Snake Crossing

This picture was taken with my phone, so the quality isn't good but I have finally figured out how to get images from my phone! It's just a basic, cheap phone but since I have it with me most of the time, it is helpful to have the camera. Today, my running goal was to reach a distance for the month. I didn't take a camera along for the run, obviously, I usually don't, yet I often see things I wish I could take a picture of so today this green snake was right in the middle of the trail. I actually almost stepped on it but once I saw it and jumped over it, I decided to go ahead and stop and take a picture. Of course, there's no zoom on the phone so this is as close as I wanted to get, even if it isn't a Copperhead...

Iris

I was excited to see my iris have finally started to bloom. Only two have opened so far, but one is coming along soon. These are some of my favorite flowers to see in the spring garden. I am drawn to them for some reason. One of which is that though I was never a good artist, this was one of the few things I could draw and paint well in art class. They also tend to grow in large groupings and then leave the green behind after they are done blooming. Purple is my favorite color, these show much more blue in the photo but they are a purple variety.

Soccer Saga

I spent 5 hours today watching soccer games, it was a gorgeous day for it, if not a bit windy. The sun was out most of the time, although there were a few clouds crossing over from time to time. The sun cast some great shadows in some of the pictures but in this picture, it was hidden by clouds so there are no problems with light and dark or shadows, there's just action. It's hard to choose a single picture after a day of like today of so many pictures, but I like this moment in time. Amanda fought off these two girls to keep moving the ball.

Chartreux

From Wikipedia: "The Chartreux is an internationally recognized breed of domestic cat from France. The Chartreux is large and muscular, with short fine-boned limbs, big paws, and very fast reflexes. They are known for their blue (grey) water-resistant short hair double-coats and gold- or copper-colored eyes. Chartreux cats are also known for their "smile"; due to the structure of their heads and their long, tapered muzzle, they often appear to be smiling. Chartreux are exceptional hunters and were highly prized by farmers."


My cat Sophie was found abandoned near a creek at the farm in Kansas when she was approximately 5-6 weeks old. She was in a litter of 5 found that day. She was not like the others, there were 2 black and white, 2 black and this one fuzzy grey kitten. Many people have said she looks like a Russian Blue, and we thought that she might have had a Blue as a partne. But her body shape, fur, eyes and even some of her "quirks" all seem to fit the Chartreux. I took this picture to the left, but take a look at the pictures below of Chartreaux cats and see what you think...

Birds of a feather

TGIF! This has been a long and tiring week but it has finally wrapped up and it's getting better. The weather was gorgeous today, 60s and sunny, and I got to get out for lunch and also get home a bit early. As soon as I got home, I hit the trail for a short photo hike and the birds were all singing, the sun was shining and the breeze was cool. I even saw about half a dozen turtles sticking their heads up in the pond. The one turtle that was hanging out at the edge went right under as I tried to get his picture, camera shy, so you'll have to use your imagination. I was aiming to get bird and wildlife, as opposed to flower, pictures today and so I took only one lens. It worked well for the shots I ended up going after and this is one of them. I loved how this guy got on the end of this broken off branch as well as his coloring and the blue sky is a nice background for him.

Bluebonnet time

Despite the recent snow, spring is still coming. At least in my yard, some of the hyacinths survived and the bluebonnets are beginning to open up. They will be fabulous when they are in full bloom. This is just the beginning of the blooms. I planted 6 plants a few years ago and now I give away about 6 dozen every year. It's time to get outside!

A New Beginning

It's midterm week at work, which makes for a very busy time for teachers and students. On top of that, it's the first week back after spring break, adapting back to the schedule takes some time.Add some "life" issues and now the thunderstorms roll in! All that's to say, it's been a rough week and I've been lacking in motivation in most areas, but this is going to be my picture to be defined as seems fit. I took this picture moments before the rain started. I think it can be looked at a couple ways, gloomy, because of the leafless branches and grey skies or new and fresh, a sign of a new beginning. It's hump day, time to get over this hump and move on to the next thing.

Fuzzy Paws

I've been trying to focus (literally and figuratively) on smaller things to photograph. I'm working on my limits in focus and distance with the different lenses. It's not that the thing itself need be small but my focus on it be up close and personal, showing a piece of something bigger or simply showing the detail of something. Gus, my sweet cuddle kitty, loves to hold my hand, and as I saw his paw in mine, I thought his paw would be good practice. It's got a lot of detail that you don't normally see or pay attention to, but a photo lets you take the time to look.

