Amber

On October 6, 2014 we lost Amber, our wonderful friend. She was 14 years old.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

We found her at the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA when she was about 10 months old. She had been abused and abandoned by her previous owners and we soon learned that she was extremely fearful though not aggressive. When I picked her up at the SPCA she was reluctant to get into the car but with some encouragement and a bit of help she did get in. In the process I inadvertently brushed the back of her leg with my hand and she instantly dropped to the floor of the car and looked back at me with fear in her eyes. This reaction to accidental contact from behind  persisted for years though it gradually decreased with time.

On my way home from the SPCA I stopped at the pet store to pick up some food and while I was in the store someone came in and asked if the owner of a brown and white dog was in the store and, if so, did they know that the dog was running loose. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about Amber! I went out to find her about 75 feet away at the end of the sidewalk of the mini mall. I had left the car window open, too much it seems, as she was able to squeeze through it.  I called her and, to my surprise, she came right to me and was less reluctant to get back into the car.

While walking her through the house to orient her to her new home, when we got to our bedroom she immediately leaped onto the bed and lay down looking very comfortable and pleased with her find. We informed her that this was not acceptable and that was the last time she was on a bed in our presence. But, though she had her own beds, we know that while we were away and she was in the care of her friend Mary, she was able to avail herself of the extra comfort of one of our beds.

A number of undesirable habits she had acquired took time and work to change and some never did. Her strong separation anxiety persisted and it meant that, after being away for even a short time, we were met with an extremely emotional and active greeting on our return. She learned to control this to some degree by picking up a shoe or a toy, preferably a shoe, and holding it in her mouth while jumping up, walking back and forth excitedly accompanied by crying, mumbling and muffled barking around the shoe. Similar vigorous activity greeted anyone who entered our house and, as our friends know well, her barking and competing for attention could go on for several minutes.

Her habit of jumping up, unexpectedly and extremely quickly, to "kiss" one's face, could be a disarming and somewhat annoying surprise.

And her playfulness with shoes, which she never chewed, led to shoes being scattered about the house and, as a consequence, it was occasionally difficult to find a pair to wear.

Her other many endearing personality traits, however, far outweighed any of those that could be slightly annoying.

Her favourite place was at our cabin by Crow Lake - a place where she could be off leash and free,

where she could cool off in the lake (which she invariably did immediately on arrival) or

soak up the heat of the sun or chase the turkey vultures soaring a hundred feet or more above her.



She liked being at the lake so much that often when we returned home she refused to get out of the car!






A few years ago she suffered an infestation of mites causing hair loss and almost constant itching and scratching. We discovered that she had hypothyroidism and treatment of that and getting rid of the mites rejuvenated her and her wonderful coat and energy returned.

During the last year or so she began to slow down significantly, moving more slowly and having some difficulty climbing stairs but with periods of playfulness and "dogged" determination to carry on.

This past summer at the lake she gradually became a bit more active and more like her old self, even breaking into a brief run during our walks.

The photo, left, was made on one of our morning walks in mid September this year. She was 14 years old so we knew that she would not be with us much longer, but with the increased energy over the summer we hoped that she would have one more time at Crow Lake during Canadian Thanksgiving in October. But, on the night before we were to leave for that Thanksgiving week at Crow Lake she suddenly became very restless and then unable to walk normally. She was in significant distress, enough that we were pretty certain that the time to make the dreaded decision had arrived. Fortunately, we were able to contact her Vet who encouraged us to bring Amber in.  That evening we lost Amber, our wonderful friend and my constant companion for over 13 years.
The decision was painful but obvious. The Vet was wonderful with her and the process was quiet and peaceful.

At home and at Crow Lake her presence is felt everywhere though she is nowhere to be seen.  There is now a large hole in our lives. We will miss her terribly. 

These last two images are the way I hope to  remember her - above left, during one our walks this September and the image to the right above - Amber walking home to the cabin at Crow Lake on the Thanksgiving weekend, 2013. There is a third image that I will never forget, though I have no photo of it - a much younger Amber at Crow Lake, running, with ears laid back, full tilt through the grass just for the obvious fun of running! A marvellously joyful and unforgettable image!

Long exposure photos

Not everyone will find this post of much interest, but, for fun, give it a try. If you read my earlier posts you will remember that in one of them I mentioned trying some long exposure photography. In that post I said that the person who wrote the article I read on the subject said he usually took 500 to 700 images during an outing expecting he might find one he would show.

Well, I have had fun (read "struggled"!) with this process in recent mornings and evenings during the periods that the light is about right, though changing rapidly, and I have difficulty getting one image or at the most two. Admittedly, I am learning and he has lots of experience and therefore is quicker. But, if you are involved in 3 or 4 minute exposures, or longer, with the light getting darker or lighter, time alone, before it is too bright or too dark, constrains you to about 15 images - at 2 minute exposures 30 images - 1 minute exposures 60 images - see where I'm going with this? And these times don't allow for much changing of settings or the inevitable snags. OK - allow 2 hours of "shooting" time. That still only gets you to 120 images for one minute exposures.

How he gets to 500 or 700 is a mystery to me.

