Mushroom season?

I am not sure if it is because of the humidity and the hot summer days, but the mushrooms are back and better than ever. I have a few of the standard yard mushrooms and then the cool mushrooms growing in one of my trees. I hope this is not a sign that the tree is dying.
In a week this mushroom has expanded to over 18" across.

When it rains it pours

Cliche of this last week. When it rains it pours.
On Monday I drove to the Detroit area for a second interview with a large company and while I was on the road I got a phone call about a job on this side of the state with "Company B". Tuesday morning, while I was interviewing with "Company B" I received another call for a job with "Company C". After hanging up with "B" and scheduling "C" I received an offer from Company A and they wanted an answer right away. Unfortunately, A was on the east side of the state and although it would have been a great job, I had a second interview to go thru with "B". While on the second interview with "B", company A called back again. I told them that I needed to wait. Within an hour or so, "B" called me back to offer me a job. Same rate, but this side of the state. "A" wasn't going to pay taxes which meant "B" is now at the top of the pile. "A" didn't want to hear it and tried to up the anty. Unfortunately, "B" was a much better deal since I didn't have to leave my home. "C" was a permanent job and I interviewed with them on Thursday. No news on that yet.
I said to a friend that one of two things is happening, either the economy in Michigan is starting to move again or the planets have lined up in my favor. Either way, I will take it. I like to work.

Locks of Love - Part 5

Well, I have done it again. I donated over 10" to Locks of Love. As I have said before, it is the easiest donation I can make. My first donation was in June 1999 and I have been able to donate the minimum 10" about every 18 months. This time it was a little over 2 years between donations. Not because my hair wasn't growing, just because I wasn't ready. On 7/13/06, I decided that it was time. Choking in the middle of the night and the heat of the heavy hair were the two main reasons. The third and best reason, was receiving a magazine from the Locks of Love organization saying that it was time to donate again. So, I finally went in and had it chopped off. It feels so much better. The girl that cut my hair gave me the dutch boy (as my sister calls it) so I ended up cutting it again.

If you ever want to do something nice for someone you don't know and have a lot of extra hair, I would recommend donating to Locks of Love. To date, I have donated about 60" of hair. One of the women I worked with used to call me Repunzel. Hmm. Oh well, it is a great cause.

The snakes came out today

I have not seen a snake in a couple of years. Today I saw 2. The first was just a little garden snake (about 18" long) and then a Blue Racer snake which was over 3 feet long. I think they are out due to the heat. It was 95 here today. I wish I had my camera with me when I saw them in the yard. Oh well, there are plenty more hot days ahead.

And then there were none

The bermuda triangle of skunks has been eliminated from my yard along with 2 raccoons. So, my trapping days are now over.
I think only 1 of the 3 skunks is still alive. Jingles, the neighbor's rat terrior, killed two and the third I put in a skunk relocation program. Go Jingles!
Sorry Skunks, you stunk. May you rest in peace.

To Catch a Skunk

You need to catch a raccoon first. I borrowed the neighbor's live trap to catch the skunks. However, it was not meant to be; until today. I caught my first skunk last night.

1. Have a live trap.
2. Bait with Tuna fish or other enticing food.
3. Set trap by their den.
4. Wait until nightfall; they see the trap during the day and want no part of it. Nightfall is perfect.
5. Morning. Skunk is in the "house"
6. Throw a blanket over it. Carefully pick up the cage and place it in your trunk.
7. Drive to a remote location. Open cage, leave blanket on the animal end and walk away. When the skunk realizes you have stepped away, it will leave on its own accord.

Yeah!!! One less skunk. One more to go. The neighbor's dog got the 3rd one (she got sprayed, I didn't) Woohoo!

4 states in 4 days

Well, I have returned from my whirlwind journey of the midwest. I left GR on sunday afternoon and headed out to Milwaukee for a training class on Monday and Tuesday. I was fortunate enough to get to see many of the orange barrels in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and even Wisconsin. Yes, it seems they all have orange barrels blooming this summer. However, I must say, Chicago has them all beat with the most construction I have seen. I guess it reminds me of the big dig in Boston.

I can now say that I have been to Wisconsin. I even had to venture out to the lake so I could see Lake Michigan from the other side. I am quite used to seeing the sun set on Lake Michigan, but am not used to the sunrise on Lake MI.

It was a good trip. Apparently there is someone in the Brookfield, WI area that I look like because I had two people ask if they new me. Hmm, maybe a twin, separated at birth. Or not.

A couple new flowers

Here are a few images that I shot in the past few weeks. I haven't updated the blog in awhile as I have been busy with the business. But I have been shooting pics. I love this time of year as there is lots to photograph.

Free Kitty

Any takers? There are two of them. About 6 weeks old and Oh, so cute. Free to a good home (other than my own).

Arts in Ada

Well, I completed my first craft show. I borrowed a tent, bought a table, and brought a bunch of my photographs. It was a perfectly sunny day interspersed with a few wind gusts and clouds; not too hot and not too cold with just the right amount of traffic.

It sounded as though I was the only photographer at the show and I was pretty specialized at that. If you did not like flowers or lighthouses, you most likely skipped by my booth. However, those that stopped in had very positive things to say and walked out with something in their hands. I had photo note cards, matted 8 x10's and sketch books for sale. The sketch books were a bigger seller than I would have thought although there were a few people that passed on them because the pages were not lined. So, next time I need to have both.

As far as my presentation goes, next time, I would need to up it a bit and frame more pieces, have credit card ordering, and better display racks. All in all, it was a good learning experience and enabled me to get my name out there a bit more.

