Saw this guy munching on an apple in my parent's front yard this weekend. By the time I got the camera out he was gone, but then I spied him up in the tree. Wish I would've seen him perform the feat of transporting that apple up the tree.
Lillies of the Valley and some Lilacs can make any bathroom smell much nicer. Highly recommended. Photo taken by Meghan.
Actually last snow in spring of 2004 (which I consider the 2003 winter season still). Heavy marshmallowy coating that was gone within two days.
I'd write something deep and profound about icy cold dark winter days and then sudden moments of beauty but it'd come off as cliche and unimpressive. So just look at the blue sky around the tree trimmed with snow.
The trees down my street are putting a nice show of colors this autumn. I love fall. My favorite season... with cool crisp air, colorful trees, good sleeping temperatures (not too cold yet)... and my birthday.
Meghan noticed this huge (giant!) spider on the garage deck this morning so I had to get some pictures of it. I don't mind spiders too much, but it was creepy (no pun intended) to put my camera and hand so close to such a large spider. I kept thinking it would jump on me. The web is at least two feet across, maybe larger.
Trying different techniques with my digital camera lately. This nice soft shot (although a bit noisy) was produced by holding a piece of imperfect blue glass in front of the lens.
Giraffe and Zebra observed at a small nature preserve.
Location: Near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 2000.
Tulips didn't really do so great this year along side my house, but I still managed to snap one decent photo.
Margaret claims these are mock orange blossoms. What do I know? I believe her. They look great.
Taking a walk on a nice spring evening before dinner reveals the full glory of the seasonal changes. Blooming plants are everywhere.
I thought perhaps this fishing boat might contrast well with the large barge in the background, but it didn't do anything for me. I did some color and contrast moves and then the image became (in my opinion) much more interesting.
Ice has disappeared from the city lakes (finally) and the water is so so blue. A light spring breeze scatters light off the surface.
He's a cool dog, even if he has this horrible only-in-a-full-car anal leakage thing that could clear out an entire gymnasium with its odor.
"Motorcycle Parking Only." It would be nice if this sign held true. I mean, it does for several months of the year, but the rest of the time, it serves as a high-snow marker.
As if dipped in marshmallow goo, the bushes in back of my house are completely coated from the last snow fall.
A happy result from a random shot. Taken in my backyard at about 10:30pm at night. Much wet snow falling throughout the afternoon and evening. Warm and beautiful appearance but dangerous for driving.
Just a small experiment with viewing the kitchen in the window overlooking the wet snowy night. Just a mild amusement (to me).
The large picture shows a gigantic 300-pound freshwater turtle -- as if I needed any thing else to be paranoid about while swimming! Of course they'll probably tell you that these turtles only eat little things like bugs and worms, but that'll do nothing to allay my fears. Giant turtles are pretty cool, but sometimes they just looked annoyed at my photo-taking. You'd think perhaps I've never seen a turtle before with all the pictures I took. Notice the turtles in the last pop-up photo -- they're totally having turtle-sex! Nasty! The turtle dude is sitting upright with the turtle lady in front of him getting their freak on. Yeah, I watched.
See more aquarium pictures.
Distractions are necessary for mental well-being so I decided to visit the aquarium at the Mall of America. The futuristic moving sidewalk gradually glides you through a giant plexiglass tunnel, surrounded on all sides (well, not the bottom, of course) by creatures from the watery realm. Take your time here and just watch quietly. Breathe deep.
See more aquarium pictures.
It was cold and just a bit snowy last night. This morning, very cold, but bright blue skies overhead.
Trying to capture tiny little snow flakes from the inside of a car isn't easy with a mostly non-manual camera. Still, this shot captured their beauty and I really enjoy looking at their intricate patterns.
I guess I'm thankful for truly awe-some natural occurences like light coming through low clouds over an icy lake at the close of a day of good food and family. It started off like this and then just moments later it changed completely. By the way, this photo has not been retouched or enhanced in any way, only sized down.
Location: Clear Lake. Shot on Sony DSC-P71 camera.
A gorgeous day is finished by standing in a cool Minnesota lake fishing for panfish at sunset. Miller Lake. Unknown girl.
The tulips on the south side of the house finally broke out of their slumber and have joined the lilacs in beautifying my yard.
A beautiful rainbow appeared over the grain elevators early Saturday evening. This isn't a spectacular shot, in my opinion, but rainbows are fleeting and I caught this one to share (ok, did that sound cheesy or what?)
A simply beautiful day capped with a beautiful sunset.
I really am liking how the Sony P71 saturates colors. I mean, look at those yellow and reds and oranges. Wow. Yet it doesn't blow them out of whack. Just right almost every single time.
Amazing what a few warm days will do to the plant life around my house - grass is growing, leaves have appeared out of nowhere and the lilacs have started to bloom.
At the Spring Dance Party the other night I toured part of the rest of the building and discovered a "butterfly ranch" in one of the upper offices. Here they raise numerous butterflies for release into the wild or for release at events like weddings, etc. Quite interesting. They allow a person to go into the environment and interact with the fluttery creatures. Neat. You might even get to feed them (Gatorade).
Documented proof of the, uh, squirrely (sorry) techniques used by squirrels to get to the tasty morsels in the bird feeders. I had to be very stealthy and take the photo through the blinds of my window. Oh, and this picture is from a few weeks ago -- the snow has actually melted as of a few days back.
Spring is surely here and the daffodils on the south side of my house are really enjoying the warmer weather. The tulips poked through the dirt first, but they are laggards compared to these little beauties. The hostas are also starting to peek through the ground and I'm sure they'll be spreading their big leaves very soon.