Weekly Header Challenge -- Hidden

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining the group above for this weekly challenge.

Visit the other participants' blogs to see their entries!

Theme ~ Hidden

Chosen by me.

Here is the image I used for this week’s theme:

Strawberry leaves hidden in the snow.

Here are a few more things hidden in the snow...

Sage leaves.

More strawberry leaves.

Day lilies.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge -- Recent Photos

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

Imac 

Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Recent Photos

Chosen by The Headbangers.

With the absence of our friend and fellow photographer Craver, we have an open theme slot from time to time.  This week is the first open slot, and everyone agreed on Photos Taken in the Last Month.  This is a perfect theme for my Midwest photographer's heart because spring is coming!!!!  There are signs everywhere, and I was out this week and last taking pictures.  Here is the image I used for my header, full of lovely green color and the promise of spring:

Moss in my front porch garden.

I took the above photo at ground level, with my 100mm macro lens.  I set the aperture to f/7.1 to get a bit of depth, but since the camera was on the ground, it's still a very dreamy image full of bokeh.  Shutter speed was 1/80 second; another reason for balancing the camera on the ground--sharp focus.

I continued to wander around my front and back yards to see if there were other signs that spring is on its way.  Here are a few more signs!

Daylilies popping up in my back yard patio garden.

Oregano peeping through in my front yard brick garden.

Buds on one of the maple trees in my front yard.

Here are a few images I took last week, on the first beautiful spring day of the year.  Fernando and I dropped Thomas off at Universal Technical Institute, then headed down the road to visit the Morton Arboretum together.  Not only did we visit, we purchased a two-year membership!  This beautiful preservation is filled with collections of trees and plant life, and the foundation offers educational classes, a library, a photography society (I want to join!!), and lots of other programs.  It's a beautiful place to wander, bird watch, and take pictures, of course!  Since it's not even a mile from Thomas' school, we will have plenty of opportunities to visit, explore, and relax.

Bench and Meadow Lake.

I think this is going to be my favorite tree in the Arboretum!

One last picture, at Lake Marmo in the Arboretum, with the melting snow and rushing water.

Ah, Spring, how I love thee!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Herbs, Weeds, Chives and Leaves

Sometimes a spring garden is a little messy.  Plants are starting to pop up, but the weeds also make their appearance.  I've brought Ellie out to the garden on many an occasion, simply to document the progress in each year's garden, but also to capture the beauty that only a macro lens can see.  Here is one of those occasions in my mid-May garden.

Budding chives.

Rhubarb!!

Garlic growing strong.

Don't worry--we've taken care of the weeds.  And the garden looks a lot different, now that it's July.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 18 -- 4/29-5/5

Project 2012 -- Week 18

April 29 - May 5

How to Link Up With Us

1.  Click here to read the Project 2012 Guidelines, and to get the code to place in your blog.
2.  Fill out the little form below (insert the URL of your blog post, not the main URL of your blog).
3.  Please visit others' links and leave comments; you will receive visits and comments in return!

My Week 18 Photos

I took a ton of photos this past week!  I had such a hard time choosing my favorites.  I decided to share a sample of what we did all week long.

First of all, the guys worked in my garden, laying down newspaper and covering it with grass.  We're trying to get all the grassy pathways covered up so no one has to weed-whack the garden area.  It's no fun, according to my young men, and I totally agree with them.

[119] Garden workers

We scared Mr. and Mrs. Mallard out of our pool when we went out back, and I caught them waiting on the neighbor's roof.

 [120] Ducks on the roof

Lots of rain last week meant lots of neat after-the-rain photos!  Below are two of my favorites.

[121] Coral bells after the rain

[122] Almost time to bloom

Danny was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society (for two-year colleges) one evening last week, and my parents attended the ceremony with us.  :)

[123] Honor student

Danny drove me to The Growing Place, a nursery I'd never been to but had to now out of necessity--my favorite local nursery went out of business.  This new nursery did not disappoint; the below photo is a teeny-tiny part of the entire place.  It was huge and they carried all sorts of flowers, vegetables, and herbs, plus trees, bushes, and other landscaping material.  I had time constraints and didn't spend a lot of time there, but I'm definitely going back!

[124] The Growing Place

I bought just a few items to supplement the vegetable order I placed with my friend Becki.  I got some onion sets, rosemary, and cilantro, and some bush bean seeds.  I also splurged and got a little pack of marigolds to plant around my bush beans.

[125] Goodies to plant

I'm so excited about planting my veggie garden this year!  I was able to quickly plan out what to plant where.  Now, I just have to wait for a sunny afternoon and guys to help work in the compost.  That's a post for next week.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 3

Project 2012

Week 3 -- January 15-21

1.  Take pictures
2.  Share at least one--and up to seven!
(Click on the graphic if you're interested in joining us!)

My favorite photos

I was a little desperate to use my camera the beginning of this past week!  I walked around the house taking pictures of everyday household items.  I ended up in front of my flute music stand, experimenting with music, notes, angles, aperture...  In post edit, I tried for an antique look, and added some grain to the photo to achieve a look I was satisfied with.

[15] Favorite music

I guess I'm a true Northerner; I sat on my front porch without a coat and with slippers on while I took some shots of my flowers trying to survive winter.

