SUNDAY MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH

There were no guesses last Sunday for the mystery photograph, so I am reposting the picture because it is an interesting one. I am curious to hear your guesses. Please post them in the comments.

THERAPY DOG

Hannah with her reading buddy -- age 21 months.

When I retired from education I knew that one of the things I wanted to do was therapy dog work in the public schools. About three weeks after I worked my last day I brought home a 7- week old black English Labrador puppy which I hoped would grow up to become my therapy dog partner.

There were two reasons why I chose a Lab. First of all, I loved my friend Wendi's male Labrador Retriever, Wes, an AKC champion; I really wanted a puppy sired by him. Secondly, I knew that Labs have an exceptional temperament which would greatly increase my chances of success in training and certifying my puppy as a therapy dog.

When I brought Hannah home, the training began immediately. She was never held while I was sitting on the furniture, and she was never permitted to place her front paws on my legs. These resulted in a dog that does not jump on people and a dog that stays off the furniture. When Hannah was old enough, she was enrolled in KPT (Kindergarten Puppy Training) which is mostly an opportunity to socialize the puppy and teach basic commands. By the time we started KPT class, Hannah already knew those basic commands. At the same time we were receiving help from Wendi who has been training dogs for over 30 years.

I continued to take Hannah in the car to as many different places I could so that she would experience a wide variety of social situations and become confident. Probably the most exciting was taking her to the airport at the age of 5 months, walking thru the terminals, hearing the public address system, taking her on the escalator, and in an elevator. Amazingly, she took everything in stride.

By the time Hannah was 8 months, she was already showing the obedience of a year old dog. I enrolled her in an obedience class which we attended weekly for six months. At the age of 13 months Hannah passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen test. She now has the letters CGC behind her name. And, finally, at the age of 16 months, Hannah passed her therapy dog testing. Three weeks later she started working with a second grade class.

What exciting, rewarding, and gratifying work it is to take a therapy dog into a class and have the children respond by becoming more confident learners. They LOVE Hannah, and Hannah loves them.

Have you read Jon Katz's new book SOUL OF A DOG? A few of the chapters talk about his Border Collie, Izzy, who is a therapy dog specializing in hospice work.

CYBER-SOCIETY

I'm curious to know what you think about cyber-societies? Over the years I have had the opportunity to participate in and observe several cyber-societies. That is my name for them. Yahoo calls them "groups," and Alex Brown Racing calls them "threads."

When I got my first computer in 1994, I discovered the PRODIGY "bulletin boards." This was a place where people could post questions or comments. I was surfing the horse BB, and one day answered a question about longeing horses. This led to a friendship with a woman with whom I still keep in touch. We've met in person several times and enjoy chatting. She's smart, well read, artistically talented, and has a great sense of humor.

After Barbaro broke his leg in the 2006 Preakness, I searched the web for updates on his progress and located a site called Tim Wooley Racing which was maintained by Alex Brown, a British exercise rider and a professor of technology on the college level. Interesting marriage of professions, isn't it? Anyway, I found that Alex made multiple daily updates on Barbaro due to his association with Michael Matz, Barbaro's trainer. It was the best place to go for the inside scoop.

As time passed, Alex expanded Tim's website to include a place for people to leave comments. The site exploded, experiencing hundreds of hits per day. Eventually Alex Brown decided to leave Tim Wooley and travel across the United States and work with various race horse trainers to gather material for a book. At that point he developed his own website and named it Alex Brown Racing.

After Barbaro died, I discovered a "Princess" thread on Alex's site, and began to follow the conversations. "Princess" was a QH mare due to foal at an equine rescue. The rescue had a camera set up on her stall so that we could join the foal watch, and I happened to be one of the lucky ones who saw her foal.

In the meantime I began to realize that the rescue not only rescued horses, they also rescued people -- many lost souls. Some of the people spent hours on the thread chatting with other followers -- I assume they are very lonely. Some are ill and invalids. And some, I suspect, are misfits who find a community online but not in actual life. And yes, some are extremely religious, God popping up at least once in each sentence (slight exaggeration). I realized that it really was no place for me, and I stopped following "Princess" and her foal because I could not relate to most of the people on the thread.

But it made me do some thinking about cyber-societies. I imagine there are pros and cons. Cyber-societies can be beneficial depending on the reason they exist. But when people forsake real "life" for a "virtual existence" then I think it crosses the line to an unhealthy obsession.

I do have to admit that I met one woman on the thread -- a teacher in my area. We have gotten together several times and enjoy chatting. She, too, sees the negatives in the cyber-society and limits her involvement to fund raising.

