Monarchs are here

Yeah.  Adds a nice color floating around the yard..... 

Old therapy dog....not too old to still work.

K-9 and Becky enjoyed hanging out after she came home tonight from spending the day at Madonna with her husband.

Color in my backyard

That's my rain barrel, not the sky!

A few more from this morning

We started at Mahoney and ended up at the wildlife safari. It got really hot by the time we saw the bear in the bathtub! This is my first attempt at processing photos and then blogging directly from my iPad. I need to change a few things, but for the most part it is easy!

More from the Shrine

Recognize this from I80?

Today we went to the Holy Family Shrine. It was beautiful.

Sycamore Bark

I found some interesting pieces of sycamore bark on my walk this morning.  Brought them back into my sunroom to photograph them using natural light and my macro lens.

Welcome back Swallowtail

I never get tired of seeing a giant butterfly float by my window and feed in my backyard.

Madonna Angel Dog project - complete

There was a lot of coordination to get this project completed.  These are paintings from pictures that I took.  My goal was to capture the connection between the patient and the dog.  I think I was uniquely qualified to do this, since I have been doing pet therapy for over 10 years.  I am extremely pleased with the outcome of the project and I've heard some great feedback.

Ducks and Cattails at Holmes Lake Golf Course

I went back over to the pond today to see if mama wood duck was there and yep she was.  She was taking up a storm with me being near the water.  70-300L

Muggy morning

Deb & I walked around the lake today with our cameras.  It was fun to stop along the way when something caught our eye.  70-300L

Patterns in nature

I walked outside this morning and saw this tiny spider in my ficus tree.  I could not see the web at all...it was that fine.  Upon close inspection with my macro lens, a beautiful, precise pattern was seen.

Later today, I was over at Karen's.  She has a window that is about 10 feet from this nest.....it was hot and the birds were hungry.  70-300

Getting to know a new lens

Every lens "sees" the world differently.  I'm taking this lens 70-300 L to Iceland, so I'm going to do a lot of shooting with it in the upcoming weeks.  So far, I'd say it is on pace with being the best lens that I own.

Foggy morning

Wow, was it ever dark and foggy this morning.  I got up at 6:30 and headed over to the lake and it was beautiful.  I went to the lake with the specific plan of taking pictures of my favorite tree.  Saw the wood duck family and lots of beautiful spider's webs.  Used the 70-300L only.  Next time you take pictures in the fog, treat it like snow and over expose.......I really need to remember that!

The Warrior

This is a drink that Kevin is really well known for.  I have no idea what it tastes like, but it is spicy.  Anyway, he wanted a picture of it and the terracatta warrior in the background.  So, there wasn't many people and I had a fun time setting it up.  I used two overhead spots for the drink and then set the warrior back about 3 feet under the next spot.  Then on a table about 15 feet away, I positioned the candle to show up under the flower.

Market Meal tonight

Dinner was delicious tonight.