• Plants,  trees

    Blue Skies

    January 23, 2015
    Blue Skies
    Blue Skies

    It was 29 degrees yesterday at 11:00 when I took a walk at the Environmental Learning Center. Beautiful clear blue sky and lots of sunshine. The sunshine was making the trail muddy in places but I also found it quite icy in others. It was good for me physically to experience the cold and get in the exercise. But, more importantly it was good for the much needed reset for my head. I noticed a hawk perched on the top of a tree and waited until I was on his east side to get a photo. When I came to the clearing where I wanted to get a photo I also encountered two does at the base of the tree. They were probably bedded down there and I hated to be the one to disturb them. I grabbed a family photo and headed for the car. It was well worth the effort and time despite the sniffling nose and muddy shoes.

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  • Arapaho Bend Natural Area,  Cityscapes/Urban,  natural areas,  Plants

    A Cold Front …

    October 27, 2014
    Fall Starburst
    Fall Starburst

    … is on it’s way. Temperature tonight is expected to be in the high 20’s then low 30’s on Tuesday night. But, this past week and the weekend have been gorgeous. Yesterday was 74. Yesterdays sunrise was gorgeous but I only saw it from my bedroom window. Just couldn’t get out the door. Kids on campus wearing, shorts, flip-flops and tank tops. People were biking and playing football at the city park. I took advantage of the weather and made a couple trips to the nature areas. I’m making chili soup today. Stay warm.

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  • landscape,  natural areas,  People/Portraits,  Plants

    City Noise

    September 18, 2014
    Walking the Dogs

    Paul had a recent post about the constant noise he experienced in New York City. I relate. In my area its riding lawn mowers, leaf blowers, grass trimmers, trash truck, train whistle ( a mile away), sirens, loud stereos, Harley’s, etc. Some people seem to enjoy making the noise and for others it’s a way to make a living. For me I have enough noise in my head without all the external noise. Yesterday was an extremely noisy day as they are tearing up the parking lot across the ponds so machinery have been in operation all day. Tearing up asphalt makes a lot of noise! Maybe I need to move to the country.

    My escape are trips to local nature areas, the mountains or some dirt road on the eastern plains. Basically out of town. This past weekend I took a drive to the Riverbend Nature area. This area is on the edge of the city limits so I can still hear some of noise, but it is the reprieve I needed. The clouds were putting on a beautiful show and helped cool things down while the setting sun make for some nice light and shadows. As I worked my way back to the truck a few rain drops added to my enjoyment. And, I was not the only one who needed to get out to the nature areas.

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  • insects,  Metro Parks,  Plants

    Pay Attention to the Urge

    August 28, 2014
    Green Leaves and Rain
    Green Leaves and Rain

    I’m not sure how it happened. I was working through some images from 2009 taken at Inniswood Gardens when I discovered these two images. It seems I did very little with them at the time and most likely because I had shot a lot of images that day. It was a cloudy, overcast day with light rain and I’m in this beautiful garden, why not. For some reason I found the only keyword I had entered for either of these images was Inniswood Gardens. There was no keyword for dragonfly or plants or leaves or rain. Nothing. How the heck am I suppose to find them without keywords, unless I’m just browsing? I suspect slothfulness or skipped them because other images were more appealing to me. I could have skipped the dragonfly because it is a bit out of focus.

    A Dragonfly
    I think this a Clubtail Dragonfly. Forgot to ask when I took the photo.

    However, this time around they caught my eye. They also reminded me of those rainy, overcast days that provided such wonderfully diffused light while I lived in Ohio. It also reminded me of how often I came home with wet pants (from the knee down) when it was raining or just rained. I played with them a little, and for my taste, I like the way these two images turned out. My post processing included exposure, tone and contrast. Pretty simple actually. Why I did not play with these five years ago, I don’t know. But, five years ago something within urged me to press that shutter button. I must pay more attention to the urge.

    Delicate Flowers
    Delicate Flowers

    Oh, and these flowers? Well, I’m going to throw them in because I have the urge too. 🙂

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