Our world has certainly changed, hasn't it? The World Wide Web has made it possible to link up with people we most likely would not have before computers entered our homes. So I am very curious to know about your experiences with cyber societies and what you think about them?

FAKED PHOTOGRAPHS

With my passion for photography, this article in the New York Times caught my eye. I was a bit amazed that manipulation of photographs was able to be done such a long time ago. Be sure to check out the Gallery of Historic Images which is linked (red) below, and read the comments accompanying each image. It is fascinating!

Faked Photographs: Look, and Then Look Again

By BILL MARSH
Published: August 22, 2009

What a marvel the first photographic images must have been to their early-19th-century viewers — the crisp, unassailable reality of scenes and events, unfiltered by an artist’s paintbrush or point of view.

And what an opportunity for manipulation. It didn’t take long for schemers to discover that with a little skill and imagination, photographic realism could be used to create manufactured realities.

“The very nature of photography was to record events,” said Hany Farid, a professor of computer science at Dartmouth University and a detective of photographic fakery. “You’d think there would have been a grace period of respect for this new technology.”

But the tampering began almost immediately: affixing Lincoln's head to another politician’s more regally posed body; re-arranging the grim detritus of Civil War battlefields to be better composed for the camera; erasing political enemies.

Sorting icons of truth from icons of propaganda is often a thorny business that can take decades to resolve, and that’s if it gets resolved. The long-argued case of Robert Capa's shocking “Falling Soldier” of 1936, taken during the Spanish Civil War, has recently flared again. Is this a loyalist soldier in his fatal moment, or is it staged? A Spanish researcher has scrutinized the terrain in the photo’s background and determined that it is not an area near Cerro Muriano, as Capa had said, but another spot, about 35 miles away. Whether this forces the conclusion that the scene was acted out is being debated with fresh vigor. (Critics have raised doubts about the photo since the 1970s.)

Questions dogged Joe Rosenthal’s Pulitzer Prize-winning shot of Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima from the start — the result of a conversation overheard and misunderstood, according to Hal Buell, who wrote a book about the image.

The photo was a sensation when it appeared in newspapers in the States. Back on the war front, someone asked Mr. Rosenthal if his picture had been staged. The photographer, who did not know which frame had been published, said yes — referring to a different picture of those same Marines whooping it up for the camera at Mr. Rosenthal’s request.

TIME magazine prepared an article about the alleged set-up that was never published, but details leaked out and went viral in the manner of the day. Mr. Buell, the retired head of the Associated Press photo service, says that despite film of the whole event proving the authenticity of Mr. Rosenthal’s work, a whiff of controversy stubbornly lives on.

One famous photo has been subject to a mundane form of fakery that it can’t seem to shake, years later. The photographer John Paul Filo caught the death of a Kent State student and the anguished reaction it provoked in a young bystander, and won the Pulitzer Prize for it. But the editors of Life magazine saw room for improvement, removing a post from behind the bystander’s head to tidy things up a bit.

The altered image has been published and republished, Mr. Filo lamented, despite his protests. “The picture keeps on living and working,” he said. Here is a gallery of historic images, identified by Dr. Farid and other sources, that have been manipulated or accused of being frauds.

SUNDAY MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH

Several people guessed last week's mystery photograph. It was part of a milking machine. Sometimes they are called milkers.

Here is this week's mystery photograph. I saw it on one of my walks in the woods. Any idea what it is? Please post your guesses in the comments, and I shall reveal the answer next Sunday.

CICADA

There are so many cicadas emerging in this area just now. I have seen them on the driveway, on the sidewalk, and on the lawn -- everywhere! I've seen the holes in the ground where they have emerged under my Weeping Cherry tree. They seem to be partial to that tree and the ground around it. This one was on my sidewalk, and I got a few photos with my close-up lens.

There is lots of interesting information about cicadas on Wikipedia.

NOTE: **We've had some extremely heavy rain yesterday and today. Sadly, the baby bunnies perished. When I went to check on the nest, I found two other babies very deep in the hole for a total of three. However, the hole was not deep enough to avoid flooding.

BUNNY NEST

Hannah discovered a bunny nest in my front yard. Thank goodness it is in the front yard! I can keep Hannah away from it. Here is the mother rabbit on the nest this evening. The grass cutters were here today. It's miraculous that the nest wasn't disturbed. Next week I shall tell them NOT to mow there, and I will mark it off with garden stakes.

Mother rabbit was gone this afternoon. You can barely see the lone baby rabbit in the nest. The picture is foggy because the heat and humidity were clouding my lens.

