Up

Up The Slope

Coming up a ramp here - I love the concentration on his face.

Safety First - or something like that

For Your Protection

Got to wear that helmet for protection you know.  Especially when you are doing things that might cause you to land on your head.  Nothing like that happened for us though.  Just a few tumbles and such.

125 & Some Twinkle Lights Please

125 & Counting

One of my favorite things has turned 125.  What an accomplishment.  This needed to be celebrated and I felt the best way to accomplish this was with some twinkle lights.  How fun!  Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

The Face

The Face of Time

I am not going to write about time.  All the cliches - slipping through fingers, need more of, most precious part of life, etc.  Instead, let's talk about a fictional character.  My husband and I started watching this show over the summer called Alphas.  It's basically about a group of people with special abilities - extra strength, super senses and so on.  Well, my favorite character is a young man who can see, and communicate, with electronic signals.  But that's not what I like about him.  He is also autistic.  Okay that's nice and all.  I love his honesty and his innocence in his honesty.  He always says what's on his mind - as a matter of fact in the beginning of the series I was pretty sure he was gonna get on my nerves because he talks non-stop.  A constant stream of babble.  But I really, really like him.  I love how he says exactly what is on his mind.  The catch is - he can afford to - he doesn't ever really have to face the reality of what he says because he does not "live in the real world" so to speak.  It's refreshing and admirable, and quite funny most times.  But not in that sassy way that young people seem to be portrayed in shows today.  I just don't really care for that type of humor.  This character is very cleverly written and portrayed.

I got an email tonight from my mom containing several quotes from Will Rogers.  Here are some of my favorites:

Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.
There are two theories to arguing with a woman.  Neither works.
Never miss a good chance to shut up.
If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back in.

A few extras for this evening.  Hope they put a smile on your face as they did on mine.  Thanks for sharing mom.

Thorns in Picture Form not Words

Thorny

Ah, the lovely southwestern vegetation.  Always lots of texture - not always tons of color.  But that's okay, single colors can be beautiful too.  I love the variances in green here.   And the "brush strokes".  Aren't those pretty cool?   Not sure I would have noticed all of that if I had not had a photograph to really look at it. 

I looked for a quote using thorns - but not roses - and came up empty.  (If you've got one that would work - put it in the comments.  I know there have to be some out there just waiting for discovery.)  So, I will use a quote that I've been saving for a bit now.   This is a good one and kinda goes along with thorns or maybe people that are kinda thorns in your side.  You know the type - the ones that drive you a little nuts.  The ones that test your limits of kindness and the ability to bite your tongue.

Tact is the ability to describe others as they seem themselves.  ~ Abraham Lincoln

Different View

Wagon Ride

Nothing like taking a leisurely ride in an apple orchard...avoiding all that mud - if that was possible!

Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.  ~ Storm Jameson

Head Heart and Eye

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Taking a break - to text - from picking apples during our fun and muddy day.  He definitely enjoyed picking apples and wants to go again.  I think it helped to know that we were bringing apples back for Grandma & Grandpa.

For me photography is to place head heart and eye along the same line of sight.  It is a way of life.  ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

What a Muddy Mess

Not So New Sneakers

I'm not sure if these were new or not.  They looked pretty clean when the day started . . . and then we entered the apple orchard.  Boy was it muddy.  There were more areas I didn't want to go in than there were areas I felt safe stepping into.  I was afraid I was gonna get stuck and never come out again. 

The kids, they had no problem getting around in that mud - and have a blast doing it.  I was surprised that by the time we were finished picking and had lunch, most of the mud had already fallen off our shoes, so we didn't bring that much home with us. 

Tonight's quote has little to do with the picture from today.  Just thought you might enjoy it as I did.

A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements.  ~ Bo Bennett

Country - Not Me

Down the Lane

I'm no country girl - I've said it for years - I am a total city girl.  If there's not lots of traffic and lots of stores and lots of buildings (to photograph) then I am just not interested.  But, how could I resist such a county image? 

