A few months later, Ryan decided to pack up his stuff (including his girlfriend Gigi) and move up to Pioneer (bear country).  Apparently, Bears have a real sweet tooth for chickens and Ryan’s new neighbors objected to having bear snacks in their neighborhood, so the chickens had to stay down in the valley.  Ryan then asked me if I would like to adopt 3 chickens, complete with coop, food, feeders, the works.  I was delighted to have these three young ladies live in our backyard.  So that’s how me, a born and raised city slicker ended up with three chickens.  Now remember, I had to ask Ryan some VERY basic questions about chickens.  Like do you get eggs without a rooster?  Can the chickens handle cold weather or should I bring them inside for the winter? I really am a city slicker through and through.  Ryan was very supportive and answered every chicken question I could come up with…until the one day that I noticed one of the hens was not acting quit like the others.  She was lethargic and seemed to be not feeling good.  So I called my chicken go to guy, Ryan, and he said “oh, I bet she’s egg bound”.   I didn’t know what that was but I did assume that it was kind of like chicken constipation.  So, what do I do for this poor chicken, I asked?  Ryan said “you must go up and in and get the egg out”.  Okay, let me pause there for a minute.  “Go up and in”?? Is he saying what I think he is saying?  Go up and in with what?   I’m out!!

So I am thinking, I’m not going “up and in” on this poor chicken, I barely know her.  How much would a vet charge for this kind of treatment?  I didn’t want to spend hundreds of Dollars on vet bills, after all this was an eight Dollar chicken. The $200 that a vet would likely charge for this would buy many years worth of eggs.   About that time Valarie walked in the door from a hard day at nursing school. Valarie is always surprising me with what she is willing to do.  Valarie is not squeamish about very much, but after explaining the situation to her even I was surprised to hear her say  ”I’ll do It”.  Her enthusiasm to try and help this poor chicken feel better did not surprise me.  The fact that she was willing to do whatever it took to help,  not yet knowing the details of “up and in” did surprise me slightly.   Now I am not sure how this relates to nursing school, but she does some pretty gross things with bodies in the hospital, so this shouldn’t have surprised me.  After all, it is Valarie that picks ticks off of our dog Domino without hesitation.  So here she is ready to do whatever it takes to get this chicken feeling better, not even knowing how exactly she is to go “up and in”.   Thank God for Google!

After weeding out the bad advice on Google (like put the chicken over a steaming tea kettle), we decided to soak her in warm water.  This is supposed to relax the muscles and provide a little lubricant for the egg.  So, first question is, what do we soak a chicken in?  Our 12 quart stock pot seemed a little twisted even to me; after all she is a laying hen, not a fryer.  The kitchen sink seemed like a likely choice.  So here is Valarie soaking this chicken in our kitchen sink for 30 minutes while she “went up and in” looking for the stuck egg.  There was no egg.  Valarie violated this poor chicken for no reason.  She wasn’t egg bound after all; she just had a cold or flu.  That hen seems to have a bond with Valarie that the other hens don’t have.  I think the other chickens are jealous of their sister that got the day spa treatment.  We named the ill hen Violet, which is short for Violated.  We haven’t named the other two hens yet.  Maybe we will have a name the chickens contest.  If you have any suggestions for names, leave them in the comments.

Violet seems to be feeling better now.  We are enjoying having these chickens and are thankful for Ryan’s generosity.  I love the way Violet follows Valarie around the yard, she is like Valarie’s shadow. I love getting fresh eggs for breakfast every day. I know Ryan thinks I am a “dumb city slicker” but I need to call Ryan and ask him when the hens will start producing bacon and hashbrowns.

Photo Tip: Chickens are really hard to photograph.  They are fast and don’t sit still.  When they are free range in the yard, they will step backward and “scratch” the ground with their feet.  They will then step forward a step and look for food (bugs, seeds, etc.) in the ground that they might have turned up while scratching.  They keep their heads down looking for food other than for just about a second or so while they scratch.  This is the only time to get a picture of them with their heads up, but they are only in this position for a second at most.  This reminded me of small reef fish!  They dart about the reef in seemingly random patterns like hyper-active hummingbirds.  If I just wait and watch them for a while, there are often times a pattern to their movements.  Figure out this pattern and get a great shot!  Rather than chasing the critter around the reef, I will focus my camera on a spot that it seems to pause at for a while (this is often less than a second but if your camera is already pointed and focused at that spot, you only need to push the shutter release to capture a great shot).  I soon realized that this works for chickens also.  At first I was trying to follow them with my camera.  This was a fruitless technique; my camera couldn’t focus fast enough to get the shot.  So I waited for them to “scratch” the dirt and since my camera is already focused there, I just pushed the shutter release and Voila, a good chicken picture.   I have used this technique for fish a lot and even a bride dancing a jig on her wedding day, but I now see it might be useful for other fast moving critters as well.  So don’t chase your subject around with your camera, wait for them to come to you. 

