While I got up bright an early, Diné and Rosencrantz chose to sleep in.
Tag: Diné
Cat Three
I had one of those disgustingly productive days — I removed the roof from the “catio” but left the fencing around it intact. The kitties were supervising, and they thought I was a pretty cool cat working up on the roof, balancing on vigas, hopping between cross beams, and making quite a mess at the same time. They didn’t realize what I was doing until we all came it for the night and found the cat door to the catio blocked. Now my being on the roof all day doing dangerous things is like very un-cool among the cats.
The reason I deroofed the catio is that Laurie started reorganizing everything, and that turns into repurposing spaces. The roof over the catio was originally a shade structure to protect our bonsais and other plants from the intense sun we have in New Mexico. I later put a tin roof on it, but there was really no way to seal the edges against the house to make it useful for anything but plants, weights and cats without redoing the roof. So a roof redo is underway so I can seal the sides that are against the house and make it a more useful space. The last photo is the roofless catio taken through a very dirty window.
Cats in Winter
What do our cats do in winter? Romeo was not sure about me taking yet another photo of him. Rosencrantz made like a kitty statue, while Guildenstern relaxed on a Viking book to see if he could soak up some Old Norse. Mama Manx dozed on a “cat magnet” blanket, and Diné got warm lying on the heater vent.
Cats & Concert Sunday
The cats were in winter mode most of the day. Even though it was sunny and a blistering 40º F (4.4º C) outside in the afternoon, Guildenstern, Rosencrantz and Diné chose to lay around on our bed most of the day. We went to the West Side Chior’s Christmas concert Saturday night, and Jerri had me help record the concert. I didn’t think of it, but I could have taken equipment and shot a video of the concert Saturday night. Well, they had another concert on Sunday, so I shot a video of it with my Canon 5D and a stereo mic. The video and sound are great, but it’s going to be a lot of work putting the hour long concert altogether into one video.
Cat Fight
After helping me change the sheets on the bed, Diné started challenging Rosencrantz by biting him on the legs. I ran and got my camera, and when I returned Rosencrantz was giving Diné “mad dogs”, and the fight was on. Diné is the one who picks fights with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and she is always on top as the aggressor, because even though Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are both much larger and stronger than Diné, she is still top cat; therefore, they always maintain the defensive position when she attacks. Even though Rosencrantz brandishes his impressive set of claws in Diné’s face (those claws have earned him the nick name “Claws and Fangs”), Diné is not impressed and whoops on Rosnecrantz until she feels she’s defeated him. This is the full sequence of their sparring match from mad dogs to Rosencrantz’ attempt to get in one last swat before Diné jumped off the bed after her triumphant, tiger-like pounce.
Paws
Diné laid under the chaise lounge with her paws crossed, while beautiful thunderheads built up over the Sandias and floated by earlier in the afternoon. A vulture appeared to fly above the clouds as it circled over the river. The picturesque clouds turned into a dust storm in the late afternoon, but, alas, no rain.
Kitty Cats
Rosencrantz was lounging at Laurie’s feet while she was sketching with her left hand. Diné was eyeing another kitty and Guildenstern took Laurie’s place when she got up, disturbing Rosencrantz’ lounging position.
Cool of the Evening
I finally got to irrigate after 7 weeks, so the wet soil and mulch made for a cool evening for the kitties, bumblebees and damselflies to hangout in the clover. Laurie was sketching the yard, sans power poles, and Mama Manx was using her head to help Laurie hold up her sketchpad.
Great Getting
The “Great Getting’ Up Mournin’ celebration” with the CUMC Chancel Choir and Fellowship Baptist Unity Choir was fantastic. Jazz a la Carte played Dixieland Jazz before the service, between sets and after the service, and they were very enternaining. Pastor Scott Sharp (CUMC) and Pastor Dennis Dunn (FBUC) both delivered short, but inspiring sermons. The music, choirs, musicians and congregation were very lively. It was a great service and moving experience.
I’ve been looking for a second full-frame Canon body, but new Canon full frame bodies are expensive, so I started looking at used bodies. I saw a Canon 1Ds advertised on Amazon as “Like New, little use” for $650 with no other description. I emailed the seller and asked what it came with and the shutter count. Canon 1D bodies are the hard core professional bodies that start new for $6000 and run up to over $8000 depending on the model. Normally used 1D bodies with low shutter counts are priced higher than 5D and new 6D. 1D bodies in the $600 range usually have very high shutter counts (80,000+), and are normally very well used.
The seller emailed back and said the camera came with all the original accessories, in the original box, and that the shutter count was 1846. My 5d that is only a year old is ready to turn over 20,000 clicks on the shutter. I ordered the camera and it arrived on Friday, and it is really “like new”, so it was “great getting” on my part.
All the photos, except for the photos I took of the camera sitting among Laurie’s cookies, were taken with the 1Ds. The sky was overcast and very bright when I took the outdoor photos, so it was a good challenge for the metering system. The auto focus is fast and accurate and it focused on black (Rosencrantz) immediately without searching like the 5D. The shutter is much quieter than the 5D and is super quick and responsive. All the photos are how they came straight out of the camera with little manipulation (of course, the panorama of the sanctuary was stitched together). The service tonight was a good test for indoors, under low light. While it focuses in the shadows very well, I discovered the autofocus searches on bright white, so it’s not perfect.
I got a photo of the first butterfly of the season, and it looked pretty ragged, so it either wintered over locally or migrated. One of the peach trees is blooming, as are the wild plums, and the honey bees are enjoying them.
After the service, we gathered in the ‘Life Center” for fellowship and cookies. The couple in the last photo asked me to take their picture. They are a handsome couple, and my first portrait with the 1Ds. I put on the super-wide angle lens and got a photo of the trombonist in the jazz band with his “le long trombone!”
Kitty, Kitty, Kitty
Rosencrantz eyed Diné in the dry grass and attacked. Diné held her ground, while Guildenstern lounged on the deck watching the standoff.
Off Center & Not Even 