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Spring greens.
Check out other interpretations of abstract at the original post.
Tag Archives: Photography
April showers
HI!!!!
Mama says I shouldn’t be sad that it’s raining. We haven’t had any in a long time, and besides, she says, it’s not SNOW! Good point mama. Of course I sort of like snow so I guess I wouldn’t have minded if we got some to play in. Mama, on the other hand, does not want to see any more of that white stuff till next Christmas!
Anyway.
I’ve been to lots of parks lately. Mama is home all the time and we get to go go go! I love that. I think mama does too, though maybe not quite as much as me. Cause she doesn’t get treats at the park, not being a princess and all.
I’ve been over to my park quite a bit already this month. It still doesn’t look like spring over there, but at least the snow is gone. There aren’t any leaves yet, but after this rain I bet things begin to bud out!
This is my majestic look.
It’s been a bit wet with all the snow melt, and windy, but I don’t mind. I even walked through a puddle at the back of the park this year! Mama was surprised; she usually has to carry me through that part of the trail every spring. I guess I’m growing up and taking on more responsibility now that I’m almost ten.
Art in my park!
Did you know they are advertising the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) at my park? There are these big pictures with notes about the artist there! My mama reads them all to me but she says I can’t go to the DIA because I’m a dog. Seems unfair. I mean, why put art in my park if I can’t go?
One day at my park I didn’t feel like walking all the way around, so I took my mama over to the library and we walked around there. And you know what I accidentally did?
Uh, she’s on to me!
I walked down this long line of stairs! Without thinking! I forgot that I don’t do stairs! Now my mama is sure that I’ve been scamming her all these years when I made her carry me up and down.
And one time, over by one of the ponds mama thought she’d take a photo of the two of us enjoying my park. But she never did get the hang of setting the camera up. Most of the shots looked like this.
Mama doesn’t move fast enough.
I’ve also spent lots of time at home in my own pretty yard. Mama is getting worried that she’s already behind on the weeding, but I think the flowers are beautiful just the way they are.
I look good in blue, don’t you think?
AND…best news of all! Mama and I got to go camping in the back yard two nights in a row! I was very very good and only barked a little (OK a lot the first night and only a little the second night) at the snorting deer that trespassed on our camp site around two a.m. each night. The second night I slept all night and never even moved around on my princess pillow!
This is MY tent and MY stuff. Mama takes care of it for me.
Of course I got mama up at 5:15 a.m. each morning but she doesn’t seem to mind now that she doesn’t have to go to work anymore. I love camping! She says we’re going to a real campground in May and another one somewhere up north in June! I can not wait!
And you know what else? Last night I got to go for a wonderful walk with my pal Deuce and his mom at his park! It’s in a town and there’s a creek that runs through it and there’s ducks and lots of people and oh! The wonderful smells!
Deuce and me at his park!
I could hardly lift my nose from the ground anywhere, it was heaven! I walked a mile and a half and wasn’t even tired. I didn’t want to leave! Deuce was a real good host and showed me all the best spots to sniff. And his mom was so patient and let me sniff as long as I wanted. Even my own mama was pretty indulgent about it all.
I’ve been having the best time this spring so I guess it’s OK there’s one day of rain. I could probably use the rest anyway. I’m sure mama has more adventures up her sleeve, and I need to be ready!
Signing off now,
Katie.
PS: I got a little damp this morning.
The wet dog look.
Wordless Wednesday
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How to celebrate 60
Strong women. Every single one of them.
It’s certain there are about 3,500 women, mostly in this state, who are having trouble walking down stairs today. And tomorrow may be only slightly better.
If you’re not a runner you have no idea the quadricep carnage that occurred Sunday morning over in Grand Rapids the result of the Gazelle Girls half marathon and 5K, a women’s only road race. Thinking about it now, if you are a guy, this was the place to be. More than 3000 fit women dressed in running gear swarmed the city.
