Wet Feet...

I put on snowshoes thinking they'd help me from falling through the deep WET snow. Wrong. The snow clogged up and it felt like I had lead on my feet.
Carrying the snowshoes proved to be a chore as they kept getting in the way. After slip sliding down a very step hillside and spending many moments on my rear end...I made it to the creek bottom where I could hear water running.

Our January thaw had begun! I had a tripod and camera in a backpack. Filters in my pockets, and of course the .22 pistol on my belt. I was 'armed' for 'shooting'...my intent was to achieve a silky smooth photo of running water.
The snow posed a problem even with an overcast sky. The reflection of white from the snow and the water has perplexed me for a while.
Until I did some research and discovered that it was perfectly acceptable to 'stack' filters on the lens to 'neutralize' the light so that I could take a timed photo!

Before I left I fiddled with my FujiFinePix digital and found that I could preset it at Fstop 9 and preset the exposure to 2 seconds.
Well well.
Armed with all this I'd slogged through wet melting knee deep snow...[oh yeah and when I slipped down the hill with snow shoes...I got my feet crossed...that is when they came OFF!]...I was ready to achieve great things. Ok, try to achieve something I'd been trying to do for quite a while now.

Well I found the secret.
Stay away from lots of snow!
Stack filters.
Experiment with the length of exposures.
And get your feet wet!

The Sun Dog

This morning while driving to work I was fortunate enough to see a 'sun dog'. I re-routed my drive so that I could safely pull over and get out of the car and take a photo.
There it is...the ever present camera, my hubby says it must be a part of my body! Haha. How many times have you driven down a road or walked a path and seen something you wished you could have taken a picture of?

Well, I don't believe in missed chances. Winter skies always offer such great colors [when it isn't snowing!]
I did look up 'sun dog' under weather related items and it is said that sun dogs predict the coming of rain.
Well perhaps the weather person will be correct this weekend then! Rain is predicted along with our 'January Thaw'. This should make for some interesting hiking tomorrow as the creeks begin to fill with 'run off'.
I can't wait!!!

Improvement

These two photos were taken on opposite sides of the bridge I was standing on. The golden glow in the second photo was created by the sunlight reflecting off the hillside. I turned and walked to the other side of the bridge where the water seemed cold and 'mad', it was churning over hidden rocks and not at all like the calm waters I'd seen on the opposite side.

I wanted to hike down to the edge, but I was 'supposed' to be on my way home from work and not playing around [teehee]. I try not to always take the 'same old' way home and look for new things to see.
It is all about improvement. I want to continue to take better and better shots. I guess practice is the only way to achieve that...and I surely have missed all the opportunities lately of getting out in the woods and hiking.

School starts up again very soon. Sigh.

Fighting Boredom and Grey Skies

This morning I heard some Hawaiian music on the radio for some advertisement. Oh how it struck my heart strings.

Especially since it is -5 degrees outside. I thought of sunny beaches and the sound of the surf...and how the last time I was there with my dad, it seemed like time stood still for us.

In fact I took a mental inventory of my cameras and thought how I'd pack them all--film and digital. Of course I'd have to add my notebook computer. Where would I go? Oh that is easy. I would finally make the hike to the volcanoe...I'd take night shots of the flow.

I'd finally visit the north side of the BIG Island and take that mule ride down to the beach. When I mentioned this to my oldest boy a couple of weeks ago, he and his wife said they'd go too. But thier interest lay in scuba diving. My interests lay in the photographs.

Yes, I'm working on saving for this trip. Now if I can split some housing with the kids...well that would be okay too. But Hawaii keeps nagging me back in my mind. I've gotten sidetracked with school and some other things...

Okay, so everyone has dreams. This morning in the dull grey Wisconsin morning, this was the dream I held close to me. It may be selfish, but at least it is my very own.

The Thief of Hearts...

It is really unfair you know, that a heart can be stolen so easily by a child. I couldn't stop looking at her, being charmed by her smiles, her looks, and her huge saucer eyes.
She is Lily. And she is a precious child like a flower.
She just turned three years old before Christmas. She is my youngest son's daughter. A joy to behold in so many ways.

She and her dad visited for 4 days.
Sigh.
I so hope that it will not be another whole year before I see Lily again.

Back in Time

I'm taking a moment to take a leap back in time. These photos were sent to me by my brother after he read about Uncle Freddie and Santa. He said these would have gone well with that blog post and I have to agree. I am the one in the glasses.
Always wanted to be a cowboy, yes I did!
I noticed the stick horse in my cousin's baby carriage. I have to grin. My sister and I were dressed as cow-girls and my cousins are dressed...as well, little girls.
Guess I was just meant to be a 'tom' boy.
And wow check out those great cowboy boots I am wearing!

Um...I still have a stick horse, but not the kind that grandma used to make. That particular horse had to have it's stick replaced by midsummer.

Great memories. Thanks Brother!!!

The Incredible Journey

I awoke from to the noise of gale force winds Sunday morning. I looked as I let Morris outside as quietly as possible-- so as not to awaken my son and his wife.
Poor Morris went flat on his back when he hit the concrete driveway. Overnight it had rained leaving ice in spots. I listened to the winds howl overhead and the branches creak and clatter. The sounds were ominous.

By 1:30, I'd decided that I'd go ahead and drive to my Stepdaughter's house -- generally it is only a two hour drive. The DOT site had said the roads were in good driving condition.
Gee, little did I know.

I'd told Steph my route I planned on taking and stated *If I'm not there by dark come looking for me*.

What I didn't know is that it had begun to snow and the 50mph+ wind gusts were creating whiteouts and blizzard conditions on the route I'd chosen.
I was in the Gallant Cavalier, as I now have dubbed it. [I'm sure this will amuse my son who was the previous owner of the Cavalier]

I had planned on driving with music playing, but with the roar of the wind and the rattle of the GC, I was terrified of something being blown off the car. Bits and pieces of trees were pelleting the vehicle along with occasional periods of pure white blindness. At one point I wished I could find a spot to turn around and head back to my son's house. But the section of road I'd just gone over was so bad, I was too frightened to face driving it again.

Morris curled up quietly on my heavy winter coat on the passenger seat next to me. He'd lift his head when I cursed or nearly came to creeping crawl. He was a comfort, although I'm not exactly sure why, it wasn't like he could save me!

The roads in fact didn't get better, they got worse. I didn't think I could drive in worse. But thank goodness the other people on the road were not in a hurry or foolish. Perhaps they were afraid as I was.

When I finally pulled into my 'daughters' house I was exhausted with relief. I was pleased though, that I'd just made their place--before darkness.