Coneflower Ranch

Winter Weeds

2012-02-13T10:48:00.001-05:00

There is still beauty in my garden, even in the middle of winter...

Loving the Chasing Dreams color palette boards!

Like them on Facebook and get them for free!

Another blog!

2012-02-12T20:29:00.000-05:00

As if I can keep on top of updating this blog, I've started another one with my dear friend and fellow photography addict, Jackie!

I took this photo of Jackie and her husband Kevin when we went to Philly to shoot the Chinese New Year Dragon Parade which I wrote about on our RHOCC blog.

We hope to have some fun posting our thoughts on situations, our lives, and sharing our photos.

Here's the link:

Real Housewives of Chester County

Please stop by for a visit and become a follower, we'd love to get some feedback!

More Painting With Light

2012-02-02T17:33:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun experimenting with the painting with light technique (HERE) that I had to try it again. It is recommended to start small before moving outdoors to large scenes.

Getting the light just where you want it, and not where you don't, takes a lot of experimentation with light source, camera settings and subjects.

Today I thought I'd grab a couple pair of boots and some vintage objects. Here are some of the results:

I shot the vintage bottles with an antique minnow cage. One of the coolest things I've ever found at a yard sale, btw. It's perfect for burning a jar candle in when it's standing on end.

Linking up with You Capture/Still Life.

My little Valentines...

2012-01-31T23:22:00.000-05:00

...they are not so little anymore, well, except for the four-legged one. Time, it goes so fast. It seemed like the toddler, preschool and elementary years would never end. Once they hit middle school it went on fast forward and now, my youngest is graduating high school in June. *sigh*

Beauty in the simple things

2012-01-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

Some people might rush outside with their camera on a beautiful sunny day..

Me? No. Unless it's early in the morning or late in the afternoon, give me snow, fog or clouds and I'm a happy camper.

Today was a glorious day...

It's the simple things, for sure.

In an unrelated note: While out taking photos I discovered that something has clawed its way into our shed.

Needless to say I did not open it to find out what it was. I think I'll leave that privilege to Tony or Kyle. That's me, always putting others first.

She knows...

2012-01-21T16:42:00.000-05:00

I'm convinced that Joy is well aware of her cuteness factor. She's the only dog I have that will actually pose for long periods of time, making sure I get her good side, probably.

While the other two were running around the yard willy-nilly, I was able to take these shots without even prompting her.

These were taken with my Tokina 100mm 2.8 macro lens. I took it out to try and take a few macro shots in the lovely snow we got this morning. I wasn't successful there but I did get these great ones of Joy. I keep forgetting what an awesome portrait lens this is as well. Blows my Nikon 60mm out of the water. Although these aren't SOOC they are lightly edited. The sharpness on the eyes was incredible.

T'was the Sunday before Christmas....

2012-01-13T14:43:00.002-05:00

The week before Christmas, well, let's just say it was eventful and a big lesson on perspective. My biggest worry was whether I would have enough gifts for the kids for Christmas and if my house would be presentable enough to host Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners.

That all changed early before Christmas when our little Caligirl came in from her morning business and urinated pure blood on our kitchen floor.

We immediately dialed our vet who called us back within minutes and thought she may have a UTI. The doctor said we could wait and bring her in on Monday or take her to one of the local emergency vets. For us there really wasn't a question, we would take her right away, not only was the amount of blood alarming but Cali was lethargic and in pain, the cost of ER care was the least of our worries.

Thank goodness we trusted our instincts.

Cali's red blood count was at 15%, in the fatal range and x-rays showed that she had what looked like coins in her tummy. Because of these findings the doctor was presuming that at least one of the coins was a penny that was minted AFTER 1983 which are made with zinc. When ingested and not expelled, the zinc absorbs into the system causing acute zinc toxicity. The things you learn in these types of situations are amazing.

Cali was essentially bleeding to death and if we had waited until the next day we would have lost her, and at the time the doctor told us there was a chance we still could. After a blood transfusion (and lots of tears) Cali was stable enough for us to transfer her to a facility that had the tools needed to perform an endoscopy to remove the coins.