And tonight's quote definitely gives me something to think about.  Maybe I could enjoy the country more if I thought of it in these terms:

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.  ~ John Burroughs

An Apple A Day

Delicious

You know the old saying - An apple a day keeps the doctor away.  Well . . . if i had just eaten more of these, then maybe I would not have spent the last 3 weekends trying to avoid getting sick.  Yuck.  It finally caught up to me on the third weekend in a row of not feeling my best - including losing my voice for several days - and I finally came down with a cold.  Today, after getting a large amount of sleep in, I do finally feel like maybe just maybe I will be fully human again soon. 

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of an apple.  I took this on a recent apple picking adventure (during the weekend when I had no voice - or at least a very squeaky one).  Thanks to my family that went on that adventure with me.  I didn't do much picking, but I did do some shooting during the day.

Deja Vu - Again

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Once again, I find myself not sure of which version I found the most appealing.  As you are probably aware, I do love my black & white images.  Something about them I just really enjoy.  But this image, I was torn between the two.  I really like the tones in this image.  The softness.  Is it just me, or is really interesting to look at the same image - one in black & white - and one in color and see how very different they look.  You notice different things in each one initially. 

Here is a quote that I came across today and it really made me stop.  I totally agree with it, just had not ever heard the sentiment put in such a direct manner.  What do you think?  Have you ever known anyone that fits this quote - I bet you have.

Unkindness almost always stands for the displeasure that one has in oneself.  ~  Adrienne Monnier

Unique and Wonderful World

Shades of Gray

Back to my staircase obsession.  I mean really, have you ever noticed how different staircases are?  Well, naturally I assume your answer to be yes.  That is, if you are a little strange like me.  It's pretty interesting how something that is meant for function is so artistic in nature.  Each one pretty unique.  I really should make a grouping of all the staircases I've photographed over the years.  And I bet, none of them are alike.  I think that is actually pretty remarkable.  What a unique and wonderful world we live in. 

Every great architect is – necessarily – a great poet.  He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age.  ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Dragon

Dragon

Found on one of my city excursions - looking for something interesting to photograph. 

A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements.  ~  Bo Bennett

Entry & Tree

I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday weekend.  We did.  Kinda busy, some late nights and early mornings, family get togethers and adventures.  After some last minute changes to our weekend plans, we ended up doing our Saturday activity today.  And that has left me pretty worn out and more than ready for bed.  We went on a bit of a drive to pick apples.  (In all fairness I didn't really pick many apples, but had a great time socializing - and trying to avoid all the mud.)  It was a very fun day & I'm glad we were able to go, but now I'm ready to hit that pillow and get some sleep before getting back into normal life again tomorrow. 

Here's a good quote for today:

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.  ~ Ferdinand Foch

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I haven't had a chance to shoot as much as I would like in the past few months.  I still love shooting.  And I love looking at images and I love the hold of the camera.  I can't imagine not being involved with photography.  It's such a big part of me.  And so, last weekend, we had a family activity planned (let's just say that I was more excited I think than the boys were about meeting a certain Gorilla and Dan Marjele).  I made sure to take the camera with.  And, thanks to my niece and her family moving back to town, we have a few more activities planned with them.  And all of them should be pretty good photo ops.  So, I'm excited to be doing the fun activities and the photo chances make it just that much better.  Oh, and, I have a few portrait sessions coming up as soon as the weather cools of a bit - well not a bit but A LOT really.  I guess what I'm trying to say is there should be more fun, new stuff on the way! 

Okay, so to tonight's photo.  You know back in the day when I first started shooting, I loved architecture.  Loved, loved, loved it!  Well, okay, I still do.  I just haven't shot it in awhile.  But, back then I would never have dreamed of including people.  I never really noticed it, until someone, I think one of my brothers, pointed out to me that my photos seemed to always be missing the people.  Hmm, maybe I was thinking it would be so much easier to shoot my beloved architecture without all those people milling around all the time.  Would this image have been better without the people?  Or is it just fine the way it is?  I'm not certain.  I think it's just different.  And the strange thing is, I had the opportunity to shoot without the two boys in the tunnel . . . and never even thought to take it without them.  Give me a couple of years and I'll probably be back to shooting images with no people again!

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.  ~ Rumi