Why the Break and Spotting meeyauw on the Web

School has opened again. That is why I haven’t posted anything recently. It’s been a crazy two weeks and I have a feeling it will be crazier very soon. I’ve been out with my camera and the cats (and gotten some pretty awesome bird shots). But I haven’t done a thing with the photographs yet. So it’s time to get back in stride and get caught up!

Back in July, John cut down a double cottonwood tree. When it fell, it was crazy with ants carrying pupae off the tree and down in a hole in the ground. They were distinctive and fascinating ants and I photographed quite a few of them and their babies-to-be. But who can identify ants? Not me. The folks at AntBlog did, though. Specifically, James Trager was asked to respond. He is a fascinating ant scientist and I am favored that he answered my question. You can find the entire post here at AntBlog.

The Irasburg Castle in 2005.

In August, Geek Mountain State picked up an old, old Irasburg Castle post that I did in September of 2005. It was nice to be blogged about, and even nicer that the post was so old. Thank you, Andrew! Andrew is a contributor to Geek Mountain State. I love him because he shares my son’s name (yes, that’s all it takes). You can find the Geek Mountain post here.

By the way, Archer Mayor, one of my favorite authors, is also a contributor. Archer’s site is at http://archermayor.com/. I can’t visit the site because my McAfee site advisor says it exhibits risky behavior. Knowing Archer, I know the site is safe, so I don’t know what the problem could be. You can go and buy his books here, though: Archer Mayor's book on amazon.comPlease. I get a small percentage of the sales. Amazon has a $10 minimum before they pay their associates and in seven years, I still haven’t made that minimum. But I’m close!

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“Image Not Currently Available”

That is the message that has been showing on the last two posts (Gotcha! and October’s First Snow). I apologize. I thought this was a Flickr problem, but it was me. I have been test driving Lightroom 3, which republishes updated photos to Flickr. When I do that manually, I know that the URL of the photo changes. I thought Lightroom had magically overcome that problem and that each photo would keep its URL. Wrong. But I have re-coded the photos on those posts and now all should be well! I am sorry for the inconvenience of clicking the photo to see it on Flickr (and several of you did that). Thank you!

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My First Clipping Mask

A bumble bee on New England Aster

I made my first clipping mask to create the BEE text above and fill it with the photo below. I ran across this technique in my e-mail subscription to Kent Weakley's Photography Blog. Unfortunately, his video on how to create this effect was not sufficient and I had to find another video with more complete, and clearer, instructions. Peachpit has a sufficiently good video here, but I still had to improvise at the end of the video to end up with the text the way I wanted. I will continue to look for clearer instructions. It was a fun and easy project for a snow day, so try it! There are great possibilities here for banners. I should resize the photograph in the text to make the bee clearer, but I enjoy the ray effect of the aster petals. I also want to change the amount of transparency that surrounds the text. That is an editing thing though, and has nothing to do with clipping masks.

The original photo.

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Yikes! Another Blog Break!

Red squirrel (Tamiascurus hudsonicus)

Here I sit in the living room with a mask on my face, my new nebulizer drying in a clean towel, coughing and not looking forward to my next antibiotic. John is demolishing the kitchen. The former sun porch is now part of the new huge kitchen. The 110 year old plaster ceiling is coming down. The dust the past two weeks has been horrendous and has made me sick. I am feeling sort of lost here. Can't go outside, don't feel like blogging. I haven't even been taking photographs often! But I have been photographing the birds and squirrels at the feeders. Above is a cute, fat red squirrel that was at the feeder last week.

Ice cliffs of Mount Pisgah on the south shore of Lake Willoughby.

But more about the house later: I have been documenting the progress on the renovations. The photographs show how poorly people built additions on this old house. And how the little forest creatures love this house as much as I do. Enough about renovations and illness. I've had enough of that.

The big news is that the kids found a great place to live in Brownington. It is quiet here without them. There are no dogs to gobble up my spills in the kitchen or the cat yak all over the house. I miss the two little ones, Ironman and Catgirl, a whole bunch. But John has fixed my stereo and now I listen to VPR and VPR Classical. We seem to have stopped watching TV except at bed time. Occasionally we watch movies on the computers (they are still side by side in the living room as they were on the porch). Even though I miss the kids, it is best they are gone. The construction debris and activity is very dangerous and I don't want them around it. They are right up the road, though, so I'll be seeing them as soon as I am healthy again!

