Deep Into the Quarantine

I'm back into photography; my rehab for the new hip has progressed as well as my age allows (tough realization) and the social distancing allows lots of car rides in our rural area.  I also purchased a new lens, one that weighs a ton!  It's a Sigma 150-600 mm.  I haven't used it very often because I really want to get out and take some time.  However, I have used it in my kitchen to photograph hummingbirds on the feeder outside.  

This is a black chinned male; generally, I see one early in the spring and then he's gone.  Not this year.  This guy was terrorizing the feeder when I shot these images. 

Texture Tuesday 2.0

I don't recall exactly how long ago we participated in Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday, but it was a wonderful time.  I've collected so many of Kim's photo textures, and as she has "moved on" in some ways, I've stayed where I was.  In this time of the coronavirus, Kim has invited followers to participate in "Texture Tuesday 2.0" and she provided some great "grunge" textures, plus instructional videos for how to apply them.  I have an older version of Elements, and I use Picasa for text on my photos.   This image was edited with "Together 6" but I haven't yet figured out how deal with layers.  :-)

Eagle Eye .... way up there!

It's always on my list to photograph an eagle; we often see them here but catching them with a camera lens is challenging.  On a drive this week, we took a lane we hadn't driven before.  As we anticipated, it ended in someone's barnyard.  On the way, though, we saw two full farm ponds.  Canada geese are paired and settling down; far above in a bare snag sat the eagle.  Two problems: the sun was almost directly overhead, so the eagle was in its own shadow; the branch was about 30 feet high which tested my 400m lens to the max.

Spring is here, I think!

More than two months without a post; I need to decide if  I'm going to maintain this blog (I don't do very well on my crafting one, either).  Blogs used to be "the thing" and I enjoyed them all so much.  I learned so much about the bloggers and was so inspired by their photos.  Now it's Instagram and some Facebook, and I don't interact the way I used to.  I miss it.   I know the internet is always changing and we rarely go back, so I'm resigning myself to the changes.  For the time being, I'm going to continue to post, although I might not be as consistent as I would like.  The Coronavirus will keep me inside most of the time for the next several weeks.

Since the end of November, I've had 3 surgeries...crazy because I consider myself extremely healthy for my 7+ decades of life.  As I write this, I am starting my third week of rehab after a hip replacement.  It is not progressing as rapidly as I thought it would.  A cane is my constant third leg.  It makes photography much more challenging.  My husband is a bossy nurse, but is always good about driving me around the country when I'm in a "photo mood."  Hopefully, as winter turns to spring, subjects will be more appealing.

The blog header features buttercups, always such a good sign after winter.  Farther north, the little mountain streams are still running fast, bordered in snow.

Week #52 - P52 Completed!

A dramatic sundown seems to be a good way to end my Photo Project 52 of 2019---a week late.  Winter hasn't been very forceful yet this year. We've had hints of snow and lots of rain.  It's cold and windy and dark.  This past week, I could see that there were pretty horizons with clouds and lots of color, so we drove up and out of the valley to Cricket Flat, where I could pick any horizon I desired.
Now I can order the photo book.

Week #51 - P52

Winding down the Project 52 for 2019 (already into 2020), I visited some of my favorite trees...the Golding Trees.  At least 3 of these are walnut trees, a fact I didn't realize until several years after I started photographing them.  The trees are located on the Golding homestead, where waves of naturalized daffodils bloom in the spring.  If we had snow one would expect in late December, the tree silhouettes would be even more dramatic.  As it is, I've chosen this image for Week 51 of my year-long project.  Hopefully, I will locate another good subject this week to finish the 52nd week.

Week #50 - P52

The town I live in is located in Indian Valley (actually the only "town" in the valley)in the northern end of Union County.  Just a few miles to the south, the Grande Ronde Valley begins and Mt. Harris is the 5000+ ft mountain to the east. It's really quite close and accessible by narrow road.  Those of us who live here see Mt. Harris in all seasons and lights, with and without fog, clouds, and fresh snow.  (Mt. Harris has been featured in 3 additional choices this year, here, here, and here.)