Oh.. the neglect...

Sorry everyone.. been a bit off the wall lately, and every spare moment has pretty much been spent behind the lens of the new camera! It is amazing the learning curve a new piece of equipment brings... I basically could switch my old camera to manual override and set it to where I wanted it with my eyes closed... things are VERY different with the new Canon... I AM loving it tho.. I made absolutely the right choice... The two old Minolta's are on their way to their new ebayer owners, I hope they will enjoy them as much as I did... I didn't get as much for them as I would have liked but so goes the way of auctions... they each got themselves quite a good deal...

One of the nice things about the new camera tho is the small size... my old camera used to take up about a third of my camera bag so it didn't leave much room for anything else in there... this little puppy takes less than a quarter of the bag... so you know what that means.. LOTS of room for TOYS!!! woohoo!! See what I mean... there is no way I could have brought him along in the past...



OH.. and the view screen that swivels and turns... LOVE IT... I can get down low and not have to.. well.. get down low... like this...



It also allows you to go into stealth mode... you can turn the screen so it doesn't look like your taking a pic... like the pic of Gretchen down below... normally she sees you point the camera at her and that's it, she's off and running... now it's not as obvious and I may be able to actually get some good shots of her...

Anyway... I'll try and get back to the regularly scheduled blogging... thanks for being patient...

Later...

Fern Ball...

Fern Ball...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

So.. I was just about sitting on the ground to reach this little guy... squeezed off this pic... saw something move out of the corner of my eye... and looked down just in time to see a snake slither out from under my butt... needless to say.. this is the only shot I got and the blood curdeling scream is still echoing off the hills of the Quabbin Reservoir.

MAY DAY.. MAY DAY....

MAY DAY.. MAY DAY....
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

The creature has the Captain.. I say again.. The creature has the Captain.. Send re-inforcements immediately.. MAY DAY.. MAY DAY...

Don't let that cute face fool you...

Don't let that cute face fool you...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

It's got 8 inch fangs stuck in those fuzzy little cheeks!

Go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayroad/153910154/ and see what I mean...

Captured

Captured
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

This butterfly just about attacks me whenever I step outside, but of course it never sat still long enough to be photographed... today she was feeling a little tired I guess! OOPS... I guess "she" is actually a "he" the females are brown... this is a Tiger Swallowtail "Papilio glaucas"

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

What better way to celebrate your 43rd Birthday than to play with some toys!

Their Coming to Get You Barbara!

Their Coming to Get You Barbara!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

I don't know why this pic makes me think of "Night of the Living Dead", but it does... Frankly I LOVE it!! (both the movie and this picture!) The new camera is working out just great!

Was that the best or what?

It's a strange feeling, American Idol Finale, the BEST damn show I've seen on Teevee for a VERY long time... but there it is .. I said it... WOW! And (of course) I think I know why... Do you??

I put it down to the fact that they FINALLY had some stars/music on there that (see previous post) wasn't first released on vinyl....

Chris Daughtry with LIVE!! YOWZA... not only did they sound freakin' awesome, but how can you beat a couple of gorgous bald headed men up on stage singing... be still my bald head lovin' heart! (note to self - download some LIVE immediately!)

Mary J... awesome.. although I would have liked to see Elliot sing a little more with her...

Toni Braxton... the thought was a good one... I don't know if maybe something was wrong with her microphone or what.. it just didn't seem to be all that 'right'....

And.. WOOT WOOT... Meat Loaf... now that's what I'm talkin' about.. ok.. so Meat's stuff was initially in my collection on vinyl.. but geez... it's the Loaf!! and ok... so the critics I've read are right... it wasn't the best performance by him and he did kinda look like a dirty ole' man chasin' after the pretty young girl.. but come on... it's MEAT... it was just SO wonderful to see him on stage again that's enough for me!

OH... the 2 Clay Aiken's... was that the funniest thing you've ever seen... I mean other than the fear that geeky 'old version' of Clay was gonna attack strange-looking 'new version' of Clay and just smother him with kisses... (I'll let you all picture that for a moment.. eeewww!) Absolutely hilarious and you gotta give the real Clay alot of credit for going along with it!

