Mystery in Valladolid!

Really! What is going on here? What is this?

This looks like a simple case of standing on a street corner in a foreign country and photographing workers driving by:



But look more closely at the driver. Who or what is the driver?



Is Valladolid populated by aliens? And why isn't his or its passenger screaming and fleeing?

Or is that some kind of protective headgear. . . in which case shouldn't we ALL be wearing it?

And you thought photography was dull!

The Shops outside the Cenote

Once you travel someplace, do you ever really come back to where you started from?






Shops outside the cenote in Mexico, on the way to Chitzen Itza.

Over The (Adobe) Bridge and back to Mexico

I'm reading a fascinating book right now, "Buddha's Brain," by Rick Hanson. The book is written by a psychologist who talks about how our brain benefits from contemplative practices, like mindfulness, or meditation, or brushing the dog. . . anything that activates our parasympathetic nervous system brings tremendous rewards in reducing stress and inducing a sense of happiness.

It turns out that mental activity has a greater direct influence over the autonomic nervous system (of which the parasympathetic nervous system is part), than any other system. When you stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which you can do through mental activity, you can have "calming, soothing, healing ripples spread through your body, brain and mind."

And guess what! Most of the brain's mental activity is spent on nonverbal activities, such as processing mental pictures. All this is a fancy way of saying that imagery can be a powerful anchor for well-being. So if you're feeling stressed at work, imagining a peaceful scene. . . like in Mexico. . .can bring you all kinds of physical and emotional benefits!

So, fire up your Bridge program in Photoshop and head back to someplace wonderful, and bask in those neurotransmitters!

And what better way for me to do that than through a photo like this:

In March, while we were in Mexico, we went down into a cool cenote, and is was unbelievably peaceful and tranquil, even with bats flying overhead. And look at these two lovelies, Dianna and her soon-to-be sister-in-law, sweet, wonderful, Elizabeth:

I wasn't as brave as they were to climb down the rock to the water, but watching them splash and the play of light on the water was mesmerizing. . .

Photography in a cenote is a bit challenging. Flash would bounce against the water too much, but thanks to a greatly boosted ISO (6400), and noise reduction in Adobe Camera Raw, a rock to use as a tripod, I could still use an f/5.6 setting, and 1/30 shutter speed.

Mosquito Zombies of North Dakota

They are evil, and they are quick. They are North Dakota mosquitoes, rivaling our state buffalo! And they are prolific.

And they love me.

Apparently, they are no match for:

1.) 2 teaspoons daily of cider vinegar (I'll try anything!)

2.) lavender oil dabbed here and there

3.) Avon Skin so Soft bug guard (the last bastion of my hopes and dreams of not being devoured by these heartless blood-suckers)

I foolishly ventured outside and tried to do a 5 minute raid on the garden weeds, but after 17 bites, I stopped counting.

But I'm not giving up! I only applied a light spray of the Avon Skin so Soft, and started glugging Apple Cider vinegar (God Save Me!) this morning, so there's still hope!

I have read that the real defense against mosquitoes is straight DEET, plentiful and unsparingly, but I hate the smell and it scares me that Ruby, who likes to slather me in doggy kisses, would probably start glowing in the night if I use Off as much as I want, so I'm trying other approaches.

Doug, my ever sympathetic Beloved Spouse, said, "At least you don't have tuberculosis."

What makes husband say such things????????????????

Ruby's Growing Up!

Have I mentioned lately how totally cute little Ruby is? Here are some late June photos of her. . . .

She's learned a new trick! It's called "Open the front door and greet people before Angela and Doug can find my leash!" Fortunately, the Schwan's man comes prepared with dog bisquits in his pocket for potential escapees. Smart man.----smart little dog, too.


She loves this turtle toy. It's legs, tail and head are all attached by elastic, with squeakers embedded in each section, so she can stretch it viciously and boss it around. Sadly, I'm going to have to sew parts of it back together already!



If you ever come meet Ruby, prepare to be her New Best Friend, because you will be at risk of being licked to death!

More Disney World

One of the best parts about Disney World without kids was wandering where we wanted to wander, whenever we wanted, and taking as long as we wanted to get photos.



And since I have very little interest in rides, the lines were minimal!