Clouded sulphur butterfly

I have been selling photographs, though. Matted and/or framed. I am doing fairly well. I want to get involved in stock photography and craft shows. I have been to two craft shows — the church's Christmas Bazaar and Moonlight Madness. Finally people know what I do! The reactions have been very positive. The photographs that are not of the red squirrel are the photographs that I have sold. I have much work to do with the Barton Library photos and website and blog. I can't work on my summer photographs because my four terabyte server is down! But I do have, and have been slowly editing, photos that are recent.

Nashville warbler

Just thought I should check in! I hardly ever get so personal in the blogs. But there has been lots going on. I hope your holidays are peaceful and I will once again work at getting up to date!

Fractal sunflower

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Library Blogs & Banners

Barton Public Library blog

I spent the better part of the weekend and this week working on a blog, web site, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook pages and a calendar for the Barton Public Library. If you subscribe to my Flickr feed (look at the sidebar to subscribe if you haven't already), you will have already seen a lot of the graphic work that was involved. I made the banner for the new blog myself from photos I took last week of leaves on the ground under the old maple tree. The banner works quite well, I think.

So while I was waiting for some stuff to be formatted, I began playing with this blog here. I have been wanting to add a banner here but was having problems deciding what photograph to use. I love my photo of the black-eyed susan with the black background (the black came from shooting in shadows at dusk). The depth of field was perfect for the flower. John made some suggestions for the crop for the photo and I created the banner that you see above.

The task after the banner was made was to size it and then coordinate the blog colors. And the colors are the problem. I consulted everyone in the house, late at night, and they pretty much unanimously agreed on the color scheme you see here. I am torn between this yellow scheme, a brown scheme, or a "stainless steel" black and gray scheme. I will be playing with the color scheme a bit in the near future. I'll also be changing banners as I feel the urge and as seasons change.

So drop by the new library blog, become a fan on Facebook, and visit the library soon! We have some great stuff going on there! And be sure to subscribe to the blog and the calendar, and follow our tweets!

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Banners Again

I'm playing with banners so you'll be seeing new ones pop up and down over the next few days. You can let me know what looks good and what doesn't — just leave a comment. The spider web banner that is up tonight is not right. The coloring is wrong. I don't know whether to change the background color of the blog or to change the banner. I have thousands of photos to play with in all sorts of colors. I don't know if I'll have soft, rounded corners or these 90° corners. Any ideas?

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Frequently Used Characters for Windows

A friend at the library let me copy her paper of diacritical marks and the codes to use to make them in Windows. I added the degree sign at the end of the list. These marks are handy when you are typing French, Spanish and other languages. You need to have a numeric keypad for these codes. To make the characters, press and hold the ALT key while you key in the numbers on the numeric keypad.


I hope you find this useful. Leave a comment for any additions — I can add them in a jiffy.
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Blogging Break

Zorro cools off in the evening during the heat wave.

Evidently, I've been taking a blogging break. I didn't intend to. Last week's heat wave forced a break (it was too hot for me or the computer) and I was going to resume immediately after the weather cooled. But things have become so awesomely busy that I haven't been able to edit photos or write. I'm going away, today, for a few days to join my husband, so there will be no blogging for me until next week. I hope you all have the best weekend ever and that the weather is perfect!
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A Hazy Landscape But No Wires

With wires

Do you remember this photo of the Duquette Barn that I posted last Wednesday? I was disappointed because of the telephone wires in it. I could have taken them out with Photoshop but it is a long, laborious process. One of my commenters, Robin of Around the Island in Tel Aviv, told me about NoWires. It is a stand alone Windows application or an Elements plugin that easily gets rid of your power lines. It does exactly what Photoshop cloning would do but easier and quicker and without cramping my fingers. I tried it. I bought it. I fixed the photo, and  you can see the new version below:. Thank you, Robin!

