How I Solved My Photo Importing Problem

I Tested My Theory that the SanDisk Was the Problem

It made sense to me that it would be the problem. So I took it around the corner to Staples tonight to have a technician try it on his computer.

My Local Staples Store: A Test Photo on New Disk

The disk crashed his computer twice. So we made a deal. I bought a new disk. Then I took a couple of pictures in the store. Then he tried to import those pictures to his computer. Voila! No problem. He had a bit of a technical problem to solve with his credit card terminals,  so we had to change registers. Then I put the disk back in my computer and came  home and imported the photos, including the one above, into my computer.

Two Problems Remain

1. I still can't get the rest of my photos off the defective disk. Looks like I've have to repeat the photoshoot tomorrow. I had intended to use those photos in yesterday's post. Fortunately I took those photos within a block of home. 
2. The import window still won't close after the upload unless I close it with the Task Master. 

I need to figure out now if the drive I stick the SanDisk into is destroying my disks. I'm not sure how to do that. I'm too tired to tackle that tonight. At least I know the camera isn't the problem. 

I may not be posting tomorrow. My iMac decided to do a major update today and after I restarted it, it is no longer connected to the Internet. I have to try restarting my router, but don't want to shut down this computer yet to do that. I'm getting rather  tired of solving computer problems. I'm very tempted to get offline completely for a few days and catch up on some decluttering and reading. I miss reading books. Now I'm off to bed. 

I Don't Know What's Wrong!

It's a Sad Day for Me

I've been having trouble importing photos from my camera to my Windows PC for some time now. The photos would import, but the importing window would not close. I found a work-around by closing with the Task Master. Then I'd put the SanDisk into my iMac and import into it with no problems and it would erase the pictures on the SanDisk. It didn't work that way today. Out of the 71 photos I took today, I have only five that imported. Three of them are here.

Thursday Tree Love

This was the first day I was planning to participate in #ThursdayTreeLove. In today's photoshoot I concentrated on the trees on my block. I photographed bark, several birch trees, ornamental pear tree fruits, leaves turning color, and much more. I was planning several posts around those photos. I have only five photos that loaded and as you can see they aren't the best ones. So I'm sad because I'm not sure what's wrong. The gray day today fits my mood. Here's another photo from this batch -- the one I'll use for the Thursday Tree Love. 

So What Could Be Wrong?

I've narrowed it down to a defective SanDisk, a defective disk drive on my PC, since that's where the symptoms started, or something wrong in the software. I'm inclined to think it's the SanDisk. Since it's been acting up for weeks on the PC during the import, I thought it was the drive. But today it imported the few photos it did get very slowly. Normally within a couple of minutes even over a hundred pictures will import. Today it took about ten minutes to get those five photos and then another half hour or so for the drive to indicate the import was finished. All the photos after the first five were blank. 

When I ejected the drive from the PC and put it into the iMac, I expected the iMac would import the pictures as usual. Unfortunately I also had a thumb drive I was using in the iMac at the time, and when I put the SanDisk in, the iMac never even recognized it. When I finished my work with the thumb drive and ejected it, I also removed the SanDisk and then put it in again. The iMac still never knew it was there. If it's not the PC or the iMac or the SanDisk, that leaves only my fairly new camera, a Canon PowerShot SX410 IS. I hope it's not that. It's the only camera I have left. 

If any of you very experienced photographers has any idea which is the most likely culprit, I'd love to know. I was thinking of taking the disk into a tech person at Walmart tomorrow to see if the pictures show on their computer and if they can be saved. I'll also try another disk tomorrow to see if it works and unloads. 

I guess I'll have to repeat my photoshoot when I get this figured out. 

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God!

I Marvel at the Variations of a Single Sunset

Last evening I was chasing sunsets, as you know from yesterday's post. I got distracted when I saw an unexpected balancing act and wrote about that instead, only sharing a couple of the sunset photos. Sunsets change when you look in a different direction and as minutes pass. By the time I finished last night's photo shoot, I had 210 photos of just the sunset. It's really hard to pick only a few to show you. Here's one taken early in my walk. All photos were taken from Larry Moore Park or the Charolais Corridor Trail in Paso Robles.

