One Fall Day

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Autumn, baby, baby photographs, fall, granddaughter, joy, moon, morning sky, night sky, positive attitude, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Patch, sky, sunrise photographs, sunset photographs

Sunrise over our Hillbilly ‘hood

As the day awakens and everyone wakes up with it, there is a sense of anticipation for what is to come.  The new day holds a promise of things yet realized — what it brings is up to us.

Sunset over our Hillbilly ‘hood

As the sun sets and nightfall is near, our sense of anticipation can still remain.  Our bodies and minds need rest, but our spirit and drive are still there, waiting to start another day tomorrow.

Moonrise over our Hillbilly ‘hood

Lock the joy of the day in your mind and heart, let go of the trials and pain of the day as you lay down to rest, and let troubles fade away as you drift off to sleep.  Whether joy or trouble, a new day full of new possibilities awaits you.  Nothing is carved in stone — a day and a night can change everything.

Meanwhile, someone is getting ready for her trip to the pumpkin patch…

It’s me, Precious Baby!  And I’m kinda unsure if this will be a  trip that babies like.

Still not real sure about this…am I for sale?

All right, so, now what?

Am I supposed to be doing what he’s doing?

Well…this…MIGHT not end up being so bad…

You’re not gonna cry again, are you?  Between teething and wearing a diaper I’m already pretty wet.

This turned out to be kinda fun!

I’m so glad Daddy and Mommy brought me!

And look what Mommy took a picture of — a bug on a pumpkin flower!  She’s getting pretty good at this picture-taking stuff!  But then she’s had lots of practice taking pictures of ME!

Things in Hillbilly Land and this side of the world are coming to a close for the day, and blessings abound everywhere if we look for them.  Whether it is a beautiful grandchild, a beautiful sky, a bug on a flower, or anything that shows us God is near, enjoy your blessings tomorrow as you travel through the day and through life.  Blessings to each and every one of you!

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Supermoon, Seen All the Way Over Here In Hillbilly Country

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Full moon, moon, Moon photographs, night sky, Supermoon

We were so pleased that we got home from church just in time to catch Mr. Moon in his Super phase.  He was very bright, so I toned him down a bit in the pictures.

Out in front of our house Mr. Moon was just rising above our neighbor’s house across the street.  We had to stay late after church for choir practice and I was afraid we’d miss this once-a-year happening!

While taking pictures, I sat outside for a long time just looking at Mr. Moon.  Tonight has been such a lovely night — the air has cooled-off and the bright moon keeps things from being pitch black outside.  

If you get a chance before the night is over, go out and take a look at Mr. Moon — he will enjoy seeing you!

Related articles

• ‘Supermoon’ makes a brilliant appearance (thetimes.co.uk)
• “Supermoon” gets lots of attention (wwlp.com)
• See the supermoon! Awesome photos of the June 2013 full moon (earthsky.org)

Dawn To Dusk

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Beginning photography, Dog, flowers, miniature schnauzer, moon, nature photographs, nature photography, rabbit, Summer, Sun, Sunrise, Sunset, Supermoon

Mr. Sun got caught in the power lines when he rose early yesterday morning, so I helped him get loose — he thanked me by shining all day.

Our corner of the world was happy to see Mr. Sun, including the flowers.

Mr. Rabbit was so happy to see Mr. Sun that he allowed me closer than I’d ever been to get a picture of him.

But Miss Ladybug was scurrying around in too big a hurry to stop and let me get a clear picture of her.  “We’re wasting daylight!” she exclaimed.

So Lucy and I sat out in the sunshine and lazed around for awhile — well, Lucy chased birds and got into things.

So then City Boy took Lucy to be washed, clipped and groomed.

 

We stayed in the house for a while and I worked on some projects while Lucy rested from her grooming ordeal.  Then City Boy and I ran some errands.  When we got back it was evening and the sun was setting.

Looking up in the sky from our front yard we saw Mr. Moon shining brightly, while blue and pink clouds danced around him.

Mr. Moon wasn’t full, but he still made a good showing.

