Sunday, February 22, 2009

Cold......

Just thought I would show you proof of how cold it was the other day at the strip pits.
I tried to think of an appropriate title for the post, maybe I should have called it 'Frozen in Time' or something like that. Either I saw that on someone else's blog the other day or someone's picture made me think that. But I don't want to copy someone unless I can give credit, though frozen in time is a common enough saying.
All of these shapes were at the same pond or strip pit. Around here we will say we are going to the strip pits, but once we are out there we say we are going to this or that pond. It is all a matter of where you are when you are talking about them.

BTW, this is the pond the swans were on in Saturday's post.

Ever feel like an old shoe?

Or maybe an old boot? I have been seeing these old boots for I don't know how long. They are on fence posts a couple hundred yards apart on the road to Paris, Illinois. All this time though, I thought that the bottom of the boot sole was like the tongue of a work shoe hanging down. I guess I just assumed since it was at a farm, that it was that kind of working shoe.
It is not your eyes with that top photo..it is a tad bit blurry...it was taken the other day when it was so bitter cold. The wind was cutting right through me. Of all days, I did not have on good layers of clothing. I did have on pantyhose, but they don't help much on days like that. That requires long johns of some sort under the jeans. And maybe even the pantyhose on under them. And preferably either a heavier coat or a couple layers under the carhart hoodie I had on.
I would love to know the story behind these shoes...I know they have been there well over a year. Are they a joke on someone or are they to remind someone of something? I suppose I will be wondering for a long time to come.

But I have felt like an old shoe the past couple of days...have tons of stuff I need to be doing and instead I do nothing. I have been fooling with my cameras...the other day when we were at the strip pits, my zoom lens started this thing of when it focused, it did seem to focus but the motor keep running...and the focusing ring on the lens just kept moving back and forth ever so slightly. I have looked on line to try to find what to do and can find basically nothing...I did find one sight talking about another brand of lens that suggested pressing and releasing the lens release button a few times to do something...I forget what.

I did that...no help. I changed the battery in my camera hoping the one I had in was maybe getting too low to run the zoom lens. It did seem worse if I had it out to 300mm...but that didn't help. So, even though I hated to, I took the lens off the XTi and put it on my digital rebel...it did that thing on it, only maybe not quite as bad. So, I took the lens I had on the Rebel and put it on the XTi, and it worked fine...to me that indicates it is not the camera itself. After all that, I switched the lenses back to the way I had them. So my mind has all this running in the background. Wondering what to do...

It snowed just a bit today--I really thought we were going to get the 1-2 inches predicted by the way it snowed this morn, but it slowed down, then quit, and the sun came out off and on for a little bit, then we got just a bit more snow...but only enough to cover the ground. The wind has blown the entire day, and now it is snowing as I speak and it is going almost sideways.

A cardinal is on the bird feeder and it almost dark...Puss Puss is sitting here beside me watching it through the window. I think the cardinal has its eye on her also..it is taking its slow, sweet time in deciding whether to eat or not. Or maybe it is that the wind is so strong it has the feeders swinging back and forth more than it likes.

The cats are another thing...with it being so cold they go in and out, in and out. A lot of the time one will want out and when we open the door for them, and they feel the cold, they turn around and walk away from the door. They don't want any part of it...or if they are brave enough to go outside, they want back in in about 5 minutes.

So, today and yesterday has been made up of cooking and washing dishes, a little bit of picking up and straightening up, a little laundry, and letting the cats in and out! And I am worn out from it all. LOL