Happy Halloween

As it is Halloween, I figured I should share at least one Halloween type photo. This was a fun idea, the Jack O Lantern had a tub of dry ice behind it so the pumpkin appeared to be spewing out of it's mouth. Then the smoke slithered down the walkway up to the house. This was a very scary house!

I have to post one last soccer picture as well, today ended the 2010 season, so in honor of that, here's a shot from today's game as well. Congratulations to all the seniors, we'll miss you!

Duck Pond

Before the rest of the gang came over for the BBQ, I took our house guests on a little hike to my favorite spots. We struck out on wildlife at the lake but fortunately when we got to the pond we found a group of ducks that had alighted there. This is a very small pond and there are not usually ducks here so it was an extra special find. They flew from one side to the other as I came around and I got this shot which I like not just because of ducks in fight but because of the reflections. I took a few other reflection shots at the pond, the bushes made some great patterns and colors in reflection as well. Then I gave Amy and Dean a show by going around to the other side of the pond and sending the ducks flying off right over their heads. Dean has a great video, but I was too busy duck chasing to get one myself...

Stop!

It's the last weekend of soccer season, so there won't be many more of these pictures but here's one from today's game. The goalie is doing her best to make sure the ball is stopped and in her possession while an amazing defender (I am a bit biased) backs her up. These two played well together to give the team great defensive stats over the past couple of years and as they are both seniors, you won't see this scene much longer.

Action cat

I tried something different today, about time right? My cats were helping me get the guest rooms ready tonight by getting all over the clean beds and under foot. I went ahead and grabbed the camera and got some shots of them but I did some motion and no flash for a kind of blur effect without losing the actual image. This one is not exceptional but I like the timing of it and the amount of her I got in the shot with my motion.

Fuzzy Rangers

Tonight, we've gotten a few of the MVP's away from their "world' and out into the DFW area. It is World Series time in Texas so we're in our Rangers gear. Kris is so nicely posed in her appropriate attire, showing off the Fuzzy's sauce and with a nice still of Cliff Lee above on the screen. What more do you need?

Reflections

I needed to go for a relaxing, if not chilly, walk this evening, so I grabbed a friend (thanks Teresa!) and my camera and headed over to the park. It wasn't about the photos tonight so I actually only snapped two shots. I didn't get a great one but I will share this one for today. We were looking for "our" ducks as we headed around the lake, but we couldn't see them. It was getting dark, so we kept moving and as we came to the end we saw these guys. There were 10 of them and these are a new variety of duck, not our typical family. I love reflections, as you have probably noticed, so I went for the shot of multiple ducks with the nice ripples and reflections.

New Toy

There are always fun giveaways at these conferences we go to. Among the goodies this time were pedometers, ceramic coffee mugs, a notepad that looks like a laptop, USB keys and this fun light up bouncy ball.  The cats were somewhat interested in the ball but I was having a lot of fun, when you bounce the ball, it lights up and flashes red, green and blue lights. The kitties would chase it on the bounce and then just sit by it and I watched their faces light up the different colors as they sniffed at it. Gus shows a bit of a purple glow on his chin, as his white shows the colors the best.

Sky view

It's quite an experience to fly over different geographic formations, from snow capped mountains to vast oceans and anything in between. I always choose the window seat so I can look out and enjoy the views. Tonight's flight was no exception and as we headed out of Nevada, I saw some beautiful things, as we landed back in Texas, the moon was incredible. I took just a few shots and just sat back and enjoyed the view the rest of the time. This one is my favorite because of the lighting and shadows and the bridge.

Bath time

I was fortunate to catch several of the birds during their bathing time. I had never seen ducks go completely under water to get themselves wet and then shake it all off. There was serious grooming going on today at the Wildlife Habitat. This guy was getting quite vigorous in his cleaning and I caught this moment as he was fanning his wings after a particularly long session of bathing. Now you're thinking I've stayed around the Flamingo all day but be assured, I've walked approximately 8 miles each day so far and most certainly not even 1/4 of that is at the hotel!

