Day 322 - Climbing Gym

Thought of the day: It is one of those rare rainy days in Colorado. It has been wet and cold all morning. After a warm and dry summer, I have gotten so used to the sun that I am having a hard time adjusting to this new weather condition. Afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon in the summer but they tend to come and go really fast. The stormy weather is both dramatic and interesting unless you happen to be caught unprepared on the road or on hiking trails. What we have today is none of that. A couple of year ago we made the decision to move to Boulder instead of Portland despite the many similarities between the two cities. My sense of weariness today confirm for me that we made the right choice.

Photo of the day:

Lila and a new friend in the climbing gym.A day like today is perfect for indoor climbing.

Day 224 - Niederweningen

Thought of the day: I have visited Niederweningen many times in the past twenty years or so.  It's a small, quiet Swiss village near the border of Germany.  Almost 90% of the land is either farm or forest land.  There are many walking and hiking trails crisscrossing the village.  I love the simplicity and tranquility of the village.  Since my first visit, the population has doubled, even though the total population is still tiny compared to anywhere else I have lived.  Unsurprisingly, I have witnessed the expansion of its residential area into the farm land over the years.  There are now many more apartment buildings in the village than in the past.  Most of the new buildings look elegant and well-built and none of them is more than 3 or 4 stories tall.  However, by converting the original farmhouses into relatively large, modern dwellings, the village has lost some of its idyllic charm.

Photo of the day:

Niederweningen - misty mountain after the rain.

Day 223 - Bottles

Thought of the day: Today was a rest day.  Lila fully cooperated by sleeping way past lunch time.  The weather cooperated too as it was wet and rainy pretty much all day.  Looking out of the windows, I caught glimpses of what I'd like to photograph in the next few days: people under colorful umbrellas, preschool kids walking home on their own, green hills dotted with cute little houses, windows adorned with geraniums...the list is already long.  And of course, the trains, the ubiquitous trains that are so important in many people's lives and that will also be indispensable during our travels as well.  In fact, the first thing we bought after we landed in Zurich was a Swiss Pass for the duration of our trip.  And we intend to make good use of it!

Photo of the day:

Bottles at the window against an incoming train.

Day 210 - Misty Green

Thought of the day: Today I was trying to figure out whether I should get a new lens for the summer break.  I am getting a little tired of using only one lens, which happens to be the lens that came with the camera.  It has a good range and it does a decent job in a variety of situations but it doesn't do anything spectacularly well.  It's especially lacking in the handheld low light situation which I seem to run into a lot lately.  I would love to get a fast normal prime lens and a fast telephoto zoom lens.  But fast lens typically means big glass which typically means more money and more weight. So I have been hesitating before taking a plunge. When I was taking an inventory of what I already had at home today, I happily "uncovered" a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens.  I couldn't believe that I had pretty much forgotten all about it.  I will surely miss the unparalleled object isolation effect of the 85mm f/1.4 lens (see my previous blog post about it), but I think this smaller and cheaper lens will serve me well, at least for a while. One thing I learned from this experience is that before I search far and away for something ideal, I should first take stock of what I already have and the chance is that I will find in my possession something close enough.  It may not be perfect, but it may serve me just as well - and nothing will end up to be perfect anyway especially after you can claim it your own.  This can be so true for worldly possessions, and also for other more abstract things in life as well.

Photo of the day:

Misty mountains and greenery in a rainy spring day, taken with my "new" lens.

Day 203 - Wet

Thought of the day: I caught something over the weekend and it was getting worse, so today I took a day of bed rest.  I seem to be more prone to illness lately which made me wonder if the lack of sleep can make the immune system less effective.  So I probed around a bit and, unsurprisingly, every article that turned up linked sleep to the immune system.  So it's not just an old wife's tale, it's proven by research that good night sleeps promote immune response and when you're ill, the immune system makes you feel sleepier than usual so you will rest.  Our body works amazingly well when you give it the respect that it deserves.  It's really something, isn't it?  OK, time for bed!

Photo of the day:

It was wet and cold - a perfect day for resting.