Photo Shoot #1

I told myself to pick the top ten of my original 100 pictures, but you know me...

I have trouble making up my mind and ended up with more than ten.

Before we drove out to the Nature Center I remembered
 this old tree on the Nature Center grounds, which I had seen many years ago.

Back then, a bunch of the employees decided to take 

a walk around the property and we tried

to see how many people we could fit inside the hollow tree.

(We fit five adults for you inquisitive adults)

(23 Keebler elves for you inquiring children

Anna posed for me and I had the better end of the deal, she's

much more photogenic than I am.

I love the way this picture turned out, with the layers of

colors.  First the burnt orange at the bottom, then the green/blue, topped

with the yellow leaves.

How lucky I was to catch their bobcat yawning.

Flowers abound around the nature center.  I'd like to take some

pictures of wild flowers, but that will have to wait for spring.

This is the brave sheep that came back down to see us after we spooked the flock away.

I thought they were calmer than say a deer and they'd let us approach

and just lay there.  Not so.

A fairy lodge. Isn't it quaint.  I'm not sure if they make

reservations year around or not, it's best to call ahead.

My true passion is photographing kids, so I'm sure you're not surprised

I slipped this one in.

Thanks for coming along with me Anna, it was a very enjoyable time.

I promise next time we won't walk as far.

This is another favorite of mine.  I'm anxious to try a few

things with it on Picnik.com, but wanted to keep things fair

with Anna posting her pictures too.

Not that we are having a contest or anything, but you

know what I mean.... comparing apples to apples.

I didn't notice the reflection until I downloaded the picture or

I would have taken more like this.

Do you have favorites?

Constructive criticism?

Ideas for another trip out to use our cameras?

I'd love to hear from you.

Today was my Day

Today I did something for me.  Something I haven't done in a long time.  I've been wanting to go on a photo shoot for months, but since Amanda is the only daughter that has an expensive camera and enjoys going out just to take pics...I haven't been since I went to Maine in October of 2010, here's the link to our cemetery photos.

But then I found out Laura's daughter Anna won a photo contest and I had a thought....maybe she'd like to come along.  This is her photo that won the contest.  My intentions for today were to use my new (as in I haven't practiced with it yet) reflector, but the sun never came out.  We had three hours, but travel time took an hour, so really just two hours.  We went to the Nature Center, but stopped to take photo's of the sheep on the corner of Sexton and Pinckney.  We were able to get pictures of turtles, ground hog, bobcat and a few other small animals, as well as a huge hollow tree, the lake and some geese, flowers and other neat things.  We walked over 3 miles, so I'm not sure Anna will be so eager to come along again, but we'll see.

So keep posted.  Anna & I are going to work on downloading, cropping etc. and then we are both going to post our favorite photos of the day.

Anna was great company and although she's not quite 11 years old; she's very knowledgeable about photography and I wouldn't be surprise if I end up learning a few tricks from her.  It was nice of Laura to let me take her out for a few hours on a day they already had plans.  Thanks Laura!

Here's a sheep photo....just to keep you interested and coming back to see what Anna & I come up with.

More Chambers Pumpkin Patch Pics

The original goat picture is in my last post.

I played around with the picnik website and added a few details

to make it more Halloweenish.

I emailed pictures to Rosie's mom, but for some

reason her computer refuses them, so I

thought I'd post a few more, so she can see them.

My friend was trying to show the girls that the props weren't

real, so therefore they didn't have to be afraid of them.

I just love Rosie's dimples.

This is the picture I used to make the crystal ball photo

I posted yesterday.

A great time was had by the girls and the Mom & Gramie.

These are just a few of the pictures I took that day.



Ava loved chickens when she was this age,

Daniela is pretty smitten with them too.

The Pumpkin Patch

Thursday night we were looking for something to do while

Daniela's mom was studying.

A friend suggested we go to the Pumpkin Patch.

Can you guess who we went with?

Here's a peak into my crystal ball.

If you guessed our friend, Rosie you'd be right.

There were animals galore on the farm:
horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, ducks,
turkeys, miniature chickens, peacocks, and bunnies.

Although it wasn't crowded like Spicer's Orchard, we

weren't the only ones there.  A group of girls

were chasing each other on top of these hay bales.

They were the big ones, rolled like shredded wheat, so

our little girls had to be content with playing on

the slides that were fixed to a few of the bales.

Daniela & Rosie took turns on the tire horse swing.



After the ponies we ventured into Daniela's very
first corn maze.
Rosie and her Mom ran ahead on the trail and
we had to find them hidden in the corn stalks.
After a couple times, Rosie hid by herself and
we had to find her.



Daniela was behind me on the trail....
and then she wasn't.
Good Grief!
How was I going to explain that one to her Mommy?
I lost the kid in the corn maze.
I frantically ran back & forth on the trail hoping
she hadn't gone to far that I couldn't find her easily.

And then....

out she popped, with a shit-eating grin on her face.

She wanted to play hide & seek too, but just

didn't bother to let me in on it.

I laughed myself silly....what a stinker.

We hope to go back to the Pumpkin Patch a couple

more times this fall. 

We bought three little gourds for $1.00,

but will get a real pumpkin closer to Halloween.

Wordless Wednesday

Random Thoughts about New Mexico

It was a beautiful day here in Michigan......

the sun was shining and it was

warm and the trees are turning colors.

The mountains are a different sort of beautiful.

They are always there no mater what the weather is like,

even if it's not sunny, even when the night sky falls.

I miss the mountains.

It never got old, but always amazed me that they were

there every morning, noon & night.

I'm missing this little doll baby.

While I was there Rowyn & I bonded a bit closer.

I taught her how to say "tickle, tickle".

She loved being squeezed and other

little games we played.

She just never knew what this crazy Gramie

was going to do to get a good picture.

What you can't see in this photo

is that I'm seated directly in front of

her and actually tickling her with my feet.

Rowyn wants to be picked up the minute

Daddy gets home for work and

Rick always obliged her.  I love watching them interacting.

I miss my daughter Audra.
You can tell that she loves being a Mom and genuinely
enjoys being with Rowyn and teaching her new skills.
She's proud of her accomplishments and glows
when showing her off.
I love that Audra is a lot like me in that area.
Not everyone is, it's a gift.

Rowyn loves to push this little cart everywhere.

She doesn't just run into things and cry for you to

rescue her, she knows how to maneuver it around

corners and out of any tight spot.

There's no, I repeat; no way she'll ask for help,

she can do it herself, Thank you!

She's running, and running quite fast...

I was on her heels when I stopped to shoot the picture.

Rowyn turned a year old two weeks ago and today

is Henry's Birthday.  I sure wish free plane

tickets grew on trees, if they did you know where I'd be.

Right Here.

When we landed.....

When we landed at Detroit Metro, there was a big cheer

that rose up from the seats behind mine.

I was in seat 34B, it was a 757...

 Big Plane - 6 seats across.

It was a rough flight:

Turbulence,

Lightening,

Spilled drinks,

Bumping into your seat mates.

I was waiting for the oxygen masks to fall.

A cute young gentleman sat beside me.

I really did ask him this question.

"Are you the kind of young gentleman that

would save an old lady if the plane goes down?"

He said "Yes!"

I said, "Good to Know. Just checking."

Thankfully it didn't come to that.