Ah, the tranquility, the silence, the stillness, the purity of fresh-fallen snow. Sometimes I miss it, after all I am from Canada, but I don't miss it that much. Actually I guess I'll never experience snow again. My wife, who is from Chongqing where snow never happens, and where we now live never to move again, never experienced snow before she moved in with me at the high school where I was teaching English near Zhengzhou farther up north after we got married. She discovered that it isn't easy to ride a bike in snow...
But then she found out that it could be fun, and made the first snowman in her life...
It may have been beautiful outside, but a lot warmer inside....
Back in Canada - winter view of the ravine behind my brother's home - a photo I took when I travelled back for a short visit from China for my son's wedding about 16 years ago.
We'll see. I can't even remember the number of times we've had forecasts for several days that a big storm was coming only to have the winds blow it away at the last minute and we don't get any rain at all. That happens a lot around here.
The August heat has been strangely absent around here for about a week now, with daytime temps barely hitting 80, and a few nights actually in the 50s. It was spectacular weather, but I think it's over now. It's supposed to be back up near 100 in the coming week.
Looking forward to the huge storm they are predicting coming from Baja.
I saw that there's a chance it might hit LA as a category 1 hurricane. It might be a bit of an ordeal. At least the forecasted track had LA on the left side of the eye, so because of the direction of rotation it won't be blowing moisture in directly from the ocean. That should hopefully make flooding a little easier to deal with.
Also saw that Vegas will be affected, and might get 2 years worth of rain in just one day. That could be a mess.
We have a large slope in the back with a series of interconnected concrete drains, so we should be protected there. We have a slope in front and we sit about 30-40 feet or so above the street. And we have a slope on one side of the house. If the slope in front slides our house could end up in the street. If the slope on the side of the house slides, we could end up in the neighbor's backyard. If the slope in back slides, it could end up in the house. Am I worried? Nah.
We recently attended a niece's wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Pacific Palisades near Santa Monica. I tried to be creative with a few of my photos. I really liked the flowing drapery of some of the gowns.
My friends who are guys seem to like the middle image best. I've been getting messages like "Liked an image" and "Amazing!". I don't think they're talking about the colors or composition though.
It looks like you started with a pretty good camera, too.
No... It was a Canon T3 with kit lenses. Very much an entry level digital. I use Photoshop to edit, though I don't do a lot to the images any more. I upgraded a few years ago to the top level hobbyist Canon that would use the lenses I already had - the Canon 80D.
Great shot of that turkey, btw. It must have been tricky getting that close to it.
LOL... no not really. We were at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Minneapolis. I took the shot through an observation window where all the bird feeders are setup.
Just returned from a beach vacation. Missing it already.
Below is an oil painting I bought a while ago. I’ve always loved this piece of art. For some perspective, the painting itself is only about 6”x9”, so you can imagine how tiny the brush strokes are for such detail. I’ve tried to research the artist with no luck.
Sounds like a job for Antiques Roadshow. If they ever come your way, that is.
My wife was on the Antiques Roadshow a couple of years ago with a watercolor painting she bought online. The show was in Fargo and she went with her aunt.
how cool is that. I like to watch the youtube clips where somebody buys something at a yardsale, junk shop, or inherits an item thought to be nothing special, except to them, and it turns out to be worth a small fortune.
my mother pulled 2 civil war era pistols out of her dad's (my grandfather) estate for me that had belonged to relatives that fought on both sides of that war. I remembered seeing and playing with them when I was a child. I urged her to take them to a gun shop in texas to be appraised. imagine my horror when she told me that the appraiser convinced her they were very unsafe and that he would dispose of them for her. she agreed with him and left them there. when she later told me what she had done, it was the first time in conversation that my mom had ever heard me use the F word, more than a few times.
A lot of times on Antiques Roadshow people will estimate that their item is worth "about $200" and then the professional appraiser tells them it is actually worth thousands, so you never know.
I was on the Antique Roadshow, I brought in an old watch and the guy took one look at me and said you're close to being an antique now let's see the watch.
Was that an auction estimate, a retail estimate, or for insurance purposes?
It was for insurance purposes, and I'm now covered by Lloyds of Londons at full replacement value. Which is a bazillion dollars.
