UWM Biker

This was taken from the south-facing windows of the Kenwood Inn on the third floor of the UWM Student Union this past spring. It just made me think of all the students here who get around on their bikes.

Havenwoods Today

These are fallen willow branches under water off the western dock of the main pond at Havenwoods State Forest. They glowed like amber as the sun hit the water.

Hubby found this little toad in the woods. I only had the Canon Powershot with me, but it did an okay job showing his golden speckled eyes.

Hartford Avenue School

Hartford Avenue School on the city's east side has this wonderful tile mosaic wall with murals along the fence. I just happened to walk by one sunny day and had the little Canon Powershot with me.

Reflections in Another Zoo Pond

I have a great series of reflections taken recently, but I'm afraid if I post them all at once, they start to lose their potency. I'll have to spread them out a bit.

Rainbow

This rainbow formed at soccer practice a couple weeks ago. It was a double - you can see part of the second bow on the right side. Glad I had the camera. I stitched this image together in Photoshop Elements 6 using three separate shots.

Another Shot of the Siberian Tiger

Monkey Business

This little guy was so adorable. I got numerous shots of him, but through glass.

My kind of monkey - the triple fisted eater!

This guy must have been reading the newspaper or listening to the farm report on banana futures. Poor thing.

Preening

Elephant in Four Parts

Zoo

My youngest child and I visited the zoo on Sunday. Here are a few photos to start with, two typical shots and one not so typical. More will inevitably follow as I find time to work on them. This reflection was in the seal pool. A yellow feed bucket was standing near the edge of the pool, lending a nice color to the water.

Remember, as I told my son, the female lion does most of the hunting!

The true King of Beasts, tigers average about 250 pounds larger than lions.

Dog Park

I have long had a fascination with the intersection of Nature and Man. Here are a couple nice examples, taken at the dog park recently with the new camera.

More of the New Nikon

I took this out our bedroom window. I like the form of the moon echoed in the squirrels' nests in our neighbor's maple tree.

This is just silly, but what the heck!

New Camera, Domes Revisited

Hydrangeas. Such an impossible blue!

This is the outside of the tropical dome, seen in the reflecting pool outside the front door. Kinda windy day.

The new Nikon D90 has arrived and I am slogging up that learning curve, taking advantage of a few days before the next semester starts and I have loads of free time - NOT! But a solidly cloudy day yesterday was the perfect opportunity to join Dad at the Domes for a trial run. These two are my first to post from the new camera.

Whoo?

I had heard from friends that there was a pair of great horned owls nesting in the woods of the local dog park, so Mary took me out there yesterday and showed me where the tree is. The nest is really high up there and Mom and two babies were peeking out over the side down at us. Well, Mom was actually trying to sleep and one of the babies wouldn't look at us, but the middle one stared straight at us with his round yellow owley eyes. The babies are very downy looking and shaped kind of like cartoon penguins.

It was so nice outside yesterday and the sun was shining so the babies were pretty visible. I went back again today in much colder, grayer and windier weather and the babies were more huddled down below the brim of the nest. Mom (I am assuming it was Mom) was perched in a nearby tree, once again apparently trying to get some sleep as her eyes were closed tightly. These are some big, big birds. It's a real treat to get to see them and a good time of year as the trees haven't leafed out yet. I hope to go back at least a few more times before the trees fill in and/or those big fuzzy babies fledge.

More Ice

If you have to live up here in the sometimes gut-bustingly cold winters, at least you should get pretty stuff like this to look at every now and then.

Frank Lloyd Wrightly, I Don't Give a Damn

If you've ever read anything in this blog that references Frank Lloyd Wright, you will know that I don't like the guy and I don't appreciate his work, except maybe for those kinda nice stained glass window things. This photo is part of the lower roof section at the Greek Orthodox Church, one of Mr. Wright's designs here in town. I put it in Photoshop Elements and tried to make it look like it really did when I took the photo, but I have forgotten exactly what the light and colors really were. I just gave it two interpretations and am posting them here side by side. Who knows which is the truer representation? I'll have to go back.

Pike Lake

A beautiful day at Pike Lake State Park was a refreshing break and reminder that spring is only, what . . . another month or two away? It's snowing as I post this.

Canon A1000is

I love my Nikon D70, but I don't drag it everywhere with me and sometimes I wish I had something to stuff in my pocket that could take decent photos on the fly. Well, I finally went out and bought a Canon A1000is - one of those PowerShot things - with 10 megapixels and image stabilization, just so I could carry it with me everywhere. Here is the first image I worked up, taken while a passenger in someone else's car. This is the car audio and security shop near the corner of 60th and Center.

Reflections on pond near Mud Lake, Palatka, FL

Florida Non-Florida Photos

Palatka, Palatka, St. Augustine, respectively. These are the vacation shots I love, though they could have been taken any number of places. Corky kept asking, "Why are you shooting that?"