Dionne Warwick! I wonder if she called her Psychic Friends before the show to get a preview of the winner?? but man o man... When she sang "Walk on by", the years seemed to melt off her and she was just wonderful!

And the best part of the whole show.. not one, but TWO songs from Prince... Awesome... I tell you tho... I couldn't help but sit up and notice how amatuerish he made everyone else seem... not just the Idol contestants, but a few of the established stars as well (Mary J and Toni could take a lesson here)... There he is.. on the stage with 2 drop-dead gorgous women dancing around him and yet I couldn't take my eyes off of him... he just COMMANDS the stage, insists that you watch him, and makes you really glad that you did! Just AWESOME....

Ok.. so before I go on forever here, Taylor Hicks the new American Idol... yeah.. good choice! I think he'll be strong enough to avoid the crap that Clive wants to make him sing - or at least make it better and 'his own'... Yeah... I'm still pissed about Bo Bice's Bon Jovi album...

So.. all in all... an extraordinary night of television! So.. bring on the next season already!

Later...

Please don't smell the flowers!

Please don't smell the flowers!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Go Large (by clicking on the pic) and check out her nose.. busted.. Gretchen the Stupid Little Angry Dog™ has been in the flower garden! One of the first pics with the new Canon A620!! I'm VERY pleased with the image quality...

Twins..

Twins..
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Playing around with some old pics while I await my new camera, which should be delivered today! WOOHOO...

Finally...

Yeah.. things are finally better round here (knock on wood)... We've got our cell phone signal back as of Saturday nite... the electricity has stayed on... and another of my pics has made the top 500 "Interesting" on Flicker.. (see below.. it's Dwayne and Priscilla debuting at #260 for yesterday!)

Now I just need DHL & Amazon to get off their duffs and deliver my new camera - they really make you pay for taking the 'free shipping' special... I ordered on Tuesday and they never sent the camera out to DHL for shipment until Saturday... AND they changed the delivery date on me... when I ordered I was given delivery dates of between May 24 & the 26th... now that they have actually shipped it the dates have changed to May 24th to JUNE 1ST!!! NO FAIR.. If I had known it was gonna take them almost 3 weeks to get me my camera I would have ponied up for the 2 day shipping... SHEESH... You can't change the rules in the middle of the game... jerks!

My camera's (the Z1 and the Z5) are both up on eBay and generating a little bit of interest... only problem is the Z5 got interest from Greece and Belgium... HELLO.. there's a reason it says "US ONLY"... although I did talk to my FedEx connection and she says that yeah I could get it there for around 30 bucks... I don't know.. I'll let it go and see if there's any US interest.. if not.. I'll get some solid numbers for shipping overseas... things are just never "easy"...

Anyway... quite the storm yesterday... pea sized hail... nasty winds... I really thought we were gonna have to head for the cellar! Luckily everything kept running and no major damage... and it bought me an extra hour with the Man_Jeff as he was just getting ready to leave when the storm hit and I managed to convince him to wait till it blew over... So I guess it has it's advantages too!

Later...

Dwayne seems to have

Dwayne seems to have
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

a disconcerting effect on Priscilla!

We had a visit from the Sun, his girlfriend and her piggies today - so of course some strange photography ensued!

Later....

Name that farm animal!

Name that farm animal!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Maybe we got a little too close to the farm animals!

Any guesses as to what kind of farm animal this might be?

