trip | Change Is Hard

September 4, 2015
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Black & white photo challenge: Shadows and reflections

Shadows and reflections. Having spent the better part of two weeks on the lake I’ve been struck by the many beautiful reflections I’ve seen, and I’ve used quite a few of them in the last few posts. Maybe, just maybe, there’s nothing new to show you.

Still. Cee’s black and white challenge is intriguing and I haven’t done enough of them. In fact, I had to go back and watch the you tube instructions again because I’d already forgotten how to convert a color photograph to black and white since I did my last black and white for Cee’s challenge a few weeks ago.

After I figured out how to do it, the question became what to use. I had a couple of ideas but what it came down to was the still water right in front of the lake house, and the reflection we look at in all different kinds of light whenever we’re here, of the house across the way.

Early morning stillness.

You can tell the weather just by the way the house reflects in the water. If it’s dimpled there is rain. If it’s ruffled there is wind. If it’s perfect it’s water-ski water!

So I guess you can tell what we did right after taking this picture earlier in the week.

Yep, it involved a boat.

September 3, 2015
by dawnkinster 21 Comments

Flying through clouds

Glassy water

I’m resting after more than a week at the lake house. A week filled with lots of water activities, lots of family, lots of sun, good food, laughter and quiet conversations.

Last night I randomly read blog entries from years past, blogs about hanging out at the lake. I came across this one written in 2010 that talked about being afraid to try water skiing after years of skiing only occasionally during summer visits.

It seemed appropriate because in the past couple days I’ve water skied twice. Neither time was for a very long distance, though I got up on the first try each time.

But it was still scary.

Scared

You think about how hard it’s going to be to get your heavier person up on that ski. How the boat will pull. Lots of water rushing over your head. Falling. You think maybe it’s best to retire from skiing. After all you’re older then you used to be. You’re no athlete. You might get hurt.

Then you think about your mom who was older than you are right now and still skied once a year just to prove she could. And you think about the fact the lake is absolutely still, the boat is running well, the sun is shining. There’s no one out there but your boat filed with your family.

Breathing relief

It will never be any better than this.

So you put on the life jacket and whine a bit about being scared. You slide into the water and put on the ski which feels unfamiliar and clunky.

You feel clunky and awkward and the ski rope is moving as the boat slowly moves away from you and you can’t remember which side of your ski it’s supposed to be on and you can’t remember if you normally put your back foot into the boot or trail it as you get up. And you’re wobbling back and forth in the water and the rope is tight and everyone is waiting for you to say “HIT IT!” and so you do.

And the boat surges ahead and the water rushes over you and you remind yourself to just hang on. HANG ON and it will all work out. Balance over that ski and hang on. Let the boat do the work. And soon you’re popping up out of the water. Not gracefully. But you can breath.

You’re no expert skier, not throwing big rooster tail spray, not preforming tricks. You’re just out there, but oh the water is glass, the clouds are reflected beneath you, the sun is shining, the lake is beautiful and soft.

Flying

And you are smiling, because you are skiing through the clouds, and because you didn’t give up on yourself.

Lesson learned. Again.

Summer fun

Wordless Wednesday from Mom

September 2, 2015 by dawnkinster 18 Comments

August 31, 2015
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

Gift of water

Last summer days.

My dad was always a water person. He played, as a boy, on the banks of a river and he and my mother went on a canoe trip down that river for their very first date. During his entire life he wanted to live on water, and he accomplished that when I was a kid, and then again later in life.

Reflective.

The love of water is one of the gifts my parents gave us. And another is their home. Tucked away on a big lake in a warm state it’s a place their kids gather to relax and spend time together.

Water that goes on forever.

I was thinking about what a wonderful gift the love of water is as we were out on their lake today. Big puffy white clouds interspersed with ominous dark streaks floated above us as my brother skied, as we floated near our favorite island, as we visited the mountain near where their ashes were spread eleven years ago.

Mountain balances lake.

Water. The basis of life. Magical, ever changing. Beautiful.

Evening falls.

Aren’t we lucky that our folks passed on their love of water and then made sure we were able to enjoy it for years to come.

They are always near.

And aren’t we lucky we get to spend time on a beautiful lake while thinking about them, telling stories about them, appreciating them.

Remembering them.

Island stands tall.

August 30, 2015
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Plans

Diamonds and cobwebs.

Yesterday three members of my family joined me at the lake. We had the best intentions of spending the majority of the day out in the boat. You know; bobbing in the warm water around the islands, talking, laughing, catching up. Relaxing.

Raindrops were falling on our heads.

Plans sometimes change, but a storm blowing rain up from the south didn’t deter us. We sat in the boat, boat still in the boat lift, and watched the rain.

Twisted web.

It was a beautiful thing.

Rain on water.

And then we did what any typical northern family does in a rain storm in the south.

We went swimming.

Come on in, the water’s fine!

August 28, 2015
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

Lounging

Southern pine

I have much to tell you, much to show you, but at the moment no WIFI where I am. So I am sitting at the public library (where else!) but there’s nowhere to plug in for electricity and my time is limited. Suffice it to say there will be photos later. Meanwhile, here are a couple of pretty things where I’ve been hanging out.

Little spider working hard.

Peaceful here.

Nice view.

Take a deep breath and relax.

Sunset reflections.

