Category: Animals

Canon R7

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So after having the same camera for 15 years (Canon 40D), I decided to upgrade to a mirrorless camera and went with the Canon R7 because I heard fantastic things about it’s autofocus system and ability to track animals such as birds.

I ended up getting the kit with the 18-150mm lens from ABT who delivered it via their own truck the same day. Talk about service! I guess that’s what you get when you spend almost $2000. Yea, this thing cost more than our refrigerator!

(Incidentally Joe received his new Google Pixel 6A the following day so we’ve just been spending money left and right. So thankful we can afford to do these things because we socked away money when we were both at the height of our respective careers).

I wasn’t able to get out to test the new camera until a couple of days later, but I used that time to look at people’s suggested settings because there is so much more to this thing than my old camera. Many more buttons and dials too. The main thing that I miss is the little screen at the top of my 40D. With this new one you have to use the LCD viewfinder or the screen on the back which eats through the battery more, although the battery is still capable of handling multiple outings before needing recharging.

I bought an adapter not too long after so I could put my old EF 50-250mm lens on the camera. While not bad, it was kinda heavy. I mentioned to Joe that I was drooling over the RF 100-400mm lens which with the camera’s crop sensor is the equivalent of having a 160-640mm lens. He encouraged me to order it, and after a little hesitation, I did. It’s much lighter, and performs well too. Between the reach and the 32 megapixels of the camera, I’m able to get some great bird shots I never could have dreamed of otherwise, like this American Redstart which is a tiny bird that was pretty far away from me.

This photo was taken with a high ISO so it was very noisy, but I also decided to subscribe to Adobe’s photo editing software package which includes a very powerful denoise feature that cleaned everything up wonderfully. Isn’t technology grand? I was still using Photoshop 7 from twenty years ago so it took me some time to acclimate to the changes but now I love it. Still not a fan of Lightroom, however. It’s the photography version of iTunes where it tries to create a library of your photos. I have my own organization method and don’t need that.

Anyway, I’m still learning the best settings for the new camera but there’s no doubt it’s made photography fun and interesting again.  It’s also opened my eyes to all the creatures, mostly birds, that I never noticed before. Plus I’m getting more daily exercise than ever before. That’s a win win win!

 

 

April 2023 Recap

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Recently tried Zevia again. We got a black cherry flavor and Dr. Zevia. Neither are very good. I wish I liked it more. I drink water 99% of the time but crave soda occasionally. (Still sad that Culver’s went and switched from Pepsi to Coke).

Tried Chick-fil-A’s new watermelon mint lemonade which was ok but not great. I really miss the peach tea lemonade they used to have years ago. I will never get over them taking it away from me.

Decorated the fireplace mantel for Easter with some faux flowers I found in the garage that I hadn’t used in years, plus a new ceramic bunny I found at JoAnn’s. Would have liked two, but it was literally the last one left and they weren’t expecting any more.

My mom invited us over for Easter but I ended up cancelling two days before because I was having the weird nerve pains all over my body again. It lasted several days but eventually went away. Ironically, I ended hearing from both her and my brother Easter evening because their landline stopped working (they use Facebook Messenger to communicate since no one in the house has a cellphone). I spent the next week getting the run-around from AT&T just to locate the right department to issue a repair ticket so they were without phone service for 8 days.

Bought a new camera (more on that in a separate post).

Found my old pedometer and figured it was time to chuck that thing in the trash. My Apple Watch is all I need to track my steps and I love it.

Organized my not-so-much junk drawer because once in awhile it needs to be redone. It’s always pretty organized, but there was stuff in there that belonged either somewhere else or in the trash.

Decluttered the garage and tried to see if any of my friends wanted the stuff I would like to get rid of, but didn’t get any takers. I am not sure what to do with stuff. I don’t enjoy listing things for sale because people are so freaking annoying to deal with, but I also don’t like donating to Goodwill or Savers anymore now that they’ve raised their prices to take advantage of people. I would feel better if I could give to someone in need directly. So right now all the stuff is sitting in boxes in the garage. Sigh.

Heard they brought back an old school Kool-Aid flavor called Sharkleberry Fin and decided to try it.

I’ve never been a fan of Kool-Aid, so it’s no surprise I wasn’t impressed.

Started researching window replacement companies because ours needs to be replaced.

Spotted a sharp-shinned hawk hanging out in a puddle in the street in front of my neighbors house.

Fortunately I was able to run downstairs to grab my new camera to get this shot. The zoom is 150mm which is the max on the lens that came with the camera, plus I was behind a dirty window, but I still feel fortunate to have gotten a photo at all.

