I See You

Stairway

Kayakers Have To Be Crazy....

I am fortunate enough to live only minutes from a beautiful lake and two different rivers.  I went out yesterday morning to the Nantahala River.  Now we are experiencing a bit of a cold snap, it was about 50 or so at my house and it's usually at least 10 degrees cooler in the Gorge.  The water?  Fricking cold!  "Nantahala" means "Land of the Noon Day Sun".  The only time the sun actually hits the water is at around Noon.  This means that even in the middle of the hot summer the water temp is only about 48 degrees.  Imagine how damn cold it was yesterday morning!  Did this keep people out of the water?  Nope.  Not the kayakers, hence my belief they all have to be a bit crazy.

here he comes starting down the "Falls"

the most popular spot for them

He's made it over

heading back in

ah yeah, the sweet spot

oh crap, where did he go?

 

there he is!

did you SEE that!

 

On Top Of Old Fence Post

  

Winter Beauty

We were cursed blessed with snow yesterday and when it does that I run out with camera in hand freezing my body parts off.  It just makes everything look so desolate and stark. 

This is a pic of an old oak that is across the street from us.  It has been used many a time for  pictures.   I think it might just be my Christmas card next year.

  

I fell In Love....Thanksgiving...

I went to my sisters for Thanksgiving this year.  Just me, no kids, no husband.  A much needed Mommy break.  I figure I wouldn't be eating any of that good food anyway so why torture myself and be there and watch everyone else.

 

I had a great time.  Mostly relaxing, watching some t.v., going to see Harry Potter, getting my new tattoo.... and falling in love with the cute, sweet, excited, drooling mess that is my sis's boxer puppy Bella.  She is eight months old and oh my goodness I could kiss that sweet smushed face all day.

 

I miss having a dog.  As our Molly was hit and killed last year I haven't been around all that many and I miss it alot.  We took to each other right away, it was mutual love and devotion.

 

    

School Shots 2010

It's that time of year again....the school has their "picture day" and you get uncomfortable, fake smile pics that they want to charge you an arm and a leg for.  NOT ME!!!

Last year I decided that I would take their pictures for "school portraits".  As I've gotten better using my wonderful camera I feel I do a better job anyway.  More natural, better background, and it gives me time to order them around when they sort of have to listen to me.....mostly anyway.

Off to Ferebee Park we went...and here are the results.

my first born....hard to believe he's 10 nowsuch a wonderful sensitive boyalways worrying about others  












my second and lastI always said God gave me a good baby firstcause the second would be Hell.Maybe not Hell, but he sure is a handfulso independent and stubbornbut I love him fiercely  












they make my days crazybut the love they giveis sooooo worth it 

Roadside Beauty

some of the flowers planted along the highways here in NC   

Fungi

Found these growing in the backyard last night.....apparently we missed them when we last mowed, or they grow really fast....

always found them facinating

Gathering For Winter

I came across this little guy gathering all he could from the fall flowers blooming in my MIL's yard.  I love to see such flowers amongst all the changing colors of the leaves.

Kayak In The Falls

One of the main forms of outdoor adventure in my neck of the woods is kayaking the Nantahala River.  It is not the most challenging river in the area, but is very popular.  It's a class "3" which is how they rate the rapids.  Below is, I believe, the only "3" on the whole river.  It's located just up from the Nantahala Outdoor Center and is a popular spot for pics.  I caught this guy late one afternoon after everyone else it seems was done.

 

 

    

Crepe Myrtle

One of my favorite things about Summer is the blooming of the Crepe Myrtle trees.  They come in such a variety of shades, from white to deep purple.  They grow quite easily here in NC and I have the pleasure of seeing all the many colors along my drives in the area.  My DH's grandma's place only has this one, a pretty pink, and I love to get shots of the little buds before blooming, during and after. 

 

I've thought of stopping along my drive to take a few of the other colors but am not sure how strangers would feel to see me trekking through their yards....I do live in the country after all....

 

 

 

Lasting

I finally figured out how to apply textures....I'm a little behind the times ya know.
The first pic is just a B/W conversion
The second has a texture added.

Photoshoot...thoughts?

I am lucky enough to have a friend and client who let me take pics of her beautiful baby girl yesterday.  She is almost 5 months old and I just want to eat her up.

 

It's my first time taking pics of a child not my own and it was a rainy afternoon so we stayed inside.  I don't like to take shots using a flash so I had to up the iso in order to get the right exposure.

 

I hope to be able to do it again when she's sitting on her own and walking around.

Here are a few shots...please let me know what you think, or what I could do to improve.

   

Skeleton

It appears I am still adjusting to the country life....I came across this last night and had no idea what the heck it was so I called in my resident expert....my hubby.

I wasn't sure if it was alive or what...come to find out it's the skeleton of a "jar fly"...cicada...or what ever they call them around here.

 I found it facinating that it was in such perfect condition...how the heck did the bug get out of that thing?  As apparently it's not really a "skeleton" but a shell....amazing.

Of course my ever curious Wy just had to check it out...

Am I Crazy or What?!

I was out taking pics at the in-laws and on the way down the mountain I decided to grab some shots of the bees that are nice enough to supply us in honey every year.

They are brought over by a guy we of course call "The Bee Man".  He brings them every year for a few months of the flowering season and then is nice enough to give us some of the wonderful amber gold.

As it happens I'm not frightened of bees.  I figure if I leave them alone, they'll leave me alone.  I just calmly walked up and took the pics.  It probably helped that is was close to bed time for the little critters.  I'm happy to say I came out sting free...

Sunflowers

I've been pretty lax lately in my photography.  I've been a little overwhelmed with all the preparations for surgery, along with trying to keep two boys from killing one another over the summer...Today I decided to change that.

There is a little family garden along the side of the road that I've been passing on my way to and from work and I've wanted to stop.  Today I made a special trip.

They always have a bunch of different sunflowers and for some reason they just make me happy.  I braved the bees, of which there were lots, and walked among the giant stalks.

I took more than is posted here so if you want to see the rest just click on a pic and it will take you to my Flickr page.....have a great day!

   

Comparison...

I took this after a rainy morninglittle drops of waterclinging to the tree. Which one do you like better? the first was edited using "Sunkissed"the second I just adjusted the lighting    

Foxglove

I haven't been able to post pics lately as I have been having trouble accessing my Flickr account.  I have finally managed to get it straightened out and was out clicking away yesterday.  I found these beautiful foxgloves blooming at my MIL's place.