First, I shot a bunch of RAW photos. When I was 25 years younger, I wasn’t patient enough to do RAW processing. My patience has not increased with age.
But I did get that promising tiny insect. So, delete all the RAW images except this one.
Cooked an excellent lunch and decided to shoot HUGE jpgs. And just crop. Out I went.
First bee of the bee-hunting season.This will never be as good as with a real camera.
Caught a very slow bird. (American Goldfinch – male, I believe.)Sometimes, even if the bee gets away, the image is still sweet.The End of Today’s Bee Hunt.
Way back 12 or 14 years ago, I went bee hunting on many late summer afternoons. It was easier with a real camera. But it’s still fun to see what I can capture. Whatever happens is what I planned.
Messed around with closer close-ups for a bit today.
Perhaps I should do this when the weather is cooler and write down the settings.
this is almost “good enough for a phone photo”.
These two haven’t been cropped. They are just out of the “camera”.
A decent bug photo isn’t happening.
This keeps me barely amused. And it keeps me off the news feeds. And gets me out of the Old Bat’s Cave.
The Old Bat is feeling rather frayed around the edges these days. Yoga is hard. Not sleeping all that well. Things hurt. My laser focus is more like a Gatling gun. Gotta whip myself back into shape.
A rather harsh image of Jack watering his garden box.
In person yoga again today. Walked and bussed to yoga took Uber home. Ordered Uber-X and got an Uber-Black. Gotta say, Uber Black is nicer! But, I have never actually ordered Black. However, if one shows up – I tip very well.
The object of today’s little photo session was “something has to be in focus”.
Feel that my photography skills have gotten a little sloppy. Or maybe it’s the software on my phone. Doing a little experimenting.
something has to be in focus.something has to be in focus.nothing is in focus.
almost in focus. Almost doesn’t count.
Gotta go to a 100th birthday party for a man who lives on my floor. Think about it. 100. He still lives in independent living and does his own laundry. Think about living another 18.5 years.
0633am. Yep, it’s still there. The most useless building in DC. The US Capitol.
Actually, I agree with The Orange One. Crime is rampant in DC. We do not agree about who is committing the crimes, however.
Very little was accomplished today. I did not kill anyone, yet. And I did my annual battery check on my emergency flashlight and radio. Also, charged up my phone powerbank. Be prepared. Sooner or later, the shit and the fan will collide.
On my walk, I stopped to admire the National Steak Knife.
This is one colossal waste of taxpayer money. It does nothing. But it hasn’t killed anyone, yet.
A fine day for a walk.
Three miles. Walk out the front door and keep walking for 1.5 miles. Then turn around and come back. Lots of excitement. Cars, curbs, cracks in the sidewalks, bikers, up little hills, down little hills. These things are exciting when you are between 80 and dead.
Gratitude
Grateful that I can still walk out the door and keep walking. And that if I see a bright new penny I can bend over and pick it up.
The copper paper cranes.
Maybe they are too big? Maybe I should have made smaller ones? Well. They are done. Because you get one chance to fold this paper. There are no do overs.
0624am. Sun coming up later. But it’s still coming up. That counts for something.
Word just flittered by reporting the firing of Billy Long as IRS commissioner. There has gotta be a damn good story there.
Just a normal, lazy old lady day. Made a couple of fine cranes from my absolutely best paper. That was a joy.
And, I continued with the “Sphag in a bag” treatment for orchid 2 of 10.
The Orchid ECMO setup. A last resort.
The orchid is supposed to stay in the plastic bag for a month. Then you put it on the compost pile! But I might learn something. I hope orchids don’t feel pain.
This was a nice purple orchid. It was a COVID New Year’s present from management.
I would love to be the salesman for paper products at The Asylum. We used disposable plates, cups, glasses, knives, forks, spoons, etc, for maybe two months this summer. Between COVID and dishwasher failure.
However, today there are only 5 cases of COVID-19, and 4 of the cases are among employees. Employees are now called Team Members. Have no clue why. There are workers and management, AKA not-workers. That’s the way it was back in the day, anyhow.
Researched my new digs in Kona. According to Google Maps, I am about 3 minutes farther away from most places I visit on a regular basis. 3 walking minutes. Google thinks I walk faster than I do. So, say it’s 5 minutes. No biggie.
Yesterday, as soon as I finished the blog, I decided it was time to get my Halloween to Xmas Eve Hawai’i plans nailed down. Text the people who handle the condo. Hearts and Hibiscus emojis come back. So happy they are that I am returning. Yes, they have my time blocked off. The price they quote is more than fine. Coffee and a pickup at the airport are promised. Aloha, see you on Halloween. Not five seconds pass, and I get a text that says OOPS. We accidentally rented some of “your” days. Sad face emoji. Well, sorry. That’s not going to work. Sad face emoji.