But that’s probably another blog.
Friends race for the finish line
I turned 60 on Saturday, an age I’m not too happy about. But what better way to boost my confidence, convince myself that age is just a number, that I’m not old, that it’s going to all be OK, then to run a 5K for the first time in umpteen years.
Superhero giving out high fives
Many of my friends ran the half marathon (13.2 miles), but I was thrilled to be running a 5K (3.1 miles). I’ve been walking so when this race came up, a time to reconnect with many of my cyber running friends, I thought I’d throw a little jogging into the training mix and be good to go.
Superhero sees his mom coming!
And that’s exactly what I did. I went on more walks than I might have if I wasn’t ‘training’ and I threw in some quarter miles of jogging sometimes. Maybe once a week. Or so. Surely that would be enough.
Enjoying the moment
I didn’t carry a camera with me on my 5K race, but so many times along the route I wished I had it with me. So you’ll have to use your imagination when I tell you I followed a woman with a pink shirt that read “too inspired to be tired” most of the race. And that the shadows of a mom and her two seven year old twins followed mine. And then they caught up with me. I ran either just in front or just behind them most of the race. They were adorable. And yes… they finished before I did. Seven year olds.
Running mom into the finish line
You’ll have to use your imagination when I tell you many women were wearing tiaras or tutus. Or both. A majority of them were dressed in the wildly beautiful bright colors that seem to be in style these days. The shoes pounding the pavement in front of me were beautiful. I so wanted to shoot them. With a camera. Seriously. A camera.
Suddenly I was tired. I sat on the curb and shot through the fence.
Pick up your feet, pick up your feet was my mantra as I kept watch of the crumbling city pavement. I’m too old, now, to fall. I could break a hip, land in a nursing home. It felt quite a bit like that’s where I should be anyway. Especially that last long uphill at the end, that final left turn toward the finish line. Pick up your feet, pick up your feet. Breath.
There was joy…
I went back to the hotel when I finished my race to get my camera because I couldn’t be that long without one. The photos here were taken while I was waiting for my half marathoner friends to come across the finish. There were lots of great people to watch. So many strong women. Such great family and friend support. Beautiful children excited to see their mom or sister or grandmother race by.
…there was angst.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate my 60th birthday with friends who truly believe you are never old. As evidenced by our “Energizer Betty” who Sunday ran a half marathon at age 72. Who ran a marathon on her 70th birthday.
Our Betty!
Who I want to be when I grow up.
Politics. It’s everywhere. 🙂
And there is one thing I know is true; 3.1 miles is a very long way to run. Thank goodness I didn’t have to do ten more!
Me and my water.
It’s a Horned Lark!
In Tuesday’s post I had been walking in a local park and saw a bird I wasn’t familar with. Turns out a friend of mine knew just what it was.
A Horned Lark!
I’ve never heard of such a bird; I’m beginning to realize that I’m only truly familiar with birds that come to my feeder. Last year, while camping I saw a new bird for the first time and a friend had to tell me that it was an American Redstart. I haven’t seen one since, but I hope to again this summer when I camp at the same park. Also last year, while mowing the back yard, I noticed a King bird for the first time. All of these birds are supposed to be common around here…but I’d never noticed them before. Obviously I have not been observant.
Anyway…to learn more about the Horned Lark, check out this link done by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You can hear the sounds they make on that site too. The bird I saw was definitely singing, that’s how I noticed him at all.
So thank you Linda for letting me know what this was! Now I’ll be looking for him on my next trip to the park, and around my own backyard too.
Internet photo
Wordless Wednesday
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Looking for fog
After days and days of cold littered with snow we woke this morning to more temperate weather. With the snow rapidly melting the warm air was tinged with fog. As the sun rose I headed over to the closest park to see what might be interesting. I actually caught this out of the corner of my eye as I was driving to the back of the park, and just had to turn around at the golf course and come back. (Click on any photo to make it bigger and see more detail.)
