Bookmarque’s Padded Cell 2022 - Pull up a couch (2)

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Bookmarque’s Padded Cell 2022 - Pull up a couch (2)

1Bookmarque
Jun 5, 2022, 6:02 pm

Since I'm just getting started processing my South Dakota pictures, I thought I might as well start a new thread. Most of mine are kind of photo heavy anyway.

Isn't this great?? Skeleton man takes his skeleton T-rex for walkies.



This is on I-90 in South Dakota - it's on the east-bound side of the divided highway and really not safe to pull over (speed limit is 80 mph!), so I got off onto a side road that runs parallel to it next to the west-bound lanes. I shot clear across the highway with the long zoom. Lots of work in Photoshop to remove a barbed wire fence and some supports that hold up the dinosaur.

2tardis
Jun 5, 2022, 7:33 pm

>1 Bookmarque: That is AWESOME. Love the sculpture. Photo is also great :)

3pgmcc
Jun 6, 2022, 5:49 am

>1 Bookmarque:
That is great. I can imagine it causes some driver distraction as people drive past.

4catzteach
Jun 6, 2022, 10:08 pm

>1 Bookmarque: that is fabulous! It would make a great picture for the kids to write a story about.

5hfglen
Jun 7, 2022, 5:08 am

Stray thought: What age are the rocks in the badlands in #175 of your previous thread? I ask because I have a few pictures I took the other day of a very similar-looking but smaller exposure above Barberton. The most impressive thing about that is the age; I may post a picture in the next week or two.

6Bookmarque
Jun 7, 2022, 8:14 am

According to the googles, hugh -

The rocks of Badlands National Park were deposited as early as 75 million years ago and began eroding just 500,000 years ago. As erosion continues today, fossils buried in the rock slowly reveal themselves and park paleontologists study them to learn about ancient life in the area.

The soil is a mix of small pebbles and a lot of clay. When wet the locals call it Badlands Gumbo and it sticks to EVERYTHING. You can't walk in in much because you'll have giant wads of it sticking to the bottom of your feet and it's REALLY difficult to get off. I scraped and whacked my boots on stuff and it's still there. Eventually had to hose them off at the hotel.

The dino and his caveman buddy wouldn't have had an easy time, lol. Glad you all liked that one. I couldn't pass it by. I found a few older photos when the tail was broken off and hanging down. Very glad it was reattached for my drive by.

Here's another look at the same area as the shots in the last thread -



7Sakerfalcon
Jun 7, 2022, 9:04 am

>1 Bookmarque: I love this!

>6 Bookmarque: The colours look like the Painted Desert but the geology sounds quite different.

8hfglen
Jun 7, 2022, 9:27 am

>6 Bookmarque: Ah! Thank you. The Moodies tidal sandstone above Barberton is much older then -- about 3225- to 3210-million years. So no fossils (although there are tiny carbonaceous flecks in the slightly older Fig Tree cherts that are claimed to be fossil Archaea or Bacteria).

9Bookmarque
Jun 8, 2022, 11:30 am

I think both Dakotas and Montana are rich fossil fields as well as Utah. Not sure how accessible some of the terrain in Badlands is though - the soil is loose and these formations are really steep. Plus the second the stuff gets wet it turns to cement. Crazy. Here's a detail of the hills on the same morning as the shot above -



I just loved that crazy little grassy plateau up there - no idea how it formed, but when the light started breaking through I had what I needed for a decent shot.

10Sakerfalcon
Jun 8, 2022, 1:21 pm

That plateau caught my eye immediately! A little miracle among the rocks.

11Bookmarque
Jun 9, 2022, 11:52 am

It is, isn't it? No idea why it hasn't eroded like the rest, but imagine the whole place like that!

Here's a different day, different place -

12pgmcc
Jun 9, 2022, 12:16 pm

The Badlands look super. Great pictures.

13Karlstar
Jun 9, 2022, 11:43 pm

>1 Bookmarque: Awesome! The others too! Happy new thread!

14Bookmarque
Jun 11, 2022, 5:00 pm

Thanks guys. Our last sunrise -




15pgmcc
Jun 11, 2022, 5:33 pm

>14 Bookmarque: Wow!

What else can I say?

16MrsLee
Jun 11, 2022, 6:45 pm

>14 Bookmarque: What >15 pgmcc: said. Wow.

17hfglen
Jun 12, 2022, 6:14 am

>14 Bookmarque: Thirding Pete and Lee! Much more impressive than the tidal sandstone at Barberton!

18Karlstar
Jun 12, 2022, 9:37 am

>14 Bookmarque: Fantastic.

19catzteach
Jun 12, 2022, 11:09 am

>14 Bookmarque: what a gorgeous place! It kind of reminds me of the Painted Hills here in Oregon. The hills aren’t as plenty and are much smoother, but the colors and layers are very similar. Makes me wonder if they looked as jagged back in the day (eon). https://www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/ptd-hills-unit.htm

20Sakerfalcon
Jun 13, 2022, 8:21 am

>14 Bookmarque: Stunning! I'd heard of the Badlands and thought I'd like to see them one day. Now I KNOW I want to see them.

21Narilka
Jun 13, 2022, 8:50 pm

>14 Bookmarque: Simply stunning scenery.

22cindydavid4
Jun 13, 2022, 8:57 pm

wow I had no idea. beautiful country.

23Bookmarque
Jun 14, 2022, 10:22 am

Thanks everyone. It is a really stunning location - I know here in the US we have a lot of geological diversity, but this is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's the erosion of the clay soils that makes it so striking. More to come, but in the meantime -

Continuing with my new love of radio dramas. Actually it’s not new, I remember listening to programs when I was a kid. Late at night, with the sound very low or with my one ear bud (no stereo on my little transistor radio). Many of them were horror stories so it was a wonder I could sleep at all. So I’m glad that the BBC still produces a lot of these. Some are good and some aren’t. Recently I listened to and then returned an Inspector Resnick collection because it was so centered on violence against women and it was pretty graphic - lots of sounds of body blows and screams. Ugh.

But then I found Trueman and Riley - a couple of coppers in the north of England who are thrown together, but form a good partnership. It’s funny and charming and while I wish each case was longer, they were fun and varied. So a winner.

