Morning at Camp

I wake to the sound of the loons calling from somewhere out in the fog drenched stream, the chatter of the red squirrels, the call of the crows, and the whistle of an osprey soaring overhead. I feel the tight muscles in my lower back grouching for lack of movement and delight in the feel of the soft sheets against my skin. I'm guessing it's about 5:00 and when I turn to glance at the clock, see I'm “dead on balls accurate.” Though I had been feeling a little lonely and out of sorts last night, not being able to get into Deb's “best book she's ever read” and feeling too uninspired to drum or write or even listen to music, I'm now once again reveling in the freedom allowed by solitude and complete lack of a schedule, to get up or not, depending solely on my own desires. No worry about the deafening sound of the coffee grinder, but to my own ears, or that my puttering about at this early hour will disturb my partner's sleep. No questions of “whatchya writing” as I tap away on my keyboard, or “whatchya doin” as I'm sitting there doing absolutely nothing but being present with the emerging morning. I can blather away about nothing (as evidenced here) with no expectation of some great revelation to be enjoyed later by a reader who is not the writer. Or sit and watch the various shades of white turn gradually into rippling water and summer trees. There's no newspaper delivery out here so no news to be consumed, no puzzles to puzzle over, no tv blaring stock prices or predictions. Knowing that all of those things that I've come to love are just a 45 minute drive away allows me to luxuriate in their absence. If I didn't have a sweet man at home, would I feel as peaceful in my solitude? If I didn't have my connection to the world through newspapers and tv available to me at any time, would I feel so content in my ignorance of local and world events? If I didn't have my seven room house on the lake with all the accoutrements of modern day living, would I so readily celebrate the simplicity of my one room camp on the marsh? I think not.

Full Moon

Every work day morning I set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. so that I can run out to the other end of the house and turn the heat up. The 50 degrees we keep it at during the night is great for sleeping but it makes for a rude awakening – climbing out of my nice cozy bed to the frigid air, hurdling the gate we keep on our bedroom doorway to keep our cat Emma in our bedroom so she doesn’t decide to leave little deposits around the house in the middle of the night, and navigating around the furniture now that it is once again dark at 6:00 a.m. Then making my way back again for that last half hour of blissful sleep while the house heats up to a more friendly 70 degrees.

This morning I was stopped in my tracks just after my initial gate hurdle by the sight of the full moon shining across the frozen lake. It was very low in the southwestern sky and there was a slight tinge of pink in the atmosphere from the rising sun. It was so beautiful I just had to stand there in the cold and gaze. My instinct was to grab my camera and get some photos. However, my camera died last week.

The camera: Maybe I shouldn’t go from the wonderment of a magnificent morning moon to a rant about my piece of shit camera. The camera actually takes great photos. However, from the moment I got it there have been problems. Some of my own making I must confess.

First when I bought the camera at Staples they had a special for a free photo printer. Just pay $100 for it and send in the $100 rebate. Great idea if you’re not hopeless about these kind of things like I am. Of course I got the printer but immediately managed to lose the rebate info AND my receipt for the camera which needed to go with it. So I paid $100 for a printer which I think I've used once.

Second, the camera came with a special rechargeable battery but no charger. So I ordered a second battery and the charger. When they came, the new battery fit my camera fine but the charger didn’t work for the battery that initially came with the camera. So fine, I’m stuck with just one battery. If I’d had my receipt, maybe I could have gone back to Staples and gotten a second battery that worked in the charger for free. I'd like to think so anyway.

One of the reasons I choose this particular camera was because there was both a view finder and an lcd display. However, after a few months the lcd display stopped working, except to review pictures. So I had to always use the viewfinder. After dealing with that for a few months, Rick managed to find a place to turn the lcd display back on but it no longer toggles back and forth between the two without going deep into the menu features to do so.

Then last week after taking a few photos of my latest pottery pieces, the camera went dead. I assumed the battery just needed recharging. But after charging the battery, and the charger indicating the battery was completely recharged, the camera still wouldn’t turn back on.

So now I don’t know if the camera died or if the battery is defective or if the battery charger is defective. Plus the whole history with the camera just makes me want to walk away from it.

I looked on Amazon over the weekend and found the "perfect" new camera and put it on my wish list. If anyone has an extra $400 they’d like to spend on it for me, please click here. http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Coolpix-P90-Vibration-Reduction/dp/B001PKEJZQ/ref=wl_itt_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=IQTLFP6PD2NOB&colid=21UG53Y60VEKA

Otherwise I’ll save up my pennies and in the meantime, I guess I’ll use Rick’s old reliable workhorse of a camera and be thankful.