After school the children line up to use the computer if they need it in order to complete their homework.  They do have play time and sports, but it is all scheduled for them, very little free choice.  I compared this to my childhood and I felt very sorry for these kids.  I had the freedom to decide to go to the fridge to get a snack if I chose to or turn on the TV and pick what I wanted to watch.  That is not an option for these kids; everything they do is scheduled and regimented.  I know that not being able to choose when to get your own snack is certainly not a reason to feel sorry for these kids, but it seemed as if their lifestyle was so laid out for them that it left little option for choices.  This first day was a day to let us acclimate and let the culture shock sink in.  I felt very sad for these kids and felt quite down as a result, but no time for our feelings, the next week was also all planed out for us, with work and activities planned for each hour of our stay.  This will help me to know what it is like for these kids having every waking minute planed out for them.  The next week would be very busy indeed.

The next day was our first work day there.  We took turns with other volunteers doing the chores.  We didn’t really take turns; we were scheduled when we have kitchen duty, grounds cleaning, construction projects, teaching lessons or just playing with the kids on their play time or leading craft projects with them.  It is hard work but very rewarding.  As we interact with the kids, we get to know them as individuals and learn about them.  This is MUCH harder than it sounds since we don’t speak Spanish and the children don’t speak English.  It was a very frustrating experience sitting with someone and not knowing how to ask them a simple question.  Valarie and I speak a few words of Spanish, but not enough to make sentences and very seldom do we know the word that we want to say in Spanish.   Some of these children have heart wrenching stories.  Some were severely abused. Some were found living on the streets, a family of children, the oldest child (often times under 10 years of age) acts as the parents or guardians for the younger children. This includes finding food, shelter and providing every need for the younger siblings.

One of the chores we were assigned was benevolence.  We would go into the local community and give out food, clothes or toys to needy families.  This sounded simple enough.  We boarded vans and off we went to make a difference and do some good, or so I thought.  As we drove past Ensenada to the rolling hillside to the South, I was amazed by how much poverty there was here and how severe it is.  The worst ghetto I have seen in America would be like a country club for the people living here.  We went to the first house (and I use the term “house” loosely) on our list to drop off some food and clothes for the children.  The plywood boxes that we use to sell fireworks out of in America are larger and constructed better than most homes we saw.  At this first house we saw a very typical situation.  Four children home alone.  Both parents must work in the fields from sun up to sundown and the kids are at home fending for themselves.  Again, the oldest child takes on the roll of surrogate parent for the younger kids.  For this particular family, that duty fell on a girl about 11 years old.

  She must get her siblings up, make them breakfast and get them to school (if they go to school).  She must cook all meals for the siblings and clean and do the things that the parents typically do.  All of the food that they have in the house is usually a bag of rice, some beans and whatever else they could scrounge up.  The parents must work these long hours in order to provide this minuscule amount of food.  No car, no running water, no electricity, none of the things that we take for granite here.  One house we went to  only had room for the people to sleep in.  The kitchen and living quarters were outside.  The outside part was covered by a “roof” made out of plastic bags, rags, any piece of trash they could find that could be tied up to make a roof out of.  The stove was what looked like an old wheel from a truck or bus.  There was a door cut out of the side of it to put in the wood for fuel.  A piece of sheet metal was placed over the top to be used as a cook top.  This is the type of appliances that are being used by 8 year old kids to make meals for their younger siblings.

The thing that touched me most was that these people have nothing, literally nothing; yet most of them offered us food and drink!  I don’t know where they would have come up with enough to feed us if we did take them up their offers, but they asked almost every time.  They are the most welcoming and generous people I have met. I went to help these people and to teach them, but they taught lessons on graciousness, appreciation and generosity to me instead.

The hard part so see is how widespread these conditions are.  As we drove along the Mexican countryside, we went past countless homes of this type.  Mile after mile of this, it seemed to go on forever!  It was then that I realized that what we were doing was helping a small handful of people to eat for a few days, or have something to wear for a while, but it would take thousands of vans full of volunteers and food to make a difference to this community as a whole.  I had never seen poverty on this scale or severity before.  As our van made its way back to City Of Children I saw the ominous white concrete wall surrounding our temporary home and for the first time the wall was comforting to me.  I realized that the children inside the wall are the lucky ones.  The real tragedy is what is outside of the wall.  The wall that at first seemed so cold and confining was now a warm and welcome sight.  I now saw the wall as a refuge for these kids, not a barrier to confine them. These children growing up at City Of Children are fortunate to have this wall to protect them from the reality that is Mexico or any other 3^rd world country.  They have everything they need including loving people to raise them and take care of them.  This place truly is a Godsend!

I went on this trip thinking that I might make a small difference in the life of someone less fortunate then myself.  Instead, they taught me lessons that I could not have learned any other way.  This was a life changing experience and I can’t wait to go back again next summer.