Another with short, but not criminal cases was Behind Closed Doors: Series 1-4 which features a barrister working on cases involving right to die, workplace harassments, medical malpractice and other things that aren’t murder. A nice mix, but a little tame since there is no action, only dialogue and court proceedings.

I also listened to an Audible Plus radio play called The Miranda Obsession starring Rachel Brosnahan aka Mrs. Maisel. It’s about a woman who anonymously calls famous or semi-famous men in the entertainment industry and basically gives good phone. It’s not phone sex, but she intrigues them and after a few calls (always one way, she never gives out her number) they always want to meet. She’s cagey and never shows up, but they all keep trying. I’ve come across a similar situation in another novel - Innocents and Others: A Novel by Dana Spiotta - it’s almost the exact setup except I think she calls herself Nicole. As far as I know it’s based on a real person who made these calls to famous men. All in the 1970s or 80s so anonymity was possible. I really should look into it.

24clamairy
Jun 15, 2022, 9:05 pm

Amazing pics. Thank you for sharing.
(I especially love that first one!)

25Bookmarque
Jun 20, 2022, 12:35 pm

And here is the big color sunrise of the trip. First a panorama using 7-images and stitched together with software -



And a detail of this landscape with the most interesting clouds -



An important thing to remember when doing landscape photography is Turn Around. This is the scene across the park road behind us and the reason for all that reflected color into the valley -



I may have been the only one to turn and shoot that, but we'll see if any others turn up on the facebook group for the workshop organizers.

26Narilka
Jun 20, 2022, 8:30 pm

Those colors are gorgeous!

27pgmcc
Jun 20, 2022, 10:27 pm

>25 Bookmarque:
Great pictures.

What software do you use to stitch pictures together? I use MS ICE.

28hfglen
Jun 21, 2022, 6:08 am

29Bookmarque
Jun 21, 2022, 8:10 am

Thanks peeps. I use Lightroom for the stitch. It's my RAW editor and asset management database, too. Photoshop for some editing. Zerene for stacking. Topaz Denoise and Sharpen AI if the photos require one or the other or both.

30Karlstar
Jun 21, 2022, 11:56 am

>25 Bookmarque: I'm running out of adjectives for these gorgeous pictures, thank you.

31pgmcc
Jun 21, 2022, 12:21 pm

>29 Bookmarque:
Thank you for the tool names.

Stacking is something I have never tried and know little about. That is something I might experiment with in the future.

32Bookmarque
Jun 21, 2022, 12:48 pm

I've been doing stacking for about 2 years now and wrote a couple of blog posts about it. Mostly I use it for macro, but recently I've used it for some small scenes and it works nicely.

Here's the link to the 1st post which talks about taking the photos and using focus bracketing - https://wickeddarkphotography.com/2021/05/23/stacking-for-macro-part-1-capture/

And here's the link for the 2nd which talks about processing and Zerene itself - https://wickeddarkphotography.com/2021/05/30/stacking-for-macro-part-2-editing/

At first it seems like a lot, but once you get used to what to do and how to do it, things go faster.

33pgmcc
Jun 21, 2022, 2:33 pm

>32 Bookmarque:
Thank you for the links.

34Bookmarque
Jun 24, 2022, 3:39 pm

Thanks Karlstar - the Badlands sure do deliver.

Glad to help, Pete.

Here's a GBH from a recent paddling day -

35clamairy
Jun 24, 2022, 5:34 pm

36Sakerfalcon
Jun 27, 2022, 7:49 am

>25 Bookmarque: Amazing! Nature never fails to leave me in awe.

37Bookmarque
Editado: Jul 20, 2022, 9:26 am

Thanks guys. It was a nearly tame heron, seriously! Sorry I've been away so long. Life imbalance. Not a problem bees have!



I'll do an update soon.

Ish.

38pgmcc
Jul 20, 2022, 6:14 pm

>37 Bookmarque:
Fantastic bee shot.

39catzteach
Jul 20, 2022, 8:53 pm

>37 Bookmarque: that is an amazing pic!

40Sakerfalcon
Jul 21, 2022, 5:37 am

>37 Bookmarque: That's a stunning shot!

41Bookmarque
Jul 21, 2022, 9:44 am

Thanks guys, she was a lovely model and I got lucky. She's a wee one, too, only about 1/2 inch long. Full pollen baskets and she's cleaning her tongue! She did that a few times between flower visits.

42Karlstar
Jul 21, 2022, 12:15 pm

>37 Bookmarque: Very cool picture.

43Narilka
Jul 22, 2022, 3:32 pm

>37 Bookmarque: Wow!! Such a cool action shot :D

44Bookmarque
Editado: Jul 23, 2022, 6:43 pm

Thanks guys. She is a cutie for sure. I love bumblebees. Well all bees, but they are the only ones I pat.

The reemergence of audio drama is a wonderful thing. Great casts and production values, modern effects and storylines, re-framings and new angles. I’m having a great time. Plus I get to do chores, edit photos and sometimes even take them while listening. Here are some of my winners -

Moriarty: The Devil’s Game part of the Audible Plus catalog



This is fantastic! Everything about it is really fun from the acting and portrayals to the sound production and music. Those last two are not too intrusive or over-the-top, but pretty balanced. Many of the actors here are better known for their screen work (Merry and Pippen anyone? How about Curtis Armstrong!?), but they do just as well as voices only. Maybe it's more of a challenge to have the visual element removed, but they all meet and exceed it. I did spot most of the solution early on, but it didn't come together precisely the way I imagined, so I got a little surprise which I hope gets continued to another series. Oh and the role-reversal was really delicious. I loved to see our two arch enemies switch places. A great addition to the Holmes universe. Or should I say, the Moriarty universe? I was ready for another 10 episodes when the last one ended!

The Big Lie also part of the Audible Plus catalog



I’ve never seen a single episode of Mad Men, but I get the appeal of Josh Hamm. Even as voice only, he’s pretty damn commanding. This is set in a world not far removed from the McCarthy Hearings years, only they were ultimately successful and Hamm’s character is sent to investigate blacklisted filmmakers who will just keep trying to make their Communist propaganda! It hooks into another real historical moment when some laborers in New Mexico dared to square off against management. It’s dramatic, political, feminist and finds our hero in a tough situation when he realizes what he’s really working for. Lisa Edelstein (of House and Ally McBeal fame) is in it as well as Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul) and David Strathairn are also in it. Recommended!