Just to give you some idea of the process, here is a brief overview, not including finding the ideal location, setting up tripod etc. So, now on location with camera mounted and aperture and focal length selected, remember to turn off image stabilization (because you are using a tripod you don't need it and having it on creates problems), compose your image (which takes a bit of time) then, using a remote shutter release, take a photo to assess exposure; adjust if necessary to be sure you are exposing as much "to the right" on your histogram as possible to get the maximum amount of data without overexposing, and take another photo. Exposure where you want it? Good. OK, note exposure settings and screw on the neutral density filter(s). Hurry, light levels are changing - can't get the @&*#%* filter on!

Finally, the filter is on! Don't forget to turn off auto focus because with the dark filter the camera can't "see" well enough to focus and while it is searching for a focus point it won't allow you to release the shutter. OK - auto focus is off. Now check whatever chart you use to assess shutter speed for whatever density filter(s) you are using - I use an app on my iPod. Set the camera to manual or bulb, depending on the shutter speed required (most cameras will only go up to 30 seconds on manual) - if over 30 seconds it's bulb time so now you need whatever timing device you use to be sure you are exposing for the time required for the correct exposure - thousand-one, thousand-two, etc., or an iPod, for example.

Where the heck is my iPod? Oh, here it is. By this time, unless you are much faster than I, the light has changed so you need to make a bit of a guess about how much it has changed and alter shutter speed or aperture accordingly. This is morning and the light is getting brighter so I need a slightly shorter exposure time or maybe smaller aperture. Hmm…which to use? I'll try one stop smaller aperture. Darn, I am already at f22, the smallest aperture on my camera, so I need to change shutter speed one stop. Now, using the remote, trip the shutter. No reaction from the camera! What's the problem? Oops, forgot to turn the remote back on.

Now it's working and we're into a 3 minute exposure. Drat, some people are coming - they'll think I'm nuts standing here on the beach by this camera and tripod looking at the water - and they are about to walk into my camera's field of view! Oh well, they will just be a blur, but a blur I didn't want! Ok - three minutes is up so close the shutter and have a look at the screen. *&%$, it's over exposed so I need to reset the exposure, either by guess and by golly or take the filter(s) off and start the process over again. And since all that took at least 10, maybe 15 minutes, you might understand why there are only three marginally acceptable images (a colour and black and white of each) after several outings! None of them accomplished what I had hoped for, but they are here because they are all I have, so I hope you like them. :-)  By the way, during the time I took these last two photos the ocean was very active with lots of waves crashing over the end of the breakwater, which accounts for the soft white areas on either side, sending spray much closer to me than I would have liked.

Blooms

In the last post I included a photo of Mimosa trees in bloom and Kathie wrote to say how much she had liked seeing something in bloom, or words to that effect. And she added, "is anything else blooming there?" I sent a couple of flower images and she said it gave her hope.

So, I thought, a lot is blooming here right now and to see some of it might give hope to those waiting for a glimpse of spring in the Great White North.


After the rain stopped this afternoon I went out in our neighbourhood with my camera to see what blooms I might find and document and be used as harbingers of spring in Canada - excluding BC of course, where spring no doubt has already arrived.
Most of you will know these flowering plants better than I but I will have a go at identifying them and if I am incorrect, hopefully someone will correct me.

The flower in the top left is a hibiscus and these are easy to find as they are in many front yards. The upper right is, Ruth and I think, euphorbia or crown of thorns. I am not sure about the white flowers above but they could be the flower of a fruit tree. Anyone know what they are?
The plant in the yard above and left is a poinsettia and, like the hibiscus, these are also ubiquitous.

The blooms, in the photo to the right, look to us like a type of lily but I have to say that I have never seen a lily like this. I couldn't get close to them but from the sidewalk where I stood behind a substantial fence they looked quite beautiful but not clearly identifiable. Click on the photo (any photo) to have a better look and let me know if they look like lilies to you, or not.

Here again I am looking from the sidewalk and the flowers are on the other side of a fence so I can't get close enough to have a good look, so can't really say. From my vantage point I originally thought they look a bit like carnations. My only experience with carnations is in jacket button holes and based on even that limited perspective my conclusion now is that these are not carnations. I'd say geraniums.

This beautiful purple iris stood alone in the foliage just over the fence, but there were several other buds not too far from opening. And on either side of the iris there were lots of red snapdragons.

Below, everyone will recognize, is a cluster of bougainvillea, another flowering plant that is quite prevalent here - there is a similar, though less abundant one next door to this one and there is another very large one less than a block from here.
Below the iris is a yard with bunches of flowers virtually everywhere - next to the house and in beds beside the walk ways driveway and fences.


From my location on the other side of the fence I cannot even guess what these flowering plants might be. If you are a flower person and you enlarge the image, maybe you can identify them.






The recent rain has left lots of water droplets on this rose - I'm pretty sure it's a rose - it looks like a rose and there are appear to be thorns on the stem, so I am guessing rose. Any dissent?

Another one of those bunches of flowers, I think in the same yard as the image above. And, again, they are lovely but I have no idea what they are.

