xoxo

Happy Valentine's Day! I have a hot date with two guys named Ben and Jerry tonight, so this will be short. Just wanted to pop in and share a few photos from the weekend.
And it was a beautiful weekend -- we went from having more than a foot of snow on the ground to snow that was perfect for snowball fights, to slush, and now mud! The pile of footwear in my front porch goes all the way from sorels to hiking boots to pink rubber boots. My floors are going to be covered with muddy pawprints for the next few months -- I have priorities, you know. The sun has been shining and the temperatures have been going up. I'm getting spring fever.

Saturday's sunset was gorgeous.

(The new phone takes pretty high-quality shots!)

It was prime eagle watching weather this weekend. I'm getting a little closer to getting THE eagle shot. Not quite there (especially with only a 200mm zoom lens), but closer.

This is a crop of the actual photo and I didn't run it through any image software (yet). Love it, though!

Hello, February!

I now remember why I moved south. And why I don’t think I want to move north again. I’m not sure what happened to some of my hardcore winter gear – I don’t own a snow shovel, warm gloves, ice scraper or snow pants. I do still have my warm down coat, cozy Sorel boots and a pair of silk long underwear. I forgot how much work it is to put all that stuff on so you can go outside and “enjoy” the sunshine. How to walk on ice without going ass-over-heels. That walking in 10 or 12 inches of snow is an awesome cardio workout. That below-zero temperatures and windchills are, well, COLD.

The powdery snow we have is perfect for snowmobiling or cross-country skiing. I do miss those activities! The sun is shining today and I’ve gone out for two walks with Baxter today. It’s a whole 11 degrees warmer than the weatherman said it would be. The snow will (hopefully) be gone by next week. And the groundhog saw his shadow, so spring can’t be too far away.

I’ve been enjoying being at home. We knew the storm was coming – the weather forecasters were causing mass hysteria about it. Here in southwest Missouri, we seem to have been right on the edge of things – we got a lot of snow and ice for around here, but not as much as other places. Like, say, Chicago. I had plenty of time to stock up on books and chocolate, plus I had a stash of new scrapbooking/card-making supplies to play with and a few ideas for new horseshoe beading designs.

Since I just finished a mess of deadline work, I’m content to “waste” the day away with a good book, work on some craft projects, make up a pot of chili. I have to force myself to work out, though – my body is also content to just sit around and relax and it would be so easy to slip into that mode. And a 15-minute stroll down the icy road doesn’t count as a work out, as much as I would like it to.

I am not quite finished scrapbooking January's goings-on. This project is a take-off from Project Life, using a calendar I found at Michael's and then scrapbooking photos, souvenirs and events from the month. It's a fun project to document the year. I'm also printing off blog posts on a monthly basis to include in the calendar binding. It will be neat to be able to look back! Life is what you make it!

Another Snow Day!

Another snow day! I have about one cup of milk and one can of Diet Coke left, so this could reach emergency proportions if the roads are still bad Friday. Around here, there's only one or two snowplows for the whole county (I'm probably exaggerating, but whatever) and everything shuts down when we get snow. Church services, schools, day care, senior centers, bingo night, even some offices; you name it, it's probably closed.

I had plans to head out to Shell Knob today to work on a story for the March issue of Connection. But -- you guessed it -- the place I was going shut down due to the weather. Instead, Baxter and I alternated between being extremely lazy and venturing out to admire the snow. Well, I admired it; Baxter just played in it. He even waded into the creek! Brrrr.

That's another difference between Missouri and Minnesota: open water! Here, there's really no such thing as ice fishing.

I didn't plan our first walk out in the snow very well and only brought the camera with its basic lens. I WISH I'd thought of tucking away the zoom lens, because there were bluebirds and cardinals galore during our late morning walk. Below is the same picture, zoomed in quite a bit so you can see the brilliant color of the bluebird. We went out again this afternoon, this time with the zoom lens, but only saw some juncos. Better luck next time!

Picture This

When I was visiting Brenda in Chicago, she sparked the idea of a photography workshop as a way for me to sharpen and broaden my photography skills. I have the camera, the desire, the occasional (lucky) talent, so why not pursue it a little more? The only photography training I ever had was a photojournalism class in college--what feels like a lifetime ago. And I don't count that one as training, per se, because we were basically told to go out and DO, and the only thing I remember from the class itself was the frustration of scrambling to complete assignments and fumbling around in the darkroom.

