Life’s twists and turns.

Mom is in a retirement facility.  That’s code for your not going home anytime soon Mom.  Sundays are a favorite for me now.  Just like when my dad was in a care facility I take Mom to church every week.  My brother was lucky to do it last year.  A guaranteed few hours alone with Mom.  Today was different.  She was in bed when I got there.  Sound asleep.  Snoring a little (good thing Mom can’t access or know how to read my blogs.  She would kill me for this one).  I could tell she must have had a rough night.  The room was in disarray.  Soon she realized I was in the room and was sitting up talking to me about things that are imaginary.  Dementia stinks.  Here is a woman that gave birth to 6 children, losing one at birth, almost losing another at birth and birthing a 12 pounder.  She pretty much did all the financials for Dad’s construction business.  She held many positions of responsibility in her church.  Lost her gall bladder, several feet of her intestines and colon, had her knee replaced, broke her back, and had about every type of intestinal problem known.  She had a room at the emergency facility that was nicknamed after her because of her frequent visits.  One time I will never forget.  She had dislocated her middle finger.  It was laying back 90 degrees from the palm of her hand.  Real creepy looking.  She was very uncomfortable but as usual had the emergency room on their toes.  The Doctor arrived and gingerly took her hand.   The female emergency room doctor told Mom that she wanted to just look at her finger before she would decide what to do.  Mom had just got back from the X-ray room.  With a swift motion the doctor relocated Mom’s finger.  Even more swiftly Mom decked the Doctor.  Mom could have been a prize boxer.

These days we remind her to bathe.  Does very odd things that are normal for dementia patients. She is lonely.  Wants to go home.  She relies on her children today like we did of her for so many years.  One thing has not changed with Mom she is humble.  Loves and cares about others.  Concerned about my family and I more than herself.  And is still very spiritual.  Many, many times today she asked me the same questions and told me the same story.   Good.   A couple of times I wasn’t her son.  Good.  Someday I will look back just like when Dad graduated from this earth and think of these days when we just sit and talk.  She tells me she loves me every time I arrive and leave.  I do the same to her. Give her a kiss.  I hope when she eventually does graduate she can look back and remember our times together.  Actually I know she will.

The American Coots do the diving and the ducks steal the food…..

The day before our first decent snow storm I was at FBWR very early.  Beat the sun by at least two hours……….

I’ve found and have made a new friend this winter.

“Spot”

A very young Hawk at FBWR that allows me capture a lot of his/her antics.  At this point I am not sure of the sex.  Doesn’t matter.  Gave it the name Spot because on the back of it’s head is an obvious black spot.  It’s been a blast as I wait pre sunrise for this little charmer to appear at the same spot.  MTC…..

I always say that photography is a game of numbers.

If you shoot enough pics eventually good pics will be the result.  I have been attempting for some time to get a full spectrum shot of the American Coot diving for a meal.   The coot sits on the water then without warning it dives.  Takes less than 2 seconds.  The difficult part is the first movement of the Coot just as it starts the dive.   Today I got it!!!!!

Nikon announced their new professional camera to replace the D3s!

I shoot with D3s’s!

What to do???????

Can it get any better than the D3s?  I have reading reviews, blogs, news releases almost all night.   It was like reading The Hunt for Red October for the first time.   Couldn’t stop reading about the new Nikon D4.  Replacing the D3s?  It is an incredible camera (the D3s).  I have enjoyed the benefits of this incredible camera.  Just last week I was up most the night so I left sub-morning light and went out to the FBWR for some quiet time.  With just very little day light I captured this shot….

I remind you that this shot of the hawk was taken before sunrise.  I was the only photographer out that morning.  Canon shooters arrive a little later.  Kinda kidding.   The duck hunters were out in kill mode.  I was in take home a pic mode. The photo is surely soft and has considerable noise.  In this case it adds to the surreal nature of the pre-sunrise shot.  The ISO was at 6400.  Yikes.  And with only this much noise?  INCREDIBLE.

The D4 looks to be even better.  Hard to believe.  Nikon has thought this one over.  Full HD video, EXPEED 3 sensor, 91,000 color pixel sensor, 10 frames a second shooting, ISO to 203,000, mike input and earphones output, 16 MP and on and on!!!!!!

Guess I will be heading to Pictureline this morning to put my name on the list.

I am selling one of my D3s’s.  Only one though…….

With all the duck hunters at FBWR the ducks have ben looking for safe places to hang.

I have been watching a large group of male and female Mallards.  This morning I noticed a much smaller duck that I have not seen before.  A Green-Winged Teal.  Cute fella.

Much smaller than the florescent green headed Mallard.  This is the smallest North American dabbling duck. The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a yellow rear end and a white-edged green speculum ( apart of the wing), obvious in flight or at rest. It has a chestnut head with a green eye patch. It is distinguished from drake Common Teals by a vertical white stripe on side of breast, the lack of both a horizontal white scapular stripe and the lack of thin buff lines on its head.  The only one at this pond today.  No mate.  Not even sure how many total may be passing through.  Just real glad to capture this one………

I love this little hunter.  Saw him perched in a residential tree driving back from a project this morning…

I love watching and photographing Kestrels “Falco sparverius‘.  Just as the “Falco” denotes he is a falcon.  This one being a male…

I have a new goal.

To try and catch an America Coot “Fulica Americana”  in the full act of diving.  Tried for an hour yesterday.  They are fast.  Diving for grass on the bottom of the pond.  Not too bad.   Sounds Easy huh?  Well it’s not.  They give no real indication of when the dive starts.  So all I have been getting is a partially submerged Coot with his webbed feet looking up.   Give me a little bit….I will get this one!   For sure.

For hating Las Vegas so much I am sure posting a lot about it.

At the the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and where the MGM Grand is is a Huge Gold lion.  Huge!  Las Vegas style statue of a lion.  Behind and surrounding the lion statue are several Atlas’s hold up big objects. Saucers, the world or something.  The lion was much harder to photograph than  Atlas.  Th gold finish had a lot of specular highlights.  Hand held a 9 shot HDR combo, Silver EFEX Pro2 and her is the finish photo…..