Sunday boredom

We've been telling the boys we'd take them out to Bedford lake to fish/canoe for the last week. But due to my poison ivy/chigger issues (and now a spider bite I had thought was just a mosquito bite that was very itchy) ALONG with the heat, we've just put it off. So today we decided to kill a few hours. Unfortunately when we got out there, the wind was really blowing, so we nixed the canoeing bit. A little too much of a workout, especially since I wasn't the one taking them in the canoe!

Biggest fish I've seen caught at

Bedford Lake

Hunter got his lure stuck on a dead, stinky

turtle! Daddy to the rescue!

Caught these beauties on the side of the road,

as we were heading home.

The kids like to "talk" to the peacocks when we drive

by, but luckily since we were so close today, they

were quiet. The sound is really obnoxious.

From them AND the birds!

Saw this one as we were driving by. Hit the brakes

and I ran back, but it was already heading into

the corn field.

More butterflies...starting to get bored with them...

 

The first one I took is prettier because the flower was completely framed. This one is kind of blah because the flower is closed. Still not bad though. This one shows more detail on the wings.

This little beauty showed up yesterday. Poor things wing was all tore up but it surely wasn't slowing him/her down! It was nice to find another variety. I think the yellow swallowtail is more photogenic. The blue on the wings tends to be more metallic looking. And when it's wings are opened, its all black and you don't see the pretty blue, like on the outside.

Nothing exciting

Suffering from poison ivy and chiggers, I haven't ventured too far out of the house. The heat just makes my skin crawl! But I did go out the other night to see if there were any butterflies hanging around. Nope. I was lucky enough to see a couple deer chasing each other in the field. Not the greatest pictures, but they were fun to watch.

Father's Day

To all the Dad's that I love...a few from yesterday.

I guess they're not called butterfly bushes for nothing!

Twice as nice

I'm not sure what the bug is in the background

but it is kinda cool.

This was not my favorite, but I like the moth that

snuck in there.

My goal today is to get the elusive hummingbird. He's been pretty shy when I'm around. All I want is a decent picture. Just one, I'm not greedy! :)

Finally ventured outside!

Had a storm come through yesterday afternoon and it really knocked the temps down...at least enough to venture outside. I even tied the dogs up and you would have thought it was still 95 degrees for all the whinning Ellie did. I think she's gotten a little too used to the air conditioning! So, after chasing this little guy around the back pond for a while and only getting butt shots, patience and a long lens finally won out. I don't know that I could have taken a more perfect picture!

Sunflower growing in the patio

So after the storm came through early last evening, I wanted to go for a drive. Lucky for me I had a willing chauffer! I specifically wanted a picture of a tree that was blooming. (Tom now wants one for the yard and I have no idea what kind of tree it is!) I've always planned on stopping to take a picture, but never do. And I'm not sure how long the thing blooms either, so I can't wait too long. Well, turns out they don't look very good wet, so I'll plan on going back in the next day or so for my picture. All was not lost though as I got a couple nice landscape pictures and we had another beautiful sunset. So we pulled into a field right before we got back home and I got a couple nice ones.

That IS humidity hanging in the air! Nice, huh?!

Finally, a few (new) pictures!

This is what happens when the kids are out of town. Cleaning? What? This is more enjoyable! :)

Finally downloaded the cloud pictures from the other night. Just as awesome as I remember. And also the same night Maison took a bike ride around the neighborhood about 8pm. He comes back and says "everyone's outside working in their yard...in the dark!" Well, my response was that it was the only time people are brave enough to venture outside in this heat!

Facing west

Facing east

zoomed in with longer lens (facing east)

The cloud formations the past few days have been incredible. Gotta love thunderheads! As long as they're giving us views like this!

Bored

It's too hot to go outside and right now it's actually pouring out and who wants to clean??? So, after compiling a video for Father's Day, I came across this picture that I took exactly 1 year ago. Go figure. Thought I'd play with it and see what I could come up with. I'm not sure I like the "after" 100% but it is better than the original SOOC (straight out of camera) picture.

