I actually had a fairly nice weekend. Mostly ran around with She Who Must Be Obeyed on errands great and small. On Sunday we took a nice hike in the Gorge Metro Park of the Summit (County) Metro Park system totaling about four miles. It was cool and sunny and a wonderful day for a walk. I carried the camera but wasn't inspired to shoot any images. A small sore spot that had been in my throat for a few days developed overnight into a something more uncomfortable. {No coughing, but loud snoring.} Today I've been pretty well drained of energy and doing the minimum necessary at the office to keep everything going — not sick enough to warrant leaving but not fully effective staying! Treating it with aspirin, zinc throat lozenges, and lots of liquids. The skies and the weather are absolutely beautiful right now but I can't do much with them… I'm feelin' crappy.
The day started out with us doing "car stuff" which included transferring title on the 2002 Honda to SWMBO, getting a new e-Check inspection for the car, transferring license plate registration. Then we set off for an afternoon of light shopping for necessaries. The sky was brooding and dripping and it was breezy most of the day so it was good weather for errands! While we were out and about and on a stop for decent broccoli, we spotted and parked behind one of the original Honda Insights –actually the second one we saw today– and I snapped a cell phone photo of the old and the new. I was never turned on by the design and "two-seatedness" of the original but it was definitely an original and got great mileage, even by today's hybrid standards.
By the way, according to the Wikipedia article: "The Insight earned an EPA fuel efficiency estimate of 70 miles per US gallon (3.4 L/100 km; 84 mpg-imp) in highway driving, 61 mpg-US (3.9 L/100 km; 73 mpg-imp) city." This week my 2010 was turning in a performance of ~50 MPG in real-world, mixed-type driving. I'm pretty happy with that and I like the practicality of added interior room and nifty exterior styling a whole lot better than the earlier model.
Still, cheers to you, owners of the red Insight and the silver one we saw on the road, and may you and your wheels enjoy many more miles in the years ahead!
Not much to write except to say the day started off nicely. The garden area tended by She Who Must Be Obeyed is sprouting beautiful new green. It has been cool and wet so my favorite foliage plants, the hostas, are looking very good.
To take a break from a day full of frustrations –installing a new server machine ought to be easy for me, but when the manufacturer and vendor strip it of all documentation, well, it isn't easy– I ate a quick Taco Bell lunch and headed for the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. The Center is nestled in a beautiful suburban metropark and features exhibits and a lovely courtyard dominated by a large water feature. Wild and captive (injured) birds are in residence in the open and are both fun to view and easy to photograph.
I'm glad I took time out to enjoy a little open air and wildlife. The afternoon wasn't nearly as frustrating as the morning since I pretty much resigned myself to the fact I wouldn't finish the installation today! Left work for home and, hopefully, a good weekend. Viewing these photos tonight brought back good feelings of a lunch hour well spent.
I left the house this morning to take a nice pre-work nature photo walk around Hinckley Lake, hoping and expecting to see the low sun shining through morning haze. I also wanted to capture images of herons, imagining them backlit by that golden sunshine. As I left home it was sunny; when I got to the lake a few minutes later, the fog was so thick I couldn't see half a mile! Oh well, perhaps some moody shots. I got those and more.
While I was walking the lakeside path I saw the morning's first heron arrive, searching for breakfast. The big bird swooped down to the lake, alighted, and waded slowly in the shallows, a hundred feet or so away. I watched, shot some photos and moved closer. Herons are every bit as wild as their prehistoric look may suggest. Their call is a raspy "graaakk." They are also amazing to watch. Herons' wings span many feet and a few beats lift the magnificent creatures up and away with amazing grace and speed. That first bird grew wary of the human watching and took off. I began my walk back, photographing plants and flowers along the way. I came around a curve in the path and up popped the heron, springing off the shore and into the air — I'd been distracted and did not notice the bird until it was alarmed. I continued my hike back toward the parking lot, this time watching the lake for the heron I'd spooked twice already. Yes! The bird had found a new hunting spot not far ahead of me and I approached quietly, seeking a clear place from which to photograph. As I watched, the heron stabbed at the water catching a fish. Through the brambles I squeezed off a few shots with my camera, recording the last moments of life for the fish and a life-sustaining meal for the heron. Respectfully waiting for the heron to swallowing its prey, I walked a little closer, stopped, and shot some photos. Walked a bit closer still, stopped, and shot a few more images. Finally I got close enough for a couple of full-frame portraits of our big friend and that was enough… off it went! With a few wing-beats the great blue took off across the lake. I had just enough time to roughly frame the scene, firing off three or four photos and that was it. It was a fine, if brief morning adventure.