I don't have a telescope or understand how every cloud is formed and what it means, but I cannot look up at a sunset without being in awe of my creator.

Pictures Cannot Do the Sky Justice

I can only share a bit of the glory of God here. 

Seeing a series of photos is like seeing pictures of food without being able to smell or taste it. To fully appreciate the splendor of the setting sun you need to be outside looking up in all directions. You need to keep looking until the sun is down. But all I can offer is the pictures, not the sky. So here are more photos. While you look at them, listen to the choir sing "The Heavens are Telling the Glory of God" by Joseph Haydn. The video is illustrated with photos by photographer Robert Stephens.





If you enjoy that music, you can download an even better version of it on MP3 or get the whole album, which is full of some of the greatest hymns of the Christian church.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Psalm 8:1

When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Psalm 8: 3-4

Here's another song that comes to mind as I look at these photos and whenever I see a sunset. It was inspired by Psalm 19.



Several versions of this song can be found on MP3 for download at Amazon. I like the Azusa Pacific Version best because I like choral music.

Now back to the sky show!

We are finally beginning to see some pink now.

From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised.! The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!   Psalm 113: 3-4                                                                                              

 `

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God upon the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds, he prepares rain for the earth, he makes grass grow upon the hills. Psalm 147: 7-8

The sun has almost disappeared now.  Let's listen to "Taps" as it sets.

Lyrics to first verse of "Taps." See the rest in the video above. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

If you know someone who might enjoy this, please share it. And next time you see the sun about to set on a cloudy day, spend a few minutes watching it. A sunset nourishes the soul. 

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An Unexpected Daring Exhibition

You Never Know What You'll See When You Take a Walk

Tonight I went out to Larry Moore Park to chase the sunset. It appeared the sky would be beautiful. I left as the sun was just beginning to set. There was just enough left to wink at me from the sky behind the clouds.

As I walked, the sky grew more magnificent by the minute. As I stood at the entrance to the Charolais Corridor Trail across from the park, I saw an eye of blue in the middle of the gray and I wanted to chase it. But as I started toward it, I saw this. Of course, I stopped to watch.

I haven't seen anything like this since I was a kid and we used to walk from yard to yard on the tops of block fences. But this young man is walking only on the tops of supports that have nothing in between them. We didn't do that as kids. Did you? Let's watch this in video, which the young man gave me permission to record and publish.




By the  time my camera started to record he was almost across, but you get the idea. Here's a larger view of the balancing act. It's the perfect size to share on Pinerest if you would like others to see this.

When is the last time you did anything like this?

As for the patch of blue I'd been chasing before I stopped to watch this daring feat, here it is. 

Enjoy your day. May it bring you pleasant surprises. 


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A Rude Awakening!

Worse Than an Alarm Clock!

I got to bed later than usual last night because I encountered some technical problems I wanted to solve while they were fresh in my mind. That meant I got to sleep around 3:30 am. After all, the noisy roofers were gone and the neighbors' gardeners don't usually use their leaf blowers and mowers here until around noon.

As I was attempting to sleep, I heard a very loud and horrible sound that seemed to be right outside my bedroom window. It was actually in the backyard next door. By the time I jumped out of bed with my camera, the crew was working in the front yard, but it was just as loud. Imagine a dentist drill with the volume multiplied a hundred times.

Tree Stump Removal Crew, © B. Radisavljevic

They look a lot happier than I was. They had started at 7:30 am. At first my box fan and my white noise machine let me sleep another 90 minutes. I was going to try to listen to the radio on top of that to drown out the sounds and try to go back to sleep, but nothing doing. Their power equipment seemed to be causing interference with my radio transmission.

The Noise

Normally my fan or white noise machine can block out the common outside and inside noises like shutting the microwave door in the kitchen, neighbors slamming car doors outside, normal gardening equipment in other yards, and voices. They didn't have much effect on these sounds of loud tree grinding equipment.

I found out when I took my photos that the crew was removing stumps of shrubs and trees from my neighbor's yard to expedite his xeriscaping project. For your listening "pleasure" I have including a quick video with three small episodes of the noise I endured this morning. They are actually quieter than when they woke me when working in the backyard, which was closer to my bedroom.

