WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT FRIENDS?

Thanks to every one who took time to lend a hand with yesterday's query. And, there were a lot of you.

Apologies to Michelle whose comment I somehow lost. Sometimes I  am certain there are little gnomes out in cyberspace that just mysteriously gobble up stuff. Michelle has been a cyber pal since I got started with using the internet to display my photography, about five years ago. She is a gifted painter and if you get a chance you should check out her work,  Michelle Basic Hendry. Michelle cast her vote for Skype.

After getting so much Skype feedback I jumped on the internet and went to the Skype website, paid my admission, downloaded the program and .... can't make it work. Everything went swimming well until I did the the call test.  Dialing out, connecting, video streaming and incoming sound all working perfectly. Problem is no one can hear me. Which some may appreciate. ;)

Naturally, Skype is one of those places where you are supposed to hunt all over the site and try and fix the problem for yourself. I gave it the old college try but was unable to find a fix. That's when I went to fellow photographer, dear friend and mentor Michal Daniel.  Michal, Misha to his friends, is a renown theatrical photographer. Check out this video to see his AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY.

Misha is long time Skype user as well as OSX user. It was Misha who pushed me kicking and screaming into switching to Mac. One of many things I will be eternally grateful to him for. We spent at least an hour trying everything he could think of, still no luck.

I also got a lot of feedback from my pals at Silicon Investor where I have been a member for nearly 15 years. A great bunch of guys there. And I do mean guys. In my nearly 15 years as a member I've only run across a few gals. A great bunch of guys but they take no hostages.

I called Apple Care and confirmed everything on my end was working properly. Then I went back to Skype and dug around until I found a place where I could at least send an e-mail to tech support. I sent them a message outlining all the things I had done. A few hours later I got a reply telling me to do all the things I had already done. I replied I had tried all those things and am now awaiting the next phase of this adventure.

If I get it figured out, and I'm pretty determined, I will let you know in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

Thanks again everyone.!

©Kinsey Barnard

Friends

I've been doing some image housekeeping and up dating. An arduous task to be sure but it does allow me to revisit some of my favorite images.

Today I came across this image of two big horn ewes greeting one another on the side of a cliff in Jasper National Park. It never ceases to amaze me how like us animals are. They so often demonstrate, what I think can only be described as, emotions. Animals, both wild and domestic, can often be seen nurturing one another, expressing joy through playfulness and great senses of humor.

If the purpose of an image is to bring forth emotions this one does it for me. I call it "Friends". I'm not uploading the image directly to the blog. Please click on the link. I want you to be able to see it in the highest resolution possible and this is the only way I know to make that happen.


For me, the photo just smacks of the importance and sweetness of friendship, especially between us girls. And, friendships are oh so very important especially in the world in which we find ourselves today. Where would we be without our friends?

I have many acquaintances but I don't have a lot of friends. Those I do have, and you know who you are, are as true blue as the great Montana sky.  Friends, by my definition, are those people with whom I have spent quality time over the years. And, even though we have annoyed and even angered one another from time to time we love each other anyway.  Every time I look at this image I think of each of you and know that I am truly blessed.

My wish and hope that all my readers have friends just like mine.

Now, take a look at the image and see if it doesn't make you think of your FRIENDS and what it means to have one and be one.


©Kinsey Barnard

Home Again

October 03, 2009

Finally made it back to the ranch. Boy, were we glads to get home. Koty likes to travel but he likes being home better. So, do I.

Everything seemed to be in good order.

We had a white tail welcoming committee on hand. Which always makes us feel at home.

White Tail Committee

Getting home was the biggest thing we did this day.

©Kinsey Baranrd

Eureka! I'm Home!

Well, we made it! We are home at last after five months on the road. Poor Clementine isn't here though because she can't make it up the mountain yet. Too much ice and snow still on the road.

It is so good to be home! It's so beautiful and peaceful. As you can see from the photos, some of our friends came calling as soon as they saw we were home. These pictures were taken right from the deck.

Tigger our indoor/outdoor cat was on hand to greet us. Mom had to give me a little refresher course on the part about Tigger being one of our pack and not to be eaten. I caught on pretty quick when mom showed me her whip! :)

Thanks to our good friends Susan and Gary we were able to stash Clementine at their house. Shadow was able to make it up the road cuz she has front wheel drive. She spun out some but we got there. The battery in the 4x4 was deader than a doornail so a call to AAA got that fixed fast enough. When we started up the well the feeder hose to the hot water heater sprung a leak. A call to the plumber got that fixed too. A fire in the wood stove got the house warm and toasty in no time and all is now right with the world!

Our good friends and neighbors Doug and JoanAnn looked after the place for us while we were away. They made sure Tigger had plenty to eat. From the looks of her they really did a spectacular job at that! And they made sure the house maintained a proper temperature. I know that they gave mom a lot of peace of mind. You really can't put a price on good neighbors. If you could we would be millionaires!

This morning it snowed another few inches but if the Weather Channel knows anything spring is right around the corner. Personally, I love it that there is still snow. There's a reason they call us Snow Doggies!

©Kinsey Barnard Photography