Oracle 2: The Dreamland Murders by Andrew Pyper



Many years ago I bought and maybe still have a novel by Andrew Pyper. So when I saw an audiobook narrated by Joshua Jackson (aka Peter Bishop on Fringe) I grabbed it. He’s a tormented medium, haunted by a specter called The Bone Man. Between binge drinking black outs he helps the FBI track serial killers. The follow up is now a full-cast audio drama, which is a little different from the first straight-up audiobook, but still enjoyable and a lot of fun despite getting a little cheesy with some of the effects. It’s horror and that kind of thing is tough to do with just audio. Still, really fun and I hope there is more to the series.

I remember back before HBO made TV a more high brow choice for actors, movie stars wouldn't do television unless they were on a variety show or just out of jail and broke. Then HBO changed things and even cable shows got major stars like Glenn Close to do dramatically different TV and so it's pretty normal now to have big-name actors morphing from big to small screens. It seems now that's crossed to big money audio drama productions like these. I hope it continues because I love it. And I count them as books. So there. LOL.

45Bookmarque
Editado: Jul 24, 2022, 11:03 am

Ok, for these next ones you might not necessarily need an audible subscription, but that’s how I bought them; with a credit. Some are better than others, but I didn’t return any.

The Wilkie Collins BBC Radio Collection



A bit uneven because I think it’s been cobbled together from years worth of material and so the audio isn’t consistent in sound or production. The stories though, even if you’re familiar with them, are good and entertaining. I preferred the novels over the short stories though. The shorts are a bit too short and they became a bit monotonous in theme, I mean, take a look at this list -
'Miss Jeromette and the Clergyman'
'Mr Marmaduke and the Minister'
'Miss Bertha and the Yankee'
'Miss Morris and the Stranger'
'Mr Percy and the Prophet'

Dee T. Mitchell Investigates



Not a copper, but a journalist and a really great character - she isn’t young or married. She’s been around the block and doesn’t suffer fools well. At first she’s reluctantly involved in the stories she’s investigating, but then is hooked and so are we. A nice break from a police procedural since Dee can do things they can’t, like put on a fake pregnancy bump and hide a recording device in it. What is more disarming than a pregnant woman? Too funny.

Detective Galbraith: The King of Diamonds & The Midas Touch



Another semi-reluctant investigator, this time a retired cop who is roped into investigating for another retired cop who runs a P.I. firm. And another with an edge of humor instead of just gritty reality. That’s pretty important for me so that I feel like these people are well-rounded characters instead of just single-minded detectives. The plotting is more intricate than a lot of audio dramas and I liked the complexity. Some surprises along the way, too.

46Bookmarque
Editado: Jul 25, 2022, 1:48 pm

Clearly I’m the only one who likes this stuff, but I’ll continue anyway. A dud followed by what is so far, a huge win.

So the dud first.



About 2 years ago I read the whole Locke and Key series of graphic novels and was completely charmed by them. Loved the characters, the story, the writing and the artwork. Really standout stuff. So when I heard it was adapted to an audio format (I know, right?!) I didn’t get all excited. But it’s part of the audible plus catalog so I figured what the heck. Ugh. Talk about the suck fairy. The charm and positive vibes of the first are gone and I’m left with a lot of graphic violence (ah, see what I did there) and weird exposition in the form of characters talking to themselves. Back to audible it goes. I might re-read the books just to cleanse my brain.

So instead I got this by spending a credit -

Blood, Sex and Money: A BBC Radio 4 Serialisation of Zola's Epic Saga



It’s basically a serialized drama of all the books in the Rougon-Macquart family novels. But I can’t even describe how delightfully funny it is. So there is a narrator interspersed with live action and the narrator is dryly funny, but the way some of the bits are leaved in is genius. For example, the narrator says something like “France sometimes loved their kings (sound of fanfare and cheers) and sometimes they didn’t (sound of the Guillotine coming down). It’s a bit Monty-Pythonesque in some ways and quite original in others. I am loving it. Since I’ve never read any Zola apart from Therese Raquin, this is all new material for me. Hope it continues at such a high bar!

47MrsLee
Jul 25, 2022, 2:23 pm

I would like to listen to audio drama again, but don't seem to find the time. I do enjoy seeing what's out there though.

48Bookmarque
Jul 25, 2022, 6:38 pm

Yeah, there just aren’t enough hours in the day sometimes.

49Bookmarque
Jul 28, 2022, 9:45 am

Sitting on the deck means watching hummingbirds come by 50 times a day to visit the flowers. Honestly I can't imagine that they produce that much nectar, but apparently they do since they visit so often. Here is mom and what is probably her fledgling (a male), but I think there is another female nearby as well because I often see a little territorial spat and chase off these same flowers. They're cantankerous little birds and actually strike one another to drive each other away. Since I'm only 15 feet away I can hear it sometimes. Crabby things.

Mom -



Boy chick -

50Sakerfalcon
Jul 28, 2022, 11:22 am

Amazing! Hummingbirds are exquisite but who knew they were so feisty? It's wonderful that you can observe them so closely.

51pgmcc
Jul 28, 2022, 11:39 am

>49 Bookmarque:
Great pictures. I think hummingbirds are wonderful. Unfortunately we do not have them here.

52ScoLgo
Jul 28, 2022, 11:53 am

>51 pgmcc: They are a thing here. We keep a couple of hanging fuchsia plants* just outside our windows so get to see them up close. Amazing little creatures - part bird, part bee, and all attitude! ;)

* We prefer the plants as opposed to manufactured feeders because they are a natural hummingbird feeder that wilts at the end of the season, signaling to the birds that it is time to migrate. Many hummingbirds die each autumn because people forget, or wait too long, to take down their manufactured feeders.

53MrsLee
Jul 28, 2022, 2:16 pm

>52 ScoLgo: That solution would also eliminate the problem of and in the nectar and spoilage. I'm afraid a hanging fucshia plant would not survive a day in the heat we have here though. They grow on the coast though.

