Only The Second Time On Antibiotics

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Well, I'm sicker than a old dog and that's two days in with the antibiotics which is only the second

Red Shoulder Hawk dead center

Same

Moved but still dead center

time that I have ever taken antibiotics. My thinking is that since I have not taken them on a regular or routine agenda they should attack this little bacteria like no one's business.

The weather here is totally miserable. Before I sat down to write this post, I heard this racket outside then a clap of thunder and then lightening and thunder again. I walked over to the window and at first sight all that I could see was clear sky, then I look out on the sidewalk and it is covered in hail (hence the racket). It's been a roller coaster of temperatures since Christmas. One day it's 40 then its 75 the next day. We have been getting these upper air disturbances every other day regularly. Oh, and then, there is the wind with 5-10 MPH today, 40 MPH gust the next. I cannot remember a winter like this in the past 15 years.

Looking at my shoot log, this crazy weather is beginning to show up there too, which shows up later in sales down the road not just a month but for as much as a quarter since buyers buy on a quarter cycle ahead of the season. The editorial  images are needed to augment those gaps but even that has been rather sporadic at best.  If it wasn't for the love of the photography in the first place it would be the time to be making some  decisions like: it's time to retire from retiring. Which I know I will not do until the lights go out.

I've been watching a couple of trees at White Rock where a pair of Red Shoulder Hawks claim as their hunting grounds. A couple of days ago when I was feeling pretty lousy, I spotted the male squirrel hunting. I stopped the car and shot from the car, which I seldom do, but I just didn't feel like getting out and chasing down a bird that can fly faster than I can walk and that's after I back-up and park. You will need to click on the image so that it opens up larger to get a better view, otherwise all you are going to see is trees and branches. But, it opens up pretty well when enlarged. I can't get better than 100 percent since I lost the use of my high power lens on the Nikon camera. Olympus keeps telling me that they are bringing to market a ring that will allow my Nikon lens to be used on the Olympus camera. That will give me an added 50mm of power to get that 150 to 200 coverage that I lost.

You Have Heard This Before.......

It is amazing what I discover on the way to the doctor. Today was no exception. It all started about a month ago when I received a letter from my cardio-man that he was closing his practice. At first, there was that traditional anxiety of finding a new one and all that goes with that such as that infamous clipboard with several sheets attached that all "new' patients" must fill out. Gee, why isn't that part of the medical records, I'm thinking. But, that's why health care cost is rising. Well, one of the reasons.  And, I'm also thinking, most of the practices have all gone digital with Next gen patient software to make record keeping easier. Any way,  I hadn't even seen the doctor yet when on Wednesday, I get a call from the new doctor's office asking if I could come in earlier on Friday (today). Sure. I'm just the puppet on the string so-to-speak. That is, if I wanted to see the doctor Friday as scheduled at any rate.

So, last night, I set the two alarms and headed off to bed before the evening news. I didn't want to disappoint the new doctor by being late. He wouldn't mind, I know, because he is going to charge a missed appointment fee if I'm late. I hate paying interest on interest if you know what I mean. The interesting thing is that the new doctor is around the corner and across the street from my old doctor. In fact, where I once parked, I could see the new doctor's offices on the third floor of a four sided -alphabet building. Building A, B,C,D. So, finding it wasn't going to be a problem time wise, but parking and getting into the correct wing, riding the lift up to the doctor's floor, filling out that dang clipboard and trying to lower my blood pressure  before I go in to get it checked was more of the problem.

I'm already missing the intimacy of my former doctor's office with six people on staff. When I come off the lift-- elevator-- and saw at first glance about 30 people sitting, thumbing through magazines. I'm reminded that I have now landed at the largest cardio practice in the state of Texas. There are about 800 employees on staff. It is a beehive of activity. Even the little old ladies on the walkers have new found energy in their steps. Right then, I knew that this was going to be a totally different experience just to see the doctor. No sooner had I filled out the clipboard and returned it to the woman behind the sliding glass window when the door opened where I was sitting and a nurse calls my name.  Every single step was timed out. The nurse runs an EKG ( I was new patient) and it was like the doctor didn't trust the one the previous doctor had done and included in my medical records.

