Category: Photography

Photography

Sunrise

Shelly

First, the sunrise:

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Next, the morning Belt of Venus:

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Because of the configuration of the valley and western ridge, my location is not well suited to viewing the morning Belt of Venus. This is the first time I’ve seen it from my house. Of course, this meant that my camera batteries decided to die at just that very time, so I only got one very bad shot of it. By the time I’d gone inside and found a fresh set, a cloud bank (barely visible along the horizon) had crept up and obscured everything.

One of the things I enjoy about having a dog is that she forces me to get up in the mornings. I could have slept in, but I would’ve missed a lovely sunrise. Instead, I was outside playing with Harriet at the crack of dawn.

There are dozens of small signs that spring is on the way. It started in earnest a few weeks ago, with the return of the geese. I watched another flock fly overhead this morning. The birds’ songs have taken on a less urgent tone, as well. From the increase in numbers of birdsongs, it’s clear that the geese aren’t the only ones who are returning. And then there’s the sun. The days are lengthening, but the change in the sun’s location is probably the most dramatic indication that spring is here. At mid-winter, the sun rises within a dip in the eastern ridge. Now, it’s moved northward, rising over Farmer Brown’s house.

All that, I might’ve missed, if it weren’t for having a dog.

Crankypantsing, Pets, Photography

Happy Saturday

Shelly

Blech. I feel like I’m wading through Jello this morning. Or, what’s left of this morning, anyway. I stayed up way past my bedtime last night, so I slept in, which was perhaps not as good an idea as it first appeared to be. Have you ever gone back to sleep, then woke up later feeling even groggier, and with a headache? Yuck. I’m all for sleeping, but this hardly seems worth the effort.

Last night was fun, though. It was a friend’s birthday party (hat themed, WTF? I wore a tin-foil beanie). Parties at her place are sometimes a craps shoot for me, because her house is small and I get claustrophobic when it gets crowded. I managed to score a chair at the back of the living room, though, so I stayed put. Let the entertainment come to me, was my theory. It worked well, too. There were all sorts of people I didn’t know–again, a craps shoot–but everything was fine right up until I left. At that point, some drunken shithead tottered up the stairs to the living room, taking pictures, which I’m NOT OKAY WITH, ASSHOLE! I told her not to take my picture, to which the only acceptable response is “Don’t worry, I won’t.” Instead, she said, “Why would you care, you don’t know me.” Grrr.

It’s weird to not drink at a drinking party (I was driving). I always get self-conscious when I drink, because I’m sure that anyone who isn\’t drinking must think I’m acting like an ass. I’m relieved to find that I’m not at all irritated by my friends’ inebriated behavior (I was mightily entertained last night, in fact). Rude, drunken strangers get on my last nerve, though. I guess that’s why I always preferred to go to parties instead of bars. Far better the drunks you know than the drunks you don’t, right?

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I’m also, I fear, working on some sort of respiratory disease. I suddenly lost my voice yesterday afternoon. It came back, but faded in and out. Now, it’s fading out again. I’m sure sitting in a room full of smoke last night didn’t help. Nor did getting full-on coughed on by someone who is getting over some sort of respiratory plague. He’s probably not contagious at this point, but if I come down with the plague, I’m blaming Wayne. Just because.

And now, I have to get ready to go to another birthday celebration. This one involves Mexican food, though, instead of drunks wielding cameras, so it should be thoroughly enjoyable. Mmmm… Veggie fajitas… Chili rellenos…

Miss Brown says, “Bring home a doggie bag, pleaseandthanks!” (Actually, she was drooling for tater tots, but I’m sure she’d drool for Mexican food, too.)

Photography

A Walk in the Woods

Shelly

The weather has been exceptionally pretty the past few days. Last Wednesday, after work, my camera and I took a walk in the woods. I wasn’t really dressed appropriately, as it was super muddy, but it was well worth slogging through the swampy bits.

I’ve tweaked the color a bit (lowering the saturation, increasing the contrast, decreasing the lightness, and upping the reds and yellows), because the originals were washed out. Sunny days are nice, but they really don’t make for the best photographs. The close-ups of the tree knot and the three trees with a board nailed across them were completely desaturated and had noise added. I left the fungus and the pictures with visible sky untouched.

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Crankypantsing, Pets, Photography

Happy Friday (Now New and Improved with Kisses!)

Shelly

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Mmm-wah! Harriet Brown sends kisses. (For full effect, I strongly recommend clicking to view at full-size.)

I stayed up late last night to watch the end of the women’s long program. I like figure skating, but for some reason it just wasn’t as interesting as it could’ve been. It was not time well spent, unfortunately. Since I was up way past my bedtime, I intended to sleep in this morning. So when the phone rang at 6:45 ayem, I was not terribly amused. Janet Parker, whoever you are, would it’ve killed you to let the phone ring a couple more times? Because, the only thing worse than being waked up at the crack of dawn is hauling my lazy ass out of bed just in time for the phone to stop ringing. I wasn’t sleeping very heavily, so I know that I heard the first ring. She let it ring four times. Four! At 6:45 ayem! Give a girl time to get out of bed, for crying out loud. Grrr.

On the bright side, the sunrise was beautiful. I was too lazy (I mentioned the laziness, didn’t I?) to go inside and get my camera, so I have no photographic proof, but I promise it was lovely: neon pinky and orangy with streaks of purple and fuschia.

Now, I just need to convince my lazy ass that it needs to clean the house. I’m not feeling very motivated.

