Thursday ~ November 20, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 20, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Old Structure

Happy Thursday!

It’s been sometime since I last did an image in black and white.  There was a time that I seemed to see everything in black and white and shot a lot of images that I later converted to B&W.

When I saw this old structure yesterday I wasn’t really sure what I would do with it.  My friend Andreas lamented to me that it is hard to shoot on these gray cloudy days.  I think most photographers prefer to use the sun to help light their subject.  I love sunny days with blue skies and puffy white clouds.  I know that’s not everyone’s favorite but it is mine.

This is the beginning of year-end in my world.  It starts right about now and continues until the end of January.  Wrapping up one year and the beginning of a new year with all the discrimination testing and data collection that is needed for the myriad of required government reports is sometime overwhelming.

I started with my company in March so the year-end was over and then it hit in late November.  I was overwhelmed and sincerely wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.  🙂

I’m sure every business goes though something like year-end but in the banking industry it is truly an amazing experience.

That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoy your day.  We’re close to the weekend so hang in there.  Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Stay warm and be careful.

Wednesday ~ November 19, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 19, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

November-18-2014

Happy Hump Day!

I apologize for the lack of activity on the blog this week.  I have not had the opportunity to make any images for a variety of reasons but was able to capture some shots yesterday.  🙂

I was early out of the house yesterday so I grabbed a camera and kept it in the front of the car, with me.  I was able to make some quick images on the way to work and then during my lunch break I didn’t have any appointments so I drove around looking for things.  Pickings were pretty slim but I did find a few things to take images of.

November-18-2014-B

My eye continues to improve a little bit every day or at least I’m getting use to the flickering.  At times it is a real bother and other times barely noticeable.   My doctor and several of my friends who have had the surgery have told me that the improvement will continue.

I had lunch with a friend on Sunday that is going to have the surgery in January.  I was honest with her but then softened my experience with accounts from other friends who have not had an ongoing problem.

November-18-2014-A

For those who have sent me emails asking about my presentation last Sunday.  Thank you for your words of encouragement.  I have received some very positive feedback so that is gratifying.  It was a warm and friendly group of people and they were very courteous.  There were no boos and no one threw anything at me.  🙂

That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoy your mid-week hump day.  Stay warm and be careful.  Oh and yes, thank you for stopping by the blog.

Sunday ~ November 16, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 16, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Josh in his new chair

Happy Sunday!!

These are “snapshots” from Josh’s 4-year-old birthday party from last night.  I must say it was an experience.  Many of his friends from the neighborhood, day care and school were there.  There were a number of Angie and Ben’s friends as well.  I don’t know how many young children were there because I never did get an accurate count.  They move too fast.  🙂

Group present opening

What was interesting was watching Josh open his presents.  Well actually it was watching the community open his presents.  He would have the present in his hands but everyone else would tear the paper and then someone would take it out of his hands and hand him another present and the whole process started over.  I know I’m selfish but I would have found that to be very unsettling.

There were several doctors in attendance as well so if someone got hurt or choked on something there was plenty of help available.

A quite moment with Gabby

Gabby wasn’t left out of the presents.  Someone gave her a little book and she carried it around the rest of the evening.  I read it to her at least 6 times and she would get everyone else to read to her if she could get their attention.  She was amazing through all the commotion.

We left around 7:00 p.m. and I think most people were getting ready to leave as well.  The amount of energy in that house for those three hours could have provided electricity for the city for a year.   🙂

I’m on my way to DeWitt, Iowa this morning to do a small presentation at one of their churches on making visitors feel comfortable.  It is a similar subject I train on at work and was asked to present it to the welcoming committee.  This is something I have never done and I am a little bit apprehensive about doing.

That’s it for today.  Enjoy your snowy Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Friday ~ November 14, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 14, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

November Farm Scene

Happy Friday!

I had benefit meetings in Cedar Rapids yesterday and on the way back to Maquoketa saw some interesting farm scenes.

The weather was really strange as I could see snow showers on one side of the road, with areas of yellow sunshine mixed in and gray, cloudy skies on the other side of the road.  It was weird.

Harvesting The Crop

My eye continues to improve and I’m grateful for that.  I received a nice email from Sharon yesterday stating that she had cataract surgery in both of her eyes in October and she assured me that it does get better each day.  Sharon was my first love in first grade.  🙂

Farm Scene

I do not have any profound thoughts to share today.  Apparently I’m running on empty so it’s a good thing this is Friday.

