rocks, logs, or other cover. Although they are not very aggressive, milk snakes will bite and spray musk if handled.

I describe it as "Eeew!" You might not be surprised by my strong negative reaction upon seeing this thing. I back into the house and started a low keen-scream mix which crescendoed in vibrance and volume as I backed into the kitchen over by the stove. Mike was standing by the cocktail table repeatedly asking, "What's wrong?! What's wrong?!" I stiltedly replied, "There's a snake by the door!" He went out and poked it with a broom. The icky specimen was so sleepy it didn't really react. It finally crawled itself under the stoop to hide. I wish we would have killed the stinking thing.

All in all, my reaction was pretty funny. Mike and I were cracking up as we thought about it later...

So, welcome to our animal kingdom. We are rich in woodchucks this year (we seem to have a whole family living in the stone walls and our barn), birds, deer (or deer parts), and now snakes. I have been giving Mattie a hard time because he isn't bring in any dead mice. I guess the snake has dibs? In hindsight, we've had nary a mole or vole either... I guess we know why.

Have a snake-free day!

Flowers

I don't have much news to post today. Last night we were out in the yard (mowing) and I noticed more of my pretty flowers are in bloom. I am so lame that I took pictures to share.

Pretty Peonies

Aromatic Chives

Siberian Iris

Two-toned Iris

 

Not a flower, but my honey is the best!

Have a happy day!