Sunrise over Superior

I have been vacationing the last few days on the North Shore of Lake Superior with my family. So, I haven't been able to update my blog recently, due to a slow internet connection up there. However, I was able to get lots of gorgeous shots to share.

These first few are from the sunrise over Lake Superior (taken around 4:45 AM!!!) I will be posting more shots soon of some of the other places I visited.

A few more shots of beautiful flowers.

Mom's Flowers

Here are some photos of my mom's flowers out at our family farm.

Happy Pictures

These pictures make me smile. Enjoy.

The Heron

There is a Heron that visits the pond near my home on early spring and summer mornings.
I often think he looks so grand, and delicate with his long neck and legs. Most times, I only get a glimpse of him, as he will fly away when my dogs and I walk by.

On this morning, however, he stuck around for a while, and I was able to go back inside and get my camera. I only got these two shots before he got scared and flew away.

Mushrooms

Here are a couple of pictures of some coral mushrooms taken last week at the farmer's market.

Downtown Farmer's Market

I spent a lovely couple of hours (except for maybe the 30 minutes when trying to get out of the parking garage!) at the Downtown Farmer's Market on Saturday morning.
It was nice and warm, and partly sunny.
We have a great market in Des Moines, with fruits, veggies, meats, crafts, food vendors, live music, and more. If you live near here, or visit during the summer months, this would be a good thing to visit.

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.