Hope you enjoy your day and the weekend.  Supposed to be nice and cold the entire weekend into next week.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Wednesday ~ November 12, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 12, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Mines of Spain

Happy Hump Day!

I have rocks for you today.  These are rock formations that I photographed last Sunday on my trek through the Mines of Spain.  I’m not normally a rock person but I shot a lot of pictures of different rock formations that I found interesting on my hike through the area.

I will most certainly go back to the trails sometime, perhaps when there is snow on the ground.

Mines of Spain 2

So today I met with the eye surgeon.  He was pleased with my progress and said that the flickering would go away over time.  It is better today than it was yesterday, so I am optimistic that it will continue to improve.  He also said that I can resume full normal activities as of today, which means that I can get back to working out.

The other good news was that he said he didn’t think I would have to wear glasses again.  He said that I am far-sighted in one eye and near-sighted in the other eye and much like contacts that set up that way I see very well with both eyes.  It is the first time I have not worn glasses in 46 years.  🙂

Mines of Spain 3

One more health issue and then I’ll get off that subject.  I met with my endocrinologist Monday.   My A1C was 6.2 and all the other numbers were excellent.  I’ve lost 43 pounds and everything seems to be in good order.  He told me to keep doing what I’ve been doing so I feel good about that.

I’ve got two days of meetings with employees about their benefits today and tomorrow so probably not much opportunity for photography.

I’ve got to find my macro lens and start doing some macro images for days like this.  🙂

That’s it for today.  I hope you enjoy your day.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Tuesday ~ November 11, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 11, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , , .

A barge moves down river

Happy Veterans Day! 

One of the advantages of working for a financial institution is that I get some holidays that many times the private sector does not.  Today is one of those days.

I watch the American Hero Channel when I watch TV and they have a very appropriate tag line when they do channel identification.    “Home of the free because of the brave.”  I am in awe of the sacrifice so many have made over the decades for our right to be free.  Since the beginning of time nations have tried to conquer  other nations.  Men and women have fought and died for hundreds of years and yet today we seem no closer to being able to live in peace than since the beginning of time.

Before I went to visit the trails at the Mines of Spain I stopped by a little place by the river.  I was lucky that a barge was moving South at the time and I was able to capture this image.

Stuff in the river

No particular subject to this image.  I just found the objects sticking out of the water to be interesting.  I hope you enjoy it.

I meet with the eye surgeon this morning.  Hopefully he will have some news and projections about the condition of my eye.  I do notice a slight improvement this morning so that is encouraging.

As I write this blog it is snowing out and pretty heavily at that.  The birds are on the ground picking up discarded seed from the snow-covered ground.  That is not a sight I’m ready to see.  😦

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day and thank a veteran for your freedom.  Be careful.

Monday ~ November 10, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 10, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Golden Tree

Happy Monday!

This image was taken at the Mines of Spain, Dubuque, Iowa.  For all the years I have lived here I have never once gotten out of my car and walked some of the hiking trails.

Yesterday Jeanne had a reception  she had to go to so I decided to do a photo run and look for things to shoot.  It was a cloudy gray type of day so there wasn’t much landscape photography to be found.  I finally ended up at the Mines of Spain and decided I might as well take a trail.  I’ve been walking for the last three months and felt like it would not be a problem.

I’m not in as good of shape as I thought.  By the time I got back to my car an hour later I was ready to sit down.  I started out on the lower level and there are three levels to explore, which means you have to walk up some pretty steep inclines and climb some steeper steps.

I did find some interesting things to photograph so I’ll show those to you as the week unfolds.  Busy week ahead as I have two days of benefit meetings, which means early morning and late evening meetings.

My eye continues to be bothersome.  Thank you very much Marilyn for telling me about your husband’s experience.  I’m hopeful that the flickering and discomfort go away soon.  The good news is that I haven’t worn glasses now for three days and can see as good as I did with my old glasses.  That’s nice not to have to mess around with glasses anymore.   Of course I had to buy a pair of sun glasses and a pair of cheaters so I don’t know how far ahead of the game I am.  🙂

That’s enough babbling for one day.  Enjoy your Monday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Friday ~ November 07, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 7, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

God Beams

Happy Friday!

I have some farm scenes for you today.  My friend Betty loves farm scenes as I do so that is what get this day.

