Peanuts In My Pocket

I am a fortunate man. Retiring early gave me the opportunity to explore my creative side. I’ve drifted toward photography, which was my first love, and writing, which I’d always aspired to do.

My cousin Bobby loaned me a camera when I was about 14. A gifted photographer himself, he showed me the ropes and set me free to pursue a hobby that would come to define me. These days, when people ask what I do, I tell them I’m retired, but in retirement, I’m a writer and photographer.

From Birdwatching to Bird Photography

I’m learning how to photograph birds. I’m making steady progress. My birding trips now fall into a 50/50 split: part of the time I’m trying to find and identify new species, and the rest I’m focused on taking good photos.

Finding new species is hard. It takes time, patience, and a lot of quiet observation. But taking better photos is more familiar territory, my earlier experience behind the camera serves as a solid foundation.

I write and shoot almost every day. Often, one activity supports the other. Two weeks ago, I took my first ID photo of a Reddish Egret. I was happy to count it as a new species, but I hated the photo. Since then, I’ve taken over a hundred shots of the same bird and finally captured something I’m proud of.

My first thought was: how do I tell this story?
I could post the image to Instagram, get a few likes, and move on, but I know I’d forget about it in a few weeks. If I write about it, either here or in my journal, the memory has a better chance of sticking around.

Return of the Murder Hawk

This afternoon, I had another visit from the Murder Hawk, our neighborhood Cooper’s Hawk. My camera was ready, and I took another 30 photos.

It’s a big, beautiful, and deadly bird. A few months ago, it took down a dove near my fountain. We can always tell when it’s around, the birdsong stops, and anything in the open dives for cover. Today, the hawk lingered for over an hour, bathing and preening in full view.

The neighborhood crows, usually loud and dominant, were absent. I think they might be afraid.

Lock Screens and Letting Go

I recently learned how to convert bird photos into wallpapers using a 19:16 crop ratio. My iPhone now has the coolest Murder Hawk lock screen. I plan to share these soon; I’ve got an extensive photo library to work with.

From a retirement perspective, life is a constant trade-off: learning new skills while letting old ones fade.

Do I really need to keep my PowerPoint chops? I haven’t built a deck in nearly two years.

And Excel? I used to be a god with it. These days, I’ve opened it maybe three or four times; one of those times was just to build out a birding list. Because… why not?