Blah No More

I've been having a pretty crappy day.  Sinuses are all plugged up, stupid people are everywhere I turn, and I'm tired.  The 2 hr. dozing nap helped a little, but not enough.  Guess it's definitely time to turn to the photos for a mood lifter!

I went out to Cox Arboretum the other day, mostly to see the new tree tower and see if I could make it to the top of it.  Physically that wasn't an issue.  Mentally and emotionally, I didn't quite make it.  I'm afraid of heights.  This structure is wooden, with a beautiful spiral staircase.  It was a very windy day.  Whether or not it really happened, by the time I neared the top, I felt slight movement in the structure and decided I'd gone high enough.  It was high enough to get some good shots of the tops of trees w/ the leaves changing color, as well as some of the pine cones clustering near the tops of trees.  I was VERY glad to get back down to solid ground.

Now that I selected the pics to share w/ y'all, I really am in a better mood.  I'm hoping that once they're uploaded to the blog and I make a few comments, I'll be well on my way to a good mood!

No, Mr. Duck, when you live at a MetroPark, you have absolutely NO privacy.  Besides, you're so gorgeous, you should be used to people stopping and staring at you.

Once again, I was as intrigued by the shadows as what caused the shadows . . .

Nice, bright, and colorful flowers that just made me smile.

The newly opened tree tower.  Pretty cool, but this girl prefers to be on the ground level . . . it was worth the climb, and I will try again to see if I can make it to the top.

Looking up at the tree tower from the ground.  Love the symmetry and geometric shapes.

I liked the way this tree looked at ground level, but there was something more intriguing about it when seen from above.

These branches were relatively close to the tree tower, several landings up.  I think I made it at least one more landing up after this one!

Back down on terra firma, I looked up to see these pine cones almost directly above me (quite a few feet above me, really).

I really like the Monet bridge, and thought it was interesting through the trunks of two trees.

More colorful flowers that made me smile.

This contortionist duck made me laugh, too.  I got about 5 shots of her preening, but this is my favorite.

In all of the trips I've made to Cox Arboretum, I've always looked for this border collie, Zipp.  He is a working dog at the park who keeps the geese away from the pathways.  This was the first time I'd sighted him, so I had to make sure I got a picture of him.  He seemed more interested in keeping an eye on the people walking around than on these ducks.  But since they weren't near the pathways, I'll cut him a break!  Would have LOVED to have been able to pet and play with him, but he was working.  Darn it!

Yes, I'm in a MUCH better place than I was when I started this post, emotionally speaking.  One of the many reasons I love photography - it has the ability to transport me to another place and time and completely change my mood.  When I'm out looking for pictures, it does the same thing, so it's definitely a win/win situation.

Pretty Little Cria

I love learning new words.  I love learning new words and being able to use them.  About three months ago I first read the term "cria" and have been looking forward to using it.  There are a couple of reasons I've looked forward to using it:  1) because I don't feel I've really learned a new word unless I've used it; and 2) a cria is a baby alpaca (as well as other types of camelids, i.e. llama, vicuna).

My friends at Purdy Lil' Suri Alpaca Farm experienced the first birth at their farm this past Monday.  They now have a male cria, as of yet unnamed, who is simply adorable.  Of course, I invited myself over to take some pictures of the little guy, and feel the need to share the overload of cute with you!  In these pics, the cria is only 2 days old; they gain about 0.5 lbs a day.  Poor momma alpaca has a gestation period of about 11.5 months.  Yikes!

These next 4 pictures are sequential shots of the little guy yawning . . . he was just so cute with the toothless gums.

I wanted to touch his fur/hair, but kept my distance to keep him from being anxious.  I know there will be many more chances for me to visit with the girls and cria (and another cria is due with in the next month!), and I'm hoping I'll be able to get closer.  I really want to get better pics of the eyes/eyelashes . . . just one of those things that's intriguing me.

Suri is one of two types of alpacas.  The other is huacaya.  The suri's locks are long, twisted or flat fibers, draping along the side of the body; the huacaya's (wuh-KAI-uh) fiber resembles that of a sheep.  Interestingly, alpaca fiber is warmer than wool AND hypoallergenic.  There are a lot of items made from alpaca fiber, but you have to know where to find them.  Check out the facebook page for my friends' farm for more pictures (some you will recognize).  They do have some items for sale as well, but not via facebook or internet at this point.

Fall in SW Ohio

The temps have started dropping a little, the calendar does indeed say October 15th, AND the leaves have been changing colors for a little while here in SW Ohio.  I stopped on my way home from playing school taxi for my niece and then visiting Mom to try to capture some of the views of the beautiful colors.

This was another new adventure for me - in all of the years I've had a camera, I've never intentionally tried to capture the beauty of fall foliage, especially the variety of colors.  Last year I was more involved in leaf removal than thinking about pictures of leaves; the maples have yet to start letting loose of them in the front yard this year.  The fun I have to look forward to!

At least the pics I took today were not at home and I don't have to deal with these leaves falling and needing to be corralled into piles in the street!  I'm pretty happy with the shots I got, but will be trying at a few other spots to see how they compare . . .

The picture above is kind of freaky . . . as I scroll up or down the picture, it's as if I'm walking up or down the road!

Remember that train I took a pic of?  The top of this bridge is where it was running!  I waited and waited for traffic to clear both ways (which was ridiculous since it was 4:45 or so and that's about the time this road starts to get busy!) so I could get the whole bridge framing the trees.  I got down to one car in the pic, and ended up cropping it out.