Random

What can I say, this is truly random today. I like my little Galileo thermometer and I glanced over at it and thought it would be fun to play with in picture taking. In fact, having it in front of the Kathy Reichs books was appropriate as I had 'Bones' on the tv as I was thinking about pictures to take. Also, I've not done much this evening but I did read quite a bit, trying to finish up a book before it's due this week and book club coming up next week. I enjoyed playing with focus and location and lighting to get the fun image here. Liquid and glass do great things!

Bird fighting the wind

It was very windy today and the birds, and the people and cars for that matter, were fighting the wind to get anywhere. Our snow cleared up by mid afternoon but the wind stayed. As we were taking yet another trip to Southlake, I took the camera along and was able to get few photos of birds. It's not the most exceptional picture, but I am fairly happy with catching him with his wings full open. My ducks were not in their little fake pond today when I went by so this was my bird picture of the day.

Faking spring

Officially, spring started today, although around here you couldn't tell it. We have had temperatures near freezing all day with strong winds and while we're still waiting for the forecasted snow, we do have sleet coming down. I did get out and about this morning but settled in for some good inside time this afternoon. One of my projects I had yet to complete this week was to make a new spring wreath. I finished it up this afternoon and Sophie and I pretended it was spring. She kept "helping" me as I was trimming and positioning the flowers, by attacking them and laying down on them. Here's Sophie and the finished project.
Update: It's been snowing for about 3 hours now. I went out as it started and got a few more pictures, I have to share this daffodil picture.

Frog in a stream

As you may have noticed, I enjoy nature photography, I am a nature girl. I love doing things outside, I am intrigued by plants and flowers and animals and even bugs and reptiles. Spring is one of the most amazing times to take a hike and capture life, from the new buds on the trees to the baby animals and everything in between. Officially spring starts tomorrow, I got a head start today and took a perfect spring hike this afternoon and saw trees budding and flowering, robins and cardinals, a branchful of ants, a toad, a turtle and this little guy. I spent some time with him and am pleased with this photo. Then, I headed to a little pond and saw the toad. I caught him right as he jumped although it would have been so awesome with him sitting in the water as I first saw him, but he was too fast to jump. I focused and he was off. My trail was finally not completely soaked although the forecast is for thunderstorms and snow, yes, snow again so it may be another muddy trip my next outing.

Butterflies

We went to the Butterfly Exhibit at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens this afternoon. It was a perfect day for it, the sun was shining and the butterflies were very active. Once we got past the crowds of people, it was quite an enjoyable experience. There were beautiful butterflies of several varieties flying around in a tropical forest setting. I found myself wishing for a macro lens but otherwise, it was a great experience in photography. This photo is unique because I was actually able to get around in front and get the face and body as well as wings. Although butterfly wings are quite impressive and beautiful, I like the different perspective I captured in this photo.

More hyacinth

The last picture of my hyacinth was such a hit and it showed only two of my flower colors. So, I decided to go out again and get another photo with all three of the colors I have in my garden. I did cheat a little bit and encourage the flowers to lean together more than they do on their own...but otherwise it's all exactly as you see it in the garden. I don't recall the color names, I planted these several years ago, but I have a pink and purple theme going with plants and flowers including not only these but also Chinese Plum and Purple wintercreeper, as well as all the greens you see here.

Pink and Purple!

My hyacinth are all opening up now. I had a purple one last week and today I have several. I have a variety of pinks and purples all planted together and here are two of the ones close together. If you look really closely in the background there's a light pink one as well. I had trouble getting the shot I wanted here with all three in the picture but I decided this one is my favorite despite only being able to see the front two colors. The bluebonnets are also coming along, they have the very beginnings of buds just starting to come out of the leaves. It is a great time to be a nature photographer! We usually get our last freeze right about now so it looks like we are well on our way to spring here and I just love it! We've had some rain and overcast skies but honestly the overcast skies make for great flower photos. I do want to get some bright sunlight both in general and also for some pictures but cloudy sure helps with the shadows. Looking forward to my photo day in Fort Worth this week, pictures will be coming by the end of the week.

