Well I'll be durned!!!

Thanksgiving is generally the 3rd week of November right??? The third Thursday of November.

Deer Gun season always starts on the Saturday before. 

So I was talking to the grand daughter last night and she informed me that I was wrong! What? WHUT?

Well I looked it up and indeed, Thanksgiving is on the 28th. Duh. I was wrong wrong wrong. However, I did get all of my outdoor work done for the gun season I thought was starting this weekend. It isn't, so hurray for me. I got everything done a week ahead of time. That includes most of the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dinner.

Maybe I was having a Miss Merry Moment! 💖

Well, that actually made me very happy in so many ways! I have another 7 days of being able to go out to the woods and play! [Um, hike...I mean. Hike. Yeah.]

The trail cams have really been capturing a lot of very cool bucks doing some fun things right in front of the trail cam. I'm glad I turned on the option for short videos. It really helps me study what the deer are doing.

Two different large bucks are walking right up to a little branch in front of the camera and rubbing their faces on it. Later in the night there is a doe that stands under the branch and smells it intently. 

Does that mean that the bucks are leaving a scent on that branch as a message to the ladies? Maybe. I am no deer expert. So I looked it up. Bucks do rub their faces on branches to mark their territory. They also lick the branches to leave markers for the ladies.

Until I had a camera that could take some video, I had no idea. I knew the 'marked' territory, but I thought it was just like dogs and coyotes did. By peeing on things. In a buck's case, maybe peeing and scraping his antlers on trees. 

I learn something every day!

So this buck does exactly that .. and later on, a doe comes up to check it out! 20 second video.

I think this is the way the way a white tail buck leaves an email on his dating app!

Well. I'll be durned!

Have a neat weekend.

Something Curious

In all my years on this planet, I've never really given a second thought to something like:

Grass.

I mean, grass is something that is walked on, stepped on, mowed, or waded through in the summer if you walk through a wild meadow.

I went out looking for something interesting in the morning light and found this.

It was grass that was at least 4 feet tall on the other side of the fence in the neighbor's meadow. At one time the neighbor let us use this meadow for extra pasture. We mowed it and maintained it. It has been left alone now for 7 years. 

I was surprised at how beautiful this grass appeared in my lens while I was searching for spider webs with dew drops on them.

So I took some photos of it. When it came to saving the file, I had no idea what to call the grass. So I started a search. I kept getting frustrated because I couldn't find good information regarding grasses anywhere.

So I ordered a book. Field Guide to Wisconsin Grasses.

I didn't know there were so many kinds of grasses! There are over 11 thousand species of grasses in the world.
I never thought of grass as very important.

In fact after looking at this book, I am beginning to understand that I don't know much about grass, period.

I never knew the difference between grass and sedges.

So I'm starting to muddle my way through Agrostology. I'm more or less just curious. I'll walk around and clip some tall 'grasses' or photograph them just for fun.

Grasses can be beautiful once you start looking at them without just thinking about the lawn.

I collected this variety just by walking up my driveway to the mailbox.

I have figured out what one of the grasses may be:

Rye Grass.

Here is a hint. My neighbor said he spread a mixture of Rye and something else alongside his driveway last year after we had work done on it.

I need to figure out how to use the book and become familiar with the terms it uses, but this looks to be a good learning project. 

The real test will be getting good photographs of grass in the 'field'. I'm always up to learning new things and photography challenges.

I wonder where it will lead me?

[Oh, that first photo? It just might be Orchard Grass. But I won't say it for sure. I have so much to learn!]

Howz it going?

Mental Battles are the hardest.

I find the mind is an interesting thing to deal with. About 6 months ago I had a bone density test which revealed severe osteoporosis. It came as a shock to me and to say that it hasn't messed with my head would be a lie.

After all, I'm taking some new meds every evening that reminds me about my diagnosis.

BUT

How have I let things change? 

Does my body feel any different than it did 6 months ago? No! I wake up with the same stiffness in my body parts as I did a year ago when I knew I was invincible.

I have good days and bad days just like anyone else. 

But I am letting this vision of bones cloud my vision. I don't feel any different than I did a year ago, I don't even look any different than I did a year ago [well, perhaps a few more grey hairs and age wrinkles!]. So why am I letting this mess with my head?

The bone density predicts the severity of future breaks and injuries. 

I'm not going to analyze things other than to say that I need to remind myself that I need to keep up with what I did before. Hiking, exercising, and doing what I love. 