Margaritaville

We're staying at the Flamingo and yes, they do have live flamingos as well as several other bird varieties in a Wildlife Habitat just behind the casino. Also, part of the hotel is the famous Margaritaville, which plays home to at least 4 parrots. If you want to see more animals, there are the lions in the casino at the MGM Grand, Sigfried & Roy's Dolphin Encounter and Exotic Cats, the Shark Exhibit, and the Atlantis Aquarium. The lions are hard to photograph as they are behind (large, thick) glass and it is always crowded, but they are amazing to see.

Flying into the sun

I flew to Las Vegas, Nevada this evening, therefore it seemed only appropriate to take a picture earlier this morning of a plane as it was crossing this beautiful sunrise.

Fresh Roasted

These almonds are fresh out of the oven, dry roasted perfection. I grew them, picked them, "peeled" them, dehusked them and finally, roasted them. Making almonds from scratch is no small feat! I have plenty more still needing to get through the final few steps and will have to try some additional roasting recipes and methods but for now, pure and simple, fresh home roasted almonds. Aren't they pretty?

Gaggle of Geese

The local goose hot spot this winter is apparently right on my drive home from work. There are always a few geese, ducks, maybe an egret hanging around this pond, but over the past week or so, I've noticed an increase. Today, I took the time to pull off the road and take a peek, and there were at least 50 geese enjoying the scenery. There were also a dozen or so ducks, a couple egrets, even a variety of other birds sitting on the fence line. I will have to get out my dSLR and head over here one day soon to get some fun close ups.

Sweet Boy

We have two dogs, both part Catahoula, and they couldn't be less alike for being, partly at least, the same breed of dog. Rhoda has short, fine, thin fur, she has two different colored eyes and she's a mere 52 pounds. Rolf on the other hand has two layers of thick, full fur, the colorings and markings of a German Shepard, the feet of a Rottweiler and weighs in at 90 pounds. The difference doesn't stop there but what's most difficult for them is that Rhoda loves to be outside in the late spring and summer when Rolf can hardly stand it and of course, come fall and winter, the roles are reversed. It is Rolf's time of year now and he loves a good lazy day in the yard. He was out "helping" me collect almonds and once he finally stopped following me around, I got a cute shot of my sweet, big, baby boy enjoying our outside time.

Beautiful end

I had an incredible weekend, filled with so many great activities and people! It was jam packed and I am worn out, but it was all worth it. As I headed to my last event of the weekend, the sun was setting and the sky was gorgeous. I was enjoying the view as we headed into Lewisville and then we got to the lake. This was breathtaking as we approached. The colors, the clouds and the boat drawing a curved line through the water was the perfect final touch.

2010 Dallas Komen Race for the Cure

Today's picture is another one of my moments in time. Today I ran in my first Komen 5K race. It was an awesome experience with a great team. I was actually jogging when I took this photo, who knew it was so hard to keep the camera straight? ;)
The number of people that participate in this event is amazing, it's really great to see everyone out for the cause and this was my view from the middle of the pack, awe inspiring I thought.

Flying in

Pollen seeking bee requesting landing...
We have planted bushes that attract butterflies and hummingbirds, which also attract bees. I don't mind them so much when their mission is toward the flowers and not toward me. This guy was moving flower to flower and I caught him between stops.

Out of place

Grass, a cow, a dead tree and new houses? And the cow is asking what I'm looking at! What can I say, I live in an area where one minute you've got cows and the next, you're in the middle of a neighborhood. I was out this evening on a date with my wonderful husband and he even took me to see the cows :)

Water takeoff

Today I wanted to go for a walk, just a slow, easy, photo walk. This gorgeous weather makes it even more enticing. Despite a late start, I decided to head over to my "duck park" at Southlakes. Last time I was there, even more ducks had appeared so I went out hoping to catch some of them. The first set swam rather quickly away from me and I moved on to the newest family, who also took off, in flight and in the water. Thankfully by the third set, I was getting quieter on approach and I got closer to this pair before they were alerted to my presence. That's great not only for getting photos but my sudden appearance made them get away in a rush and this is the great shot I got from that. There are now around 20 waterfowl, mainly Mallard ducks but also including a couple pairs of American Coot, as seen here.

