Gear

My new lens! Woo!
Well, it's actually a used lens, but it's new to me and it looks brand new anyway.
It's a 55-200mm lens... perfect for spying on people. I mean perfect for zooming and stuff...

I've been waiting a long time for this, what a great day.

Poor stormtrooper bobblehead in the background looks very sad.

The Great Bobber Hunt.

Due to an unfortunate series events, all caused by work, I was unable to take my usual May fishing and camping trip with my dad. In lieu of our weekend extravaganza we just went fishing Sunday evening.
Sadly the fishing was not all that great. I usually catch the most fish, but this trip resulted in about 5 catches for me and only a total of six bluegills worth saving.

Warning: Fish story and fish jargon incoming. I promise there are pictures in this post somewhere.

Although the fishing left something to desired it was an eventful evening none the less.
First my dad lost two lures, either through the line being bitten off, or the line coming untied. Both of which are rare events.
And then we started fishing with strike indicators. (Note: strike indicators is the technical term for bobbers, because we're fancy in this business)
On one apparently over zealous cast I lost my bobber, hook and weight. We keep those items tied on with a different type of line than what is kept in the reel, for technical fishing reasons I don't totally know, but with a solid flick of my wrist I managed to toss it right off. So we then had to troll out after it so that I could grab it out of the water.
And then it was my dad's turn. Except this time his line separated when he went to set the hook and so his bobber was floating out there with a fish attached to the other end. So we quickly tried to go after the bobber, but the first few times we got close the fish got scared of the boat and swam down and I was unable to grab the bobber. Then my dad was trying to snag it with another pole and hook. Finally we got close enough and I snatched the bobber, but when I pulled it up the fish pulled down and the line slid out the bobber and he got away...
Then I had yet another event of having my bobber line coming off...which resulted in more bobber hunting.
So after 3 bobber/line mishaps we stopped using two different types of line. But of course by some other fluke we had one more bobber incident where the bobber just came off, we have no idea how...
Probably the most ridiculous fishing I've ever experienced, but it was fun. Probably more fun for the pontoon boat who was close enough to watch us.

Picture time:

 

[The mighty bluegill... He squirmed a lot and made it really awkward to hold him, my fishing pole and pose for a picture. 

Note: fishing, the only time I wear a hat, because according to my dad it's required.]

 

[The man who taught me everything I know about fishing]

 

[Mom and pop swan. The one on the left has 4 babies on it's back]

 

[Loon]

[Double Loon]

My sunset colors got a bit overdone but I'm still working on my photoshop skills... and after about half an hour of fiddling I gave up for the day.

Doggy Day

I get to spend part of my weekend watching this adorable face:

[Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww]

My neighbor is gone for the weekend and I get to take care of his two dogs while he is away. This wonderful long haired dachshund is named Pepper. She has a sister from another mister, a hunting dog named Mossy; she is some type of Spaniel but I'm not sure exactly what kind. 

So far watching Pepper has been the most fun. Mossy isn't a big people dog, she gets out of her cage and is off running and sniffing at an alarming rate. Pepper is the best because she tries to keep up with Mossy and it's amusing to watch. I had no idea a dog with such tiny legs could ever run so fast. She also enjoyed sitting with me, getting belly rubs and trying to lick my face constantly.
I hope my neighbor doesn't mind if I just come walk her occasionally for the fun of it because she's irresistible.

[Pepper looking around for Mossy who's off somewhere in the woods. Hunting wabbits probably.]

While the dogs played I took some time to snap a few other shots.

Desk Days

I've had a pretty boring past two weeks. Majority of my free time has been spent sitting at my desk, watching Battlestar Galactica, which is awesome.
But other than watching too much netflix all I've been doing is working and studying for my actuarial exam, it's a pretty uneventful existence.
I haven't had much motivation for taking pictures. Forced myself to go outside and take a few today, but after a few snaps I promptly deleted them all and came back inside.
Then I was sitting at my desk bored, as usual, and snapped a few things while just sitting there.
Nothing special, but kind of a view of what I stare at every day.

 

[Applejack and Stormtrooper, they keep me company.

Sadly you can't see my Luke Skywalker Lego pen...]

 

[Large collection of "pill" magnets lined up on my desk]

[View from the window next to my desk. I tried to focus on the screen. Something unique I guess.]

Good news on the camera front, I'm saving up to get a new camera lens. And by new camera lens I mean I'm buying a used lens because I'm cheap/poor. Now that I'm done racking up college debt I figured I could set a little bit of money aside each week and save up for a new piece of gear. 

'lil Flowers

Backyard

Snapped some more pictures of stuff in my backyard.
Seeing as the weather decided to take a jump from cold and rainy to hot, humid and sunny the bugs were out in force and I didn't stay outside long.

I've also decided that I'm addicted to adding grain to my photos.
Makes me feel like I'm working with film again...

 

 

[b&w version is meh, but I included it anyway]

Comments. Please.

My blog is beginning to feel like a lonely place.

Especially since my posting frequency has increased greatly.

Mugged

Now that Lee's birthday has come and gone I can finally share some pictures of a coffee mug I painted for him.

I painted it with images from the game Duck Hunt.
Enjoy:

Makes me wish I liked coffee...