Home for the Holidays

Ellie was enlisted.

One posed photo happened.Buck and Bill on the hill.

Photo Op at church

Heels well down.

Telescope assembly competition.

Handicapped after heavy meal.

Young enough to appreciate fruit fully.

We endeavor to influence our grandchildren toward horses.And our nieces.

Clancy went for a brief carriage ride.

Our Christmas greeting combined images taken by our good neighbor, Linda (of us) and Nathan of snow at Vista Verde.

Family portrait: Rosa, Fuddrucker & Dad Dillon

Nathan & Grace

The Christmas season this year was spent on our own turf for the first time in several years. It began with the Christmas program at our church. Hub and I were 'persuaded' to direct it. We went through three revisions of the script. Kevin worked overtime on the set. Then, the day before our 'dress rehearsal', he came down with the flu! I took the unfinished pieces to church and appealed to those who were there to rehearse. I need 'goose wings'; I need the 'barn' carried in from the trailer. The barn needs a roof. The roof needs some snow. The door needs some touching up...For an intense hour everyone went to work and the set got set. The play got rehearsed. I substituted for Kevin who had the lead role. Admittedly I ad libbed. After asking for assistance in directing, I frustrated the poor person trying to 'direct' me! But, we persevered and the play (once we showed the kids how to use microphones without touching them) came across quite well. Once that was done, I went home and went to bed (after realizing I was running 100 plus fever). The next day, Monday, I was home ill and Kevin drug himself out of bed to tackle the chores. He went back to work. I stayed home Tues and then returned to work on Weds (with just two days to try to get necessary things done before the 'break'.

We had invited family to come stay with us for Christmas. On Christmas eve and Christmas morning we were frantically cleaning, straightening and bringing order to our house before folks arrived. That, too, was accomplished. The LORD gave us strength, and folks came a couple of hours later than we'd anticipated. Mercifully!

The guys got to go shooting; the women stayed behind to get the meal ready for their return.

We gathered together (20 of us) to celebrate at the Fire Department (which has a pretty nice set up for large group meals). The meal was bountiful; everyone overate. They left too many leftovers! Each saying, 'I can't take that home; we shouldn't eat anymore!' So, we were left with enough to do the dinner all over, but there were lots fewer to partake!

I learned a lot from this undertaking (usually my sister or my Mom host these family afffairs).
1. be specific about what you want people to bring
2. scope out the seating in advance
3. capitalize on finger foods
4. root beer is the preferred beverage
5. accept help from all who offer it
6. plan a fun activity (not Monopoly; it takes way too long to play). I can't actually think of a single activity that would appeal to all. I am going to start looking for one for next year!
7. add two rooms to the house

Photos in this post were from the whole interim/break/holiday. There are none of the Christmas program (I was wearing too many hats to take any pictures).

Photography tips as requested

Some example images to illustrate photo techniques

As requested, here are a few tips for getting better photos (gleaned from many sources).

Think about what the actual subject is that you are attempting to capture. Focus on that. Eliminate anything that doesn't help to get your point across. Think of focusing on the subject as getting to the point you want to make. Don't be afraid to get close (but do be sure that you have your subject in sharp focus).


It is easy to be overwhelmed by too much of a good thing. Flower beds tend to be too much info. Closeups of specific flowers, arranged for composition, will have far great impact.
Look for natural frames for your subject; they are everywhere!



Although usually, you want to avoid powerlines and messy fences, in certain situations, they can add dimension, perspective, interest... In other cases; they are best left/cropped out.

Rule of thirds (look it up), means you don't put your subject dead center and your image should have sections that the subject bisects.


Light is different at different times of the day. Usually, mid day light is harsh, throws distorting shadows and causes glare. Whereas, the slanting light early and late in the day, is most of the time more pleasing to the eye.


When photographing motion, leave room in front of the subject (more than behind) for the subject to move into. When you center a moving object, it makes it seem more static.


Portraits are usually most attractive at a three quarters angle. This angle hides many details that people object to seeing in photos of themselves.


But, the best photos of people are usually spontaneous and unposed. Still, consider the light source so that their faces are lit and shadows aren't on them.




Candid photos are the most fun to take, too. They have humor and surprise going for them.


Scenic shots should have a subject, too. Look again for shapes that are interesting.


Light is an amazing thing and creates fascinating images if you look for them!


Exposure requires learning the settings on the camera. You don't want images that are washed out.


Depth of focus is another issue. Macros are best with only the subject in focus and everything else blurred. But, scenery should be in focus from front to back so that the eye can see the details at each distance, although sometimes a certain amount of blur (intentional) does give the image a dream or nostalgic effect.