Pets, Photography

The Red Ball

Shelly

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Harriet is not a keen ball dog. She will reluctantly fetch if told to, but her heart is not in the game. She does, however, harbor a deep affection for her red rubber ball. I got it for her about five years ago, and it was love at first sight. It’s hollow and soft and fun for both chewing and bouncing. Inevitably, she will lose it behind or under a piece of furniture, forgetting about it until it comes to light months later. When it does, the reunion is celebrated with wiggles and kidney beans and all manner of Boxer happiness.

Today was a reunion day. I found her ball under some shelves in the kitchen while I was sweeping. I picked it up and bounced it down the hallway. Harriet, hearing the unmistakeable sound of her ball, woke up from her nap and raced after it. She batted it with her feet and nudged it with her nose. She carried it from room to room, chewing on it, then flung her head from side to side so that it flew away, and chased it. She took breaks, resting on the floor or the couch, with her ball between her feet, waiting and watching intently, lest it sneak away while her attention was elsewhere. She rolled around on her back, ball in her mouth and feet flailing, like a trout on dry land. She shoved it under her blanket, hiding it, then, not being able to stand having it out of her sight a minute longer, dug furiously until it was uncovered.

When the game was over, the ball retired to yet another safe spot under the furniture. In another month or so, it will re-emerge, rested and ready to play.

Photography

Friday Photoblogging

Shelly

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I love this section of Patricksburg Road. It’s extra twisty and flanked by limestone outcroppings, with a small stream running along one side. There’s a house at the top of the hill on the stream side, with two German Shepherd Dogs who were Not Amused by my tromping around on their territory.

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I took these on the way home from work. Because of the hills, most of the sky views in this area are blocked by ridge lines. This location is a rare exception. There are three rolling fields, but the inevitable valley walls are far off enough that the sky is relatively large.

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There’s a field across the road from my driveway. It’s not in a very good location, because Fish Creek runs along the back edge of the field. It floods in the spring, making the field difficult to plant. The owner has done some illegal dredging of the creek, to try to keep it from flooding his field, but he was caught. I assume the pipes were bought with the intent to use them to drain the flood water, and that they were left sitting when the project was shut down.

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There are several mounds of earth in the same field. They remind me of tumuli.

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I’m not usually a fan of contrail photos, but I liked the patterns these ones made.

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Sunrise

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Sunset

Pets, Photography

Harriet Brown Fears No Storm

Shelly

I think it’s generally true that pets pick up emotional cues from their owners. When we’re anxious, our pets can sense it, and will often become anxious, as well. I know a lot of people whose pets are afraid of storms, and the common advice is that they must be afraid of storms, too, and that they should try to calm down in order to calm their pet down. To that, I say: “Ha!”

We had another nasty storm last night, complete with thunder, lightning, hail, and tornado warnings. The wind was ridiculous, howling and whistling and generally doing its damnedest to scare the living hell out of me. If Harriet was negatively influenced by my agitated state, she surely hid it well. Unless, of course, she exhibits her anxiety by lolling around on the couch like a drunken sailor. I’m not sure it would have been possible for her to care less.

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Meta, Pets, Photography

Harriet Brown Loves a Good Salad

Shelly

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It cracks me up when Harriet sits like this. She reminds me of an old man slouched in a Lazy Boy, watching tv and drinking a beer. She–formerly known as The Dog Who Does Not Drool–had another slinger fest last night while I was eating a salad. I cannot imagine that mere romaine, radicchio, cucumbers, scallions, or tomatoes were responsible for the waterworks. And, I cannot imagine that the lemon juice and kosher salt I dressed it with were, either. It’s official: my dog is a freak. But, she’s a Boxer, so we already knew that.

Is this week over yet? The wind last night was unbelievable. It made the electricity flicker off and on all night, which meant I overslept because my alarm clock lost it’s mind. Yuck. Traffic is bad enough at 5:30am. By 7am, it’s bumper-to-bumper all the way to Bloomington. I ended up going the back way, to avoid the Hwy 46 wind tunnel, but traffic was still heavy.

But! Guess what I heard this morning, as I was getting into my car? Geese. Lots and lots of geese. The wee geesies are returning, so that’s something to be cheerful about. I think.

Oh, and before I forget, if you’re looking for that perfect gift for the man in your life, why not an heirloom quality mink penis cosy? I hear it’s what all the best dressed men will be wearing this Spring. Surely, my sources cannot be wrong.

In the far less bizarre world of template news (because, you know there had to be some) I have tarted up (or should that be dressed down?) the gallery. The lurking shadow man is gone, as is the ass-ugly grid pattern on the top left. The stripey bits are gone, too, and I’ve changed the fonts to mirror the blog font family. About the only things left that bug me are the upper navigation buttons (I’m just not enjoying the rounded, shadowed look) and the lack of a banner image. I may play around with adding an image to the header, but will probably not get too motivated to de-fancify the buttons. That sounds too much like work to me.

Pets, Photography

When Good Pets Go Bad

Shelly

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I have no idea who the guilty party is. The inclusion of one of my socks implicates Pandora (she has a bizarre sock fetish, and will carry them around the house in her mouth), but Harriet was the one I found at the scene of the crime. All I can say is that I can think of about a million things I’d rather do than rewind a ball of hemp twine. That’s one job that’s definitely going at the bottom of my To Do list.

So, today was food co-op delivery day, the time of which coincided beautifully with sunrise. I managed to get quite a few good shots, three of which I stitched together into a panorama. I’m kicking myself for not pulling over when I got to Spencer, though, because as I crested the hill leading down into town, the far eastern ridge line was glowing an astonishing shade of fluorescent orange. (More of this morning’s sunrise photos can be seen here.)

Sunrise Panorama