Letting the vision of a skeleton mess with my head is not acceptable.

I'm going to climb that rock outcropping, I'm going to keep hiking and dream about camping and traveling. I'm going to greet each morning and marvel in each new day.

I'm going to take an Attitude Adjustment. 

Sometimes I use photography to express how I feel. I'm sure you may have figured that out.  Rabbit and Bear is how I expressed feelings regarding all the medical issues my husband had one particular year. I became an expert at driving to the VA's ER with him. I found it to be an interesting way to express thoughts.

And with that said.....

My Life in Lego Land

Coming to terms with Skeletal Issues....

Learning to deal with it...

And I found some of the guys busy helping with the laundry!

Being that Naturalist

The simple definition is: One who studies Natural History.

Or...

A Naturalist is someone who studies the patterns of Nature.

Oh, well now I feel better.

I am in the 'wonder' stage right now. Our instructor had told us to go out and just sit in a spot and wait for a while. Look around, use all of your senses, and just observe.

Okay.
I'm supposed to take a notebook and write what I see and draw things that I see.
I am SO much better with a camera.

However I decided to do just that. I was going to make my daily trip to the creek anyway with Charlie.
So I found a huge rock to sit on and did some pondering.
A Naturalist is someone who studies the patterns of Nature.

Well, I have been doing that for about 20 some years while living on this place. But now I had a chance to learn much more.

I started to pick out some of the green blue stones [limestone bits] that I wanted to use to make a 'fairy house barn' with. I watched Charlie wander around close by smelling the scents of the animals who had recently come down into the creek for water.

After a bit I just thought I'd look down and see what I could see.
Tiny rocks. Nothing exciting. There was one of those bluish pebbles I could use.

But...wait!

There was a funky looking almost clear bug moving around. If I hadn't just sat still and gazed at the water between my boots I would have missed this.
I didn't know what I was looking at, so I took a photo for when I got back home and could look up aquatic creatures in one of the Handouts I'd gotten.

Then I noticed these rocks that had little piles patterns of rocks the size of sand on them.

What was holding them together?

So I pulled one off a rock and pulled it apart.

 Curious. A tiny larvae?

Some sort of living thing. Immediately I felt sort of bad that I'd opened it.

I had NO clue what it was. However I did recall seeing this sort of thing before and just ignoring it while I was seeking out other things along the creek.

Caddisfly larvae of some sort. They build stone houses around themselves and eventually emerge as a tiny fly that trout eat. Found in healthy and clean waters.

Wow. How cool was this? How many years have I walked right over these little wonders and never knew what they were?

I have to admit. I was pretty darned excited at this new discovery.

So now I was able to recognize what this was. Little houses for Caddisfly larvae on rocks that I'd walked over and glanced at. These are covered with silt.

Last but not least.
My love for rocks. I do love looking at rocks. When we were kids, Grandma used to take us Rock Hunting in a different part of Wisconsin. We'd hunt pretty rocks and often could find agates. I'm in a different geological region so I am still trying to learn what our rocks are.

I think this is a Stromatolite?
I could be all wrong about this. But now I am on a specific search for a really good example.

I think I have some rocks that have much neater fossils in them than this one in my garden but it is still under about 6 inches of ice and snow.

Well, I best get to my paper journal now and write that rather dry and factual entry.

I think I've been an informal Naturalist for a long time now.
I'm naturally curious about the woods, the creek, and the land around me. I enjoy watching the creek change over the years as well as the land itself.

First impression of the Naturalist Class

Actually a Master Naturalist Class.

First impression.
5 out of 22 participants are under retirement age.

Most every single person in the room except perhaps 4 of us have had formal training in Biology, Ecology, or some higher degrees of study. Let's just say, as many listed their colleges and degrees and Masters degrees, I started feeling smaller and smaller....
wondering how I could crawl under the table when it came time to introduce myself.

Then I had to speak out to the others.
So much I wanted to say but after listening to all the degrees I just said:

My name is Val Ewing.
I came to this part of Wisconsin by accident. I met a fellow on a Wagon Train and fell in love and moved here.
I don't have a degree in any of this, just life experience.
Why do I have an interest in this class?
Hmmm, well the first year I had a tiny pocket camera I decided to go out and find every wild flower and plant I could daily and record where I found it, when I found it, and record what it looked like.
What was my inspiration?
[Goodness so many things to say but I picked the one thing that really stood out the most.]