She had to remain in the hospital for 4 days, lots of follow-up tests and another blood transfusion, and visits from us, but we had her home for Christmas; very thankful that it was a positive outcome. We sat in the hospital waiting room with other owners that were not as fortunate and having been in that exact situation before-in this very place, all I could think of to do was console and hug a stranger. It really is like losing a family member to many of us, and the hurt feels just as strong.

I’m happy to report that she is doing fine just three weeks after the fact. Our bank account, not so much, but hey, what are you gonna do? Like I said it wasn’t even a question of whether to save her or not. We were responsible for the pennies being on the floor, not Cali, and we know what a chewer and archeologist she is so we should have known better and so we pay the price.

We are also watching her like a hawk these days; the poor thing can’t get away with diddly although she's living the life that every rescue dog deserves right now.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and don’t forget to hug your pet(s); that is unless your pet is a hedgehog, tarantula, scorpion or anything in the viper category; in that case a virtual hug will do. Amen.

Life is...

2012-01-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

Because it's been one of those ~~days~~ ~~weeks~~ years (already?), I just had to remind myself...

Take it away, George Gershwin!

People are queer, they're always crowing, scrambling and rushing about;
Why don't they stop someday, address themselves this way?
Why are we here? Where are we going? It's time that we found out.
We're not here to stay; we're on a short holiday.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; life's so mysterious.
You work, you save, you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.
So keep repeating it's the berries,
The strongest oak must fall,
The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned
So how can you lose what you've never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.

Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
At eight each morning I have got a date,
To take my plunge 'round the Empire State.
You'll admit it's not the berries,
In a building that's so tall;
There's a guy in the show, the girls love to kiss;
Get thousands a week just for crooning like this:
Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!
So live and laugh at it all!

Painting with light

2012-01-09T17:56:00.001-05:00

I'm still here!

I will be getting more consistant with my blog posts, I promise, but it's been one thing after the other here and something had to give. More on those things later.

I learned about a photography technique called painting with light and it's intrigued me to no end.

This is my first attempt that I tried today:

manual mode

aperaturef/8

exposure 30sec

ISO 400

I also turned on long exposure noise reduction.

Actually quite pleased with my first try.

Time it goes so fast...

2011-12-14T22:49:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been 12 days since my last blog post. So much is going on in our lives right now but it's so hard to get it organized enough to get it from my head to my keyboard. I'm not in the least prepared for the holidays gift and house preparing-wise. At least it looks complete from the outside!

We did get to do our annual holiday visit to Longwood Gardens. Love love their light displays!

Here's just a taste of what they had to offer...

Greetings from Longwood Gardens! It's me and Kyle in the hanging ornament!

The yum, yum tree!

Classic Longwood

I think the next one is my favorite of the night...

The sky was beautiful that night, the lanterns set the mood, and the blue Christmas Tree bokeh was lovely.

Linking up with Holiday Bokeh Party 2

Always Remember

2011-12-02T22:14:00.001-05:00

I've spent this past week with my sister on a little road trip/visit.

I head home early tomorrow morning, but have had a wonderful time visiting her Brooklyn neighborhood, getting plenty of subway experience, my first rainy Manhattan day with a broken umbrella, fabulous restaurants and a visit the the World Trade Center Memorial Site.

The Freedom Tower is really coming along! It's the first thing you see when you approach the site, obviously because of it's size. I really didn't know what to expect to see or to feel when visiting. I guess what struck me first is how very small the area is in which the two towers stood. The other is how very peaceful the whole experience felt. You come through all the hectic pace of Manhattan to this place where things are much slower, softer. We spent time walking around the fountain surrounded by the names of the victims, engraved in the border.

So many names. Seeing them in person was different than just hearing the names read.

We took our time, walking the perimeter, reading the names, and then, you come upon a name you know.

You touch the letters, and remember the last time you saw them. My last memory was seeing him playing with his children and mine in a field during my sister's wedding reception.

There are thousands of similar stories like that all over this border. Thanks to the Memorial Site, we will never forget.

The Beauty of Saratoga

2011-11-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

I'm on a little getaway with my sister for the week. Our first stop is Saratoga Springs, NY.

I took these photos this morning at the Saratoga Spa State Park.

It was a very frosty morning...

It's amazing how the minerals built up around the mineral spring water spout.

Next stop, NYC for the rest of the week.

This country mouse will be navigating the subway for the first time, alone.

Wish me luck!

