Learning to Fly

I'm a lazy SOB.

I bought my DJI Neo drone on Black Friday, last November, as an early Christmas gift to myself. And because it was my Christmas Gift, DW made me wait until December 25 to open it.

In the meantime, I watched countless YouTube videos about the best settings for the drone and about the best way to configure the drone, and several reviews that put the Neo through its paces. And even though DJI doesn't recommend flying the drone in sub-zero weather, I saw one reviewer fly it in –20°C, in Saskatchewan, without any issues.

I can do that, I told myself after watching the video. I live in a similar climate. As soon as I have some free time, I assured myself, and as long as the wind wasn't too strong (I find that it's much windier in the Ottawa area than it used to be), I was going to head out.

Of course, I hate going outside when it's –20.

I did drive out to the Experimental Farm, one weekend, to try my hand at my drone, using the automatic functions, while DW waited in the car, keeping the head going. I had the drone follow me, fly straight up for 10 metres, while the gimbal was pointed straight down. I had it fly an orbit around me and had it perform a 'selfie' flight, where it backs away from you while climbing, and then coming back along the same route.

That's about as much as I did before I felt too cold, and we returned home to a nice, warm house.

I did take it out again, one weekend, when I was snowshoeing on a trail. I had it perform the dronie manoeuvre and follow me as I ran in my snowshoes. I also had it follow DW and she skied along a parallel trail. But I didn't have it do much else because while we were out, it started to snow.

I shared that footage as part of a video about winter in Ottawa.

I wanted to get more practice with the drone but I've turned lazy when it comes to going outside and doing this sort of thing. I bought a large telephoto lens so that I could photograph birds, and knew that I should practice using it with the birds at Mud Lake, in preparation for our trip to Peru, but I was too lazy to go out.

I knew that I really needed practice with my drone before going to Peru but apart from flying it, one afternoon, in Claudette Cain Park and getting it up high for a sunset hover above my neighbourhood, I didn't master my drone before our trip.

As it turned out, there were so many places that we visited where drones were prohibited that I only flew it a couple of times. It wasn't worth bringing it on the trip.

I initially bought the Neo because I thought it would be good to have when DW, our Paddlefolk, and I got out in our kayaks. I thought it would be good to get some video from high above, while we paddled on a river or lake.

The previous weekend, we went out for our inaugural paddle with our kayaks, and I brought my drone along. But because we were setting out from one of the Rideau River lock stations, which are run by Parks Canada, the drone was prohibited. I knew that you couldn't fly a drone in a national or provincial park without special permission, but I didn't realize that the rule applied to the locks.

When we got away from the locks, I thought it would be fine to fly the drone but the wind became blustery and there was no way that I was going to attempt to land my drone on a moving kayak.

This weekend, we went kayaking on the Ottawa River at Petrie Island, in the city's far east end. We've never paddled here before but we had heard great things about the place, so it was high time that we checked it out.

We were meeting our Paddlefolk but DW and I arrived early so that I could fly my drone. But when we reached the canoe and kayak put-in area, we discovered that there was a race event going on. I could have walked over to the north-east end of Petrie Island to fly my drone, but I got lazy and instead packed my carry case in the storage compartment at the bow of my boat.

We set out and moved away from the race area, and headed west along the southern part of the chain of islands. There were so many people out in kayaks at canoes that I didn't want to fly my drone in this part (also, because I don't feel confident enough to land the drone while in my kayak).

When we got into the main channel of the Ottawa River, we made our way eastward, following the northern shores of the islands. The wind had picked up and caused little swells on the water, but it was nothing that our new kayaks couldn't handle (they're made for this kind of water).

There are sandy beaches all along the northern shores, so at one point, we moved in to take a break and stretch. I find, lately, that I just don't have enough padding on my ass and it gets sore when I sit for too long.

While we took this break, I thought I'd try using my drone. The wind was a bit strong but I figured that the Neo could still handle it. I also hooked it up to the dedicated remote-control unit so that I could have better control.

Almost immediately, I could see that the Neo was working hard to maintain its position against the wind, leaning into it and boosting its motors. Because I had it over water, I was very cautious about how I wanted to position it to capture video. I couldn't fly it too high because the wind was too strong above the trees.

My anxiety shoots up when the Neo gets to a certain height and this flight, over the choppy and fast-moving Ottawa River stressed me out. But I did get enough video to make it worthwhile.

But this flight told me one thing: I have to stop being lazy and take the time to properly learn how to fly the drone. Because even though I'm on the ground, I'm still considered a pilot of this flying machine.

Because of its size, I don't need to be certified nor do I need a permit for it, but I still need to fly responsibly.

It's no longer –20°. I have no excuses for staying indoors.

Also, I'm currently putting together a video of our Petrie Island paddle. It'll be ready later this week: stay tuned. (Here's a sneak peek at the thumbnail shot for the video.)

