While walking a morning or two ago, Sera posed for me on overwatch. Shot with the Fuji X100V 23mm f/2 at f/8 using the Portra film simulation.
It has been a minute or two. After six weeks in the field overseeing a construction project, I am no longer leaving the house at 0-dark-early and returning at 1700h. That was a string of long days and a lot of physical activity.
I am recovering and resting. The last couple of days were spent catching up with things left undone. I still have a lot to do. There is also a slug of analytical work to get done and that will take a few weeks.
It is good, though. The work is good. Then I might catch a break before the next batch of projects start up. Or it might be that work slows for awhile as the consulting business has an ebb and flow.
Anyway, The Girl and I are enjoying the cooler weather. With the cool weather the risk of snakes is much reduced. Soon they will all be in their winter dens and will be of no concern until the weather warms in the spring.
I am carrying a camera again. I have a few images that need review and processing. I have a couple of new lenses to try. I want to get out and do some radio as well.
Lately I have been shooting normal(ish) lenses during my daily walkies with The Girl. Yesterday I carried an old Hanimex 135mm f/2.8 along and shat a few frames with it. This one I like, captured with the Sony A7Sii with in-camera black and white conversion at f/8. I did post-process a bit in Iridient Developer, made some contrast adjustments and added a bit of sharpening.
Over the last month or so, with the exception of two outings, my images were captured with normalish lenses. The two exceptions were some captures with the Nikkor 85mm f/2 and the Zuiko 85mm f/2. On a full-frame camera, like the Sony A7Sii (which I carry a lot), 85mm is a short telephoto focal length. It is most commonly used for portraits.
I start to see the telephoto effect (compression of distance, shallow depth of field) at a focal length of about 105mm. Yesterday I carried a Hanimex 135mm f/2.8 in the bag. The Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 Tessar was on the camera (Sony A7Sii) during most of our walk. Near the end of walkies, I decided to mount the Hanimex and see what that gave me.
The Hanimex was reviewed and recommended by Nigel (Zenography channel). It is not an expensive lens. They are quite common (East German Cold War era). But, they are also quite sharp, good quality, and have good contrast. I picked one up off fleaBay a few weeks ago for not much money.
Nigel is right — the lens is quite sharp, even wide open. It has good image quality. And I quite like the telephoto look of this shot of River Road from the Silver Saddle Ranch gate staging area.
The Girl and I had a good walk. The weather is cool, very much fall-like. We have had some rain and I am hopeful that keeps the wildfires away. My thought for today is that maybe we will drive up to our current favorite portable operation site this morning. We can walk some and I might set up a station and see if the bands are better (yesterday they were poor). I think I will take makings for coffee or tea.
Whatever we do, it will be good. I am grateful The Girl is strong and healthy. I do not mind that she is a bossy-bitch. Life is good.
My poor girl is quite sick. She has a urinary tract infection and is being a little slow to respond to antibiotics. This on top of a rattlesnake bite a little over a week ago is a lot for her system to handle. Shot with the Sony A7Sii and a 50mm f/1.7 Zenit-M lens at f/1.7. Post-processed with Iridient Developer.
The Girl has had a tough run of luck lately. Last week she was bitten by a rattlesnake. That caused a trip to the clinic and an overnight stay. The treatment mitigated the worst of the bite. After a couple of days of recovery, she was pretty much her usual self.
Still, I limited her crazy activity for a few days. Tuesday and Wednesday we were out in the field where I directed collection of some additional topographic data for one of our projects. She seemed her normal self, and had a blast chasing the multitude of chipmunks that inhabit the area.
Thursday evening I noticed some swelling of her muzzle. I called the vet and we traveled back to Gardnerville for another check. Her blood work was good, but the vet identified a urinary tract infection. I asked that she give an injection of antibiotic to jumpstart the process and then I would administer the remainder of the round orally.
She was not a bit good yesterday. I was able to coax her to eat a couple of scrambled eggs I made for her. That got the antibiotic in. Last night I had some leftover hamburger steak and mashed potatoes, so I was able to get the next does of antibiotic in her.
She did drink some water and ask to go out to eliminate a couple of times. So we are making progress.
This morning as I readied myself to go out, she looked at me but did not leave her spot on the sofa. I drove down to Red Hut and had some food. I brought her French toast (my leftovers) and that got another dose of antibiotic in her. She also drank some water, which is good.
Then she laid her head back down to rest. She is showing little interest when I start moving around. Normally she would be a pesty-bitch and follow me everywhere in the house, underfoot, asking to go with.
Not today… she is firmly established on the sofa.
