Aerie Report, November 11, 2009

A quiet and swiftly passing day here at the Aerie. The sky was overcast much of the day giving it a somber aspect. The temperatures have returned to normal for November and there are no signs of their rising much in the next two weeks. No precipitation is being forecast until the middle of next week. All the rain from Ida seems to be destined to pass to our southeast.

Sunset from the Aerie's deck.

I really like this shot in the context of fighting Global Warming. In this one view there are three things at work to lower the earth's temperatures. 1- The "green" technology of the windmills. 2- The photosynthesis of the trees removing "evil" CO2 from the atmosphere. 3- The sun is setting...which is probably the strongest of the three in the short term. There will be frost in the morning!

******

I attended a meeting of the Grand Canyon Photography Club last evening over in Wellsboro. Just something to get me out of the house a little more and get to learn how I should be taking and editing my pictures. My birding bud, Gary, is a member--although he wasn't there last night, as is another occasional birder and professor at Mansfield U. so it's not like I'm walking into a group of strangers.

Last night they had a presentation on HDR (High Density Resolution) photography and the use of a program called Photomatix. Essentially it's merging 3 to 5 differently exposed shots of the same image. Got me to try a few things today with my Sony Alpha 350. Like reading the entire manual!

(The photo above was not accomplished using HDR technology. I did use Picasa 3 to remove some power cables that ran across the foreground, however. And to crop the edges a bit.)

******

Another day of PT for me tomorrow. The sold me on some fixed arch supports to help prevent my ankle from rolling which, in turn, helps align my knee. The supports and the exercises to strengthen the leg muscles (something I though would be superfluous) seem to have helped a great deal. I've tried NOT to go up and down the steps too much since yesterday's workout, but when I do the pain in the knee is much, much less than it was on Monday.

******

I've got some refund/rebate cards burning a hole in my pocket so tomorrow, after PT, I'll be taking Terry down to Cabela's. she's always complaining about getting bug bites when she goes outside for any length of time. She's a natural mosquito magnet so I want to get her one of those ThermaCELL bug repellers. It doesn't do much if you're walking around, but it's supposed to clear an area around where you're sitting if the wind isn't too strong. If they work, she just might be able to enjoy the Aerie's deck even when there isn't a gale force wind blowing.

I might be able to find something for myself, too.