Today's walk report: 083113

So long August, 2013...

and good riddance!

It hasn't been the most pleasant month, nevertheless, I've learned a lot about myself and I'm a better person for it. I'm certain to do better in the future dealing with pain in the ass bullshit than I did this month. There really is quite a bit you can do to make your own happiness. Accepting things you cannot change and finding courage to change the things you can... you know? The serenity prayer, just without the God part because it's all up to you.

However, there's very little you can do about the weather. Even though summer is likely to become more brutal in September, I'm glad to kiss your ass goodbye August! I've got one more month of summer hot, sticky discomfort behind me!

Last fall I rendered this image. Just because it was the first day of autumn. Today I put a caption on it.

The reason I did this was because a lot of people were whining on Facebook, etc., about where did summer go and whaa, waaa, waaa... Except summer has another 3 weeks. I think the whimpering is a resurging little bitch from people's school days. School's open, Labor Day weekend... oh shit, summer's gone. Well it's not and for people who live in places like I do, SoCal in a Valley, Miami, New Orleans, Dallas (well, that one--serves them right), or Mobile, summer is probably going to do its best to push its way into fall's scene. Even when it really is "gone" it's relentless in places like these.

The walk.

It was almost 6:30 PM out the door. It was simply miserable once again. I didn't hang out for pictures because standing still made me acutely aware of the perspiration seeping into my clothes. I spotted something though. I saw an Anna's hummingbird again for the first time since spring, I believe. I can look back at photos and check that but for certain it's been months since I've seen one. I took a few shots but he was way too far away and in case you haven't noticed I've taken some decent hummingbird shots in the past, so I wouldn't want to tarnish that. Anyway, I like to follow these cycles, it can tell you about other changes which are about to occur. Last year it was the seagulls, they told me when the first rains were coming. Seagulls are sensitive to changes in barometric pressure. I kid you not, here I'll Google it for you.

The other little photo op I've been working on is to catch a post-sunset bat in flight. I'm getting closer. It's a total crapshoot. I put the lens at 300mm or slightly less, set manual focus to a distance I think would be a decent framed image and I try to capture one before the light is too far gone, relying on bats which are flying toward me. At least for the most part, there isn't much predictability in the course of a flying bat. I got close today but not nearly good enough to post.

That's it. I'll leave you with the final sunset of August, 2013.