Two in One

Last weekend, I made a concerted effort to get out of the house. I find that I spend too much time at home and don't get much fresh air. And, I've become extremely lazy.

In preparation for our upcoming vacation (I can't believe we'll be leaving in only two weeks), DW and I have started training by finding steep hills to climb. On the previous Saturday, we drove to the Arboretum, between the Central Experimental Farm and Dow's Lake, and walked up the steepest slope of the hill a few times.

When I finally ran out of breath, we called it a day. We hopped back in our car, drove to our latest, favourite breakfast spot, The Third, and then headed home, where I stayed indoors for the rest of the weekend.

Lazy.

The first week of our vacation will have us up in a mountainous region and we plan to do some hiking. And because I'm probably in the worst shape I've been in in years, I want to make sure that I'm up for climbs. Even in the towns we're visiting, there'll be some climbing and I need to know that I'm able to keep up with my family.

So, last weekend, DW and I drove to the Gatineau Hills early on Saturday morning for a hike to the Carbide Willson Ruins. We're familiar with the trail and know that in the past, we've managed it without any issues.

We strapped on our day backpacks and loaded them up to duplicate what we'll likely have on us when were hiking on vacation. I decided to bring one of my Insta360 cameras and my drone, in its case, plus a large, metal water bottle that I filled to the top.

There was still a coating of granular, icy snow on much of the trail, which presented a bit of a challenge on some of the steeper slopes, but DW and I were able to manage the trail without falling. I decided to use my video camera to capture our trek, and at the ruins, I pulled out my drone to use the automated functions to capture a selfie of DW and me.

I wanted to use the remote controller to get some great shots of the remains of the factory, but I don't have any experience using it. And with the waterfall raging and lots of snow on the ground, I didn't want to risk flying into a tree and losing the drone. It was too slippery to have to retrieve it, should it land somewhere on the other side of the factory.

I did, however, use the remote to simply get a top view of the factory and to close up on the waterfall, but that's all my nerves would allow for this hike.

I've already put the video footage for that hike on my YouTube channel (please subscribe!). It's the first time I've captured video, edited it, and uploaded it in a single day. Give it a look: it's just over five minutes long.

Sunday was an even better day, with the sun coming out for the first time in days. It was warm and there was almost no breeze, so I thought that this would be a perfect day to test my drone.

I wanted to pick a spot where there weren't many people—especially, kids—and where there wouldn't be a great risk of hitting trees. I wanted an open space.

I didn't go far from home. I crossed the Rideau River and parked at Claudette Cain Park, near the Vimy Memorial Bridge. There's a large, treeless field that is surrounded by a circular path, which was perfect for testing my hand at the remote control. And because the ground was still wet, no one was walking on it.

One of the drawbacks of the DJI Neo is that the battery life is limited. They're rated up to 18 minutes but with wind, they tend to get about 15 minutes of less, so you have to have a plan for what you want to capture on video.

Fortunately, I have two extra batteries, so I was good for about 45 minutes of flight time.

I spent the first two batteries getting comfortable with the controller, moving the drone up to about 40 metres or so, turning the drone while moving forward, raising or lowering the gimbal for the camera, and testing the return-to-home function, where the drone will automatically fly to its take-off spot.

Because I set up next to the Moodie Family Cemetery, a small plot of headstones in an enclosed corner of the park, I also practiced moving the drone from a height down to eye level, closing in on the burial plots.

When I felt comfortable, and was down to my last battery, I decided to fly the drone further away, over the trees that separated the park from the Rideau River. Once over the trees, I turned the drone toward the Vimy Memorial Bridge and then circled back to the park before landing it and calling it a day.

I had been outside twice in as many days, the first in a long time.

When I got home, I downloaded the video footage from the drone and decided that I'd make another YouTube video. For the second time, I shot video, edited it, and uploaded the final video in a few short hours.

In viewing the video, I realized that there were some settings that I did not adjust before flying the drone. Being a bright day, I should have lowered the exposure level. And I had learned, from other owners of the DJI Neo, that I should have lowered the sharpness of the video (DJI sets the default too high).

I couldn't do anything with the sharpness in post-production but I applied a high-contrast filter to the video clips during editing. They still don't look great but I was really just focused on getting comfortable flying the drone manually.

With my first drone, which was a cheap, crappy drone, I flew it into trees on my first flight. It survived, but I kept flying it into trees and became discouraged.

The controller on the Neo is much better and makes flying easy. I'll continue to practice but I'm now not as nervous about using the drone when we travel.

If you want to see the drone video, which is just over two minutes long, have a look:

It wasn't until after I viewed the video that I realized I had captured the whole setting of the opening chapter of my novel, Dark Water, where the body is discovered by two kayakers on the Rideau River. You can see Chapman Mills Conservation Area, the river, the bridge, and the park.

