Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

More Thoughts About the New Camera

telephoto.jpgI’ve had the new Canon SX40 HS camera for over a couple of weeks now and I am still getting used to all the features. This camera is just enough different from the old PowerShot that I have to think about how to operate it.

One thing I like a lot is the camera’s ability to zoom in on distant objects and get a clear image even though the camera is not on a tripod. The cottontail in the image above was sitting under a cholla about 25 yards up the wash behind our house. The red-eyed black bird was a bit closer, about 10 yards up in a mesquite tree across the road.

The viewfinder is sort of interesting; it’s not optics but rather there is an LCD display monitor behind the eyepiece. It acts as though it were a viewfinder on an SLR like Damsel’s Canon XTi. It takes a little getting used to it, but it works OK. If you open the flat panel display, it becomes active and the viewfinder is disabled.

Later this week, we’re going to take a trip across the Arizona Outback and head to some friends that live on the Colorado River near Parker, AZ. I plan to take a lot of pictures during the excursion. It will be our first trip in the new mobile home.

Click on the image above to enlarge.

25 Mar 2012 by Photography Retirement Travel

Cabela at Rest

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It has been a little over a year and a half since we adopted Cabela. She is an active and lovable miniature pinscher. Between her and Beethoven (the other min-pin), they make us laugh every day.

Since she is a very active dog, it is unusual to see her so much at rest on the back of the love seat. To our relief, she almost always lets us sleep all night long when it’s bedtime. Click on her picture to enlarge.

24 Mar 2012 by Critters Photography

No Plan

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George W. Bush was a spendthrift president whose budgets drove up the national debt to unprecedented levels. Over his two terms in office, federal debt increased by $4.899 trillion. But Bush is a piker compared to Barack Obama. In just a little more than three years in office, Obama’s fiscal recklessness raised the national debt by an astonishing $4.939 trillion — already more than Bush’s eight years. Of even graver concern, our national debt is approaching $16 trillion and now exceeds 100 percent of gross domestic product.

While on the campaign trail in 2008, Obama called Bush’s spending “irresponsible” and “unpatriotic.” Where does that put him?

Cartoon and quote courtesy The Patriot Post.

23 Mar 2012 by Beltway Kabuki Whacko Politics

First Plum Flowers

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Last June, we had our landscaper install several shrubs and trees around the property. One of those is a flowering plum tree. Being a deciduous tree, it lost most of its leaves over the winter. Now that spring has sprung (80° high today), the tree is showing a few little (¾ inch) flowers and some new foliage. Click on the image to enlarge.

22 Mar 2012 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Bishop’s Cap Cactus in Bloom

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We originally bought this bishop’s cap cactus in a three-inch pot here in Arizona back in about 1998. It lived in California and did well there during the years before we retired and brought it back to Arizona. It seemed to like California since it grew into the six-inch pot seen in the image. However, now that it’s here in Arizona, it produces flowers all year long. I took this image today in our courtyard. Click on the image to enlarge.

21 Mar 2012 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

Vernal Equinox 2012

first-cardinal.jpgToday is the first day of spring. Right on cue, we saw this cardinal perched on the power pole across the road on Sunday. He was whistling the cardinal mating call which is considerably more musical than the bird’s normal metallic “chip” sound. We assume this handsome fellow is looking for a mate.

Image: Male cardinal perched calling for a mate. Click on the image to enlarge.

We’re hoping that this cardinal and his mate settle nearby. We had two or more cardinal couples frequenting the area last spring and summer.

20 Mar 2012 by Astronomy Critters Environment Photography

Late Winter Local Snowfall

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We were surprised to see last night’s forecast for possible snow as low as 2500 feet. No snow stuck to the ground here (if any fell at all) but the snow level in the local mountains looks to be as low as 3500 feet. I took this image from the hill behind our house looking north. Click on the image to enlarge.

19 Mar 2012 by Arizona Environment

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