Gems

Yesterday it was dams, the Great Miami River, and turkey vultures.  Today it was a visit to Charleston Falls, although there wasn't a whole lot of water actually falling.  It's been pretty dry (not Colorado dry, but dry enough that we are on alert for fires), so the falls were limited to one small area . . . I did find a few other things that caught my eye, though.

When I first saw this, I wondered why somebody had put an omelet on the tree trunk.  Duh.  Some kind of fungus I assume.

I loved how the light made some of the leaves almost translucent, while others were opaque.

I'm not sure I would have spotted this female cardinal if she hadn't put on her lipstick this morning!  Sure looks like it to me . . .

Just one of the many examples of a beautiful patch of sunlight in the midst of darkness or shade.  I won't bore you by waxing poetic . . .

Here are the falls . . . see the water falling?  Nope?  You're not missing anything.  Normally there is at least a small waterfall going, but not today.  Keep looking though . . .

I don't know why these vines appeal to me, but they do.

A couple of shots of the very small trickle of water falling . . . loved the individual droplets above, plus the splash below!

My favorite shot of the day - for the shadow . . . I spent quite a bit of time at this spot.

Love the detail in the wings on this one; so intricate and delicate.

There was water, but it wasn't moving . . . I did like the reflection in this shot.

More interesting shadows . . .

The imagination must have been in overdrive . . . this stick in the water reminded me of an alligator or crocodile!  It would have fit well in my Crafty Nature post . . .

This was a first for me - taking a picture of the shadows on the water . . . I like it.

Growing up here in the Dayton area, I always thought of us as pretty much landlocked, with not much in the way of lakes, rivers, etc.  I knew about the Great Miami and a few others, but didn't realize just how much water is around us (and I don't ever remember learning about the 1913 Dayton Flood in school).  I don't know if I'm more open to learning about Dayton and its history, but I am appreciating those who made sure we have such wonderful parks and reserves to visit.  I might just end up admitting I'm loving what Dayton has to offer and embracing its nickname of The Gem City.

Light and Shadow

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I took yesterday off.  I noticed, which makes a big difference in my life!  I needed a day where I did my best imitation of a sloth.  I do believe I succeeded nicely.  I was just plain tired from running constantly and not making time for me.  Be oh so very glad I do not photograph myself for the blog (or for any other reason) . . . I didn't even look at myself in the mirror yesterday as I spent most of the day reading & watching movies while still in my jammies.  For some reason, even the cats kept a bit more distance than normal.



But, today is back to normal.  At least what passes for normal for me.  I was looking forward to picking my favorite pre-15 year old niece up from school and getting her to a doctor appointment (we'd meet up with her mom there).  But, my favorite red headed 4 year old nephew messed that up a bit.  He wasn't feeling well, and mom stayed home, so I ended up staying with him while the two ladies went to the doctor's appointment.  Trust me, I'm not complaining!  I love spending ANY time w/ any of my nieces and nephews.  Fear not, I will not bore you with photos of my wonderful nieces and nephew on this blog.


I had planned to go out taking pics after I got my niece to her appointment, but not only did plans change on what I was doing, but they sat in the exam room for over an hour before they saw the doctor!  So, it's back to pulling from "older" photos again.  These are all from last year, taken on the same day, but at different locations. 

Charleston Falls Nature Preserve, on the
way to the falls

The steps leading down to the falls are relatively steep.  I didn't
realize HOW steep until I saw this picture and felt
like I was falling.

One of the pines at Carriage Hill Metro Park

  

  

Love the geometric lines here.

I have to say that the first shots from Charleston Falls remind me of my mood leading up to yesterday!  The shots from Carriage Hill remind me of my mood today.  Can't imagine why darker, shadowy, moody pictures would bring my tired and worn out self to mind.  Or why the light filled pictures remind me of my rested and relaxed mood today.  Interesting how a little rest and a little light can make a lot of difference in all aspects of life.  We tend to be drawn to the light and sunny things in life, but what we do/how we react in those darker, shadowy moments may often show who we really are.

“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.”  Yousuf Karsh

Springing!

I love spring!  Getting over the winter doldrums, seeing plants come back to life, baby animals, flowers blooming, and that bright yellow thing in the sky . . . oh, yeah, that's the sun.  There are a couple of places I like to go to take nature pictures (I'm trying to broaden those horizons, though), and I thought I'd share some spring photos.

