OK! So the B-Day weekend was fantastic!!!!!!!!! I would really like to thank everyone for all the B-Day wishes. I normally don't want any kind of fuss - just cake! But this was a special occasion...50 in my family isn't really 'middle age' - it's more like old age.

Some how, I started this post 6 days ago...but for one reason or another I didn't get to finishing. Maybe it's 'cause I talk/write too much??

Any way, when last we spoke I mentioned that I was going to start keeping a journal for processing photos, and I have! I'll post some of my experiments in a few days, but for now, here are a few more of my favourite shots to finish off the month of July ...

We have a wasp nest in a bird feeder...it's now a wasp home. They like my mandevilla blooms!


From our trip to Gage Park:


Dora was very brave...
Buffy had to be coaxed:
...but quickly joined in the fun..."no, don't go IN the water!"
"Hey, Dora, let's do that again!"


"that was fun!"

Daddy - doghterime!!! "Hey, I said not the ear!"

"LOL! Got ya!"

Daddy and Buffy
Dora in bed ... Daddy's side of the bed:

Buffy in bed...where she is supposed to be...on HER bed on the FLOOR!
OK...enough of the family photofun...Andy gifted me with a new tripod and I just had to try it out. For those of you that don't know, a tripod is used in situations where you need to have a very steady camera, for example extreme low light:
or, very close, close-ups:

I found a great place to take photos of sunsets...it's a short drive, maybe 15 minutes away. What do you think?

Well kiddies, that's it for tonight! Next post will be some photos from the B-day weekend, and then after that, I'll probably post notes from my journal ... and likely use this space to keep a visual record, to go with my notes, of "what happens if I do...this?"

TTFN!

5 days and counting ...

bah! I keep telling myself that this is not that big a deal! Why is 50 so much more of an event that 40 or 25 or 18? Anyway, in my family 42 is a milestone...is that enough of the self-wallow?

Hey, I never said any of what I would be posting would make any sense...this is mostly just the unfiltered ramblings of my internal dialogue!

So ... onward! We left off last night on July 6th ... let's see how far I get tonight!?

Yes, this photo is right-side up ... and I love it!

It was really hot ... it looked like the plants were sweating!

Froggy in the garden!

There's actually a story that goes with this next one:

So, it's Saturday morning. The fence guys arrive to work on the fence. Andy has the girls out for a run and they go down to the field (which is by then quite progressed in the sprouting of soy beans!) In Dora's little mind, if she comes back up 'the hill' to see daddy, she will have to go inside. OK, for once her thinking was correct -- but what matters is, she didn't even come up to see me when I went outside (and she usually does...usually...and yes, I realized that I made that about me!!) Anyway, I decide to go talk to my neighbour, Buffy comes up, Dora comes up. I keep talking...you guessed it...Ddog goes back down the hill, and this time there is absolutely no budging here, she wants PLAYTIME! So, I pull my last trick out of my sleeve...and walk over towards the pond, and the 'easier' way down the hill. Dora (as predicted) met me at the bottom of the path, and we went up the hill and into the house. Easy-peasy, right?!

Well, don't ya' know, I wasn't in the house long enough to sit down and we hear the fence guys say they can see a coyote ... no TWO coyotes!!! This picture shows where Dora had been lying in relation to where the coyote was walking...oh yeah...and where I was walking!

Mandevilla flower blossom

OK, not nearly as cool as that pic Aydyn took of Amanda with the dragonflies ... but still:

My very own garden moon:
A condo in Mississauga that was inspired by Marilyn Monroe ... I'd want to live on the 'hip' floor ... LOL!

Yup - it's a bug, a cicada to be exact
This is just proof that even a cloudy day can be lots of fun...photographically speaking anyway!

Well kiddies, that's it for tonight. I may get a chance to post a few more tomorrow at some point. After the bday craziness, I'm going to start keeping a notebook when I process. Hopefully, I'll gain a better understanding of what I'm doing, instead of 'hey, this looks neat", "what if I did this?!" and "oops, that didn't work at all, undo, undo, undo"

Until then ... be safe, have fun and sing like there's no one listening!