Blooming Bradford

Quite a few people dislike the Bradford Pear trees because they are not a long lived or sturdy tree and they drop a lot of flowers. I, however, love them, my only dislike is their very strong smell when blooming. They grow in a very nice manicured way and in the spring they are some of the first to flower out and it's a sure sign of spring when they start to bloom. Around here, they tend to be planted in groupings and it's an awesome view to see them all white as the flowers come out. The flowers they drop look like little snow drifts along the driveways and sidewalks. This stage doesn't last long, but it's a nice sight while we have it. I put up a picture earlier as it was just starting and now that all the flowers are out and the leaves are coming on, I wanted another shot to show the mass of flowers they produce.

Spring Soccer

It was a gorgeous spring day today and I was lucky enough to get to enjoy a soccer game at TWU this afternoon. I pulled out my camera and tried a couple different shooting locations during the scrimmage. I have several shots that I am really happy with from the game but here are a few of my favorites. The one with Jacq up front with the ball and several team mates in the background is similar to a basketball shot I got recently. Both have several members of the team in a diagonal row, giving a depth to the shot. This other one, of Katie, is one that focuses on just a single player.

New toys

This week, I got some news toys for the cats while I was picking up the necessities. You know it was a good choice when everyone likes it. They knew I had something as soon as I got home and tried to take the toys out of their packaging before I could get it out. Gus has one of the new sisal "mice" toys here. I think his face is priceless in this shot. We had a good time playing tonight and he's helping me type this now too...

Woodpecker

I went on a bird hunt today, shooting with the camera of course. I went for a nice little walk outside (thank goodness for under armour) this afternoon. The wind was strong all day, and driving home from work, I noticed the birds had a strong presence so I grabbed the camera, layered up and took off on a 4 mile hike. The first few miles didn't get me much more than windburn but after awhile I finally was able to get close to a few birds. I saw quite a variety today but I was most excited about catching this guy. He flew across in front of me and then came around the tree and I was patient enough to get some good pictures of him. I had a great time out on my own in nature, a good way to start spring break for sure!

More blooms

Not only is spring showing up all around, but my digital phototography tutorial today was on photographing wild flowers. So, this isn't exactly a wild flower, but the conditions were right. I have been taking photos that focus on a small portion of a plant with everything in the background out of focus, in fact, fading into nothingness. At least, that's been my aim, having the image jump out from the background. So today, I wanted another spring image but I changed it up a bit. Still, the yellow flower is the focal point, however the leaves of the daffodil plant are only slightly out of focus in the background. Although I love bright sunlit flowers, this was taken while it was overcast (as suggested in my tutorial) and it does give even diffused lighting. It's not the most amazing flower image but I was able to play with a few of the things I wanted to while getting the shot.

Bradford blooms

Another sure sign of spring is the blooming of the Bradford Pear trees. Ours seems to always be just behind the curve which is great for me because I know it's coming. This is our tree today, just as it's beginning to open up. We had another rain storm this morning, it was a true Texas storm, sudden and intense but thankfully it cleared off and made for a beautiful, sunny afternoon. I didn't get a lot of pictures today but I got in a decent run on the very wet trail this afternoon before it got dark. I hope to get out in a couple of days on a picture taking trek, but for today, I am happy to see my Bradford.

Spring is here!

The rain stopped and the sun came out today, making it feel even more like spring. I didn't get to spend the time outside I would have liked, but as the sun was going down, I did step outside for a few moments. I had the pleasure of watching a gaggle of geese fly by honking. Then I found a few "treasures" in the garden. These hyacinth are hiding in amongst a lot of greenery, the first set to come up this spring. The picture doesn't do them justice, they are an even deeper purple color. However, it is a sure sign of spring.

Doing the Wave

My cats love it when I take a bath. They join me in the bathroom, either on the floor, or on the counter, or on the tub edge, somewhere in my presence. Tonight was no exception. I had just finished taking a long, relaxing bath and was putting on some Mineral Ice. Sophie was not sure about the smell and was making all kinds of funny faces at me. Just when I thought that was really funny, she got really excited and started the Wave! Look at the extension, she's already warmed up for baseball season ;)

Chocolate Smile

Tonight we celebrated mom's birthday at Rosa's and we had a cake for dessert. Not just chocolate but chocolate cake with chocolate mousse layers and brownie pieces on top and chocolate chips around the outside. The definition of chocolate! The picture I wish I had was when Shelley cut the first piece and handed it to mom, Matthew's eyes got so big and he just stared at the cake as it was passed across the table. It was the greatest face, he was longing for that cake. He got his piece and as you can probably tell from this picture, he quite enjoyed it!
Happy Birthday mom!