Eastwood Metro Park
Loved the blue sky that day and was looking for
a different perspective.

Eastwood Metro Park
The clean lines and emptiness caught my attention.

Crocus (not sure where!)
One day I will have some of these in my yard.  I think they
are beautiful, and a SURE sign of spring!

Charleston Falls
I like coming here at different times of the
day to take advantage of shadow and
light changes. 

Charleston Falls
For some reason, the rocks at the bottom of the falls
caught my eye and held it.

Charleston Falls
I wasn't keen on that bare branch at the top, but now I kind
of like the contrast w/ the green on the right.  Loved the
movement of the water.

I haven't been out to Eastwood Metro Park or Charleston Falls yet this spring, but I'll be out there soon.

It's nice looking out the window and seeing color again.  The grass is definitely green in SW Ohio (and needing me to get out the lawnmower), plants are blooming, temps are higher than normal, bees are buzzing, and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of hummingbirds.  The squirrels and I are about to do out dance w/ the bird feed . . . what will I try to keep them out of it, and what will they come up with to get into it?

It's also time for me to start cranking out the homemade suet.  I can't believe how much the birds (and squirrels) love it.  I found several recipes on the internet, but have begun adding cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and chipotle pepper to those recipes to keep the squirrels out.  Love the antics the squirrels exhibit, but just wish they didn't take so much of the bird food.

Read this morning that we have a freeze watch until 3/27 @ 10:00 a.m.  Don't know how that will affect the plants, but at least I haven't planted anything yet!  I'll have to bring in one plant that I bought a couple of days ago, but everything else has already wintered.  Just when you get used to warmer, nice weather, it changes.  Sounds about like everything in life - nothing is as constant as change.

Happy Accidents

It's been a strange day so far, and I'm feeling a little down in the dumps.  Don't like this feeling, so I thought I'd share some of my photos that surprised the heck out of me.

Eastwood Metro Park
I was just snappin' away, and didn't realize
I'd gotten the curvature quite so nicely.

Charleston Falls
I thought the shadow was interesting as I started down the steps;
I hadn't recognized how geometric it all was until after viewing
hours later!

Loved the texture of this tree bark, but wasn't sure it would
photograph well.  It's odd, but I like it!

I think this is a dogwood blossom at a friend's house.  I was
experimenting when I took it, and got as close as I could.
When I looked at it on the LCD screen, I wasn't crazy about
it, but when I saw it on the computer screen, seemed as if I
could almost feel the texture of the petals.

I'm not a fan of bees, but on a whim, decided to see what I
got when clicking away at a butterfly bush.   I was amazed at
the detail, including the body segments of the bee.

I'd never seen a woodpecker in the yard before, but this one
had visited the suet feeder.  I was fortunate enough to be
outside at the time AND have my camera w/ me.  Although I
wish this was closer, I was very pleased that I was able
to catch the woodpecker at all.

This was taken on my cell phone just the other day as I
started through the car wash.  Loved the colors, and decided
to see how a picture might turn out.  VERY glad I did!

Another car wash shot w/ the cell phone.  I like the soap
bubbles added texture w/ the swirl of blue.

I must say, I do feel better now.  I sometimes need a reminder of the happy accidents or unexpected outcomes.  In every instance when I shot the above photos, I was experimenting with either a new camera, a new viewpoint, a new setting, or a new location.  I had no real idea of potential results, but tried anyway (yeah, I gave it a shot to cite the obvious pun).  I wish ALL of my attempts resulted in pictures I was happy with, but of course, failure is part of how we get to success.  


I'm learning to be a part time caretaker for my mother, who is in an assisted living facility.  She has mild dementia, and can do much for herself, but ended up in assisted living because she would forget to take her medication, eat, or drink.  There is absolutely no way we could live together, but it was obvious Mom needed to be where someone would make sure she got her meds and ate.  Many days, everything is fine, and we laugh a lot.  Other days, like today, it's not, and I feel like a failure as a daughter and human being.


That's why I like to look at some of my happy accident pictures.  Not just because I like them, but also because I remember the pics before and after them that didn't turn out so well.  Not all of them turned out the way I wanted; some turned out far better than I could have dreamed.  Point is, I tried until I got something I liked, or was fortunate enough to catch on the first try.  I'm still learning on the caretaker part, and I'm bound to mess up.  I just need to suck it up and keep trying until I get something I like, in addition to those beautiful moments that I get right the first time.