Raindrops keep fallin' on my clothesline?

Yes, I know.  It's been WAY too long since I last posted.  It's been way too long since I took pictures just for me or to experiment or have fun.  So, on this very dreary, rainy (but almost 60 degree) January Sunday, I grabbed the opportunity to see what kind of shots I could get of the raindrops hanging from the clothesline.

I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of them.  Pleasant surprises have been on the agenda recently, so I hope it continues a while longer!  In addition to the typical family crazy schedule, I finally landed a job (although just part time) at the Friendliest (and Busiest) Place on Earth.  This past Friday was my first day out of training, so I'm still learning a whole lotta stuff!  The residents have been very nice and welcoming, and the staff is as well (and they're a lot of fun to be around, at least so far).

Those streaks in the background?  That's the rain falling.  Didn't know I was catching it, but oh, so glad I did.

For some odd reason, I am fascinated by the raindrops that just hang from the bottom of the clothesline, feeder poles, and eaves. These didn't fall . . . maybe it's the perseverance I appreciate.

This one was really a two-fold surprise.  One was catching that raindrop streak; two was the tree reflection in the raindrop!  I certainly didn't notice it when I took the picture.  Serendipitous wonder!

For this one, I liked the 3 different shapes/sizes of the drops, yet all reflect the trees in the distance.

I have greatly missed taking pics for fun or experimentation.  So much going on that has kept me from it (not just the weather).  I'm going to have to once again MAKE the time to take my little excursions into experimentation.  So much to learn, keeping in mind perspective and perseverance I'm so inspired by.  To borrow Nike's phrase:  Just DO It!

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!

Acetaminophen, Aspirin, & Caffeine - My Best Friends

If I needed proof of how crappy the weather has been in SW Ohio this summer, I discovered it today, written on the side of my Equate Extra Strength Headache Relief (WalMart's version of Extra Strength Excedrin) tablets bottle.  I write the date I open the bottle so I can gauge how much I'm going through in a month.  There are 100 tablets in the bottle, and I have 1 tablet left.  I opened the bottle on July 19th.  Just over a month to go through 99 tablets (and this isn't the only bottle I use, just the one I use the most).  YIKES!!

I'm glad that when I was out and about earlier today, I forced myself to get some pics taken.  By the time I got home, I was done in though, and am just about ready to call it a night (this from a night owl!).  I've been busy trying to coordinate the upcoming Tell a Police Officer "Thank You!" Day on September 15 and sending 6-1 gallon zipper bags of pop top tabs to a service dog group in Pennsylvania.  Fortunately, Mom had a great day and decided to go to a movie with a group from Friendship Village.  That gave me another day off this week, and unexpectedly at that.

After striking out in getting donations for September 15th (3 different businesses), I headed out to Eastwood MetroPark for a quick "shoot."  I'm glad I did.

It's August 20th!  Doesn't it seem to early for pine cones??

A body of water, a bright day, nice clouds . . . did you really expect me to pass up this opportunity?

Or this one?

I don't know what kind of berries these are, and the plant was growing up around one of the evergreens.

I had to do some walking to get a couple of shots of the Great Blue Heron.  He was in one spot as I drove by, but after parking and walking back, he took off just as I was getting to a spot where I could have gotten much closer.

I would love to catch a shot of those feathers on his back MUCH closer.  I want to know the texture of them, as well as those on the neck and top of his head.  I was more than a little frustrated that I couldn't get very close today.  On the other hand, I was glad to have gotten another opportunity.

These last 2 shots (above and below) are from the backyard.  More pics of the trumpet vine.  I do like how it's looking now that it's blooming a LOT and vining around the lines of the clothesline.  I'm too short to get a good picture of it from a good angle; guess I'll have to drag out some kind of stool to get a shot because it really is pretty.

Thanks to my best friends (Acetaminophen, Aspirin, & Caffeine) I am relatively functional.  It was touch and go there for a while.  I probably should try to find some chocolate and cold liquid caffeine to make the headache go completely away.  And if it doesn't make the headache go completely away, at least I'll feel a little pampered.

Off to hunt some chocolate and cold liquid caffeine, my very dear friends!

Idyllic, Not Idle, Day

I'm not a morning person.  I like staying up late and sleeping in until I wake up.  If only the world revolved around me and let me do this more often.  Today was a HUGE event day.  I was going to my almost 5 year old nephew's first soccer game.  Considering he told his mom after warm ups at the first practice that he'd rather go back to baseball 'cause he didn't have to run so much, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Unfortunately, I hit the snooze button a couple more times than I should have, and ended up rushing around to get on the road to make the game on time.  Fortunately, I remembered to check the sky for a cloud and attitude check.  It's another beautiful day in SW Ohio, with nice fluffy clouds and beautiful blue skies.

As far as the soccer game went, the nephew had a few good moments.  I do believe the boy is a dreamer though.  There were several times the swarm of boys went right by him and he didn't notice; at one point, he just sat down on the field 'cause he wanted to; and he turned his shirt around at one point so the number was on the front.  I got some great shots of him laughing and having a good time, along with a few of him actually going after the ball!

After the game, I stopped for a quick lunch at Sonic, then headed over to Carriage Hill MetroPark for more pictures.  The clouds and blue skies had me convinced I was experiencing a peaceful, calm, relaxing, or idyllic day.  Could I share that feeling through pictures?
 

