• coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  Humor,  journal,  writing/reading

    Anyone else …

    … still looking for the perfect camera bag? 😂 A quick google search for “perfect camera bag” gives me 118,000,000 hits. There is always someone suggesting the best camera bag for travel, backpacking, street photography, weddings and so forth. But I’m afraid we are all going to be disappointed because there ain’t one.

    Daily, I normally carry a camera with a lens attached, a journal, my fountain pens, a kindle paperwhite, sometimes a book, a smartphone, spare battery and SD cards. I seldom carry my 13″ Macbook Pro anymore. If’n I’m going to the coffee shop with the above then all I need is camera bag A or A1 or A2. If’n I’m going to a natural area for nature photos then a camera body with two lens and binoculars are what I need and fits in camera bag B, or B1 or B2 or B3. Maybe what I need is a bag that morphs into what I want for that day. I just put in what I’m going to carry for the day and it shapes itself to my needs. And all for only $49. Or maybe I need to give up. But I’m still looking. Sigh!

  • Avian,  Camera Equipment,  fountain pens,  meadowlark,  Photography

    A Quick Look at 2021

    Thought I would mention the purchases I made this past year. One was the purchase of a nice pair of the Nikon Prostaff S3 8×42 binoculars. Just love them and I feel one the better purchases I made. I’m learning a lot about the birds in this area. Another was purchasing the Fujifilm XF 70-300mm lens. I have not owned a lens of this focal length for a long time. Loving it! So this year included several more bird photos than I normally would not have made. This image is one of my favoritest images of one of my favoritest songbirds, the Western Meadowlark, so I needed to post it again. And finally was the purchase of another Pelikan fountain pen the Marbled Petrol. I’m a sucker for fountain pens!

    I discovered another natural area to explore called the McMurry Natural Area.

    I have tried to post on a regular basis quality images and decent content. Sometimes I do well and other times I struggle but I put it out there. I’ve also continued to write haiku, even though I’ve slacked of the past few weeks. I also still venture to coffee shops to socialize, read and journal. Probably will do the same in 2022 also.

    I am also extremely grateful for my family. I’ve watched wonderful growth in them as they mature into adults. They are growing up along with me. I am also grateful for the friends I have in my life. They have supported me when I needed to talk, work through my feelings and they have allowed me to do the same for them.

    There is more. Maybe later. Have a great day and stay warm!

  • fountain pens,  journal,  quotes,  writing/reading

    I’m a Seeker

    Gold Marbled Pelikan M200 with Brilliant Brown ink

    “The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they’ve found it.”

    Terry Pratchett

    I continue to journal because I’m a seeker, not necessarily for knowledge and answers, but for a thin thread of wisdom.

  • fountain pens,  journal,  writing/reading

    Yes, another one…

    Well, I broke down and bought myself a teal colored Pilot Custom 74. It is my sisters favorite fountain pen, well one of them. We’ll call it an early Christmas gift. It is very similar to the two Pilot Custom Heritage 72 I own. I enjoy writing with them so I assumed I would this one also. I’m finding them similar in size and I believe they have the same rhodium-plated 14k gold nib which is very smooth to write with. When I have a fine camera in my hand I see the world differently through a viewfinder and take more images. The same can be said of a fine fountain pen. It helps me to see the world differently and write words describing what I see and feel. Since I carry both a camera and a fountain pen with me every day, you are for-warned that more images of this fountain pen will be forthcoming. 😊

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  gratitude,  journal,  Mary Oliver,  poems,  writing/reading

    Warm Socks

    “Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

    Mary Oliver

    My car said it was 43 degrees at 5:18 this morning. Hearing reports that the aspens are putting up some very nice colors in the higher elevations. Awoke early and spent an hour at the natural area this morning in almost complete darkness and silence. Brought along a book of poetry to provide some warmth. Yet, I was still chilled by the time I arrived at the coffee shop. As the fall season moves on I will adjust more to the colder mornings and not be near as chilled. However, I was grateful for warm socks and a mocha latte!

  • fountain pens,  journal,  writing/reading

    The Lookout

    I mentioned in a comment that I have a pen case for my fountain pens. This pen case is made by Nock Co. and is called a Lookout. It’s made of 1000D Nylon with DWR coating. I’ve had this one for 3 or 4 years. It keeps my pens safe from damage and not as easy to misplace as a single pen. I checked out their website and they no longer carry this color.

  • fountain pens,  poems,  poetry,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Saying Something

    When ink joins with pen, then blank paper can say something.

    Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks

    This is my latest pen, a Pelikan M205 in Marbled Petrol. It is a swirly teal, blue and green, translucent resin body with a black cap and finial with silver trim. I have Pelikan Aquamarine colored ink in it, which I think matches nicely with the body. As with all my fountain pens and journals I believe there are words hidden within them. It is our task to pick them up and be a part of the process to say something on blank paper.