I Reviewed The Canon Owners Manual

I didn't need to look at the frozen condensation on the storm windows to know it was really cold outside. I felt that freezing cold air as soon as I opened the door to let the hounds outside for their first trip of the day, while I poured their breakfast kibble. It's close to the middle of January, so yes it's winter and this weather is expected. What is nice is that there is no bone chilling wind, no single digit windchill temps nor snow on the ground.

All of that saturated ground I spoke of the other day was frozen as hard as any rock would be this morning. Maybe the mole traffic will slow down now.

I am a little surprised that the cold temps are not bothering Stella. Of course it's not single digits yet. Last winter she lifted that frozen paw, turned back to the house and limped toward home as I picked her up.

One difference with that day compared to today is, it was 7°, frozen snow and ice in the field and arctic winds.I tried to get Stella's view as she walked but it was a little hard to keep moving and trying to capture a picture of her with her nose to the ground.

A bright sun was creeping over the horizon to the right of us. It made the whole field glow compared to past days.

All of that grass with a white tint ... frozen.

Right on the path made by deer traffic as they head for the far right corner and then down into the gully ... or is it the other way around?

I could tell as we walked through the frozen grass, there were a lot of 'holes' made by deer hoofs for Stella to investigate.

Stella roamed while I took pictures. I still kept an eye on her to keep her in the area.

Looking west, a little after 8:15am.

She is making her 'get-away' but at least she is headed on the path and in the direction of home. I knew exactly where she was going ...

Just like that she was invisible.

She was exactly where I thought she would be.

At 19° it's getting a little cold after 18 minutes walking. Still, Stella kept her pace and didn't trot, didn't run, she kept 'cruising'

I have no doubt that she follows the exact path of the field cat at work during the night before. I know one thing about that cat ... it's been years since I had to keep mouse traps hidden inside the house to keep them out of the house. So the mysterious, never seen cat, but talked about ... is doing a great job at night.

A lunch time break for Heidi and Stella ...

Heidi is on her normal after lunch 'lap' around the house. I assume she is checking out the internet connection and that we are getting the fastest speeds possible.

I called Stella and she headed for the house ... what a surprise.

With these afternoon pictures I see just a couple of tweaks I can make to the settings.

Those sure look like burrs on the side of her. By the time we came inside, fixed some lunch for myself, they were gone when she laid on her left side to show me. Of course I did not see those burrs until I downloaded the pictures taken after lunch. I was too late to pull them off her coat. Where did they go?

It feels like it will be an afternoon of book reading. I don't have a basketball game to watch until Friday night, then the two NFL Playoff games on Saturday.

It's cold but a nice day here in 'the tropics' in Southern Indiana.

Mood Swings Are Interesting

They come and go unexplained, the mood swings. At least now I can recognized them and hop on for the ride. They don't last long (24-36hrs) and they are not caused by the amount of sleep I get or lack of. The hounds don't upset me to start down that path. TV news isn't watched but I'd love to use that as an excuse. Food? Diet? ... maybe.

So how can one live alone, non social, active mentally and at times physically, go off the rails?

Many years ago I'd be mad the next morning after any one of my teams had lost a basketball game, a baseball game or football. Not anymore as I view it just as a game and I don't have anything to do with the outcome sitting on the couch 8' away. The players have to decide how bad they want to win and performance is key. So ballgame results are not a reason either.

I blame my mother. She was just like this. She could be Mother Theresa one minute and by the afternoon she was Bobby Knight for no apparent reason. For those that don't know who Bobby is, google his name. She fought her disease with pharmaceutical, prescribed meds, and in a way that even made things worse. Let's just say I learned my anger issues from one of the best teachers of all time.

I was never into that prescribed meds thing. Even after my car wreck in March 2010. I left the emergency room that night (6pm) with a had full of prescriptions for more meds than I ever wanted and never asked for ... I had my chance to jump on the opioid addiction train. I had all the famous names right there in my hand and didn't take one of them.

