Friday, July 24, 2009

July 23, 2009: Mark's 'Stache

Mark's bachelor party is this weekend in Chicago. He and his friends have a weird mustache tradition for bachelor party weekends. They all grew a 'stache in honor of Mark's impending marriage, and over the weekend will trim them into various shapes. I think the plan is to come back with "normal" looking facial fuzz. Hard to say with a bunch of guys, beer, and baseball.

July 22, 2009: Off

It's rarely off.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

July 21, 2009: I Give Up


Yes, that is a groundhog having a lovely sunbath on the bench on my deck. Evidently, the place has been taken over by the wildlife. Mama and her two babies live under the deck. One of the little rats was out front Saturday, eating the snapdragon flowers just like they were corn on the cob. Hard to get mad when they're so cute!
(This is a pretty lousy photo - had to take it stealthily through the screen on manual focus and get it quick before she darted under the deck.)

July 20, 2009: Cherry Tomatoes


Sweet 100s - haven't grown these before. Shouldn't be long before I have ripe tomotoes.

July 19, 2009: David Duchovny has a HUGE Nose


Really, how did Gillian get any screen time at all?

July 18, 2009: Worldwide Photowalk


This is the Rt. 82 bridge over the Cuyahoga River valley. We took the Cuyahoga Valley RR to the Brecksville Station and shot along the towpath. Perfect day, nice people, fun train ride.

Monday, July 20, 2009

July 17, 2009: Pufferbelly, Downtown Kent


Pufferbelly was having an Italian weekend - tried the mushroom ravioli, which was pretty good.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Balloon Over Kent


Heard the sound of the gas burner, waited for the balloon to show up.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Cruising on the Goodtime III


Jody & Mike and their kids Christopher and Joseph, went on the Cuyahoga River Cruise with Chcuk and me. Perfect day, sunny and warm with a breeze. The lake was filled with sailboats, power boats and waverunners. The cruise was a blast - I lost count of the bridges, and the old industrial building are fascinating. This was one of the last bridges we went under as we returned to the dock.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Petunia

Had to get really close for the macro - suprising how sweetly scented petunias are.

The auto focus wasn't focusing, so I switched to manual for this shot.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Ultralight at Dusk

They sound just like airborne lawnmowers. Striking sight at dusk.

July 7, 2009: Shot at Dusk


f11 with a 10 second exposure. Lightened it up a bit in post processing. Love digital and Photoshop Elements!

July 6, 2009: Hot Air Balloon


When I moved from Brimfield a few years ago, I thought that hot air balloon sightings were a thing of the past. Brimfield is just south of Ravenna, which has lots of hot air ballon activity. But a couple of the balloons, this one and one with a gull, blow over my neighborhood fairly regularly in the summer. It's a very cheerful sight. Maybe I'll try thee telephoto next time.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

July 5, 2009: Evening Light


July 4, 2009: Fireworks


My family came down for a cookout and yak fest - lots of fun. Mom, Dave, Gary and Marge, Matt and Chuck hung out and ate 'tater salad and burgers. Mel brought brats and a macaroni salad (is it still a macaroni salad if it has crab in it?). We had pineapple upside down cake for dessert and lemon, passion fruit, and strawberry sorbet. Just a nice time with family.


Chuck and I decided to watch Kent's fireworks from the deck so we didn't have to mess with traffic. There were a few trees in the way, but we still got lots of photos. And, a couple of neighbors were having fireworks, so we got to enjoy those, too.

July 3, 2009: Party at Mike and Paul


A random child at Mike and Paul's cook out.

Friday, July 3, 2009

July 2, 2009: Strawberries

f8. Could've gone to f22, since I was using a tripod. Would've brought the foreground strawberries into sharper focus. Sadly, this means I will have to eat more strawberries so I can try again ;).

July 1, 2009: Bananas in a Blue Bowl