utenzi

Below is a picture I took while hiking at Occoneechee Mountain Park this morning. The picture is okay but I took a similar one that was better so I decided to play around a bit with the lesser of the two pictures. The picture here was my first attempt. I used a filter named "cartoon" in GIMP (a Photoshop-like program that is available for folk using Linux OS) and kept the settings on the mild side. I like the overall effect more than the original picture since it adds a little more "oomph" to the aesthetic. Or something like that. But I wasn't satisfied yet so.... I used the "basket weaving" filter and that might have been a little too much. I actually like the effect of the filter but not on this picture. I think it'd be neat on something more... abstract. Anyway, I should have drawn the line at using the cartoon filter, I guess. Maybe if I add a few solar flares?

I went on another group hike at the Occoneechee Mountain park yesterday after work. This time it was drizzling and cloudy so there wasn't much light for taking pictures. On the other hand, the greens of the trees and plants were so vibrant and everything smelled delightful. Except maybe me--I fell down a few times while bushwhacking. The ground was just too wet for good footing on steep slopes. I really like the picture below. Just a mossy log in a sea of ferns but the colors are quite nice. Same kind of color palette in this picture. What little sun there was lit the glade and gave nice fresh green colors whereas dark greens and browns predominated in the woods. It made for a nice picture illustrating the tonal difference in the two areas. And here's the group I hiked with. We're all clustered at the base of the quarry walls, just before we moved on to the steep part of the hike. Incidentally, it was just a few minutes later that I started my falling exercise as I tried to...

Let's start this post off on the right foot, well, actually the left foot as it turns out... It might not be pretty, but that is my left foot up there. What's left of it, anyway. I received some blisters during a hike on Wednesday evening at Occoneechee Park. My own fault, of course. I broke several of the cardinal rules of hiking that day. I wore shoes that I'd never had on before, they were also not for walking trails, and they didn't fit very well. Given all that, it's not surprising that I got blisters. This is taken from the observation post on top of a cliff overlooking the quarry at Occoneechee. Pretty view. Much nicer looking than my disfigured foot. Several of the other members of my hiking group are seen here descending a steep hill with the sun shining behind them. Being back lit like that can be very dramatic! Here we are descending yet another hill. This place is full of them. They might not be very high but there's just so many short climbs... And ...

I got a lot of sleep last night. Slept from 10pm to 5am. Probably the most sleep I got at one time in at least 6 months. Wonderful. To celebrate I went on a hike at 8am, when the park in Hillsborough opened up. Julie went along to keep me safe. That's her standing below. For some reason she didn't want to climb up on the big rock. Girls are weird that way, y'know? Risotto last night, hiking this morning, and the lawn is all mowed so I don't have to do that for a couple of days more. Life is good! Ahhhh-choo. Now if I could just get rid of this teary eyed sneezy feeling that is dogging my heels... this is the worst Spring for me since I moved to NC ten years ago. Before that I lived in Atlanta which is Hell on Earth for Spring allergies. Compared to Georgia, North Carolina is heaven! In a few hours it'll be bruschetta for a light lunch and then lamb shank for dinner. No mint jelly tho---the damn Wal-mart didn't have it. Or at least I couldn't find it.

Occoneechee Mt is in Hillsborough, which is about 12 miles northeast of where I live. It's not a very big mountain, as mountains go. But oddly enough when you're walking up, down, and around it---it seems to gain some stature. Funny thing how the legs seem to measure things a little different. Especially old legs! And did I mention that it was steep at times? Well, it was. Just look over there on the left. You'll see! This was the part just before we got to the rock quarry. I hiked this route around a month ago, January 11, 2009 to be exact, but we were going faster today so it had me breathing a lot harder. *whew* It's still steep, in case you didn't notice! The new season of Amazing Race starts tonight after 60 Minutes. All this hiking around reminds me of the folk in that show. They're always having to haul themselves up some mountain, glacier, building or tower. Even if you don't win the million dollar prize for finishing the race in first place you...