Looking up at the sky from the back yard found some pink clouds that had decided to call it a day and head home.  

City Boy, Lucy and I decided to call it a day too.  

I thought maybe I would try to get a picture of the Supermoon my friend Cindy reminded me about.  That’s going to be tonight — how exiting!

Have an exciting night and a week full of sunshiny days!

Related articles

• 5 Sky Events This Week: Mercury Rising, Moon Meets the Lion’s Heart (newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)
• Most “super” supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23 (earthsky.org)
• Moonstruck, We Become… (philosophers-stone.co.uk)
• Super Full Moon Shines Brightly This Weekend [YOUR PHOTOS] (wctv.tv)
• Annual Supermoon appears early Sunday morning (fox13now.com)

A Walk Around Town

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baby, baby photographs, Beginning photography, Ice storm, moon, nature, nature photography, Photography, poetry, rural, rural photographs, sky, Sunset, winter sunset

Actually, that title is not exactly accurate.  City Boy and I went on a drive here and there, and very little walking was done — it was cold outside!  So. I”m a wimp and everybody should know.  Also, it was actually more than one outing, I just consolidated.  So, in four words I was dishonest twice.  I really didn’t mean to be, but I’m not changing the title because I’m lazy!

Another couple of sunset pictures here — I know I’ve been doing a lot of sky lately, but I just can’t get enough of the beautiful sunsets.  I mean, one night they will be a tapestry of many colors, and the next it may look like the sky is on fire with bright orange.  The next night it may be a subdued blue and white pattern in the sky.  They’re all beautiful, and I can never get enough.

I didn’t know I caught that airplane in the picture until after I processed the photo, so I just thought I’d throw this photograph in for fun.

On a different outing I was looking for picturesque barns and buildings.

Actually I was going to try to write some sort of poem to go along with this picture, something about a stop sign in the road of life sort of thing.  But I’ve discovered to my dismay that I do not have the poetry writing ability that I had in high school.  So, this picture shall remain poetry-less for the time being.  If anybody has a verse they can come up with, feel free to share it!  This picture has a poem in it, I just know it, lol!

A few days after an ice storm we went for a drive and tried to get a good shot of the ice glistening from the grass and branches as the sun shone down on it.  The picture doesn’t do the beauty of it justice.  It was like little diamonds everywhere, and it hardly shows in this picture.  Maybe I should start learning to take videos.  Yeah, that’s the ticket, something else I can be bad at for awhile.

On this day is when we took the picture of the day moon that I had in the Weekly Photo Challenge a few days ago.  Well, actually, I took the picture and City Boy was the wheel man.  But I thought I’d work it in here, too, since it goes along with the other photos.

All of these pictures were taken on the outskirts of town or in town, and even in winter there are some pretty picturesque things to see here.  Spring will simply dazzle you.  I can’t wait to show you!

Just got some hot-off-the-press pictures of Becca’s Precious Baby, who is now three months old.  City Boy and I are getting more and more anxious for Easter weekend and our trip to Texas so we can meet Precious Baby for the first time!

I’m telling ya, Easter can’t get here fast enough!  Don’t forget wonderful Daylight Savings tonight — boooo, hiss, we lose an hour!  Lol, have a wonderful night and a great Sunday!

Related articles

• Simple Tips on Writing Poetry (bkirbykeith.wordpress.com)
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• Sunsets (naplesgirlblog.com)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details

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Beginning photography, close-up photography, DailyPost, details, moon, nature, nature photography, perspective, photographs, Photography, postaday, weekly photo challenge

By now everyone probably thinks I worship the moon, but I’ve actually just lately had more than the usual amount of great photo opportunities in the sky.  So, I thought I’d use one of them in this week’s challenge.

A clear moon with a misty frame of barely-there branches made for what I thought was a neat shot, but a very common one, and I am not a skilled enough photographer to make the day moon any more dramatic than it already is.  Its magnificent beauty certainly doesn’t need my help!