Welcome to Hell - have a seat in our waiting area

OH.. things just keep getting better and better round here... STILL no cell phone service, and of course I'm getting 2 different stories from the 3 different people I've talked to at Cingular... so how am I calling them if I've got no phone... I'm using Skype.com and talking thru the computer... really kinda cool.. only problem being no one can call me... I just have to keep calling my voicemail on the cell and getting messages and calling people back via the computer... anyway I digress... yesterday they said "your tower is down, we're working on it as we speak, you'll have service back this afternoon"... and of course.. today.. still no service.. so I called again.. this time I got "they switched your towers, but it takes 24 hours to take effect and you'll have a BETTER signal than before after 2pm." Now.. correct me if I'm wrong.. but technically can't I connect to ANY cell tower in ANY vicinity... and if this 'new' tower is the stronger one - why haven't I connected to it before?? Luckily I logged Cingular's help line number in my new Skype interface cause I KNOW I'll be calling them back come 3 or 4pm and I still have no service... Welcome to Hell...

OH... where you going?? My rant isn't over yet... Seems the whole neighborhood was awakened (us included) at 3am this morning... why? Cause the Electric Company was down on the road - raising a rucus - checking out our electricity situation... you see we lost power at 1:30am last nite... That's right.. no cell phone.. no electricity.. no water.. no freakin' nothin'... Did I welcome you to Hell yet?? Figuring ok.. their working on it.. we went back off to bed only to awaken this morning to no electricity.. no cell.. no water... funny.. but they were working on it last nite.... so.. around 9am I finally... well.. morning constitutionals tend to wait for no woman with no way to flush a toilet... so I hopped in the truck and took a run downtown.. of course taking my non-functioning cell phone so I could check my messages (cause of course.. no electricity.. no Skype to be able to take the long frickin' way around to getting my phone calls)... Good thing I did.. I figured what the heck I'll call the electric company while I'm out and poopin' about... So.. after a visit to McDonald's rest room and a MUCH needed cup of coffee... I placed the call.. "Gee... we have no record of any trouble out your way.. but we'll get right on it.." WTF??? So who was that at 3am??? Turns out it was indeed the Electric Company however, because there was a tree limb down on our wires, they didn't turn the electric back on till a tree crew came out and removed it... Long story short... Tree Company at 9:30... Electric Company at 10:30... Power restored at 10:40.... YEAH... which then of course allowed me to fire up the computer.. b*tch to you people... b*tch to Cingular Wireless again via computer.. OH.. and we must not forget to welcome you people to Hell... Take a seat, someone will be with you shortly.... YEAH RIGHT!

Later...

Yogi sighting!

Ok.. so it's a really crappy picture and you kind of have to fill in a few details with your imagination... but here he is... our BEAR!! We took a ride up the road after dinner tonite and then on the way back we saw him cross the road not 50 feet away... right onto our property!! He's a big one... and seemed to be alone so maybe it's a male which frankly I'd prefer to a female with 2 or 3 babies just waiting to grow up and eat my Stupid Little Angry Dog™!!! So... of course.. there we were face to face with the bugger and where's the camera?? In the house... so we zipped it up the driveway and waited.. and watched... and sure enuf.. I caught a glimpse of him coming up the side of the stone wall at the edge of our property... As Mr. 9 2 Bay ran outside with the camera I ran from window to window tracking him... the big b*stard did a 90 degree turn and came up the back of the property not 30 feet into the woods... SEE!



Like I said.. a crappy pic... but hey... you go tromping thru the woods and get a better one! But your not taking my camera with you, I understand blood stains are really hard to clean off of a lens...

So.. our suspicions have been confirmed.. in a REALLY big way! So now it's triple check the porch and yard before stepping outside...

Later...

Get your pole climbin' gear!