Over the years I have tried many things to combat mood swings and honestly, no matter what the 'experts' say or recommend ... they don't work. This 'thing' is buried deep in the DNA files and just going out running for 20 minutes, riding a bike for an hour or even meditating for 20 minutes twice per day ... they might take the edge off but they don't squash naturally born mood swings.

You probably could tell something was wrong after you read the last two or three posts I had written or through the comment section where I replied. Internally I had declared war on everybody, everything and even the electronics that only sit here. I was on the out of control train and no way to stop it.

No, self talk does not help either.

I had solid sleep last night, the normal 5-6 hours worth. By the time I had made coffee this morning I could tell the 'mental war' was over. I felt great and already knew what my plans were for the day.

In a few minutes, Stella and I will take our daily morning walk in 19° weather. Then something different after that. Instead of downloading photos, editing them and putting a blog post together, the hounds and I are climbing in the Mini for a tour around the local area with cameras (Canon & Nikon) in hand. We are going for a ride and will hopefully grab some nice pictures to blog about later.

Sorry for the lack of pictures tucked in neatly between paragraphs but I thought this type of post should be only words that were quick and easy to read. I'm only adding a feature image so the columns on my blog front page line up right.

Believe me, it's much better this morning in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Too Early To File Tax Return?

It was looking promising right after lunch as far as the weather, a possible early walk and more pictures from the Canon to analyze. It wasn't warmer but the sunshine was bright and that was the nice surprise of the day. To bad that didn't last long after Heidi came back inside. By the time Stella and I took an afternoon walk, it was overcast and colder than this morning. I may have even seen a few specs of snow but not enough to let me know if it was real or just my imagination. Stella and I continued on though, since she wanted to walk and I wanted to take some pictures. But ... it was really cold and windy.

I decided for these few pictures I'd go back to shooting in Auto mode. It's almost like paralysis by analysis where nothing looks right anymore. It's a funny deal trying to sort out what you thought you saw in the first few pictures taken last Saturday and what you see now. I think I might just start taking them and posting them, and let it ride without even looking at them. I could rename the blog "badphotos .com"

I glanced out the kitchen window ten minutes after Stella and I came inside. Heidi wasn't anywhere within view. I was about to walk out through the front yard and head to the north side yard but decided to make the fastest trip possible and look what I found! If I didn't know any better I am pretty sure I caught Heidi within seconds of eating some of that dirt that Stella likes so much. The only difference is when I yelled "hey" ... she almost bounced in midair as she turned to face me ... then came running.

I don't crop a lot of pictures but I did those two. They didn't turn out to bad and were much clearer than trying to zoom in.

Since we were all ahead of schedule by getting up at 4:30am or a few minutes before, I decided why not? I'll file my federal taxes early. I did last year also. They will sit in their electronic inbox until the IRS is ready to process them on January 28th, but its soon after that refund is dropped in my bank account electronically.

Since I retired I bring home less money per month, per year, per whatever. That threw me into a lower tax bracket than when I was working making a lot more money. So now when I file federal taxes I get a 100% refund of taxes withheld and pay a little less to the State of Indiana where I have always had to pay them no matter what income I made. Of course that refund doesn't make up for the net pay difference but I write that difference in money off as the cost to have total freedom of time. (more than worth it) The tax refund ??? That usually replenishes the hole in my bank account after I buy new electronics every year. I call that an even trade-off.

I don't miss those meetings of one Power Point Slide after another, every week, every month, every quarter, every year ... you get the picture ... meetings meetings meetings.

Again today Stella was moving a tad faster than her normal afternoon pace. She wasn't dragging her feet but she wasn't running either ... a brisk walk combo trot.

I'm seeing no consistency in color in these photos today. None. Sharpness, contract ... nothing.

Has she finally decided it might be a little too cold to be walking this afternoon?

While I wait for the state of Indiana to tell me I can submit my tax return, it might be the perfect time for a siesta. Nothing going on, it's freezing outside, I'm hungry for things I can't eat ... so what better way then to sleep it off. I just reminded myself that "you did get up at 4:20am this morning" ... now there is some justification if I ever heard one.

It's a quiet afternoon for the hounds and myself here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.