Sunflowers and Shorebirds

Spent some time shooting in Avon Lake and Lorain with my friend Lisa. The first set of photos is from a glorious field of sunflowers planted in memory of a young girl who died of brain cancer.

It's a beautiful field of sunshine:

Backlight from the morning sun creates a lovely glow.

You can find more information at https://prayersfrommaria.org/Get-Involved/Events/Planting-Hope/.

We decided to hit the Lorain Impoundment, which is a d-shaped area extending into the lake, basically a dump for harbor dredge. It's grassed over now and there's a perimeter path, with a pretty good view of the lake and lighthouse. The impoundment is a birding hotspot, but was pretty quiet when we got there around 10 am. We did flush an eagle, pretty cool, except all I got was a very blurry shot. We walked the perimeter, disturbing an impressive number of grasshoppers, almost like walking through a popcorn popper.

Here's the lighthouse, at the mouth of the Black River:

One kayaker, three fishing rods?

 A Ring-billed gull, slumming among the cormorants:

Great Blue Heron, doing the same.

Sail boat returning to harbor.

Lorain did a great job on the pier - it's paved and has a few benches along the way. Excellent view of the light house, too.

We had lunch at Jackalope's at Spitzer Marina - no idea what Jackalopes have to do with boating. Good meal and nice view of the harbor.

All in all, quite an enjoyable day.

Rue Anemone, 31 Days of Flowers

From Brecksville reservation last week. Pretty little thing, tucked among tree roots and happily out of the breeze.

31 Days of Flowers Plus a Few More from This Morning

Starting with squirrel corn from the Hemlock Creek Picnic Area of Bedford Reservation:

Sun up on Tinker's Creek.

A river of blue bells winding through the woods, streaked with morning light.

April, April - Where Did You Go?

He looks so innocent, doesn't he?

Having a grumbly moment, cut off from caffeine due to migraines. Didn't work, either.

Little purple ink lines, defying gravity.

Someone else having a grumbly moment, due to indignities suffered at the hands of the vet.

Chionodoxa in the garden, looking lit from within. They're tiny things, about an inch across.

April passed so quickly - lots of catching up to do!

A Good Start to April

This is a Painted Pony zebra. You don't have to look too closely to see all the zebras in his coat.

Chuck, scratching Sootie's cheek. Shot with the iPhone, hence all the noise.

Out with the old, in with the new. The black purse has a hole in it, so I bought something lighter for spring and summer (it is spring, isn't it?).

If there are crocuses, it must be spring.

Peony snouts, definitely spring. The little yellow spheres are Osmocote fertilizer. Peonies don't need much care, but after this past winter, maybe a little help is needed.

A good start to April.

Home Stuff

Chuck's Big BIG Birthday cake. He's not really older than dirt, although you would know if from the gag gifts his friends gave him. And meat - Mike, Paul and Keith gave him a couple of pounds of bacon, beef sticks, jerky, and a big honkin' steak, mmmm-MMMmm for my honey the carnivore!

 

 

March 16 and the crocuses are peeking out.

 

The Thanksgiving book for my family - I probably should print out the pictures before next Thanksgiving.

I have a bunch of toys horses given to me over the years - this one came from a friend at work.

Cinnamon Crunch bagel from Panera - yummy, but probably not a nutritionally sound dinner.

Middle of March and Mother Nature can't decide whether it's Spring or Winter still.

Flowers and Favorites and iPhone Photos at Night

Flowers from Heinen's - 3 huge bunches for $12! I felt like I hit the motherlode on a particularly gloomy February day. (yes, I am a tad behind in posting...)

 

I hacked the amaryllis down in September, when they came indoors for the winter. In late December, I turned on the plant lights and gave them some Miracle-Gro. The flowers this year have been spectacular. You just have to be confident that not watering from September to late December will produce good results. A peach amaryllis is blooming in the living room today, and another stem of 'Apple Blossom' is just about ready to go.

 

Love.these.boots. As Mother Nature is my witness, there has never been a more comfortable pair of hikers made. Merrill Moab waterproof hikers - got them on sale at Gander Mountain.

iPhones do a lot of things well. They even do a good job on photos in decent light. They do not do a great job at night without a lot of contrast. And grain, holy mackerel! This is the burly Civilian Conservation Corp worker who stands outside the entrance to Happy Days Conference Center in CVNP.

 

I'm not much for rings - they catch on everything, and I'm always sure I'm going to yank out the stone. This one is so pretty, silver swirl and amethyst. Worth the annoyance to wear. Occasionally. This was a 50mm 1.8F. Barely got the stone and clips in focus, the depth of field is so shallow.

Shiny New Stuff

 

Finally decided to buy a new car - Subaru Forester. I will really miss the Honda, though. It still looks good even after almost 130,000 miles.

 

 

Going to Yosemite on a photo tour with some photographers from MPEG. I hope I can do it justice. Got a big package of maps and guidebooks from the Yosemite Conservancy, so I'll know exactly what it looks like before I get there. And I'm really looking forward to knowing what it feels like to be there.

 

 

Godiva and yellow roses for Valentine's day. The dark chocolate pretzels are the best!

 

Not feeling very chatty tonight. Work's just got me down. Wish I could wave a magic wand and make it better. But they've set their course and there's no going back.

 

Either that, or being completely caffeine-free doesn't agree with me.



The Times, They are A-Changing...

It's been a year of goodbyes at my company. These are two of my co-workers. He retired, she left for a job at another company. With the recent changes, both of them made good decisions. Over the twenty years I've been there, I watched a bustling, productive and profitable plant slowly grind to a halt. The company goes on, but the plant where it started will finally go dark in May. It will be a very sad day...

 

The Great Big Home and Flower Show. The gardens were lovely, and a reminder that spring will come. We took a winding drive home along the Canalway, a pretty drive when you have some time to spare.

Messing around with the zoom produced a lovely soft look to these soft yellow and rose mums.

I have about a zillion mismatched pieces of silverware. This lovely pattern graces four grapefruit spoons. Yes, back a hundred or so years ago, folks ate grapefruit - when they could get it - with special spoons.

Another mum, this time backlit with the flashlight app on my iPhone.

 

That's all for now. I'm doing a lot better at keeping up with P365 photos that I am with posting them. 

Christmas Cat, an Heirloom, Petals, and the Polar Vortex

The last of Christmas. Sootie loves hiding under the tree. All the ornaments on the bottom are indestructible, since he thinks they're his toys.

 

Used the flashlight in my iPhone to light the angel - notice the tiny cat she's holding. Thanks, Georgie!

 

Flowers are part on Apartment Therapy's January Cure, a small part. Most of the Cure is cleaning, throwing out junk and organizing. The flowers are out of Sootie-reach up on the mantel. He thinks fresh flowers are the kitty salad bar.

Yow! - The temperature Monday when I ran from the gym to my car. A minute and half to lung freeze.

 

The sugar bowl from Great-Grandma's tea and coffee service. Very reflective - needed a large diffuser to hide my bright red sweatshirt and bring down the highlights.

 

Enough for now - Goodnight!