Unexpected Discoveries

My favorite days in the whole wide world are days when I discover another awesome place that I can explore.

It's the day before the family reunion....that...I...am...hosting.

I should be home preparing.

I'm supposed to be out running around gathering up the last minute menu items.

My house needs a bit more cleaning as I know people will want to wander in since the reunion is in the park right next door.

Instead...once again...I let someone coax me into going on a so called...short trip...to take care of something not even related to the reunion.....

But how can I complain when I found...another pathway to...peace and tranquility. Another 'get away' spot to 'walk and ponder' amidst.

I found....this............

The CUP

I bought this huge 'cup planter' because that day...I needed the perkiness it brought out in me. I have tried to plant so many things in it...indoor plants...because I wanted it sitting on my bar area near the coffee pot. Nothing...absolutely nothing liked it in this cup, inside....including the wonderful chocolate mint that now grows wonderfully in it while it rests on my tall patio table outside.

That mint....I put it in my coffee. It wakes up my inner senses.

Roo Roo

She is a teenager.
She has her good days...and her...snippy days!!! Don't we all ladies?
She is my photography buddy right now.
It's nice to have someone to go out with.
It...makes me miss my daughter.

Until she starts her own...I've added a set in my flickr account to load the pics she takes on our 'walks'.

She's funny. She's creative. She has always been a wonderful artist.

Did I say...she's kind of awesome?

Rainbows

Well....it isn't the most gorgeous picture of a rainbow you've ever seen but...it served it's purpose.

A learning lesson....don't use a polarizer if you are trying to photograph a rainbow...atleast not a faint one...that you are trying to capture...on the run....while travelling in a car going at 75 mph (not to worry...this one I didn't do while I was driving....as I have some others).

Must research this topic and try again.

Up Side Down

I don't know....what made me do it. I was cleaning out some photo folders, preparing for flickr additions and hyperventilating over the fact that I hadn't been able to blog much lately....thus causing claustrophobia for my creative needs....and as I looked at this one....I clicked the rotate button...for whatever reason....and Voila!!!

This picture is UP SIDE DOWN. Truly. The brown sandy area is actually the bottom of a sloping hillside going down into a pond low on water....with reflections of everything else above it.

The pond...actually reflecting a full landscape....Wood Duck house and all.

What can I say. I am simply pleased by such small surprises!!!!

Need a CORK???

There is this awesome little wine shop up north that we stop at every time we go. Lots of awesome little gifts. The back room....filled with racks of wines of every kind.

And...at this countertop....made with over 2000 wine corks....they will serve you some sample wines to try...to help you decide exactly which one ....or in my case....which ones I want to take home until next trip (that is if we don't sit around the fire and finish it off while relaxing to the quiet, peaceful, country sounds.

(Filed...as future idea if need be...for a quaint little retirement countertop at retirement residence.)

The THRILLs of Life

I love summertime in this midwestern state. Festivals, fairs....all kinds of activities....every weekend. What I love the most....is watching the young, the children, the teenagers....enjoying life as they know it at that age....full of thrill rides, screams, dares, SMILES, LAUGHTER, discovery of every kind.

I wonder....how they will compare the thrill of this fair ride to....the thrills of everyday life that await them?

Zoo Favorites

The County Zoo here has some summer evenings after normal hours where they will reopen the zoo so you can visit the animals a bit later in the day. It normally includes some additional entertainment like local bands.

My yearly pass is about to expire and I felt I really needed to use it one more time as it hasn't been utilized enough....but the money goes to a good cause.

My favorite at the zoo is normally the smaller penguin exhibit...they are first thing inside the gate...and cute as can be. They weren't here today.....as there 'residence' was being renovated. To return sometime in August.

I went with my niece who is also a bit interested in photography....and we shared my camera. IT WAS A BLAST. We walked and photographed for four hours... Did I say...IT WAS A BLAST.

