No Drama

I've been reading other blogs lately, and I'm just surprised by the amount of drama that exists in other people's lives. It certainly makes for interesting reading. There's very little drama in my life right now, and that's fine with me, but very boring reading for you. There was all together too much drama when the year began, but things have settled out since then. Most of the drama comes from my kids anyway.

My life is usually that of an ordinary business man and middle-aged father. Most people would be surprised to know that I used to operate nuclear reactors on Navy submarines. But I do have a lot of great stories. I'll have to write some of them down here sometime......

Beautiful weather, not much photography

The weather has been beautiful of late, so much so that all the forecasters are concerned about the amount of water available in the reservoirs this summer and the possibility of an early and long wildfire season. Still, it's hard to complain when it's dry and warm in March.

The advantages are that the yards are already cleaned up from winter. The grass has been fertilized, and the sprinklers have been turned on and tested. And all the little items that fall into disrepair over the winter have been identified and fixed, or will be soon. There are only a couple of major outdoor chores to be done, and if the weather keeps up, they'll be completed by the end of March. That's exceptionally rare for this part of the country.

The good weather spurred me to break out the cameras and attempt some outdoor photography. I tried my hand at birding over on the PCC College Campus. I had only moderate luck. I was using a 300mm Image Stabilized lens and a 1.6 crop factor digital camera (which gave me a 500mm equivalent Field of View) and it still seemed like I couldn't get close enough to get a decent photo. There was one red-tailed hawk in the area that would wait until I was within 20 feet of the perch, then sail off to a new tree that was only a hundred yards away.

W and I did go to Sauvie Island yesterday to check out the wildlife preserve and the beaches. Although it was warm, it was also windy, which meant there were a lot of kite boarders playing on the Columbia River. So, I did get a few shots of them. I didn't get many shots of birds though, as they were mostly out on the waterways and unapproachable. I'll be looking through the photos later today to determine if any of the captures are worth posting. If so, I'll have them up this evening or tomorrow.

Here's one of the photos:

Telecommuting

I'm telecommuting today and it's great. My cube at work is a tiny thing--my company calls it "compressed." I call it a closet. I've been working out of that little horror for nearly 5 years. When I first moved into my department, I was assigned this office space because there was simply no other place to put me. The building I work in was full, and there were lots of people working out of compressed cubes or even smaller spots. So I understood.

However, about three years ago, the building emptied out and there are lots of open cubes all around me. I've been trying to get moved ever since this happend. Unfortunately, I'm a satellite (my main group is in Arizona and I'm in Oregon). That means, I'm out of sight and out of mind to my management. So, I'm stuck in this tiny space (my office on a submarine was bigger). So, when I get a chance to telecommute and work out of my home office, it's great. I have room to move around, I have a window right by my desk so I can enjoy the beautiful sunshine, and I can turn my radio and listen to music or talk radio while I work.

Here's a view from my back deck!

Okay, it's not really the view from my deck, but it is part of my screensaver and I do enjoy the view. It's a photo of Canon Beach I made from Ecola Point about two years ago. See, I told you I lived in a beautiful state.

First Thoughts

I'm new to the process of blogging, but not to the concept of keeping a journal of thoughts. I spent 20 years in the submarine fleet and during that time spent a lot of time at sea. During those many patrols, I kept journals to record my thoughts and feelings, and in many ways those writings helped to ease the stress of those long, isolated months at sea.

I'm not, however, at sea anymore. It many way, though, writing still helps to ease the stress of daily life, and so I'll try blogging for a while. I'm not sure where I will go with this, but it seems like an opportunity to share my unvarnished thoughts and ideas.

Fortunately, not only will I be able to write, I will be able to share my photos with those who visit here. I have the great fortune to live in a beautiful area of the country, with some wonderful photographic opportunities, especially in the summer months.