I'm still alive

Although feeling much like these noble birds in the photo... sometimes not knowing where my head is.

Busy busy busy on several spheres... we're losing a colleague to retirement at the end of the year (without replacement) and there's stuff to learn in addition to the regular work which is stressful enough as it is.

My sister had a surgery recently - nothing serious but enough to take more of my time away.

I have also been invited to join an international registry of haiku poets and am trying to collect all my references - my previously published haiku, awards and so on. More time consuming than I imagined it would be, especially since I had much of this stuff still stored on my deceased laptop and the archives were lost.

Ah, the photo... sort of a tribute to The Muffed Target, even if the host is on hiatus. The headless swan closer to the camera suddenly snapped at a passing mallard just about the time I pressed the shutter, and this is what I ended up with.

A better (though still not perfect) ladybird photo

What's important with the photos of these little critters is that the eyes are in focus. Of course, it's much better if the object is not centrally positioned. This one is slightly cropped to improve the composition and a little contrast is added.

The Muffed Target

I sort of promised a muffed photo to the friendly host, so here goes...



An orange ladybird (sic!) on an orange railing. A narrow focus area, as is customary in macro shots, particularly in low light conditions requiring open apperture values. Just as I pressed the shutter, the little bugger started to move forward, its head escaping from focus... yet another failure.

Reflecting on a Saturday evening

October sun writes in strange calligraphy ...

It happened today - in 55 words

I need to clear my mind so I head to a nearby park. As soon as I get off the main path, a bird dives precariously close to my head, missing it perhaps by an inch. It obviously wants my attention... well, actually not so much the attention than a treat... the cheeky little beggar.

haiku my way

a fork in the road
a tree points
in all directions

The Muffed Target

With thanks to Thom for hosting



Near dusk these agile critters emerge in search of their meal (insects in the main). So, we have low light conditions, the objects moving fast and erratically, frequently changing direction. The result? Muffed! And this time you get four for the price of one.