And poinsettias again, these just up the street from the apartment. This group is on a fairly large "shrub" that is filled with these blossoms - maybe shrub is not the correct descriptor - my guess is that it is about 8 feet high and about the same spread. Maybe tree is a better term. There is another one larger than this a couple of blocks away and that one I would say is even more like a tree. I had no idea poinsettia plants were that large.


These bright orange flowers are in a yard I pass regularly on my short-cut route to the supermarket. I snapped a quick and unfocussed photo of these one day last week when they were in the sun. Even with the poor focus, anyone know what they are? I have no idea. I went by today and they are looking very tired and much less colourful.


This blossom is a bit of a puzzle. I am sorry that it is not better focussed. All of these photos were taken with my small camera and getting a sharp focus was difficult - and it was breezy which added to the difficulty. I have no idea but Ruth thinks it's a double hibiscus. Any thoughts? Again, click on the photo to enlarge it.

So, there is a hope of spring from the Algarve, Portugal to the Great White North and upstate New York!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Happy 11th birthday Ryan! Hope you have a great day!

For us 3 days, counting today, before our 6 am pick up to drive off into the sunrise to the Faro airport. So we are definitely thinking about getting organized for that event. But first, we have at least one last gift to get so, as it's a lovely day, we are off to old town sometime today for the last time. (In truth, this trip was yesterday.)

Speaking of old town, it has occurred to me that I have yet to share more than a couple of local images, so now's the time to have a peek at some that have become so familiar to us that we barely notice them, in some cases, for good reason.

This is a long post but I think worth reading in order to follow the images and, as the reading will not be arduous, it will go quickly.

In the photo above are two bars we pass every day on our way to the apartment. There used to be a Canadian flag displayed in the far one but the flags are no longer there, a change I think made by new owners. We have had lunch and enjoyed a sangria occasionally at the pastelaria/coffee shop with the red tables and neat cobblestone floor, which is just past the bars.

The image left is a copse of Mimosa trees, now in full bloom, which we pass on our short-cut to the Modelo, the supermarket.

When we go to old town from our end of town the bar in the photo on the right is one of the most prominent. As you will see in some of the following sign photos, in spite of the paucity of American tourists here, there seems to be a penchant for using names derived from the USA - here Louisiana

and this one, in case you can't make it out, says Vegas Bar, and down the street a nod to Ireland with the Shamrock Bar.

A bit further down the same street is the Hotel California and the sign below in front of a neighbouring bar offers several drinks with names like Long Island Ice Tea and something about San Francisco. I don't know anything about drink names, so these may be in common use - if so, their use here may not be as surprising as it seems to me.

Once we get past that area of bars, of which there are many, we get to the town square, or Praça, with lots of restaurants and their pitchmen who smilingly attempt to  entice you to eat or drink at their establishment.

Several streets exit the square usually to shopping areas with a variety of shops, some quite pricey and many which seem to have the same supplier of stuff with minor variations, most of which one would be wise to leave on the rack.

 This one is a good example of that.

This shop, to the right, is a bit more interesting - goods from the Andes where you can find some very nice clothes, bags, etc., and Ruth bought some things here today. They also entertain in the square with pan-flutes, ancient folk instruments, creating rather haunting versions of North American oldies. How these folks found their way here I don't know.


This street at the left is one I showed in an earlier post in a photo taken early in the morning with nothing in the street and no one around. This is also quite early  but activity has begun - you can see the woman sweeping the street in front of her gelado shop. Continuing down this street we are on our way to the escalators, which I have shown in a previous blog post, on our way toward home.

The escalator takes us up to the higher level "overlook" area where the next three photos were taken. In this photo I think you can appreciate that the folks in the distance on the right are on the overlook level and to the left of the foliage the buildings are at a much lower level. Since there should be a bit of mystery, I will leave it to you to sort out the centre part of this image, suffice it to say that this one

and this one were taken from pretty much the same place.

Moving along on the overlook level I passed this couple relaxing in the sun, appearing to be paying attention to the gull standing directly in front of them.






Here, a bit past the couple watching the gull, is the route home along the overlook level which gradually descends to a low spot then a steep climb to get to the area of our apartment. If you click on this photo to see a larger image (which you will want to do for all of the images), in the distance, I think you can see the breakwater that is a part of so many of my beach photos - well, maybe you can't see it - but that breakwater is right in the area of our apartment so that's where we're headed.

When I reached the beginning of the steep hill, I decided that instead of climbing it I would take the beach route the rest of the way.

While on the beach on the remainder of the walk "home" I looked back toward old town to find this dark cloud coming my way, so best not to dally.

Moving right along I passed these buildings which may be a part of our Apartment Hotel. The storm is moving pretty rapidly but I risked stopping to take this because I liked the dark clouds above the white buildings and the blue topped chimney pots.

Going the beach route to avoid the steep hill I mentioned above did not allow me to completely escape a hill. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog post, the hill from the beach to the apartment is also a steep climb but neither as long nor as steep as the one I avoided. I made it home ahead of the storm and on the way up that hill to the apartment building I stopped to take this photo of one of my favourite rows of chimney pots, then up the rest of the way and inside before the rain began.

"Home", sweet home!

The End.