Wanna join me? I'm gonna go climb a cell tower today... That's right.. if freakin' Cingular won't fix the cell tower for me.. I'll do it myself! We've come to the conclusion that it's not us - it's them! We take our non-working phones and we can sit right next to that tower that USED to supply us with our signal - have a clear line of sight to the tower and still don't get a signal. But if we drive over the top of the hill and pick up the next tower we get a perfect signal! Now... it's great to know that it's not something as permanent as the tree line that's blocking our signal but just try and get Cingular to agree that it's the tower... you see, we've got to go over the hill and get a signal from the next tower, call them, and then they trace us back to the "good" tower, and then they say - well.. your tower seems to be functioning perfectly... HELLO.. yes.. the tower that I had to drive freakin' 10 minutes to get to, what about the one that supplies my house with a signal... GEEZ...
Frankly I'm not sure what to do... Do we go with say a prepaid cell phone from another carrier that might work in our area (but then if it's the tower will that one work?)and have our regular cells transfer to that number while we're at home? Which for me is just about freakin' always! Or do I look into Comcast Digital Voice - which will whack us for another 45 bucks a month, but at least there's no early termination fee, so if they fix the tower in a week or two we can just cancel? Get a landline again? There's also "Skype" a free internet VOip service but of course I can't find a microphone for my computer to test it out... Or do we just wait it out and hope that all our neighbors also complain to their cell carriers about the lack of signal and they finally figure out that something IS wrong with that tower...
Well... I've got to run to Wallymart later anyway, maybe I'll pick up a microphone down there and give Skype a chance, I've been wanting to check it out anyway, a friend of mine really likes it... so I think I'll start there... failing that.. Maybe the Comcast Digital Voice will be the way to go...
SHEESH.. and Monday continues...
In the meantime.. leave me a message and I'll get back to you the next time I run out of milk and need a run downtown...
Later...

Is it Monday?

I swear it's gotta be Monday and nobody told me... I want my Thursday back... I discovered this morning that since the sun has come out all the trees have popped their leaves.. thereby completely BLOCKING my cell phone signal!! DAMN... It wouldn't be so bad except that I'm totally cellular and well that means - I'VE GOT NO PHONE!!! Unless of course I hop in my truck - drive down the street a couple hundred feet and get my messages - several times a day!! It's either that or get out the freakin' chain saw and hope that I get my signal back before I've clear cut the forest from here to downtown! My only other hope is it's a temporarily low signal from the tower and/or that Mr. 9 2 Bays phone comes in better and I can swap with him (he always did seem to get a better signal with his same make and model phone than I did)! *sigh... have I said before that I hate Cingular wireless?? Oh that's right - I think I have - SEVERAL TIMES!

Later..
OH.. and if you were considering my camera - you've gotta go thru ebay now as I've just listed it...

Camera for Sale!

So I finally decided on a new camera.. WOOHOO... bumping up to a 7 megapixel from a 5... YEAH... I hemmed and hawed... read and re-read reviews... thought and thought about what type I wanted... I eventually settled on a Canon Powershot A620... yeah.. another point and shoot (although it does offer the same deal where I can get an adapter and add filters and a couple of different type of lens adapters, telephoto and wideangle)... I tell you.. it was a tough decision... I almost went with one of those snazzy dslr setups, you know.. the Rebel XT at around 700 bucks with no lenses but then though "Do I really need a thousand dollar setup to take pics of plastic dinosaurs?" and well.. that was a bit much to rationalize... So I stuck with the point and shoot... but with awesome picture quality reviews!

So... watch for some new extra-clear, extra-large shots coming soon.. and in the meantime.. anyone wanna buy a Konica-Minolta Dimage Z5 (complete with filters and adapters)... I'll give you a good deal! (Holler fast cause it'll be up on ebay in the next couple of days - along with the old Dimage Z1!)

Later...

Get your buns outta bed...

Get your buns outta bed...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Lorimar was always the first one up, so naturally, making breakfast for the others always fell to him!

Anyone else?

So... sister dearest seems to be having trouble reading the comments attached to the "Where Did That Come from" post... Anyone else? She does use a company computer to read during breaks and they have censored me in the past but for the life of me I just don't see anything that could be construed as "sensitive" in either of those comments! Maybe her system admin is a Katherine fan?? LOL OH.. or maybe the have the title of the show blocked? If you notice I always just refer to it as Idol... but Anonymous used the entire title of the show in their comment... hhhmmm.. could be it... I'm not sure if I can just edit comments or if I have to delete them... I'll check later... but no.. I won't delete, I sent the text of the comments to her in an email so as long as she can get in and comment on other entries, no big deal...

