Tag: Winter

Photography

A Confession

Shelly

I was very, very bad. I tried to behave myself, but I suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore, and I ordered a Holga filter set for digital and 35mm cameras, a pinhole camera, and a Holga camera with colored flash. No, I don’t need a fancified Holga, and I could have made my own pinhole camera, but I probably would have never gotten around to it. Altogether, I think I spent about $100, so it’s not like I really lost my mind or anything. Still, I can’t help but feel like I did something I shouldn’t have.

These are a few of my favorite photos taken with various toy cameras.

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Raspberry Canes in Snow, 8 January 2005

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Frost, Autumn 2004

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Autumn 2004

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Sunrise, Autumn 2004

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Trees in Snow, 8 January 2005

Crankypantsing

Happy Groundhog Day

Shelly

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I’m officially in hate with FedEx. The last three times I’ve had a package delivered by them (not by choice!), they have not updated the tracking information. That’s kind of important for us folks who have full-time jobs, especially as FedEx is often hit-and-miss about leaving packages when there is no one home.

For example, I came home yesterday to find a note from them on my door, informing me that they required a live person to be present to sign for my (two) packages. M’kaythen! Today I came home to find that they’d left one of the “requires signature from live person” packages sitting on my doorstep. Of course, it was the DVD burner I’d ordered. You know, the more expensive of the two purchases. The blank DVDs are still AWOL, and will presumably be delivered on Monday. That’s fine, as it turns out, because I have Mondays off, so I’ll be here to sign for them. Still, it’s kind of frustrating for me, and it can’t be very cost effective for them. Really, what sense does it make to come here three different times to deliver something?

How do people who work 9-5 M-F get packages from FedEx? Do y’all just wait until they’ve made their three attempts to deliver, then go to the FedEx office to pick up your packages? Gah! At least UPS A) updates their tracking info and B) has never had trouble finding me or been shy about leaving packages on my doorstep. Better yet, because I was on the early end of his route, the UPS driver at my old house used to leave my (and my neighbor’s) packages on the driver’s seat of my car. At the same address, the FedEx driver used to stand by the gate and yell for me. If I didn’t hear him, he’d drive off without leaving my things. The jerk didn’t even knock on the door. Of which there were two in plain view!

And, in fact, the last time a package was shipped to that address via FedEx, they claimed they couldn’t find my house. After having lived there for five and a half years, and after having had umpty packages FedExed to me, mind you! So, instead of calling me to find out where I was located, they just returned the package to the vendor without informing me.

No art today, I’m afraid. I spent my arting time installing my shiny new DVD burner. And, I might add, the installation of which went swimmingly. I opened the box, only to realize that I’d been a dork and had bought the wrong burner. This one came without any software or even drivers. The burner with software and drivers was only a couple of dollars more. Oops! The good news is that this is the exact same model as the one I meant to buy, and it turns out it didn’t need drivers or software. I pulled the old drive, popped in the new one, and Bob’s your uncle. I did a test burn, and everyone is playing nicely with everyone else. And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Pee Ess: Punxsutawney Phil supposedly says we’re going to have an early spring. What I want to know is, when is winter going to start?

Pee Ess Ess: Still working my way through Upstairs, Downstairs. It’s just as soap opera-y as I remember, but in a good way. Also, out of wedlock babies, abortion, and homosexuality? Lordy!

Photography

Sunset

Shelly

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Sunset Reflecting on Trees in the East

Yesterday was bright and sunny, a nice change after all the rain we’ve had. Right before the sun set, a bank of clouds rolled in from the northwest. There was a brief moment when the clouds opened, and the setting sun caught the stand of trees to the east, turning them a fiery, glowing orange color. And then, it was gone.

The sky cleared up again overnight. When Harriet and I went for our morning walk, the stars were shimmering. There was also a halo around the waning moon. Formed by hexagonal ice crystals in the upper atmosphere, such halos typically portend coming precipitation. And, what do you know? A check of the weather shows it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day. If we’re lucky, we’ll even get a little snow on MLK day.

Photography

Trees in Spring

Shelly

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Apple Tree in Spring

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Redbud Tree

We’ve had a week of gorgeous weather here in southern Indiana. It’s been so warm and sunny that it’s been hard to believe that it’s November–and the end of November, no less. It won’t be long before it the cold and snow start, so I thought I’d share a couple of springtime photos.

These are the redbud and 5-in-1 apple trees at my mom’s house, taken last April. It’s weird to see how big they’ve gotten. There was only one tree on the property when we moved there in 1985. It’s long since died, but we planted a bunch of others: peach, two apple, cherry, pear, redbud, oak, and maple. The peach was planted too close to the garage and had to be cut down, and the cherry was lost in an ice storm. The rest are huge, now, though. Proper trees instead of spindly saplings.

Photo note: These photos are a good illustration of just how super-saturated colors become when the sky is overcast. It might seem like bright sunlight would be better for outdoor photography, but it tends to wash out colors. The shadows and reflections created by strong sunlight can also be problematic. If I had my way, I’d much rather photograph artwork outdoors on a cloudy day.

Also, studio update: I’ve finally got most of the furniture arranged. I still have to set up half of the workbench (there are two 4′ long sections) and unpack my supplies, but it’s getting there. There are also a couple of utility shelving units that I’m trying to decide where to put. They’ll probably end up in the closet, for tool storage, which means the closet will have to be emptied and sorted/unpacked. I think I should be able to finish that up by the end of the day. I could actually have a working studio by tomorrow!

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to unpack. Lordy! The problem is that I work 10 hour days, and I don’t have much time to work on stuff in the evenings. And, since moving, most of my weekends have been spent helping a friend pack and move (large house, crammed to the rafters with stuff), so I really haven’t had much in the way of free time. She’s nearly finished packing, though, and should be entirely moved by the end of the month. I’ll finally have some time to myself to do real, live arting.

Crankypantsing

no Cones

Shelly

FYI, when it finally gets cold enough to well and truly frost, make sure the windshield wiper fluid in your car contains anti-freezy stuff.  Otherwise, if you are lazy like me, and opt for washing away the frost layer instead of scraping it, you’ll end up with blue sno cone guts smeared all across your windshield.  Which was totally not the effect I was going for.

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

Pets, Photography

A cap of lead across the sky

Shelly

I woke up this morning to the sound of some sort of unholy wind keening through the trees. And hail. Lots and lots of hail. Only, when I looked out my front door, I couldn’t see any hail. Hmmm. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but then, when I looked out one of the back windows, there was a layer of white covering the ground. It was hailing on one side of the house, but not the other. Very weird. It’s been gross and rainy and windy all day, so I haven’t wanted to do much of anything but curl up on the couch with a book.

The sun tried to make an appearance, bless his heart, but the clouds were just too heavy.

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Because it was such a horrid day, I didn’t think there would be much in the way of a sunset. It wasn’t as spectacular as it could’ve been, but I managed to catch one of my neighbor’s horses grazing on the crest of the hill, silhouetted against the golden sky.

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This is why I had to velcro my computer speakers to the top of my monitor. Some old cats think they should be allowed to sleep wherever they want, and who am I to argue? I love the way her little paw is folded under.

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