54Bookmarque
Jul 28, 2022, 2:47 pm

Thanks guys! We have only one species east of the Mississippi River - the ruby-throated. West of the Miss there are many species. So I guess I'm lucky. Just was deadheading the flowers and one of the females buzzed in and fed while I was standing there. She looked at me for a second and decided I wasn't a threat. I love them to bits.

I feel the same way about sugar water feeders - it's not the same nutritionally speaking and the feeders can get filthy and give them fungal infections and worse. Plus they're more work and yes, if you don't time it right, these guys can hang on too long up here. We often get a hard frost in October so it's vital they go while the going is good.

Plus I think it creates a stressful environment for them. They are territorial and will aggressively defend it. This includes feeding areas for both males and females so congregating them to feeders stresses them out with each thinking it's their own patch. Half their energy is spent chasing others away of what we think of as a communal food source, but the birds think of as their own. It leads to fights and probably injuries since I've seen them actually strike each other. So I opt out and just plant flowers for them each May. It attracts 1 or 2 adults of each gender and that's about it until the kids are out of the nest. Much easier on them I think.

55Karlstar
Jul 28, 2022, 5:09 pm

>49 Bookmarque: Great picture! We have some that visit the flowers here but we will never capture them in a picture of your quality.

56catzteach
Jul 28, 2022, 9:08 pm

>46 Bookmarque: I’ve watched Lock and Key on Netflix. I assume it’s based on the books. I enjoyed it.

>49 Bookmarque: oh my! Aren’t they pretty?

57Bookmarque
Jul 30, 2022, 12:33 pm

I haven't watched that, but I assume it is. Glad it was good.

More of our girl -

58clamairy
Jul 30, 2022, 3:27 pm

Great shots!

I feed my hummers nectar. I keep multiple spare feeders so I always have clean ones to go out, and this time of year they are rotated (and thoroughly cleaned) every 48 hours or even more frequently. I make my own nectar, and don't add dye. I've done plenty of research, and I have no qualms about doing this. I never have any hummers after September, though I have left my feeders out longer here just in case a late migrant needs it.

59Bookmarque
Jul 31, 2022, 8:04 am

Nice that you rotate them so often!

60Narilka
Jul 31, 2022, 4:30 pm

>49 Bookmarque: Oh my word! I love your hummingbird photos. They are stunning.

61Bookmarque
Ago 3, 2022, 11:41 am

Thanks so much. They are a joy to have around even if they do get snippy with each other.





Well I got through it all! Nearly 24 hours of performance audio. Better than reading all 20 books though I guess. 20 books? Yup. Apparently Emile Zola needed 20 books to tell the story of the vile pack of wolves known as the Rougon-Macquart family. Pack of wolves is how matriarch and narrator Dide (DeeDee) describes them over and over again in her wrap-around introductions, interspersion and injections to the live action.



It was wonderful and funny in some ways, but oy, Zola is a slog and I am not tempted to read the actual novels. Therese Raquin was enough. Well not totally I guess, I’ve started on an updated audio drama take on the same exact stories. The first production was set in the same time that Zola placed it in, but it’s also been adapted with modern times, places, names, etc. Not sure if it will live up to the first adaptation, but I decided to listen to it on the heels of the first so that the storyline would be relatively fresh.

That said, it’s a hell of a storyline and I hope that readers of the books have Cliffs’ Notes, summaries, family trees and who did what to who and who died, etc. It is mind-boggling in its intricacy and interconnectedness. At first you try to find a hero in all of this. Someone you can root for, but don’t bother. None of the family is worth a damn, even Dide herself who is at least a little sympathetic since she’s been locked up in an insane asylum by her loving son. Each story positively gorges on the depravity that humans can get up to when they lack a conscience and can get away with it. If the production didn’t have humor built into the Dide’s asides and insights, it would be really grinding. Everyone is monstrous and many are punished, but enough get away with it that it could really make you want to get into a warm bath with a razor blade. Funnily enough Zola injects himself into the story in a fictionalized, but recognizable character and has a bit of fun with his legacy and reputation. Doesn’t take himself too seriously even if he writes the most gutter-wallowing stuff.

The acting is wonderful overall. All of the players are English despite the novels being French and entirely set in France. They often use more modern language and English idioms and phrases which are really funny in places, another thing that keeps it from being too soul-destroying. The English sense of humor comes through in characterizations and quips and really shows up how different this must have been in French with French sensibilities. I can’t imagine them taking the piss out of themselves quite so perfectly as the English do it to themselves.

If you are a fan of Glenda Jackson’s acting, check this out. She is wonderful as Dide. Sly, crafty, funny, insightful and she really does try to curb her family’s worst tendencies. To no avail, but it seems she’s having a great time trying. She reprises her role in the updated adaptation of the stories as well.



Touchstones!

Blood, Sex and Money
Fault Lines: Money, Sex and Blood

62Bookmarque
Ago 11, 2022, 11:07 am

Hang onto your heads kids. Cuteness overload!







I spent about 10 minutes with this curious and playful little critter yesterday in the kayak. My first time with them in the river and not swimming away madly. Loved it and learned quite a bit about them while I was there. They will slap with their chins and necks when submerging while startled. Kind like the tail slap beavers do. When they're relaxed they go up and down like periscopes while huffing at you - sort of a snorting, growling, puffing noise. I often hear them before seeing them. Hope it's not the last time!

63Karlstar
Ago 11, 2022, 11:13 am

64Bookmarque
Ago 11, 2022, 11:13 am

>63 Karlstar: Yup, river otter. One of three in the group, but the others didn't want to come out and play.

65haydninvienna
Ago 11, 2022, 1:59 pm

I well remember taking my elder son David to a zoo in (I think) Adelaide when he would have been about 2. He was fascinated by the otters and chucked a right tantrum when we finally had to drag him away.

66MrsLee
Ago 11, 2022, 4:12 pm

>62 Bookmarque: Thank you for sharing that! Precious moment!

67pgmcc
Ago 11, 2022, 5:14 pm

>61 Bookmarque:
I think Glenda Jackson is a great actor. I must keep an eye out for this one.

68pgmcc
Editado: Ago 12, 2022, 2:45 am

>62 Bookmarque:
Super pictures. Otters are such fascinating creatures.

