Butter-n-Cream

Sweet corn and grilled chicken for dinner tonight.

August 29, 2009: CVPS Photowalk at Horseshoe Pond

Taken with the 17 - 70 mm. Not comfortable at all, this close to yellow jackets.

August 28, 2009: Bullfrog with Duckweed

Took the afternoon off the check on Larry (who's doing quite well) and take some photos at Promise Land.

August 27, 2009: Freshly Opened Coffee

The aroma of a freshly opened can of coffee is the best!

August 26, 2009: Land Snail

After four rapid-fire customer calls on Wednesday, we stopped at Fazooli's for lunch. Spotted this guy on one of the outdoor speakers. We retreated indoors shortly after - once the food came, we were swarmed by yellow jackets.

August 25, 2009: Entering Canada

Drove to Toronto to do some customer interviews. What I found interesting:
1. The number of wineries in the "Golden Crescent". Three or four at every exit.
2. Huge hothouses.
3. Toronto's size - it's enormous.
4. Cranes everywhere. They seem to be building mostly high rise condos, in town. Can't imagine living 20 stories up - the view must be incredible.
5. Traffic - LA class.
6. Newness. We did not get to see the older part of Toronto, just the lakeshore and inland industrial developments.
7. Toll cameras.

August 24, 2009: Traveling Tomorrow

Wonder if he knows what the suitcase means.

August 6 - 12, 2009 - P365 Layout

Digital paper is from Katie Pertiet's Rejoice paper pack from Designer Digitals. Font is Georgia.

Mom's Birthday Celebration

My niece, enjoying ice cream after lunch.

August 22, 2009: First Dahlia

Shot this early in the morning in the shade behind the house.

Sort of a challenging day. Had to call the vet. Larry was having trouble breathing. The vet said he has emphysema. It's manageable, but he has to take medicine and be out of dust. Poor guy. I'm relieved that it's fixable, though - pretty stressful seeing him gasping for breathe after the short walk from paddock to barn.

August 21, 2009: Parsley, Silhouetted Against the Slider Blinds

August 20, 2009: Panera

Panera ice tea!

LAME

On auto, no less! Completely uninspired today, but at least i took out the camera.

Caught on Camera!

Finally, caught the little rat on camera. The dizzying angle is due to me leaning over the railing on the upper deck. I don't know if this youngster in THE little rat who's been excavating along the foundation in front, but it's definitely one of the siblings.

(I use the word "rat" loosely. I was happy to get this shot with no screen between us, and I'm thrilled to have some cute critters in the yard, even if they are annoying sometimes)

Sunflower

Sunflower, planted in one of the deck pots by a chipmunk. Couldn't decide between these two - the bee and the backlit petals - so posting them both.

August 16, 2009: Gala Apples

Almost 10 pm, room light.

Sweet 100s, Finally Ripening

MMMmmmm, lunch tomorrow.

August 14, 2009: Half DOV in the Valley

Took a half day of vacation to do a photo tour of a short section of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, from Penisula to Merriman Road. Hot, but otherwise nice. Stuck with the 70 -300 mm, not thrilled with the results. Probably need to put it on the tripod (which I carted with me, but didn't use!).

Thursday, Panera

Chuck, working in Solidworks. Shortly before hitting the Speedracer YouTubes.

August 12, 2009: Kestrel

An oddly shaped bird took off from my house when I went to get the mail. Pulled out the binoculars, and it turned out to be a kestrel. In my suburban neighborhood. He stayed in this dead tree long enough for me to get a couple of shots, then he was gone.

August 11, 2009: Clouds

Gorgeous cumulous clouds lit by summer sun.

August 10, 2009: Thunderstorm

It looked pretty evil rolling in, and it was fierce pounding down, but 15 minutes later, the sun was shining.

This is the view from my office window - some interesting stuff to be seen, even though it is an industrial area

August 9, 2009: Way Too Hot!

'Nuff said.

August 8, 2009: Scratch That Itch

Baby groundhog scratching an itch on the shed.

August 7, 2009: Groundhog

Yes, Kirby, there are three groundhogs under there...

August 6, 2009: Horns & Things

DownTown@Dusk at the Akron Art Museum. The sax player had amazing dreads - almost down to his knees and really thick. Put the 300mm on my camera, much better shots for this kind of event.

My Vegetable Garden

Really, it's a tomato-marigold-daisy-wildflower-mix garden, with a few weeds thrown in. The perimeter defense looks formidable, but the bunnies and ground hogs laugh at it. The hogs are in serious trouble since they snatched a couple of the bigger tomatoes. And most of the snapdragon flowers, the little poops.

August 4, 2009: Parsley

In a planter box on the upper deck. Interesting pattern in the leaves, some are fringed with yellow, some with magenta. They're in miracle gro potting soil, so it can't be lack of fertilizer.

I Made This

My friend Kurt has a big fountain on his deck which sounds really nice. My upper deck is small, so I thought a little fountain would be a good choice. Try to find a pretty, plain fountain for less than $200, though. Donzell's had some pots on sale Friday, this beautiful blue water garden pot among them. For $32 for the pot, $26 for the pump kit with the fountain stem and three heads (this is the trumpet head), and free rocks from the barn, I have a very cute, sweetly burbling little fountain for my deck. And it was super easy to make.

Mushrooms and Crabapples

August is an amazingly abundant month. Fruits, berries and grasses are ripening. With the wet weather we've had, even the mushrooms are looking fresh.

August 1, 2009: Zucchini Bread

Chuck's Mom gave me two big zucchinis. I cleaned them, cut them up, and shredded them with the food processor. There was enough shred for 9 batches. I made two loaves, one for the block party tonight and one to give to Chuck's Mom.

You can see the seeds in here. Wasn't sure whether to scrape them out or not. They added a nice nutty texture to the bread.

This is "Carl Groh's Zucchini Bread" from Beard on Bread. Very good!

July 31, 2009: Gretchen

This little cutie was out getting some sunshine and fresh air. She was strolling over the zookeeper's hand as he moved them like a conveyor belt. I wanted to hold her (despite being really squeemish about handling a spider that size), but the keeper said she was getting agitated and needed to go inside.

I took a half day off and spent it at the Akron Zoo, taking pictures. Also went to Donzell's Garden Center and found the perfect pot - on sale! - for a fountain on the deck. More about the fountain in another post.

July 30, 2009: Alex Bevan at the Art Museum

We planned to go to an outdoor concert at the Art Museum. The rain hit about five minutes after this photo was taken and fifteen minutes before we were supposed to leave. Oh well, Chuck came to my house and we had a pleasant evening anyway.

July 29, 2009: Sweet 100s

Just after a rain. Wish they'd ripensoon!

July 27, 2009: After the Bachelor Party Weekend

I think he looks better without the lambchop mustache.

July 26, 2009: French Toast

Chuck made French Toast for breakfast at Mike and Jodi's. MmmmMMMMmmm!

July 25, 2009: Greg's 50th Birthday Party

Happy Birthday, Bro! From left, Sheila, Greg, Kenzie, and Ryan.

July 24, 2009: Sootie

He's a tough cat to photograph - always in motion, and either there's no detail in the black or the white is blown out.