August 25, 2015
by dawnkinster 6 Comments

Reflection

Morning quiet

Early in the morning I sit on the deck overlooking the still lake. It is cool, surprisingly cool, as I prop my feet up on the railing and open my book. Neighborhood dogs are barking at something up the shoreline, but here on the deck it is quiet except for the fluttering of wings. So many birds flitting around the trees, I only catch a glimpse of some; a house finch, a cardinal glowing in the dappled morning light. I think the birds are startled to see me there, being used to the emptiness of this house. A hummingbird suddenly appears. It stares at the red t-shirt I slept in last night and am still wearing. Then he zooms away and I feel sad that there is no food for him, that there hasn’t been a feeder here for the past 11 years.

Mom always kept the feeder full.

August 21, 2015
by dawnkinster 9 Comments

WordPress Photo challenge: Today was a good day

I’m a lucky person. I’ve had hundreds of good days and I’ve photographed many of them. Some of the very best days happened during trips; you’ve seen lots of them right here on this blog. It seems impossible to pick just one day, much less one photo from one good day.

Still, that’s the challenge.

Yosemite grandeur

So here’s a photo from a trip to California. We wandered Yosemite National Park during a misty chilly day. It was stunning, and not just at the famous and often photographed spots. Oh sure those were amazing, the waterfalls, the mountains, all were perfect even in the mist, but it was stunning everywhere we looked. And that’s what made that day a very good day.

Go to the original post to see other interpretations. Or check out a few of my favorites here, here and here.

Now take a moment and think about your life. What makes a good day for you? Share it with us, we’d like to see!

Walk into beauty

August 2, 2015
by dawnkinster 21 Comments

Photogenic farms

As most of you know I love to photograph farms. And on my way back from Northport this week I drove, slowly, through miles and miles of farmland. It was all so beautiful that I was constantly stopping to catch a shot, and there were many more that I didn’t get. Those were recorded only in my memory.

I’ll show you a few of the beautiful farms I saw on my trip home. A trip that usually takes four hours took almost twelve. And I loved every minute of it. I hope you do too.

What is it about barns that are so photogenic? This first one is not far south of Northport itself, still ‘up north.’ I’ve photographed it before, and while I was parked on the side of the road two more cars drove up and stopped.

Tucked into the hills.

I guess I’m not the only barn lover out there. I especially liked the wild sweet peas blooming in the foreground, and the way the barn is set against the hills behind it.

And with nowhere to turn around to continue on my way I wandered down a back road that dead ended with this view. How could I resist?

Fields of grain.

Sometimes getting a bit off track will find you a beautiful place few get to see. I never mind getting lost when I’m out with the camera and unlimited time.

Further downstate (which to you that don’t live here means further south) I came across the windmills. Once again I was on a road I hadn’t planed on traveling. But the faster way home was under construction, so there you go. Another nice surprise.

Making electricity.

I got off the freeway and drove down empty country roads to get up close.

Power amid the corn,

They are controversial. Some people love them. Others don’t. There’s a hum that comes from them that I suppose could be annoying to those that live under the giant wings. I think they are beautiful, but I think the final vote should be from those that live with them day after day.

As the sun got lower in the sky I couldn’t stop shooting. There was beauty everywhere, and more than once I turned around to go back and get something. Like this tractor in a shorn field set against a wall of clouds.

Resting after a hard days work.

And these wagons filled with bales of straw, glowing in the last bits of evening light.

Full up.

And who wouldn’t stop and turn around when a field of sunflowers nodding in the late day sun suddenly appeared?

Makes you smile.

Even after hours on the road I was sorry when the light and my photo shoot came to an end.

So much beautiful farmland. So little time.

From years past.

July 31, 2015
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Overnight in paradise

Peaceful

I went north to Nortport this week, specifically to listen to Loreen Niewenhuis talk about her latest book “A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure.” This is the third in her trilogy of Great Lakes adventures — I loved the first two; the first about her walk around Lake Michigan and the second about her walk on the shores of portions of all five Great Lakes.

Her talk was excellent and I can’t wait to read the new book. I opened it at random in three places last night and laughed out loud each time. She can write! Even while you’re learning about things you may never have thought about you’re enjoying the adventure of it all in her books.

Sunset glow

I love Northport, the little town at the tip of Michigan’s pinky finger. I can’t think of a place more lovely, more welcoming, more serene. Lucky for me I have a friend or two there, so I was able to camp on a lawn near Lake Michigan on Tuesday night after Loreen’s talk at the local library. The sunset that night was spectacular.

Beautiful water.

I didn’t take a lot of photos this trip, other than the sunset, at least there on the lake. Instead I enjoyed swimming in the cool clear water of Lake Michigan, listening to a bit of jazz at a local restaurant, conversation with friends, and sleeping out under the stars.

OK. So I didn’t really notice the stars much. I slept better out there on the front lawn than I’ve slept in a good long while and I don’t think I woke at all until morning. Must have been the lake air.

It’s cherry harvesting time in Northport and I stopped on my way out of town to get a photo.

Looks like a good year for cherries.

Don’t they look good? In my family we love tart cherries even more than the sweet versions. I wanted to grab a bucket and pick a few pounds, but I guess that would be stealing. So I bought a quart at a stand and ate them on the way home.

Have I mention I really love this place?

Sand clings to my memories.

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: trip