 

On a whim I changed the focus from the moon as the subject to making the winter trees against a winter sky the subject with the moon a misty glowing orb in the background.  I like this effect, and I am learning a little more about what a difference a change in perspective can make.  The details in the winter branches had been lost to me in times past.

So, since this challenge, I’ve been thinking about the concept of how details can be totally lost while being in plain site.  One of my fellow bloggers recently posted a picture of wildlife in which something was in plain site but virtually invisible because it was being very inconspicuous.  It is a very interesting version of a sort of “Where’s Waldo” (found here — give it a try!).  The concept of something being lost in amongst all the details of a photograph intrigued me, so when this photo challenge came up I thought I would try my amateur hand at it.

For instance, a furry flower can be interesting looking…

…except that the same flower disappears when seen from the perspective of being a spec in a sea of weeds ground cover.

Rocks are much more interesting from a close and personal perspective…

…than when viewed as part of a bunch of excess rocks behind a building.

It’s been fun trying to find things that are there, but are lost in the details that are all around them.  It has made me realize that I am missing about 90% of the world around me every day!  So learning to be a better photographer involves much more of learning to be observant than I ever realized.  That’s something I will have to work on.

Since I’ve just jumped on the bandwagon of the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge (details here — scroll down the Photo Challenge page to find out how to get started), I’ll have to get better at taking pictures!  There are many fantastic photos to look at, taken by very talented photographers!

Today I wish everybody a fantastic, delightful day!

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• Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details (scsurfbutler.com)
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• Weekly Photo Challenge – Lost In The Details (staceycovell.com)
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• Revisiting: Weekly Photo Challenge (lost in the Details) Love at First Step (theladyboymirror.wordpress.com)

The Mother Of All Depressions — Pun Intended

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Arkansas, baby, baby photographs, day moon, Mental health, moon, photographs, Photography, Postpartum depression, Snow, winter, winter weather

Ah, no matter where you go, it’s always good to be home!  Even the best vacation has a point at which your own space, your own stuff, your own bed, just cannot be beat.  I’m glad to be home, but so very glad I got to spend some time visiting my daughter Megan, her husband, and my two grandsons.

My newest grandbaby is two months old, and he’s a real charmer!  Megan’s older son (I’ve talked about him on this blog before, here, for example) is still my little buddy, and always in a good mood.  My 21-year-old son, Joel, lives with Megan, so I get to visit with him while I’m there, and that really rounds out visits to Arkansas!

A big snowstorm came right after I arrived at their house — it was quite a show!  On the way there I had time to get a picture of a wonderful day moon.  After that came a blanket of snow.

My son-in-law’s lonely looking bike in the backyard during the snowfall

Some green grass growing by the fence row that had been enjoying the Spring weather and now is sitting there as if thinking, “What the…..???!!!”

The above-ground pool — not enticing for a swim at this moment!

On the day I left to come home, I had been out earlier with my grandson, both of us with no outerwear because the weather had turned warm and we bought some ice cream from the ice cream truck!  Talk about a fast change in weather!

On a totally unrelated note, during the visit, although I loved being there and had a great time, a few unsettling things had me worried.

Something that hits close to home for a lot of mothers is now heavy on my mind.  Megan is now going through what is termed postpartum depression.  She suffered from this when she had her first child, so she hasn’t been very surprised that it’s hit her after her second one, but she is having a struggle getting on top of it.  I feel bad for her and worry about her, even though she is certain this will pass.

We’re not talking about murderous psychosis here, but just general postpartum depression.  That’s bad enough, I know.  But Megan is just not herself, and it hurts a mom terribly to see her daughter going through this.

There is not much I can say that is of any help to her.  I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after my second child came along, but I tend to think that my depression at that time was more situational than hormonal.  A lot of time has passed since then as well, and details about it aren’t as fresh any more.

Do any of you mothers who have had postpartum depression remember what it was like going through this kind of thing?  What did you do that helped?  I would really appreciate any helpful hints, and would certainly pass them on to Megan!

