Blue and Crested

Cyanocitta cristata

The blue jay can be seen across much of  North America. It’s a familiar backyard bird here in Virginia.

When I took its picture high in a tree, I did not recognize the bird because my eyesight is not that sharp, especially with sunglasses on. Looking at the cropped photo later, I could clearly see the markings around its head.

The second photo is from over a month ago and was taken automatically by the feeder camera. Since then, all my feeders have come down because the deck was repainted. The birds don’t need to be fed in the summer anyway. 

This bird looks a little different and may be a juvenile.

The final picture is an earlier one that I took with my Nikon.

Summertime Collages

The first image shows recent flower photos plus a border. The other images are from past summers.

Mosaic Linkup / Garden Affair

Tree Mural Redone in Luray

It’s been a while since I drove through a particular parking lot in Luray, so when I saw that the tree mural had been replaced, I stopped to take a picture.

I posted a photo of the old mural way back in December 2014. There wasn’t as much foliage then, but it was winter, after all. Here’s a screen shot of that post.

It looks like I’ve been linking to Monday Murals since late summer of 2014. At that time it was hosted by Oakland Daily Photo. Sometimes I think I’m running out of murals to share, but then I see something like this one. Outdoor paintings don’t last forever.

Along the River near Maurertown

Do you like exploring country roads? I certainly do! Yesterday I set out to locate a particular spot, and the road became narrow and unpaved. It seemed vaguely familiar though, and when I saw this house, I realized I had been down this road about 20 years ago.

The spot I was looking for was shown on a webpage that I came across when I was writing Friday’s post about Inskeep Landing. The website listed public access points on the Shenandoah. All the other places were familiar to me, so I was curious about this one near Maurertown. I wanted to take pictures of the river from a new spot.

My GPS wasn’t much help because I didn’t know the name of the road, but I had saved the map on my phone. The county route number is 661, and now, after looking at another map, I think the road is Ridgeley Road. (I am glad my parents taught me how to read maps!)

I think I found the place that is marked on the map. Bear in mind that this website appeared to be in need of updates, and the state DWR Site lists a different place for boating access. I plan to check out that one too.

There were several vehicles parked along the road, and nobody in sight, so I assume they were either kayaking or tubing on the river. This is not a good location for carrying anything heavy because the bank is quite steep. Also, the North Fork is shallow and rocky here.

A little further down, I stopped to see Helsley Bridge, but there was a sign saying it was a private road. One thing to remember about online maps and the GPS is that they don’t often indicate that a road is private, plus the maps can be pretty confusing in a rural area.

A few steps away was an old bridge across a creek, and it appeared to be in danger of falling down. It had been blocked off with a large log. 

I continued to follow the road I was on and it soon returned to the Valley Pike, having formed a long U-shape like a bend in the river. Most of the roads here follow routes dictated by geography, specifically the curves of rivers and the gaps in the mountains.

Deer with Fawns and Charlie’s Week

Can you see the baby deer?

 

Hi, it’s Charlie the beagle! I got a new leash and a light vest for summer.

Here’s my friend Tripod. I was out for a walk and heard a meow. Tripod wanted to say hello.

We got our deck painted. The gate is not back up yet, so I have to stay on the lead.

Look what I saw next door! It’s a groundhog, but some people call it a woodchuck or a whistle pig.

One day my sister Lynn came to see me and brought a friend. We all had hamburgers!

Today we went to a history thing and saw some horses. I was not very scared because I was with Mom and Miss Deborah and Mr. Frank.

Some men were dressed as dragoons, which is not the same as dragons. It means soldiers with horses.

I met a nice dog named Tigger.

Those are the highlights of my week. I also went to the vet and got my shots. I was glad to go back home.

Under the Table

Composed while Waiting.

Yesterday I went to another new doctor, an orthopedic specialist in Harrisonburg. I’m switching much of my medical care to the Sentara system because I’m getting frustrated with Valley Health. I realize that all medical conglomerates have similar problems: long delays in getting an appointment, busy offices that may not respond to questions, and short appointments due to insurance requirements. I hope to at least find practitioners who respond to questions.