69clamairy
Ago 11, 2022, 11:17 pm

>62 Bookmarque: These are wonderful. I'll going to have to look on my PC tomorrow so I can get a better look. I'm very envious.

70tardis
Ago 12, 2022, 12:08 am

>62 Bookmarque: Thanks! I love otters.

71Sakerfalcon
Ago 12, 2022, 5:39 am

>62 Bookmarque: OTTER!!!!! I love otters, but they can be very difficult to find in the UK. That one was posing beautifully for you!

72catzteach
Ago 12, 2022, 12:00 pm

>62 Bookmarque: I love otters! I’ve only seen a couple from afar here in Oregon, unless at the zoo or our local nature museum. They are so cute and playful.

73hfglen
Ago 12, 2022, 12:05 pm

>62 Bookmarque: In this country we're supposed to have Cape Clawless Otters, which, althoughwidespread, are rather rare and very shy. I've never seen one in real life.

74Bookmarque
Editado: Ago 12, 2022, 12:33 pm

Thanks everyone! They are so cute aren't they? I might even forgive them when they poop on the lawn. I see them now and then in the kayak, but this is my first time taking photos of one. I do have a video of my first encounter a few years ago, but I had a really long lens on the camera so stills it was.

75Narilka
Ago 14, 2022, 10:38 am

Yep, super cute!

76Bookmarque
Ago 14, 2022, 10:51 am

>67 pgmcc: I recommend the first, and longer, drama adaptation over the reimagined ones. I felt they lacked depth and cohesion - I didn't get as much of a sense of the family as a whole like I did with the first adaptation (the one with the red cover and no pictures on it). Glenda Jackson has the same essential role in both, but she had more crackle with the first one.

77Bookmarque
Editado: Set 11, 2022, 2:15 pm

Have I really been gone so long? Eek! So I'll make up for it with this cute little porcupette!





Ok, well maybe it is a young adult, but porcupette is such a cute word that I have to use it. S/he was just on the side of the trail as I was heading back to my car. Because they don't see well, I was able to get about 10 feet from it as it snuffled around the base of a tree looking for snacks. When I moved it did pick up on me and became a bit nervous and I thought it might head up this tree to escape me, but it didn't. Check out that heart-shaped nose!



After a few minutes of being silent and still (both of us), it relaxed and bumbled on up the hill and out of sight into the woods. This is a young one since it was only about 14 inches long and adults are twice that size. My first time photographing one on the ground with anything like success.

78Karlstar
Set 11, 2022, 2:47 pm

>77 Bookmarque: That's a lot of quills!

79MrsLee
Set 11, 2022, 2:57 pm

>77 Bookmarque: What a wonder to chance upon. You did it justice, thank you for sharing!

80pgmcc
Editado: Set 12, 2022, 11:53 am

>77 Bookmarque:
Those are great shots. Thank you.

81Sakerfalcon
Set 12, 2022, 8:48 am

She is adorable! What a treat to see her up so close.

82catzteach
Set 13, 2022, 11:25 pm

She’s so cute! I thought they are nocturnal.

83Bookmarque
Set 14, 2022, 7:33 am

Thanks everyone! So very cute and patient with me.

And yes, they are mostly nocturnal, but not strictly so. Plus this is a young one and may need to put on more weight in a hurry to get through the winter so was foraging in the day.

84Bookmarque
Set 20, 2022, 7:12 pm

So recently I've discovered BBC Sounds which is an app for streaming BBC Radio stuff. It's pretty cool even if it is somewhat limited. I finished one of the crime dramas I purchased the first few episodes of from audible. Now I've run across a production that investigates Lovecraft stories as if they were modern and it takes a true crime podcast format. So it's a fake podcast based on old horror stories. The one I'm on is -



And so far it's pretty good. The production sounds good, there isn't annoying music or lengthy recaps and the actors are decent. They sound natural as if they are doing a podcast and investigating Ward's disappearance. Anyway...I thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone else might like it. Not exactly books, but it's what makes me happy right now.

85clamairy
Set 22, 2022, 4:50 pm

>77 Bookmarque: These are wonderful photos! Love that face.

86jillmwo
Set 22, 2022, 5:04 pm

>77 Bookmarque: Don't pet the porcupette! (But you already knew that...)

87Bookmarque
Set 22, 2022, 6:59 pm

Thanks guys. I did want to give him a squeeze, but yeah, bad idea. They are cuter than I thought, but it could be because it was a young-un.

So I got through all of the Lovecraft Investigations podcasts. I'm not very familiar with the original works so I don't know if the connections between the source stories was a thing they did for the production or that H.P. did himself, but it was really fun and we've got a bit of a cliffhanger with the 3rd season and so I'm hoping they continue with a 4th soon. Great fun and lots of action.

88Bookmarque
Editado: Out 10, 2022, 2:53 pm

Starting to work through some of my fall photography. This shot was with me standing on the 3rd tier of Breakwater falls looking back up at the 2nd tier.



Listening to a lot of books and podcasts, particularly Glenn Loury and John McWhorter's. Very enlightening take on race from two black men's perspectives. I'll leave it there.

89pgmcc
Out 10, 2022, 4:28 pm

>88 Bookmarque:
Beautiful picture.

90Narilka
Out 10, 2022, 8:33 pm

>88 Bookmarque: So pretty!

91catzteach
Out 10, 2022, 8:50 pm

>88 Bookmarque: fall is so beautiful where you live!

92Sakerfalcon
Out 11, 2022, 7:38 am

That's gorgeous!

93Meredy
Out 12, 2022, 6:53 pm

Ever a fan of your gorgeous photography. A few years ago I saved one of your magical copper-and-gold autumn wonderland photos, and I'm enjoying it on my desktop every day in this season.

94Bookmarque
Nov 9, 2022, 1:45 pm

Thanks everyone. Sorry I've been so absent. Just a phase I'm sure.

Still mainly listening to my books, but managed to get through two actual physical books recently, both the latest in series I have read for decades so a little comfort reading was a good thing. Righteous Prey and Racing the Light respectively. Little snippet reviews for both, too. Something else that’s changed lately.

