Experimenting with GiMP

There's a lot of capability in GIMP

Some of the art at SEWE was just so darned good!  I was inspired to see what I might be able to do with some of the filters in GIMP... 

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Balloons

I've been meaning to attend this launch for a couple of years now.  Everything worked out to make it this year, and it was a really fun experience. 

We arrived around 6 am just as many were unpacking and setting up their gear

It surprised me that a truck or a van can carry the stowed equipment

Most start the process by simply setting up a powerful fan and inflating the balloon

Being right in the midst of this activity was one of those fun experiences that if you ever get a chance to go, don't pass it up!

and another one gets going...

and another...

The burners snort and huff then they simply release the tether and up they go...

From start to finish... maybe 30 minutes!

Off they go, being delightfully carried along this mornings gentle breeze.

This guy came up from behind us, must have been launched from a site North of us. 

Such a great morning!

I call this one "Pixelate" it reminds me of what my tv looks like when it rains or snows hard...

Wow, a BBQ rib competition too. 

Great moring to be floating through the air in Wisconsin!

Hope you like the pics...

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Another 4th of July parade...

Probably the biggest surprise in decades...

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Looks like spring...

Goodbye winter!

I missed SEWE this year! What's up with that?

New loons!

Youngster learning to fly!

Beautiful...

Here comes mom

Not sure just what is for dinner...

Junior coasting down after a spin around the neighborhood...

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Accidental Deco

Somewhere in Tennessee I found these very interesting Art Deco statues...

So nice to have discovered these!
 
I'm working on the domain and have been so busy it's been a while since I've been able to post.  Hopefully, I'll have a few pics of the loons on the lake, and I'm planning to camp out with the long lens as soon as I can to photograph an eaglet!

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This Thursday is PI Day!

Kind of a nifty thing that little ratio called pi

Not to dismiss 1.618 it's cousin phi... yup they are related!

Transcendental not simply irrational - good old pi!



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Roten Creek Hike

I rarely get the chance to wander through a mountain canyon especially trekking along a water fall.  The weather wasn't the best for this little hike, but the views and remoteness make this a really pleasant hike. 

I don't know the origin of the name.  Roten is Swiss or maybe German-Swiss, I suspect the falls were named after an early settler to the area.

View from the Blue Ridge Parkway, a short turn off the parkway and a long walk down

and you arrive here - Roten Creek! 

This little creek catches the runoff from the walls of  a pretty deep canyon

It was pretty foggy this morning...

I wonder how many have camped out under this rock through the ages.  I can imagine the smoke from a campfire wafting up through the mountain air...

When trees fall over and tumble down they get carried into catches like this after heavy rains or snow melt.

Sort of reminded me of one of those plasma ball lamps...

So here's the topo. I can attest that this is a real slog. The hills are at 30 to 50 or even 70 percent grades.  It's one of those hikes that take some time. The falls descend a few hundred feet, the canyon walls are another three or four hundred feet.  I found following the deer paths diagonally down the canyon walls kept me out of the brush and ticks.

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