Saturday Evening Post #126 : “#kneetoo”

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Just in case there is any confusion, the title has little to do with the Black Kite in early morning light

EE has thrown a fetlock. 
Mr An Onymous wrote me a note and called for a new moniker, “#kneetoo”,  seemed appropriate.
We have over the past few weeks been unable to enjoy any real field-time as #kneetoo’s fetlock has been getting more and more painful. 

The pain in the leg, is now, after mri, X-ray, ultrasound, poking and pushing, and oh and ahh ing, identified as a damaged fetlock. Or in layman’s terms, a dicky-knee. 
 
So it’s off the operating theatre for our heroine and a nice sparkling knee-replacement thank you. 
She will be able to walk about before we all know it,  and in conversations over coffee, exclaim, “Oh, yes, me too!” Hence, if you follow the somewhat obscure logic that occasionally flows from this blog, #kneetoo
 
Mr Slice and Dice is going to turn on his electric drill, angle grinder and sanding machine after a short wait of about 6 weeks, so it seems.
In the meantime a round of X-rays and mri’s should keep our girl occupied over the next couple of weeks.
 
Now you know.
We’ve survived a long covid lockdown, so have learned to deal with being house-bound.

 

 A sunny morning promised some good photo opportunities and as we’d only had one brief visit to the Western Treatment Plant since this time last year, it seemed a good time to reacquaint ourselves.  Working “The Plant” gives #kneetoo an opportunity to photograph from IamGrey, without getting out and walking about a lot.  
So, as The Banjo said, ‘We went’

We timed our departure to coincide with sun rise, (about 7:20am Daylight saving time). Too early for light on the birds, but cleverly timed so that with a stop off at barista Steve’s for a morning cappuccino, #kneetoo would be ready for the day’s activities.

By the time we had opened the Point Wilson Road gate, the sun was streaming over the pines around the pumping station along Paradise Road.” As we headed past the pine trees on the road to Ryan’s Swamp, #kneetoo pointed at a Black Kite enjoying the early morning sunshine. The reason I’ve chosen this shot is it is the same tree that was in last weeks post. (#125) Now, I can’t claim it’s the same bird. So I won’t.

 

This time I travelled on past the bird, turned around and slowly drove back.  Now the bird was on #kneetoo’s side of the vehicle and all I had to do was work the mobile camera platform (IamGrey) in position.  “A little to the left, forward. Stop. No, just a bit further. Oh, the mirror is in the way, reverse a bit.” Etc ,etc, etc.
 
It might seem a complicated task, but as we used to photograph motorsport rallies and classic car tours using a similar technique— she photographing out the window—while I drove and navigated at the same time, together with having  to watch for approaching or turning cars, made doing it at a sedate speed on an open farm road feel quite relaxed.
 
The gracious Kite was neither impressed or concerned.  
However I thought the light on this particular one was as good example of how rich early morning light plays its own magic on the shape and form of the feathers.  The golden glow of that low-Kelvin temp light also brings out the richness of the colours.  Hard to believe they have the name, ‘Black’.
 
All in all a good start to the morning.
 

15 thoughts on “Saturday Evening Post #126 : “#kneetoo””

  1. Sorry to hear that #kneetoo has been subbed off for the time being! But I guess you will have trouble keeping up with her once her new knee has been ‘run in’! Gonna have some time off the road for the month of April myself, Di has surgery on the 1st.
    A fine capture of the Kite! Looking all very nonchalant about proceedings! Lovely to see!

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    1. G,day,
      Thanks David, I’ll pass on to her.
      Truth be told, I can’t keep up with her now. 🙂 Just means I’ll have to bring home some of Steve’s best takeaway 🙂
      Trust that Di recovers well. Pass on our best thoughts.

      Someone asked me today, am I worried about the operation, I just smiled and said, “I’m pleased for her.” The stress and strain has been in finding out the cause and getting the right solution.

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      1. Have to agree with you, David. Knowing what is happening and has to happen is always a positive. especially knowing that there is an answer!

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    1. G’day Rob, all good thanks for the kind words. We will just take it carefully for awhile, and hopefully, it will be worth it. Round our village its a constant stream of knees, hips and the like says something about the age group. (Not that that comment is in anyway meant to be ageis. As someone recently said, “On top of that, we feel that in the long run, sterilization of language will do more harm than good.”

      Catch you along the track

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  3. So sorry to hear about EE’s difficulties, and I do hope the operation has her up and dancing in no time. I’m sending over positive thoughts. I love the golden light on the Kite, warming those sculpted feathers.

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    1. Hi Derek, we aren’t completely housebound, and for the next few weeks will probably find locations where #kneetoo can operate out of the vehicle.
      Then a round of rehab, and, to coin a pun, we’ll take it slowly one step at a time. :
      Thanks for the kind thoughts.

      Regards David and Dorothy

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  5. So sad EE has been grounded, especially after such a long period of being inside due to Covid. Praying she recovers well, and that the surgery is successful. Love your juvenile Kite and yess the light does its magic on it, such a beautiful profile. Hope the week is better with weather, we have had the first break in torrential rain today.

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    1. Hello Ashley, it is a bit of a blow to have to reshedule things. Our robin season will start in a few weeks, but it requires a bit of bushwork, so that is not going to happen. Pity is we missed it completely last year.
      it is easy to surmise, but we are hoping that it will give her substantial release from pain, and help the mobility so all should be good.
      Trust that you and yours have been spared any major trauma with the flooding rains.
      Dorothea MacKeller was so accurate when she penned, “I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains.”

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  6. G’day David, I’m with you both, especially after undergoing some Mr Slice procedure on my neck recently. I’d call the quality of his work “cutting throat”. Thankfully, I can still rise my left arm and handle this D500 with ease. My best wishes to Dorothy aka #kneetoo. With a skilled mobile camera platform operator like you she shouldn’t suffer any photography withdrawal symptoms, I hope.
    This early morning autumnal sunlight is fascinating, as beautifully shown by you. The weather forecasts for the coming week don’t give us much hope though.

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    1. Hi Adam, or should we call you ‘Cut Throat’ after the name for Long-billed Corellas, with their red breast splash.
      Filling in the paperwork is more tiring than getting to the hospital. 🙂
      Funnily enough, we’ve been a pretty good team on the mobile camera platform, and the previous blog to BirdsasPoetry, shared lots of her shots that eventually were published. (Sadly the blog provider closed down and I never bothered to re-establish it on another server.)
      When we talk about zoom lenses, the 70-200 was the weapon of choice in those far off days.
      It has been raining here all day, since early this morning, and we had planned a short run but simply pulled up the doona and snoozed off.

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