Today I downloaded and started The Tommyknockers which isn’t a highly regarded Stephen King novel, but one I have a soft spot for. I read it when it came out and a few times in between, but when I saw that Edward Herrmann did the narration for this, I had to get it. He was great. The other books I have that he narrates are Wallace Stegner books, so this will be different for sure.

Other than that I’m getting through a big fall backlog of images. This is one from October when we got a dusting of snow and I headed to a brand new boardwalk through a white cedar swamp. I love them at the best of times (both the swamps and boardwalks), but the bit of snow adds so much depth.

95Karlstar
Nov 9, 2022, 2:36 pm

>94 Bookmarque: Good to see you back! Great picture.

96jillmwo
Nov 9, 2022, 6:55 pm

>94 Bookmarque: Just as Karlstar says, that's a great photograph. Very well done. And life goes in cycles -- glad to see you back!

97Sakerfalcon
Nov 10, 2022, 7:43 am

>94 Bookmarque: Beautiful. I love the contrast of the snow against the red and green.

98Bookmarque
Nov 10, 2022, 12:27 pm

Thanks guys. More backlog - some beautiful tamarack trees!

99pgmcc
Nov 10, 2022, 5:01 pm

>98 Bookmarque: Beautiful!

100Narilka
Nov 10, 2022, 8:04 pm

101catzteach
Nov 11, 2022, 9:35 am

That walk in the woods photo; so beautiful and peaceful!

102clamairy
Nov 11, 2022, 10:00 am

>94 Bookmarque: Snow!!! I'm having trouble adjusting to seeing this in people's posts on FB and Instagram. But it is lovely.

Hope you enjoy your Tommyknockers reread.

103Bookmarque
Nov 11, 2022, 10:04 am

Thanks peeps. Mostly it was a good fall. I did a little scouting in the kayak and came up with a sketch of photos I hope I can make next year.






So I'm a few hours into the audio of Tommyknockers and I forgot how well King got into the heads of self-destructing idiots. Gard, ol Gard is trapped in his last grand mal so to speak and we so desperately want him to pull out of it, as he just did with his poetry reading, but we know he won't. It's ugly and so flagrant of any idea of self-preservation that it's hard to look in a sense. But King has us now and I think it may be his own deep entrenchment in substance abuse that makes this so unflinchingly real (that abuse was rampant and probably at its worst when he wrote this). Oh Gard you old fool.

104Karlstar
Nov 11, 2022, 12:15 pm

>103 Bookmarque: Very nice! Just a great place to appreciate nature.

I recently picked up Tommyknockers, it is on my TBR list.

105Bookmarque
Nov 13, 2022, 1:28 pm

Thanks much - yeah, we are spoiled around here in fall, short though it is. Snow showers the last few days. Nothing much, but it's the start.

Don't expect a tight story with Tommyknockers. It weaves and staggers like a drunk. Full of intimate details of vignettes that in themselves are tiny masterpieces, but chucked in where they are just take the story off the boil too long.

The whole Gard meltdown at the party scene and his torturous journey to Bobbi, Becka Paulson's incipient madness and what the Tommyknockers do to her and now the story of Hilly Brown's ill-fated magic trick - all could be and probably should have been, short stories, where they would have done well. So just enjoy them that way and, when they eventually connect to the story train, you'll have to hang on again.

106Bookmarque
Nov 15, 2022, 12:47 pm

Lately I've been in a bit of an emotional state; nothing crazy or negative, just a little more prone to sadness than usual. So we're coming to the part in Tommyknockers where Gard finds Peter in the shed. It's one of the most heart-wrenching things King has ever written. I'm not sure I can get through it today.

107Karlstar
Nov 16, 2022, 4:21 pm

>105 Bookmarque: I hope it passes soon. Based on what you've said, I'm pushing Tommyknockers farther down the TBR pile, doesn't feel like the right time to read that right now.

108Bookmarque
Nov 22, 2022, 8:34 am

It mostly has. Finished Tommyknockers. Too long and rabbit-holey, but fun in the end. Gard ol' Gard finally got his wish.

And just because it's funny. I bought a 9-pound book!



It is ENORMOUS! The pages are 8 x 11 inches and it's 2 1/2 inches thick. Hard cover with so much data on the species here in Wisconsin. Normally it's something like $75, but because I've reported a rare turtle to the DNR I'm on some email list and I was alerted to a sale. Picked it up for $30. Well, when I say picked it up...I mean I got a forklift!

But it's awesome and I love my new hefty tome. Amphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin

109MrsLee
Nov 22, 2022, 11:53 am

>108 Bookmarque: That is a beautiful treasure! And you know I don't even like snakes. As much time as you spend in the woods and waters, it will be great reading about the critters you see.

110pgmcc
Nov 22, 2022, 2:49 pm

>108 Bookmarque:
That looks like a beautiful book. I hope you enjoy it.

111Karlstar
Nov 22, 2022, 3:45 pm

>108 Bookmarque: There's nothing better than acquiring such a weighty tome! It almost sounds like you are more excited about the book than the 911.

112Bookmarque
Nov 22, 2022, 4:01 pm

I am about both, truth be told, but we don't pick up the car until next week so...

And if any of you guys missed the weekend thread and don't know what Karlstar is on about, this is what is coming home next week -





It's a gently used Porsche 911 - our first!!

113catzteach
Nov 22, 2022, 5:59 pm

>108 Bookmarque: That is a beautiful book! (And car)

114Bookmarque
Nov 28, 2022, 5:26 pm

Thanks much. She came home today. I didn't drive it much, but I took it for a spin this afternoon. Damn it's a fine piece of kit.

115pgmcc
Nov 28, 2022, 5:45 pm

>114 Bookmarque:
Very nice.

Enjoy it.

116Karlstar
Nov 28, 2022, 9:50 pm

117JessieJim
Nov 28, 2022, 10:09 pm

Este utilizador foi removido como sendo spam.

118clamairy
Nov 28, 2022, 10:27 pm

>114 Bookmarque: Very nice. May you get a lot of enjoyment from driving it.

