August Heat

Is even Too Much for the sunflowers!

Well I missed the Blue Supermoon this August!

 In fact I went to bed before it even rose! I did see it through the trees the night before though! When its been up to 105 for the days high and still in the 90's at 9pm its just not that pleasant to head outside and find a spot where you can see the moon rise!

 However, I do have this Moon Rise ( and it was a Blue Moon!) that I made back in 2004. Parked off the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive in the Big Bend National Park, looking eastward towards the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains! Only six megapixels of digital capture available to me then and very little dynamic range.There was just the faintest afterglow on the mountains from the set sun. More than 12 stops difference between them and the incredibly bright moon by the time it cleared the low clouds. Renee' and I , well mostly Renee', also had our hands full with Hallie- our then three year old daughter! Much, much cooler in the Chihuahuan desert after dusk and she was eager to explore- no mind the cactus, tarantulas, or rattlesnakes! 

 Photographically I imagine I could do far better today but I could never replace the wonderful memories we made that night!

While we were at the movies! A Lot Happens in August!

 our daughter, Hallie, was finishing her Masters degree! We got her call announcing it last night!

She earned her BA from the University of Colorado in three years .
and now, while working full time, two years later has added to that her Masters! Later this year she will complete the supervised hours needed to receive her certification to assess and create individual programs to assist young autistic children in learning to interact with a world that is so often totally alien and frightening to them!

When I took this picture of her cap, at her high school graduation in 2019, I knew she was "going places". I didn't understand the mountains, but do now- on so many levels! So many more than i could have imagined or even do now! I am even more confident of her success in scaling them!

And the other picture, well that's our daughter- marching into school for her first day of elementary school August 2005, parents instructed to Not Walk holding her hand!

Happy Birthday Month  Xiao Yun! your dad is so pleased to share a birthday month with you! If you care to to watch this young woman grow up, just travel back through this blog!

 

Yes! That is one BIG bag of popcorn!!!

 And it should be! it cost $12, there were NO options! Drinks were $7 and only my date knows what the hotdog cost! We did get a senior discount so tickets were only $12 each! Total cost invested in our first excursion to the movies in nearly five years........ something over $60!!

I cant remember the last movie we saw in a theater- this one was It Ends With Us. I was pleasantly surprised! As I sat waiting for it to start, having figured out the myriad controls on the very comfortable chair,  looking about the theater- attendance was sparse ( it was 1pm)- just a handful of soccer moms wearing their baseball caps and holding on to cell phones for dear life! Thankfully they carried on NO vocal conversations* but the texting never stopped, except when the male sex object ripped off his clothes! Lots of little screens flickering in the dark. 

Anyway, it was A VERY big bag of popcorn, we never made it to the bottom but the $7 drink only made it halfway. I think there was some means to summon re-fills but I got distracted when the female star got her clothes removed!

Most importantly Renee' loved the movie and was very impressed with how quiet i was throughout it! A Successful Date!

Photo taken with her cell phone, I don't carry one!

 

 

* I should point out, in addendum, I am one of the very, very, very few who still talk on a cell phone!

Absolutely Necessary!

 Back in 1980 we had been married for two years and money was tight! We both worked, were fairly frugal but were making a car payment and one on our trailer and land. I decided that I just HAD TO have a 4x5 view camera for my photography! And my sweet young bride agreed to me getting a loan to buy a used one! ( Keep in mind we were living in a nearly 25 year old trailer with avocado kitchen appliances and a violet toilet!) We both were also well into a life long love affair with the Big Bend! We would take our vacation time and go backpacking up in the Chisos Mountains. Our camping gear was a mish-mash of real equipment and make do items, like milk jugs for water and pieces of old furniture foam to sleep on! A worn out kitchen pot with the handle cut off for cooking and I had my steel toed work boots to hike in! My wife's boots were new from Sears-Roebuck, but no steel toes! There were a few flowing springs you could count on to find water but we still carried over four gallons of water, the packs & equipment, and our food! We couldnt afford freeze dried so food was mostly canned items! We never weighed our packs but I would guess my load was over 60# and Renee's 40 #. Oh!! then there was that metal monorail view camera, lens, film holders and and metal gitzo tripod. Figure about 25# give or take on that kit!

I** staggered along ( actually I was so young and fit there was no staggering!) with the camera attached to the tripod, legs extended and resting on the top of my pack like a bundle on a hobos stick!

I doubt I ever made more than a dozen exposures in the three years the view camera journeyed with us. And not a single one I remember or know where the negative is! And I have many hundreds of images from the Big Bend I'm proud of.

The camera is still in my collection, resting in a wooden case I made for it. The loan got paid off and most amazing after this and many other trying situations brought on by my "dreams" my wife is still with me!

Oh, and we live in a house with stainless steel appliances and NO violet toilets!

** No I was not so STUPID as to ever suggest Renee' carry the camera!

I am not sure whether we've spent more money over our years together on shoes for my darling wife or camera equipment for me! But neither one of us is keeping count either!