I will leave her there and pray she is better this evening. I always hated it when my kids were sick, especially when they were small and did not understand. I feel the same for my fur-children. They know they are sick and do what comes natural to them to recover. They do not understand medical treatment, but permit us to treat them. They know we love them and are caring for them.
So, I will hope for better this evening. In the meantime, I have other things to keep me busy.
1Yes, I know that my term of endearment, fur-child, is completely inaccurate. She is not human. However, we share a bond and relationship that is as strong as I have with most humans. Do not try to tell me she does not love me — I know that she does. So, leave me alone!
This is the first of several captures made Thursday afternoon, 17 August 2023. I was on my way back from a trip to the vet in Gardnerville, Nevada for Sera. The capture was made with a Sony A7Sii and a lovely little Pentax-M 50mm f/2 at f/8.
Sera has a urinary tract infection. I know this because I took her to the vet yesterday evening. I noticed a bit of swelling on her muzzle and thought that there might be some residual impact from the rattlesnake bite.
I called and decided to take her down to Gardnerville to see a vet. The swelling on her muzzle was not the issue. She tested positive for a UTI. She got an injection of antibiotic and was sent home with a round of oral antibiotic.
On the way home it started raining. The light was looking good with the sun just over the Sierra Nevada. I stopped along U.S. 395 to make a few images.
I hope Sera heals quickly. She is not good at the moment.
This image was captured 02 July 2016 while we were out hiking. She’d lived with me for about five years at this time. I still miss her.
I was browsing my image archive this morning, cleaning up some culls and organizing the directories. I stumbled across this capture of Ki I made seven-years ago. She was on overwatch as I climbed up towards her and she looks so happy. We had so many good times together. She was a great dog, not perfect but neither am I.
I still miss her. We will see each other again and have a big-ol’ play along with all the others.
The Girl is home from hospital after her nope-rope encounter. It’s good to have her home. Shot with a Fuji X-E4 and the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 at f/4, with the Acros film simulation.
The vet called yesterday morning about 0745h. The Girl was doing well, her numbers were fine, and she was ready to be released. I was expecting a must-sign-for delivery via FeDeX, so I had to stick around the house. I knew that as soon as I left, the delivery person would show up and I would have to go find the parcel.
So I continued to work while waiting. I heard the truck about 1330h and walked to the front door then stepped out. I signed and took delivery, dropped the carton on the kitchen table, and headed for Gardnerville. It took a half hour to get there and only a few minutes of waiting (after I paid my bill, of course). The Girl was quite happy to see me and ready to head out the door.
I received her recovery directions and pain medication and we left.
I stopped at McDonald’s because I know she like fries and I was a little hungry. She ate part of my hamburger, too.
She settled onto the bed in her normal place. Later she moved to the sofa where I sat watching videos about the Fuji X-E4, their smallest interchangeable lens camera. I have a rented unit because I want to know what all the fuss is about it.
I already have the perfect set of lenses for it, Fujinon’s wonderful compact lens series. It would make an excellent travel camera for those times I want more than a point-and-shoot1. It is inexpensive to rent, so I am doing to testing over the next week and change.
But, the focus is on The Girl. She will need a few days of rest to recover from her close encounter of the Jacob-No-Shoulders’ kind. She will get rest and lots of love. I will also be very careful with her when we are out where there can be snakes. I do not want a repeat action.
1Ha! The Fuji X100V is not just a point-and-shoot camera. It is a very competent fixed lens camera that can do a lot if the focal length is right.
I have laughed, many times, over the fact that no matter which way I point the camera (or face for that matter), there is The Girl, looking in the same direction. I think I could write a book entitled The South End of a North-Bound Dog. It would include a lot of dog stories, of course.
Once again, while looking at a piece of scrap metal left behind years ago, I pointed the camera. Before I could make the capture, there was The Girl, with the South End pointed at me.
Nevertheless, life is good.
Edit: On our morning hike, a large coyote crossed the access road behind us. Unlike they usually do, this one stood there, staring at us. Of course, this set off The Girl, who wanted to engage.
Well, that is not going to happen. But this raised her energy level so much that she was hyperactive as we started our walk.
About a mile in, I saw her jumping on a bush. That in itself is not unusual, but she was very agitated and clearly on something. I walked over and heard the buzz when I got about ten feet away. I called her off and she had blood on her nose and tongue.
It was a rattler, definitely. I figured she was bit, although I could not find it. I called the vet and we headed back to the rig.
They found one bite site on the side of her muzzle. She is in hospital while they infuse her with antivenin and monitor her blood and kidneys function. She should be fine in a couple of days. I doubt she will be any wiser.
