Heat Weirdlastname 
My standard advocacy for change is small, sustainable pieces. My eating habits changed that way. My exercise habits changed that way. My financial habits changed that way. (I do think there are situations where this isn’t the best, but it applies more broadly than cold turkey, in my opinion and experience.) Bits that are so … Read more
I’ve had the Nikon for about two-and-a-half years. It’s been almost as long that I’ve hoped to get decent shots of a hummingbird. And finally, I did! But of course, at first, it had disappeared, so I took some shots of the tree. It’s a really lovely tree, with mildly fragrant flowers. When the hummingbird … Read more
As a beginning band teacher, I often heard people say that my students didn’t need instruments of good quality because the kids didn’t know how to play anyway. That’s exactly why they need good quality. Because they don’t know what they’re doing, they have no skills to compensate for deficiencies in the instrument. They don’t … Read more
Last weekend, Climbing Daddy and I went for a run in the neighborhood. No Rocket Kid plus nicer late-fall weather meant it was almost 9:00 by the time we got out the door. Our planned route was blocked off by police tape and cars, and we could see a car had crashed into something where … Read more
The sunsets early last week were stunning. Wednesday evening we had nothing on the calendar around dusk, so we took a field trip over to South Mountain, the largest municipal park in the country. It’s not far from here, and there’s one trail in particular that the three of us have hiked many many times. … Read more
The sunsets here recently have been fantastic. Colors that impress without filters. Last night, I decided to go up to South Mountain, a local municipal park with tons of hiking, to see if I could get some photos. (Largest municipal park in the country!) Climbing Daddy and Rocket Kid went hiking for real on a … Read more
If you love seeing your family or whoever you spend Thanksgiving with and enjoy the holiday as-is, then this all doesn’t apply to you. Keep doing what you’re doing. But it might apply to someone you know. If you’re a person like me who has traditionally not enjoyed family-centric holidays and either dreaded them because … Read more
Heat! Why do you keep taking photos of things that are dead? Well … they are interesting to look at. They have different texture. Climbing Daddy brought me some flowers a couple of weeks ago, and they’re mostly dried up now. Not great to look at as a centerpiece but great for a photoshoot! The … Read more
I recently read a short piece about moving through life and healing, changing, growing as you go, and just because you’ve changed doesn’t mean others owe it to you to be part of your life again. This stirred up a variety of thoughts and emotions, primarily: I’m deeply sad about this from one perspective and … Read more
Prices of seemingly everything are going up. Delays in arrival of products and materials/components have been going on for over a year now but also seem to be increasing. The shipping delays are in part due to a shortage of workers (which is largely due to losing people—temporarily, long-term, or permanently—to COVID) but also because … Read more