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.

Flutterin' By

I'm guessing you won't be able to figure out where I was today . . . 

Not even with these wonderful clues . . .

I finally made it out to Cox Arboretum's Butterfly House!!  It was a nice day (a bit on the hot side, but nothing like last week) and I figured it would be the last chance to check it out before Mom got back from her trip (picked her up at 5:30 this evening).

SO glad I went.  I did see a lot of Monarch Butterflies, and some of the smaller moths, but there was at least one beautiful surprise AND several caterpillars!

Loved the flowers, even though I didn't really pay attention to most of the names of them . . .

One of the caterpillars!

I really wish this had been completely in focus, but I still love it!

I spotted this Black Swallowtail clinging to the screen relatively high up (almost got a crick in the neck watching him).

Fortunately, he decided to move to the vegetation closer to eye level for me!  (Is it just me, or does this seem to be an almost Batman pose?)

Beautiful, beautiful colors!

I loved how close I was able to zoom in on this shot.  LOVE the vein-like quality of the wings.  I can almost feel the texture of the wings just looking at the picture.

This little guy was hidden away, but the workers were kind enough to point him out to everyone.  He was right by the exit door, so he was the image that remained in my head, mostly because of the green/blue combination, and how he was hanging upside down.

I do want to go back in about a week and see if there are different butterflies, more butterflies, etc. The Butterfly House is only through August 26th, so I'd really like to make it back every week to see the changes.  We'll see how well I manage that.

W W W Wegerzyn (I may have to rename it Againerzyn)

Really wanted to go out to Germantown MetroPark today, but when I got there, it was deserted.  So I decided to head over to Wegerzyn, again.  It was HOT, and I'm glad I made it a short trip!  I went to a different section, so hopefully I'm not duplicating shots.

No real commentary to the pics today; too hot to think about what my brain might have been stuck on for today's pics.  Just enjoy the nature shots in the comfort of your air conditioned domicile.

Duck vs. Duct

I love Duck tape.  Or is it duct tape?  Specifically, it's the Color Duck Tape made by Duck Brand that I am so highly addicted to!  I guess that makes it Color Duck Tape Duct Tape.  The photo above is my current supply, although there are a few colors/patterns I do not have.  My birthday is not far off, so maybe that situation will be remedied before summer.

What surprises most people is that I actually decorated in my kitchen with it!  I've moved back into my childhood home, which was built in 1957; we're the 2nd family to live in it, and the house still "boasts" the original metal w/ enamel finish kitchen cabinets, along w/ the wonderful 1950 Formica counter-tops.  The cabinets were impossible to keep clean, and after the few years of family use, rust spots and stains appeared.  I'm not a fan of stark white, but needed to be able to "undo" the decorative process when necessary.  I will say that this attempt w/ duct tape definitely falls into the "Happy Accident" category.  Choosing to use a blue tie-dye pattern could have been a disaster; it must have been a good thing that I wasn't trying to create a pattern or match anything up . . . because it definitely worked out in my favor!

I have the Hello Kitty Duck Tape as part of the collection and have used it for a couple of interesting things. One was to put on the cap of mom's bottle of Tylenol to make it easier for her to grip (seriously, she does love Hello Kitty) and open.  Another was to create two loops to hang from the shower curtain rod to support the shoe caddy that I re-purposed into a towel holder (hanging between the curtain and the liner).

I have a "draft dodger" on the bottom of the front door to the house that kept coming loose where the adhesive had given out.  The door is white and the strip is clear plastic, so I used my paint splatter tape across the width of the door to keep the plastic in place, and the drafts out, plus add a little splash (pun intended) of color.

I love perusing the ideas on http://www.duckbrand.com/, although friends and family might consider it dangerous.  I did see three new prints that I didn't know about before, bringing my Duck Tape Wish List to at least 6.  I also enjoy seeing what participants come up with to enter the Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest.  I do tend to be a little more practical with my creative use of Duck Tape, so clothing is not a likely future project!

Duck Tape, it's not just for ducts anymore . . . which is good since you never know where I might find a use for it!