Winter Kitty

My kitty can never decide if she likes winter or not. She loves being "outside" on the screen porch, but this whole snow-and-cold-thing gets her every year.

The wind will sift the snow through the screen porch just like powdered sugar being sifted onto a cake--very light and fine-textured. She'll go outside the first couple times, get the white stuff stuck in her paws, and start doing the paw shake dance. After a few more snow encounters, she makes her peace with it, scoops up a paw's worth, and starts eating it.

Even the wind and cold won't usually stop her from wanting to go "outside." Although that does generally shorten the length of stay. Sometimes she'll sit out there with her back to me, wind whipping through her fur, temperature and windchill well below zero, putting on a show of being a tough kitty. I'll tap on the window to see if she's ready to come in yet. She'll give me the green-eyed stare and then give me the cold shoulder again. Another minute passes and I tap on the window again. She contemplates giving me the cold shoulder again, but comes to the realization that she's quickly turning into a kittysicle. She bolts for the door, and as she crosses the threshold, she'll make the same grumble noise that Marge Simpson makes when Homer or Bart do something wrong. Like it's all my fault that it's cold out there. What a cat!

Yesterday, though, it was 20 degrees and sunny for a short time, so I think she mostly enjoyed her time out there.

Twilight Moon

I actually got this photo ready a couple weeks ago, and then forgot to blog it. Duh.

I looked up and saw this beautiful twilight blue sky with the moon shining brightly and just had to get my camera.

First National Bank Building at Night

Continuing from yesterday's blog, we also went to Raspberry Island last Saturday. I thought the First National Bank Building looked so festive with all the decorated trees around it.

According to Wikipedia, it was completed in 1931. They had a hard time getting the materials to construct it because the Empire State Building was being built at the same time.

We can see the flashing red of the sign at home through the trees in our back yard. Actually, it isn't flashing. There are three "1st" signs and they alternate being lit. Since this was a long exposure, the shot had to be timed just right to only have one sign visible.

Here is another timed exposure where I made it appear that two signs were lit at once. Oh, by the way, that "1st" sign is 50 feet tall!

35W Bridge At Night

Last Saturday we went to see the new I-35W bridge in all its evening splendor. For anyone living under a rock, the old bridge collapsed August 1, 2007, killing 13 and injuring over 100 people. The new bridge opened September 18, 2008. Anyone who wants to know more about the collapse can look here.

I guess they had originally planned for white lights on the bridge, with colored lights for special occasions. But something malfunctioned that they can't fix until spring, so we have blue lights instead. I hope they keep the blue lights. I think they are pretty.

Here is a view from a different angle. I had one more shot I wanted to get, but it didn't turn out. I guess that give me an excuse to go back and try again some time.










Here are a couple documentary photos I took in the daytime back in October.

Crackling Fire

The weather has been rather gloomy all week. Nothing like a cheery fire in the fireplace to brighten things up.

Techie Corner
I took a lot of pictures of this fire last night! Fires are kinda tricky to light properly. I used Photoshop to tweak the lighting.
Shot at: 1/20 Sec @ F2.8, ISO 200

Close-ups in the Gloom

It was a gloomy and rainy day for most of yesterday. I was watching all the birds going to town on the food in the bird feeder. There was food on the ground too, and the birds were everywhere. Then I noticed something on the ground that was not a bird. After getting out the binoculars, I discovered that a shrew was also being sneaky and grabbing food. I tried getting a picture of the little critter, but he was too sneaky for me to get a good shot.

So, I decided to get a few shots of the last bits of plant life before winter sets in. Above is a branch from my bridal veil bush.

Here's some funkiness on a log. If you click on it for the larger version, you can see just how weird it is.



And then, of course, we have all our grape vines. I've never been quite adventurous enough to try eating one of these home-grown beauties.


Techie Corner
I used a f-stop of 2.8 on these images at very close range, so the focus is very selective. I was balancing on a ledge to get the grape shot, so it wasn't as crisply focused as I would have liked.

Experimenting in HDR

We went to the Franconia Sculpture Park on Saturday. We usually go there once a year to see what new and weird sculptures they have. Emphasis on weird.

This sculpture was installed recently, and it's huge--over 23 feet tall. Some of those parts are from actual steam shovels.

Here's another head-scratching creation.


Techie Corner
I figured this would be a great place to experiment with HDR. That sounds like some kind of drug, doesn't it? Actually, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It's a fancy way of saying that you want to have a wider range of light and dark tones in one image than your camera can handle. To achieve this wider range, you have to take at least three images and vary the exposure. (under-exposed, over-exposed, normally exposed) Then Photoshop (and other programs) will combine all the varying exposures into one image.