My Grandmother Pearl was a Naturalist of sorts. She could hear a bird and identify it, she could walk past plants and tell you if you could eat them. She took us berry picking in the wild woods and we encountered bears. She knew her fish, and she knew wild life tracks. In fact, I was pretty sure she knew everything about anything in Nature.
I wanted to be like my Grandmother.

The fellow next to me didn't have a degree either but was eloquent in his little speech talking about how he liked to roam and stop to look at things and wonder why. [I wished I'd used that line!]

The binders we were given are worth the price of the class itself. But they are huge and weigh a ton! I've already found a hand out that I think Allison and I could really have fun with as a pocket guide.
Wonderful Wacky Water Critters published by the University of WI.

So it looks like I'm going to have to write a field journal. Most of the samples given are so dry.
Saw a Robin, 35 degrees out, sunny, ...date
and location...

Meh. You all know me. I just can't write like that.
More like.
I was wandering down to the creek when I spotted the first green leaves of a wild strawberry plant. I sat on a log to ponder it for a while and listened the the chickadee above me and I'm sure I heard a Robin. And of course I'd go off on a tangent regarding life in the forest and regrowth including wondering ...if the strawberries will be so sweet...and yadda, yadda....

Uh oh, I am in trouble!

Meet Molly

Molly is 18 and just graduated from High School.

In the fall Molly will be starting an Equine Science program at a Tech School in Iowa. How I wish they'd had a program like that when I was her age! She says she will learn to ride, train, AI a horse, collect from a stud, be present at the birth of a foal...and many other cool things. When finished with her program I hope she will be able get a great job.

A few weeks ago I was lying on the ground trying to clean grass gunk out from under the riding lawn mower. I was full of grass goo, dirty, hot sweaty, and frustrated. I'd just learned to change the oil in the simple little mower and had wet juicy grass to unclog under the large mower.

Molly came walking down the driveway. When she walked up to me, she smiled and stuck out her hand to introduce herself and let me know that she and her family had just moved in on the ridge to the house that had been empty since last spring.
I stuck out a gooey hand and we shook.

Molly explained that she'd heard there was two people on the ridge who owned horses was I one of them? I laughed and said I had one horse, but I owned mules.
She commented that she'd never met a mule and that her dad said they were stubborn and mean.

I laughed and immediately took her to my mules. She was surrounded by the red headed sisters and Siera, all who were curious and wanted to a pet.
I took an instant liking to this 18 year old and decided to ask her if she wanted to learn a bit more about equine before she went off to school in the fall.

Last week she came out and helped me curry some winter coats. I introduced her to some of my basic safety rules to have around the mules. We quickly went over body parts and I showed her how to saddle Siera.

Sunday morning she arrived along with my neighbor farmer Linda. Linda had been checking her field for planting above our place on the ridge when she'd seen Molly walking and offered her a lift.

We visited and then got to work.
Molly hadn't forgotten her saddling lessons, she did everything properly. I explained what a crupper was and why we used both a crupper and a breast-collar while riding in our hills. Most flat work doesn't require it, arena work doesn't require it... but we were not going to be on the flat or in an arena. I was going to show her a different aspect of riding.
Hill riding. We first worked in the relatively flat area of the pasture in front of the house.
Molly had learned mount and dismount and how to softly drop into the saddle. She had to combine that with making sure that Mica didn't walk off while she was mounting or dismounting.

Mica can be a 'creeper' when she wants to.

Her posture in the saddle was nearly perfect. And once we worked out all the commands, I took her on a small trail ride. Mica had been a roping mule at one time and she was a 'heeler'. She'd also been my husband's team penning mule as well as his speed event mule. 

I didn't take any photos of us down in the woods other than a view from the top of Sunshine...who really needs a trim on her mane! That will be one more job that I will inherit. Rich says he won't be able to do it.

We ended up doing a bit of brush busting so I could locate the path that takes me to the neighbor's ridge top and snowmobile trail. I hoped to take Molly on a ride through the neighbor's land one of these times.

I told her that what I was introducing her to would be a lot different than the riding she would do in school so I hoped I was not teaching her any bad habits.
I also told her that she can share her knowledge that she gains!

Since Molly works part time at a Dairy Farm, she will now have Fridays and Saturdays off. I know she has duties to be done at home but we are hoping to spend a bit of time each week to work with Sundance and some riding.