So what a lovely freakin' weekend eh? So sick of the rain! I ended up house-bound all weekend playing with my toys (watch for the pics or go to Flickr and check 'em out) and the Stupid Little Angry Dog™ hasn't gotten off the couch for a week! It was kind of nice having Mr. 9 2 Bay around tho.. no LawnCare for him this weekend, although that just puts him behind schedule for next weekend..

Mother's Day was nice... it would have been nicer if my son had been here, but he did call... (unlike me, who hasn't called "Mother" in light years! It's not that I don't want to wish her a "Happy Mother's Day"... Love you Mom, but I've made a vow to avoid any situation that makes me want to get out the Country Music cd's, the beer, and the prescription medication. Ok.. I'm kidding.. Mom doesn't really make me wanna drink beer.)

Anyway... I feel I've been negelecting the blog these days in favor of Flickr... so I'll try and do better... Things have slowed down a little at work so I'm hopeful that I'll have time to do a little of both...

Later...

Menacing Shadow

Menacing Shadow
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Corporal Tulip never stood a chance!

I can't believe I didn't blog this one... it has made (along with my chickadee pic) the top 500 pics for the day on Flickr.com... The Chickadee has since fallen off the boards, but this little guy is somewhere around #340 for May 6th! How cool is that? I told you my toys were pop'lar!

Where did that come from?

Wow.. quite the Idol shocker last nite... I still can't get a handle on who's voting in this years program... In years past it was easy to figure out - it was the teenage girl that ruled the phone lines and pulled Bo, Fantasia, Ruben, and Kelly into instant stardom. They all had that quality that appeals to the teenage girl... OH WAIT... it IS still the teenage girl that's voting... she's just getting older...

Let's see... at 15 she's more likely to want their "girlfriend" to get ahead - so we got Kelly...

At 16 she starting to get into guys but she's still kind of into "Velvet Teddy Bears" so enter Ruben...

At 17 she's probably had her heart broken by the freakin' guy she thought was a Teddy Bear but turned out to be an immature jerk, so lets bring back the girlfriend... Hello Fantasia...

At 18 she's starting to get rebellious... Enter the 'bad boy'... HELLO BO!

Now she's 19 and her mind is starting to turn to things a little more stable but still she's wanting that 'party' attitude... She's probably had enuf of the antics of her "bad boy" boyfriend... yeah.. she wanted "bad" but not THAT freakin' bad... Bo went off and got married and had a baby with someone else.. how DARE he... so she's not gonna go there again and uh oh... Chris is already married with a couple of kids... so yeah.. He's OUT... Katherine is still around cause every 19 year old needs that "girl in the same situation as me to cry with"... but as soon as Ms. Idol Voter decides on which guy is the 'winner' Katherine will be left standing in the wings wondering what happened...

So... The question seems to be "How mature is our 19 year old Idol voter?" Does she want the guy that 'looks old' but still acts like a 12 year old? Or does she want the guy that acts like a 40 year old but looks like a mature Eddie Munster?

My bet.. she's still young.. she's gonna go with the grey haired 12 year old... He looks 'stable' and she's probably betting that she can make him into a stable adult!

Too bad Elliot didn't wait a year before entering the contest... He has a wonderful voice but the average Idol voter isn't gonna be mature enough to wanna date him till she's at least 20 or 21...

It could be worse... he could also be "second husband" material in which case he'd have to wait at least 3 years before entering the contest... You know.. after Ms. Idol Voter marries the immature guy (Taylor), then dumps him for Mr. Exciting Idol Contestant (a Chris-type), then goes back to hanging out with her girlfriend (a Mandisa type - a more mature woman) and then she'll finally be ready for an Elliot...

It's all in the timing...

Later...

Feelin' a little crabby today?

Feelin' a little crabby today?
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

I know I am... there definitely was NOT enough weekend available to get it all done...

Anyone wanna take a swim?

Anyone wanna take a swim?
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

HEH...

