ODC: Thankful

ODC: Thankful, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

So here's a quandary- who's the thankful one? Is it me or the dog? Could be either if you really think about it. I tried to get some today shots of Jax but he wouldn't stand still, and not being exactly trained at this point in his life he ignored my commands. Having had several dogs over the years I can truly say that I am thankful for the relationships that I had with them. Each was so different yet they were my constant companion, my protector, my foot warmer. Jax may well be our last dog, for as we enter our senior years I'm not so sure that I am ready to take on a new challenge. I absolutely love this breed of retrievers but he hasn't exactly been an easy dog to deal with. Over the years he's been less and less socialized as his reaction to others, especially men, has been less than positive. Even though he was a "fraternity" dog he became quite wary of people and would lash out at the slightest provocation. We hung onto him though and sheltered him from situations for the most part, although we've had a couple of close calls. So I thank Jax for his undying loyalty and companionship.  Unfortunately he too is entering his own golden years, and I dread the fact that the rainbow bridge may be looming near.

ODC: Abandoned

ODC: Abandoned

a photo by scookster on Flickr.

It's not uncommon to see an abandoned item when taking my daily walk. It could be a deserted shoe, paper bag, piece of clothing, a building that's rundown, or more commonly, the swings at the park.  I would imagine they won't get much action these next couple of months unless the weather warms dramatically.  In the summer it is teaming with little kids to pre-high school kids, trying to act cool while watching their little brother or sister.  It's a fun place to visit, especially when all chose to be the first to the top of the highest slide. Those left behind were none too happy.

ODC: Sign 11/27

ODC: Sign, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Almost didn't get this assignment completed. While hiking around Lake Katherine on Thanksgiving morning, I came upon this very obvious pile of sticks and a sign. I guess someone felt that the novice hiker would not know what these sticks were used for. I took a few shots as I figured it would suit the assignment of "sign." Unfortunately, when I previewed the pictures on my computer I saw that either the sign was sharp and the sticks were blurry or visa versa. I do have some trouble getting the entire picture sharp if I am up close and personal.I had the camera set at "P" but it didn't suit me as I wanted the entire photo to be as sharp as possible. So today the weatherman said the rain would stop sometime in the early morning and the sun would come out. If that happened I was going to run back to Lake Katherine to retake the shot. I waited and waited and the weather continued to spiral downward. Not wanting to miss this assignment I headed back out, even though the weather continued to be drizzly and cold. Because of the weather Lake Katherine was deserted, which made me rather leery for some reason. I hate heading out into the woods if I am all by myself, but I had a job to complete. Kept my eye peeled for the illusive beaver- saw lots of "signs" that beavers frequent the area but none were found. Eventually I made my way to this area of the lake and retook the shot, only to discover once again that either the sticks or sign were super sharp but not both. Figured out a way to fix the photo on Photoshop- not perfect but better. Now all I need to do is research beavers as I'd like to know when they are most active. Would be cool to get some photos of beavers hard at work.

Our Daily Challenge: 11/21

ODC: pastel, a photo by scookster on Flickr.

The daily challenge for this photo was to find something that was pastel.  Took a run to Lake Katherine to find an assortment of pictures that would be suitable for the daily challenge.  I love these colors- I don't even know what the plant is called, but it's something my eyes are drawn to every time I see them.  I don't know if this is a common color but oh so pretty.  I had a few comments on flickr about the picture and most comments are relating to the pink. But the green looks pretty pastel-like too.  Actually, now that I'm thinking, what are pastels? I assumed it just means a lighter color and of course, that's what google says.  In the end, I think it was the combination of the whites, pinks and greens that captivated my interest.

Scavenger Hunt #2

Scavenger Hunt (sh 2) paper wasp nest

a photo by scookster on Flickr.

The second item of the Scavenger Hunt was to take a picture of a non-human creature's home.

This paper wasp nest had been hanging from out neighbor's tree for sometime. When my dh first pointed it out to me  I was beside myself.  All I could think about was getting it down and putting it in our display case at school.  I had been unable to find a suitable specimen for the case, even though my assistant had added an assortment of snake skins, raccoon heads and turtle shells.  This was a great find and when my neighbor finally cut it down I couldn't believe the intricacy of the work behind the creation of this nest.  Of course, there were tons of empty egg shells (I hoped) and when I put it in my car for a couple of days I had hoped there were no dormant wasps awaiting resurrection.  Wouldn't it be interesting to watch the wasps actually build the nest but unfortunately it's usually built before I'd notice it. The skin of this nest is a multicolored assortment of red, grey and brown paper with a modest getaway hole at the bottom.  The inside of the nest was just as interesting as the outside, but for whatever reason I neglected to take a decent picture of it.  

Scavenger Hunt 101 #1

Scavenger Hunt (sh 1) boat without a motor

a photo by scookster on Flickr.

Take a photo of a boat without a motor.

Finally thought of a place to go this week where I could take a photo of the first scavenger hunt item- a boat without a motor. Most boats are winterized these days and if they are sitting out in the elements they are covered and useless for photographs. I thought of this canoe which is buried in the overgrowth at Lake Katherine. The weather has not been the best this week for taking photographs and of course, work has me going in circles, so today was the first day that I could get over there. Unfortunately, the winds were blowing fiercely so it was bitterly cold at the lake. I was somewhat concerned that they had removed the canoe but luckily they had not. This was as close as I could get to it, even with my telephoto lens. The preserve is such a pretty place, which I found even more so as the sun began to set to today.