I'm pretty happy that Molly came walking down my driveway.

What a great young lady.

Skidsteers, Charlie, Mules oh my

We had a nice snow fall. The NOAA said we were going to have a Winter Storm Warning with blowing snow and then dangerously cold temperatures.

The snow started early Friday and we'd had a couple of inches by chore time.

The mules and 15 waited in the woods for supper with their snow blankets on.

One may think that they would be cold.
However, if you were to stick your hand under that snow, you would find a warm fluffy layer of their winter coat and their skin is warm. I do take my hands and run it up under the snow-coat just to be sure.

By morning we'd had about Charlie Chin High Snow. This is our new measure. How high is the snow on Charlie?

Here Charlie plows through the snow while assisting with chores.
I fueled up the skidsteer and plugged in the engine block to warm it up as I went in the shed to get my sled of hay.

The mules follow me along the fenceline with little grunts and sometimes a little braying. If they hear the sled on snow or on grass, they are coming at the trot.
I used to use this sled to lead our cattle from one paddock to another.

Feed. Animals always follow feed.

Mica has been moved to her own little paddock with Lil' Richard. She eats so slowly that the other mules were limiting her intake of food.
Anyway, Charlie quickly decided that sitting on the porch was wiser. He could watch me walk in the deep snow and he could sit in the sun.

Here is the view from the porch. The heated water tank is to the right outside of the photo and in the wooded area. The one nice thing about living in a hollow is that the cold winds can be dodged just by moving around most of the time.
The mules by noon were taking naps in the sunlight right there were I had fed them.

I started up the skidsteer and everything went very well. I was almost finished when I thought I'd take one more swipe by the house and make it easier to park by the kitchen door to unload groceries. This is a tight area and normally I scoop up snow and back out.
I decided to make a tight turn instead.

[Truth be told, skid steers do make tight turns all of the time, that is the beauty of having one.]
For whatever reason I heard a loud PFFFFT and immediately shut it down. I climbed out and saw that a tire came off the rim. Uh...Oh.

Rich was upset. He got that quiet tone with me and told me how much I messed up in no uncertain terms. He went on and on citing multiple issues about how difficult things were now. How I'd left it in a bad place, how I'd messed up.

In some ways I knew it may have been his frustration in knowing that he couldn't get out there and 'fix' the problem. He went on to tell me that I'd ruined a tire and that it could cost $150 just for a tire. I thought that was odd since that sum of money was not an issue.
I was driven to tears and then I got angry.
Nope. He couldn't be nice.

So I walked out of the house and called my neighbor's cell phone and left a message.
When I came back in Rich demanded to know what was for lunch. I wanted to knock my Halo off and tell him to figure it out. I wanted to tell him off. Instead I took out the dish I'd prepared for him the night before and set it on the counter.

Let him figure out how to warm it up while I figure out how to solve the skidsteer issue.

I must admit. I'd done a pretty good job so far.

And the problem could most likely be solved. Yes it was cold and yes I may have damaged the tire. But these things can be fixed and it was not gloom and doom. Nor was the world going to end because the tire came off the rim.

I went out with a scoop shovel and waited for Justin to arrive.

The issue became this. How to get the metal tracks off with the bucket in the way. Okay we used the boom lock out.

Then we used the bucket to pick up the front of the skidsteer and blocked it to keep it in place with the tracks folded out of the way.

After we figured out all the logistics, we were able to take off the tire and the rim. The bead was broken on the outside of the tire but not the inside.
Justin attributed it to low tire pressure and me turning over and over again.

These are things I wouldn't really know as a novice skidsteer driver. He was calm and explained everything he was doing and his reasoning behind it.
He also told me that I should think of this as a learning experience...he did.

By dark we had the tire off.
We'd spent 2 hrs in the cold working together.

By supper it seemed Rich was no longer upset, in fact he seemed to have forgotten the incident.

Charlie? He was content in bringing peace to the house by snuggling up to the Grumpy Guy and dropping a tennis ball at his feet.

So it goes.

Today it is frigid.
So I think I'll go for a nice long walk down the valley out of the wind.

After all, I have the gear for it and I can't stand to sit inside all day.

Tomorrow I'll take the tire into the shop and hopefully Justin and I can put things back together. I will learn more than I need to know about skidsteers.

Plus this spring I will have the implement company we bought it from come out and get it. It needs an overhaul/maintenance job. I'm not really prepared to learn all about changing filters and fuses, hydraulic fluids, and other things...not yet.

