Rainy day colors

Wow, can colors ever pop out on rainy/cloudy days. This fellow was a pig at my feeder today and so I had lots of time to get a nice shot. 400mm

The carpenter is pleased

What a treat. Jack stopped by on his way to New York today. It was so fun to show him how the chairs finished for use inside. These are the first chairs that are to be used as indoor furniture instead of outdoor furniture. It was great to have him give me the thumbs up when he ran his hand across the arms of the chair. I think I had a great deal of beginner's grace as I was finishing them.

50D first assignment

Oh, the weather was cold today. It was 90 degrees yesterday and about 50 today when I was doing the photo shoot. It was very, very dark too. So I took 2 lenses and went out. The first shot is with the 10-22 with a flash + stofen. The rest of the pictures were with my 50mm lens + flash + stofen. I wanted to get just a bit of light into the pictures, but not so much to tell they were flashed. I think they turned out pretty good!

Surprise - I'm invited to the employee only 25th Anniversary Party

Tonight was Darwin's 25th Anniversary of the company that he works for. I had originally turned down a request to be their "random picture taker". So, knowing that, I sold my camera last night to Karron. Today at 1:30, I received a call that they need pictures for publication tomorrow, and they wanted me to come and take those pictures. Karron was very gracious and allowed me to borrow HER camera. The first lady is Pam, the very pleasant head of CBA. The next lady is Bonnie, who is an amazing, enthusiastic, joyful individual. She participated in both the poetry contest last week and the singing contest. I want to be just like her when I grow up! These pictures were taken with my 70-200 at F5 with flash and gary fong on it. Pretty amazing to not have any shadows!!!!! The fong really works!!

My very first lens revisited Sigma 17-70

This post is for Karron. This is a sample of what the Sigma 17-70 lens can do. You can take nice wide angle shots, yet still get very close for fun marco pictures. I know why I sold my copy - I needed a wider angle for Alaska. However after reviewing some of these pictures, it is a mighty fine lens!

Pine Siskins

A pair of pine siskins stopped by this afternoon. More small birds are coming up to my finch feeder. I just slightly open my office window and take the pictures using my 400mm lens. It has a minimum focus distance of 11 feet, so I think I'm just over the limit, because the pictures are just fine.

Rainy April Morning

The sky was cloudy this morning, but my yard had a few moments of wonderful color. The Cardinals are here multiple times a day while the American Goldfinch doesn't stop by my yard all that often. Thanks for coming!

Around the yard

The new Cleveland Pear tree is in full bloom.

This robin has a lot of white in it. I'll get a picture of its back another day. It seems that we have an albino somewhere near and its genes are in these birds. I noticed them last year. So....they're back.

Garden Trellis with a "special feature"

We had leftover copper pipes from our tankless water heater installation. I bought connectors and one 8 foot piece of copper and walla.....a new garden trellis. I've had my grapes on a copper trellis for years. I'll probably put morning glories on this one. How do you like the "feature" - the shutoff from our old water heater! A true do it yourself project.

On the way to the grocery store.....a great egret!

I went to the grocery store this morning. As I was driving by the lake, I saw this beautiful white bird. I thought "dang, I don't have my camera along". I got groceries, drove by the bird again, dropped the groceries off, went back to the lake, and this great egret was kind enough to let me take its picture without flying away. What a beautiful site!

Adirondack chairs ready for summer

These beautiful chairs now grace our living room. They were made by my friend Deb's cousin, Jack, in Denver. I sat in the chairs back in the Fall when Deb and I were in Denver. I have never sat in such a comfortable wood chair. It is amazing. I ordered them and had Jack make me a matching table.

Deb and I stopped and picked them up on our way back from Laramie 2 weeks ago. I finished them and decided I'd be a horrible woodworker. I'd never be finished with my projects as I would always find one more thing to work on.

The chairs are made of Ipe wood (pronounced eee-pay). It is so hard and dense that it has the same fire rating as concrete & steel! These chairs are very heavy.

Deb made these cushions for me for spring/summer. I also bought some beautiful fabric for fall & winter. We'll just slip out the insides and put them on the new covers.

Come and join me for a cup of ice tea and conversation any time!