It is possible to create a black or contrasting background by putting the subject in front of a white or dark (shadowed) background. Use a doorway, window, sky...behind to set off the subject.

Buzzin'

I seem to be averaging about a post a month. Not that there isn't plenty to share, just that I have to get a concept first. A theme or a particular point I want to make.

This topic is Perseverance. For years Hub has talked about having some bees. I had no idea what all that involved. I suppose I was as clueless about beekeeping as he was about horsekeeping when we first entered into that together. I admit that I haven't been as supportive of his bee planning as he was about the horse enterprise. The idea of having bees seemed fine to me. I envisioned a white hive or two way WAY back in the corner of our property where I would never have to go near it. I thought you just called someone and asked them to deliver the hives to your property. You set them down wherever you wanted them sort of like a round bale.

Here is what getting bees on our property entailed:
(HUB did every single bit of this without my assistance)
1. Find out when Bee Keepers' meetings are held. Attend them. They have them in Round Rock, Brenham, Temple...Amazing to me how many beekeepers are out there. He has now attended at least four meetings (in the past two months).
2. Buy a hive. (Not the bees, just the box). Assemble it. Paint it. Prepare it. The hive he is setting up is a top-bar hive. So, there are these stick things that fit into the hive which have grooves in them. Each groove had to be filled with beeswax. Legs had to be put on the box. The box had to have three coats of paint. There had to be a "cover" made for it.
3. Purchase brood and a queen. I think this is called a Nuc (not sure of the spelling). Ordinarily, the queen, two to three pounds of bees and frames of brood are put into a temporary box for transporting home. But, since we got a different type of hive, a top-bar hive, it wasn't that simple. The fellow who sold us the "nuc" (who is near College Station) allowed Hub to bring his box home. The bees in the box had to be "smoked" (this calms them and settles them) so that the box top could be removed and sugar water could be placed inside for the bees to live on until they were transferred to the top-bar hive. The amount of time recommended for them to settle is one day. Ours ended up having to spend about 10 days in that box. It did have an opening so that they could get out for some fresh air, water and nectar from flowers and trees.
4. Set up for transfer. Hub carried a table out near the hive. On it he placed the smoker, a knife, pliers, and a plate. He put on his bee suit (which he purchased used from someone at one of the meetings). The veil and hat are all but wore out and need replacing. He had to have the veil taped tightly with masking tape so that there were no gaps. I did get to do the taping. I did miss a spot because a bee did get into the veil and sting him. Not sure how; I saw no openings. But, it was disconcerting to be given the job of protecting him and have a bee beat me.
5. Smoke the box they were in. Open the lid. Remove the ...WHAT ARE THOSE CALLED?...(I looked it up) frames one at a time. There were nine in there, I think. Take the frame to the new hive box, with a beebrush gently scrape (brush) the bees off the frame (which has comb and brood attached to it) into the new box. Take the frame to the table, cut the comb containing brood loose from the frame. Slice it into a shape that will fit into the new hive (because it isn't the same shape as the old hive). Attach this piece of comb with brood (using pliers and wire) to the support pieces in the new hive. Do it again, and again, and again, and again...Come ask your wife to please pull stinger out of your neck and retape the veil. Drink water and wipe sweat while face is exposed.
6. Now that brood and hopefully the queen are in the new hive box, close it and leave space at base for bees to squeeze in and out barely. Idea being that they should stay in the new hive for a day or so to become acclimated.
7. Carry the frames into house and squeeze honey out of the remaining comb attached to them. Filter honey. We ended up with about a pint.
8. clean up mess.

So, that's a brief summary; there was more to it. The box had to be returned to the lender. The bees seem to be accepting their new hive. The hive is about 70 feet from my porch. Hub says these are extremely gentle bees. So far they haven't stung me. Or the dogs. The cat actually went to the hive and tried to climb up to the box. It appeared that they did not mind him overmuch since he is still alive and I didn't see any swellings on him to indicate he'd been attacked.

We got our hive set up about two days before the summer solstice. The bees are ahummin' and abuzzin' out there.

Hub also has his other project now underway: his garden. There are five tomato plants and three grapevines and ... (not sure if there is anything else at the moment) growing in it.

The rain we've gotten has been wonderful! We've had a glorious spring. There is more grass than the cows can eat. They are obese. And we still have wildflowers (beefood).

Here's Rely still sporting dapples into June (usually we only have those for a few weeks in April when he first sheds out).