Color

This is the original color image of the transformed black and white post.   I would have kept or posted this before had the Cardinal stayed on the peak of the roof, the white spot where many of birds have sat and chirped and left their calling cards.

A Digression From the Project

A couple of mornings ago I kept hearing a bird that was somewhat unfamiliar.  I ran to the window and threw open the sash and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a Cardinal.  Well, it was dressed in a red suit.  Anyway, I tried to get my camera to get a shot of it but I was too late, however, I did better than that I think.  The moon was still up and this was between 9 and 10 AM.  Considering the heat and humidity it was very clear.  So I take a couple of shots and today I started to work with them just to see what I could come up with.

In my opinion this came out pretty good.  I really had to do nothing to it as the DOF (depth of field) was perfect, blurred roof as I focused on the moon.  Clarity of the moon was even better when done this way.  You make up you mind, opinions are just that, opinions and yours will be just a correct as mine.

All editing was done in On1 Photo10 with just the text and file type which was done in PS CC

Second Posting of Project Sxxxxxxx

Okay, second hint is in the name but there are some pictures as well.  My good 'ole brother said I was missing some parts in the first post so here are a few more neatly, well kind of, stacked.  In the picture are some actual parts about 50% completed while some are totally done.  They are in the majority.

In one of pictures I will show how I made it with ingenuity on my part.  I made a vertical lathe using a drill press.  Typically a lathe has a part chucked up on one end and then a holding point on the other to keep the part steady.  In this case it was all about taking ones time and moving slowly.

After cutting the rough cut with on a table saw I then cut the head off a deck screw, drill a hole in the piece so it wouldn't split and chucked it up in the drill press.  Starting at the lowest speed, about 590 rpm, I carefully cut the sides down to size and smoothness while holding different types of files.  As it smoothed out I increased the speed to the maximum of 3050rpm.
More pieces for the brother to deal with;-)))

Drill press in stopped position.  Notice dust....notice files

Spinning, spinning, spinning.  Room lighting, high ISO, lowest f-stop and you get the chuck key holes visible with noticeable motion as well as the round thing a ma jig.....hint, not a wheel.

Last shot for now.  There is no motion, I just blurred the surrounding area allowing me to highlight the round thing a ma jig.  Key part of the puzzle with a lot of detail in it when completed.

A New Project.....Guess What It Is

Okay, it's kind of that time for me to ask the question.....what is it?  I have a picture of the parts that I will be using as I believe I have everything precut.  Now I need to detail them to size and shape as needed, the hard part.  So, with patience on everyones part, I will post a little as I go along.  Two people already know but they won't say anything.  I've never done anything like this before so here's hoping.

On A Misty Morning

Looking for breakfast in the early morning hours this Heron paitiently watches for a ripple on the water.  A sign that a meal might be at hand.

After The Rains The Sun Will Shine

It was a gloomy day Saturday as some much needed rain showed up as forecasted.  Not as much as it could have been  or was forecasted to be.  In this area and on this weekend there is a Strawberry Festival in Troy, OH that runs the whole weekend.  It was suppose to start raining around noon but it didn't start until much later which was good for the people, the tents that were up everywhere and the shortcakes and donuts that were made.  When it did rain it was steady and quite hard at some points in time.

And then it stopped and presented a sky that had clouds, color and a still very bright sun.

Cacti In A Log

If a tree or bush gets out of control or unmanageable what do you do?  We had one in a front bed, a Weeping Cherry that had to be trimmed at least twice a year.  The top was growing and the branches just kept getting longer and longer to the point that it was interfering with the plants below.  So, what do you do but have it removed and a very slow growing pine put in its place.

What I did do however was to have the head or branching part and the roots cut off, saving the center trunk section.  Wasn't sure what I was going to do with it until I figured I could cut it down, cut part of it out and make a planter out of it.  It could become the center piece of a table on the deck.

I let the thing dry out in the basement, soaping the ends so that they wouldn't split too much as they dried.  They split and it wasn't dried out much almost 8 months later.  I cut it down to a 24" piece then I placed it on my drill press and used my largest Forstner bit to drill over lapping holes.  I used a tool that has a cutter that oscillates to put deep straight cuts where I had market it for the rectangular hole. The bit got hot creating steam that was actually very hot momentarily as it cut.  The wood was still very moist and would clog the bit sometimes if I tried to go too fast.  I ended up doing this procedure twice to get the depth I wanted.  I may take one more cut this winter to get more dirt space.

After getting the bottom flat I brushed on some stain to try to seal the wood and I used a paste wax on the ends and the bark to just give it some protection. We went to Lowe's and bought 4 cacti, something I had no experience with other than hens and chickens of which I really had no experience with in reality.  Oh, and the feet are a 1" piece cut in 1/2 and notched into the underside of the log.

The end result is this.  Finished this about 2 weeks ago and so far they seem to be doing okay.  The red bloom is new and it looks like there may be more coming.