Catching Up – The Good, The Bad And The In-between

‘Stuff’ has been going on. Some of it’s below, in no particular order.

 

  • Apparently, traditional Halloween is now dead in my neighborhood. When I bought my house 34 years ago, I could count on throngs of trick-or treaters ringing my doorbell and that tradition continued unabated for perhaps two decades. Since then the number of trick-or-treaters at my door has steadily declined. Last year on Halloween my doorbell only rang once and last night I didn’t have a single trick-or-treater, nor did I see or hear any outside. Oh well, at least I only buy candy I like.
  • This week (Oct. 27) marks the nine-year anniversary of daughter Shannon’s accident and resulting traumatic brain injury (TBI). Shannon steadfastly insists on celebrating the anniversary (with gusto I might add) instead of dreading its approach. She sees each anniversary as a reason to celebrate her miraculous recovery rather than as a depressing and somber milestone of a tragic event. I’m immensely proud of her.
  • At this point I’m still scheduled to have cataract surgery on my nearly completely dysfunctional right eye at the Moran Eye Center on November 18. If there’s a cancellation there’s a distinct possibility it’ll happen earlier. I’m looking forward to being able to see out of that eye again. I’m not looking forward to pre-surgery fasting on that day, including no morning coffee, especially if the surgery doesn’t happen until late in the day.
  • I learned last night that a friend of a dear friend was in a tragic car accident recently. Her injuries are almost beyond belief, including 30 broken bones, but so far she survives. Her long-term outlook is grim. Even though I only met her once (I think) years ago, her accident and her prognosis are weighing heavily on me. Be careful out there folks, especially when you’re behind the wheel.
  • On a much less depressing note, in the last few weeks my bad back has improved significantly, 25 months after my 4-level spinal fusion. I’ve been doing things I thought I might never be able to do again. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. I still expect ups and downs but for the first time in years I have hopes and expectations of, among other things, being able to walk some distance while carrying my tripod and camera gear. Something most bird photographers probably take for granted.

 

 

  • Apparently one of my backup cameras, my Canon 7D Mark II, is dying. The last three times I’ve used it about 15% of my photos look something like this. It appears to be corrupted files but I don’t know the cause. Any thoughts?
  • I haven’t been posting to my blog as often as usual lately for a variety of reasons including bad shooting weather, a lack of birds in many of my typical shooting haunts, bad timing involving other pressing things getting in the way and not being able to see out of my shooting eye. I haven’t been in the field with camera in hand for 11 days and I’ve been missing it. But yesterday I saw my first Bald Eagle of the winter here in the city. At least I’m about 93.58% sure it was a Bald Eagle but it was far away and there’s a possibility it was an Osprey. Either way, I’m encouraged.

Soon our winter birds should be picking up and the author of Feathered Photography should be able to see again. Always a good combination when bird photography is involved.

Ron

 

 

44 Comments

  1. Ron,

    Best of luck with your upcoming surgery.

    Stephen

  2. For years, we had no trick-or-treaters here. Then a few years ago, several young families moved in. Last night we had 5 batches, with a total of 15 kiddos. It’s really fun recognizing the kids and having a moment to praise their costumes and chat with the parents. I wish I’d bought Reese’s but I got some “healthier” stuff and now I have several boxes of fruit gummies left over. Yuck. Best of luck to you with the camera issue and eye surgery.

  3. I appreciate the update! I’d love to come visit soon and catch up.

  4. Deedee (Edith) OBrien

    Always wishing you well.

  5. Hi Ron,
    Thanks for an interesting post.

    I am sure you will be pleased by the results of the eye operation – best wishes for that.

    Down here in New Zealand Halloween appears to be taking off – not the trick or treat part so much but a huge intrusion into marketing, sweets sales, etc. There is considerable discussion (and mild annoyance) about the intrusion of an activity that is not part of our culture. Having said that, Diwali (yesterday here) is gaining in popularity and it is not just bees of our burgeoning Indian population.

    I’m all for celebrations, so no complaints from me.

    • Interesting observations about your traditions Gary, old and new.

      I had much more tolerance for celebrations when I was working than I do now, mostly because many of them were holidays. As a retiree, I’m not so enamored with holidays.

