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Last night was Halloween. Today was All Saints Day. She and I set off for the Carlisle Reservation of Lorain Metro Parks for a hike in the woods. What should we encounter but the quiet settings for the System's Halloween Fair which draws thousands of family visitors each year. Among all of the oddities seen along the trail oddest, to my eye, was a swampy area, called Pumpkin Lagoon, populated by dozens of Jack-O-Lanterns all hovering above the still waters! It would have been spooky by night; by day it was simply surreal. The only photos I shot this day were of the carved pumpkin heads in that swamp. Do not take lightly the sight recorded, however… I don't remember seeing that black shape in the background and I don't think it's in any of my other photos! What's that!!
Finally, a good night's sleep! Between struggling with a cold, work worries, and noisy neighbors I've been severely sleep deprived for the better part of a week. Eight hours still wasn't enough to fully recover, but at least I woke rested. It had been a rainy and windy night and, as is natural this time of year, the world went from one robed in colorful leaves to gray gloomful skies stabbed by the dark, bare branches of trees. What a difference from one week ago! It looked like mid-November. There was the weekly shopping to be done so we headed out and completed that, then took a little trip west and paid an afternoon visit to the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. Walking in the woods and along the waters was invigorating and lovely. Some small gaps had opened in the overcast, allowing a few reassuring rays of sun through. Slow down and enjoy the season: fall is hard-set here.
This week I received my first of two Windows 7 installation discs. I decided to experiment first on my notebook computer because its use is not nearly so important to me as my desktop machine's. It looked like it would be an easier upgrade, as well, having run Vista during its entire stay with me. Please note: I've never had any particular problem running Vista on this or any PC so my move to the new OS is based upon the desire to have an experience that is even better than what I'd had and to keep current on computer technology.
I'd decided upon the "Custom" installation which means all vestiges of Vista are swept from the system (packed up in an "old" folder) and Windows 7 installed on newly-cleared disc space. After a bit of reading and thought, I inserted the disc (with Vista running), started the installation program, answered a couple of prompts, and went away to watch TV. After a half an hour or so, the installation declared itself complete. A bit more in the way of post-production Microsoft Updates to download and install and I had myself a new-ish computer! All told it took about an hour. The thing ran flawlessly as I reestablished encrypted connection with our Wi-Fi router and I installed a fresh copy of Firefox. Along with Vista, all installed programs were wiped, as expected, so I'll need to reinstall those I want over the next days and weeks.
Somewhat surprising is how similar Win7 is to Vista in look and feel. In a way that's good… easier to switch over! There are some pretty new desktop backgrounds and an assortment of fun little Windows sounds from which to choose.
The great thing, however, is how fast my notebook now runs! It's quicker than when new. I don't have technical benchmarks but the machine is noticeably faster starting, running programs, and accessing content on the Web! I'm very happy with the entire upgrade experience and expect Win7 will be very popular.
Next, and for various reasons, soon will be the upgrade of the desktop machine from "Windows Vista Capable" running XP to Windows 7. A Custom Installation ("clean install") is required and best practice anyway. There's a lot more software installed on that machine so a lot more work is in store for me. I am, however, almost looking forward to it. Disc #2 (pre-ordered at substantial discount) arrives later this week.
Slightly past peak were the colors in North Central Ohio at Malabar Farm State Park. The entire area was gorgeous, nonetheless, decorating even the forest floor with a confetti-throw of leaves. We decided to follow a one-mile trail that headed uphill, through dense neighboring woods, for a loop back to the Farm. The trail had many wonderful sights to see and was fairly well marked until somewhat short of the half-way point. Seeing no trail blazes we continued on what appeared to be trampled leaves, began our turn back, and paralleled a road though still walking in damp leaf litter within the woods. In no danger of becoming lost we easily found our way back to the Farm's homestead. Then it was off on a cross-country trip over state roads (not freeways) towards home. The scenery was absolutely beautiful with groves of trees on low hills rising like islands out of a sea of brown soybean and corn fields. It was a fine rolling journey back under sunny skies.
It was a most excellent Sunday's sojourn experiencing the best fall colors.
Returning to work today at least one coworker was certain I had the flu >>the Swine Flu, no less<< and not a severe cold as I've been saying. So I Googled –symptoms cold vs. flu– and got very helpful results. I wanted to reinforce my knowledge, not refute the coworker who no doubt by now has burned the chair I was sitting on in her office. I'll list only two of those excellent, succinct sources:
- FluFacts.com — a simple table of symptoms. For me, I wound up picking one from column "A" and one from column "B" for a mixture of symptoms. The important pointers, in my opinion, aimed at "Cold."
- About.com — they offer an interactive quiz that will tally the likelihood of your having one or the other disease based upon your symptoms. Takes less than a minute to complete.
Work, itself? I've been chasing down weird computer issues all morning. Could they have the same thing I had? At least they all have been inoculated with a strong anti-virus!
As the day progressed today (Thursday) I've begun to feel more like my healthier self. I'm still taking a cough suppressant/decongestant to relieve some cold symptoms: except for a little sniffle and the occasional clear cough, my outward symptoms are gone. No fever, no chills, and energy levels are coming back up. I'm feeling stronger and have more stamina. I'll be going in to work tomorrow.
After watching a 2005 Biography Channel program about the Dalai Lama today, I've also been reminded I've been increasingly off-center in my life recently, mainly thanks to work. Sometimes we lose track of how we should live even when we think we're trying to do the right thing. Enough said, here.
I received word this evening that my first of two ordered copies of the Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade has been shipped to me via Amazon. I was actually hoping to have received it today –release day– so that I could mess with upgrading my notebook computer over the weekend. I doubt I'll get it before Monday and I'll be too busy next week to install. Oh well, sometimes the anticipation is more enjoyable than the activity… er, yes, in more things than this!
Oh yes, it's good to feel well again… or to be headed in that direction!
Above: Another photo from my Tuesday evening shoot along the West Branch of Rocky River… the Frostville Village Church.
Yesterday (Wednesday) I stayed home from work. My cold had interrupted my sleep and drained my energy to the point where I couldn't do anything at all constructive even around the house. I just sat and napped all day. Sounds nice and restful but, well, it was a cold and I was fairly miserable. Oh, and it was one of those gorgeous fall days, too, wasted on me.
Stayed home today, too. Though much improved over yesterday, I still felt a little weak in the knees and had occasional coughs. If I feel up to it I may work on some photos later today or tonight but I can't count on that.
Today's a cloudy but golden autumn day. The wind is kicking up and swirling the leaves around. From the couch I can hear the weather changing.
I feel like such a wuss being decked by a little thing like a cold but there you are. Now, for lunch and another dose of aspirin!
I've never self-published a photo calendar before so this first effort is kind of exciting. I chose Lulu.com which does printing on demand… I didn't have to contract to print a bunch of stock that won't sell. On the other hand, quality of reproduction is a little uneven with two images that had subtle tones looking a little off-hue, even unsharp. So I'm not wildly enthusiastic. Most other images look fine to very good — especially the sunflower and the dragonfly. The process allowed me to add special events or "holidays," so I researched and added a bunch of astronomical occasions but nothing too geeky. I suppose as self-promotion this isn't the kindest review but I want it to be honest. Click here and enjoy the preview! {This is a re-post without a somewhat clumsy embedded object.}