I put the close-up lenses on my camera and got this wonderful shot. Its eyes are not yet open, and it is covered with very downy fur. I was close, but I did not touch the baby. The mother rabbit was on the nest nursing it after I took these pictures, so I know my scent did not disturb her. She is accustomed to people smells and noise. I'm amazed that she has this nest right out in the open in the middle of my lawn!

In this picture I think the baby looks like a young deer. I wonder if the white stripe on top of its head will disappear as it matures?
In this picture you can actually see some of the fur lining the nest. The face is more visible so you can also see the unopened eyes. I've never seen a baby rabbit this young. What an amazing experience!

CIVILITY

When I read the news I often stop in disgust because I bemoan the lack of civility in today's world. It seems that common manners and show of respect for our fellow humans is sorely lacking. With the town hall meetings politicians are holding to discuss the health care program, the lack of civility is especially glaring. Sometimes I am not proud of my fellow Americans. I thought I recalled an essay on civility by Mark Twain, but I was not successful in finding one, so I think my memory is not correct. However, I did find this article which I felt was worth sharing. What are YOUR thoughts about civility?

The Decline of Civility In America

One of my pet peeves and one that I have written about before is civility or the lack thereof in American society today. We live in a nation of narcissists who are rude, arrogant, and self centered and who care only for themselves.

When I was a boy growing up in the 60s and 70s, we were raised on a healthy regimen of manners. Being polite was a way of life. It was expected of us. We were taught to hold doors open for people. We were taught to use table manners when we dined with other people or in public. We addressed older people as Ma’am, or Sir. If we knew their proper name it was Mr. or Mrs., in conjunction with their proper name. We knew to ask “May I” when needing to use the bathroom, or wanting to leave the dinner table. We were to be seen and not heard while in public. Most other folks acted the same way, which made being out in public fun and enjoyable.

Over 30 years later, I am addressed by my first name in almost always every case. Rarely am I addressed as ‘Sir, or Mister Williams.’ What gives people the right to address me with such familiarity? Nowadays I even find myself addressed as ‘Dude’. Sometimes it’s ‘Uh, Hey you.’ Or, ‘What was your name again?”. Why do we as a nation act so rudely towards one another?

Today I went out to run some errands. In the hour I was out and about, I was cut off by other cars twice while in transit to the store. Later, as I was backing out of the parking spot I was using in front of Starbucks, another car came flying through the parking lot and leaned on his horn in order to stop me from backing up, so that he could get by unimpeded. I was half way out of the parking spot before he even arrived on the scene, and he blows his horn at me! The nerve of some people!

In California, the law states that at a 4-way stop sign, the car that arrives and stops first has the right of way through the stop sign, unless four cars arrive at each stop sign simultaneously. Then, the car on your right has the right of way. The running joke in our neck of the woods is he who has the most expensive car has the right of way. It’s amazing how someone will screech to a stop on a dime, just so they can be the first to proceed through the stop sign. They do this even as another person is already proceeding through the intersection, cutting that person off. People are too much in a rush, and they simply no longer extend any courtesy to anyone, anymore.

I am a season ticket holder to all the Oakland Raider games. I no longer attend the games. I sell the tickets every year now. Why? Because, I am tired of the thug mentality at public sporting events. It used to be that everyone got along at the games. It was an afternoon of fun. Now, I can’t help but to have someone vomit within 10 feet of me. I am usually within 20 feet of a fist fight. And, what really T’s me off to no end is that when I get up to use the restroom, or to get a drink, some drunken fool who cannot afford the seats that I can afford, will inevitably take over my seat while I am gone so he can pass out. If I call security, I create an incident, with the offender calling me a racist, or worse. It’s sickening.

My wife believes that shopping is a spectator sport that I should embrace and be enthusiastic about. I used to enjoy going shopping. Not anymore. It doesn’t matter how far I park my truck from any mall entrance. I can always count on coming back to find a ding in my truck from some other slob’s car door. Or, I can find a metal shopping cart resting against the side of my truck. Once in a while, someone will key my truck, just because it’s well maintained and nice.

Once in the mall, or any store for that matter, I am forced to endure the hordes of mall rats, acting like bullies and punks. I had no idea that a 13 year old young lady can belch as loud as the one I saw last time I went shopping. These are people’s kids and they act like uncouth animals. It’s disgusting to know these are our future leaders and captains of industry.

I find the clerks in the shops less than enthusiastic and helpful when performing their jobs. Last time I went to Cold Stone Creamery, the teenager behind the counter appeared to be just discovering his sexuality. He was very overt in his swishing and flaming in an effort to show all the patrons that he was gay and proud of it. Please, just give me my Ice Cream; I don’t care about your gayness. GIVE ME MY ICE CREAM! Am I guilty of a hate crime because I just want my Ice Cream –That I don’t want to see a gay kid flaunting his sexuality so overtly? Give me a break!