Photo tip: The best camera is the one that you have with you.  A top of the line professional camera is great, but it is big, heavy, bulky and complicated.  It is not always practical to bring in all situations.   I like a small point and shoot for these times.  Our “baby Nikon” fits in my shirt pocket and is ready for use in a second’s notice.  Our “big Nikon” takes great pictures, but not if it is back at the orphanage or in the van.  Many of these pictures were taken with a point and shoot camera.  Yes, it is really nice to have a dozen lenses to pick from, a tripod for slow shutter speeds, auxiliary flash units, etc., but these do no good at all if you can’t bring it with you.  As hard as it is, sometimes we must sacrifice fancy features, ultra-wide angle lenses, etc. to get a shot.  I could have gotten some great images with better equipment, but I would rather get decent pictures with a point and shoot than no get no pictures at all! Don’t forget to pack the point and shoot even if you have a fancy camera. 

]]> http://cameraforhire.com/2011/07/ensenada-mission-trip/feed/ 2 http://cameraforhire.com/2006/11/sailing-under-the-golden-gate-bridge/ http://cameraforhire.com/2006/11/sailing-under-the-golden-gate-bridge/#comments Thu, 09 Nov 2006 06:51:03 +0000 admin http://cameraforhire.com/?p=247  

This is my first blog…how exciting! I hope you find this enjoyable and helpful.   This will be about our day on the bay.  We have a Catalina 22′ (sailboat) berthed at the Berkeley Marina.  Valarie and I decided to take her out for the day; we didn’t have a plan, just to enjoy a beautiful day of sailing on San Francisco Bay and enjoy a picnic lunch while soaking in the San Francisco skyline.  The weather was gorgeous and the seas were calm.  As we were sailing out, Valarie took the helm (drove the boat) while I went up on the bow (front of boat) to take some pictures.

Photo tip: Put on the widest angle lens and get as low as possible, put the camera on the floor or ground if necessary and shoot up at a tall subject. You may not even be able to look through the viewfinder, that’s okay, if it didn’t work, delete it and try again.  Get in close, very close. Try this for a very different look at a familiar subject. I love using a fisheye lens for this type of shooting. Sailboat rigging looks surreal when viewed from angles other then what we are used to seeing them at.  I like to shoot straight up so nothing but sky and rigging shows.

After a while we traded and I took the helm while Valarie took some shots.  Now we are not very experienced sailors.  Valarie signed us up for sailing lessons a couple of years ago and this is our first sailboat.  We are about as skilled at sailing as a teenager is at driving.   We have had our boat out only a few times prior to this day and we were looking forward to gaining some more sailing experience.  The normal speed for our little boat is between 4-5 knots, but this day, as we skirted along the San Francisco waterfront, we were doing 7-8 knots!  I thought WOW…I must really know how to trim these sails to get that kind of speed out of our beloved little boat.   I was feeling so confident that I suggested “going under the Gate” and try the ocean side of the bridge for a while.  Valarie agreed (Valarie always agrees to anything that is adventurous or has even the slightest hint of an adrenalin rush) so off we went to the “deep end” of the ocean where the big boats play.  We took a couple of shots of the bridge from the bottom looking up.

I have taken pictures of the Golden Gate many times, from every angle I could get to, but this was new for me, the bridge from the bottom looking up at it.  This is kind of like the rigging shot with the fisheye lens that I mentioned earlier, familiar subject, different angle.  As we passed under the bridge we gave celebratory high fives and basked in the glory of having successfully sailed under this world famous landmark.

After the celebrating had subsided, we decided to head back to Berkeley Marina and call it a day.  I knew that it would be getting dark very soon and with the darkness comes the famous bay area fog.  Since we were in the shipping channel, time was of the essence.  I turned the boat around towards Berkeley and chatted with Valarie while we ate a snack.  After awhile I noticed that the rock on the shore that was even with our boat a while ago was now further in front of us!  How can this be??? We were sailing for about an hour; we should be closer, not further away for our destination.  I checked the GPS and confirmed that we were actually sailing backwards between 1-2 knots. It was at that point that I realized that I had not become a great sailor since our last trip, no; instead there was a FAST tidal current coming from the bay to the ocean.  That explains the 7-8 knots we hit

getting there.  The question now was this, how do we get back before it gets dark and the fog rolls in, after all, we were still sailing backwards.  The first freighter that went by us made me realize how small a 22’ sailboat is compared to an ocean going freighter!  Our little boat was a toy among giants.  This ship looked as big as Arden Fair Mall and our boat seemed more like a bath tub toy. Did I mention that we were sitting in the shipping lanes and our little plastic sailboat is invisible to ship’s radar? Not that it really matters because these giants can’t get out of our way even if they could see us on radar, they take many miles to stop or turn.  It was up to us to vacate the area, but our boat couldn’t sail against the tidal current. So I fired up the motor and used sail and motor power and we were able to move forward between .5 and 1 knot.  It was a very long trip back to Berkeley but we really enjoyed looking at the San Francisco skyline in all its night time glory.  Berkeley never looked so good.

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