www.craigbeltz.com


My neighbor Dave took an interest in Hummingbirds this year by placing a feeder in a tree in his front yard. Once he got the correct mixture if water and sugar, 4 parts water to 1 part sugar, the hummingbirds started showing up. Dave had been watching the birds for several weeks when he asked me to look some information up on the Internet about the birds. Of course, I immediately went to Wikipedia and found some good information. I read up and became interested myself but for another reason, I wanted to photograph the birds while hovering around the feeder. I have always had an interest in photography, my Dad is what I would call a semi-pro photographer, and in November 2004 my business partner Todd Lewis and I both purchased Nikon D70 cameras. I have always been impressed with the capabilities of the camera and even though it has been superceded by newer models it is more than enough camera for my needs. Saturday afternoon I decided to purchase a wireless remote for the D70, Nikon ML-L3 Wireless Remote Controller for about $18, in hopes of using it to capture the hummingbirds in flight around the feeder. My first attempt at capturing the hummingbirds was this afternoon and I consider it a great success. I was able to capture several different birds from several different angles before an early afternoon thunderstorm interrupted. Yes, not all of the photos are in focus and there is some noise but overall not too bad for a first attempt.  Below are a few of the pictures captured with my Nikon D70 using a Nikkor 18-70mm lens and Nikon SB-600 Speedlight on a tripod. I stood slightly out of frame about 15 feet away using the wireless remote and sports mode preset on the camera. I plan to experiment with manual modes, flash / non-flash combinations and possibly different lenses.  I am hooked!

        

       

       

       

       

Last year we decided to purchase a playset for the girls, the twins were not yet born but we felt it was a pretty good investment. At the time Morgan really did not like to swing however she did enjoy the slide and sandbox. We would often take her to the park and the only things she would play on were the slides and monkey bars with help of course. We looked at various brands with different types of woods and finishes and finally settled on the Rainbow Play System brand sold at Playground World in Medina, OH. The quality and seamlessly endless options for configurations and accessories were appealing to Patricia and me. We also decided to purchase the rubber play base to surround the playset. This is basically ground up sidewalls from car tires and left over rubber from commercial manufacturing processes. The rubber is dyed in several colors and makes for an attractive and safe play environment for the kids. We decided to build the playset in phases so that it would grow with the kids. Last year the initial build was the Clubhouse base, with swing beam, sandbox with cover and scoop slide. We upgraded the steps to the clubhouse to wooded steps versus the metal tube steps that are provided and we also upgraded the roof to a wooden roof versus the canvas roof that is included with the base package. Knowing that this will be in our backyard for quite some time we felt the upgrades were not only safer for the kids but would be more attractive and the wood roof hold up better than the canvas roof. Using two layers of landscaping timbers my neighbor, Dave and I built a 24’ x 24’ area lined with landscaping fabric. The rubber play base and Clubhouse were delivered the same day, the rubber play base in the morning and the Clubhouse in the afternoon. Construction went well and was all wrapped up by the time Patricia and Morgan got home at about 5:30 PM. Needless to say, it has been a huge hit with Morgan our friends, family and the younger kids in the neighborhood.
 

 

    

    

This year, we decided to add on a 4 position swing beam to the Clubhouse to replace the two position swing beam that was included with the base configuration. Morgan had grown fond of swings and now loves to go “so high that [she] can touch the clouds” and the twins have always loved their swings that we had inside the house so naturally they have loved the swings outside. We decided on the 4 position swing beam so that each kid will have a swing and there will be space enough for the trapeze and swing disc, although the trapeze and swing disc can’t be used at the same time. So in typical Craig fashion, I got a little carried away and we ended up purchasing not only the 4 position swing beam but the penthouse addition, monkey bars and 360 degree spiral slide. This accelerated our original plan by one year so we were actually very excited to have it completed. When I planned out the play base last year I had the Clubhouse offset so that the monkey bars and spiral slide would fit and all that would need to be done to add the swings was lift the end section of landscaping timbers and add an additional 12’ to accommodate the 4 position swing beam. My Dad, Dave, assisted me with the modifications to the play base and luckily the planning last year made the modifications this year a snap. We did purchase additional rubber play base and we were told that the color may be different. The morning of installation, I evenly raked the entire older rubber play base so that the newer material would be spread evenly over that older material. In the end, the newer material was actually about the same color however it was slightly smaller and feels softer. There is about 4” total depth around the entire 36’ X 24’ play base. The additions took about 3 hours to complete and again are a huge hit with Morgan and the girls. When we see how much fun the girls have playing it makes all that we have put into this setup worth it.