Tulip Time

It is time for the tulips in West Michigan. Here are a couple I shot in my yard. They are so beautiful this year. But, I wonder, what happened to all the tulips that came up last year? Are they done for this year? I thought they were all perennials. Oh well. I am enjoying these. I won't make it down to the Tulip Festival in Holland, but that is OK.  

Pileated Woodpecker

Update on the "red-headed woodpecker" I had in my yard the other day. It was a Pileated Woodpecker. According to the bird book I purchased, this bird is rare to uncommon in Michigan.
I am glad that I ran out of the house (half-naked -- good thing I have a private yard) to photograph it.

I have never been much of a bird watcher until I moved out to the "country" where I have nearly 3 acres for wildlife to meander about. I love it out here as there is lots to look at all year long. I grew up in the Metro Detroit area yet am enjoying my new "country" life.

Red-Headed Woodpecker

Today, as I was getting dressed, I saw a huge woodpecker fly into my yard. Being the photo geek that I am, I decided to go shoot it. The bird was the size of a crow! (not one of those wimpy sparrow-sized woodpeckers).

I got a halfway decent shot of it. He totally reminds me of "Woody the Woodpecker".

Thank you for smoking

While I am not a smoker myself, this movie seemed as though it would be quite interesting. My friend Greg and I went to see it tonight. I enjoyed it a ton. The main character - a tobacco lobbyist - was hated by the masses. However, he was very good at winning an argument. He was the ultimate spin artist and could convince you of anything. I liked how his mind worked and I am amazed by people like that; someone that can convince you of anything. Someone that never felt that what they were doing was wrong.

I say, Go see it!

Yellows are in bloom

The Daffodils and the Forsythia are in full bloom this week and are quite beautiful. I love the vibrant yellows against the blue sky or green, green grass.

Ceramic Tile replaces Vinyl

After the long and grueling task of ripping out the vinyl and removing the adhesive, the new light and bright ceramic tile has been installed. It is a sight for sore eyes and lungs.
the old and ugly vinyl is below...

vinyl off-gas > asbestos health risk

In an effort to get my studio space in shape, I decided it was time to get rid of the vinyl flooring in the entry way. It had a terrible off-gas odor and since it was 30+ years old, it was time to go. Since the flooring was on the concrete foundation, it had been glued down very well and had to be heated and then scraped to get it up off the flooring. What a pain. My friend Greg joked with me about asbestos and that was all I needed to go surfing on the internet. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a clear answer as to the asbestos content. Sites said that manufacturers of vinyl and other building products "MAY" have been using asbestos until the mid 80's. OK, that is a "May" not a for sure, right? I dug thru my pieces of vinyl and found one that said Congoleum so I went to their website to see if anything was posted like: Vinyl created/installed before "X" date had asbestos or didn't have asbestos. Ha! Wrong. Why would they post that? Fortunately, I did find a customer service form that I could send them a question with. I gave them the details and I got the following info:

Congoleum was using asbestos in their vinyl flooring until 1985. It did not pose a health risk unless I scraped, and dry swept the product. The dust is damaging to the lungs as it gets trapped in the lungs. Smokers are at a greater risk of having issues, but only a trained professional should remove it. LOVELY!!

I did not find this out until it was already too late. I had done everything wrong. So, I put myself at risk without even knowing it.

My questions are as follows:
Why would anyone install vinyl when ceramic costs about the same and looks better? (and no off-gas odors)
Why was the manufacturer still producing the vinyl with asbestos until 1985?
Why aren't there postings on Congoleum (and other manufacturers) website(s) that state: ALL products manufactured before 1985 contained asbestos. Do not scrape, peel, dry sweep, etc. Contact the following to have it properly removed and disposed of?

How great is my risk? How many other people are ripping it out without knowing the consequences? I have to believe I am not the only one who ripped out vinyl with asbestos.

I know that we are all going to die, we just don't know how, when or why. I just don't want to have major lung issues that cause breathing and life to be a bigger challenge than it needs to be.

Butterflies in Bloom

The butterflies are in Bloom at Meijer gardens. While I was not expecting it to be packed this afternoon, it was. Lots of kids off school. Lots of wanna be photographers with their cell phones trying to capture the beauty of the butterflies in this exhibit. There were also a lot of higher end cameras there. Mostly Canon products, and one Nikon in the crowd. Being the photo geek that I am, I am always checking out the other guys' cameras. I was the only woman with such a camera. Most of the women were shooting with cell phones or point and shoot cameras wondering why they could not get a good shot. Point and shoot cameras will not cut it in this type of a situation.

I very much enjoyed the display of butterflies and even had a couple of them land on me. The place was packed with people and kids of all ages. I think a good time was had by all. 

Spring is here

And the crocus are in bloom to prove it. Today was a beautiful day. Warm (70 degrees), sunny, and windy. My ideal weather situation. I love spring. So, I decided to head out with the camera and see what was coming up in the yard. I found some crocuses and some mini irises (not the technical term) but enjoyed seeing them none the less. The daffodils are working their way up. In another two weeks they should be ready (depending on the weather). In my new garden the tulips are popping up but it appears someone has been munching on the foliage. Grrrr. I thought I was getting animal resistant plants...
Oh well, hopefully they did not ruin the plants and just did a little munching on the leaves? 

Invading Spaces

This week I am hosting a recording session at my home. I have a nice studio space where I typically shoot photos, but since it is not in use this week, I decided to help out my friend Greg and let the band record here.

So far just the drum tracks are being recorded. A mic is needed for every piece of the drum set so each instrument goes onto its own track. Cool. I guess it is like layers in Photoshop and when all the tracks are combined, it will make a "pretty picture" or, in this case, song. I never knew how much time and work went into recording music.

It is fun to have the gang over here and invading my space. Perhaps "Invading Spaces" could be a new reality TV show? Anyway, I can't wait to hear their new CD.