Archive for the ‘Images Captured’ Category
Look Down
More often than not, my photographic experiments involve looking straight up at unexpected moments. Looking down rarely offers much in the way of surprises. We are more inclined to look down at where we are about to step than to suddenly tilt our heads to look directly above us.
Still, there are plenty of times when I point my camera lens down to fill the frame with something that captures my attention. Here are some from our visit to the lake place earlier this week…
I have been on limited duty after Cyndie did some research about the symptoms I am still experiencing since my epic “no-brakes” spill down the hill of our backyard a couple of weeks ago. I had been trying to carry on as if I’d suffered nothing more than a bruised shoulder, but my pain and arm weakness were not fading away as I’d hoped they would.
The new plan is to limit my range of motion and get on a regimen of an anti-inflammatory for a while. I’ve started wearing a sling to help me in two ways: to give my shoulder a rest from the weight of my arm and to remind me not to raise that arm to the point I feel pain.
Doctor Internet Research suggests my healing will be well served by avoiding any motion that triggers pain. That idea is the opposite of what I had been doing up to this point. I wasn’t doing myself any favors by repeatedly testing the limits of what I could do by working past a little pain or discomfort in my shoulder.
Hopefully, I can milk this to get out of throwing hay bales around when the next delivery comes. That reminds me, we should probably find out when the next delivery will be coming.
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Cracking Cones
With spring-like weather showing up way too soon, we have changes going on that are very un-February-like.
The moisture of the melting snow rises in the morning to create a mystical haze in front of the pines in the distance.
The remains of the melting plowed snow on the edge of the driveway are smeared with the dirt that got scraped up by the blade.
Most uncharacteristic of February is the clicking sounds of pine cones popping open in the warm sunshine.
My poor brain is wrestling over reveling in the luxury of the gentle weather at the same time as fretting over the complications this odd warmth could bring about.
In the moments between mental wrangling, the craziness offers plenty of opportunities for me to busy myself taking pictures of scenes that catch my eye.
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Contest Winners
Hays Hayward Weekend Photo Contest Winners!
First Place, Category: Laughter by John H. (adult)
Second Place, Category: Laughter by Heidi S. (14yrs)
First Place, Category: Food by Kolten M. (14yrs)
Second Place, Category: Food by Henry S. (12yrs)
First Place, Category: Still Life by Kolten M. (14yrs)
Second Place, Category: Still Life by Henry S. (12yrs)
First Place, Category: Wildwood by Elysa H. (adult)
Second Place, Category: Wildwood by Latisha M. (adult)
First Place-Tie, Category: Nature by Heidi S. (14yrs)
First Place-Tie, Category: Nature by Julian H. (adult)
Second Place, Category: Nature by Henry S. (12yrs)
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Snowscape Again!
I got what I wanted! I’ve pared down the photos to seven from the many more pictures we couldn’t resist taking of the glorious snowy scenes that greeted us yesterday morning. What a difference a day makes.
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The snow won’t be around for long. By the end of the day yesterday, I bet we lost half of what fell. The driveway was clear and dry just a few hours after I plowed. Even though the air temperature never rose above freezing, the mid-February sun was at a high enough angle to have a big impact on surfaces.
We expect to be on the road before noon today on our way to Hayward for the weekend. Our newest horse volunteer will tend to the herd while we are gone. Here’s hoping they don’t give her a hard time. The mares were unusually rambunctious yesterday at feeding times.
Thankfully, they understand our routine enough to calm down quickly after a few mouthfuls of feed. The hanging buckets have been a good change in almost entirely eliminating their tendency to chase each other around like a game of musical chairs.
Tomorrow, I post from the lake place! Maybe I’ll take a picture or two.
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Conditions Soften
The winter months this season have been about as soft as I’ve experienced in this region compared to all the years my somewhat feeble memory has retained while living in what is described as the upper midwestern United States. The previous week has been the only period of dramatic cold temperatures and that bone-chilling Arctic blast has already begun to release its stinging grip.
The relaxing of the horses’ energy is palpable. They are stoic beasts in the face of the worst weather that nature manages to conjure up. They may display a bit of shortened patience while we stumble around to complete our tasks in minus thirty-degree (F) wind chill, but they stand firm and resolute against the oppressive pressures of extreme cold.
When the temperature climbs back to positive numbers, we can feel the release of tension their bodies have been holding in defense against the elements. That’s when I noticed the same thing was happening to me this morning.
I can breathe without frost forming on my whiskers, bolstered by the knowledge a January thaw is on tap in the days ahead. The only catch with the arrival of above-freezing temps is that any precipitation that might show up at the same time could fall as rain, my absolute least favorite winter condition.
Winter rain just leads to winter ice. Yuck. And the horses agree with me on that assessment.
I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying fancy winter lighting in the sky recently.
Always remember to look straight up in the sky to capture some great views.
I don’t know how to find a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, but it was a treat watching the light play in the wisps of clouds in the sky.
A day or two later, an unexplained streak of cloud (remains of a contrail?) caught my eye because of the fiery refraction of sunlight at the end.
Something tells me the warmer air moving in won’t offer daytime light shows like the icy skies just did.
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Relative Something 