Snorkeling

I would have to say that one of my favorite things to do whenever I visit Maui is to go snorkeling. My first attempt over twenty years ago was not a good experience but I stuck with it and now I can't wait to get in the water and see what fish will present itself today. There is such a variety of colorful fish in the waters around Maui that I always enjoy myself.
Of course now I have added the additional task of trying to take pictures. The additional problem with picture taking is the fish do not pose and as the water stirs up the sand and other junk on the ocean floor each speck interferes with that perfect shot. The use of Photoshop provides many tools to save some of the pictures but I have taken over 500 pictures and probably only have about 20 that are much to talk about.
One of the problems I have is lighting and the deeper the water the greater the problem. Of course I always want the light coming from behind me so would the fish please move over and then stop while I take a picture. It is impossible to use the viewfinder or view screen to see what is in the frame so I just point and shoot. I find that I tend to aim high and the fish is at the bottom of the picture.
I think our trip to Ahihi fish preserve Tuesday provided the best shooting for many different fish and clear water.

Hawaii 1

Well we are settling into the Hawaiian routine. One surprise for us was the wait for our compact car. There was a long line of people waiting for their car at Alamo. Well they had a long line of convertibles that nobody had rented them so the lady outside said I can upgrade you to a convertible for free and about five of us took her up on the deal. So we are now driving a mustang convertible for the two weeks. Is is warm but has been getting windy in the afternoon and we had to up the top up coming back from Lahaina because of the wind.
I have been out snorkeling twice but really didn't get to much for pictures. The water is rough enough that the pictures are not sharp but I did see a big turtle that lives across the street on Sunday. Of course when Marilyn when out with my on Monday we didn't find it. I have also been taking my four mile walk each morning and taking some pictures of flowers and birds.
Sunday we took a drive up to Lahaina to see the keiki hula show. It was a much younger group that we often see. They also had a young boy that had just recently won a hula competition for his group.
While walking the beach across the street from our resort we saw a man out feeding the birds. He says he does it about every day and the birds seem to know him. If he is just sitting reading they will come up looking for food.

Fall in Corvallis

Fall in Oregon can be very cool and wet but it is also very beautiful. The trees and shrubs turn wonderful reds and yellows and the clouds create colorful sunrises and sunsets. It seems the spiders have also come out to build their webs in the trees and shrubs. I have been trying to capture some of this color in my photographs. It is not easy to get just the picture you want. It seems the light, color, and focus never seem to come together on the same picture.
I have been able to get a few pictures that show some of the beauty that it seems only the eye can see and fully appreciate the full beauty. It is a short time and you really get a mix of weather and color that will soon pass. We now head to Maui and all of this will chance.

Stevie's Birthday

Well Stevie is now ten years old. We went to Portland last Sunday to celebrate her birthday. Marilyn bought a cake and we were off to meet Stevie, Joanna, Lance, and Brooke. The first order of business was for Grandma to take Stevie to ToysR Us shopping. Stevie selected the game “20 Questions”, a large art set of pencils, crayons and other necessary supplies, construction paper, a granddaughter bracelet, and a subscription to “Ranger Rick” magazine.
Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese’s for pizza, soda, and games. I guarded the table while Marilyn took pictures, and the others used their tokens to play games and win tickets for prizes. It was not the best pizza and definitely not a quiet place but the girls love it.
Once the tokens were gone and the pizza eaten it was back to the house for cake and ice cream. I think a good time was had by all and it was good to see everyone again.

High Desert Museum

We made our yearly visit to the High Desert Museum and got to see a lot of the exhibits. It is into the winter so there was no “Birds of Prey” show and we didn't take the time to visit the Native American's Exhibit
The big show of the day was at the Desertarium. Lizards, snakes, tortoise, scorpions, and gila monster were out under the heat lamps. They had a short presentation and there was even an opportunity to pet the snake or submit a name for the two new gila monsters. The Birds of Prey are usually my favorite but it is now the winter season so all we saw were the birds in their cage and the wire mesh made pictures difficult.
The homestead exhibit had two sheep and a lady acting as the homesteader and telling you about the life in the little cabin. The steam sawmill is nice but I have never been there the days they have it running. I think it is only like four times a year but all the the lumber used in building the barn comes from the mill. The 1 to 12 scale model of a sawmill is interesting. It took the man 25 years to build and is a very nice job. They say the steam engine even works. I will have to take their word on that.
The river otter talk was just that. The 12 year old male was not going to get up from his nap for a few fish. They had a second female until last March when she died of old age. Both the lynx and the bobcat were also taking there nap all day long.
We did go through the Spirit of the West Gallery that has a number of very nice life size dioramas and also visited a gallery with a large glass exhibit and video.
Several places had bird feeders and benches that provided an opportunity to watch the bird and squirrels feeding.

Eagle Crest

We have settled in at Eagle Crest Resort for the week. It is cool but looks like it should be a good week with little rain. The trees have started to change so there are some spots of color among the pine trees. There was a touch of snow on the pass as we came over but don't think there will be much more this week. I did put in the chains in just in case.
Sunday we took a walk down by the river and through the residential area. Once we reached the hotel, I continued on for the longer walk by the river while Marilyn headed straight back to the condo. Didn't see many animals on the walk. There was the large flock of geese that live on the lake and golf course behind the hotel that are always there with a few ducks. I don't think they ever fly more than 100 yards. I am sure there are many golfers that wish roast goose was served more often at the local restaurant. I did see some other ducks and geese along the river that do fly and would fit into a different group that the ducks and geese by the lake.
When I returned to the condo Marilyn told me about all the birds and deer that had come by to pay a visit. In fact five deer seem to just live around the condo. Marilyn called them the security force for the area. There were three smaller deer and their two mothers in the group. The doe would come up to eat crackers from the people next door.
We played a game of tennis in the afternoon and then I went to get some additional pictures of the area in the late afternoon light. We will be playing tennis and visiting the area on days with little rain.