I was full of inspiration today. I had my first clearance for surgery; the cardiologist says my heart is delicate, my blood pressure is a little high (no shock there), and I am fit for surgery. I got a long talk about the risks of surgery.

I see more doctors this week, and the final clearance will be the following Monday, April 10, with surgery to follow two days later.

In between, I see an eye doctor hoping to get me some lenses to soften the sun in my eyes. When it’s bright, it’s tricky to see through the viewfinder on my camera.

Lots of doctors, and the fireworks haven’t even started.

Maria says I am more anxious than I let on or know. I think I’m as anxious as one should be before getting a toe amputated. We even had an argument last night, which is rare for us but healthy. It cleared the air and calmed both of them down.

One beautiful thing about us is that we will always talk to each other and work things out. We both trust that and never give up on it. We have learned to really listen to each other. I also didn’t really grasp how upset Maria was about the surgery. She never let on, but she shared it last night.

We both can be good at hiding feelings, but eventually, we open up. That took a long time and a lot of work.

I took our little newborn pansie tries (six small flowers, fresh from the greenhouse) outside and watched the pansies rock all over in the wind. It was an exciting photo opportunity.

I got an idea for a series of pansie-in-the-wind flowers. I love the color I called today and played around with exposure and aperture.

Come and see, the old magic was bubbling up. I learned a lot this summer. I’m getting ready to earn more.

I took many photos to find the right mix of wind and color.

I overexposed this picture deliberately; I love this effect—pansies in the wind.

And I played with focus and settings as the wind blew this young pansy back and forth.

 

My flower photography is often about getting close, especially when the light comes in directly onto the flowers, and I have the correct lens set properly. I’m still learning to do this, but I did well today.

Thanks for coming along for the first real flower ride of 2023. I sent my monochrome off to Boston today, waiting to hear the evaluation after testing.

That will be the key to this and my first mirrorless camera.