My wife is always complaining that I never want to go out and do anything. My reasons are simple. I don’t enjoy being out in the world. I remember when everyone was mannerly and pleasant. I see how lousy people have become. I want to stay home and avoid the crowds on the weekends. My home is my Shangri La! I simply do not like to go out to mix with the masses. I am afraid it will only get worse. It scares me to see what society has become.

Whose fault is it? It's mine and the rest of us who see the problem with incivility in society today. You see, we put up with it. We allow it. We fail to teach our kids through good example. In order to correct the problem, we need to correct our kids, teach them right, and above all correct those who would be rude and ill-mannered and not allow them to be disrespectful to us.Just do it in a respectful way.
Copyright 10/31/2004 by Randy WilliamsUse granted to all who identify author

THE COLOR PURPLE

The Brenda Photo Challenge challenges us to post photographs that reflect THE COLOR PURPLE, this week's theme.

Mine all happen to be plant related, but here are a variety of hues. Which one(s) do you like best? Please leave your reactions in the comments.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE DEER KIND

Last week Hannah and I were walking at Tamanend during the early evening, and I had my camera with my 300m zoom lens on. It was very quiet, and there were no people in that section of the park. Suddenly I spied a buck peering out from heavy foliage, only about 15-20 feet away from me. He just stood there and stared. I was amazed that he did not turn tail and run. I slowly lifted my camera and starting shooting. Got about 20-25 pictures before he leisurely turned and walked into the woods. I don't think Hannah realized he was there. I imagine there are so many deer trails, she is accustomed to the scent. If she had gone into the underbrush I am certain that he would have taken off. It was an incredible encounter, and I got this magnificent photo. I am going to have it enlarged and see if it retains its focus.

PEOPLE AT THE FAIR

What motivates people? It is fascinating to observe people at the fair and try to guess what they are thinking or feeling. Is this couple dating, engaged, newly married? The sense of giddiness and fun makes a fair portrait appealing. Hopefully their lives together are full of joy and the portrait a wonderful reminder of this sitting for many years to come.

I happened to come upon this mother who was dealing with her daughter's temper tantrum. Mom had just about had it and was preparing to turn her back and walk away. Her daughter picked herself up and followed, pouting and complaining loudly.

I love the looks of a down to earth farmer. This guy was marketing his fresh roasted peanuts. Lots of people stopped for a sample and to talk with him. The peanuts smelled divine, and next to his tent was a collection of old motors running.

Little boys and tractors... never ceases. This little guy crawled up on this mower, and his Dad showed him how the handle bars worked. Back and forth, back and forth. I wondered what he was thinking... was he imagining driving this "tractor?"

I saw this dapper gentleman in his natty outfit, shoes, and hat. He caught my attention as I was walking from the horse show to the livestock barns. I wonder if he was one of the horse show judges? Judges do dress up when hired to work a horse show. Or maybe he was going to visit his lady friend with a gift he'd purchased from one of the vendors... lavender soap, perhaps?

This rider came out of the arena visibly annoyed with herself for not doing well in her class. Some children are under so much pressure from parents and instructors to win that riding no longer is enjoyable.

Another face of a young rider who came out of the arena in tears. Both of these girls were on nice horses and dressed in very nice riding clothes.

Interesting body language here, hummmm? Lovers?

The Grange Fair certainly was my muse this week.

SUNDAY'S GRANGE FAIR MYSTERY PHOTOGRAPH

Time to reveal last Sunday's mystery photograph. The photo was a close-up of the teeth on the bucket of a bull-dozer or earth mover.

This week's mystery photo is from the Grange Fair. What is this contraption? Please leave your guess in the comments.

GRANGE FAIR HORSE SHOW

The granddaughter of one of my teaching friends is a horse crazy little girl. She rode in the Grange Fair Horse show yesterday in the Short Stirrup Division. Her pony's name is Sweetie Pie, who is a school horse at the stables where she takes riding lessons. Here she is in a walk-trot class, concentrating very hard on her riding.

In one class she had to ride a figure eight pattern and halt in the middle. She's doing a very nice job in this picture. Her circles were round, and you could tell she was doing a figure eight, unlike some of the other riders who rode oblongs or some kind of weird pattern that did not resemble a figure eight at all.

Here's a proud little girl bringing her blue ribbon to.... not her mom... not her dad.... not her grandmom... but her grand dad! I think it is a tradition.

