Thursday, March 29, 2012

Thursday's Thoughts, March Madness


I'm not talking basketball or brackets, just the craziness that is my life.
 You would think with all the rain we've had (Holy Cow ! thought it
 was going to wash us away, Tuesday night ) and as much time as 
I've been cooped up in the house, things would be pretty quiet.


Just the usually, fixing, cleaning, hauling in firewood between storms,
 on the road, then meeting and reports for all my self inflicted craziness. 
Lets just say life has been less then harmonies, but heavy on the snippy.
The 14th JS and I met with the tax man and the Saturday before that 
Mom and I when to a memorial.  Guess that confirms the saying
about death and taxes.


Cattlewomen hosted a station for the Agg on Campus, at the college farm,
with about 300 third graders.  We talked to the kids about branding. 
When asked , why it was important to put a mark on the cows,
one little girl said it was "Because they don't  know their address."
We told her she was right.   ;)))


JS bought a house in a Sheriffs sell.  We won the court case.
 The owner of the house skipped out on paying us and two other contractors, so
 the house was put up for auction.  I think we would have been better off losing.  
The house is  "OK" built by contractor # 3.    Not a John Starr house !  
What a bunch of pigs !    "Haul off your crap, people"
"Less To Do"  is becoming my motto.


My ladies group attended a luncheon over in Colusa, across the valley.
All the president for the different chapters had to give an oral report.
Yep, that would be me, it was horrible.  I can B.S. with the best of them,
 but talking to a group, will never win me awards, for public speaking.
It was a wonderful day with a great group of friends.


 A half a dozen trips to Chico,  cornbeef and cabbage with the kids, 
Crab Feed down at the Eagles Hall and the discovery of Pinterest on the
 Internet, about rounds out the month and JS got the brush pile burned.



The up side is that the grass is growing, the flowers are blooming
 and every thing is a beautiful shade of green. 
 March doesn't seem quite so maddening after all.


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Sunday Stills, Weather or Not


 9 am this Morning


and Noon

What's the weather like in you neck of the woods ?


Friday, March 23, 2012

Nature at Work


All the birds are flitting around, trying to attract mates and
 noisily proclaiming which tree branch, or bird house is theirs.

The Mourning Doves keep setting in the tree, just outside
 the window to my office.      "Taunting Me." 
I hope they pick it to nest in, that would be fun to watch.


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Thursday, March 15, 2012

BUTTE COUNTY CATTLEWOMEN, SCHOLARSHIP



The Butte County Cattlewomen are excepting applications for
 their 2012 Scholarship.

Information will be going out to the locale high schools,
Butte College and Chico State this week.
You can also contact me for an application form.

Sam Starr
starrsam5@hotmail.com

Application, letters of recommendation and transcripts must be postmarked,
"On or Before"  APRIL 14 2012"

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Sunday Stills, A Small Part of a Whole



This weeks challenge is to take 2 pictures,  one of 
"the big picture" and the second of  "just part of it"
"OK.......I got a little carried away" 


"No, it's not that green here yet"  But every time I get a chance
 to take shots of the valley and the buttes, it's hazy and dull.   


So I changed the Saturation of color setting,  in editing.
"Something  different"


To stay with the theme of the challenge.
This is me small part, of the whole of California.


Don't forget to visit Sunday Stills

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Spring Cleaning


No, not the house !  You don't know me very well do you.

The East end of the horses pasture, has big Eucalyptus trees, 
that make a mess during the winter.  So every spring I rake and 
burn it.  I like our place clean and neat.  Drives poor JS nuts!


Once I had the piles burning good, the dang sirens over at the fire
station went off.  I could hear the truck coming down the road,
I was sure, I was "Busted"  Who could miss all that smoke.




Well of course, I have a current burning permit. 
  Made sure it was a burn day and called the Air Quality Control office.
   I'm a good law breaker      "I mean Law Biding Citizen"

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Sunday Stills, Through an Opening



The challenge is to shot threw an opening such as a window or fence
to frame a second subject on the other side, keeping both in focus.
Sure, sounds easy enough.  "Not"
Meet Old Lady aka Kelly, who is posing behind the shoot, for me.



Look, how much clearer Kelly is, by moving back away form the shoot,
it somewhat tricks the camera into thinking that both subjects are at the 
same distance.  This is a really rough example, but I do like the
 possibilities of what you can do with this challenge.

Check out other examples at sundaystills.wordpress.com