Thankful

2011-11-23T12:41:00.001-05:00

There's so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

My daughter made it home safe and sound last night. Thank you, US Airways!

My son is happy in school and doing well and an all-around great kid.

My sister will be joining us for Thanksgiving dinner as well as my brother and sister-in-law.

And I'm also thankful that Tony doesn't always get to the chores that he has planned to do. Case in point, painting the shed.

My photo of our shed placed first in last night's camera club photo competition. I don't think it would have had the same impact without the texture of the worn paint. And with that, I'm off to make the stuffing!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The Sky's on Fire

2011-11-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about fall are the amazing sunsets and sometimes sunrise as well. I took this on Monday up at our pool shed.

It was definitely one to remember. Took my breath away.

Welcome to Snowtober

2011-10-30T12:15:00.001-04:00

Thanks winter for coming around for Trick or Treat, NOT! The whole "snow in October" sounded pretty and harmless, boy, was I wrong...

Even the insects felt the impending doom...

Miss Mantis here was channeling my emotions last night with the tree limbs cracking off the tree next to our house, and bedroom window, I chose to sleep in the safety of the living room sleeper sofa.

I have to admit, it did start out looking pretty...

It's all fun and games until the limbs start snapping off the trees, though.

Two positive things I learned about the whole experience:

1. It pays to own your own candle company during an extended power outage.

2. Snow makes an excellent natural reflector for portraits. Amen.

The Beauty in Our Backyard

2011-10-27T20:17:00.000-04:00

Chester County is beautiful at any time of year. Each season has its own special magic it brings to the table, but if I was forced to choose a favorite, fall would come in first, at least when the leaves are at their peak of color.

Jackie and I took a ride to Marsh Creek in Glenmoore on Tuesday afternoon. I'm ashamed to say that I'd never been there, at least not this part of the park.

I took these pictures looking out off a bridge on Milford Rd. (I think) Jackie can correct me if I'm wrong, and despite the reports of lack of fall color this year, I think these turned out quite stunning. I still can't believe that snow is predicted for Saturday...SNOW! Snow on October 29! It's a world gone mad! But I digress...

We were able to stay just until sunset over the lake.

After all, we had a camera club meeting to get to that night, and grabbed a quick bite beforehand. It was October photo competition night at the photo club and both Jackie and I had entered.

Guess who was the big winn-aah in the Open Digital Color catagory?

FIRST PLACE goes to Ms. Jackie Brady of course for this picture titled "Sedona Sunrise"! So pround of my friend!!!

Macro Friday

2011-10-14T14:21:00.000-04:00

It's an intermittently stormy day today. In between bouts of storms I was able to get out with my macro lens.

I like that I can see the threatening sky in the water droplet on my coral honeysuckle plant.

"Help me, I'm molting!"

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

I'm lucky to have captured what I believe to be a milkweed bug molting.

It feels good to get out with the macro lens again and considering the wind today, I don't think they turned out half bad!

A Smoky Mountain Wedding

2011-10-12T16:54:00.004-04:00

I attended the wedding of my cousin Cassie to her wonderful husband, Ben that took place in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

This was the view out of our bedroom window of the cabin just as the sun was coming up over the Smokies. Shot at f/16 with my tripod, and yes, these were the colors in the sky, amazing.

A beautiful setting for such a lovely couple. May they have years of unending happiness.

My first photo competition

2011-10-01T12:05:00.002-04:00

My dear friend Jackie and I joined our county's camera club last month. We're the newbies and it's interesting to see the dynamics in a group that's been together for quite a long time. All the members we have met have been warm, helpful and welcoming.

Every month there is a photo competition with a theme and open catagories, usually judged by an independent photographer. Scoring is between 0-27.

I submitted these photos which I have posted previously on my blog:

Wybrook Barn

Assigned Catagory: Architecture

Score: 22

Busted!

Catagory: Open color

Score: 19

Trees in the Mist

Catagory: Open Monochrome

Score: 24

This one placed second! I was so excited because I was tied for first with one other member and the judge kept flipping back and forth to decide the tie. She asked if we could just tie for first but the rules don't allow for that so she decided on second, but still, I'm shocked to place on my first contest. Squeeeeee!

When Mother Nature gives you lemons...

