Gimp

I am learning to use a photo editing program called GIMP (and I already typed this first paragraph once and it and the pictures disappeared). It is more complex than photos, which I was using, but with it, I can add my watermark, reduce noise, play with a lot of different effects, and supposedly do a lot of fancy editing. I will be playing with it, but do enjoy the unedited images the most. I am also learning to name the flowers and birds I photograph. My goal is to label every photo, but I am starting with those. After that, I will work on mushrooms and butterflys. 

possibly Cowpen Daisy (aster)

possibly Golden Tickseed (aster)

Indian Blanket (aster)

butterfly and bee on Golden Tickseed (aster)

millipedes on mushroom

I got to mat a bunch of 8 by 10 photos last night and have only  more to matt. I framed 2 of them for my sister. I have 2 more frames available. I love the way the mats work with the photos to enhance them. My neice is very artistic and she did a great job matching mats to photos. I probably won't order anymore prints except by special request until I sell some of these. Learning how to sell is the hardest part, but necessary to pay the expenses involved in sharing these pictures with others. 

The calendar I am working on is halfway finished, I hope. I haven't test printed it yet, so I don't know if I will have to start over again. I am learning how to use publisher for it. I also got some paper samples to see if I can print photos almost as good as the online place. If I can, I will be able to sell them for less, at least the postcards. The lowest I can get them is $4/card. Even though they are really good quality, people don't seem to want to pay for quality.

Today I get to test out the weight distributing hitch. We are taking the camper to get at least 1 tire. The sidewall is cracking. We want to replace it before our upcomming camping trip. Mom and I are both counting down the days before we go. We are both looking forward to getting into the woods by a lake, watching birds without cars driving by, walking on trails instead of gravel, and listening to nature instead of lawn mowers.