I ran into a friend yesterday who is scheduled to have cataract surgery in January.  She was wanting to know how my procedure went.  She said a couple of her friends have already had it and they said it was a walk in the park.  I told her that most of the people I talked to said the same thing.  I guess I’m the anomaly because I’m still struggling with the eye.

The flickering and movement is very annoying and even this morning the itching and soreness is bothersome.

Having said that I’m not complaining nor looking for any symptom.  I’m just stating what my experience has been with this procedure.  I think sometimes once you’ve gone through something and it is several months or a couple of years later you tend to remember it differently than you do while you are actually experiencing it.  Additionally it is obvious that some people have more issues with a medical procedure than others.

I have a life friend who is recovering from knee replacement.  I know that what she is going through has been difficult and compared to her challenge this is nothing.   Enough about medical stuff.  Yuk!

Unfinished Field Of Corn Harvest

I was taking a new employee around to meet people from some of our banks yesterday, that she is going to be working with.  On the way back to town the light was perfect but I didn’t have a camera with me.

There were a couple of times that she became a little nervous when I would hit the rumble strips on the side of the road looking at the wonderful light on the freshly harvested fields.  Many of them had combines sitting there with hoppers full of the yellow grain. Sigh, but no camera.

Farm at sun set

That’s all I have for you today.  Hope you enjoy your Friday.  Thanks for stopping by the blog and be careful.

Thursday ~ November 06, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 6, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , .

Tug Boats

Happy Thursday!!

My biggest challenge yesterday was not to rub my eye.  It itched the entire day and there really wasn’t any time that I wasn’t thinking about rubbing it.

I still have the flickering this morning but it does seem to be a little less than yesterday so I’m hopeful in a short time it will stop.

I talked to a friend yesterday who some years back had cataracts in both of her eyes removed.  She had some of the same issues I’m having but she assured me they would go away.   I guess you can have cataracts at any age because she is way too young to have had them.

The image above was taken by the lock and dam.  I was at the river looking for some shots to capture and I notice this young woman get out of her SUV with a lens that was almost as big as she was.

Well being a certified gear head I had to have a look at that lens and I figured anyone with a lens like that must love photography and gear so we’d have something to talk about.

Come to find out she was Jessica Riley from the Telegraph Herald.  She was at the river capturing some of the last vestiges of fall.  She had a Cannon 400 mm f2.8 lens.  We didn’t talk long but I did tell her I enjoyed her work from the newspaper (which I do) and that I knew Brian Cooper.  I didn’t want her to think I was some Kook stalking her.  🙂

The sad thing is I really couldn’t pick her out of a line up after that encounter because I was admiring her lens.  There doesn’t seem to be a known cure for what I have.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your Thursday and be careful.

Wednesday ~ November 05, 2014

Posted by Dave Updegraff on November 5, 2014
Posted in: Daily Posts. Tagged: , , , , .

Mark and Taylor

Happy Wednesday!!

Thank God the election is over.  I’m pleased with the results for the most part.  Perhaps we can get our country back on the right track now.

Above, Mark and his significant other Taylor, were at Angie and Ben’s for dinner Sunday night.  I know I’m prejudice but I think they make a nice looking couple.

Barge on the Mississippi

Some more follow-up on my eye surgery.  Yesterday I saw the doctor again.  He said everything looked good to him and that some of the issues I talked with him about should go away in a week or two.  I have some discomfort on the right side of my eye and there is a “flickering” effect along the right peripheral side of my eye.  That is the most annoying and worrisome thing about the event.  He assured me that would go away.

So I’m using 4 different eye drops and putting drops in my eyes 4 times a day.  That will drop to twice a day in a week and that goes on for a month.  It is also a constant minute by minute battle to keep from rubbing my itchy eye.  These are things no one told me about.

Birds Frolicking in the water

Additionally I had the same question for three different nurses and the doctor and no one gave me a satisfactory answer.  How do you wash your hair for the week after surgery since you can’t bend over and you can’t get water in or on your eye?  One nurse told me that I could go to a hair salon and they could wash it for me.  Most of the answers were on the order of just deal with it.

Then the answer came to me…  Swimming goggles.  They are designed to keep the water out of your eyes.  So I went out and bought a pair.  They worked perfectly and I got to take a full shower and wash my hair.  🙂

Sounds like such a little thing but believe me it felt very good.

That’s it for today.  I’m back at work today so I’ll see how I get a long staring at a computer monitor most of the day.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your midweek hump day and be careful.