She won three blues (1st place) and a pink (5th place) which gave her the Grand Championship of this Division. Here she is with her family and riding instructor.

I love this picture of the two of them. Sweetie Pie pricked her ears and really looked like a sweetie pie in this picture. They are a beautiful pair.

Here she is with grand dad, tender of the ribbon stash. This talented young rider came home with 12 ribbons! What a wonderful day and a special memory for a very special little girl. Congratulations!

I am so happy that I was there to take pictures! Brought back memories of MY horse show days.

NIGHT LIGHTS AT THE GRANGE FAIR

A carnival is a great place to have fun with night photography. I wanted to experiment with blurs and stop action shots. Here are a few I thought you might enjoy. The ZIPPER ride was like an oblong ferris wheel with seats that spun while the ride was spinning. The Merry-Go-Round was next to it.

Here is another shot of the ZIPPER. I like this one because I stopped the action, yet the Merry-Go-Round was blurred.

Rides in motion.

The Gravitron -- it looked like a fun ride. Maybe I'll try it!

Two shots of the Cliff Hanger. I opened up my lens and slowed the shutter to get the blur and the fading light in the sky.

This is another shot of the Cliff Hanger where I under-exposed to get a black background. If the sign weren't visible, you would almost think it was an unidentified flying object.

Prizes galore. I wonder if people are spending their money for games of chance in this slow economy? The fair is hurting too because state funding was cut.

ANIMALS AT THE GRANGE FAIR

I guess for many people this first photograph would be a mystery photo. Do you know what it is? It is part of the harness which the Belgian horses wear when they give wagon rides to fair goers. Notice how shiny and clean the leather and metal work is? Part of good horsemanship is keeping tack clean. Many stables clean tack after every ride or drive. It also makes the leather last longer. Poorly cared for leather will dry and crack and mildew. As a result it is weakened and can break while the horse is wearing it. Believe me, you never want that to happen!

This is one of the Belgians in the hitch. They are huge! These horses stand around 18 hands. A hand is equal to 4 inches, and is measured from the level ground to the top of the highest point of the horse's withers. The withers is the hump at the base of the neck where it flows into the back. Look at the kind eye on this horse. Draft breeds are cold blooded breeds and are typically gentle and very calm. Horse folk call horses with this type of temperament bombproof, which means that rarely are they disturbed by anything in their environment.

Here is a young boy bathing his calf to prepare for the Holstein judging. Kids like this who are around animals at a young age definitely have something over urban kids. I believe that the farm environment grounds these kids and teaches them the meaning of an honest day's work.

Isn't this a beautiful face? This is a Brown Swiss cow. I remember seeing these cows in Switzerland as we were riding the gondola up the mountain side. They were wearing huge cow bells.

Another Brown Swiss peeking over the stall partition to investigate my camera.

I know nothing about breeds of sheep, so I can't tell you what kind of sheep this is. But I think there is something quietly noble about this face. Seems like (s)he is perfectly at ease with the noisy fair environment.

Shorn sheep being prepped for the show ring. I don't like the looks of the restraint. But this sheep seems to know how to space out while enduring the ministrations.

I'm always fascinated by pigs. I am enthralled with this eye. It looks almost human, doesn't it? I think it is pretty obvious that there's lots of intelligence behind that eye. If you only saw the eye and not the rest of the face, do you think you would know it belonged to a pig? What the heck does pig eye mean anyway!?

GRANGE FAIR PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

After two and a half years of digital SLR photography and becoming more adept with my camera, I decided to enter photographs in this year's Grange Fair Photography Contest. I was curious to see how my photos stacked up against the others that were submitted. I was thrilled to receive four second places. The four photos are below. I've also included a snap of Hannah's picture on the display board which placed second in the color animal division. The photo I wanted to submit for this division did not reproduce well, so I matted this one at the last minute. I always thought it was a great shot because the focus is extremely sharp, and the background is not distracting.

This photo was entered in the color Photo Shop division. This was a photo shared in an earlier post under MANIPULATED PHOTOGRAPHY.

Hannah, taken in September of 2008.

This photo of Hannah taken by a lake was shot in January on one of our invigorating winter walks. I always liked the silhouette and the sharp focus of the grass.

Oddly enough, I thought this photograph of the pine with raindrops was my weakest entry. And I also spilled a drop of water on it after matting it. But there was no time to get a new print made, so I submitted it, and it placed second in the black and white close-up division.

The Grange Fair will be running for five days. I plan to go over as often as I am able and photograph the animals, fair scenery, and people. I'll post some of the better and most interesting shots over the next few days.