Talking tuna

Quite frequently I visit the docks at Fishermen's Terminal in Seattle to see what boats are here and just check things out. Today I went down there after work and saw that some of the Salmon boats are back from their season as are a handful of the crab vessels that tender the salmon. While looking at a crabber I guy came out of his boat and said hello. He was docked next to the crabber and we started chatting. After about 5 minutes he asked if I'd like to come aboard, so I did and we continued talking in the galley. I learned that he was the captain on this tuna boat, the 'Deep Sea'. He's also enlisted quite a bit during non fishing times to run boats around for different owners. Recently he had brought a boat to Mexico where it was going to get modified for another fishery. He's been a fisherman for about 40 years and goes by the name Cap'n. His real name is Larry, but he hasn't been called that for many years he said.
Cap'n has fished for almost everything, from crab, herring, salmon and currently runs the tuna boat. I shared some of my limited fishing experience as I fished on a boat on Lake Michigan for 3 years as we hunted for salmon and lake trout. Cap'n explained how they fish on the Deep Sea and a bit how that all works.
In all I spent about 40 minutes talking with him before I had to head home since I was getting pretty hungry. He told me that the next time I come down, I should stop by and say hello to him, I told him it was a deal.

Charlie Day!!!

This is my youngest cat Charlie. I adopted him from a family that was giving away their litter of kittens. My sister Lisa got one of his littermates. Charlie is now 3 years old and is quite the handful. He enjoys eating, napping, filling up the litter box, playing with his brother Max, and harassing his sister Shadow.

When Charlie was about 18 months old he got a really bad urinary blockage. When Lisa came to check on him he was on the deck not moving, upon noticing her, he let out a few long meows and Lisa knew something was wrong. Lisa and my niece Summer took Charlie to the vet where they referred them to a vet that could care for him overnight. At the second vet they informed her that he was near death and would not have lasted much longer had they not brought him in.

While this was all going on I was at to work in Seattle. The day before Charlie was not acting himself which surprised me. I kept my eye on him all night and when I had to go to work the next day. I had asked Lisa and Summer to check on him since I was nervous about his condition, but I had hoped he was just a bit sick and would get better.

After surgery and a week stay at the vet he managed to pull through. I visited him often at the vet's office and he always seemed very happy to see me. The people at the vet's office told Lisa that they hadn't seen a relationship like Charlie and I have before. They commented that when I came to see Charlie he perked right up and was more active than before my visits. He continued to be more alert and active after my visits for a while until his fatigue set in again.

Since that ordeal Charlie get special food and has been very healthy. He's up to his same old tricks and gives me a lot of love and sleeps on my bed with me every night.

I love my other cats very much, but there is something very special about Charlie, the way he acts around me is different than the other cats, and he's always at the door to greet me when I get home from work.

Today is Charlie Day because when I saw him on the outside table I had to capture this image of him as he was watching me as I was getting ready for work.

Dentist day, ugh.....

Today I went in for my second appt for a deep cleaning. Man I do not like going in for these. Not only is my mouth numb for hours afterward, but today she had to inject me twice with novacaine. The first time should have done the trick, but after she started doing some work I could still feel what she was doing and it hurt bad! After the second round of injections I was good to go and things went well until the suction stopped working and she had to revert to the old days and scrape all the plaque off instead of using her ultrasonic cleaner, big time bummer. What should have been a one hour appt turned into an hour and a half. Not too much longer but a co-worker had to stay late until I returned to work.
Here it is 9:57pm and my mouth is not longer numb, but I can still feel where she did the work. Guess I should take better care of myself so I don't have to get these deep cleanings.
No photos for today :(

My photography history

I first got into photography years ago while visiting my sister in Seattle. As I looked around for a poster to bring back home to Minnesota with me I just didn't seem to find the one that hit me just right, so I bought a camera and went on a quest to find my own shot. My first camera was a Minolta 35mm pocket sized one. It was a decent camera but I felt very limited so I quickly returned it and bought a better pocket one. A month later I found myself back and the store returning that one and broke down and bought an SLR.

I had a lot to learn but I was having fun with this camera. I started shooting all over Minneapolis and St Paul. I quickly became a regular at the photo lab at the Target store I worked at in Eden Prairie. Hardly a day went by without me taking some shots.

A few years and many rolls of film later I finally moved to Seattle and continued my photographic prowess in a new land.

As I started getting into hiking I found that my wallet could not keep up with my shutter finger. So with a digital point and shoot that I aquired not long before, I jumped into the digital era and I was off!! One camera led to another as I could afford better technology. My first digital was a Sony with 2.1 megapixels. I shot with this for about 2 years before getting a Canon Powershot A530. That one opened the door to more options and more megapixels too. With the video having audio, which my older Sony didn't have, I could now shoot fun videos from mountain tops. Six months after buying the A530 it broke and I bought the A550. With slightly more mp's I could enlarge my shots and put them on my walls with greater ease. Seven months later that camera farted out on me. I called Canon and they fixed them both for me under warranty, thanks Canon!!

Wanting to be able to do more with my shots I sold my Minolta SLR and lenses and bought a Canon 300D. What a great camera! I was thrilled at the things that I could do with this camera, but I had so much to learn now though. I started taking shots every where I could. This camera and I were pretty much bound at the hip. Wanting more zoom capabilities I bought the Canon 55-250 IS lens which has been a blast to shoot with. I can get better shots of wildlife on the trails without getting too close to them and scaring 'em away.

I am constantly learning more about photography and hope that I continue to do so. The other night I went out after work to take some shots of the city skyline and took what turned out to be my favorite shot so far.