COVID-19 is affecting the entire world, and soon Bay will be coming home from school. His university has decided to switch all classes for underclassmen to online, and close the resident halls except for very special cases. While this is a huge disruption for his semester, it will (hopefully) only be temporary.
But I really feel sorry for the graduating senior class. When I read the last section of the Dean’s message, I felt so sad. The senior class will not be able to spend their final weeks of collegiate life on campus with their classmates. It should be a special, once in a lifetime period of their lives, culminating in a celebration and graduation, but it has been turned upside-down by the pandemic. I understand and support the need to be cautious, but it’s still incredibly unfortunate for them. I just hope they will be able to have a graduation ceremony. 😢
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/60 sec, ISO320 “B&W Desk” Cedar Park, 2020
Today’s photo is of my desk at home, and on the screen is a YouTube video impression by Big Head Taco of the Fujifilm X100V. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will be getting one of these cameras, and it fills me with excitement. But the anticipation is not something that makes me feel that I need the camera right away. My current Fujifilm X100T is still a great camera that works flawlessly. I’ve had it for years now, and I am expecting to use the X100V for years as well. That knowledge makes it easy to hold off on impulsively pre-ordering the new camera. In fact, I get a bit of pleasure from not ordering it… I’m not sure why exactly. But one day, maybe when we have a bit of extra money in the budget, I’ll just order it. That day might come next month, or next year. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy that dynamic of feeling anticipation and restraint simultaneously. 😀
Koa is participating in both the Austin Youth Orchestra and Texas Youth Wind Symphony this year, and they both had concerts recently. AYO is an orchestra, which means there are strings, wind, brass, and percussion instruments. TYWS on the other hand has no strings (although there was a single bass for the concert). I love to hear the strings, but I enjoyed listening to the band more. I suppose it’s because the percussion section is more prominent in band, and Koa is a percussionist.
During the high school marching season, the winds, brass, and percussion kids are focused on marching competitions and football games, so the orchestra goes all-string (from what I understand). But once marching season is over, the orchestra is supplemented by the band kids, and I hear that the orchestra kids enjoy a more dynamic arrangement. I thought it was interesting. Before Koa was in band, I just assumed an orchestra had all instruments and didn’t know the distinction between band and orchestra. Both are really awesome!
Here are a couple of animations auto-created by Google Photos. I like to shoot in burst mode, then upload all the images to my Google Photos account and see what kind of animations it makes. The first is of Koa on snare, and the second is when we was on crash cymbals.
Today a friend and I attended a bird-watching event that was hosted by City of Austin Park Rangers and the Leave No Trace Foundation. It was advertised as a beginner-friendly introduction to birding, which seemed perfect for me since I consider myself a newbie. We met at 9 am at a trail-head to the Barton Creek Greenbelt, and after introductions and learning about Leave No Trace principles, we hit the trail for some birding!
The park rangers were friendly and knowledgeable about the flora and fauna on the trail, and not only did we learn about the native and migrating birds, but also about some invasive plant species, trail etiquette, geological details, and seasonal changes along the greenbelt. In addition to the rangers, a volunteer from the Austin chapter of the Audubon society joined us to offer her birding expertise. It was such a valuable experience for a beginner like me. When a bird was spotted, there was plenty of information shared about the bird and how to identify it, the bird song, and the habitat. It was fascinating!
The excursion was fun and informative, but it was also a nice motivator to actually experience the passion that birders have for their hobby. Just sharing that with others is encouraging, especially to an introvert like myself. I admit that part of my interest in birding is that I never really understood why people got into it, and wanted to know. Now I am beginning to understand the allure and fun that can be had participating in birding.
After the session, my friend and I headed over to the Taco Deli across the street for lunch, and then we had to check out the Leave No Trace Subaru, which was nicely outfitted. That crew is doing some important work spreading awareness about how we can enjoy the outdoors more responsibly. Good stuff!
It was so nice to be out on the greenbelt for a hike/walk and also get some education on birding. And I even grew my life list with six new bird species!
