Grateful

Magnolia soulangiana

First the photo...this is a lovely old Magnolia at my fathers house. It really has no comparison, not that I've seen anyway. I can not remember a time that it wasn't this huge friend waiting in the side yard. It was my favorite hiding spot to read as a kid, a great climbing tree, and a solid friend to whisper secrets to when things weren't going good.

I'm very disappointed in the photo though...a bad in camera crop. And due to the ankle injury I neglected to back up and use that wide angle lens to get a shot of the whole tree. Oh well hopefully next year I can get a shot of the whole tree in all it's glory.

Second. The ankle injury has really made me take the time to really think about what I want out of life. In other words....having to slow down has been a good thing. A time to reflect on where I'm at. Where I want to be. And how to get there from here.

Bottom line...I want to spend more time doing the things that excite me and that I'm passionate about. I want more time to spend with people I love and the people that are positive and living life to the fullest.

Again...the question how to get there from here?

What excites you? What are you passionate about? And what are you doing to bring these things/people to the forefront of your life?

Companionship

Bruce's horses Samson and Meg...long time companions.

Winter Poo

Life in Pennsylvania sure is interesting.

Today for your viewing pleasure I'm presenting two photos. The first is a weeds. That's right folks....weeds.

And the second, well I'll let you see for yourself....

Poo! Or more correctly some type of animal scat. But we're gonna call it poo.

Now I'm sure that you want to know why in the world I took the time to take these pictures (and I'm sure more than a couple of you are wanting to know why I got so close to poo).

I'm test driving a new lens. How exciting, right! And I wanted to see what it could do and shoot stuff with the old and the new and compare. Especially sharpness which I thought was a problem on my old lens (and it is).

Fine your thinking....so go ahead and test drive (shoot)....but why poo (and for that matter...weeds)?

Well (and I can't believe that I'm going to admit this)......I'm genuinely interested in the poo. I didn't set out to be. But once I saw it I was curious as to whether it was Red Fox or Coyote scat. And it was as good a place as any to experiment how close I can get with the lens.

And the weeds. I was working on Depth of Field...and how sharp I could get the individual blades of grass to be. And seperating moving grass in the forground from the moving grass in the background. And yowser can the 70-200 2.8 focus fast. Like scary fast. Like I have to get a grip....fast! Needless to say....I can't wait for polo season to start. It's a whole need world with this lens.

The weeds....really it's some sort of grass....I'd like to know if it's native and what kind it is. Now that I took the picture and have been looking at it....it would be nice to have a name for it.

Oh and the poo.....I have no idea what kind of animal left it. I'm going to submit it to the poo picture place run by Cornell and find out. It's a free service. They keep the photo (they are more than welcome to it) and we dear bloggers get to find out what critter is living on the back 50!

Otis

Sitting in the morning sun

I'll be sitting when the evening comes....

Fixin'

I'm not sure what OHSA would say about this. But at least the job got done. For some reason the barn door hangings keep coming loose. I'm sure glad I have someone around to fix them!

P.S. Firefly...not my horse....but a picture of something loved!

30 Days

Today

Thirty Days Ago

Day 38 - Got Catz?

A Jack Russell Terrier to the bone. She enters the barn flat out and searches all her favorite little hidey-holes for vermin. She only found a cat this day...and cats are strictly prohibited.

Although....I'm sure....that she thinks that cats are vermin!

Day 37 - Back To Work

Day 36 - Fluttery Surprise

I can not decide between the 3 Photos...so I'm posting them all.



The every lovely Monarch Butterfly.



Make that a pair of Monarchs!

Which photo is your favorite?

Day 35 - First Day of Fall

Crab apples are a little confused. These guys are spring blooming flowers. That apparently do not understand what side of the equator they live on.

Day 33 - Thankful For Clean Water

I'm so thankful for clean water....that is easily available. The farmyard is sprinkled with these lovely hydrants....inside buildings, outside buildings, in front of every bow house...and just in seemingly random places.

I don't take our water for granted. I am truly grateful for it everyday and I understand what a difficult existence it would be if it were not so readily available.

Day 32 - Hot Dog

Day 31 - Out The Front Door

Not overly impressed with the amount of grain shooting at ISO 800 or higher. But with out a tripoid shooting at really slow speeds is tough.

I will be happy when this cold is gone. This was a picture from the first day it hit me hard. I could only make it to the front door after dragging myself home from work. So this is the shot you got!

Day 30 - A Walk In The Woods

My first attempt at zooming while exposing. Have you ever tried this before? Any tips?

I'm thinking that I need to set the camera on something stationery and maybe slow the shutter speed down a little more. The little squiggles of light are funny looking. Not really sure what to do.

It was very fun to come back and look at these attempts on the computer though. I Can not wait to get out there and try it again.

P.S. Sorry I have not been by your blogs. I have a wretched cold and the computer screen just makes my head and eyes throb. I'll be by soon. I miss everyone!

Day 29 - Happy On A Pony

Day 28 - Orange Means Fall

I took this at Sisterella house. No color enhancement here. This is what the sky looked like. Fall is on it's way for sure. We are having the most spectacular sunsets. Deep purplish pinks, yellow and orange. It's awe inspiring!

P.S. See Hubby....I told you I would get the shot....color and everything!

Days 25 - 26 - 27 Twitter Pictures Via Twit Pic

Another Picture From Last Saturday...not part of Project 365. But I wanted to share it!

To see the photos for Days 25, 26, and 27 your going to have to go to my Twitter page. These three photos were taken with my camera phone. And I'm not sure how to download those to my computer. I'll work on that.

Anyway if your not familiar with Twitter. It's okay. It's easy. Just click on my twitter update box over in the sidebar. It will take you to my Twitter page. You can then either sign up for Twitter OR you can just click on my Tweet and you will be able to open the link with the picture.

If you want to leave feed for me just start the sentence with: @pawildwoman Then leave your comment and your message will show up on my page.

It's easy.

I hope you enjoy the next three pictures. And Day 27 will include a little bonus!

Day 24 - The Pump

Day 23 - Hanging With The Girls

Day 22 - Smooth

Well....hubby took our suggestions into consideration....pondered on it. And when I got home on Saturday from my 'photo shoot' he was clean shaven. Thanks ladies!