Monday, May 7
7:30 am
It is +2 °C, with a high forecast of +20 °C.
From the Environment Canada website:
Today Sunny. High 20. UV index 6 or high.
Tonight Clear. Low plus 2.
7:50 am Life
Monday morning is a good time for either musing or getting organized. This time it will be the latter.
I have 2 books from amazon.ca that are due on Tuesday and Wednesday (separate shipments). It is possible they could arrive earlier.
I am waiting word that a telephoto lens has arrived at a camera store. This should happen today or tomorrow. Then I will test it out before making a decision on whether to buy it.
I have a message on an APL bulletin board asking for suggestions on how to download APL libraries from the Web. Hopefully there will be a reply in the next few days.
I have an email to a birding authority in Australia about a bird I saw in Canberra. He has been away but is due back early this week.
I need to take our old barbecue to the dump. But first I have to confirm that is the proper place for it.
Today is the day for a coulee walk.
Time for a second cup.
4:00 PM Photography
I visited the camera store and tested both the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM telephoto lens as well as the Canon EF 2X II Telephoto Extender. I was very impressed with the lens but not with the use of the extender. The extender prevents the autofocus from working and the increased power makes holding it without shaking very difficult. Plus the price is a bit steep.
I think the lens will permit me to have better photos of birds in flight as the telephoto is stronger than my 70 - 300 mm lens. It will also be better for small birds (e.g. warblers) as it will enlarge the image. The increased power should give me a better image of waterfowl, which are often too far away for a good image. And the increased power should give me some good close-up head-shots when the bird is close.
I will return to the store tomorrow morning and make the purchase.
6:00 PM Life
The main task today was to take the old barbecue to the Lethbridge Waste & Recycling Center. Mission accomplished.
I then hooked up the new barbeque to the propane tank and tested it. Everything worked fine. Good. The next step will be to try it with food.
I was able to fit in a coulee walk before dinner. I noticed a real difference going up the stairs this time. I found it much easier than previous trips. Perhaps the leg press routine at the Lethbridge Fitness Center is making a difference.
There were a couple of "firsts for 2012" today:
- we had our first cup of morning coffee on the patio
- we had our first beer on the patio in the afternoon.
This is a sure sign that winter is almost over.
7:00 PM Cooking
I had made a quick trip to the grocery store earlier this afternoon to buy a few spices, some lemons and some limes. The goal was to try 2 recipes from Annabel Langbein's "The Free Range Cook". Anyway, that was the original idea. The two recipes were Baked Lemon Grass and Chilli Chicken [p. 136] and Spicy Chickpea and Pepper Stirfry [p. 140].
But there was also a recipe for a Spicy Rub on page 140 and I ended up making that first. This turned out okay but it is more like a marinade than a rub. Maybe the words have different meanings in New Zealand. Then I was running out of time and decided to simply add some of the Spicy Rub to the chicken, put it in the oven, and see what happens. I did manage to follow the recipe for the Spicy Chickpea and Pepper Stirfry. Everything turned out fine. It was a good meal.
I still have a way to go to take photos as good as those in her book.