Wild and Wicked Sunday

Really. 

It was not Wild nor was it really Wicked.

First order of the day was to go get a truckload of hay. Rich said he wasn't going with because his knee is swelled up again and it hurts.

It has been drained twice now and both times the aspiration has revealed blood.

The VA orthopedic department did make an appointment for him on December 4th. 

The lady who made the appointment said that we should visit the ED if it was too painful or bothersome before that date.

When a joint fills up with blood it will severely damage that joint. Rich says leave it until his appointment, but I'll drag him over to the ED [ER] tomorrow after seeing Oncology for a follow up. He is in a LOT of pain. I'd like to also find out why the joint keeps filling up with blood.

So, off I went with the pickup and got our monthly supply of small bales of hay. I paid Eddie for the pig we purchased from him. His wife made coffee and I sat down in their kitchen and visited for a bit.

As you can tell from this photo, I'm not really great at just backing into a crowded shed to get close to the spot where we stack our small bales.
I got the truck into the doorway and left it there.
This way I get to move it at least twice by hand!
Once to toss it off the truck and once to stack it.

I will consider it a CrossFit workout...WOD: Move bales and toss them!

I did get it all taken care of and it went slightly better than I expected. Maybe it is that CrossFit training I've been doing. Maybe it was the cold temperatures that made it more comfortable.

Rich and I have been playing Backgammon for Speech Therapy work. He has to use strategy and counting.
I saw how much he enjoyed playing cribbage with our friends from Kenosha.
So I asked him if he'd teach me.

Cribbage is as clear as mud.

But since Rich loves the game so much, I decided I need to try and learn it. There is a method to my madness. As he tries to teach it to me, he works on his communication skills, words, thought process, and counting. IF I play, he promises to do a bit of writing therapy also.

Even when Rich's words don't come out correctly, they are generally close enough that I understand what he is trying to say. Sometimes it is an exact opposite and sometimes it is just a strange new word combination.

So he started by trying to teach me to count.

"15 two, ..." he said holding cards out, "15 four, see?"
I did NOT see I saw a Jack a Queen and a 5 of spades.
He moved his hands again putting them down and repeating them.
"Then there is the crib, but since I am just showing it to you..."

It made absolutely NO sense to me so I suggested we bring out the board and he help me play the game until it clicked.

Patience has never been a strong suit of my husband's. So we played and I could see he was getting frustrated that I 'wasn't' catching on right away. However we played until it was nearly dark outside...moving the pegs in a manner that almost made sense and counting in strange and odd ways.

I suggested we take a break while I did chores and made supper.

After supper Rich went back to watching Netflix and I pulled out some paints and chunks of leftover wood. I wanted to see if I could make crackled paint with Elmer's Glue. I wanted to experiment with glue on glass.

I always like to experiment on small things before trying something else. I saw a video on Modge Podge and paint crackling that may be fun to try...with napkins? I don't know.
I also did a dirty acrylic paint pour, which is drying in the basement.

I'm trying to figure out how I will decorate this year for the Christmas-Winter season. Time to gather new sticks and grasses to make bouquets.

I see light fluffy flakes coming down outside. This monday morning is very grey. The Juncos -- Grandma called them Snow Buntings, are busy in my flower bed.

Time to get my new week going.

Maybe I'll have a wild Monday?

Photography has rules and then we break them.

This photo was shown under 'Winter Scene'. I had other choices but settled on this one.
I have a habit of photographing smaller winter scenes than most other folks. This is the water falls at Skillet Creek in Parfrey's Glen before they went in and removed the sticks and branches to 'make it prettier'. I like those sticks, without them the mini ice formations wouldn't have occurred.

This did win a first. I wasn't there to hear the judge's rules. However I can see the focus on the right is sharp, and it follows the rule of thirds. The falling water may add interest. And it looks cold.
This also earned a Merit Award. I think that means something like the judge liked it above some other categories.

I don't mean to sound naughty, but I have to agree with one of the other photographers.
Rules are meant to be broken.

Centered, busy, full of patterns and different lights. The judge wanted the majority of the light in the bowl. But I couldn't change the sun. I know, excuses. However I liked it and it felt good.
And it did place.
In my opinion now...the photo is too busy and your eye doesn't settle on anything, nor does it follow the 'rule of thirds'.

I really should have gone with a simpler Still Life, but we all make choices and next year the judge will be different and have different a different opinion.