Lines

And the power lines go on into the distance...
It is another sunrise shot, but what I was really looking at here were the lines in a silhouette against the sky. It's not as balanced as I would like but I liked the depth.

Puppy Love

Berkley is an adorable puppy with a great demeanor. You can tell as this little boy, a stranger to him, just grabbed hold and gave him a big hug. Berkley just sat there being adorable and enjoying the attention. Every child around wanted to pet and hug him and he just soaked it all up and was as sweet as can be while letting them crawl all over him. I have to admit, not just the children feel that way, I think he's a real cutie and cuddled with him when he let me.

Fall Festival

Fall is finally here in north Texas. That means cooler weather and of course pumpkin patches! Today, I was able to go out to the annual Fall Festival celebration at the Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home. It's always a fun event with food, music, face painting, a petting zoo, raffles and a hay ride with a pumpkin patch, among the other festivities. I was looking forward to getting out and today the weather was gorgeous for the event. The sun was shining brightly, as you can see from my pumpkin picture. This year's patch was especially fun as they had the Lumpy, Bumpy, Knucklehead pumpkins! I made a mess of my sno-cone, petted various animals, raced Hot Wheels, got some great bargains on Spanish children's books and craft supplies, checked out a Fire Truck, classic cars, and a John Deere and of course took a few pictures. Happy Fall Y'all!

A soccer kick

I never played soccer on a team. I grew up watching my brothers play but it was never my sport to learn how to play. I am a sports fan, I love not just watching sports but learning about them, the strategies, etc. Soccer came back on my radar a couple of years ago with this wonderful player. Since I started watching her and the team in 2008, I've remembered and learned more about the sport again. So, why this shot? Soccer is a chaotic game, with the constant movement but there's something so graceful about some of the motions players make. During one game, I was talking about kicking with someone and I realized how much I love getting good shots of a good solid kick. I think a good soccer kick, showing balance and strength is beautiful. Yes, that's the sports fan in me talking!

Flowers and bees

I headed out this afternoon to get a few flower shots as the flowers are coming alive again for fall. The flowers were blooming, I found a lot of pinks and purples as well as the colors of fall starting to show on the leaves of various plants and trees. I did not come across any butterflies or dragonflies on my flowers, as often is the case, but I did come across quite a few bees. It's always a fun challenge to capture the flying insects, bees especially are not ones to stay still for a photo op. Thankfully, there were enough of them for me to settle in a general location and capture the flowers I wanted as well as catching a bee, in the act, of pollination that is.

Speedy Train

I wondered what kind of image I would get if I took this picture of a train as it approached the intersection. I saw it coming and so I set up for it, knowing there would be blur and hoping it would be an interesting picture, with the lights and the car at the intersection as well. For something different, I like it, seems like you can feel the speeding train rushing by.

Smashing Almonds

What do I do when I'm not at work, at a game, working out, scrapbooking, crocheting or taking pictures? Well, I garden of course! This past year and a half I have really cut back on time in the garden and yard and thus have little to show, but one exception is my large quantity of apples and almonds. This is the first year the almond tree has produced fully and there are quite a few steps to getting at the almond itself. Let me say that now I understand why almonds cost so much, the work involved is more than expected. I love it though and it's worth it for me to get to watch them grow and gather them, then remove the fruit and find the seed pod and finally, go at them with a hammer. Here's how you do it, hammer + concrete = almond!

Rainbow

OK, so it's a different kind of rainbow, the inside variety. Allie's tank catches the morning sun and casts rainbows on the carpet around the house. This morning was a really good one and I thought I'd try to capture it. The colors actually came out well against the beige carpet.

Mirror Image

I was working inside this afternoon when I saw movement out my window. On the bushes down by the pond were several large butterflies gathering pollen. I headed downstairs, grabbed the camera and went outside to take a look. I only got a few shots before they were off to check out other plants. I got down on the ground looking up to get this shot before this not quite symmetrical butterfly flitted off into the wind. He seems to have a few war wounds and if you've seen other shots against this flower, you'll notice the large wing span. I wish he had stayed around a bit longer but was glad to have had the opportunity to see him up close before he left.