Bird Dog Feed

I finally received my dog feed check in the mail yesterday for taking my sister to buy a new van on December 27th.  They called it Bird Dog Feed, which sounds kind of funny to me. Bo was making fun of me and drew a picture of a dog on the envelope. I guess I’m the dog that brought in the bird. I don’t care what they call it as long as the check is in my name.

5DMkIII, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, 1/2 sec at f/4, 200mm, ISO 100, tripod

This is not a bad deal, I don’t work for Toyota but by bringing in a customer to buy their vehicle they cut me a check.

5DMkIII, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, 1/5 sec at f/4, 200mm, ISO 100, tripod

 

Pardon My Ignorance

I should have done my research, checked my facts and somehow the whole situation made me feel like I’m one of those that smuggled endangered species in their suitcases or pants. Of course I didn’t do any of that, in fact I have not left my seat. I simply purchased beads online and patiently waiting for it to arrive and only to find out that it is in transit, Clearance delay in Anchorage, AK. The FedEx tried to contact me, and I’m on the other line trying to reach them.

I have never been to Anchorage, Alaska before, the thought of the cold weather made me think that people there are more uptight but surprisingly the FedEx Eco Import Coordinator was exceptionally nice, to make a long story short I was told that one of the beads that I have purchased is Sea Shell Bead and the Federal Fish and Wildlife will not release the shipment unless I have a license to Import/Export wildlife products since it falls into the category of endangered species.  So the Sea shell beads that I purchased a little over $2 will now cost me $100 having to apply for the Federal Fish and Wildlife Permit. The logic is just not there, I asked if they could just remove the sea shell beads since they have already opened my package.  They possibly could but my name will be on the blacklist and anything that I purchase in the future will be scrutinized and might get in trouble with custom.

If only I could turn back time, lesson learned on my part, and I’m only blogging about this so that others will not make the same mistake. The shipment is coming from China, and I didn’t buy the beads because I support the products made there, even if I had made my purchase at my local bead shops, almost all their products come from China. I know this because I have paid for the overpriced beads. So now I’m licensed to Import/Export wildlife or wildlife products.

The most exotic thing that I see around here is my passion flower, it finally bloomed today.

Photos were taken with Canon T2i and EF50mm f/1.4 lens.

Saturday Random Photos

The day of the super moon that everyone had been telling me about, the morning was promising that we might have a clear sky Saturday night. I got up early to go to a T-shirt sales from one of the manufacturing companies in Maiden, all T-shirts were selling for $1 to $3 each.  I think they might try to get rid of their inventory before the fiscal year end.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/13, 1/400sec, ISO 400, focal length 24mm, evaluative metering

My niece got a few of these three quarter sleeve T-shirts, and Lee got several T-shirts and a hoodie sweater around her waist for $1 each.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/2000sec, ISO 400, focal length 60mm, evaluative metering

Lee took my Rollerblade to my Dad’s house, she could comfortably fit into a size 8.5 now.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/4, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, focal length 75mm, evaluative metering

She was teaching my niece how to rollerblading, kids pick things up fast these days.  I actually started out with roller skate when I was little living in Brooklyn, New York.  There’s not a lot to do growing up in the city and I got really good at it, even had races with some of the neighborhood kids skating backward, of course I had many scars to prove it as well.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/4, 1/3200sec, ISO 400, focal length 50mm, evaluative metering

It has been a while since I visited Bo’s mom, and Bo came home with these fresh eggs for my dad on Friday. I see there are still blue eggs laid by Bo’s Americana hens.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/200sec, ISO 400, focal length 58mm, evaluative metering

We ate healthy on Saturday, a Lao noodle vegetable wrap with fresh mint and parsley from my Dad’s garden. I stir-fry the chicken and pork, and we had the Romaine lettuce as the wrap with spicy peanut dipping sauce.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/20sec, ISO 400, focal length 73mm, evaluative metering, tripod mounted

My mom’s Orchid is in the 8th week of blooming, can’t believe that it has been 2 months and still as pretty as ever.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering, tripod mounted

My dad’s seedlings got a little bigger.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/4, 1/2000sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering, tripod mounted

He has 2 crab apple trees, this one that was so abundant last year doesn’t look like it would bear many fruits this year.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 400, focal length 67mm, evaluative metering

And this other tree looks like it would but the fruits are extremely tiny.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, focal length 65mm, evaluative metering

I haven’t seen any Bee this year but the birds are everywhere now, especially in my Dad’s backyard.  This one is a Robin, and I think it might be a male since the chest color is very rich.

Canon T2i, EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/8sec, ISO 400, focal length 200mm, evaluative metering , closeup cropped

I remember planting these many years ago, it’s nice to see them come up year after year.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, focal length 105mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, focal length 105mm, evaluative metering

The housing market is suffering in our area.  This house and many other houses in my Dad’s neighborhood have to constantly reducing the selling price and even that no one would buy.  The economy is suffering everywhere, but the problem seems so minimal now comparing to what is going on in other parts of the world.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/125sec, ISO 400, focal length 24mm, evaluative metering

My second sister and I had a nice walk, I think the pollen is finally catching up to me.

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/160sec, ISO 400, focal length 80mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400, focal length 60mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 400, focal length 97mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/50sec, ISO 400, focal length 47mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/6.3, 1/1000sec, ISO 400, focal length 75mm, evaluative metering

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/11, 1/100sec, ISO 400, focal length 96mm, evaluative metering

This was all I saw of the super moon. I had a good 5 minutes of clear shot and it vanished into the thick dark cloud. The photo was taken from my Dad’s driveway at 7:56 pm (19:56).

Canon T2i, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens, Manual, f/5.6, 1.6sec, ISO 800, focal length 28mm, spot metering, tripod mounted