This guy....a young giraffe....had us rolling on the ground (well almost). He...or she....had more photos taken than anything else. I true 'ham'. Running from one end to the other....legs flayling around in every which direction. I didn't want to leave. I was captivated. My disappointment with lack of penguins...gone....Poof....scooped up in the simple pleasure of a long legged, long necked, long eyelashed, long tongued creature.

My membership expires end of August. Somehow....somehow....I have to make it back.

Drops

It barely rained this afternoon. Just enough to put some 'natural drops' on a few flowers in an attempt to make them more enchanting to photograph.

Instead...this time.....I just had to catch....a single drop...making it's way back into the ground. It was a challenge because it was getting late and the light wasn't much considering it was still overcast and very close to dusk. Open the aperture....put ISO a bit higher....increase your exposure....in order to bring in as much light as possible to be able to increase the speed just enough....to catch it.

It wasn't a constant trickle. I just had to focus...and sit...and hope I could anticipate just the right moment to 'Snap'!!!! Got it!!!

Faces

Do you see them? The faces. It totally made me smile. Just a bit....of serendipity. Simply found in the abandoned lot next to me. It's time...to buy....a WI Wildflower book.

Where are the Butterflies?

I loved to plant these fennel in my gardens down south. They attracted butterflies that would lay their eggs and then the larvae would eat on them. It was awesome to watch what seemed to be such a simple cycle of life each and every day. The chrysalises. Explaining to the children that came in to the garden center what was going on.

I miss that.
So I tried...here in the midwest. Nothing...but this little wasp feeding on it.
Maybe the summer was just too cool.

WorldWide PhotoWalk

I did it. I walked and photographed. For. Two. Very. Short. Hours.
I didn't get so many shots that I thought I would get when I showed up early and drove through the park to scope it out.
I got stuck....in the little zoo area...with the Llamas. hehehehehe
The day...was overcast.
The people were great.
The sun came out periodically.
The wind...messed up alot (that's my story and I am going to stick with it.)
I did this for practice.
I wasn't going to enter the 'contest'.
I have but after now having spent so many hours going through all of the pictures today that I took...I'm not sure I turned in the right ones...but...realistically...there were some 39000 walkers this year and I really don't expect anything.
I had fun.
I learned a lot.
I can't wait for the next one and plan on doing more on my own..with others.
I really...really....need to win the lottery!!!!!!

The Model'

I am so excited, anxious, butterflies.

I am going to participate in this photo walk this weekend and I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!

It's not costing a penny.

I don't know a single person.

I don't even know where I am going...in that I've not been to my photo walk location before.

I've had a difficult time with BLUR lately.

I have so many other things I should be doing.

But...for once...I'm not backing out for all the improper reasons.

I'm going to walk with 20 plus complete strangers.

I'm going to have fun.

I'm going to learn.

I'm going to have fun...a blast...an awesome memory.

<<<...she only thinks she is joining me!!!

Just Point and Shoot

It is one of my favorite things to do. Put the camera in auto focus, set the settings, stabilize the camera just below, pointing into the sky where there are trees filtering the bright sunlight, and SHOOT. Poof. Purely magical. (yes, sometimes it takes a few but you won't be totally disappointed) Hint: be sure your focal point is on the flower...or main subject...and not the trees or sky or whatever background there is.

Spring....In July

We have had some very 'springlike' weather in July...and June...and May....and who knows....maybe in August.

It seems our feathered friends are taking advantage of it as another nest of babies await mom to return with their next 15 minute meal.

Wish I could have gotten closer for this one but it stands 12 feet tall outside my kitchen window...so I shot through the window the best I could in afternoon overcast lighting.

From Behind the Door

Yes....this one did it.
I'm hooked.
Portrait photography is definitely an also needed for portfolio.
Au natural preferably.
I don't now I want to get into the 'studio' thing yet...although I realize if I want to make money on it some day....it is an area I probably really need to focus on.

I took around 200 pics of this 'soon to be mom'. I came up with close to 50 that I, myself, consider useable. (Yes...I am my worst critic.)

A main point that came out of this. A bit of self esteem. An urge to do more 'candid', sit back and relax type photography. But most importantly....a happy Mom to be....who, by the way, is now...really?....a mom!!!