Well, that’s the price you pay for not owning your own place. But it’s a small price. I scuttled around VRBO and found what I hope will be a satisfactory place. It’s at the outer limit of my grocery store walking range. And the laundry is in the basement, not in the apartment. But it will be fine. And, if it isn’t – I’ll leave. Go to Papeete.
So. With that accomplished, what to do but work on the dying orchid?
For no apparent reason, this orchid #2 of 10 developed a terminal case of root rot.
I take it outside and remove it from the pot, and cut off all the dead roots. And all the roots were dead. But the arial roots are fine. I submerge what’s left in a bucket of water
Now what? Should have devised a plan before starting. Ask ChatGPT.
ChatGPT told me to get the orchid out of the bucket immediately and let it dry. Then it described a possible rescue plan:
Sphag-n-Bag Method (traditional recovery)
Wrap the base of the orchid and the aerial roots loosely in moist (not wet) long-fiber sphagnum moss.
Place in a clear plastic bag (like a gallon Ziploc) with air holes or opened once a day to prevent mold.
Keep in bright indirect light, warm temps, good humidity.
Wait. Over weeks to months, the orchid may grow new roots into the moss.
When new roots are at least 2–3 inches long, you can re-pot in bark.
✅ Best for: slow, stable root recovery.
🚫 Downside: can mold if you’re not careful.
It awaits the arrival of New Zealand long sphagnum moss. Which may or may not save it.
ChatGPT was pleased that I am making a serious effort to save the orchid. We’ll see.
But today’s real accomplishment was: 17 minutes 22 seconds mile. Who knows I might even break the 17-minute mile!
Woke up this morning — that’s a good thing. Looked across my room and realized that the country has taken a turn that negates my entire belief system — that’s not a good thing.
Gratitude
As of dinner last night – The Asylum has started using real dishes and flatware! Celebrate little victories.
The sun has been hiding. I rather like sun.
So, want to see what there is to see at 9:30am if you are doing 3 laps around to get in your first mile of the day?
Power washing the front driveway.A monster crane, delivering or picking up something. Rental fridgies?A car parked out by the Clinic. Gotta love this, and it isn’t even October!Fueling up the emergency generator?Back in the Old Bat’s Cave, I notice an interesting pattern in the grass on the sledding hill across the street.
My floor is having a little celebration for a neighbor who will be 100. I saw another neighbor walking back from the grocery store. He is over 100. I don’t think my family’s genetics will help me reach 100. I think I am past my “sell by date” already. But, living to be 100 is rather terrifying.
OH Dear. Big problems in my personal tech world.
Mouse Battery Very Low.
There was a fungus among us. Terry Nolan 1958.
Saw this fine fungus yesterday while on my post dinner walk around The Asylum.
And yes boys and girls, we did listen to a song titled “There was a fungus among us” way back in 1958.
Of course, there actually is a fungus among us now.
And what about this? I had my phone in my pocket. And it started an email with nothing except this image as an attachment. The image is not mine. I have never seen it. Maybe I shouldn’t blame the phone. Maybe one of the LLMs that I spend too much time with is achieving singularity right in my very own Pixel phone.
And then there is this. There was something about drones in the news today. I guess I was reading about drones and somehow triggered a “Share this photo” thing. But still.
Went to in person yoga today for the first time in a couple of months. I am taking refuge in an ibuprofen bottle.
Been back a week now. I can leave anytime on my next adventure. Starting to lay in plans for Halloween – Xmas. Nothing fixed yet.
But, I did implement my accept and adapt eating plan today.
Real food. From real ingredients.
I shopped. I found my apron. I sharpened my knives. I sliced, diced, and sautéed. Finished with butter, pepper, and good balsamic vinegar. (Because that’s what I had in the cupboard.)
I deserve good food. Even if I have to make it myself.
After enjoying my lunch (the chicken spent about 45 seconds too long in the heat), I cleaned up. Made coffee and had a nap. I am content.
And I am still not complaining about it being too cool for August.
Pleasant outdoor hidey-hole here at The Asylum.
Indeed, I went out and read some on my “private” patio. Seriously, I have never seen anyone else using it. It used to have rather ratty old metal chairs. It’s been gentrified. People will discover it.
Last Sunday, I was on the train crossing Montana.
Last Sunday morning. Whitefish Montana. I wandered down to see the front of the train. The two gents talking are the outgoing and incoming engineers.East Glacier Montana – Glacier NP. From the train window.
If it works — don’t fix it. That’s what I am going to do about my 9 year old WordPress theme. I am going to keep using it. I consulted with ChatGPT and it agrees with my decision.
For almost 60 years I wanted a computer like “Computer” on StarTrek. The Large Language Models are scary close to that. I might not live long enough to see how it plays out. But I am damn curious.