Without wires

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A New Design

Well, I've done it. I've changed my blog template and I failed to save the old template. So that's that. All my customization is gone. But I'll be tediously and unendingly changing it. I've taken out a lot of the clutter, too. My kids always tell me that I live a cluttered life. I'm feeling a bit anxious here — as if I've lost stuff. I hope you like this and I hope it is easier to read. I hope I can put larger photos in now. And you can click on your reaction to each post and can rate each post. Let me know what you think!

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Apologies and Thank Yous

Apologies Wouldn't you know it . . . we move back to Vermont and within a month we are sick. We have one of those exhausting, never-ending northern Vermont colds. Everyone in the house is coughing and choking. These colds begin as allergies because the entire forest explodes in pollen seemingly overnight. But you get a fever and a nasty throat and are exhausted. So the renovation work and unpacking has come to a stop this week. I haven't edited the hundreds of photos I have taken, or organized them on Flickr, and I haven't blogged. If you are one of the people who has kindly request photo permissions, please be patient. I will get back to you as soon as I can! I apologize.

In the photo above you see the chickens when they got into the garage and enjoyed standing on the studs that were waiting to be cut last week. The studs are now up. Attic stairs are done. On the left you see a photo of the small mess of wires that John uncovered in one wall. He has been tracing the electrical wires around the newer addition of this old house and is amazed at the mess that he has found. He is slowly cleaning it up.

Thank you . . . . to all of you who continue to read this and my Photo A Day blog even though there have not been recent postings. I especially want to thank sisters EP of NH and JP of MN. They continue to read and visit both from their home and work computers — often many, many times a day and for several hours. I'm flattered! I am equally in awe of the hundreds of you who visit daily.

I promise I'll be back!

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Craftsbury, Vermont Is a Good Place to Retire in New England - WSJ.com

Craftsbury, Vermont Is a Good Place to Retire in New England - WSJ.com
This is an excellent article about the NEK from a former Long Island native who has retired in the Kingdom. I agree with the statement that "Single people, especially, complain of isolation." I truly enjoy being alone but the winters, even for me, could be excruciatingly long. I have often joked that Vermont's first in the nation civil union law (which has been replaced by a marriage equity law) was not about politics. It was about Vermonter's concern that nobody be alone in the winter.

I often drove through snowstorms at night for long hours where there were no cars and where nobody lived. There were just miles and miles of forest with an occasional wolf walking down the road in the storm. I remember worrying that if I went into a ditch it could be a long time before I was ever found. The women at school began to check in on me in the winter to make sure I was OK, and I appreciated that. They said everybody needs to have somebody worry that they are safe at night.

I kept busy during storms with photography, observing the wildlife, reading and music. The Barton community is marvelous. The library is an important part of life there, as is the church.

I have wonderful memories of those days. If you are alone in the Kingdom, reach out and let others know.

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mathrecreation: teachers - born or built?

mathrecreation: teachers - born or built?
Go read this. Really.

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Yup, I Do Need CSS Help

Remember last week when I hollered "Help!" and then said "Never mind!"? Well it turns out that I do need help. Above is a screen shot of this blog as seen in Google Chrome, Safari, Camino, Firefox and Flock on both a PC and a Mac (as applicable). The left and right gutters should be the same size (small) and the right sidebar should be left justified. I don't know what I have done to the blog template and if you could help me figure it out, I'll be indebted to you!

Below is a screen shot of the blog as seen on Internet Explorer 8 — and the blog page is just right. It is also right in IE6. But in any other browser I have tested, whether Mac or PC, the blog is rendered wrong. Can you help?


Please leave a comment or email me (on the top of the right sidebar). If you don't know, ask somebody who might!

UPDATE: I looked at Firefox on a PC when this post loaded and it looks correct. Last night and this morning it was wrong. So what's going on here? One moment it's good, the next moment it's bad.

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No CSS Help Is Needed (I Think)

A commenter on my CSS Help Needed post said that in IE6 the blog looks fine. I sprinted across the room to look at the blog on John's PC. He uses IE8. And sure enough, the blog looked fine. I remembered then that I had increased the point size on my Macintosh browsers because they were hard to read on the small laptop screen. The way blogs are designed, they use the room as coded from left to right on the window. If the blog runs out of room, the last column on the right gets weird. And that is, apparently, what has happened. Yes, I am embarrassed to have publicly displayed my disorganized memory.