  6. After cataract surgery you may find yourself seeing more than you should. I was surprised how yellow was the un-operated eye’s vision image was. Clarity was restored after surgery on the second eye. A mistake I made was having 20//20 lenses implanted – should have just had the pre-op correction. Now, I have to switch to readers to be able to read and see stuff close. I keep a pair of readers hanging around my neck (they get broken a couple of times per month: being active puts them at risk -I buy them by the handful at the dollar store),

    Good luck.

  7. ‘Camaract’ is super funny!
    Life is good – everyday we celebrate being on this side of the dirt LOL. Glad Shannon marks her accident anniversary with joy and gratitude. We went through a decade-ish without trick-or-treaters. Now we barely have enough candy!! Very happy we have several young families moving into our ‘hood. Thanks for the life updates Ron. Keeping us followers in the know is special to us. 🤗❤️🦜🦆🦅🕊️

    • “‘Camaract’ is super funny!”

      I agree, Kathleen. I enjoyed it a lot. I hope to remember to use it occasionally, when I’m having camera issues. Might as well try to find a little humor in the situation.

  8. The good outweighs the bad in this post. I am thrilled about your back, and love Shannon’s positive attitude. Mind you, nine years? How did that happen and where did they go?
    I am v sorry for your friend of a friend and hope she makes a good recovery.
    Yay for the surgery on your eye.
    Our big stores are trying hard to get us to adopt celebrating Halloween. There are a couple of very wimpy decorations in the street and we had no trick or treaters. We also didn’t buy anything for the potential door knockers which means I won’t be forced to consume it – to avoid waste you understand.

    • EC, I’ve wondered in the past if and how you folks down under celebrate Halloween. Sounds like it isn’t a big deal for you guys. IMO, lots of folks here make it into too big of a deal. Especially adults (supposedly).

  9. Always interesting to hear your updates on stuff. Very sorry to hear about the friend of a friend who was in a car accident. Happy to hear Shannon is doing well and continuing to celebrate her own recovery. And really good news about the significant improvements with your back – I know how debilitating even minor back pain can be. Keep it strong and healthy!

    • “I know how debilitating even minor back pain can be.”

      Bill, some folks don’t have a clue. Obviously, you do. It can sure make for hellishly long days. And nights.

  10. Hey, Ron – it’s a wise man who buys only the candy he likes! It’s a real downer to be faced with a bowl of the cheap stuff you don’t like! I always give my wife a list of what candies to buy, and to no one’s surprise, I like all of them.

    Lot going on for you right now – hope your camera can get repaired while your eye is being repaired. Best of luck with that surgery. My wife gets her second one done in December, so I’m familiar with the process. Will look forward to winter photos while you test out results of both repairs!

    And of course, best wishes for continued recovery of your daughter and your friend’s friend.

    Thanks for sharing with us – best wishes –
    Quentin

  11. I’ve never seen that particular camera failure before. Maybe it’s time for the 7D2 to move on…and get the R5II to soften the blow.

    I’m still hanging onto my 7D, although I haven’t used it once the R5 arrived. I’m going to take one of its lenses (and the adapter) to a concert tonight. If I have a good time, I know what I’m asking for this Christmas (and probably several other gift-giving holidays beyond, too).

  12. Ospreys are like Turkey Vultures, in that both species are by this time long gone for warmer climes, so chances are you spotted a Bald.

    I wish you the very best re your upcoming surgery!

  13. Same down here in Southern Utah– not a single trick-or- treater !
    Never thought I’d see the day……I’m so happy for your Shannon–
    that she grew into the kind of person who CELEBRATES her escape
    instead of ruminates that could have been otherwise and could
    possibly happen again. Judy is right– I’m sure you’ll be wishing that
    you’d had the surgery sooner, and good to hear from Everett that Prescott is still hosting that MASSIVE, uniquely “concentrated” Halloween…….

    • Thanks, Kris. Shannon’s attitude is amazing. She’ll always have some relatively minor aftereffects, especially with her short-term memory, but she deals with it superbly.

