Catching up

Well here we are on a Sunday. I was going to send in a grocery order and go pick it up in town when we got a phone call.

Rich's nurse is coming out at noonish today. He called while I was doing morning chores.

So instead of doing that, I am readjusting my schedule once more.

Before the Rich got sick, I did a nice long hike in the neighbor's valley.  There is this very gnarly and twisted tree in the grassy part of the valley that always fascinated me. The tree has been dead for quite a few years and has a lot of interesting lichen on it.

I've always wanted to do a 'good' shot of this tree but never quite figured it out. So here is the tree. Once I decided to convert it to black and white, it seemed to stand out a bit better.

It is surrounded by a variety of plants and quite a bit of golden rod shown below. I'd read an article about shooting through a plant at another plant to give a bit of interest to the shot. 

So I shot the tree from the other side with the lens close to the golden rod for a light blur effect. Below is the result. It only took me a gazillion years to get a shot of this twisted tree that I liked. And there it is.

During the big melt down on February 25th, I spent quite a bit walking around through the creek bottom. In my bag I had another Titan 13. This one is gold. I thought with the late afternoon sun he'd surely shine.

I had a bit of excitement when the Titan fell forward into the rush of water. I had to chase him downstream a bit to rescue him. The water wasn't deep at all. But I had to try another shot just for the heck of it.

I thought he'd look more regal and I wanted to shoot more up at him than this direction. I'll find another time and place to do that but without the water.

That run off on the 26th was really quite beautiful. I enjoyed taking it all in. The sound of the water was relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

Now I'm trying to figure out my new routine[s] and get used to another change in our lives.

Including creativity is going to be a new challenge to explore. I can think of it in a way as being pushed to change things up.

Caught up and now moving forward.

November beauties

I'm still trying to make sure that November will not be that bleh month. I'm working hard at it by spending time outdoors and searching for things that are beautiful.

Usually by now we have a first snowfall and the ice is forming on the grasses in the creek bottom. Not so this year.  The mornings are frosty and the days are tolerable.

On our last very gloomy and overcast day, I decided to go out and look for something. Anything.

These trees I think are Hop Hornbeam trees which are also known as Ironwood.

Every tree speaks to me
fluttering from an Autumn Tree
~~Emily Bronte

I saw it as a plain old tree with startling leaves in the understory of the woods. Some of these trees are low enough that the winds don't take away all of their leaves in the winter. 

From there I started to hunt for little things. You know, that stuff you step over when you go for a walk.

The mossy log that shines with a brilliant green now that summer has passed into recent memory. 

The lichen with moss on dead wood.

The browned leaves of ferns that glow orange in the late afternoon sun.

I came home after that hike and felt I'd given November a pretty good effort but found it a bit wanting.

I came home and thought about this season again. I checked my email and had an update from OM Systems [formerly Olympus Cameras]. Since I am an OM user, I get emails for different events and 'how to' videos that explain how to get more use out of your camera.

The email was titled 'it's in our Nature'.
Specifically it addressed Kacho Fugetsu which is an old Japanese philosophy that translates loosely into Flower, Moon, Wind, and Bird. 

OM's philosophy is to go out and do continuous self discovery through nature.

Of course I know it is advertising and promotion of their products. Discover yourself through photography.

They had four little videos to watch. I was rather inspired by the words of the video. They stirred something in me that made me want to go out and find something intensely wonderful with my camera.

From the video... a few sentences 

I am everywhere...

above you in the canopy
and nestled right at 
your 
feet...

For you 
I drape the world 
in splendor
embellishing every valley
and forest
with marvels hoping that you
upon your arrival

capture my essence...

Link: Flower

I ended up with some motivation to go find something unique.

This is not my normal work, but it is a place I am  at the moment to trying something different out to see how it feels.

It combines a longer lens used in the sense of a macro lens and creating a depth of field that gives the viewer one thing to look at. That item can be mundane in a way, but unusual in how it was photographed. The best days for this kind of photography are heavily overcast days.

Tiny Fungi:

Spent Golden Rod through brush:

A dead fleabane flower in the pasture:

Rain droplets on Powderhorn Lichen:

There is so much to see out there before the snowfall will cover it up and then I'll have to change up my focus again.

That's okay, it is the best way to stay fresh and explore.

Observations

I am so lucky to have an Orb Weaver set up in my Petunias!

Here she is on the day when I discovered her. 

Next day...she had her first catch! She is holding an insect but I couldn't get any closer than this without disturbing her.

She then wraps her victim up in a tidy package.

I imagine she ate it or stored it somewhere for when she lays her eggs?
And she awaits her next victim.

Crab Spider on the buds of a golden rod.

I did use a macro lens for this and it was nearly impossible to see if I was getting this tiny spider! 

Goldenrod action last night. Ants were crawling up and down the plant. I wonder if they were hunting tiny aphids?

These were all found near the house and neighbor's meadow since I am still under the watchful eye of the other half. 

Queen Anne's Lace. This is by far my most favorite wildflower of late summer. 

Morning dew

Late evening flower

Queen Anne Lace seeds

They are just so interesting! And they smell nice too. 

What is your favorite wild flower this time of year??? Hmmm?

Things are quiet on the home front. The mower was delivered and Rich already used it before the rain set in. 

One small step each day. I count today as a success so far.
My little pressing and drying experiment is going very well!

Queen Anne's Lace, Wild Purple Vervain, Cosmos, Bee Balm, and Lavender. And guess what? I have no idea what I will actually do with them!

Have a most excellent day.

I'm going to close my eyes and listen to the light rain.

Sticks and some stones

It looked warm and toasty the other day, but looks can be deceiving. I went for a walk into the valley because it was so windy 'on top' of the ridge.
I was browsing for some interesting 'sticks' for my winter collection of 'stuff'.

I sat by the creek and listened to the wind above. By sitting very still I was able to glimpse trout again. I wonder where they go when it gets really cold?
I thought about how my Grandmother Pearl used to take us for walks and we'd collect milkweed pods and nobbin' knockers.

I gathered a bunch of small stones from the creek bottom to take home. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd do with them, but I took them anyway.

Yes, a self shot. Camera on a tripod with a timer.
I was filling my pockets with small stones.

I did figure out what I would do with them later. I painted a plastic flower pot gold and put the rocks in it. They will help stabilize the small branches I put in them.

These are some of the branches I've already done. I'm stacking them in a corner right now until I figure out how to work them in with the Christmas Chair and old crates I have.

I found one bunch of Milkweed pods and need to find another. I'd like to give some to one of my friends so she can have a 'winter bouquet' too.

I discovered that spray paint holds dried Yarrow together and keeps the Self Heal plant together also.

I have a couple of more ideas for some leftover boards. "Ho Ho Ho!", "Snow", and "Thanks".
I think I rearrange my little bundled sticks every day. I haven't settled on how or where I'm going to use them. However they look pretty neat inside an old wooden sewing machine drawer.

I will have to get a photo of that soon.