Life in Antrim

Back in Antrim...

After a trip to Costa Mesa and Redlands, California I'm back in Antrim...so blogging should improve. I might have done more from the road, but I forgot to bring the cable that links my camera to my laptop. I do have a picture of a noisy squirrel to put up the next day or so...

Walking the dogs...

It has been an uneventful few days in Antrim, but I did want to share a couple pictures from a walk we took with Shadow and Bear (our dogs) on Sunday. The first is of a mountain that I believe is in Deering (just a hill to the Rocky Mountain types).

The second is of Mikey in a field (with the same mountain in the background). On the larger version of the snapshot, you can see his bright orange hat. Before we went hiking on the snowmobile trail, we stopped by a local hunting shop and purchased orange hats for the kids and vests for mom and dad. It's hunting season, and we wanted to reduce the statistical chance we'd look like a wayward deer :-)

If you click on either picture you will get a larger version.

The "local" airport

After dropping April off at work, I explored some local back roads. Heading to Antrim from Hillsborough on 202 there is an airport sign, and, as you can see from the pictures, I found it. I believe it is in Deering, but am not positive.

Not a great photo opportunity, but a nice way to test the panorama feature of my Pentax Optio S (combined with impressive "Create Photomerge" functionality in Adobe Photoshop Elements (it automatically aligned the five shots perfectly).

If you click on an image, you'll see a larger version.

Ordinary life...

Nothing amazing to report...but I wanted to blog something so folks don't think I'm forgetting about it again.

Now to catch up on e-mail...

Flurries in Cleveland...

Sorry I haven't blogged the last couple days. I'm away in Cleveland (hotel to the left), heading back home tonight...

It has been unseasonably warm the last couple days, but this morning Cleveland had flurries...

Night and a woodpecker...

I'm killing time before taking the family (and a daughter's friend) out...so I figured I'd share a couple pictures.

I'm still trying to figure out how to best take night pictures with my Pentax Optio S, but I think if you expand the night photo (to the left) by clicking on it, you'll see an interesting effect a night flash had (the bright spot is the moon).

I'll also share a picture of a woodpecker I've mentioned in a previous post. However, the previous blog may have been wrong...instead of being a downy woodpecker, it was probably a hairy woodpecker (please note the tuft of "hair" at the base of it's beak in this photo). The previous picture was from much farther away, so I had to go with which type was most common.

If you touch the picutre you'll be able to see more of what it was chewing on.

I hear a hairdryer -- that's a good sign. Hopefully we'll soon be able to leave...

Star Spangled Banner

Mikey is in the bathroom, just out of the shower. Spontaneously he sings the final verse of the "Star Spangled Banner." Mostly on key :-)

I love my kids :-)

Off to church he and I go...

No squirrel, but...

After seeing Mikey off to school (picture of the bus below), I figured I'd grab breakfast. It appears that the various birds and critters that inhabit our back yard and woods had similar thoughts. I especially like the chipmunk and blue jay sharing the block of seed we got this past weekend (which is looking much worse for wear thanks to hungry munchers).

It seems that we finally may be having a break in the weather (please see the sky picture), my My-Cast.com e-mail says it'll be clear tomorrow.

Other than that, nothing eventful. Mikey and I will probably visit the James A. Tuttle Library tonight, and will give them a set of disco CDs (what library would be complete without it?)

I may have already "blogged" this, but I recently gave them three Dixie Chick CDs. A great lady I was chatting with there (who worked for the library) said she just ordered one of theirs "for political reasons." I said I had some to get rid of, "for political reasons."

See, common ground :-)

Well, back to work...

(Please click on any picture to see a larger version...)

Blue jays, nuthatches, a squirrel, and a chipmunk...

Absolutely nothing to report the last couple days in Antrim...just cloudy and rainy weather. By fully stocking our feeders over the weekend, however, we have gotten a good selection of critters and birds on our deck.

And Bear, our schipperke, is snoring beside me. Well, he actually just got up, walked down, and flopped again. During the same stroll Shadow, our black German shepherd, plopped down under the desk at my feet...

The moon

Actually, this picture is from late last night...a slight break in the clouds between yesterday and today.

This has been an uneventful weekend...today's only major accomplishments being shopping and cleaning. I'm going to work a bit more on receipts and bills...and then TV, reading, and bed...

Nothin' much up...

We didn't do a whole bunch today...at least it doesn't seem so. We did attend the service and Sabbath School at the Keene Seventh-day Adventist Church (photo below and to the right) and attempt to nab some pictures of birds and a chipmunk (nothing worth sharing). The folks at the church were very friendly and I suspect we will return.

The panorama (above and to the left) is of our side yard (I was playing with the panorama feature on my new Pentax Optio S -- thanks to Member Rewards from American Express). Although Xara Webstyle 4 has helped lighten it a bit, you still may be able to tell that the clouds were making it prematurely dark.

Please don't blame the Optio S for some of the fuzziness you see in the panorama...it might be the fault of ACD Photosticher or just because it was the first time I used that feature in the camera (and used Photosticher). I didn't spend a whole bunch of time trying to make either work...just a quick test.

As I think of it, today would be a good day to keep "accomplishing nothing" -- I think I'll get some e-mail out, and then go vegetate :-)