  14. Everett F Sanborn

    Same here on the trick or treat. We do have two streets close to downtown where every home participates in a huge Halloween celebration with every home decorated etc and complete with police traffic control and supervision. Folks bring their kids from all over to take part in it. Also I think the mall does the same.
    Glad to hear you are getting your eye done.

  15. You’ll cuss yourself for not having the eye done earlier….. 😉 Hopefully they get a cancellation so you and do it and get on with it! 🙂 Hope it’s early in the day – I HATE late day procedures……

    Yeh, neighborhoods change and more and more Halloween events are replacing trick or treat….. sighhhhhh…

    Can’t believe it’s been that long since Shannon’s accident! WOW! GREAT attitude tho given how well she’s done.

    Hope your friend makes a meaningful recovery from the accident – it IS treacherous driving out there even here with minimal traffic (except in town of course).

    Hate to see an “old friend” camera start giving up the ghost – unfortunately……

    • “You’ll cuss yourself for not having the eye done earlier.”

      I’m doing that already, Judy. It kinda sneaked up on me.

      It’s ironic. For years I hated hearing my doorbell ring on Halloween because it was torture going up and down those stairs so often with my bad back. But now that my back is better, my doorbell no longer rings. 🙂

  16. Trick-or-treating does seem to be a lost art. Fewer people going out and fewer houses offering stuff. We get the candy we like as well as non-edibles (fidgets, keychains, small toys, etc.). The non-edibles last from year to year — the candy does not. 😉

    I’m not surprised that Shannon marks 10/27 as a victory. She worked incredibly hard for her amazing recovery. Sending love to her!

    Speaking of love, there’s a lot of love going to you as well. I’m so glad that your back is doing better and really excited for your cataract surgery and return to photography with a much-improved viewfinder eye. Bummer about the Mark II, although the color patterns on the crapped-out part of the image are almost as interesting as the buffalo. Not sure if it would make sense to bundle it off to Canon or if they’d just be surprised by a relative “antique.”

    • Marty, I developed a sweet tooth during the years my folks lived with me (they were both fond of desserts, mom was a great cook and she insisted on sharing) so my Halloween candy never lasts long.

      I’ll have to make that decision about sending it off to Canon. Or not. At least I still have my old 7D as a backup. And my even older 40D if comes to that.

      • I got the sweet-tooth allele from both parents, so I get it! I recognize that selection of candy too: Butterfingers were one of my dad’s favorites, Baby Ruths were one of my mom’s favorites, and Reese’s (along with Snickers) are my hubby’s favorites. I’m generally not picky — I even like black licorice, Tootsie Rolls, Mounds bars, and candy corn, although I draw the line at circus peanuts. 😂

  17. ron, looks a lot like a sensor failure. the sensor on my old fuji did something like this – it started intermittently, then consistently, then that section went black.

    you can see some examples:

    https://www.icantclick.org/gallery2/d/113361-2/dscf0001.jpg
    https://www.icantclick.org/gallery2/d/113363-2/dscf0003.jpg
    https://www.icantclick.org/gallery2/d/113275-2/dscf0006.jpg

  18. Best of luck Ron! Here’s to the return of your birds and the complete recovery of your eye! We love seeing your photos! It’s been kinda slim pickins out here too for bird photography! (North east coast)

  19. I’m no camera technician, but the photo seems to indicate a right-sided camaract. 😊

    Good luck with the surgery – we all appreciate and value how your eyes see the world! And congrats to Shannon!

    • “the photo seems to indicate a right-sided camaract.”

      Doreen, maybe I should take that camera with me when I report for surgery. Perhaps they’ll give me a “two surgeries for the price of one” deal.

  20. Wishing you the best.

  21. Hey Ron,

    Sounds like you have been in the neighborhood long enough to see the demographics change. Life cycle. That is a nice selection of candy.

    That anniversary is something to celebrate. She made it, and doing well. Proud you should be.

    Hoping the best for you on the eye surgery.

    So sorry about your friend. They will need a lot of encouragement and support of all manner.

    Re the camera: Have you tried a different card?

    There are always highs and lows in life. The bird situation, eyesight, and all will come around. Will be looking forward to what you have to post.

    Thanks for keeping your followers informed. We care.

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