Well, I "purchased" a refurbished lens from Amazon to expand beyond my squirrel stuff.

Canon 18 -135 f/3.5- 5.6, Image Stabilization, USM. I realize it's not the best; however, this is within the budget at this stage. I have 30 days to try it, as it's a free return.

So I took it out for a spin to the nearby place where I did the signs. It's a nice place with beautiful trees, which I like photographing. While it was great to have a lens I could use to get these shots, I missed my other lens when I saw a bird and, yes, a squirrel! I confess when I played enough, I did switch back to my other, and yes, I got several pleasing squirrel shots.

I included the Robin, which was taken with the new lens because I liked that he had something in his mouth. Nice surprise when I discovered it when I edited it.

So here's what I did. I don't have much experience with this type of photography, so I gave it a try! Please feel free to comment.

Tree holes have always fascinated me and stirred my imagination! Some are pretty amazing formations, and my mind frequently wonders if I am seeing a tree hole or if I am actually looking at the entrance to someone's home. If you've looked at some of my recent posts, you know the answer. However, it continues to thrill me when I walk past a particular tree hole, and see someone peeking out or, better yet, scooting into it.

So, over the year, I have captured a few tree holes in my stomping grounds and will share.

As always, I hope you enjoy!

In this post, I'm going to concentrate on the people who live in the region around Riobamba. This was a stronghold of Atahualpa, the great leader of the Incas. The Spaniards didn't kill them all, they just conquered and subjugated them. Hundreds of years later, they're still here. Only they're called Quichua (in other countries the term is Quechua, but in Ecuador, it's Quichua). The language they speak is very guttural and reminds me a bit of Navajo. It's a difficult language to learn.

The Quichua are a very traditional people who wear traditional clothing and cling to the time-honored ways of doing things. A majority of them work at farming the steep slopes of the Andes Mountains. The work is usually done by hand, although tractors are making their way into the region. The deep volcanic topsoil is black and rich and crops grow easily with the frequent rains. But the work is back-breaking. They frequently live in villages and walk out to their small farming plots each day.

They keep animals - sheep, cows, pigs, etc. Each day the animals are herded out to graze tethered and brought back in the evening. One of the enjoyable and photographic periods of the day is catching the animals walking through the streets with no apparent human to guide them. They know where to go!

One of the sad things about the region is that there are few young people. Schools are totally closed and going to ruin because there are no children. One of my favorite towns is San Bartolo Alto. When I first visited there decades ago, there were lots of young children, and we worked in the school. Now the school is locked up. Young people moved to the city in search of better work, leaving the elderly to work the farms. Since the pandemic, when most of the businesses closed, the young people cannot find work in the city and are slowly drifting back to the villages. But it is very slow, and having been away for so long, they do not remember all the things one must know to farm successfully.

In today's mail, I had a letter from the government... Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The letter began with: "You now have a new Medicare Number and your previous Medicare Number is no longer valid. Your new Medicare card is inside." It further informs me that the new card/number is effective April 2 and that I should inform my providers of the change.

I have no idea why they would replace my Medicare card and assign me a new/different number.

Has this happened to any of you UHHers?

My guess is that part of the new number is a flag to doctors and hospitals that... this old guy has cost us enough money... treat him accordingly... been nice communicating with you UHHers.

Klipsch. One of my subs is a 10" Polk (60W?) and came with my original basic surround system. I still use the surrounds, but I've upgraded the center channel twice - currently an RP-504Cii. The other sub (SPL-120), mains and 4 heights (RP-500SA) are Klipsch. The new sub, if I decide to go that way, will dig down an extra 6 dB. Same size driver,, but different design, bigger cabinet and higher power. My current L/R are bookshelf models (I have them on stands). The subs are stacked one on top of the other.

Can anyone offer a good reason why some cars have DRL and some do not? Unlike other countries, DRL are not required on all cars. As far as I'm concerned, they should be. Cars without lights get lost in the sea of cars with DRL. I'd think that manufacturers would like a law covering all cars because it would be one system for every vehicle.

Many states require headlights when wipers are turned on. Some people "cheat" by keeping the lights off when they run intermittent wipers. It's not the wipers themselves that require headlights; it's the reduced visibility during rainy weather. If I set the lights on my Fit to Auto, they turn on whenever I turn on the wipers.