postcard: piper

Greetings, faithful readers and also anyone who just happened upon my blog.

The laptop is back.

It is working just about as well as it did before it was sent for repair.

This is a tad discouraging.

Actually, it's very discouraging indeed.

Also, the hard drive was wiped, so everything has to be reloaded and reset.

It's taking a while.

I'm not rushing. I really can't rush.

Because every time I try to do one of the things I used to do routinely,

I hit a dead end and have to download software first,

then consult or reload saved files from my external drive back to the laptop.

This does not always go smoothly, and it never - literally, never - goes quickly.

That said, I will keep plodding along in my spare time, and hope to be back writing actual blog posts soon. Meanwhile, I will at least continue to post a snap or two just to say "hello."

Speaking of which, during my laptop-less period, I've tried to read and comment on your blogs via my phone. Sometimes it worked. Many times, I laboriously tapped out a comment only to lose the whole thing, including the page itself, when I tried to post! I don't know if my clumsy fingers were at fault, but it's quite likely. So, if I haven't said hello via your blog comments, please know it wasn't for lack of interest - 

or for lack of trying.

Piper says, "Smile! Might as well!"

~~~~~

update

The wild ginger is beginning to unfold!

So.
It's been 10 days of internetting on a wing and a prayer...reading blogs and sometimes managing to leave a comment, but not blogging. Using twitter because it's short and fast, but rarely succeeding at posting even low-resolution images - which I don't much enjoy posting, anyway.

Raindrops on new columbine.
Nearly every photograph I've taken lately has been during, or just after. a rainstorm.
It's been...wet.

Short repair recap: after two visits - the second today - from a very nice Tech person, and five new parts, HP says I now must send the laptop in. The good news is, I'm still under warranty. The bad news is, I will now be internetting on my small, non-fancy cellphone, for who knows how long.

In the past week I’ve already begun to feel sort of isolated and with the prospect of sending the laptop to sleep-away camp, I can almost imagine myself drifting right out of the internet and vanishing.

I guess we’ll see!

The maples began flowering on Saturday!
Even in the rain, there is a reddish tinge to the canopy.

MEANWHILE...

I want to tell you about a fundraiser to get an MRI scanner on Shetland. I’ve been following this community effort for a while, and was especially impressed by a woman who went out and gathered seeds from native Shetland wildflowers to sell in little packets for the MRI fund. Unfortunately for me, she couldn’t send them to the US.
But what a great idea!

And now...a lovely woman has handknit a Fair Isle pullover and is selling it on eBay with all the money going to the MRI fund. If you’ve ever wanted a genuine Fair Isle sweater, here’s your chance to bid on a beauty. It’s got soft colors and is made of vintage Patons Moorland pure Shetland wool. Did I mention hand-knitted?

Please pass this info along if you can –  I'm not sure how much "reach" the knitter has, and it’s such a good cause. And it's such a generous gesture on the part of the knitter. I am in awe! Please share my awe!

Here is what I hope is a working link to the eBay page

I wish I could post a picture here. Even if you are not interested in acquiring a wooly sweater, it’s worth a click just to look at the pictures. Check out the view of the inside!

