A Good Sign

Well today is the last day of February and in my way of seeing things, spring is just around the corner. March, being the month of spring, is the first step towards warmer months. I say this in part as some sort of encouragement to my friends on the east coast- we all know that they've seen more than their fair share of snow and harsh conditions.
When summer turns to fall and fall turns to winter everything is cool - for awhile. It must be the temperatures that tend to slow me down, I guess. I don't know but by January I'm just plain tired of it.
Anyway this Crocus popped up the other day and just the mere sight of it seemed to give me hope that the trees will start budding and the flowers will all start blooming any day now. ( I know that it's still winter and even in spring it gets cold and can snow plenty but work with me here.) It is a sign though and a good sign at that.

I'll Get The Shot...

I took this picture one morning at Drummond Lake. I actually went there to see if I could get a good picture of this Great Blue Heron. As far as I know he (she?) is the only one there which I find hard to believe because I found that they normally nest in large colonies of up to several hundred pairs. I can only assume that they tend to venture out alone to do their hunting because in several visits to Drummond Lake I've only seen one - possibly not the same one but probably so. At any rate getting this one's picture was an exercise in, well, exercising! It didn't take long to spot it and apparently it spotted me. Just as I was focusing in it took flight- all the way to the other end of the lake. I kept it in my sight as I made my way to the other end. As soon as I got close I slowed my pace as not to spook it again. This time the heron's head was down so I eased closer - you know what's coming here- just as I again lifted my camera and started to focus off it flew- all the way to the other end. This went on more times than I really want to talk about.
I followed it back one last time only because it was on the way out. Like I said, I got a couple of pictures but not near the close up I envisioned on my way to the lake. I did get a few shots from a distance and my stay was a little longer than you can tell from this post but all in all it was not a very fruitful day. Some day I'll bring my lunch and find a nice place to sit and wait and wait and probably wait some more but I'll get the shot I want- I will!

The Sleddin' Hill

Well for now the sleddin' hill is bare - bare of snow that is. For now... It's still winter and it's still February and the weatherman is still predicting a chance of snow in the next couple of days but for now there's no snow. We've had an extra amount of the white stuff this winter and I'm not so sure that's it's not a developing trend for future winters but then again it seems like every winter when I was a youngster it snowed and snowed and snowed. So maybe it's a recurring weather pattern(once every one hundred years!)I loved it then and I guess that I love it now - to an extent. I just seem to tire of it a little quicker than when I was a youngster.
My son thinks that there's something wrong with me when I mention that spring is just around the corner with a smile on my face. "Why does that make you happy?!"I guess I don't really have a good reason it just does...

And Now For Something Completely Different...

As most of you know, Monday was Presidents' Day and school was out. I happened to be off work that day so we felt that a trip to the Discovery Center was in order. (It also didn't hurt that our neighbor works there and she provided us with free tickets.) But even so, it's a place we like to take Brendon to and a place that he likes to go.
So on a cold and blustery day (as most of them seem to be these days) we went. We had a lot of fun with Brendon and Mia checking out the kinetic wheel, making giant bubbles, printing newspaper articles with pictures, walking through the giant mouth and building towers as tall as we could reach.
At one point as I was left behind and making my way from one floor to the next to catch up I sat on the stairs to change my lens (you know that I had my camera!) I looked up and this is what I saw. Dizzying to say the least but really cool . Needless to say, I spent the rest of the afternoon shooting stairwells, block glass and assorted structures from any and all angles.
I think that I like this form of abstract architecture- if that's what you call it. I'm sure I don't know but I do know that I think I'll be taking a little side journey every now and then into it and just getting into something completely different!

Happy Valentines Day

Here's a rose to all of you for Valentines Day. As it is Valentines Day I have better things to do than sit on the computer and type some long winded post. So here's to you (and me) and here's hoping your day is all that you wanted it to be!

What It's All About...

I can't write much tonight because unfortunately, I'm getting over a short bout with the stomach flu! No major deal really but I'm worn out.
Anyway here's my daredevil just hitting the bottom of the hill. He loves the cold and he especially loves it when it comes with snow. On this particular day he ended up with a sprained ankle. There just happened to be a curb at the bottom of one sled trail. Fortunately (and unfortunately)he wasn't traveling head first that time!
I guess when you're 10 years old that's what winter is all about.

A Simpler Life...

For some reason people seem to have a fascination with barns- old barns, new barns, painted or weather worn- it doesn't matter much one way or another. They just want a good barn picture. I don't know why that is but I do know that I'm one of them.
Maybe it takes us to a simpler time. You know- Andy and Barney and Opie and Aunt Bee(that's pronounced Aint Bee by the way).
This is a barn that I stumbled across one morning when the fog lifted and I was trying to find my way back to the main highway. I sat at the cross roads and took several shots before turning around and retracing my route. I guess that's part of the fun of photography though-stumbling across the unexpected and being lucky enough to have your camera with you when you do!

The War Eagle Mill

This is the War Eagle Mill and the War Eagle Bridge on War Eagle Road next to the War Eagle Creek near- yep, War Eagle, Arkansas. Which, by the way, is on the National Register of Historic Places for those of you (like myself) that aren't "in the know".
At any rate, the mill here is pretty well known around the northern parts of Arkansas and the southern parts of Missouri too. It's chock full of history-way more than I could fit in this post.
So look it up, check it out and go visit it. It's a great place with a big commitment to your health and the planet as they explain in detail on their site.
As their slogan says, "Rising above the daily grind since 1832"!