Will you be drifting from South America or navigating from the Marquesas?
In a nod to my heritage and drifting ability, I'll be drifting from Callao, Peru after which I complete two days of inter-tribal business I'll be drifting to Pitcaran Island. Fletcher Christian was always bragging about some thing or other so I'll have to prove he was a Johnny come lately.
So did I before I came here. I actually had some really great pieces back then that would have qualified for that show, but now they're in the hands of my ex-wife.
I believe that your very nice painting is a view of the Paris Opera House on the Place de l'Opera. Here are two painting of the same scene by an artist named Edouard Cortès who began painting scenes of Paris in about 1900.
Holy crap! Thanks for the super sleuthing. Definitely the same scene. Is this a painting you’re familiar with or do you have some secret weapon for identifying art? It’s interesting that mine is an actual painting and not a print. I’m not an art guy and this is the only actual painting I’ve ever owned.
If you have Google Chrome for a browser, you can right click on the image and choose "Search Image With Google". That is what exposed another member some time back claiming original art.
I used Google Images hoping that I might find the scene in your painting so we would know where it is, and maybe a lead on more about the artist. Now we know the location in the painting, but nothing more about the artist so far. I'm not sure if the artist's signature on your painting is Michels or Michel S.
It's cool to have original artwork. I come from a family with lots of artists and I have quite a few original paintings by my mother, brother, uncle and greatgrandfather. I also have some original pieces painted by my very artistic wife.
If it stops, just X out the interfering screen and then click on the arrow at the bottom right of the original screen and the song will continue right through. Unfortunately bilibili has decided to screw up what was a good website.
It started raining a couple of hours ago. It's a steady rain already. They predict that this afternoon will be much stronger. That could be interesting.
Hey shona. This earthquake was a good shake but it only lasted a few seconds so there wasn't really much time to react. I was just hoping it wasn't The Big One.
Yeah, it seemed like it was about 2-3 with a couple of seconds of swaying after that. I've experienced quite a few of those. I also experienced our last two major quakes, which were in 1971 and 1992. They caused a lot of damage. I don't want to go through any more like those again.
An interesting one was the last major earthquake in San Francisco in1989. I was sitting in my office on the 8th floor of a building in L.A., almost 400 miles from San Francisco, and I noticed the windows were making a creaking sound. That was from the San Francisco earthquake, which was so strong it made the water table shift in Florida more than 2,800 miles away.
Pulled a Anubius Coffeefolia plant from my forest tank on Saturday. It's not a good picture... it's just supported to show how monstruous this thing has gotten.
Show your creativity.
Ah, the tranquility, the silence, the stillness, the purity of fresh-fallen snow. Sometimes I miss it, after all I am from Canada, but I don't miss it that much. Actually I guess I'll never experience snow again. My wife, who is from Chongqing where snow never happens, and where we now live never to move again, never experienced snow before she moved in with me at the high school where I was teaching English near Zhengzhou farther up north after we got married. She discovered that it isn't easy to ride a bike in snow...
But then she found out that it could be fun, and made the first snowman in her life...
It may have been beautiful outside, but a lot warmer inside....
Back in Canada - winter view of the ravine behind my brother's home - a photo I took when I travelled back for a short visit from China for my son's wedding about 16 years ago.
Nice, Buzz. The snow has me looking forward to the coming change of seasons.
There is all of that white stuff again.
Looks like a lot of rain coming, GG.
We'll see. I can't even remember the number of times we've had forecasts for several days that a big storm was coming only to have the winds blow it away at the last minute and we don't get any rain at all. That happens a lot around here.
The August heat has been strangely absent around here for about a week now, with daytime temps barely hitting 80, and a few nights actually in the 50s. It was spectacular weather, but I think it's over now. It's supposed to be back up near 100 in the coming week.
It was over 100 here again for the last 3 days. Looking forward to the huge storm they are predicting coming from Baja.
that much ground saturation all at once may not be that good...
I saw that there's a chance it might hit LA as a category 1 hurricane. It might be a bit of an ordeal. At least the forecasted track had LA on the left side of the eye, so because of the direction of rotation it won't be blowing moisture in directly from the ocean. That should hopefully make flooding a little easier to deal with.