Congrats Ms. S.

A Windy Effort

I came home today to find my current 'favorite flower' in my gardens, broken off...by the wind I would suspect..although it was a pretty clean snap. I grabbed it up and floated it in the bird bath hoping it would extend its life a bit longer.

There was even a bit of rippling in the shallow bird bath water due to the wind. It made it very difficult to get the exact shot that I wanted. This one was way over exposed but the less blurry of most of the others. Again, surprised by an element in the picture that I didn't pay attention to until I reviewed the pics on the screen.

One. Refreshing. Droplet. All along I just wanted a picture of its reflection, colorful shadow in the room. Another...Mother Nature surprise...a refreshing one at that.

CatTail Trails...oh MY!!!

On the Left of us in our 'something larger than small' boat....was a wall of cattails.

On the Right of us in our 'something smaller than large' boat.....was a wall of cattails.

Directly in front of us in our 'something wider than skinny' boat....was a wall of cattails (from where we sat).

Directly below us in our 'something more than shallow bottomed boat....was a stream, a creek, a depth of three feet...if even...

As long as we stayed in the center of the flow.

Away from the cattail edge.

Where the red wing blackbirds flew in and out.

Chattering at us.

Begging us.

To remove ourselves from their quiet little home.

We travelled for what seemed like miles,

but was no further than two large city blocks.

To find.

The Sky.

Even brighter blue.

with clouds even whiter white.

And quiet....peaceful...awesome.

Tranquility.

"Gaming" Memories

Seriously, how long has it been since you played a game...the old fashion way? Not on a "GameBoy" or PS or even a laptop or phone....or any other 'electronic, modern new technology gadget'? huh? Huh?

We barbecued at mom's for the 5th.

We found this in the garage.

We played until dark thirty.

'Sentimentally' Speaking

I am an avid bird watcher and lover. They...make me feel free. I used to...dream a lot about having the ability to fly. Not...in a plane.... I would dream of soaring up above the world. I can still feel what it felt like...so real those dreams seemed.

I stopped having those when I started flying glider planes. Strange? Coincidence? A little of both? And it was about this time that I got really involved in bird watching. Yes, I have my favorites...but truthfully...it would probably be easier to mention the ones that don't overly excite me when I see them.

But. These? These. Well. They mean a lot to me. I've always had a fancy for the Pelicans. Brown Pelicans I knew quite well. And one day...on a camping trip in Texas during spring break....my sister (who is no longer with us) joined us. We went for a bike ride on one of the trails. There was a cove that we passed....that was 'white'. Completely. Covered. White. Pelicans. Hundreds. Breathtaking. Awesome. No Camera in site. ggggggrrrrrr....

We weren't to far from camp so I went back to get the camera. Of course, they were gone by the time I got back. A. Dream? A. Mirage? A. Vision? No...it was real. A memory that is very sentimental to me. A memory that is brought back to life each and every time I see a White Pelican. A memory...that is brought back when I think of her.

Thank you, sis. For being there with me...then....and now.

Young Love

Do you remember....

That first crush?

Those first 'butterflies' in the stomach?

The excitement from the first 'date'?

The desire to get up and go to school each day because you knew....'they' would be there?

The giggles?

The freedom?

The....youth of it all?

Unexpected.....

The park next to my house is where the fire department holds the annual 4th...or rather 3rd of July firework show. There is a huge hill that flows down to the river where everyone 'reserves' their spot by laying down tarps...sometimes a week in advance. We normally lay ours out early the morning of. I ventured there tonight to check it out and thought it would be neat to take a picture of the 'Tarp Hill' and was pleasantly surprised by this:

"What's in a Name"

What is in a name?
Wish I was better at remembering.
But it doesn't matter.
It is beautiful...ly....different but most importantly...it is a perennial. It came back after being covered four months with snow.

I was practicing some f16 shots with this one. I have been so obsessed with the wider apertures and the backgrounds it creates...and now...I see I can get some of the same effects with the smaller apertures....and yet have more of the 'up close' be in focus.