Murano Vase

Here are some shots of a Murano Vase that I have.
I love the stripes and the colors.

Paisley

I have been "puppy" sitting this weekend for my four-legged niece, Paisley.
Normally, Paisley is full of fun and mischievous entertainment,
but she has been rather a bump this weekend.
Maybe she will perk up when her mommy comes home:)

Spring blooms

Some pretty spring blooms to brighten your day...
And here, the day needs brightening as it is gloomy and rainy.

Mother's Day

I spent Mother's Day at home with my family. While they worked at helping my mom
get her flower beds in order, I took some pictures (I can't help with the planting due to recent back issues, but I did make the Mother's Day dinner for all).
I was excited to get some shots of my mom's flowers, and of the other perennials
that grow at the farm. All in all, it was a good day for everyone.

more downtown

I was hoping to go to the first Farmer's Market of the season yesterday. Unfortunately, I threw out my back and have instead been sitting at home on the couch for the last three and a half days. No fun, especially when it is so beautiful out, and I want to be out taking some pix.
So, here are a few from when I was downtown a couple of weeks ago for my class.

Thunderstorm

We had our first big spring thunderstorm tonight.
So I went out and tried to catch a few shots.
I really wanted to get a good lightning shot
(which I discovered is VERY difficult to do), but
several of these others are pretty good too.

From the Farm

These two pictures are from my parents' farm. I took them
a few weeks ago, and played around with the Picasa
editing program. The tree just went from color to black and white,
but the old, iron wheels went from color to sepia, and I added film grain.
Enjoy!!

Last Class

On Monday night, during my last photography class,
we went downtown to Court Ave. to shoot some pictures.
Below are just a few of the shots I took.
I am so glad I took this class. I know I still have
TONS to learn, but I also know I learned a lot!!

Gray's Lake

Today we had beautiful spring weather here, so I went down to Gray's Lake to take a few shots.
I hope you enjoy them.

April Blizzard

Today we had an early April snowstorm. Yeah. Not exactly my idea of spring, but...This is Iowa.





It was pretty windy, and the snowflakes were the really big, wet flakes that stick to almost everything.










Of course, there isn't much you can do but hang out inside on a day like this.























Although, Paisley had the best idea of all...nap time.

Photo class

So, in my photography class last Monday, we were supposed to be working on capturing "movement" in our pictures. We were trying to take pictures of the flag waving in the wind, but I was distracted by the rays of sun coming through the clouds in the background. I liked
taking pictures of those much better than the waving flag.

Meet Minnie

This intriguing face belongs to Minnie. She is the African Gray parrot that keeps things moving in my room.

I have always wanted to get a photo of her. Most parrots are very colorful, with bright, vibrant feathers. Minnie is much more unique. She has light gray feathers, tinged with white. However, her tail feathers are a bright red. I will try again sometime to get a better shot of her, as you can't really see the variance in her feathers, and can only see a little of her tail.

Canadian Geese

I love that we have a lovely little pond near our home.
There are often several different kids of wildlife to be found in, on, and around the pond.
This pair of geese were taking an early morning rest here a few days ago.

Just a few more...

Just had to add these to today's earlier pictures. A cute little
female cardinal, and a male and female duck.

Blue Jay

I was able to get the shot today that I had been working for yesterday!! Finally, we had some beautiful bluejays come to the birdfeeder. My early morning shots were not right, since the lighting was not real great out, but I came back an hour later, and the light and the birds were BEAUTIFUL!!!

Sneaky Squirrel

I have been visiting my parents. My mom had asked me to fill her bird feeders for her, which I willing did, hoping it would attract some birds that I could get good pictures of.

So, I made sure all the feeders were full to the brim of bird seed, went inside and waited.

Shortly thereafter, this crafty little squirrel appeared, climbed the feeder and proceeded to eat...and eat...and eat. I think he was at that feeder for over half an hour!!! But he was awful cute while porking himself up on bird seed!

Woodpecker

Got a new lens today. A canon 55-250 mm. So, of course I had to take it for a spin around the block!

I snapped this picture of a wood pecker up in the tree. I could hear him for the longest time, but couldn't see him. Then he moved slightly. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get a good shot of him. I could hardly see him from the ground, but I am really pleased with how the photo turned out.

Wildlife and sunrises

While walking my dogs this morning, two things caught my eye. I made them finish their job as quickly as possible, then ran inside to get my camera, and back outside to get these shots.

The first (left) is of the sun rising. I like how the sun was peeking between the buildings, and the colors in the sky were so beautiful!!!

These shots are of a group of Canadian geese on the pond. This cracked me up, because as we were walking this morning, the geese just looked at me and my dogs (one of which is a large black lab), and then proceeded to completely ignore us with the type of dignity only a goose could muster. However, when I came back outside with the camera, they all began to freak out and honked at me very loudly. I was hoping to get a good group shot of them on the water, but they all took off. So, I got some action shots instead. These are my first shots of this type, and they are a little blurry, but I was excited to get them.

Early morning shots

I may be on "spring break," but my dogs aren't. So, since they still feel the need to get up and go for a walk at the crack of dawn, I thought I might as well take some pictures of the early morning sunrise. Hope you enjoy them!



These are of the sunset.

All of the above photos were edited using the Picasa photo editing system.

Rainbow

This photo I actually took several years ago. It is taken on the north shore of Lake Superior,
they had quite a rainstorm, it was in July, I believe, and afterward,
there was a beautiful double rainbow, right over the lake.
I love that the rainbow was bright enough to have the colors reflect on the wet pavement of the road.

Happy March!!