I've fallen in love with this photographer. Or rather, his photographs!
Dave Stoecklein
Photographing landscapes, horses, the western lifestyle and cowboys? Now that's a dream job right there. I would love to attend the upcoming Weatherford, Texas, (cutting horse country!) workshop of his, but between the $1500 price tag on a weekend workshop and the guaranteed communication issues, I don't see that happening.

Then Brenda sent me info on nature photography classes at the Morton Arboretum. For the cost of an Arboretum membership and a relatively minimal class fee, I could take classes on harnessing changeable light, closeup, and advanced compositions (think Ansel Adams). Time to start saving up again and make these dreams into reality! Brenda's pretty good at twisting my arm to go visit her in Chicagoland.

updating

Well, here we are, six days into 2011 and I've already slacked on the blog!

I spent the holidays "up north" and had a white Christmas. Quite a change of weather from 2010, when I was in Arizona. Actually, it wasn't as cold as I was afraid it would be -- the piles of snow even melted while I was up there! Brenda and I didn't even have COATS on when we went out for sushi on New Years Eve in the Chicago 'burbs. That was a-mazing. It sounds like I headed south just in time for the temperatures to plummet back down to their normal frigidness.

I got to kick off 2011 with my bestie in Illinois. We had martinis, sushi, martinis, a movie and greeted the New Year. It was calm and mellow -- the way we are hoping 2011 turns out to be. We packed a lot into our girls' weekend (Hooch the French mastiff and Baxter were the only boys allowed exclusive access): sushi, bubbly, Little Fockers, afternoon tea at the Drake Hotel downtown, movies, naps, baking, Panera, Lou Malnati's pizza and more. The only thing we didn't get to check off the list was going snowshoeing at the Morton Arboretum -- and that was only because there was no snow!

I'm now home -- the car is unpacked, the Christmas decorations are packed away once again, and I'm catching up on all the things I let slide while I was gone. I have a few packages to send out, a few Christmas cards (well, they are now late New Years greetings and going to become Valentine's Day greetings if I don't get moving!) to send out, cows to track down and resolutions to keep.

Kidding about the last one. Sort of! There is a Project Life scrapbooking project I would love to do, but not only are the packaged projects sold out on Amazon, but it's out of my budget right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Project-Life-Turquoise-Edition/dp/B0049MFPW8/ref=pd_sim_k_1
So instead of doing the pre-packaged Project Life, I'm creating my own. I found a do-it-yourself calendar with write-in dates, plenty of room for journaling and blank pages to add photographs and embellishments. It fits in nicely with my desire to take more photographs this year. I'm planning on heading out for a hike this afternoon with Baxter and the Nikon to see what we can find. The sun is shining and the weatherman promised it would get up to 55 degrees today!

Autumn

Dusting off the blog. We have been having spectacular fall weather, and I spend so much time working on the computer (and, well, on Facebook) that when I do take a break, it has been to hike up the hill, throw the ball for Baxter or just relax on the patio and soak up the sunshine. The falls here are so gradual and gentle. It's the 24th of October, and we have not had any frost yet! My marigolds, zinnias, clematis and morning glories are still blooming furiously. I'm sure we will pay for the mild fall come winter. At least I will, if I spend the holiday months up north.


The November issue of Connection magazine is hot off the press. Although I've seen a sneak preview on the computer, I can't wait to get my hands on it. December articles are progressing nicely and making me dream of Christmastime--even if I'd prefer to spend it in powdery white sand instead of frigid snow.
The neighbors down the road have a herd of longhorns I've been dying to take photos of. They occasionally graze in a picturesque field adjacent to Thomas Hollow, but I have not had time or true motivation to take the camera out there. Until yesterday. Of course, it was a cloudy, gray day so the vivid colors of the trees in the background didn't show through. The longhorns were not very appreciative of me intruding their territory--they were ready to bolt, even though I tried to stay quiet and on my side of the fence. I did get a few neat shots with the zoom lens, though!

I took a break from writing this morning to play with the camera in the garden. (Among a bunch of other things -- nothing like a little procrastinating with a deadline looming.)

Like I said, the butterflies love the coneflower garden--and they don't seem to mind me climbing right in there with my camera.

A few lucky shots! I need to get a field guide to butterflies....

Have a fabulous Fourth of July weekend!