Both of the images above are HDR creations. If I exposed only for the sky, the sculptures would be too dark. If I exposed only for the sculptures, the sky would be a washout.

Here are single images of both the sculptures. This is the best I could do without HDR.

Fall Beauty

I absolutely love the colors of fall! God has all the best brushes and knows how to use them to create true works of art.

We planted this tree in 2005 and it has been growing like crazy! That's OK by me.

Fence Post #4

Last Saturday we finally got the rest of the fence up. Hooray! All that is left is to cut off the excess from the 4x4s, cap them, and make a gate in one part. That will all probably get done next spring. It's a huge improvement on the back yard already, just the way it is!


Someday, we plan to add a retaining wall on the side of the yard and extend the fence further. But that's another project for another day...or year...or decade.

A Cold Day in the UP

I'm wrapping up my Michigan vacation pictures with a couple images from the Upper Peninsula.

It was raining when we left Mackinaw City and headed north over the wet and wiggly grates of the Mackinac Bridge. Thankfully, the rain cleared off shortly after we left town. We had to stop along the way so I could throw on a warm jacket over my rain jacket and motorcycle jacket. I was turning into a popsicle! (The almanac high temperature for that area that day was 46 degrees, but the windchill factor on the back of the motorcycle made it a tad more brisk, I'm sure.) We visited Tahquamenon Falls State Park and I got this shot of the Upper Falls. It was so beautiful there!

After that, we headed further north to Whitefish Point. Maybe during the summer this is a fantastic place to be, but on this day it was extremely desolate. The blustery wind on the beach felt colder than the motorcycle ride!

The visitor center was about to close, so we didn't stay long. There also wasn't even a gas station up there, so we had to stop in Paradise on the way back for gas. Now we know why the town is called Paradise! It sure seemed like paradise after being to Whitefish Point!

Techie Corner
I wanted to slow down the motion of Tahquamenon Falls, so I used the smallest aperture I could. If I had brought my neutral density filter along, I would have used that too.
Shot at 1/6 Sec @ F27, ISO 200

Beacons of Light

As promised, I'm highlighting our Michigan trip again today. The Great Lakes need plenty of lighthouses, so the shoreline of Michigan is abundant with them. I got this shot of the Charlevoix South Pier Light on one of our day trips. This lighthouse replaced a wooden one in 1948. The turbulent weather definitely played a role in this image!




Here is a shot of the first lighthouse we saw on our trip, the Manistique East Breakwater Lighthouse. It's been in service since 1916.



This is the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, built in 1892. It was decommissioned in 1957 after the brightly-lit Mackinac Bridge was built. We took a tour and climbed the 52 steps to the top. Whew! There isn't a light in the tower any more, which is a good thing because there isn't much room up there!




On our way home we saw the Sand Point Lighthouse, built in 1867. By 1939, there had been so much dredging and filling of the harbor that this lighthouse was no longer close to the water and became obsolete.

That's the end of the mini history lesson for today. Stay tuned for more pictures from our trip.

Mackinac Bridge

We got back from a week long motorcycle trip to Michigan last Saturday. The weather was brisk and damp most of the time, but I managed to get some pictures.

I love bridges, so of course I had to get pictures of the Mighty Mac. I've been over the bridge a few times in my life, but this is the first time on a motorcycle.

The first two days through Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP were very gloomy and drizzly and depressing (despite the gorgeous fall color all around us.) But as we approached the bridge Sunday evening, the sun actually decided to peak out for a short time, highlighting the bridge nicely. What a welcome site!

The Mighty Mac turned 50 years old last year and it's still as beautiful as ever. The center span between the two towers is almost a mile long and the whole bridge is 5 miles long. It didn't seem that long when we crossed it. Except when we had to cross one day when it was raining and windy and the outside lane was closed due to construction and we had to ride the metal grates in the middle of the bridge for over a mile. Whew!

Here's another view. I love the cut-outs in the towers.


Here's a view most people don't bother with--the underside of the bridge. I also like geometric patterns, so I thought this was pretty cool. The water was so pretty too, lots of blues and emerald greens.


Thursday, Oct 2nd, we spent the day on Mackinac Island. I got this shot during a carriage ride. I guess the turbulent weather was good for cool looking skies, at least.

I'll be posting more pictures from our trip soon.

2008 MN State Fair

For lack of anything better to do, we went to the State Fair yesterday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! I think it is one of the few times I've gone to the fair where the outside temperature was better than the air-conditioned buildings. Cool and breezy.

Of course, it was mandatory to go see the piggies. Piggies are the cutest things. These piglets had only one thing on their minds....FOOD.