I wish I had gotten an "after" picture covered with whatever he was licking. (Hair covered with chocolate.) I'm not even sure what I made, because these pictures were taken within minutes of each other. One was vanilla (I think) and this one is obviously chocolate.

Too H.O.T.

No (adult) wants to leave the confines of the air conditioned house. Soo, that means no pictures. Well, that's not true...I think I took some cool cloud pictures last night, but I'm too lazy right now to download them. Was working on a Father's day gift, so I'm done for the night. I did do a quick edit of a cool lightening picture to post on Facebook, so that will be my picture post for the night/day...whatever!

Believe it or not, this storm was past us to the east by quite a few miles (10-15 at least!) We had a great storm come thru last Saturday afternoon that was awesome. Unfortunately, it's hard to take lightening pictures during the day. I'm good with this one for now. :)

Photo contest winners...

Submitted several photos (3 each) into the Friend of South Cumberland Park link contest...just received word/email that Maison came in 1st/2nd in his age group and I came in 3rd. (He won $80 on 1st/2nd place! I get $10 for 3rd place.)

Maison-1st place

Maison-2nd place

Me-3rd place

Not bad for a fun day of hiking!

Lakeside seats

Took the boys out to Bedford Lake yesterday for some canoe fishing (no motors allowed on this tiny lake, other than trolling). So daddy took them over to a small cove to fish. After my last run in with a canoe for 8 hours, I'm fine sitting on shore! Happened to have my camera (of course), but I was reading. I looked up and saw a crane flying by, so in my hurry to try to get a shot, I forgot to turn the camera on. (These things happen. :) ) But was prepared for when it flew back, stopped off for a fishy snack and continue back to his nest. Along the way, he picked up a buddy (no clue where it came from unless it was in the water on the other side of a hill from me.) These are not the best pictures...I think because I didn't have the speed set high enough...but I'm still learning.

There is a fish in it's mouth!

Picked up a buddy...

Canoeing against the wind is N.O.T. cool! But

it's good practice!

Storyboard

Saw a cute storyboard online and thought I would combine some of the "fish" pictures.

Chloe, Hunter & Ellie

Hunter just cracks me up with his "frog" jump! That is Ellie in the background barking while trying to swim/catch up with Chloe!

Making memories...300+

I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects. But I make them for myself first and foremost - that is important.  ~ Jacques-Henri Lartigue
 
 

I took 300+ pictures. So far, these are the best of the best. I'm sure there are more, but after editing for 4+ hours last night, this is what I came up with. No matter how tough things get sometimes...my family is the b.e.s.t. I will love them forever! (All pictures can be clicked on to make bigger. A few of them look better and in the sunset picture, you can actually see Venus in the larger picture!)

Waiting on the deck work to begin...why not fish?!

His first fish! What a monster!

Hunter's first fish (ever) with a lure. He was sooo excited.

Maison's 2nd fish (of the day) wasn't too bad either.

Smooth as ice

Pretty eyes (NOT the fish!)

L.O.V.E. this picture

Heading to a fishing hole

Board by board

Peace & Quiet

Early morning fishing

Early morning fog

This one may go on my wall. Not sure

what it is, but it just draws me in.

No fear!

No fear either! (He sooo surprised me this weekend!)

Maison received several "man" injuries and he really

sucked it up this weekend. I would have cried with

several of them! My softy is "toughening" up!

More fishing...

Sunset

(Venus in the sky)

Who needs a finished deck to fish?

Uncle Brett coming to the rescue of a stuck lure.

The storm skirted us

Swimming like a fish!

Fish, fish and more fish!

Daddy getting into the action!

Couldn't decide what kind of fish this was.

3 different opinions! I think we ended

up agreeing it was some type of bass.

I've lost count of the # of fish caught!

That's a GOOD thing!

Who says the dogs can't have fun also!!

The way we all felt at the end of the day...