This wasn't even considered, but I know why. It is really a silhouette photo that tells a story...for me at least. However, I did look up the fair book definition and well, it had no description for this category. I'm okay with this too, as I had other shots that I thought would fit, but took this one anyway.

Sunday morning I took a shot that would have qualified for that category:

The shot is framed by branches, you can see lines of fog, lines of hay, and there is the sun coming up on the left.

This one? Probably the highlights were too bright for her. And not all the fungi were in sharp focus. With a no edit rule, I didn't use the stacked edition of this with the highlights toned down. [The photo is too busy and nothing here follows the rule of thirds either.]

Live and learn.

This one she liked a lot. However only a line of mushrooms are in focus. For me it gives the shot depth.
She wanted everything in focus. Again I could have done it with focus stacking and editing.

With all that said, I am happy that I tried this. I was nervous about 'showing' my work.

I asked the Superintendent if I could help her when it came time to take photos down and hand them out. She looked so surprised.
Let's say my first impression of her was not favorable. She had been a bit curt regarding a few things.
I decided to try a different tactic. Be nice and be friendly.

I was asked to join a camera/photography club. And I think I will go. After all, it will be nice to have a reason to go somewhere and discuss things I like.
And I can continue to learn.

I spoke with the Assistant Super and she told me about the club and she told me that I could learn all about my camera. [Insert a grin here....]
The other Super told me that categories were going to change for next year some things will be added and some things will be dropped.

Good, perhaps I can break some rules!

Have a great day! Looks like we are going to get a 'pile' of rain!

I'll be checking on Percy and Chance this afternoon!

ON1 RAW coming ...

About a year ago I ran across a program called ON1 Effect 10.5 Free.
I thought I'd try it. Free right? It was safe, no bugs no malware but it opened up a new style of editing photography and creativity.

I found it extremely useful in adding a little special touch to my still life work.

Soon I was hooked into trying ON1 10.5 the program itself. At first I wasn't quite sure on how to use it, but I soon found it fairly user friendly.

After I watched some short clips which gave me helpful hints, I began to use the program more and more.

One day earlier this spring I wasn't paying much attention to the files I was going through and I opened ON1. I grabbed a .NEF file and opened it. A .NEF file is a RAW file shot with a Nikon camera.

Well jigger me switched.
Not only could I open a RAW file from the Nikon cameras, but I could open RAW files from both my Olympus E-420 and my Olympus EM5.

The file is opened and your RAW editing begins in Enhance. You are not editing your RAW file but leaving it alone and editing a copy.
Exposure, color, detail, all of those tools are before you.

Go to FX and your Enhancements are applied.

Now you have choices of edits that you can apply.

There are many presets and filters to chose from. I think the hardest part of ths is making choices.
However, in this shot I just wanted to bring out the little fern curls a bit better.

Imagine my relief when I found out I could do effortless masking.

At this point if you hit 'Save' your current working file is saved as a .PSD file that you can transport to another program as Adobe Photoshop or PaintShopPro and continue any edits.

Export will allow you to save the file as a .jpeg, .TIFF, or PNG. 

If you want to go fancy and make an edit like my still life shots, you can add textures, gradients, borders, and even items from your own files. 

You own the program. You don't lease it. 
ON1 has great short clip videos to help you learn. 
I've used the portrait editing tool and let me tell you, it is as good as it gets. 

NO...ON1 has not paid me to write about this program at all.
I'm just that excited about using it.

Another very cool thing. I opened this photo of my son's dog.
And went to the drop down menu and was able to open up SilverEfexPro 2 and edit the dog in Black and White.

I do like the BW presets in this program also.

What is not to like about ON1 except that I'd never heard of it until early last spring.

Let me just say ON1 Rocks.

But, don't take my word for it, explore the free stuff now.
Check it out.


ON1 RAW will be released soon. 
"ON1 Photo RAW is the lightning fast raw processor, photo editor and plug-in collection all in one app photographers have been asking for. Unlike the current class of raw-based photo editors requiring catalogs, bouncing between apps for editing, and a subscription ecosystem, ON1 Photo RAW features a new, modern raw processing engine, tuned for today's sensors and graphics chips. Combined with our current set of tools, the next generation of ON1 Photo 10, will continue to work where you want, as a standalone app, a plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® & Lightroom®, or a host app for other editing apps.

No Subscription Required."