This morning I came down and opened my computer and to my horror I found that all my files, documents, and photos in my "Download", "Documents", and "Photos" files were completely gone. No programs were bothered nor anything on my external hard drives, thumb drives, or SD cards that I was working with. An extensive search and use of recovery programs indicates that they are completely gone.. as though I never had anything there in the first place. I guess the only help you can offer is the July and August editions of the Challenge Calendar. Thanks

Is anyone who is familiar with the various routes that link either Cannon Beach or Astoria to Portland able to help me out with the last day of my upcoming trip the first week of September?

I traveled OR Hwy. 30 following the Columbia several years ago but don't recall anything notable. I was having problems with my eyes at the time, though, and stayed on the highway without venturing onto any detours. Did I miss some goodies?

What about using OR #30 as far as Longview, WA, and coming down I-5 to Woodland and following Hwy. 503 along the Lewis River?

Would crossing the Columbia onto WA Hwy. 4 offer more landscape scenery?

If none of those routes, any other options like Hwy. 203 through Jewell?

We'll have the entire day for photography. Thanks for any suggestions.

I updated Windows 10 on my primary computer a few days ago. It’s the desktop that contains Lightroom and Photoshop. Windows advised that this update would take a long time. I began the update in the evening and, sometime during the night, it completed and Windows shut down my computer.

When I booted up the next morning, it took a l-o-n-g time before my home screen appeared. After checking emails, UHH and some other things, I attempted to upload recent photos using the computer’s built in card reader. The reader wouldn’t read the card. I tried another card; same problem.

I Googled the problem and found that it happens often. I tried numerous fixes, including ones on Microsoft’s website, but none worked. I finally downloaded the pictures onto a thumb drive using a different computer that hadn’t been updated to the latest version of Windows 10.

After using the original computer yesterday morning, I tried the non-functioning card reader again. THIS TIME IT WORKED!

It seems as if there’s a lot still going on in the background, even after it seems as if the most recent update is done. I’m disappointed that Microsoft doesn’t provide that information with the update or in the support pages.

Moral: be patient, wait a day and try again.

A hooded Oriole was on the cross bar of the swing set ladder just above these Clematis that are growing up the ladder.
Alas, the Oriole was faster than the photographer and by the time I turned and brought up the camera it was gone.
So I did a shot of the blooms and processed for their colors.
Pretty good consolation prize.

5DIV, 100-400L @ 400, 1/640 @ f/8.0, ISO 1250 hand held, in shade from afternoon light (the blown out yellow and green are leaves out in the direct sunlight, the blue and gray are the pool water and deck on the other side)