119Narilka
Nov 29, 2022, 8:00 am

>114 Bookmarque: She is a beauty! Hope she's as fun to drive as I imagine :)

120Bookmarque
Editado: Jan 1, 2023, 10:43 am

It's pretty awesome, though with winter tires it's a bit different. Also when I get into a car like this I'm used to a manual gearbox and this one is an automatic with paddle shift on the column if you want it. Would have been unthinkable back when I bought this -



That's me in my 1998 M3 on the Watkins Glen racetrack in NY. Still have the old girl and she's a manual 5-speed. It's weird to get in a Porsche with only 2 pedals. But the transmissions and computers on 911s practically see into the future so responsiveness is incredible and the gearing is so much tighter. Ah progress. But I still love my old girl.

121catzteach
Nov 29, 2022, 11:20 pm

>114 Bookmarque: Beautiful! What have you named her? Yes, I name my cars. My current one is Alexander.

122Bookmarque
Nov 30, 2022, 7:28 am

Thanks catz!! We're not car namers so she will just be the 911 (pronounced nine eleven, like the classic pistol is a nineteen eleven). And she is rock star girlfriend gorgeous isn't she?

123Bookmarque
Dez 1, 2022, 4:47 pm

Pro tip I discovered today - when editing a movie and adding other authors, you often have to use free-form text to fill in the person's role. Actor is one of these and I always found it tedious to retype or cut and paste if I listed a lot of actor. But if you add one, close the record by saving it and open it again, actor appears in the dropdown and you can get to it by typing the first two or more letters like any of the other choices. I had no idea, but even if I'm late to the game noticing this, I thought I'd pass it along!

124Bookmarque
Dez 5, 2022, 12:18 pm

Working through more fall images and these beautiful tamarack pines -

125clamairy
Dez 5, 2022, 8:10 pm

Lovely. I had to use Google. I have no memory of pines changing color when I lived in Northern Illinois.

126catzteach
Dez 5, 2022, 9:05 pm

We have a few tamaracks around here. They always look dead surrounded by all the evergreens.

127clamairy
Dez 5, 2022, 9:17 pm

>126 catzteach: Maybe I thought they were dead!

128Sakerfalcon
Dez 6, 2022, 7:24 am

>124 Bookmarque: I love that glorious flame-orange colour. Simply stunning.

129Bookmarque
Dez 6, 2022, 7:43 am

Thanks peeps. Tamaracks are the only coniferous trees to shed their needles entirely in winter. I love them to bits and plan to do more work with them next year. The needles themselves grow in little bunches like whisk brooms and are so soft. They are often found in bogs which are low nutrient environments and can thrive with their roots entirely submerged in water. This is a close up of some branches I took over a decade ago -

130pgmcc
Dez 6, 2022, 8:05 am

>124 Bookmarque: The colours in that picture are wonderful. They match so well.

131MrsLee
Dez 6, 2022, 12:40 pm

>124 Bookmarque: & >129 Bookmarque: Interesting. This I did not know.

132pgmcc
Dez 6, 2022, 12:43 pm

What >131 MrsLee: said.

133Karlstar
Dez 7, 2022, 12:09 pm

>131 MrsLee: >132 pgmcc: Same for me. It's always good to learn something new.

134Bookmarque
Dez 7, 2022, 12:51 pm

Thanks peeps. In North America these are also known as the American Larch.

As in. Number one. The Larch!

135catzteach
Dez 7, 2022, 12:55 pm

>129 Bookmarque: I’ve never seen one up close. They are usually deep into the forest here. Not easy to get to one.

136Bookmarque
Editado: Dez 8, 2022, 11:17 am

Have been exploring more radio dramas lately, this time from Audible Originals and they are subtly different from their BBC counterparts. The first thing I noticed is that the foley and other sound effects are less prevalent and music is worked in a bit more, but isn’t distracting or annoying. The other is that most of the ones I’ve listened to in the last week have featured women in the lead roles. Not sure if that’s just a coincidence or bias on my part in choosing them, but I didn’t really notice or pay attention to the title characters’ names or anything. I was just attracted to the plots.

Here’s a quick summary if you’re interested in trying these out. I think they’re all part of the Audible Plus catalog so if you have a subscription you can listen for no additional dollars.

The first is Unlicensed by Joseph Fink, the same guy who brought you the Welcome to Nightvale podcast and associated spin offs.



I didn’t get into that one, but I liked this one quite a bit. The characters are interesting, but the story doesn’t get bogged down with giving us too much back story. Also the story itself is linear in the telling and all of the bits and pieces connect. It’s very intricate. There is humor throughout and there is a separate narrator who is sort of a Greek Chorus in a way. The voice tells us things about surroundings and general attitudes and mores of the time and while too lengthy in spots, it fills in things that dialog can’t. It put me in mind of how Chandler used to give Marlowe internal monologues that mused on Los Angeles society and culture; most of it for the bad and the narrator in this has similar views. It’s a little cynical and negative, but spot on. Here’s an example - a bunch of lovely and productive farmland is going to be bulldozed by a celebrity chef to put up a farm to table restaurant. Like that. Anyway…enjoyable, but because of its cliff-hanging ending we really need a follow up season.

Next is The Goodbye Party by Louis Nowra, a renowned Australian playwright.



This one has a fairly typical structure of contemporary man delving into a crime in the past that directly affects him. His father has been murdered after once again revisiting a case that has haunted him from his days as a police officer. Two people at a swingers party in the 1970s were killed, but the murder never solved. Who is still around that wants to keep it that way? Because the son is also an ex-police officer, he’s got some investigative skills and gets to the heart of things eventually. There’s frank talk about sex as you can imagine and I loved the principal woman character. Her voice and accent are a joy to listen to and I would gladly pick up another production with her in it.

Next, and maybe the best so far is Convolution by Benjamin Walker and starring Rhea Seehorn (Kim from Better Call Saul).



Rhea plays Sydney, a Cyber Crimes cop investigating a series of swindles that just might be tied to Artificial Intelligence. She records her notes and interviews into a device called a Columbo that is part of a huge database designed to help cops solve crimes. It even sounds like Peter Falk when it talks to you! Love it. But if AI is involved we know something like Sky Net is going to happen and it isn’t that far off and Sydney eats her way through the world of food on a quest to figure out what’s going on and why people are dying. Lance Henrickson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Mike Starr and Phil LaMarr are some other actors you might recognize. Crazy ending. Loved Sidney as a character. She’s sharp, funny and a treat to listen to even if she is eating all the time.