This doctor seems willing to listen, and at least did not push surgery as a solution. But no one seems to comprehend that pain is not the biggest part of my problem. I just want to walk without losing my balance. Well, I have an appointment in the future with a neurologist, and I am continuing with physical therapy. It’s hard to get motivated to do the practice exercises because I get tired so easily, and then I can’t do  things I want to do. 

Don’t get old; it’s hard! I tried to put it off as long as possible, but time caught up with me.

Fishing at Inskeep Landing

Page County, VA

These people are going to fish in the South Fork of the Shenandoah. I took this from the boat landing at Bixler’s Ferry Road. I just learned that this point is called Inskeep Landing. 

Vibrance vs. Saturation

A June Sky, 8:50 P.M.

Some years ago, I took a Photoshop class and asked the teacher, “What is the difference between the Saturation Adjustment and the Vibrance Adjustment?” I forget her response, but I interpreted it as Vibrance increasing the contrast between colors. 

Most sources say that Vibrance enhances muted colors without overly saturating the colors that are already bright. If you increase Saturation instead, it deepens all colors, giving your picture an unnatural look if you’re not careful. 

Let’s experiment with my sky shot in the Photos app that came with my iPad. (I stopped using Photoshop when they started requiring a subscription because I don’t like recurring fees.) If I increase the Vibrance slider all the way to 100, the sky deepens and we see a pretty sunset.
 

If instead, I increase Saturation all the way to 100, the colors are brilliant, but the sky looks unnatural, especially the blue.

That looks awesome, but it’s not at all what I saw. I pulled the sliders back and then set Vibrance at 20 and Saturation at 10. The result is the first image, which is not as impressive, but it’s true to what I saw. After all, I was just walking the dog in the evening, and I wasn’t interested in waiting for the colors to possibly deepen to a stunning intensity.

Most of my pictures are fairly realistic. I’m not a big fan of overly manipulated images unless they are clearly art rather than journalistic. When I use AI or artistic filters, I’ll usually mention it. 

Most of my blog posts are journalistic in style, with the exception of the Saturday posts that I pretend are written by my dog. I like to think that everyone is “in” on that little joke. 

Bird Post #1316

This pretty goldfinch perched in my front yard. I was able to take its picture with my cell phone through the glass storm door.

The bird on the fence was in the county park where I was walking Charlie. It looked like a barn swallow to me, but the app on my phone identified this picture as a kingbird. There was a less sharp photo that it said is a swallow. AI is not very discerning.

The picture of swans is from 2005, the first year that I was blogging. Internet connections were slow then, so the picture is not high resolution, but I had used an artistic effect so I don't think it matters.

Quite a Day!

I'm tired — even more than usual. For one thing, I had physical therapy and it was exhausting. Lynn and her friend Jessica spent the afternoon here helping me with a list of chores, and they entertained the dog while I was gone. Charlie still has separation anxiety and does not do well by himself.

They got a lot of things done! Lynn is good at technical things like setting up a camera by my front door and making the app work, and Jessica is willing to work hard, and cleaned both the microwave and the living room floor. She got up on a ladder to change a lightbulb in a ceiling fixture. I don’t like climbing ladders because my balance is not great, and falling can be disastrous when you’re past a certain age. I don’t have osteoporosis yet, but I do have osteopenia, which means my bones are starting to thin. 

This evening my deck got painted. Mr. Dodson worked at another job all day and then came over with his helper and painted. It seems like other people have a lot more energy than I do!

I definitely need to get to bed on time tonight. I guess I need more sleep than I needed when I was younger. Getting old is hard. 

Artwork in Mervin Jackson Park, Leesburg

This is outside the parking garage that I showed on Friday. I stopped to take a picture of this pretty mural on what I assumed was a utility box. It looked like a Picasso-inspired painting, and I think it was drawn with one continuous line.

I noticed that the side of the box was painted, so I stepped around to take another picture and was surprised to see a piano. 

It was painted by Danielle Ferrin.

Mosaic Monday / Murals