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.

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!