Tuesday. To bed early, up ahead of the alarm, to breakfast and back on this cloudy but rainless morning, the general attitude good, the head and all of its various maladies in check. Let's knock on wood. Yesterday was pretty good too, lets not say something that will fuck it up.

I spent quite a bit of time practicing (I'll call it a riff) for my guitar lesson tomorrow. Better, I do get better, but it's not there yet. I suspect it will come together today with a similar amount of practice, so guitar is on the list for this afternoon and evening. (Hup! Hup!) Yes. Yes.

Later. A decent walk, no complaints. Seems strange, I know, no complaints, but the head was reasonably clear, the eyes were working right, the attitude good in the cool morning air. I approached the mid-morning gaggle of geese that feeds along the same spot every morning by the lake, looking for the two new broods, finding both the very cute small goslings and the less cute now gangly larger goslings, the smaller ones feeding like little vacuum cleaners oblivious to all around them, certainly to an old guy close by with a camera, and the larger goslings were lolling about after what I suspect was an similar breakfast marathon.

I'm becoming embarrassed by the pictures. You can only get away with “cute” for so long before you have to make the composition more interesting, make it stand out in some way as a halfway unique photograph, and I haven't done anything to accomplish that. But maybe tomorrow. My goose pictures have been skating on ice so long now the ice has turned to water. It happens.

You've noticed the gosling pictures are out of focus?

I've noticed. I'm not quite sure why, but I suspect I know the problem.

Another Black-crowned Night Heron up on a roof. I've shot others on nearby roofs and the rule above applies. No problem with that. This one is better than the others, like the look in the eyes, but it's still not something you'd put in your portfolio or post to the web. Other than a daily journal. Of course.

What little I did with the guitar earlier this morning before setting out for the walk was better than what I was able to do yesterday morning. Clap! Clap! Progress. We do see it even if we say we don't.

Later still. As I was drifting off to sleep last night I realized the blood test I'd had that morning couldn't have included the blood thinner (Protime) test as they hadn't drawn enough blood. I've had this done too many times not to remember the sequence, how they register it at the lab, how it's drawn. And indeed, in calling the lab, they'd forgotten. Had I been clear I wanted the Protime as well as the second test? Obviously not. Such is life.

A bus and then a walk to the hospital to have it done, a bus then and a walk back to the apartment. What the hell, rationalize, good exercise. A fellow who's picture I've taken in the past (I recognized him when I stopped) called out to take his picture and of course I did. “Hey! Take my picture”, snap! I do them quickly and the first one is usually the best. And I gave him a couple of bucks when he asked, I give often enough when I don't get a picture, for someone who carries a camera on the street there are certain obligations is my thought. Two bucks, after all, not much of a tariff, so I thanked him for what I consider a gift.

Now back to the guitar. My comment on how well I seemed to be doing was misplaced after playing again. Learning this particular riff is going to require more practice - repeat, repeat, repeat - and I'm willing. It takes time, it does, learning to play a guitar.