Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: fun stuff


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Photo challenge: Depth of field

It’s a basic in photography, mastering the depth of field, the part of your photo that will be in focus. It took me years to be able to remember how to do this.

It finally clicked; the lower the Fstop (aperture) number the narrower the depth of field, which creates that wonderful blurry background we all love so much.

In this particular shot I found out that an aperture set at 4 (the lowest this lens will go) was just a little too narrow, I couldn’t get enough of the apple in front in focus for my taste. Going up to 4.5 did the trick for me.

You can find other examples of a narrow depth of field at the original post linked above, or you can see a couple of my favorites here and here.


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Smiles this week were harder to find.

Everything looks pretty against a blue sky.

Trent suggests we share a smile each week. Well, here the week is almost over and I haven’t even thought about what I might have smiled about.

I’m sure there’s something.

The weather sure wasn’t good, going from bitter temperatures to freezing rain and then back to blustery snow and gale force winds. Yep, it’s been wonderful here in Michigan.

But yesterday we had sun. And temperatures in the 20s. Katie and I actually got to go for a walk together in one of her parks.

Sunshine made the river glow.

That made me smile. And when we got home Katie sank into a peaceful, happy sleep. That made me smile too.

zzzzzzzzzz…


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A peek at summer fun

Charming retro, and just the perfect size!


The past two winters Katie and I escaped to the South for several weeks. My Facebook memories tell me that it was today, two years ago, that she enjoyed her first run on the beach in Florida.

This year we didn’t go, and Katie, for one, wants to know why. The weather here hasn’t been conducive to park exploration and she’s bored, bored, bored! I’ve tried to make her understand that summer is coming, but I haven’t succeeded, probably because I’m not sure myself.

So this week I took myself to the annual RV and Camper Show. It happens in February to give us hope that someday soon we’ll be back out in the woods, enjoying a campfire, maybe roasting a marshmallow or two.

High tech camping.

Katie didn’t get to go, but I brought back these pictures so that she knows there is hope. There were all sorts of recreational vehicles and campers there. Some of them were way too huge…

This felt like it was 3 stories high!

…and some were oh so tiny.

Just room for a bed in there.

Some still let you have a tent experience….

Tent/trailer combo.

and some of them were fancier than our house.

Two bedroom, two bath.

But no, we aren’t going to buy any of these, we’re sticking to our trusty little blue tent. It was fun to look, but Katie and I are happy with what we have.

I love my tent mama!


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Weather swings through Michigan

Morning light.


February weather in Michigan is always unpredictable. Though it’s a short month it can often feel like the longest month of the year. This week we’ve gone from the Polar Vortex to temperatures in the 50s, from shoveling snow to flooded yards.

One morning Katie got me up early and I thought the light outside seemed an odd color. I was right. The sun was coming up and the low lying clouds were a color I’d never seen before.

Looks like some weather blowing in.

And that day, as I watched the sky get more and more interesting, I knew I needed to get somewhere with open spaces.

Early afternoon and the clouds start to break.

So I drove to Indian Springs, a park not too far away, with trails that wander over hills covered in tall grasses.

A dramatic sky always gets my heart rate going.

I should have worn boots because the trail was muddy, but wet feet didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the sky that day.

And then yesterday we woke to ice. Rain fell on the cold ground and froze. Katie and I skated (figuritively) out to see what was what. We escaped the worst of it, but there was still a thin coating of ice on everything.

I loved the ice on the red twig dogwood shrubs.

It was all beautiful and Katie enjoyed wandering while I was busy getting shots of twigs and needles and leaves covered in ice.

Still lots of color even in winter.

She was content as long as I promised at least one shot of her. She is, after all, a princess, and used to being the center of attention.

I’ll sit for one portrait mama. But there are things I need to sniff, so hurry up.


I don’t know what the weather has in store for us the rest of the week, but I hope it’s just as photogenic as these past few days have been.

Winter shapes.

Katie says she’s up for an adventure.

Ice dripping.


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Smiling in spite of the Polar Vortex

Trent, from Trent’s World, reminds us that we all have much to smile about. Each week he asks what made us smile, and surprisingly, even with -14F temperatures (-25.5C), and wind chills in the -50s (-45C), I find myself grinning.

This afternoon I bundled up, (sweatshirt with hood pulled up over the hat I was wearing, coat with hood pulled up over that, long underwear, heavy socks, boots and heavy gloves) and ventured out to put more birdseed in the feeders.

Though it is still very very cold, today the wind has subsided a bit, and we have sunshine! If you’re inside it’s just beautiful!

The sun came up this morning on another brutally cold day.

While I was out there scattering seed I felt, rather than really saw, a fat bird fly just over my head. I turned around to see what it was and saw the brilliant blue of a male Eastern bluebird, the sun glinting off his wings. He landed in the redbud tree at the other end of the house.

Of course I scurried back inside, urging Katie the dog to hurry up too. Grabbing my camera I tried to walk nonchalantly back toward the door, hoping she wouldn’t want to go back outside. She likes to explode from the door out onto the deck which always scares all the birds and squirrels away.

She says that’s the point.

But of course she wanted to go out too. So obviously there was no bluebird in the tree by the time I got out there. I was sad, but still smiling. Just having seen him was pretty amazing.

Back inside I switched back to the short lens and was turning to put it away when I saw him. The bluebird was back, drinking out of my heated birdbath.

I crept around to the window. The light was bad. There were reflections in the window, and I could barely see him over the top of the recliner. Plus his head was in the birdbath. Still. If this was the only shot I’d get of him, I was smiling.

Pretend you can tell this is a bluebird.

I tried to move to a better angle to reduce the reflections. Katie took that as an invitation to storm the recliner, barking excitedly, sure that if mama had her camera out there was something out there!!! The bluebird flew away. Katie got scolded.