Also saw that Vegas will be affected, and might get 2 years worth of rain in just one day. That could be a mess.
If we actually get any rain at all. I live on a hill so there is no worry about flooding in our neighborhood.
... as long as your house stays on that hill.
We have a large slope in the back with a series of interconnected concrete drains, so we should be protected there. We have a slope in front and we sit about 30-40 feet or so above the street. And we have a slope on one side of the house. If the slope in front slides our house could end up in the street. If the slope on the side of the house slides, we could end up in the neighbor's backyard. If the slope in back slides, it could end up in the house. Am I worried? Nah.
with it's elaborate underground storm drainage system being occupied by the homeless, that amount of rain all at once could lead to tragic results.
The rain is here.
Sunsets from around the hood....Stone Creek, Ocala, FL.
Among your best of all time!
Arvo Kavika... brilliant..mother nature at her best..
very nice kav.
Beautiful!
Gorgeous shots, Kav.
We recently attended a niece's wedding at the Bel Air Bay Club overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Pacific Palisades near Santa Monica. I tried to be creative with a few of my photos. I really liked the flowing drapery of some of the gowns.
All images © G. Gam
Wow!!! Absolutely wonderful.
cool G.
Stunning, G.
Great stuff, G.
These are quite good; In my opinion, the top image would work commercially as a travel promo poster.
And I thought the bottom one should be a contest-winner.
My friends who are guys seem to like the middle image best. I've been getting messages like "Liked an image" and "Amazing!". I don't think they're talking about the colors or composition though.
Well, as for the middle picture, if I were a half a century younger and not already attached I would LOVE to be on that beach with that beauty.
Going all the way back to my first year with a digital camera...
The photos are great, EG. Love the snake.
Thanks. Wish I could have gotten it all in focus. LOL!
If that was your start. you started pretty good.
I already had an art background, but I still have learned a lot since. AMac and other helped me a lot during my early photography years.
It looks like you started with a pretty good camera, too. I really need to get a better one, myself.
Great shot of that turkey, btw. It must have been tricky getting that close to it.
No... It was a Canon T3 with kit lenses. Very much an entry level digital. I use Photoshop to edit, though I don't do a lot to the images any more. I upgraded a few years ago to the top level hobbyist Canon that would use the lenses I already had - the Canon 80D.
LOL... no not really. We were at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Minneapolis. I took the shot through an observation window where all the bird feeders are setup.
Still, they look great.
Ah, ok. LOL
Just returned from a beach vacation. Missing it already.
Sounds like a job for Antiques Roadshow. If they ever come your way, that is. It's a really nice painting.
My wife was on the Antiques Roadshow a couple of years ago with a watercolor painting she bought online. The show was in Fargo and she went with her aunt.
Was it the famous painting of the ''wood chipper?''
How fun! We love watching Antiques Roadshow.
how cool is that. I like to watch the youtube clips where somebody buys something at a yardsale, junk shop, or inherits an item thought to be nothing special, except to them, and it turns out to be worth a small fortune.
my mother pulled 2 civil war era pistols out of her dad's (my grandfather) estate for me that had belonged to relatives that fought on both sides of that war. I remembered seeing and playing with them when I was a child. I urged her to take them to a gun shop in texas to be appraised. imagine my horror when she told me that the appraiser convinced her they were very unsafe and that he would dispose of them for her. she agreed with him and left them there. when she later told me what she had done, it was the first time in conversation that my mom had ever heard me use the F word, more than a few times.
Your mother got ripped off by a very unscrupulous dealer.
to this day she has refused to tell me who and where.
No... LOL. She got a watercolor online she liked for $60 and they estimated it's worth at $350 in a retail shop.
Oh wow! That sucks. I have my step father's, father's tiny vintage Italian .22 pistol. It isn't worth much. Maybe a $100 at auction.
A lot of times on Antiques Roadshow people will estimate that their item is worth "about $200" and then the professional appraiser tells them it is actually worth thousands, so you never know.
I was on the Antique Roadshow, I brought in an old watch and the guy took one look at me and said you're close to being an antique now let's see the watch.
What did they appraise you at?
He said that because of the condition I was in for my ancient age I was priceless.
I agreed with him, Red not so much.