It really helped that Doug has now started experimenting with the D5000 while I tote around my D300s. You wouldn't believe how long he wanted to hang out in the bird areas of Animal Kingdom! (I think I've created a monster!)

30 Years of Marriage

In May, Doug and I celebrated 30 years of marriage!



And we decided to spend it at Disney World's Animal Kingdom, sans progeny. We had a great time. . . . and I have SO many photos to edit now!!!!!!!!!!!!

And finally, as of yesterday, I seem to have gotten my new computer configured the way I want it (almost).

I couldn't figure out why my photos were all posting to my blog in an overly-red sort of way. I dragged out the mammoth Color Management for CS3 book (although I have CS5), and I don't know why, but first assigning a photo to sRGB, rather than trusting the action I created to convert it to sRGB seems to be doing the trick!

But, you have to ask, does it really make sense to pick a photo that has brilliant reds to demonstrate this? (But he's too cute to resist, so I had to post him!)

The 4th of Texas

There are some people, with whom, it's impossible to NOT have fun!

Robert and Barb are doing a wonderful job of making Texas, even at 100 degrees, seem so very appealing!


Of course, it helped that Robert dashed around holding umbrellas above our heads, and plugging in electric fans outside aimed at us!





(You might think I'm kidding, but I'm really not!)

Some Critters are FAST!

Like the kind who can who can, in the amount of time it takes you to brush your teeth, unroll the toilet paper, swallow a button, and eat plaster or plastic screws or something off of the faucet by your toilet, causing your bathroom to flood--while you're trying to get ready for work in the morning.



That kind.

Day 53: Held Captive

Yesterday, we went to our first obedience class with Ruby at the Grand Forks Kennel Club. This class is so much better than the crazy experience we had at Petco with the dog trainer that it's hard to think that these trainers could possibly be of the same species!

But that does not mean it was stress-free! Oh, no--not with a lab!



We tried to prepare for the Big Day by getting Ruby somewhat tired during the day, with lots of exercise, then sufficient sleep in her crate. We made sure she was hungry, cooked special "treats" to use in the training, ate dinner early, got her seat belt harness ready and reminded ourselves that our egos would not be on the line in this class.

And then we smoothly headed out the door to the car for class. Or tried to. First, I could not get the harness on her. This little harness is to help keep a puppy safe in the car so that she does not become a projectile with sudden stops, or a projectile with sudden bursts of energy during which she tries to consume the driver. Harnesses are good.

But you have to get them on said pup. Somehow, Ruby managed to have 12 legs and 7.6 arms that flew in dervish-like directions while I tried to snap strap A to B, attach carbiner to C, and looping it around to X etc. Trust me, between her needle-sharp puppy teeth, leaps into the air, and somersaults for belly rubs, it's no wonder that I broke out into a sweat and Doug sat nervously in the driveway, waiting for me, worrying. . . .

But eventually Ruby was locked and loaded and I hit the front door with her. She misses nothing; her mulching tendencies leave no twig unpulverized, and no gallon jar of Sun Tea on the front steps untossed.

After my feet were drenched with Sun Tea, and I had her in the car, we headed off to class, but not with the nice margin of time we'd hope for. We'd hoped that Ruby would get to meet all the nice people, get her exuberance at PEOPLE and OTHER DOGS under control in time to settle down.

But class had already begun, with all 10 other pups and owners sitting in a zen-like circle (most likely after the pups had been dosed with Valium and Prozac), when we made our Grand Entrance, hoping to slip in unnoticed. Let me just say it was noisy; Ruby was ecstatic and I'm not sure her little paws really ever touched the ground in the first minutes. The trainer paused, and announced "Looks like we have one of those dogs right here!" and approached Ruby. Ruby decided the instructor was her New Best Friend, flipped over on her back, and showered the air with dog pee.

Yeah. About that little ego thing. . . .

The trainer then slipped a little Premier Easy Walk harness over Ruby's head and middle, and Goodbye Marley! Ruby turned all angelic on us and with the sheer brute force of two adult human beings, we were now able to control her wiggly 29 lbs!



And today, we rushed out and purchased our own Easy Walk harness! What a Godsend! Now Ruby is truly a Good Dog and deserves these little treats sent to her by Elizabeth and Scott.

We ARE held captive, but most enthusiastically!