My only concern now is that I don't think, but can't remember, that I ever changed the point size on Camino and it is behaving exactly as Flock and Safari behave (big gutter, center justified text). I need to find those sites that show you how your blog looks on different platforms and browsers. Now — where are those links . . . . .
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CSS Help Needed

If anyone knows how to repair my blog template here, could you please email me (use the e-mail button on the right sidebar)? The gutter between the middle and right sidebar used to be the same width as between the left and middle sidebar. Also, none of the text in the right sidebar should be center justified.

I know that awhile back I was messing with the template code but I am pretty sure that I discarded and did not save any changes. For all I know, Google has been messing with stuff again (like they did with the pic sizing codes).

I know that if given enough time I could solve this. But perhaps I would make it worse, too. So if you could tell me what to do to fix this, I would be eternally grateful! Thank you.

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Farewell, Charlie

Farewell, Charlie

Karen Jo of Kitty Limericks has written a touching and healing tribute to Charlie on her blog. Compassionate and thoughtful, Karen Jo has taken the time to learn about Charlie's life in Vermont and New Hampshire. This blog, a "celebration of the kitties (and their friends) of the CatBlogosphere in verse," is one of the Top 21 Cat Sites.

Please stop by and visit her.

Thank you, Karen.

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Another Day Without Charlie

It's so difficult when a cat dies. He leaves a hole in your heart and home and in the pride of cats left behind. The others expect Charlie to return, with his swagger and bullying, and knock them off their sleeping perches or chase them a bit (just to let them know he's top cat, you know). Last night the others tentatively and tensely slept with us and awaited Charlie's blows as he settled on his bed. But it is quiet and peaceful. There are no mice left around the cars, no growls or scuttling about. They will all adjust and I will learn not to listen for him and not to look for him.

My friends at Facebook, Catster, the Purrs and Purrayers Blog, and at Cat Blogosphere have sent us all sweet and comforting words.

KC, the entrepid repurrter of Cat Blogosphere and of Missy, KC, Bear Blog, made a touching memorial for Charlie that I have posted here.

My children have called and and we have consoled each other. Xavier has been very solicitous and kind. And most of all, the love, respect and care of John has made this time easier to deal with.

Charlie already has had a kitten named after him — Celeste in Georgia of My Day and Thoughts, has named a new little one after Charlie. I hesitate to tell Celeste that my kids called our Charlie "Charlie Manson" because of his personality! Maybe this newest Charlie will redeem the name.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you all.
♥ Andree

Blogged by Flickr

On June 10th, Flickr blogged this photo of mine taken inside the Dog Chapel at Dog Mountain in St. Johnsbury. You can read the Flickr Blog Post here. I was wondering what happened on that day because this photo received 20 favorites (on that day) and my Flickr account received 1,353 hits. Many other of the Dog Mountain photos were favorited, also. I went to my Flickr Stats page (even though I have linked to my stats page, I am not certain you can see it if you click) and clicked on the domain with the most referrals and found the pleasant cause of all of this activity. Thank you, Flickr!

Dog Mountain Set

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Book Review: John Lennon & The Mercy St. Cafe

I first "met" William Hammett through One Single Impression because besides writing novels, he writes poetry. Billy has four sites: Zen Sociology, Chapter and Verse, William Hammet and The Ghostwriting Weblog. He is an great writer and a very considerate blogger.

I imagine that any writer would not like being compared to another, but I can't help comparing this book to a Stephen King novel. This is King without the gore and horror. This is looking at other dimensions and being fascinated, not terrified.

Amy is walking in New York City one day when she happens across John Lennon singing in a cafe. After he has died. She, Lennon and David journey through time and space for reasons made clear and not made clear by the end. Amy and her companions may be fearful of their journey but they lead us forward with courage and a great sense of adventure and a feeling that there are reasons this is happening to them. The reader is taken on a lovely journey through the history of the Beatles and of the groups that begot the Beatles.

I was unable to put the book down once I started it. The writing is engaging, the concept is memorable. It is funny; it is sad. It is thought provoking. I became very involved with the characters. I think all lovers of fiction (and the Beatles) should grab this book today by clicking on Billy's site and ordering the book.

Technorati Tags: William Hammett, John Lennon & The Mercy St. Cafe
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