BTW, G I'll be on Easter Island in Jan of 2025 and looking up relatives.
Was that an auction estimate, a retail estimate, or for insurance purposes?
Will you be drifting from South America or navigating from the Marquesas?
So many questions...
It was for insurance purposes, and I'm now covered by Lloyds of Londons at full replacement value. Which is a bazillion dollars.
In a nod to my heritage and drifting ability, I'll be drifting from Callao, Peru after which I complete two days of inter-tribal business I'll be drifting to Pitcaran Island. Fletcher Christian was always bragging about some thing or other so I'll have to prove he was a Johnny come lately.
Good. You can never have too much insurance.
So did I before I came here. I actually had some really great pieces back then that would have qualified for that show, but now they're in the hands of my ex-wife.
I believe that your very nice painting is a view of the Paris Opera House on the Place de l'Opera. Here are two painting of the same scene by an artist named Edouard Cortès who began painting scenes of Paris in about 1900.
Holy crap! Thanks for the super sleuthing. Definitely the same scene. Is this a painting you’re familiar with or do you have some secret weapon for identifying art? It’s interesting that mine is an actual painting and not a print. I’m not an art guy and this is the only actual painting I’ve ever owned.
If you have Google Chrome for a browser, you can right click on the image and choose "Search Image With Google". That is what exposed another member some time back claiming original art.
I used Google Images hoping that I might find the scene in your painting so we would know where it is, and maybe a lead on more about the artist. Now we know the location in the painting, but nothing more about the artist so far. I'm not sure if the artist's signature on your painting is Michels or Michel S.
It's cool to have original artwork. I come from a family with lots of artists and I have quite a few original paintings by my mother, brother, uncle and greatgrandfather. I also have some original pieces painted by my very artistic wife.
I enjoy seeing the photos that you change the style like that top one. As for the second one, nice painting, tremendous frame. LOL
More cool.
© A. Mac/A.G.
bambi with a severe case of dandruff...
Snowbird, Junco in Winter
© A. Mac/A.G.
LINK ->
If it stops, just X out the interfering screen and then click on the arrow at the bottom right of the original screen and the song will continue right through. Unfortunately bilibili has decided to screw up what was a good website.
We just might get a bit of rain, in Stone Creek.
It started raining a couple of hours ago. It's a steady rain already. They predict that this afternoon will be much stronger. That could be interesting.
Hope that it's not a tropical storm and the rain is managable in SC.
We just had an earthquake. Go figure. And it happened a few seconds after receiving another Flash Flood Warning text alert.
It was a 5.5 near Ojai which is about 45 miles from where I live. It was a good shake.
As a friend of mine just texted: Earthquake, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding. Typical Southern California August day!
Wow, stay safe, G.
I wonder what's next...
Morning G....and people say Australia is dangerous..
Stay safe, keep your head down and what ever else you do when it's shake, rattle and rolling..
Hey shona. This earthquake was a good shake but it only lasted a few seconds so there wasn't really much time to react. I was just hoping it wasn't The Big One.
I'm hoping you live on the mainland side of the fault...
Not on the mainland side of the San Andreas Fault, but I've always wanted to live in an island.
Arvo.. crikey!!! A few seconds!!! you can have that..I like to see our disasters coming...fire, floods and cyclones..
I would never live in New Zealand either 10,000 on average a year..from minor tremors to big shakes..stuff that..
And you mob are waiting for the big one..pass would rather run into Jaws or a croc..
Yeah, it seemed like it was about 2-3 with a couple of seconds of swaying after that. I've experienced quite a few of those. I also experienced our last two major quakes, which were in 1971 and 1992. They caused a lot of damage. I don't want to go through any more like those again.
An interesting one was the last major earthquake in San Francisco in1989. I was sitting in my office on the 8th floor of a building in L.A., almost 400 miles from San Francisco, and I noticed the windows were making a creaking sound. That was from the San Francisco earthquake, which was so strong it made the water table shift in Florida more than 2,800 miles away.
Pulled a Anubius Coffeefolia plant from my forest tank on Saturday. It's not a good picture... it's just supported to show how monstruous this thing has gotten.
Hahaha!
Shutting it down, saying thanks to everyone; see you Thursday