The Wood's Secret Garden

  (Background:  In 2020, during the COVID pandemic, we had a Budgie land in our yard.  I took numerous pictures and wrote a short little story based upon those photos.  I updated the story in 2023, adding much to it,  as a way to express what had been going on in my own life.  I hope you all enjoy it).  It is a draft; so, feel free to comment if you find typo's etc.)  A Strange Bird in a Strange World Written by: Dianna Wood Photography and Photo Art Illustrations by: Dianna Wood August 25, 2020 All Beauregard remembers when he woke up on the ground that day, is that a Hawk had snatched him up earlier from the railing of the outdoor balcony where Timmy had set him in order to clean his cage.   Not only did he have no idea where he was, when he looked down, he also noticed that his tail feathers were missing.  Perhaps that was why the Hawk had lost its grip on him when he fell to the ground.  He never thought loosing tail feathe...

What I have learned about cameras and so much more!   The shutter count on a camera is like the miles on a car.   Depending on the camera, the average life of a shutter can vary from anything as low as 20,000 shutter actuations right up to 350,000.   Having a shutter replaced on a camera can run anywhere from $300 to $600 dollars with most of the cost in labor. On average, my camera, the Canon EOS Rebel T5, has a shutter life expectancy of 25,000 actuations.   The amazing thing to me is that on a good day I could take over 2,000 pictures.   So, that little camera, miraculously far exceeded its life expectancy by approximately 400,000 miles and for that I am so very grateful.   Shutter count is critical when deciding to buy a used camera, no matter what kind of camera you use. The camera I have been using for the past three years is a Canon EOS Rebel T5.   The current cost for replacement is $449 which was not even remotely possib...

While preparing for a Harvest Fair, I came across those little metal magnetic tins that some people use to put spices in and place on their refrigerator as an alternative to a spice rack.  You know the kind I mean, right?  Well, I thought to myself, "What can I make using those cute little tins. Naturally, I wanted to feature Otis Munkenheimer, so I first thought of just placing one of my photos inside for a decorative little refrigerator magnet.  Well, as is usually the case with me, a simple project evolved into a time consuming and tedious undertaking.  After cutting out different photos into the right sized circle and than placing the photo inside the lid of the tin with a dimensional glaze, I decided once they were dry, to line the inside of the lid with a faux suede fabric.  Once that was complete, I lined the bottom of the tins with a thin layer of cork.  Okay, we are now two days into this refrigerator magnet project.  Clearly, one ...