Last and kind of least is Motel Evil by K.C. Wayland, which isn’t a haunted hotel, but one that several murders have happened in. So that makes the title misleading and kind of stupid.



Always the same room and the same way. Only this time is different. While I liked the plot itself, the cops in the story were brutal overlords who overstepped big time. I don’t know any cops who would take liberties like they did here. Basically ordering people around and keeping them prisoners. Even if you are in the middle of nowhere Alaska and there’s a storm, people know their rights and cops know they know them. It was weird, irritating and not plausible. The characters, while varied, were a bit too like cut outs and I doubt I’ll listen to anything else by this person.

137jillmwo
Dez 8, 2022, 12:58 pm

I like the idea of radio plays (or whatever we call the format now). What is the average listening time for something like this? 20 minutes? 30? An hour?

And I really like the photograph of the Larch bough up there in #129.

138Bookmarque
Editado: Dez 8, 2022, 1:17 pm

Thanks jillmwo - I love tamaracks and need to work more with them since they're just so darn wonderful.

It depends on the structure, but the ones I just listed are broken into 30-45 minute episodes. They run anywhere from 6 to 12 episodes on average. Some include recaps, but most don't since most people listen to them all at once. Since the shows drop that way it seems weird to me to break them up, but that's how they do it. The BBC dramas tend to be a little longer in my experience, running to 20 or more episodes of similar length.

If you scroll up to post #44 you can read about Moriarty, another first class Audible original that is a blast!

139catzteach
Dez 8, 2022, 7:31 pm

These radio shows sound fun. When I was a kid, my dad bought me tapes of the old radio shows. He found all of The Shadow episodes. I think it’s cool that listening to stories with sound effects and such have returned. There are podcasts out there that are the same way.

140Bookmarque
Dez 14, 2022, 3:55 pm

I never listened to anything quite that old although I am aware of them and they're probably somewhere on Audible. I found some Ray Bradbury Theater episodes that are a hoot. And yes, there are podcasts that are scripted dramas and I like those, too. Right now I'm listening to a dramatization of The Hound of the Baskervilles with Stephen Fry as Watson. So fun.

So the other morning I went out to do some photography and while I didn't get what I went out to do, I had quite a roadside encounter with part of the clean up crew -





All the ravens scattered, unfortunately, the big babies. So I had this beauty alone to focus on. Sometimes the car can make a relatively effective hide. If I'd gotten out of it I'm sure the bird would have flown. It was about 20 feet up in a tree and had what I think was a bit of venison judging by the leg I saw further up the road. I basically stopped, attached the long lens, zipped the window down and did a portrait session for a few minutes before s/he flew off to enjoy breakfast in peace.





And to think, I wasn't even going to bother to take the long zoom. So glad I did. Seneca was right - luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation.

141Narilka
Dez 14, 2022, 5:00 pm

>140 Bookmarque: Simply stunning!

142pgmcc
Dez 14, 2022, 5:16 pm

>140 Bookmarque: Great pictures, as ever.

143tardis
Dez 14, 2022, 7:03 pm

Lovely pictures! The detail in the feathers is beautiful. That eagle doesn't look quite as grumpy as they usually do - maybe a full stomach helps :)

144MrsLee
Dez 14, 2022, 9:13 pm

>140 Bookmarque: So beautiful!

I don't have the patience for proper photography, but it makes me sad that I never get the photos of the birds in our cemetery. There is a hawk that hangs out on the higher monuments, some flickers, bluebirds, jays and more. Not to mention the squirrels, deer and turkeys. Oh well. At least the monuments don't fly away when I take out my phone.

145Karlstar
Dez 14, 2022, 10:37 pm

>140 Bookmarque: Wow! Thanks again for sharing.

146Sakerfalcon
Dez 15, 2022, 8:52 am

>140 Bookmarque: Wow! Amazing shots of a spectacular bird.

147Bookmarque
Dez 15, 2022, 9:01 am

Thanks guys! I never tire of seeing them even though it's nearly every day. It's always a privilege and especially up so close with the long lens. Today's eagle so far was a juvenile flying down river.

148hfglen
Dez 15, 2022, 9:36 am

Until I went to the Smithsonian in 1998 I didn't know just how closely related (very, surprisingly) an American Bald Eagle is to an African Fish Eagle. Ours differs mainly in having a considerably louder call, which is one of the classic sounds of anywhere in the African bush that has water. I've posted several pictures of the African model over the last few years.

Which should in no way detract from the surpassing brilliance of your pictures of yours!

149Bookmarque
Editado: Dez 15, 2022, 10:01 am

No shade taken, hugh! And I have had the same thing strike me when I've seen photos of the AFE - so very similar. Evidently the same niche needed to be filled and nature filled it with nearly the same creature.

And yeah, the baldie's cry is more like a rusty gate swinging in the wind than anything else. Certainly not the classic "cry of the eagle" we're thought to expect. But they're loud enough that I usually hear one before I see it when I'm paddling or hiking. Especially juveniles that basically yell their heads off almost all the time as soon as they're able.

150Narilka
Dez 15, 2022, 8:09 pm

Amazingly enough I saw a bald eagle today on our drive home from my favorite used book store :) We almost never see them in our area of Georgia.

151catzteach
Dez 15, 2022, 8:40 pm

Those pictures are amazing! I love bald eagles. I’m so glad they’ve made a comeback and can be seen in so many more places than when I was a kid.

152Bookmarque
Dez 31, 2022, 5:24 pm

Thanks guys. It was a lucky encounter for sure. I had so many cool and lucky encounters with wildlife this year.

153Karlstar
Jan 1, 2023, 10:25 am

Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures.

154jillmwo
Jan 1, 2023, 10:30 am

Thanks for sharing with us your talent for photography, Bookmarque. You're amazing! Happy new year!

155hfglen
Jan 1, 2023, 10:30 am

What >154 jillmwo: said!

156haydninvienna
Jan 1, 2023, 1:12 pm

157Bookmarque
Jan 2, 2023, 3:00 pm

Thanks everyone! I have enough posts here to continue on to 2023!