Winter Trees

Here are some pine trees with snow- I think they are the symbol of Christmas.

Silver Tree

This is an old silver Christmas tree that my parents have. Its pretty cool, and has a spotlight with a color wheel, so it seems to change colors as the light reflects off of the silver tree.

Fall Leaves

We have had such cool, wet, and gloomy weather here lately, that I haven't been out much to take pictures. However, yesterday, I did get myself out and about and got some shots of the beautiful fall leaves that are now being found in abundance in our area.

Fall

Wedding...

Two of my friends got married last weekend. I took some candids, and detail shots for the bride and groom. I am quite pleased with how most of the shots turned out. Congratulations Aaron and Jill!!!!

Miss Minnie's new Home

Minnie is an African Grey parrot that lived in my classroom for most of last year. On Friday, she moved to a new, permanent home- with my Grandma. Minnnie is happy that she now has someone who is home most of the time, and is chattering away. My grandma thinks Minnie is very entertaining, and I am glad that Minnie has a home where she is loved, well cared for, and I can visit often. Happy ending for all involved:)

PS...Minnie was quite peeved with me during these photos. She just had a spray bath, and was not happy about that, and then had to suffer the indignity of having her picture taken on top of it all.

Signs of Fall

Everywhere I look I see signs of fall around. The crops in the fields are starting to turn, the lat summer/early fall flowers are in bloom, and the garden is full of wonderful fresh produce. There's nothing like tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and cucumbers fresh from the garden. And of course famous Iowa sweetcorn.

Birthday Celebrations

We recently helped my grandma to celebrate her 80th birthday. Here are a few shots from the party.

Bachlorettes

Spent the evening last night celebrating with some friends at a bachlorette party. Here a few of the tamer photos of the evening ;)

MN Memories

Here are a few more pics from my trip to MN.

I love Flowers!!

I love flowers! They are delicate looking, but tough, and beautiful. They have so many shapes, sizes, colors. Here are some of my MANY flower shots:)

MIsc. MN

Here are a few misc. shots from when I visited MN.

Cascade Falls

Here are a few pics from the day we visited Cascade Falls.

The Lion Dance

When we were in Grand Marais to watch the Dragon Boat races, they also had an Asian Lion Dance performance. Here are a few shots I took.

The Duluth Rose Garden

There is a beautiful rose garden in Duluth that overlooks Lake Superior. I visited the rose garden recently, and got some really beautiful flower shots- you know I LOVE those! Unfortunately, this was again a day with lots of sea smoke, and as close as we were to the lake, you couldn't even see it. So, enjoy these closeup flower shots instead.

Gooseberry Falls

Today I visited Gooseberry Falls again. And I am much more pleased with how my pictures turned out. Here are a few of my favorites.

Iona's Beach

We visited Iona's Beach yesterday. It is unique because of the pinkish colored rocks that form the beach. Most rocks on beaches in this area are various shades of gray.

Sailboats

The Duluth Yacht club had a race to up the shore. I caught some of the sailboats as they were leaving this morning. The sun was bright, the lake blue, and the boats colorful.

Dragon Boat Race

Today we drove up the North Shore to Grand Marais where they were having a Dragon Boat festival, and were racing Dragon Boats. I had never seen a dragon boat race before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but they were really fun to watch. Here are a few of my favorite pics.