She would rather be hunting. But she needed a break because she was overheating. Shot with Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 33mm f/1.4 at f/4.While I work through my first morning coffee, I decided to post a capture of my lovely Girl. She will pose for me if I ask. Well, maybe sometimes I have to tell. [Heh]
We have been spending some time every weekend in the national forest at an elevation of about 7,000 feet. It is much cooler there and the pines provide shade and that soothing shooshing sound when the breeze blows through the needles. The lagniappe is that I can play radio a little, hike as much as I want, and enjoy being away from the sounds of Carson City.
I already have enough backlog of photographs to post for weeks. Those are just the captures from the last couple of weekends up there near Spooner Summit. I have many more from our walks at Silver Saddle Ranch.
I am already looking forward to the weekend. I plan on going back to this place. Although, as I think on it, my friend Greg mentioned Hermit Valley out south of us. It is also at elevation and is a new place to explore. I will have a look this week to see if there is a park or a summit to activate. Then I might plan a day trip out there to explore.
Sera loves grass and being outdoors. When I see her rolling in the grass like this, it always makes me smile.
Yesterday was a field day. I had a site walk with my prime contractor and the clients for a project that is about to begin construction. Yes, another of my projects will be built this fall. My role was the hydrologist and engineer for all of the hydrology, hydraulics, and this culvert design. The design was complicated by the client’s requirements.
The project was bid and was a lot more expensive than anticipated. But construction bids are high this year. So a compromise was reached, a change in the culvert material was made, but now there is a question about removing the existing concrete overflow (culvert is a combined box and low-water crossing) because of cost.
My assessment is that removing the concrete overflow will be less expensive than dealing with it in place. It is at about the invert elevation of the new culverts such that it will intersect the barrels. I do not think it can be left. But the construction stakes will be in place within a couple or three weeks. Then we will see. I might be wrong.
We then walked downstream to look at places where the channel fill could end if the budget runs short. There are several places where the project can end, function, and wait for another round of funding to finish the restoration.
The meadow is lovely this year with all the water over the winter. Vegetation is dense and healthy. Several times Doggo paused to romp and roll in the grass. I managed a capture of one of her dances.
It was a gorgeous day. She makes me laugh. I love he so much and she knows it. Life is good.
This is one of my favorite places in Carson City. There are so many memories of playing with Ki here.
The Station 51 park is one of my favorite places in Carson City. The structure looks like it was a gathering place when the site was the state school. Maybe it was a mess hall. I am not sure. But I always enjoy the sight of it in the morning with C Hill in the background.
It is a tradition that every year the graduating high school class “converts” the C into the last two digits of the year. At some point it will be changed back to “C”.
When Ki and I returned to Carson City late in 2015, I rented long term at the Plaza Hotel. Our walks took us the couple of blocks east to the Station 51 park, where we interacted with human and canine friends almost every day. When Older Son and DiL came to visit, we would take Ki over there for her daily outing. I have some cherished photographs of those family times.
Later, in 2016 I rented my place here in Carson. Ki and I continued walking the few blocks to the Station 51 park, as well as walking out at Riverview Park and Silver Saddle Ranch. We walked many circuits around the perimeter of the park.
After Ki died and Sera came to live with me, I continued the tradition for a while. But Sera is a different dog and is mildly reactive. Her reaction always depends on the confidence of the other dog. After a number of encounters that I did not like, we began walking the Silver Saddle trails more because there is less traffic.
She loves to walk along the river where she can get out in the water. But as time went on there was more traffic there and more of the other walkers we did not know and their dogs were not always the best behaved. So I started walking the upper trails more, where Sera an be off lead and the probability of running into another dog is reduced.
Sera injured one of her feet a week ago, probably by jumping on the brush chasing lizards. She has a small cut between her pads and the loose sand irritates it. Several times she would race past me and then drop on the trail to lick her paw.
I decided to walk her in town for a few days. There is less sand and more grass. That is good because it reduces the pressure on her paw and she loves grass. We walk early before the traffic rises. The grass is often wet from irrigation. She will roll around crazy or dive onto the wet grass as we walk. She loves it and that makes me happy.
So we are revisiting our walks to the Station 51 park and I am seeing things that remind me of the times there with Ki. Those were good times. Now I have memories of spending time there with Sera. Those are good memories too.
I am grateful. Life is good.
N.B. The photograph was made with the Fuji X-T5 and the Fujinon 60mm f/2.4 macro lens at f/8. It is a very good lens and the right focal length for the shot.
