Tag: gif

East Lake Family Vacation

This past weekend, for the third summer in the row, we all1 visited East Lake. Thanks to Kristi and Troy, we had an abundance of kayaks, a canoe, and a “relaxation station” to play with. Matt and Erica brought another canoe and a stand-up paddleboard. We all brought our swimsuits and sunscreen, though many didn’t use the latter enough.

Miska, Gilly, and Mousse enjoyed playing fetch and swimming in the water. Unfortunately, the beach was tough on their paws. We’re going to need to find a solution for that next time. Does anyone have positive experience using dog booties?2

Some went to the obsidian flow nearby and everyone went to Paulina Falls. Every evening, we went to the beach to watch the sun set. The Whitewater Fire near Jefferson made a smokey sunset our first night, but slight winds from the east cleared up the rest of the weekend. The final night, the sunset was so intense that none of you will believe I didn’t edit the photo.

Of course, it was a great opportunity for a jump shot. The photo was a happy accident created by my holding down the shutter on my smartphone while others snapped away with their DSLs. One of my shots coincided with someone else’s flash and everyone in the air. Of course, that called for an animated gif. Heather and Gilly posing mandated another. ;-)

Lots of family, a few dogs, and hot weather made for a fun time. I wonder — will next year make four?

  1. I think we ended up with 20 of us — and 3 dogs! ↩
  2. If you haven’t done so, you must search for dog booties videos on the internet. High-stepping fun! ↩

My favorite photos of 2016

At the end of every year, I review the pictures I’ve posted here and select a few I’m most proud of. This year is no exception.

Enjoy!

And one animation, for fun. :-)

Do you have a favorite?

Update. Like last year, there’s a site that generates a collage of an account’s nine most liked Instagram pictures. Also like last year, there’s virtually no overlap1 between the pictures I’m most proud of here and my Instagram #2016bestnine pics.

  1. Okay, last year there was no overlap; this year one picture is in both sets. Alright, Gilly in the tall grass! To be fair, I don’t post many picture on both sites. ↩

Logan family reunion, 2016

Continuing my trend, I took a bunch of pictures at the biennial Logan family reunion, but none include anyone recognizable.1 ;-)

We had a great time, talking, getting caught up, cooking and eating, meeting, and playing games. Some of us held snakes.2 Many of us spent virtually no time online as there was no cell service and wifi only in the lodge.3

We were blessed with snow Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night, maybe six inches total. Certainly enough to make it tough to get outta town without help from the plow, and perfect for taking pictures.

With the help of Google Photos, I made a couple of animations.

I hope you also had a blessed Thanksgiving season.

  1. I’m sure one unnamed person appreciates this… ;-) ↩
  2. Not in a Mark 16:18 sense, but because boas and pythons are cool. ↩
  3. Which is not the building we spent our time, and when we did, service was slow and Pokémon Go unresponsive. ↩

Goldfinches at the feeders

I cleaned and filled the bird feeders one morning earlier this week. I asked Suzi how long she thought until we’d have visitors. She was confident our feeders would see use by that same afternoon. And she was right!

I was at the computer with my back to the feeders when Suzi said there were 30 birds at the feeders. I thought she was exaggerating. When I turned around, I scared them away to a nearby tree. I counted as they returned. This time, Suzi was wrong. There were more than 50 goldfinches on the feeders and on the ground beneath!

Cannon Beach

Cannon Beach Walk Time Lapse

We took a quick trip to Cannon Beach because the weather was so nice. We walked from W 2nd street to just beyond Haystack Rock and back. On the way back,1 I took a picture every ten paces to create a time lapse2 of the walk.3

Because of a disappearing cell phone, we walked the route a second time, re-tracing our steps and calling the cell phone’s number. Amazed that no one answered the phone (except when I mis-dialed once…Hi, Heather!) we again searched the coat, and found it!

  1. The first time… ↩
  2. Beach time lapse inspired by smelliot at GIFtychs. ↩
  3. I also created an animated gif of the walk, but beware — it’s 7.29 MB huge!. Update. Here’s an mp4 version. It’s only 355 KB. ↩