"Bell" Flower

This afternoon, while looking at all the downed trees and branches from our recent snow storm, I discovered this bulb flower on the edge of a cliff behind the barn at my parents house. It's a unique flower with beautiful mottled leaves. I wanted a picture to identify it and because it was so pretty. Last night, I was talking about pictures with shallow depth of field, so as I took a few shots, I discovered that this would be perfect. With this shot, I went for that, choosing the main image the flower itself. In the background you can see one of the leaves curled and headed off to the right. I also got the front leaf pointed almost straight forward. The dry leaves and the downed branch add some texture and character to the image. I haven't looked to see if I can figure out the actual type of flower, feel free to tell me if you know it's real name. I got myself out on the edge with a shovel and a pot to get some samples to bring home. Spring is awesome!

Cardinal

 Today was another beautiful early spring day. Unfortunately I was inside for most of the day and had another busy evening planned so I didn't get to really get out and appreciate it. However, right as I got home and let the dogs out, this male cardinal flew into a tree in the back yard. He stayed long enough for me to grab the camera and even switch to a different lens. He didn't stay very long but I was able to get a few shots as he posed for me. I watched him for awhile and then got ready to try and catch him flying off. I was able to get a quick shot of him on his way out of our tree.

My life in print

I had no picture for today, and thought I had nothing to write. In fact, I hardly had anything this week simply since I've been busy but with nothing particularly interesting. But that's not entirely true. Today, for example, I was headed to work a bit early for tutoring, had duty during my conference period, was trying to finish reading a book for book club tonight, and had to try and schedule an appt (which I can't get in until Monday night) while fighting a computer virus, then watched the basketball playoff game while presenting notes in class, wrapped up the work day to rush home and get in a workout, grab a bite to eat and head to book club, then  fill up the car with gas and finally at home, submit my Avon orders. That typifies my days lately, nothing particular, but a lot of little things, so forgive me if I haven't emailed, called, texted, facebooked or otherwise been in touch with you lately. However, I was reminded in book club that recently, news has played a part in our lives. Obviously, we follow our sports teams, basketball at the moment, and today was a good write up about the seniors, but we also were in the paper ourselves recently. So, I threw a couple of the recent papers together and if you want to see some news from my life, check out the pic.

On a final note, congratulations to the TWU Basketball team, you have done amazing things this year, proud of you for making playoffs! You played a great game today, fighting all the way to the end! I'm sorry to see it end but I am glad to have been involved with such a great group of ladies this season.

Update: After posting this blog last night, I got the school paper today and I have a half page article on me. So, add to our world of news...

Spring is coming

March started here with rain and overcast skies, but since then we've been headed in the right direction. It is finally nice outside this afternoon. We've reached the upper 50s and the sun came out. The trees and bushes are as ready for spring as we are. I've noticed buds and blooms and leafing out around the yard. Today I wanted to get an image of the beginning of spring. This is my Bradford Pear Tree, focused on a single branch,  with other branches and the beautiful sky in the background. The blue of the sky isn't as bright in the photo as I'd like it but you can see the bit of color and you can also see the little fuzzies on the buds.

Lap time

Dot loves upstairs. It's strange, but she becomes another cat upstairs. She "helps" me with my workout, she crawls up on your chest, sits in your lap, and even cuddles. She's the sweetest cat when she's upstairs. When she wants Dottie time, she will get it. She will force her way onto a lap or crawl right up on you, run under you, whatever it takes. Tonight, Eriq was laying on the couch and she was taking every cuddle moment she could get, she even made a lap where there wasn't quite one...

Sunset Colors

I was working in  my room upstairs this evening and as I came out, I looked out the window and saw these amazing colors in the west. I changed to my low light lens and played with focusing on different braches/trees both up close and further away. I wanted to catch the colors of the sky with some texture in the foreground. So, this is it, sunset.