I figured I’d stand there for a bit and see if he came back. I was staring out one window, looking in the direction he had gone. Nothing. I decided to focus on the birdbath so I’d be ready if he arrived. I turned the camera back to the original window.

And found three bluebirds sitting there, quietly drinking.

Yummy water you’ve got here lady! We like it icy cold!

The images I got were still bad, dark and backlit with sunshine and brilliant snow, and there were still reflections in the window. But there were three bluebirds at my birdbath!

The reflections really didn’t matter.

Do you guys think it’s a bit chilly here in Michigan? Maybe we should have migrated.

After cropping and lightening and working to get rid of the reflections I had a somewhat barely passable set of images. Not great images…

This is a really bad picture but I love how the one on the right is all puffed up and they look like grumpy old men.

…but oh my….it’s still freezing cold outside…and I can’t stop smiling.

Yep, it’s a regular water bar for bluebirds around here.


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I’m not old

Katie here.

I’ve got it mama!

One evening this week I was moving from the floor onto one of my beds in the living room and as I settled in mama told daddy I looked old.

Really mama?!

Almost got that one!

I was sleeping! And I decided to get more comfortable. I wasn’t even really awake, not looking my best, not figuring I had to impress anyone. Besides, who’s calling who old anyway!

Throw it again mama!

And let me remind you that you and I played a rousing game of snowball out in the backyard that afternoon. Isn’t it possible that I was just tired from all the extra leaping and spinning and running in the snow? Did you think of that?

I’m a snow ninja!

I thought not.

Let me check out that snowball mama!

So before you go and start talking about how old I am and how you’re worried about me and stuff, just remember I have proof cause daddy took photos. You wanted to go inside before I did.

I was THIS close!

Just saying.

Mama. Geeze.

Got it!


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Photo Challenge: Contrasting colors

Most of you are aware of the color wheel, and that contrasting colors, opposite each other on that wheel, ‘go together.’ You know, blue and orange, yellow and purple, red and green.

Red and green? What could that be, for me, except barns!

I had several in my archives, red barns with green roofs, red barns in green fields. And then I found this one.

Red and green, and it’s not Christmas!

A red truck next to a red barn under a green tree.

Perfect.

Red barn, green roof.


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Can’t help but smile

Trent hosts a weekly post soliciting smiles. Since I believe we could all use a smile, I try to participate. This past week I’ve had lots and lots to smile about, much of which’ve blogged about and includes a cold Great Lake and snow and ice.

Can you see the birds hidden among all that fruit?

But this morning back at home the dog wanted to go out, a much less glamorous event than shooting a lighthouse glowing in the morning light. Plus it’s cold here, 10 F (-12.22 C) with a brisk wind. I wasn’t eager to traipse around in the yard.

I usually catch their yellow bellies, or the red tips to their wings…

After I bundled up we headed out to do her job. I was urging her to hurry, she was dawdling as usual. Then I heard it. The sound of a bunch of birds somewhere behind me.

I turned my head and saw a flash of yellow in our crab-apple tree. And a distinctive shape.

…but for me the defining bit of a cedar waxwing is the yellow strip along the tail. (Thank you Mr. Waxwing for showing us your colors!)

I grabbed the dog up in my arms and ran for the house and my camera. I had to change lenses. The dog was mystified. Racing back outside I told the dog to “STAY!” on the porch and I crept closer to the tree.

See the red tips at the end of the wings?

I was in such a hurry I didn’t consider my depth of field, and I have many blurry shots of nothing in particular. And even the ‘good’ images aren’t sharp, but the slightly blurry edges adds to the magic of the moment. Or so I’m telling myself.

Hungry in this cold weather, they stopped on their travels to visit my buffet.

Cedar waxwings fly through here as they migrate. I only see them once or twice a year, if at all, and those times it’s only a singular event. They don’t hang around. If the dog hadn’t decided she wanted to go out, if she had continued her nap, I never would have seen these.

So…that’s what made me smile today!

Hard to see even when I crop the image!


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Coasting down Michigan’s western shore

Last Sunday a friend and I drove north and west to see Point Betsie with it’s lighthouse in winter. We were hoping to see some waves and some ice, and we saw a bit of each.

Taken by my friend, look how she caught that wave action!

On Monday we meandered under a blue sky down the western coast of Michigan, enjoying the shore and beaches at several parks along the way.

Lake fog danced on the relatively warm water in the single digit air temperatures.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to show you some of the beautiful sights we saw. There are so many it’s hard to choose what to share.

The view was worth the climb!

We stopped across the river from Frankfort early in the day and admired their tugboats…

Tugboats waiting for spring.

…and the lighthouse against the dark sky.

The white buildings pop against the darkening sky.

Then we drove up to a bluff overlooking the harbor and the sun came out. I was a bit scared to drive up the steep, snow covered road, but the view was absolutely worth it.

From up on the bluff.

The early light made the lighthouse glow out there in the blue lake.

Further down the coast Ludington’s shoreline held lots of lovely sights. Even with all the wonderful white snow and blue water, this was one of my favorite shots:

Shadows mimic fence.

And this, the ice on the railing, deserves some attention too.

Ice interest.

So many pretty things to see, I put together a little slide show.

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Our last stop was Muskegon State Park where the views weren’t as stunning, but still very interesting.

A lonely tree on a lonely beach.

We had such a fun time wandering the coast of Michigan even though we didn’t get it all done. That just means we have something to anticipate some weekend when the sun shines and the lake glows.

Oh, and just for me, we stopped along the way for a photo of a barn.

Every road trip needs at least one barn.

I’m looking forward to our continued adventure. It’s nice when you can make something out of a cold winter weekend in the north.

Colors out of this world.