I really enjoyed taking these photos today.  I'm looking forward to getting back out the next few days to see what other fall colors/shades I can find in SW Ohio!

I do have my eye on a tree up the street from my house.  In the fall, the leaves on the tree turn yellow, and there's what looks to be an ivy plant growing around the tree trunk; the leaves of the ivy and the tree form a wonderful contrast and it reminds me of an impressionist painting.  It hadn't gotten to that point yet as of Sunday, but I'm thinking it's not far off.  Definitely on my list of shots to capture!

Gigglin' in the Rain

It's been a dreary couple of days - a bit cooler, some rain, and mostly cloudy.  It was beginning to get me down.  Until I looked out back to see all of the daisies blooming, as well as the volunteer sunflower further unfolding.  How could I NOT be cheered up by these? 

These daisies suddenly were so top heavy that they are falling over!  I'll have to get something to help prop them up.  Do you see there are still a lot of buds that haven't opened yet?  More days of cheer to come!!

All of the daisies make me smile, but noticing how many, many, many buds there are makes me giggle in anticipation!

And the volunteer sunflower . . . love the geometric proportions and spiraling in the center, as well as the bright yellow against the dark green.  Should have done some cropping to get rid of the garden hose in the background, but that just didn't happen today!  Oops, also see my left shoe in the shot, as well as part of my purple top!

From the "aerial" shot, it looked more like the petals were flat.  As you can see, they aren't yet.  I liked this view, especially since the other volunteer sunflower was taller and I couldn't do the shot from above.  That was one of the times I really dislike being so short!

Slightly different angle, but I liked the yellow leaves from the redbud tree in the lawn in the background.

Not a greatly different angle, but I liked how this one shows off how the petals seem to almost swirl.  I get a sense of almost movement.  I also like the green of the leaves blending with the green of the grass as well as the yellow leaves in the background . . .

Now, would you believe I took all of these pics with my cell phone??  I am so happy to have decent pics from it since I have it with me almost all of the time.  It's a whole lot less cumbersome to tote around, but it does have its limitations.

The best suggestion I ever received (and I wish I could remember who told me) was that if you weren't satisfied with the pictures you were taking, to keep working on them with the camera you currently had until you were satisfied.  That was a good indication you were ready for an upgraded camera.  It's not the camera for the most part.  It's composition, lighting, shadow, and usually, timing.  Every time you take a new type of picture or try a different angle, composition, etc., it takes work to get it right.  I feel very blessed when all circumstances fall together and I get the picture I envisioned, or one better than I had anticipated.

I've been itching to get out and take pics, but I've been swamped again with "have to do" things that couldn't be put off.  After this week, I'm hoping it slows down a little and I can get back out on a regular basis.  I have a meeting regarding potential volunteer work with Goodwill Easter Seals, and I'm mailing in an application to be an Ambassador for Dogs for the Deaf.  Neither of those would be a lot of hours at any given time, but they'll give me opportunities to get out and learn new things and meet new people.

Volunteer?

It really shouldn't surprise me anymore when I notice some of the coincidental things in my life!  Yesterday I noticed that the daisies were beginning to bloom, so I had planned to get some more pics today, but different angles (and mostly the buds, not opened blooms).  Then I remembered I should check on the volunteer sunflower that had come up under another bird feeder.

And wouldn't you know, that sunflower is almost in full bloom, too.  Nothing odd about that, except that this past week, I offered my services for two volunteer opportunities.  Blooming volunteer sunflower, and I submitted applications to volunteer . . . bizarre!

 Yes, I have applied to volunteer for Goodwill Easter Seals as a reader for their visually impaired subscribers; they have special radios for those who can no longer read the printed word, and then offer regular radio programming of different periodicals being read (some live, some taped).

The other volunteer work would be with Dogs for the Deaf, but probably not on a regular basis (they are not local).  I found out about them from a service dog and her family that I follow on Facebook (Hattie's Helpers).  Hattie is a chocolate lab who is a hearing dog for her "Momma," Jen; Hattie alerts Jen to sounds like the phone or a knock on the door or the timer going off or the dryer buzzer sounding.  They work as a team and take care of each other.  Hattie has also picked up other sounds that she wasn't trained to alert Jen on - one being that irritating emergency broadcasting system testing alert.  Dogs for the Deaf rescues dogs from shelters and trains them as hearing service dogs.  There is typically a long wait for dogs, so the more the word gets out about them, I'm hoping the quicker they can get MORE dogs and get them trained and out for service.  Oh, and if the dogs turn out to not be the right fit for hearing dogs, they do not return them to the shelters; they take care of adopting them out!  I can't imagine what it must be like not to hear the things I take for granted.  Jen has said that she really didn't sleep well most nights because of all of the things she was afraid she might miss hearing while she slept - a smoke alarm, the phone, etc.  She credits Hattie with allowing her to relax a little and really begin to enjoy life and not worry so much.    Getting the word out about service dogs for the deaf?  Sounds like a lot of fun to me!

These daisy buds are so compact, it doesn't seem possible that they can hold the bloom that eventually unfolds.  How?!?!

I'm hoping that my new volunteer opportunities will also bloom into wonderful experiences that I enjoy in addition to helping others.  I'm looking forward to learning all kinds of new things and meeting new people, starting Tuesday, October 16th.