Decided against participating in Record Store Day this year even though Show by The Cure was available. For one, it’s a picture disc which I hate. I want a nice jacket, not one with a hole in it! Secondly, it would have been $40. I’m starting to question why I’ve continue to collect Cure vinyl at all. It’s not the same as the 90’s where you could find a used copy for a few bucks. Lately the choices seem to be rare used stuff that’s over $100 or new reissues that are $30-$40. Playing vinyl isn’t exactly convenient, either since only so many songs fit on each side. Longer albums tend to be double vinyl so you have to get up four times just to listen to an album. Besides, what’s going to happen to all this stuff when I’m dead? I dunno, I just feel like I should put that money toward something I’ll get more bang for my buck with, so to speak, like camera equipment. I really want a bigger telephoto lens for my new camera, for instance. I’d use it quite often during the warm months.

We planted some zinnia seeds in an egg carton and small pot so we could get them going a little earlier this year. I love zinnias, but they take forever to bloom and I’m impatient.

Brookfield Zoo

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I thought it would be fun to visit Brookfield Zoo on our anniversary Sunday (10/23) since it’s been six years since our last visit. I was wrong. So very very wrong. The parking lot was filling up quickly when we arrived which was before the zoo even opened. We paid $15 for parking and had free passes I got from the library. We waited in the car until we saw the huge line start moving and even then we were caught in this massive crowd trying to get into the zoo. From there we went straight to the giraffe area before it got too crowded.

To get away from all the people we explored the relatively deserted nature area around swan lake. I’d say that’s the most peaceful area of the zoo hands down.

We avoided going into most exhibit buildings except for the penguins because I cannot pass up the opportunity to see them!

This photo didn’t come out great but makes me laugh.

We didn’t get to see any tigers which was disappointing, but the lions were very photogenic!

Overall we were only at the zoo for two hours before leaving because the crowds just kept increasing. You should have seen the line of cars waiting to get in at noon! It was a beautiful day out and they were doing Boo at the Zoo (lots of kids in costumes) which was a recipe for overcrowding. I get the feeling they don’t limit how many people they let in either. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people there before, and I hope to never again.

River Trail Nature Center

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We passed River Trail Nature Center on our way to ABT on Sunday (09/25), so after ordering our refrigerator we decided to explore it before heading home.

(Not my photo above)

They have an apiary on site, which is basically a bunch of bee hives. In addition, they have lots of bird feeders around the property where we saw chipmunks and nuthatches, none of which my phone was able to capture well. There were some cool exhibits inside too.

We are planning to go back in the summer to explore the nature trails, and I’ll bring my camera to get some bird shots. Hopefully by then I’ll have a new mirrorless Canon.

August Nature Excursions

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We typically visit nature spaces on the weekends in the mornings before it gets too warm, but on Wednesday (08/17) we decided to go for an evening walk at the park. We came across this interesting feather that I later learned once belonged to a Northern Flicker, which is a type of woodpecker.

I hope to see the actual bird one day! They seem to be just as elusive as Blue Jays. I hear them often, but rarely ever see them.

Speaking of elusive, it’s not often we’ll see a dragonfly that isn’t zipping around, but one decided to hang out right by our front door.

We’ve never seen this particular color before. It’s a Emperor Dragonfly.

Saturday (08/27) we visited Mount Saint Mary Park in St. Charles. We’ve been there once before I believe, but it’s been many years. I read they were wrapping up their annual Sculpture in the Park event so I wanted to check it out.

In addition to all the cool sculptures, we saw a lot of wildlife including ducks, pigeons, finches, a hummingbird, and this awesome bird of prey that is either a Red-Shouldered Hawk, or an Osprey.

My bird app says it’s an Osprey (based off the photo), but around the same time I was using it to listen to bird calls and it identified a Red-Shouldered Hawk, so I’m not sure which it was, but it was cool to watch. It even dove and caught a fish at one point, although I was unable to catch that on my camera.

After the park and a trip to a nearby record store (more in another entry about that), we ended up at Stone Creek Miniature Golf in Geneva.

We’ve been there years ago in the evening but I don’t think we’ve ever played during the day. It was perfect weather-wise and it wasn’t too crowded either. Pictures of You by The Cure was playing over their speakers when we arrived which I thought was cool.

Although it wasn’t crowded, there was a large group playing ahead of us, so we were forced to really take our time on each hole as we’d be waiting for our turn at the next one anyway. It took us an hour to play all 18 holes and I’m thankful for that delay. Otherwise we likely would have blown through the course much quicker.

Despite Joe’s teasing about beating me, I actually won by two points!

If it wasn’t for Joe’s recent oral surgery, and having to be careful about what he was eating, we would have stopped somewhere for food, but we ended up going home after golfing. We were away from the house for five hours as it was, so Wookie was happy we didn’t stay out any longer.