Rain at Last!

As I was talking to my neighbor while I was taking the last batch of photos, it began to rain a few drops -- just enough to send me inside to protect my camera. What fell dried up while I was processing the video and editing these photos. Here's  proof that some rain did fall.

Raindrops on my Front Sidewalk, © B. Radisavljevic

The Aftermath of the Stump Removal

When the workmen finished, I had to admit they'd done a good job and left a pretty piece of bare ground where the old shrubs used to be. I just wish it could have been done more quietly so I could get my full night's sleep.

How well do you tolerate the noise of power equipment outside your window?

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Birch Trees Bear Fruit

Birch Tree Fruit is For the Birds

Many parts of the birch tree are edible for humans. These include the bark, the leaves, the buds, and the sap. However, edible does not necessarily mean tasty. The author of "Edible Birch, Chaga" shares the results she got when making tea, birch syrup, and just eating various parts. Most writers agree the fruits make good food for the birds.

The book Feasting Free on Wild Edibles by Bradford Angier explains how to make birch tea and birch syrup, as well as many other survival foods you can make from plants found in the wild.

Just Birch Leaves and Fruits

A Closer Look at the Leaves and Fruits at the End of October, © B. Radisavljevic

Birch Designs Make Great Throw Pillows

The graceful birch trees easily lend themselves to artistic photos and designs. Their bark is unique, especially the white birches with bark that peels like paper. The tree also can have a weeping appearance, especially when fruiting. You can see that in the photo above and in the final photo in this post. The birch tree inspired the creation of these throw and lumbar pillows on Zazzle.

 Birch Trees Throw Pillow AUTUMN BIRCH TREES PILLOW Autumn birch trees throw pillow The Birches Throw Pillow The Birches Pillow Birches In The Winter 

Birches are Very Useful Trees

Birch trees have medicinal uses. American Indians use the tea to relieve headaches. Some tribes roasted the fruiting cones over campfire coals and breathed the smoke to relieve nasal congestion. These are just a couple of the medicinal uses for birch I found in Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, my go-to book for everything herbal. One can also make a hot poultice of the leaves, bark, and fruits to apply to the skin.

The skin will absorb the methyl salicylate in the birch parts to help skin irritations and minor wounds. Such a poultice may also be used to ease arthritis pain. None of these remedies have been tested by today's researchers for effectiveness, but some modern remedies for muscle pain do contain some methyl salicylate combined with menthol.

We know the American Indians made canoes of the birch's waterproof bark. An oil extracted from the bark was used as a glue when making arrows. You, too, can make beautiful and useful objects from birch. Some suggestions are star ornaments, baskets, rings, woven mats, and shoes. The book below will show you how to make these and many other things from birch you can use.




I'm glad I have a birch tree in my yard. Maybe one day soon I'll make better use of it. I'm glad I have survival food if necessary, along with a possible way to relieve pain. I'll leave crafts to those who enjoy them. I'd rather take photos and write when I want to be creative.

Do you have a birch tree in your yard? Have you ever used it for anything except the joy you get from seeing it every day? 

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Rock'n'Roll for Theme Day

Inter-generational Rock and Roll

I haven't been to a dance since I started dating my husband of now over fifty years, so I don't see much rock and roll anymore. Coming up with a photo for this month's "Rock' n' Roll City Daily Photo Bloggers theme seemed almost impossible until I remembered my nephew's wedding reception in October, 2014. During the reception, my nephew's new wife was dancing with a young relative and they stole the show.

Rock'n and Roll'n at Wedding between Generations, © B. Radisavljevic

Here's the video version of part of the dance. Try to ignore everyone but the bride and her partner.

Templeton History: Day in the Shade, 2010

I don't get many still photos of dancing, but there was some rocking and rolling going on at Day in the Shade in Templeton, May 8, 2010. I share it with you here in video.




Day in the Shade, which used to be an annual art exhibit in Templeton City Park the Saturday before Mother's Day, seems to have been discontinued, but I have preserved some of the highlights from Day in the Shade 2012 here.

Band at Day in the Shade, 2012, © B. Radisavljevic

Which video did you like best? 

See how other City Daily Photo Bloggers have interpreted this theme. 

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