Reflecting

Its the time of the year for reflecting on what I have accomplished or not accomplished in trying to achieve my goals over the past year. Its been a good year for travel, photography and gardening. Small accomplishments in all three hobbies let me feel good about what I have accomplished. There is always room for improvement, of course. I think setting goals that are realistically within my capabilities to achieve, helps me to be satisfied with what I am doing.

I am thinking about more work for my website: I rather like these "under construction" pages that I am making. I will want to keep each of them as I finish each album. So, I hope to make a page with thumbnails for each category of them (Gardening, travel, etc.) on the page. I hope to have the thumbnails open to each 'under construction' page. I want to learn how to make thumbnails open to the larger page. That is one goal for my computer/web page/blog hobby.

In my garden, I want to make better edging around my pond. Perhaps a levelled edge of cement, with the rocks set into this cement edge. I want to get netting for the pond also, so the critters stop eating my fish, and I can attempt to have koi again. I might need to hire a landscaper to do this edging for me. We have 2 Landscape companies within blocks of my house, so I must see them about costing this out. Also, I need a new pump for the pond, as the ice seemed to have killed my pump. I need a new compost bin and I need to clean up the woodland area. The firethorn needs to be trimmed away back.. maybe taken out entirely. It grows rapidly, so I think keeping it properly pruned back might be best, as I like the berries and so do the robins. The new lawn mower has been a real time saver. Having put my vegetable garden back to a cultivated garden with good paths, from the mess it was in has been a good thing from last year, too. My little rock garden is slowly expanding and might grow out and take over the bit of vegetables I attempt to grow. Growing vegetables for me is not really a viable project, as I am away from home, too much. My front garden is going to have more small evergreens added, too, to cut down on the care of the perennials that get looking pretty scraggly when I am away, or too busy to do them. But I do like the time spent, when I get out in the garden. Its a trade off, I guess. Perhaps as I get things more streamlined, it will take less labor time and more time for enjoyment. I must get rid of the violets, as they are so invasive and get into everywhere they should not be. They look good in spots where they are... I think I will kill them all at the front and move them to the woodland for an easy care carpet back there.

We are now taking Fall and Spring trips. There is no lack of inspiration for places to go see next. We are thinking of the Spring trip as another camper van excursion to the dessert -- perhaps as far south as New Mexico this spring.. probably March, the way our calendar is looking so far. We already have commitments on into February, before we can leave on our trip.

I have my new Canon Powershot S3 IS camera to play with for now. And lots of Adobe photoshop stuff to learn. I am again waiting for the new sensors that they might develop for the cameras using the 64 bit technology - whatever that is -- more data, I think, in the photos. No doubt the old lenses will still fit the new camera bodies. Interesting stuff happening in photography. Everything seems to change just over nite. Its a bit of a snare and a delusion to chase the newest technology, though. There are some very good pictures being made now, as is by the professionals and learned amateurs. I must learn to use my Hassie, sometime, too. I think I am still afraid of breaking something. Or maybe the learning curve is just too steep for me. Digital is soooooo easy, and well... good enough, for me. And that is why I will never go beyond the level of hobbiest with my photography. Its a comfortable spot. I don't feel a big need to achieve fame and fortune or be competitive with this hobby. I do it for fun. When and if it gets to be work, I will stop doing it.