~~~

Well, I just dropped it to say hello, spend a couple of hours trying to upload photographs, and then go back out in the rain to move goats for the night. The photographs loaded slooooowly but they seem to be here - huzzah! Maybe I'll try to load some drawings and schedule them to post while my laptop is away. Like sending postcards. Just so you don't forget me :)

~~~~~

monday notes

Lately the weather has fluctuated between bitter cold and right-around-freezing, the latter feeling downright balmy by comparison. And after a Sunday composed entirely of rain, I am relieved to report most of the vegetation has been freed from that dangerous coating of ice seen in the image above.

The ground, however, is another story.

These are paths leading to chores:

The ice cleats are getting quite a workout.

Someone mentioned seeing a bobcat the other day.

It's not exactly common to see a bobcat here, but this is the time of year when it's somewhat more likely. They are focused less on being invisible to humans and more on socializing with other bobcats.

I have no bobcat to show you, but here is some local wildlife.

Very local.

A little too local.

 This squirrel was taking a brief break from trying to chew it's way into the attic. It is perched snugly between two Barnyard Theatre floodlights, on the power line that runs between the porch gable and the workshop. Surrounded by wiring, in other words. And this squirrel was unimpressed by the woman standing in her slippers on the ice below, shouting crossly and waving her arms because she had been awoken by the awful sound of something chewing the wall.

The little ventilation opening at the peak of the gable is blocked with wire screen, but clearly more must be done and very soon; I cannot allow squirrels into the attic again. Maybe this one raised babies here before. Or maybe this one was born in my attic. Well, squirrel, it's true what that fellow said: you can never go home again. I watched a squirrel carrying leaves - one mouthful at a time - up an oak the other day, making a proper squirrel nest. Kindly choose a nice tree and do the same.

When not shouting at squirrels, I am continuing my daily markmaking efforts.
This was last night, #42:

Painting was a nice distraction while backing up tens of thousands of image files to external drives. I later fell asleep during the backing up - midway through 2015 - and had to finish this morning. Because...tomorrow the laptop is going back to rehab for another "7 to 10 days." Not everything was fixed on the recent visit, and enough is wrong that it cannot be ignored. I'm not thrilled with the idea of being computer-less again, but as far as the repair goes, I feel hopeful. The laptop has it's own Case Manager this time.

So this blog may be quiet for a bit, but I'll try to visit yours via the Tiny Cellphone. Apologies in advance for any spelling errors in comments - I can barely see the cell screen so the keyboard tapping is pretty hit-or-miss.

~~~~~

and we're back

Della knitting a sock. Excellent form for a novice!

The laptop was delivered tonight. I was watching for the Fedex truck and skated out with a flashlight to meet the driver walking up the driveway before he could hit the icy spots. Don't want anyone dropping the laptop!

So far, I've only uploaded the 742 images on my camera (which shows considerable restraint, doesn't it?) and now I'm going to sleep. But I'll be catching up on blog-reading in the next few days, and will write and post some snaps soon.

I've missed you!

~~~~~

briefly

Just a quick word to thank Maywyn and Mike and Umme Yusuf for their helpful comments regarding image software. After following up with some online reading and general poking around, I am experimenting with the free version of Zoner Photo Studio. I may end up starting from scratch with different software, but for now this seems to be working. Of course there will be the customary "learning curve." With image software, part of this process always seems to be figuring out where the heck things are going.

I'm trying to be patient and methodical in shifting files from the old laptop to the new, so that nothing is lost. In my previous switch - no wait, it was probably three laptops ago - I misplaced all the images from a trip to France, which is rather sad because it was my first and very likely only visit there. But hope springs eternal, and I keep a happy thought for someday discovering those images in a buried folder labelled "Charts" instead of "Chartres" or some such.

~~~

Piper and I actually got into the woods before it became unbearably hot today - hooray! We spent a couple of hours by a little streambed - now nearly dry - where a lot of DrawingAugust2015 took place.

No actual drawing occurred today, but I like to think that feeding Piper treats and watching water bugs and listening to the sounds of the forest was "mental preparation" for DrawingAugust2016.

Anyone feel like joining in?

It's very good fun!

~~~~~

everything put together falls apart*

Several things are falling apart at the same time here.
The good news is, they are things.

You already know about my trusty little camera. (Replacement ordered, arrangements made to recycle the one that's retiring.)
You may have heard me muttering about the laptop which has been a daily aggravation for a year. (Planned to replace it this month; now reconsidering.)
I can barely bring myself to type the words, but the Little Green SportsWagon - my faithful draftpony 2000 Elantra Wagon  - may need to be replaced before Winter; definitely by next Spring.
And yesterday, mid-cycle, my washing machine stopped washing.**

Good golly Miss Molly.

Deep breath.

Things. Not people, and thank goodness not animals. Just. Things.

Still, in an effort to bring some balance to my little universe, I'm going to spend this afternoon working on some sort of project I can tackle without spending any money. Fortunately, there are plenty to choose from :)

~ Wishing you a peaceful Sunday ~

~~~

*post title borrowed from Paul Simon

** That dyed jacket? Still soaking wet. There's just no substitute for the spin cycle, is there? ;)

~~~~~