Heavy fog transforms the scenery at Hinckley Lake. I have a fine collection of shots from this morning that look like classical Japanese watercolors, even a few images with delicately colored tree blossoms floating before a moody, gray background.
The fog was burning off but still supressed most colors of the lake and trees. Foreground objects, however, retained their character in fine, soft light. A line of boats awaited park visitors and sunshine that really never arrived this day.
I headed home happy, even though I'd next need to head to the office. A lovely, foggy morning this was.
I took the day off to tend to Observatory matters. After the work was done, it was time to relax and explore. The dandelion field is in a rural area of Portage County, Ohio. The skunk cabbage patch is along the Headwaters Trail of Portage (Ohio) Park District — a rail-to-trail conversion.
This was my day off following a 10.5-hour workday. I'm scheduled to work this weekend (Yay?) so wanted to take it easy and have some relaxing activity this sunny and warm April day.
I was uninspired in the morning and it felt like the day off might be a waste. After doing some routine Web stuff and catching up on email, I finally determined I would go out and do a few things including playing "vulture" at a Ritz Camera store that is closing and taking a photo walk. Here's what transpired:
- Went to the bank and dropped off deposit.
- Went to the Post Office and dropped off mail.
- Realized it's the Ritz Camera 20 miles away that is closing, not at a nearby mall!
- Drove to Hinckley Lake for a photo walk (brought heavy camera bag).
- Walked a bit and saw some beautiful flowers — no camera… it's in the other bag, at home!
- Trails muddy so only walked a bit longer, then on the paved trail a way.
- Turned around and went to the Hinckley Lake shop.
- Tee shirts on sale: $10, nice! None my size.
- Nice spring/fall weather-resistant jackets 1/2-price! Not my size.
- {sigh}
- Drove home.
- Had lunch: Amy's frozen Thai veggies. Good
- Loaded up Styrofoam® blocks for recycling; put camera in bag.
- Headed to Heinen's in Brecksville for recycling. Bought drink and donut. Mmmm.
- Headed out on earthen walking trail in Brecksville Reservation of Cleveland Metroparks, along Chippewa Creek.
- Brown, barren. Nice rocks, river views, bird calls. Good walking. Few good photo ops.
- After a decent walk, turned back and shot a few floral images.
- Headed home* for shower.
- Checked photos, cooked dinner for She and me.
- Met new neighbors! Seem nice.
- Went out for ice cream and groceries.
- Day turned out better than it started; no emergency calls from work. Server project lookin' good!
- Finish blog entry then … {yawn} off to bed.
- Good Night.
* NOTE: On the return trip home I took the Honda Insight to the gasoline station for the first time since picking it up. The odometer read 397 miles and I put 8.7 gallons of Shell gasoline in the tank. Since we don't know exactly how much gas the car started with or at what odometer reading, we can't be sure about our hand-calculated results but that comes to ~45 MPG overall since I started driving it. The car's internal calculator was claiming 47 MPG and I'm beginning to believe it's pretty accurate. I am quite pleased. By the way… the tank holds only a little more than 10 gallons of fuel and getting 400 miles out of a single tank of gas ain't too shabby.
We drove the new Insight to the site of an Earth Day observance today at Lake Metroparks' Farmpark. The day started out partly-sunny but quickly became overcast and gray. The trip was pleasant enough, however, and gave us our first longer trip in the car — about a 60-mile freeway trip with some local road miles near the end. I got to play with the instantaneous mileage display and other features. We were cooped up in a bicycle advocacy organization meeting for most of the time on-site but enjoyed catching up with old friends and acquaintances. We didn't get to see if anyone thought the new car was part of an Earth Day exhibit!
After the meeting we were itching to get out again so had a so-so lunch at Burger King (BK Veggies) and headed out from the Kirtland, Ohio park taking a state highway for a slower trip home. We made a stop in Hudson and took a little stroll in the charming town's old downtown area. We paid visits to the Learned Owl Book Shop and The Cookery, our two favorite Hudson businesses, made a quick trip to the smallish Heinen's market for a few items, then it was back on the road again and home.