Mysterious
The fog was disappearing and by the time I got up to the parking lot and began the long walk down the hill toward the woods it was gone. So I began to look for other interesting things.
A flock of seven sandhill cranes flew by, oddly silent. It’s rare that I’ve seen them when they weren’t making a lot of noise as they fly. But this was pretty early in the morning. Maybe they hadn’t had coffee yet.
Incoming!
I liked the fact that the red twig dogwood bushes were very very red even under the dull cloudy sky. And that the fog, now droplets, was beautiful tucked among the bright twigs.
Color bursting out all over
And there was something else bright red flitting through the forest. Some people believe a cardinal in your path is a loved one’s spirit come to visit. I see so many cardinals that I don’t think they can all be my long gone loved ones, but this one was all alone, so maybe.
Just stopped by to say hello
Then there was this bird. It was sitting quite far away, and the morning light interfered with my sight. Or maybe I’m just getting older. Anyway, I don’t know what this bird is, so I took a shot blindly and then cropped it a whole lot hoping one of you will know. We have killdeer out at this park…could it be one of those? It was making quite a racket out by the road, but not making the typical killdeer kind of song.
Who am I?
I don’t remember killdeer having yellow on them either…so…what do you think it is?
Of course the red winged blackbirds are everywhere. At home they are eating me out of bags and bags of sunflower oilers. They are starving! But so are all the other birds, so I keep putting it out for them. At the park they are establishing their territories and this guy was not excited about me walking by on the path.
No crossing into MY territory!
He fluffed up to get his picture taken though. Show off.
The pack of sandhill cranes flew back over, something must have startled them from their breakfast on the golf course. One of them still has legs hanging low. I wonder if he flies that way all the time?
We all have our own flying style lady. Get over it.
And then the sun came out! It lit up the hill I was climbing as I headed back to the car. I couldn’t resist taking a photo of one of my favorite trees.
Splendidly alone
Someone going the other way asked me if I had gotten any good pictures. I shrugged, wagged my hand back and forth. Nothing special I replied.
On my drive home I stopped at a hilly field, the home of a crabapple tree that used to grace a farmhouse yard. I’ve always admired the way the tree and the hill share the space, always meant to grab a photo. Today was the day.
Little tree, big sky
I don’t know what it is about this tree, sitting alone in an empty field. I just like it.
So…did I get any good pictures this morning? Oh yea. Every morning that I get to spend outside with my camera is a good morning. Fog, no fog. Sun, no sun. There’s always something special to find. And to make the day even better, when I got home Katie demanded equal time and we headed out to her park.
I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it soon.
Pay attention mama!
Springtime in Southeast Michigan
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Sigh…
WordPress Photo Challenge: Landscape
The landscape in Southern Michigan in early April can look like anything. You never know. Could be snow. Could be sunshine. Could be both on the same day.
Yellow willow, brown reeds, red twig dogwood., blue water and sky. Perfect.
But here is what I found out at my favorite park today. It was cold, but the sun was shining and that made it a great day.
What does your landscape look like? Care to share? Post a shot and link it up to the original WordPress post. We’d love to see!
You can see other interpretations there as well. Or if you’re strapped for time, here are some of my favorites, each very different, ….here, here and here.
And let’s hope there’s no more snow in our forecast. I think we’re pretty much done with winter now if Mother Nature would just cooperate.
Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: People or animals
While I was walking back from the cherry blossoms in DC last Sunday I passed this woman. Head down, carrying her shopping bags she was moving fast, not looking at anyone.
Resident among the tourists.
She seemed lonely and isolated even in the midst of the large and noisy tourist crowd. I wished I could talk to her, but she wasn’t sending out friendly vibes. I’m guessing she wasn’t happy with all the tourists inserting themselves into her Sunday routine.
She was an interesting person, and perfect for Cee’s challenge this week.
Change Is Hard 