I feel sorry for this cowboy! I guess ol' Bessie didn't want to be milked today.












We took one of the sky rides back from the far end of the fairgrounds, which gave me a great opportunity for an overhead shot of the antique tractors.











I also got a nice view of the ferris wheel from the sky ride.












We finished our day at the fair by buying our first-ever bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies. There was a bigger crowd in front of that building than anywhere else in the whole fairgrounds! Maybe it's because she winks at you as you go by. Who can resist a cookie that winks at you?


Techie Corner
I took three shots of the Midway ride. Out of the three, I liked this one best. I like the fact that the Cuckoo Haus is still in focus in the background. I also like the silhouettes of the people.
Shot at 1/10 Sec @ F5.6, ISO 200

Busy Bee

It's almost 90 degrees today, and boy, does it feel hot in the sun! This little buzzer doesn't seem to mind, though.

Techie Corner
I used my +4 close-up filter and my 50mm lens. Manual focus, hand-held, and the bee was moving, so I'm amazed that the bee is in focus!
Shot at 1/500 Sec @ F2.8, ISO 200

Fireball Hibiscus

This is the second year for my Fireball Hibiscus plant. Unlike the tropical variety, this hibiscus can survive a Minnesota winter. And the flowers are HUGE! This flower is almost 10 inches across!





The plant has gotten a lot bigger this year. Which is remarkable because it gets cut back to the ground each year. All this is new growth for the season. I love the pretty flowers. Each flower opens for one day and then it dies. But there are plenty of buds on each stalk, so there is at least one open flower every day.







Here is what it looked like last year. It looks positively puny in comparison! This year it has pretty much engulfed that whole corner. I wonder how big it will get next year? Hmmmmm.

Duluth Tall Ship Trip

We rode the motorcycle up to Duluth yesterday to see the Tall Ships on display in the harbor. These were two of the three ships on display. They look big in the picture, but they didn't really look big at all when we stood next to them. Maybe they seemed smaller because their sails weren't out. The one on the left is the Pride of Baltimore II . The one on the right is the US Brig Niagara. They are replicas of 1812-era topsail schooners.

Notice the truly authentic 1812-era radar near the top of the right mast.

I want to know how they keep all those lines from getting tangled up. If only the cords behind my computer desk were this neatly organized!

Here's a close-up of some of that rigging.

Being a port city, Duluth has numerous water-themed flotsam and jetsam strewn around town. This young female creature looks like she is about to get soaked.

We saw these nifty little Whizzer motorbikes while we were there. You can find out more about them at their website: http://www.whizzermotorbike.com/index.html


We also met up with a nice Ventureriders.org couple while we were there and had lunch together. (I should have gotten a picture of them too!) All in all, it was a very enjoyable day away.

Fence Post #3

We finally have the toughest side done! Yippie! This side of the fence was all at the top of a hill.

That's not to say we haven't had problems along the way. June 21st we were going to get a lot of this side done. However, after finishing a section of fence and taking a Gatorade break, I happened to look up at the last remaining mature tree in our back yard...















Maybe it isn't apparent enough in the above picture, so let me show you from another angle...
















WHOA! Our tree was splitting in half!















Not only had a large portion already split, but a crack continued down the trunk another 30 inches past the split! The wind was blowing pretty hard that day and we watched the two halves bounce in the wind. Visions of it splitting to the ground and falling on all the wrong things, danced through our heads. My husband made a beeline to the garage to get his trusty little chain saw. We figured half of it would be easy to get down, but even with a line tied on it, it didn't fall quite where we had hoped...











It fell right on a little maple tree (which you can't even see!) And the chain saw got bound up in the split when the branch fell. Note the circular saw at the base of the tree. He had to use that to get the chain saw out of the tree. Once that limb was finally on the ground, all the branches had to be cut up and stacked in a huge pile. (This is the one advantage I could see to living in the country... We could have lit that pile on fire and be done with it.) By the time we finished all that, we were pooped!

The rest of the tree is trickier since there are so many things in the way, including power lines. We decided to hire a tree service to deal with that. But first, Xcel has to come out and clear the branches away from the power lines. I won't hold my breath waiting for them!

But this weekend, nothing stood in the way of getting that side of the fence done. On July 2nd, I hauled the mountainous pile of branches to the compost site. They fought me all the way! Afterward it looked like a wild pack of gerbils had attacked the insides of my arms. Mean, mean branches! My husband took July 3rd off to work some more on the fence. The 4th we were on hiatus because of a very enjoyable BBQ. And on the 5th, we finally made it around the corner. (Maybe "around the bend" would be more appropriate! We'll be glad when this project is finished.)

It's all down hill from here...thank goodness!