I hope you got some of that "peaceful, easy feelin'" I was experiencing.  It's been a great day for photography and laughter, but now it's a great day for laundry and baking.

Sending you all wishes for a peaceful and blessed remainder to your weekend.

Just Do It!

I decided it had been long enough since I'd been out taking new photos, plus I'd been successful in donating blood earlier, and was now able to take the Extra Strength Excedrin again.  Whew.  I really should buy stock in that and Benadryl . . .

So, I took off again for Huffman MetroPark, and in a short 40 minutes, got some shots I'm more than a little happy with!  I really like the challenge of finding new ways to see things, especially when I manage to hold myself to taking pictures every day.

This was one of the first shots I took, and I almost stopped after I got it.  I'm glad I didn't though - this isn't my favorite for the day!

Changed the focal point a little to have more of the reflected sky and clouds in the frame.

I liked the part of the tree w/ the stripped bark - hadn't seen one that was yellow before.

I liked how the V of the fallen tree fit the intact tree, and that you can see the roots from the fallen tree.  I also like the different contrasts in colors and light and shadow.

There's a lot of greenery around, but this shot gives a slight idea of how gently the water was moving here.

I liked how the pieces of what appear to be part of a dock have survived, and that in contrast to the foliage nearby and reflected in the water.

Still not to the favorite picture for the day, but this is another one that's right up there.  We've had so many extremely sunny days with beautiful blue skies and cotton ball clouds that I HAD to get a couple of shots of it.

The flow of the water as it was disrupted by a small island .

I don't have a clue what this plant is, but I liked the spikey-ness.

THIS is my favorite shot of the day.  It's almost made me dizzy a couple of times I've looked at it as the ol' brain tries to figure out exactly what it is I'm looking at.  I think that's why I like it though - it requires some thought.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to capture the almost brush-like strokes of color changes in the water.  It turned out better than I'd hoped for.

And the final shot of the beautiful sky and cottony clouds - the sun highlighted the clouds perfectly.

I had almost convinced myself not to go out for new pics but to take another break.  I'm really glad I didn't because I don't know I'd have gotten the same shots on another day.  Now I'm more motivated to go out every day to take pictures.  The hard part now is deciding where to go!  There are so many great places around here for photographs that it's takes me longer to decide where to go than it does to take pics once I get there!  But it's been worth it - the self-imposed challenge has pushed some creative limits, and encouraged me to try different angles or perspectives I wouldn't have thought of before.

See ya later . . . Oh, hello . . .

I was afraid that by starting the day off saying goodbye to a wonderful lady, that it would be kind of a blah or moody day.  I am very glad to say that wasn't the case.

Marva Lee was a fun, retired school teacher who moved into Friendship Village and became a friend of Mom's.  The two of them would get together and talk, talk, talk.  Marva was as good for Mom as Mom was for Marva.  Unfortunately, Marva had a lot of health problems and spent much of the last 6 months going back and forth between the hospital and the health center, in addition to maintaining her dialysis schedule.  She was a feisty little lady and was determined to give every effort to overcome each setback.  But, eventually, the number of health problems took its toll on her and she wasn't able to overcome the last setback.

We said "See ya later" to Miss Marva today, celebrating the unique person she was and sharing how she touched our lives.  I know I'll be missing her smile and her excitement at seeing friends and family.  I also know that eventually I'll join Miss Marva and all of my other friends in heaven, and we will spend our time in awe and wonder of being in God's presence.  I'm kind of jealous of those already there.

After saying "see ya later" to Miss Marva, I found a brand new nature center to give a big "Hello!"  Brukner Nature Center is in Miami County, and although I didn't spend much time there today, I definitely will go back (and to a few other parks/nature centers in Miami County).

These large tree trunks were at what I'm assuming is the main building for the facility.  The way they've aged fascinates me.

Not more than maybe a hundred yards from the parking lot is a nice pond surrounded by plenty of vegetation.  There is also seating (simple concrete block construction) if you want to soak in the atmosphere and sounds.  The frogs were in FULL concert today.  The turtles were soaking up some of the sun, but eventually took a dip into the water.

I kept feeling like I was being watched, and then noticed this ET face looking up at me from the water!  This had to have been a pretty good sized turtle, but I never did get a look at more of him than this.  Maybe next visit.

I was very surprised at how little this guy was - he was making a HUGE noise.  Of course, once I spotted him, he went quiet.  Temperamental frog diva!

The damsels & dragonflies were plentiful, but hard to photograph.  This one was nice enough to take a rest on the "boardwalk" just in front of me.  I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity!

This was another pond I could see from the trail, but not get very close to.  Another visit I hope to find a way to get closer to it.  Yes, I believe that's algae all over the top of it.

There were a couple of fish in the pond, but this is about the best shot I could get of one.

This picture turned out about a gazillion times better than I anticipated!  Yet another picture of foliage reflected in the water (the reflection ONLY).

I kept hearing a clicking sound close by, and it took me quite a while to find this little critter.  He was TINY.  From where I was standing, I would estimate the size he is in the photo is pretty close to actual size.  He was another loud one, but not the deep sounds from the larger, first frog I saw.

As I left the pond behind to head back to the car, as I got to the top of the trail, I spotted this beauty - a Scarlet Tanager.  Yup, another birding first.  Hello, gorgeous!


Loving being able to spend the time in parks and reserves to see so many beautiful sights, and to capture them on "film."  The more I see, the more I'm amazed at the beauty God created  for us to enjoy.