Coincidence.

I need to get out of the house more, and now that the weather is improving, I expect the drone will be good incentive to get some fresh air.

Happy Thursday!

No More Binging

Perhaps it's best that I don't have anything to watch.

Lately, I find myself sitting in front of the TV too much. Some days, I finish work and turn on a series that I'm streaming and watch a bunch of episodes for hours. I'd only take a break to make dinner, clean up after dinner (I'd eat while watching the news), and writing a blog post before calling it a day.

The rest of the time, I'd be in my favourite chair, with my legs up and one of the cats stretched out on them. It would be a lazy evening.

Mind you, I don't do this every day. I tend to become a couch potato on evenings when DW heads to the gym or for pickleball for a few hours.

You'd think she would motivate me to be more active.

I was hooked on the FX series The Americans and watched all six seasons in a couple of months. Following that series, I started watching and got hooked on the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind. So far, only four seasons have aired, with the fifth season apparently not coming until next year.

I blew through those episodes in a matter of weeks.

Recently, I watched Masters of the Air, also on Apple TV+. It was okay but I managed to watch all nine shows in three sittings.

It was at this point that I thought enough was enough. I'm neglecting work on my videos, I'm writing blog posts within hours of posting them (in the past, I'd often write posts a few days to a few weeks in advance) and often struggle at finding a subject.

Originally, I was going to make this post about what should be the next binge-worthy TV series to watch, but as I sat at the keyboard, I thought no, I need a break from TV. I need to turn my attention to other things, like keeping our house in order and getting back to other things I enjoy.

Like getting out of the house to take some photos, which I haven't really done since DW and I returned from vacation (sure, there was the time that I took some self portraits, but I didn't leave the house).

I can still watch TV while I work out on my spin bike. What else is there to do? I'll also likely watch the news during dinner, but as soon as the news is over and the kitchen is cleaned, I'm going to be more productive.

Unless I really have nothing better to do, there will be no more binging.

Wish me luck.

Best Before?

I've always wondered if there was an expiry date to seeds that are still within a shell, and I think I have my answer.

Last year, DW and I didn't go into our backyard as often as we usually do, and I think that it was in part due to shame. As some of you may have followed, in this blog, a section of our backyard fence came down during a wind storm in December of 2021, while DW and I were vacationing in Cuba.

It's a miracle that the rest of the fence wasn't felled in May, during the derecho that hammered Ottawa.

Because the fence fell in the winter, neither our neighbours, into whose backyard the fence fell, nor we were willing to do anything until the snow was gone. But then we got busy, and our neighbours didn't complain for some time. And then it was all but impossible to find people who wanted to work on such a small project, and eventually, in September, DW and I did the work ourselves.

Until the fence was fixed, we avoided the backyard because it reminded us of our ability to put things off. And because we avoided the backyard—I only went into it to mow the lawn or grill something on the barbecue—our bird feeder became another object of neglect.

Previously, I would constantly monitor the feeder, making sure our feathered friends didn't go without seeds. When we first set up the feeder, in 2020, we purchased a giant bag of sunflower seeds. Not wanting chipmunks or squirrels to break into our garage and chew through the bag, we emptied the seeds into a couple of large containers: one, a tin container that we used to fill with dry cat food but replaced with a smaller container when we redid our kitchen; the other, a large covered pail that I had used long ago to make wine.

These containers, together, would hold more than a year's supply of seeds.

Currently, we're on our second bag of seed, which we purchased in late 2021. I only filled the feeder during the winter months, when work on the fence was impossible. But when the snow was gone and the months passed before we fixed the fence, the birds went without seed and had to find it elsewhere (other neighbours also had feeders, so the birds were fine.

As soon as the fence was fixed, I washed out the empty feeder, let it dry, and then replenished it with the seeds that we had bought about a year earlier.

For weeks, birds didn't touch the seeds. DW and I left on our vacation, in Portugal, and when we returned, the level of seeds hadn't noticeably changed.

Had the birds decided to skip our backyard, we wondered. Had they found other backyards with better feeders?

As winter set in, I did notice the odd bird at the feeder, but they didn't seem to stay long. Over the course of the season, the level of seeds did diminish, but ever so slowly. At it's peak, before I stopped replenishing the seeds, the feeder would empty in less than a week.

What was wrong?

We think we found our answer a couple of weekends ago, when we went for a walk at Mud Lake, bringing my parents with us. My folks have a feeder in their backyard and take pleasure at watching the myriad birds visit.

As always, we bring a small bag of seed to feed the chickadees, nuthatches, and smaller woodpeckers like the downys and hairys. Often these birds are so bold that they'll fly right up to you before we get the bag open.

On this visit, we didn't get the instant swarm that we're used to. It took a few minutes for the first bird to land on DW's hand, while I was ready with my camera. The chickadee landed, picked up a seed, and then threw it before seizing another.