Cold Spring Barn

Cold Spring Barn
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Another version of the barn (Go here to see the others). I've photographed this one many times and it still fascinates me. Such a beautiful barn! These have to be my favorites tho... Blossom Time and sunset to boot! Not a bad picture in the bunch! I'm sure as time goes on you'll see more of them.

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

My lovely niece... Who is actually a Nurse Practitioner with a thriving practice now.. yeah... pretty old photo! LOL

Apparently I have a death wish...

Apparently I have a death wish...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

:) Sister Dearest - 1985

HEH.. Luckily the "Tip Jar" can also double as a "Payoff Pot"... ;)

Red Hot Motorcycle Mama...

Red Hot Motorcycle Mama...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Gee.. Could that be Big Sister Deb - on Big Brother Mike's Candy Apple Red Honda 125! OH.. the 80's... weren't they FUN!

By Request...

Purple Hyacinth
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

So I got a request for some actual sunshine rather than the liquid type... So here you go "Anonymous" - some real sunshine... And yes.. I picked this picture in particular - killing 2 birds so to speak... If you happen to live in Western Mass, make sure you pick up this weeks "Sunday Republican" as this photo has been selected for publication in the Masslive insert! WOOHOO... Almost as good as getting a "tip" in that lonely little tip jar over there in the margin... hehe... That would be THREE... THREE BIRDS WITH ONE ROCK!

Later...

Worlds Messiest Desk...

Worlds Messiest Desk...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

aka "The Horrible Shelving Incident of 2006"... *sigh... It was quite the spectacular crash at 11:30pm last nite... frankly we thought the neighborhood bear had let himself into the house.. turns out it was just 2 of my 8 foot overloaded shelves giving up the ghost... I'd almost rather have the bear... ALMOST...

ps.. if you click on this pic it'll take you to my Flickr account. There are notes attached to the pic so if you scroll over it it explains what all this stuff is!

Yup... still raining...

Yup... still raining...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Good thing we need it...

Tools and Jewels...

Tools and Jewels...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

"Tools and Jewels" is an idea I've had for a very long time now, for a Boutique to satisfy both men and women!

Anyone wanna invest?

Liquid Sunshine...

Liquid Sunshine...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

It rained today.

World's best sandwich...

I wish I could take credit for this, but I had one of these at the Pelham Country Store this weekend... AWESOME...

A nice hearty bread (Baker's Inn Honey White works well)
Shaved Turkey
Bacon (crumbled)
Red Onion
Lettuce
Tomato
Mayonaise...

Sound like a regular Turkey Club?? Well, it is.. but here's the kicker... before you close up the sandwich... drizzle the turkey with a little bit of HONEY... I'm tellin' you... that was the BEST sandwich I ever ate... and I'm still eating them... I picked up the fixin's at the store yesterday and have been making them for breakfast and lunch... OH... and that's gonna be tonite's dinner as well... YUM!

Later...

Jeff at the walkathon

Jeff at the walkathon
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto.

Picture courtesy of Sasha... yup.. that's my son facing the camera.. and he even knows that it's online cause she uploaded it, I just stole it from her.. Let's see him DARE to complain about it being public now! HEH HEH...

I suppose I should be flattered...

But mostly I'm just pissed... It's always flattering when someone thinks your photos are worth stealing but when the theif is a freakin' Spam blog for "Caribbean Deals" it really gets my goat (see the goat below!)... I discovered that these slime bloggers have taken 2 of my photo's off my Flickr account even tho they are ALL clearly marked "all rights reserved" and posted them to their blog... I don't care that they gave me credit.. as a matter of fact that just adds insult to injury... Now people think that I actually approve of this kind of lower-than dirt type blog... SHEESH... So last nite they got a nasty comment on their blog demanding immediate removal and this morning they got turned into Blogger.com for violating their 'terms of service' which specifically prevents you from posting non-authorized copyrighted content... I suppose I'll just have to keep an eye on things and see what happens... SHHEESH... Welcome to Monday!

Later...