[16] Coral bells in snow

Then it was back inside, and I ended up in the kitchen.  These fortune cookies were bright and cheerful to photograph.

 [17] Fortune cookie

I drove out to a little trail in the woods near my home for a short, snowy nature walk.  I took my kit lens along, which I used to take this shot.  I wasn't awed with the image when I saw it in the camera viewfinder, but after downloading it and really studying it, I fell in love with it--the way the sun is shining on the leaf, the angle of the sun so low to the right, the sparkles and shadows in the snow, the brightness of the leaf.  I just really like it.

[18] Leaf on snow

I love shooting the sun through the trees.  I'm not so great at sun flare, but I do like to try.

 [19] Winter sun

I found a great perspective leaning against a tree, looking up into the sky.  I love the contrast in color, and in the shadow and the sky.

[20] Up through winter trees

As the sun descended, I hung around the capture the sunset, always a calm and peaceful time.

[21] Winter woods sunset

I'll post the whole of my little snowy nature walk soon!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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365 Project -- #288-294

This is the time in my week when I look back at the images I've captured

throughout the previous week, and choose my seven favorites.

These seven--one for each day of the week--are featured below.

October 15 - October 21

Though I miss the lake terribly, I've enjoyed my days back home.  Besides, I have photos to invoke memories, and more lake posts to create!  Now, I have peace in my heart and strength for the upcoming seasons, and I'm looking forward to the slower pace of winter.

It cooled down enough last week for me to break out a special treat while I contemplate harvesting the last of my vegetable garden.

[288] Sipping chocolate

Then the harvest started.  I had a ton of cayenne pepper, most of which was dry already so I processed that first.  Then I strung up all the remaining cayenne.  It hangs in loops from our countertop light fixture, and is colorful as the cayenne reddens and dries.

[289] Strings of cayenne

One sunny day left to get things "the rest of the way done" in the garden.  But first, Thomas found a little feather for me to photograph.

[290] Garden feather

My little rosemary plant was pulled, and it's now chopped and waiting in the freezer.

[291] Autumn rosemary

Autumn lettuce still grows in one corner, and I hope to actually harvest some lettuce out of it.  For some reason, lettuce does not like my garden.

[292] Autumn lettuce

A neighbor gave us a box full of strawberry plants, so we planted some in one of our squares, then gave the rest away to others.  We carefully mulched around the plants for winter, and since we were due for a few warm days, I told Thomas to give them a good watering.

[293] One last shower

[294] New strawberry plants

Hopefully we'll have strawberries next year!  That gives me something else to look forward to as the days grow colder and shorter.  :)

Let Your work appear to Your servants

And Your majesty to their children,

Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us;

And confirm [give permanence to] for us the work of our hands;

Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:16-17 NASB [bracket comments mine]

Capturing the moments of life.

Christine

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Autumn Lake Nature Walk

Friday, October 7.  Lake Bonaparte, upstate New York.  Foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.

I have been going to the Lake my entire life; my dad spent most of his youth living near here, enjoying frequent trips to the Lake with his family.  His parents eventually bought a house (cottage) on the Lake, and he eventually bought the adjacent property and built his own cottage.  Lake memories fill my heart and I treasure them all.

This trip was extra special:  it was my very first autumn at Lake Bonaparte.  I accompanied my parents and older brother to this beautiful corner of the Adirondack Mountains, in order to help my mom close their lake house for the winter, but also to have fun, make memories, and reconnect with family and lake friends.  Most importantly, however, was a deep need in my heart to be rejuvenated, filled with the Lord's rest and peace, and strengthened with His strength to resume my hectic-for-a-season life at home.

Here is my parents' home at the lake, which is to my back.

The Lord graced us with the most perfect autumn weather we could have ever hoped for--temperatures in the 70s, and not a cloud in the sky for pretty much the entire time we were there.

On my first day at the lake, I grabbed Ellie, put on her macro lens, and wandered around to see what we would find.  Enjoy the photojournal of my very first autumn nature walk at Lake Bonaparte.

Mushrooms on a tree trunk

The leaves tell of autumn coming

More mushrooms!

Still some flowers around...

...and critters on the flowers

This little cutie showed up with a wave and a shouted "Hi!" as her great-grandmother and she walked up our sandy drive.  Since the macro lens was on, I had to stand waaaay back to capture her.

I wandered off down the single-land road, stopping to capture the beauty along the way.

Even weeds display the handiwork of God!

Ferns and leaves shout out His glory as well.

As I completed a very short circuit around the circular road (the whole circle is only about 1/4 mile!), I found a few more samples of the Lord's beauty at the roadside.

I love the trees at the lake.  Pine and birch dot the landscape, and I love the peeling white bark of the birch trees.

My first little jaunt into autumn nature at the lake was done.  Sometimes you have to look closely to see the amazing detail and care that He has taken with His creation.

The heavens are the heavens of the LORD,

But the earth He has given to the sons of men.

The dead do not praise the LORD,

Nor do any who go down into silence;

But as for us, we will bless the LORD

From this time forth and forever.

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 115:16-18 NASB

To see the next post in my Lake Bonaparte getaway, click here.

Capturing the moments of life.

Christine

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