It threw that seed, too.

Finally, it grabbed one seed and made its way to the nearest tree branch, where it cracked open the shell and ate the inner seed.

Other birds landed. A nuthatch picked up a seed in its beak and immediately released it. I was able to capture the seed, in mid air, before it landed back on DW's glove. The nuthatch scrutinized every seed until it found one that it wanted, and off it went with its snack.

The same was happening in my mom's ungloved hand, as the birds picked only the best seeds.

Woodpeckers joined in, and one tossed every seed from my mom's hand before flying off without anything. DW emptied more seeds from the bag from her hand, and tried again. The birds returned and only took select seeds for food, discarding the others. One woodpecker even seemingly threw a seed toward my mom, as if to say, "What are you trying to pawn off on me? This is substandard, ma'am!"

Yes, it seems there is an expiry date on seeds. Back in our feeder, in the backyard, I had finally replenished an empty feeder the day before we ventured to Mud Lake. Birds have come, but I've noticed a lot of seeds on the ground, where the squirrels don't seem to be as picky.

We have about a third of the large pail left. I think I'll toss those seeds into the compost bin and grab a fresh bag from Costco.

I'll check for a best-before date, too.

Lazy Long Weekend

I wasted so much time over that past three-and-a-half days. And my long weekend started with so much promise.

I took half a day off on Thursday to attend a model photo shoot, just south of the city, in an abandoned house and barn, near the 416. Even though the weather threatened rain and the mosquitoes were relentless, the photo shoot was a success. For those of you who follow me on Instagram or follow my POTD project, you saw some of my images.

If you want to see them, I have to warn you: they're NSFW. I have more photos to edit from that day, and I meant to take some time, but the rest of my weekend didn't go as planned.

On Friday, I had hopes of traveling to Montreal, to take some photos, possibly visit a friend, and seek out some brew pubs. Unfortunately, I awoke with a headache that turned into a migraine, and I ended up spending the day in bed.

With the exception of editing a handful of photos from Thursday's shoot, my day was a writeoff. I barely remembered to shoot my POTD, hastily grabbing one of my kid's souvenirs from Cuba and my Android phone.

Surprisingly, I liked the last-minute photo.

I was still under the weather on Saturday, managing to only complete a few simple chores around the house. I spent most of the day resting up, recovering enough to fulfill a commitment I made to attend a friend's birthday party and photograph it for her. Luckily, I was there when her partner proposed to her. I captured it on video and snapped some stills of the event (making one of those shots my POTD).

At the party, I refrained from drinking any alcohol, and DW and I left the party relatively early.

On Sunday, we lingered around the house and had a leisurely breakfast that took us nearly to noon. DW, DD14, and I then drove to Westboro, where those two shopped while I captured photos for Daily Photo 225. We then shopped for groceries and returned home, where I rested some more.

I finally felt more like myself by dinner, and managed to take photos and notes for this Thursday's Beer O'Clock review. Stay tuned for that one.

Dinner finished, the kitchen cleaned, I was only in the mood to unwind with a bottle of wine. I asked Google to play some Dire Straits, and mellowed in my family-room chair while the music soothed and DD16 played her Nintendo Switch.

Laziest. Weekend. Ever.

Sloth

So, the holidays are over and a new year has begun. The carols are sung, the gifts opened, used; perhaps, broken. Food has been eaten and spirits consumed.

Too much, for some.

Friends and family have been visited or have at least tried to keep in touch.

Old times remembered, fireworks viewed, dancing, laughing.

For the consumers, deals were hopefully attained after the Main Event. Hopefully, without standing out in the cold, without waiting in line. Hopefully, without blowing the budget. And, hopefully, on items that were truly needed.

Or maybe there are those who just stayed in and kept quiet.

For practically five straight days, I did nothing. Or very little, at any rate. I stayed in bed or sat on the sofa, sleeping, reading, watching marathons on the television. I ate very little—at times, not healthily. I drank mostly soda water: low sodium. From December 29 to January 2, I consumed a total of three bottles of beer.

Small bottles. I wanted to keep my head. I lost it, once, over the holidays. It wasn't going to happen again.

It's easy to blame the weather for hermiting myself away. It was too cold to be outside; much better to be inside, safe, under a warm blanket.

For five days, I was a bump on a log. A lazy SOB. A sloth.

Having written all of my blog posts before December 23, I did no writing until January 5: two weeks without any writing. It seems that over time, without sitting with my fingers at a keyboard, my mind rusts.

But it is a new year and time to get off my butt, to stop being that bump, that SOB, that sloth.

Time to oil my brain. Time to start a new year. Time to jot down ideas that will turn into (hopefully) better words. Time to dust off the camera, which hasn't been touched since Christmas Eve.

Goodbye, sloth.