The doctor came in. Introduced himself. He was the plumber--he did stents and things like that. The other guy that I would see later was the electrician....he did pacemaker implants and things like that. Oh, boy! Ask questions from a check list?  As I would give the answers, some were meet with a comment from the doctor. The most interesting to me was that when he ask if I had any hobbies or things to keep me busy I said that I enjoyed photography. Immediately, he jumps on that."Nikon or Cannon". My answer was Nikon, but I was "using an Olympus at the moment" and enjoyed it. He then mentions that his wife does photography. That word has always amazed me, too. Does. Like she was doing the dishes or laundry. At that second, I had a flash back. This was the guy that  had a Nikon around his neck several months ago and we had talked for some time about the type of photography I favor. It was obvious that he was trying to remember if he had seen me before doing  shooting walk-abouts, but wasn't going to ask in a professional setting.

As I checked out, there was a chain of events that was more than just paying for the visit and getting out of Dodge. Blood test appointments would be made, appointments would be made and cardio equipment checks would be synced with my next appointment. The appointment that I thought was going to have to be scheduled for next month on the pacer was done right then and there. It also saved me money and time. I liked that. I was out the door and was meet with a cool breeze until I walked out from under the trees and stepped onto the parking lot. Still, it wasn't that bad.The dew point was lower and the humidity was lower than yesterday and it was less pressing. So, I decided that while I was out  and about, I would go home a different way and stop at the grocery store for a few fill ins.

The complex of roads getting there were being re-built as part of the City of Dallas Roadway Project. No way, was I going back that way. I had observed on my trip earlier that the work was being done on both the north and south bound sides of the road. Making the adjustment was not a problem, other than some of the roads had expanded since my last trip down them. I'm always looking for construction cranes, however. Where there is a construction crane, what you find is not always what you expected. I was stunned to see what I was seeing. This is something that tickeled by brain for years. Why do companies  not do things like this more?

 This was amazing. It was ground-breaking. It was just plain creative and smart. And, I am sure, the employees appreciated the thought by their employer. Or, should, at least. See, what I mean?

The underside shows the electronics  involved. Some have charging station right at the base.

From The Ground Up

It was another beautiful spring day in Dallas. The temperature topped out at 81-degrees F and there was no wind or breeze. Flags hung limp on flagpoles on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The grass was a beautiful green against a medium blue sky. Yet, for me, it was a tad warmer than I like when I am out with the camera. A camera crew five-strong, with all their heavy and well-padded cases, were heard complaining also. They said they were "shooting Dallas" on a positive note as they headed down between the levees.

I have been rather anxious for spring this year.  I wanted to try out a couple of things on my old and trusty cameras. Well, camera in this case because the big Nikon over the winter is still in the hospital with a bad case of software malfunction. Nikon wants me to up grade. Funny thing about that, though. Nikon does not want to kick in anything toward the upgrade.  Over the years, I have known several AP photographers that have used the same equipment for many more years than I have used the new digital, but we have one thing in common: they liked shooting with their equipment and I like shooting with the cameras that I have. I'm not totally sold that I need 24 mega pixels or sensors twice the size with no mirrors, either. The case to be made is that cameras are kind of like an Apple i phone series 5 or 6. Apple wants to sell phones so before you learn all the features on your 5, you just have to have that new series 6! As my grandfather would say,"hogwash". That is were I am now with the decision on cameras. I'm not so sure that upgrades are always the right choice. Never-the-less, I was able to test out the adjustments and the adjustments worked just fine.

A bee sits on a flower with his wings folded.

This tree has been flowering for ages. It has about a 60 foot circumference

See, there really is water below the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge!