Behind Bars

Dot is not the only one that likes to get into the dog crates. I don't know what is so appealing about them, but when the dogs are out the cats will play. It takes some real work to get a picture of Gus in the crate because he is such a momma's boy that anytime I come into the room, he comes over to me. This was about the third time he was in the crate and I finally got the shot. I like the shadow stripes and the bowl in front of him as well as the darkness to the right and behind, it was some fun tonight.

Puppy Love

Is he adorable or what? I met this little guy today, he's half lab and half dachshund. He is so cute and fun and so puppy! We haven't had puppies around here for 13 years, and I forgot how much fun they are and how much energy they have and even how hard they sleep. Thanks to Wade and Natalie for letting me play with both pups today.

Hi-Matic

We recently got this old family camera. It's a Minolta Hi-Matic 9, here are the specs:

• Produced 1966 Minolta Camera Co., Japan
• Film type 135 (35mm)
• Picture size 24mm x 36mm
• Weight 26.4oz (748.4g)
• Lens Rokkor 45mm 1:1.7-22 (6 elements in 5 groups)
• Filter size 55mm screw-in, 57mm slip-on
• Focal range 3' to infinity
• Shutter Seiko-LA
• Shutter speeds B, 1/4-1/500 manual or automatic
• Viewfinder coupled rangefinder with auto parallax correction
• Exposure meter lens mounted CdS CLC with viewfinder needle (EV)
• EV range 5.5 to 17 @ ASA 100
• ASA 25-800
• Battery originally PX625 1.35v mercury
• Easy-Flash system; set GN on lens barrel for AE
• Hotshoe, PC sync (syncs at all speeds on X setting)
• Self-timer
• Slow-action wind lever

Under Construction

Welcome to the new UNT football stadium! This season will be the last for Fouts Field (1952-2010) and the new stadium will open for the 2011 season. It is as yet, unnamed and under construction. This is just one side of the stands, and they are still going higher, all the way up to the top of that crane before it's finished. It looks like it will be an impressive facility when it's finished, it is huge already.

Hot and dry

What's wrong with this picture? I took this one along the lake where I usually run, except that I went for a little walk "on" the lake to get this shot. This shell washed up from the lake this summer. Because of the heat and lack of rain, the water level dropped so much that the new lake edge is around 10 feet in and this area is now solid ground with plants and all. But the shell remains where it was originally washed ashore.

Pecans!

I was working out this afternoon and I glanced out the window and much to my surprise I had this sight. It wouldn't be too extraordinary except that we have been waiting on this tree to produce pecans for close to 10 years now! It is so very exciting as we both like pecans and this is our first batch. Despite the very strange weather this past year, we have a bumper crop of almonds and apples and now pecans!

KaBOOM!

This is what happens when you leave a full can (or 12 pack) of Dr. Pepper in the car in 105 degree weather. Need I say more?

I see you

I was visiting a friend's house this afternoon and took time to go see her horses. They are quite friendly and as this one got up close I just loved the reflection I saw in his eyes. I wanted to capture as little of me and the camera as I could and I got the other (white) horse fully in the reflection. It came out with a nice close up and a good angle on the reflection. Good horse, one of my favorite reflections ever.

Play at the plate

Tonight we went to the Fort Worth Cats game. It's not the same now that we don't know any of the players or staff but it's still some good entertainment. We met some friends for a nice evening out and had a great time, despite the not so great game for the home team. I captured this moment as the runner raced for home and the ball came in to the catcher...I won't tell you the end result, judge for yourself.

Almonds!!!

Nature is great, it works together to make things happen without any influence from us. I have been waiting, not so patiently, for my almonds to be ready to harvest. I tried to force them a bit and it didn't work, it was too early, but now nature has kicked in to help out. The almonds that are ready drop to the ground, the fruit splits open and the sun dries the fruit while the insects eat the flesh and leave the shelled nut. Each day, I go out and pick up a few more that are "nature ready" and here are just a few of those. I hope to remove the husks and roast some of these this weekend!

Cat crate?

I love my cats, but they are quite strange. Dot absolutely loves "her" dog and she will just sit in his crate while he is outside. I'm pretty sure she is just claiming her space and since she thinks he is her dog, she's marking her territory. She likes to give him kisses when he comes out of his crate and chases him around the house, in a fun way, he doesn't mind much. Tonight, I caught her sitting in his crate, staring into space...

Not you again

I found my lizard friend out on the deck again this afternoon. He still is giving me "the" look...stay away and don't bother me. However, I still think he is the coolest looking creature and I wanted his picture. Especially since he was up on the boards and not so blended in to his environment. He ran from me after this into the greenery and he actually stood out very nicely but he moves much faster than I do so I wasn't able to get the shot I wanted. Maybe some other day!

I love my ball

Sophie is quite the playful kitten, actually cat, she's over 2 years old now but don't tell her. She will play with about anything or anyone. Tonight, she not only played with one of her favorite toy balls but she even curled up with it to nap. It's rare to see her and the ball in such proximity without her in full on "spaz" mode. Isn't she cute?

What are you looking at?

We have an entire family, actually probably multiple families of this type of lizard that live around the house. They are especially fond of climbing the brick, playing in the gardens and on the deck out back. They blend in really well but they make an incredible racket when they move. I rarely see them standing still, usually they are moving before I notice them and the sound is what draws my attention. The same was true for this guy today, but I was milling around picking my almonds and while he kept moving, he never left the deck area so I was able to get a good shot of him. This is medium size one, compared to what I see around here anyway. I think they are very neat looking and was glad to finally get a good shot of one.

Play Ball

Today was our anniversary and my husband took me out to a baseball game to celebrate. I love baseball and taking pictures of the game. We went out to the MiLB AA Rough Riders game, which has a great ballpark, and we almost always know at least one player. Tonight, we didn't actually know any of the players but we did recognize the shortstop, as he is a MLB player rehabbing at the lower level. I got a few good action shots but this was my favorite and it is even of Arias, the Ranger player. Obviously the runner was not out but Arias saved the ball from going into the outfield and the runner advancing to third or even home.

Holding on

Are you tired of my dragonflies yet? I was actually on the hunt for something else but what can I say, these guys are enticing. I did try to go for different angles and backgrounds at least. This variety is very common in my yard, he's not as brightly colored as some of the others I've seen. I got in front of him to see his face and it's fun to see him holding on with all his legs to the tip of the branch.

Neon Green

This dragonfly has been hanging around my back patio the last few days. I saw him last night and didn't get out to take a picture but tonight when I saw he was back, I went out with the camera. He is such a vivid green and the wings don't have the spots like some of the blue dragonflies I have photographed. I took photos of him on different backgrounds and at different angles, this is the best overall view of him and below are various other shots. The green of the grass as a background is nice as well as the "head shots" as he posed for me.

Cri-cat

As I was working with my Cricut machine designing cards this evening, Sophie came to "help" as she likes to do. She is always so intrigued to watch it go and I finally caught a picture of her watching it so intently. Her face is a bit dark as I didn't flash to front light but you can see how she is really watching the machine...

Summer sprinkles

Today is my official last day of summer. I start a new job tomorrow and I celebrated today by playing with mom and eating yummy snacks. I wasn't all that bad but I did buy this chocolate chip covered, sprinkled rice crispy treat and it was pretty, so I went for the fun shot here. No fancy tricks, just a decent background and focus and here's the yummy picture.

Duckwalk

It's been awhile since I went to check on my duck family but I finally made it out this morning. The morning sun was across the water and I got some shots of them with their beautiful colored wings but I also got a few like this with them in more of a silhouette. These are all females and they bunched up like a duck train to swim away from me and then proceeded to turn right around when I headed away...I was glad to see them again, though I missed seeing the boys. I wasn't sure they would still be around, as they are pretty well full grown now.

Perspective

I started another morning outside, working on the fence and found another spider. Amazing creatures, able to spin a web so quickly. I just thought this was fun with the focus on the spider which appears to be floating in mid air. The light post in the background give you some perspective. The clear skies are a sign that it's gonna be a hot day!

Crash

As I was working outside today, this dragonfly came out of a tree and crashed into me. In fact, earlier I had been hit by a wasp as well, so I must have been blending in somehow. This guy fell to the ground for a second and then flew up and over into the garden and I followed him with the camera. He did some fancy wing maneuvering and then flew off. It's one of my favorite dragonfly pictures.

Coming out of the woodwork

When it rains, all kinds of things "come out of the woodwork" as the saying goes. We had a big storm this afternoon and the woodwork here is my fence, which happens to be laying on the ground. There were snails all over it and I snapped this shot of one of them crossing. The textures are interesting here with the wood, the snail and his shell.

Just For Fun

I finally got a little creative in a shot today. I was driving by this playground and the sky was beautiful and I started thinking how great the bright playground colors against the blue sky would look. I stopped and got out and played around and I liked this perspective with the spinning into infinity.

Imagination

This photo isn't so much about the butterfly, although I do love butterflies, but it's the scene I thought would be interesting. Everyday things, from a different perspective.

Beautiful

Now that Rhoda has had the stitches removed from her head, I had to get a new picture of her. I prefer outside pictures in general but specifically of her because her blue eye nearly glows in the sunlight and even more now that she's had an "eye lift" done. I couldn't get her to sit still for terribly long so I didn't get to work much with poses and angles but she still is so beautiful.

Happy Boy

Rolf loves playing with his soccer ball but due to the hot weather, we haven't played outside much lately. I took this picture tonight at just the right time, not completely dark and not too hot. He posed for me and I used flash to light him. It was a nice evening outside except for the dozen bug bites I got in a matter of minutes.

Cannonball!

The cry heard across the ... backyard! Today was cannonball day at the pool. William definitely mastered the skill, as you can see. Missy and Wil both joined in but William had to have done dozens of them himself. We had a cookout and pool party today and between the headless duck, beach balls and cannonballs, it was quite the fun afternoon in Michigan, a great way to end our vacation.