Ok y'all! So the Photography presentation last Firday night went fine. I had fun doing it. I would say there were only about a dozen ladies there but all seemed to enjoy themselves. After I did my presentation I scrolled through all my 214 (yes, I know--a Lot of photos) and talked just about every one! I'm long winded. BUT, I was in my MOMENT. As I went though I shared with them about the rocks I name. There were a couple that I hadn't officially named and they helped me with another name for one....Penguin Rock. To me it looks like a podium-they showed me a penguin. :-) I think they had fun thinking about it. IT was kind of like we were all laying on the grass looking up to the sky to see what formations the clouds were making! My whole intent was to get people to see the greater beauty and peace in nature all around us--even the small things! It's so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. I knew I did that for at least two of the ladies there. OK, so the Fair Photos. I went last Sunday there to the Fair. Out of the 9 I entered 1 won 3rd place. The one that won was my poppy photo. It was interesting as I viewed all the photos. A lot were good especially the ones that won. But then sometimes I couldn't figure out what the judges were looking for. I know they want a photo to "pop" and the poppies did in color. They have volunteers there who watch the building and make sure the photos are monitored. I spoke with one of the gals there and it just happened to be Kay Hendrickson, one of our local photographer/artists. She is known for her poppy photos. I think she said they received about 1800 photos this year. So, anyways, just want to say Thank You to all for your encouragement and specific comments. I'm still taking pictures and have some set for next year! :-) Hope all is well in your lives. That loved ones and you are in good health and spirits! Love, Jules

Reproducing colors exactly from a plant to a digital camera and then to print is very difficult for many reasons. The time of day, the season that the photo is taken (spring vs summer vs fall) the light is reflected and absorbed in the garden and then backlit on the computer and reproduced in print and then interpreted by the eye. Lots of places it is changed although very slightly. Also the calibration of your monitor also affects the final color. It can appear perfect on your computer and still be off to the printers computer. Matching to paint samples will help as will your photo editor. If you are using a PC, I would suggest using Zoner editing software. It is much easier to use than Photoshop and is the most popular editor in Europe - but does not work on Macs. Like Photoshop, there is are temperature and vivid sliders to help get it correct but it takes time. Also taking the photos in shade - not full sun - will help the purples and blues. They are very difficult to render correctly! It is a matter of how the reds are recorded on digital media. To add to the confusion, the color that I call purple, may be magenta to the next person. I am a professional photographer, and painted for years and found that most color names are just approximations of the mix of primaries, red, green and yellow. Here is a link that might be useful: AccessibleGardens

I agree with Lisa,I don't think one bad day would do them in,Are the parents going to the box?This may be their first nesting ever,sometimes Sometimes it takes a couple of nestings with a young pair before they get it right.If you really want to try to provide food for them,I would take a shallow paper cup and tack it to the top of the box,and put some mealworms or wax worms in it,That way they can't miss them,But I would only do this for a few days,you don't want to attract other birds to the nest box.I do not recommend you bring the babies in the house,For one it is illegal,two,I doubt they would survive.And three,maybe the parents do have things under control.Most nestlings will hunker down during a nest check giving the appearance of a sleeping or weak bird.Just keep a eye on the parents,look for them to be carrying fetal sacks from the nest,If you see that then you know they are being fed.

Well this has been a long time for an update. I have been doing great and really enjoying life. It has been months since I had any contact with her. I have started to explore a relationship with a new woman. Two weeks ago my ex-GF calls me out of the blue. She hurt herself in a fall, her life/job/world is falling apart and she needed to talk to me. I listened politely and gave her some encouragement. We stayed in touch on and off thru texts for the past 2 weeks. Just very casual messages as I really want to see where things can go with my new lady. Today I sent her a message that one of our old friends from high school lost her dad. This old friend was her rival for my attention back in our HS days. But that was 30 years ago. Her reply was cold, " It does not surprise me when people in their 80's die" I wrote back that she was cold and is that how she would reply to me when one of my parents die, and she really needed to get over high school. She accused me of being insensitive because her father died in 2004. Umm.. I lost her train of logic there??? Thats when it hit me. Having her back in my life was not making me happy. It was making me uncomfortable and depressed. My final text message to her... "You are not making me happy to be around you anymore. You only need me when things get rough in your life and that is why you called me 2 weeks ago. You need to move on with your life, I dont want this anymore." So that was the end of that. Some people just carry so much negative energy that the only thing you can do is cut them loose or get dragged down with them.