6 days to go!

Well, it seems that I'm down to 6 days left. Six days before I 'turn 50'...I'm still not sure what that's supposed to mean, aside from saggier boobs and more wrinkles!

Anyway, I've been super busy getting ready for this weekend, but I have managed to take at least one photo every day AND ... I only missed a daily posting (to 365) once!

This blog on the other hand ... well, it's a work in progress!

My intent in doing this was to share my new adventures in photography. I can't believe that I've had my camera for just over 6 weeks ... amazing!

Here are my favourite photos from the first three(ish) weeks ... I'll try and post more of my favs in the next few days:

Buffy telling Dora a secret

My first really awesome depth of field shot

This was the morning I got home from my last midnight shift ... it was very peaceful. It was such a nice morning I can't pick just one:

Hydrangea's at the park

Canada Day at the Carters'...yes there were people there, but I won't post photos of people all 'willy-nilly' like:

Laura tried to set her new stove on fire...succeeded in only scorching the garlic bread!

Why is no one in the pool? Cause it was kinda chilly!

I love this shot!

July 6th, the Queen of Canada (yes, I said that correctly)...unveiled new armorial bearings for the Goverment agency for which I work:

Years of Service

New Badge

... to be continued!

Too much fun ...

... means not so much blogging!

Well, the grand countdown continues ... I am now 18 days away from turning the "big 5-0"! Oddly, I don't feel any older than I did the last time I sat here and blogged about stuff ...

Mr Wonderful and I had a busy weekend:
Friday -- Fence posts are in (daytime) then Mexi's on Friday night - not exactly Weight Watchers friendly, but hey ... once in a while is OK!

Saturday started with Dora playing "catch me if you can" in the field behind our house ... I just got her inside when I heard one of the fence guys say there was a coyote in the field ... one of the others corrected him. There were actually 2 coyotes. Oh, and when I say 'just' ... I mean I didn't have time to sit down before I was back out with my camera!

This is a photo (kinda) of where Dora WAS in relation to the where the coyote was ... I know this, cause she made a dent in the soy beans:


Saturday night we went to the drive-in in Oakville and saw Toy Story 3. I cried.

Sunday was day two for the fence building, followed by a Santana concert on Sunday night! We took the GO train to exhibition station. I think I like crowds even less than Andy realizes. And OMG, I wish someone would make it mandatory for women to wear a bra in public!!!

Needless to say ... I was tired on Monday morning, even though we left early!

Finished fence ...



So, here without too much more delay are some of my favourite pics from the last week:


Dora rolling on the grass...she makes the best faces when she does this:



...and then a good shake afterwards!



Froggy ... alas, was not long for this world ... the day after I rescued him and put him in with the flowers, I found him belly up on the front walk. I think a bird got him:



I turned this:



...into this:



Then I turned this:



...into this:



Apparently I'm having too much fun 'processing' my photos ...


...and one last one:

B-Dog

Buffy came to us by way of the Ottawa Humane Society. About 1 minute after leaving the parking lot she pooped in the back of the truck. She may have only pooped in the truck once, but she did introduce us to a new (long-term) concept in doggy ownership: counter-surfing!

We never knew what we were going to come home to find (mostly chewed up): baseboards, shoes (also only once), photographs (esp. of "daddy" with Dora!), ice cube trays, potatoes...Diet Coke cans (empty thank goodness!). Once she ate an entire avocado...but she left the peel/rind...all over the floor. Oh, and the pit...she left that on the floor as well!

The list went on, and on, and on. My work friends would ask me "any new Buffy stories today?" I would just sigh and say "how much time do you have?" I used to say "you wan' her" to anyone who said what a great dog she was...then one day someone said "really, sure"...and I said. "No, I was just joking"

I haven't joked about giving her away since.

That was almost 3 years ago and since then, Buff has turned in to the best dog ever. Now, if only we could 'cure' the counter-surfing!

Serious Buffy


Laughing Buffy


I wanna hold your hand Buffy