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Seasonal Survivors

I purchased these wonderful purple and yellow wonders at the end of the season last year....for 75% off. They didn't look as if they had any chance of surviving with only a couple leaves in a 6" pot that had soil just dripping wet...way too much for these heat loving, drought tolerant specimans.

This year...they have given me so much sunshine, so many different photo shoots of them as well as the bumble bee visitors that dine off of them daily.

Worth so much more than some might have thought.

Photo Favs

I love the creativity photography allows me to enjoy. A craving that every one of us needs to satisfy on an on going basis. It keeps the brain strong, the mind sane, personal growth healthy. At this point in my life.....I soak it up. I. Crave. It. Live. For. It. Each and every day. I look forward to coming home each evening anxious to find my next shot (okay....a bit repetitive lately maybe...but...life...well you know.)

I have some shots that I do on a regular basis....because they are fun, bring a different perspective. I'm always trying to find a different way to utilize the same process. Some of the shots I love to take:

Framing things
Shooting with a view through things....as the photo above. My garden of Susans as seen through the back of a patio chair.
Bokeh
Totally Candid portraits
Shooting from underneath. I do this a lot with floral pictures...in case you haven't noticed.
Shooting from behind....people, animals....walking away.

I'm always looking for ways of creating in the above formats. I know....there is so much more I could do....that I could learn. I'll get there. I'll expand. I promise.

Thursday Thoughts

I had a day of vacation last Friday.
It's month end at work.
Business is booming right now...which means....long hours again...or should I say longer.
I was out ill on Monday.
It's month end. The everyday 'needs to be done' stuff was pretty much taken care of before I left last Thursday.
I was quietly reprimanded for being behind on Tuesday. Two days behind...which turned in to many days behind before Wednesday was over because of the booming business stage.

Lunch is at the desk again...not much out of the ordinary. I did try to walk today....cell phone rang....it was work and five minutes into the walk...I turned around.
My brain...is exhausted....literally exhausted.

I worked out extremely hard last week....as I did in June....then came July....a 'holiday' month, right? I take a day off at work....and get behind. I take a day off from working out...and get...more of a behind. lol!!!!

I didn't have the energy to do much of anything when I got home almost 13 hours after I left this morning. I wanted to attend Music on Main today...with the Reggae music going on. I didn't. Wish I had.

I stood at my back fence for a few minutes...camera in hand...wondering what would enchant me today...with such an exhausted state of mind.

The river.
Down the hill.
To the river edge.
Meandering.
Frogs jumping.
Fish jumping.
Reflections.

We sit.
We watch.
We think.
We wonder.
We....take a deep breathe, a sigh.

The magic...the peace...the tranquility.........

Shortening of Days

Well.....the summer is coming to an end.

The days are getting shorter.

The daylight hours after work are getting less and less.

The sunrise in the morning is starting to greet me again on my ride to work. As much as I enjoy them, I wish I could push it back just a couple of months. Start the summer again....knowing what I know now!!!

Okay...so maybe...more than just a couple of months. Maybe...a few....several.....a decade or two or three....not four!!!!

A 'List' Item

I have a list.

Of things I want to do....in this life time.

An ever changing one.

Continuously growing.

Take one off....add five more...that type of list.

I need to work on that....taking them off...completing them...versus just cancelling them.

I need to work on that....today....tomorrow....this week...this month...this year.

Not knowing.

Expecting the worst.

Hoping for the best.

This is one of them...or maybe two....

Taking a ride in a hot air balloon.

Going to the Hot Air Balloon festival in New Mexico.

hhhmmmm....in the fall. hhhmmmm

Siblings

Siblings. You love 'em. You hate 'em. You grow up with 'em...bickering, fighting, laughing, 'rastling', sharing, not sharing, arguing over something so...so silly (toys, games, books, sides of the bed, bedrooms, boyfriends, girlfriends), blaming, cheering on, kicking, biting, laughing, crying, planning evils together, keeping secrets....or not.

Do you remember being a 'poor sportsman' when it came to games? (oh no...that was just my brothers!! hehehe).

Wearing sister's clothes...with or without permission (I was the oldest so it was mine that got shared....as well as handed down. Six kids. Airforce income.

I was the family babysitter.

I had to be the responsible one.

I....grew up before all the rest (yep...probably even before my one and only big brother!!!)

I, also, was one of the first to leave the nest...and missed alot from my younger siblings' lives. Memories...that I missed out on....but we had our own. Memories. Still do.

It's nice that we got to share some of those this weekend.

It's nice that we were able to really laugh at them. REALLY LAUGH.

It was nice to...play games together....and not argue...at least not seriously.

It was nice...to share another day of life together.

In the end...even though we have differences of opinion (oh yes); even though we live miles apart, even though those of us that do reside close by get on each other's nerves...too often...or too little.....in the end....we love each other. YES WE DO!!!!

Time Flies

I lost my father nine years ago.
His parents were gone already.
His brother...a short year later.
My step dad...six months after my father.
My sister.....2003.
My dad's last brother....just this spring.

It was after my sister passed away that we decided to do something about holding family reunions from my dad's side of the family. Something that hadn't been done to my knowledge since I was just....a wee bit younger.

It's hard to believe we've had 5 now. Everyone seems to enjoy them...and I hope they look forward to them as I do. Unfortunately...it's about the only time during a year in life that we get together. It does sadden me...if I think about it too much. Periodically an attempt is made to gather in smaller groups...but life...well...you know.

This year's family reunion was a success. We had a good time. We laughed. We gossiped. We played. We enjoyed the young, the teens, the....the grown ups. The food was abundant as usual. The company was awesome....some of which we enjoyed for not just one day...but three.

The time flew by.

Life goes on.

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!!!!!!