On a lighter note, there is another baby in the family that I haven’t posted about for a while, and that is Becca’s Precious Baby — and wow, is she growing!

The Face-maker

Precious Baby is now is now two-and-a-half months old, and has developed quite the personality — Frank and I can’t wait to get to Texas at the end of March for Easter and get our  hands on her!  I’ll be trying to take some pictures of her and Daniel’s Angel Baby (among others) to bring back home with me!

So much to talk about, so little time — rest is the next thing on my list of things to do for now, but lots is going on and I’m looking forward to posting again.  Until then, have a great day!

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Blogger, clouds, lunar, moon, nature, night photography, photograph, photographs, Photography

This blogger takes the night time pictures I only wish I could take, lol!

sethsnap

The moon, clouds and wind were on stage last night here in Ohio.  The moon and clouds danced to the howling song of the wind.  They gracefully interacted in ways that only two lovers could.  The intimacy, passion and chemistry enveloped all who saw and implanted wild and adventurous dreams which were to be realized, though not remembered, later that night in the deepest of sleep.

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Slow Winter Night

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Beginning photography, Camera, Christmas, Christmas tree, Dog, Humor, moon, winter, winter night

The one thing about the weather getting colder and nights getting longer is that there is less to do.  For those hearty individuals who don’t mind roughing it in the cold weather, there are still outdoor things to do, but the rest of us namby-pamby souls have to find more things to do indoors.

Fortunately, there is Christmas decorating to do, and festive music to play while we’re decking the halls.  But, some evenings are just made for being ordinary, and there’s nothing wrong with that for old folks like us.  So, the other night was no exception to the rule.

Here in small towns certain services are limited.  There is only one cable company that services us, and its prices are higher than a cat’s back, so we have satellite.  There still wasn’t much on that night…

Really??!!  Don’t ALL murder victims wind up dead?

Lucy wasn’t really interested in doing much of anything, either.  I figured she would get underfoot while I tried to do some Christmas decorating, but I finally found her.

Her room also doubles as our office, and City Boy got her the biggest bed he could find.  The Little Dog is about the size of a cat; why on earth would she need a bed that size?  It sure makes the office that much smaller–Lucy is not a bit spoiled, oh no.

A plastic bin of decorations made its way into the living room, and I also took that opportunity to put the first gift of the season under our tree.

Looks lonely, doesn’t it?  That right there is a gift from me to Frank.  I’m hoping one from him to me joins it there soon.  It’s all about me, me, me.

In the middle of everything Frank came in and said I just had to step outside right then.  Turns out he knows I always try to stretch my picture-taking skills, which are sadly lacking, and thought I might like another challenge.  He also thought it would make a neat picture.

And, City Boy was right on two counts.  It WAS a challenge (I took several pictures of it to even get one as good as this), and it WAS kind of neat-looking, the moon with all those clouds wafting around it.  One day I’ll figure out how to take night pictures without the purple dot.

Well, back to decorating.  City Boy decided to give Lucy a bath since she was just laying there, easy to find.  Lo and behold, she had disappeared.  Frank had taken her collar off earlier, and he only does that for one reason.  And the Little Dog has figured out that reason.

So, they ran around the ottoman for awhile, and Frank finally caught her and took her in to take a bath.  I got done decorating and still had the camera out, so I entertained myself playing with it.  I discovered some new little settings, and messed around with them a bit.  

This is the “Soft Focus” setting.

This looks just like the way my pictures look when I can’t hold my hands steady enough and I don’t wait for the camera to focus.  Guess I didn’t need that setting.

Next was the “Sparkle” setting.

Whoa, this brings back memories.  When my vision was messed-up this is the way car headlights looked at night.  Don’t really want THAT blast from the past. 

Okay, so, I have no idea what I did to get this…

I’ll just call this the “Really Orange” setting.  With that, I put the camera up for the night and decided to lay in bed with the tv on and read a book.  

Then this movie came on tv about a husband who disappeared after forgetting to put a present under the Christmas tree for his wife….yeah, that might be worth a look….