2011-09-23T10:00:00.005-04:00

I was hoping to get outside to take some photos today, unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. Heavy fog blanketed out county this morning preceding the heavy rain that will move in later. Yuck.

My hopes faded. I even had my camera in hand. Something about the light coming through my living room window caught my eye and when I walked in and looked through I saw this:

I'm linking the photo above to Favorite Photo of the Week

My title for these two is "Lemonade".

I desaturated and adjusted hue/satuturation in both. I think these are in the running for my favorites of the month.

Linking up with This and That Thursday

Attack of the Orb Weavers

2011-09-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

Last fall we didn't have one orb weaving spider near the house.

We had plenty of stink bugs though, ew.

But this year is different, we have four!

And, AND, I've caught them munching on stink bugs, YES!

The balance has been restored. I'm happy,

at least until I forget where they are and walk through their web.

Beautiful Morning

2011-09-12T09:10:00.000-04:00

We had quite a rockin' storm last night with heavy rain and hail. Our reward came this morning with cooler temps, lower humidity and sunshine. I woke up early and took my camera outside. It's mornings like this that remind me why fall is my favorite season.

Macro Photography Tip

2011-08-30T10:15:00.001-04:00

If you've visited my blog for any length of time you have probably noticed my ~~addiction~~ love of macro photography, mainly creepy crawlies, bugs, insects etc...

I've gotten a few questions about how I get some shots. Funny, but I never thought to post advice about that, mainly because I'm constantly learning and trying to improve, then I realized, isn't that what we all do? It's good to share, learn and try new things that maybe we hadn't thought of before. I've learned techniques from experts but many things were learned from different bloggers and community message boards that I come across from time to time, usually by googling the question and searching the results.

The above pictures I shot this morning, around 7 AM, in my garden. My first macro lens was the Nikon 60mm but these were taken with a Tokina 100mm 2.8, which works beautifully with my d700.

Insects like the ones in the pictures are sometimes difficult to get a sharp photo of because of their quick movement. Try heading out early on a cool morning. Many of these insects are still "sleeping" on the flower they were collecting pollen from when the sun went down. I was lucky enough to find these two on my mint plant. My tripod came in handy to balance on, but I didn't have it set up traditionally on all three legs. Another trick I learned was using my exposure delay mode (in custom setting menu/shooting display in my d700). It helps with camera shake when using a tripod, or not. I don't have a remote camera release, but if you do, macro is an excellent time to use it with your camera mounted on your tripod. It's amazing how little camera shake can blur your shot. Another simple thing I tried was using my timer delay with my camera mounted on the tripod. Mine is set to five seconds.

So there it is, clear as mud? haha. Happy shooting and if you happen to stop by, please leave a comment and a link to your macro photos, I'd love to see them!

All is right in our world

2011-08-28T23:02:00.000-04:00

Irene is now a not so fond memory for us although so many still are without power in our area and school (the first day) is closed tomorrow. At least the frogs in our pond were not phased by the whole thing, if fact, they seemed rather pleased.

The Calm Before the Storm

2011-08-26T13:59:00.001-04:00

"Red sky at night,

sailor's delight,

Red sky at morning,

sailor's warning."

Have you heard that saying before? It reminded me of the picture I took at sunset last night.

It's a beautiful (hot) sunny day in eastern Pennsylvania today, so I guess it holds true. And if it is true, tomorrow's sunrise should be a doozie. We're expecting to experience the effects of hurricane Irene by midday tomorrow. We decided to throw caution to the wind (get it?) and not bother to take down the canvas of our deck canopy. It's managed through the spring and summer storms so we're hoping for the best, plus it's one dang pain in the bum to remove and put back up. We did however tie back the screening and that required a little spider relocation mission of which I took no part. Here's a picture of the gal that I took a few days ago while she was eating her lunch. We'll just call her Charlotte:

Isn't she just precious? Or is that voracious?

All spider relocation aside we're more concerned about the basement water situation. The last disaster was hurrican Floyd and when the power went out, the sump pump stopped working. No battery backup= major basement clean-up. That's nothing though compared to what my parents may have to deal with in North Carolina. They live in the direct path of the eye and have left their mobile home to stay with friends at their house, which ironically, live closer to the water.

Hoping for the best! Stay safe if you are in the path of this storm.