Wednesday, November 28, 2012

GalaxyIII Diaries #498: The cats in our lives

Chai is a Siamese with a dark-chocolate face on a dusty oatmeal-cinnamon body. She pads around the neighbourhood with an aristocratic bearing, bejeweled with a bell and shiny stuff on a choker, scanning her surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. Well-fed and obviously somebody's outdoor pet, it is not beneath her to check out our back deck to see what we have left for Bello, our roguish regular visitor.
Bello, the charming rogue, came to us as Bella (because "she" was cute) with the gimpy left back leg. We thought "she" was a stray. Got along very well with Moxie after 15 minutes of sniffing each other out. We realized soon after we took her in that Bella was a Bello. Bello was also a free spirit (read: outdoor cat). We let her out permanently but on cold mornings, she'll be waiting at the end of the driveway, ready to go for a walk with the dogs (she'll be the one without a leash). Back at the house, she'll go to the back deck and expect her meal of tinned duck/chicken pate mixed with kibble. We worry when we don't see Bello for a few days.
Tuxedos cats are the dogs of the feline world and Moxie is no exception. Like Bello, Moxie dispenses with the usual cat characteristics and behaves like a dog: friendly, affectionate, cuddly, and is not afraid to look silly in order to get fed. He readily snuggles in with Rhoadie, the tall and muscular, very rambunctious Rhodesian Ridgeback, and with Misha, our old, increasingly fragile Shih Tzu. If Moxie could speak, I'm sure He'll say she misses Kip, our departed loveable Spaniel/Sheepdog.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Huge Victory for logic and the power of public opinion

It was announced today that the application for the Mega Quarry in Dufferin County has been dropped and abandoned. Fierce opposition from farmers and environmentalista coupled with the public's fast-growing awareness of the fragility of our existence in a surprisingly rapidly-changing environment has led to the (for now) preservation of one of the most fertile soils in this continent. Good news indeed!
Here's my blog entry from Foodstock 2011, as well as more photos from the event.

A Parade in Guelph

 
  
 
 
 
  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
Guelph, Nov 18th.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The Guelph Arboretum: After the Rain

Days like today remind me of the very first video I shot, in April of 2011. I thought I'd repost a year and a half later.

GalaxyIII Diaries #495: Moxie

7:40 pm. Nov 13th.

GalaxyIII Diaries #494: Vicissitudes

"A change of circumstances or fortune,
typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant."
on a parking lot between Elm and Edward. Nov 13th.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Blue eyes, blue wall. One more frame grab.

Jamie actually has really blue eyes! Oct 4th.

Frame Grabs in Colour (see previous blog entry for details

 
 
 
Oct 4th.

Frame Grabs from a video shot

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the frame grabs from the Sony a65. I used either the Minolta 100-200f4.5 or the Sony 16-50f2.8. Video shot at 1280x720 60P. If I had known I'd be grabbing frames, I'd have shot at 1980x1280 60P. Frame grab using MPEG Streamclip, with the stills processed in Photoshop CS5.1. Frames have been upsized to 6"x 4" @ 300dpi.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Oct 4th.

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