The driver's side headrest is still an annoyance to me. I hope I can find a comfortable seat adjustment to relieve the uncomfortable uneven pressure on the back of my head. Either the "new car smell" or fumes from dealer upholstery treatment are nearly overpowering. Both She and I found the fumes noxious and even irritating to the eyes. I'll be driving with much ventilation for a while! The car's reporting system says I got an average of 49.8 MPG on the 126-mile round-trip and I consider that excellent over "real world" freeways, highway, in-town driving, and rolling to hilly terrain. We'll see how the mileage tallies up against the simple math results of using odometer readings and gasoline pump purchase volume. Also positive is the fact that the windshield wiper controls, while a bit different from what I am used to, are familiar; I learned that because we encountered sprinkles during the return leg of our trip.
Tomorrow the buyer comes to pay for and pick up the 1997 Honda which will be a big relief for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Monday is also the start of my work week and the beginning of regular commuting in the new vehicle. It doesn't make work more fun but it will make getting there a bit more pleasant, interesting, and fuel-efficient.
Today was the day: we took delivery on the 2010 Honda Insight (first car in the lineup above). The process was relatively painless but the dealership naturally made the last-minute pitches for accessories, extended warranty, etc., etc. All those waivers. The loan papers were simple by comparison. So we messed with the cars this afternoon transferring items from what was my primary vehicle to the Insight. She Who Must Be Obeyed moved her personal items from the 1997 Civic to the 2002 Civic. Then we parked the cars in the garage, on the apron in front of the garage, and on the street. Our expected buyer for the '97 wasn't reachable today but we expect to hear from him this weekend.
Driving the Insight home from the dealership was pretty much the same experience as the test drive (I'll take that as a good sign). The car was quiet, handled well, and delivered a pleasant ride. The day was sunny and, with the windows all up, the cabin warmed. The automatic air comfort control kept things comfy and cut back, as designed, when the hybrid's engine was shut down at stop lights. Whilst the engine was stopped the fan ran at slow speed but if the stop was long enough, the car's engine fired up again to keep the power flowing. The engine's starting and stopping will take a little getting used to but it's an important way the car saves gasoline. My sense of the car's dimensions needs to develop –I'm not sure how far away the front bumper is– and while visibility is good in most directions, the tiny window in the back is limiting. Interesting to me, as I've never had a digital speedometer, is that the speedometer will indicate the speed when the car is moving in reverse! I don't know how useful that is but that's how it works.
As I said earlier, we hope and expect to be selling the 1997 car (Hers) within the next couple of days. It has given us great service these many years and, with proper care, will continue to serve a new driver for some time to come. The '97 has been getting about 30 MPG in general driving. The 2002 (mine) now becomes Hers and she's very happy about it. It's a great car and gets around 34 MPG in general use. The newest car is mine! Whoo-hoo! It's supposed to get around 40 MPG in general driving but reports indicate it can go above 50 MPG with careful use of the gas pedal. In any case, it's fun to see them all lined up here and note the changes in design over the years. If we could have called in our 1990 Honda Civic Hatchback (our first Honda) to pose for the picture, we would have. The '90 has been through two other owners since us and is still on the road somewhere! It was an interesting day.
On Sunday we go to an Earth Day observance on what will be the first real travel for us in the new Insight. How appropriate.
A server upgrade did not go well last night. The email system was properly installed, could be accessed from the Web, but could not send or receive messages — the SMTP server was mashed. I worked til 11:00 PM trying to revive the beast but finally gave up and went home. I thought it would be a stressful morning and day but things went quite differently. A calm came over me as I drove cross-country towards work. I enjoyed the brightening day and the mists and dew-bright fields of rural areas, the diamond reflections off a meandering river in its valley off the side of the road.
On other mornings I've wanted to stop on my commute to photograph and enjoy some of the scenes. Between not having enough time and finding no place to park the car, those stops never happened. This morning was different. I had passed too many beautiful scenes this day; there was enough time to spare; I had my camera with me (as always); and I really didn't care if I wound up a little late arriving to tend to a sick computer. Seeing a likely spot as I passed, I turned the car around, found a parking spot (a miracle, actually) and emerged to try and record some of the beauty I had been so enjoying.
Dew-dotted spider's webs backlit by the rising sun are easy to enjoy but devilishly difficult to photograph, especially with no tripod at hand. Focus is difficult and the drops are brilliant compared with the dark backgrounds that let them shine. No matter, I enjoyed the sights. I even found one that, for all the world, looked like a Native American dream catcher.
Then it was back to the car and off to work. The email server? The vendor's tech support spent about two hours finding and repairing the problem. My improptu photographic experience cost no time or inconvenience in getting the mail through. As I upload this item, just before retiring for the night, I feel good… better than I have for days. What a way to start the day! I really must do that more often.
PhotonStopper 