An Awesome View of Life

  Learning curve...   Practice makes perfect?  This photo is me attempting to learn more about my camera.  It has all of these wonderful settings, most of which still mean nothing to me.  It took about 20 shots to get a handful of clear photos.  What I love about this photo is the reflection of the ring, especially the gold from the inside of the ring.  Also the red at the very top which was a blanket on a chair a few feet away.

  Waiting for spring...   Spring can not get here soon enough.  I am so ready to flip these chairs right side up and sit in the sunshine.  Once again I was drawn to the shadows created by the chairs and the tree. 

  A wedding gift...   In February 1926 my grandparents Carl Albert Engel and Mabel Florence Winters were married.  This was one of their wedding gifts.  There is a large bowl with five of these matching smaller bowls. This is my most beloved item in my antique glassware collection.

  Snow and shadows...   As I continue to do this 365Project I am finding I see light and shadows everywhere. I knew this was going to be my favorite even before I took the photo.  ha!

  Edible color...   Homemade jellies and jams in all kinds of colors and jars and flavors.  Grandma Jeanie, my sister Tammy Jo's mother-in-law, brought these for us.  They visited us about a month ago and all we had were store bought jams for our morning toast.  We are so glad Jeanie thinks homemade jellies are a must have for every household. Just so you know, the flavors include strawberry, choke cherry, black plum and peach.  I think there was another one but I can't remember what it was.  But the two we sampled this morning were delicious.

The end of a career... This is my nephew Michael - better known as Trigger Mike.  Tonight was the last game of his college basketball career.  I chose a picture of him for today's blog post so I could tell him how very proud I am of him.  He is the most wonderful young man.  Through an adverse situation this season, he handled himself with grace and dignity. Michael - I love you much!

  Tools of the Family Historian...   Researching my family ancestry has been a passion of mine for the last year or so.  Today, I used the snowy weather as an excuse to do a little research.  Oh wait, I don't need ANY kind of excuse to do family research. And I do some kind of research EVERY day. Each family I am researching has it's own notebook and now 3 ring binder.  Earlier this week I learned to read an old German script called Kurrent that has been used to keep records in Germany since the 1500's. By learning this I was able to decipher my great-great grandmother's maiden name on my great grandmother's  baptismal record.  She has been a total mystery for me.  I'm hoping this information helps me to find more information on her. I can trace my Dad's mother's family in Germany back to the late 1600's though.  If this job paid a little better, I'd gladly make it my full time profession.

  Visiting redhead...   This beauty likes to eat out of our bird feeder.  He has to hang on for dear life because it is a smaller feeder.  His visits always annoy all of the little birds.  They sit in the tree above - squacking and chirping, ready to move in once the redhead moves on.

  My better half...   Photos of myself are not my favortie kind of photo BUT I promised I would take a self protrait every month of this project.  Cropping this was the highlight of the whole project. This was close to the first cropped version and then I cropped out this half of my face to show the other half and really hated it.  I didn't realize how different each half of a face could be.

  A little more of the tropics...   Yesterday's trip to the Como Zoo and Conservatory produced an abundance of awesome photos. (If I may say so myself).  Today's wind and cold temperatures kept me inside working hard.  I truly feel it is a waste to not share all of the great photos I take. 

    A jungle of green and light...   Today was spent at the Como Zoo and Conservatory . The greens and the light captured the tropical environment.  A great escape from the blah winter weather outside.

  Out of focus or maybe not...   The focal point on this photo was suppose to be the rocks.  When I uploaded this photo and saw the bush in the foreground was in focus instead of the rocks I was thrilled with the look.  This is one of my favorite photos.

  Passion and dedication...   This is Nick, my neighbor.  When I first started my 365Project I asked Nick if I could come and photograph him at Lyke's Boxing Gym .  We had hoped he was going to get a chance to spar but his sparing partner was a no-show.  But I did get some great training shots.  From the beginning I've wanted this project to include things that I am passionate about.  Boxing is near the top of my list.     

  A little...   A look at tonight's cardio session. Here I am on my Tony Little Gazelle listening to a little Cat Stevens "Foreigner".  Now for a glass of wine.  :-)

  Cotton? Soap suds? Oh wait more snow...   Cold and windy out there today.  Really need to find some indoor shots for the next few days.  Maybe another outdoor field trip tomorrow but Saturday's shoot is planned for indoors.  But so glad to have some sunshine and clear skies.

  Little house on the river...   We caught the last of the sunlight before another round of snow hits us. I loved this lone ice house with its footprints leading out to it.   

  A Little Sunshine on the River...   Life is getting a little more hectic now that business is picking up for the year.  These little "field trips" to take photos is such a nice stress reliever.  But having to pick just ONE photo for the day may cancel that out. ha! Once again the Mighty Mississippi called my name.  Living close to the river may have something to do with it as well.  It will probably be my "go to" place to take photos.  I may have to find out just how many photos I can take along the Mississippi River.    

  This is it...   Today's photo was chosen because it was the one with the most color and it had the best smell!  Dinner tonight made me wish we could have dinner at our favorite restaurant, Rice - Thai Fusion in Boynton Beach, FL.  They make this dish almost as good as I do.  Beef Stir Fry with carmelized onions and bell peppers.  The special ingredient basil makes this to die for.

  Archway to a Winter Wonderland...   Today Minnesota has gotten a little rain followed by sleet and then it started to snow.  Big wet flakes.  The perfect kind of snow to head out for a walk in.  ha!  I had a tough time deciding whether to just leave the color alone on this photo or change it to black and white.  There was such a subtle difference color wise but the black and white version had so much more depth. Neither version showed exactly how hard it was snowing though. 

(click to enlarge)   Up, up and away...   This was taken on Lake Minnetonka with "Kite Island" in the background.  I wish there had been some sunshine for this photo but another snowstorm is headed our way so once again I have kiting pictures with a gloomy sky.  One of these weekends I will get a few sunny shots.  Maybe...    

  Whimsy at play...   Artist Bridget Beck created this whimsical playground at the Franconia Sculpture Garden in Franconia, MN.  We finally had a sunny day and this just fit the day perfectly.  I love the birdhouses and all of the colors set against the blue sky.  This would be my dream creative outlet -- metal/wood sculptures.  I need to get one of those barns I love so much.   You can find out more about the Franconia Sculpture Garden at franconia.org.

  Light in the darkness...   The lights inside and out drew me to this building.  I didn't have a tripod with me so did my best to hold my camera still until the shutter closed again.  It actually turned out better than I thought it would. More than just about anything I love LIGHT.   This is the old Anoka, Mn Post Office built in 1916.  It is now home to several unique shops and a tea room. 

The Final Chapter...   This photo finishes the story from Prospect Park.  This is the Witch's view of the Minneapolis skyline.  That is if she could see through her toes. ha!  The tower observation deck is open annually as part of the Pratt Ice Cream Social - the first Friday evening after Memorial Day.  

  ...the continuing saga.   This was my favorite view of the Witch's Hat.  From this viewpoint she has eyes, a nose and a mouth.  She is a little more wicked looking from this angle.  I had promised myself when I started this that I would take photos EVERY day but this one was too good not to share.  And I've also realized that some days I will be too busy to take a field trip for photography.  And some days I take more than one awesome photo which makes it necessary to use photos from other days. 

The Witch's Hat... Stumbled across this quite by mistake today.  It took a little bit of four wheel driving to get up to the top of the hill due to MORE fresh snow overnight.  After a slippery walk up a bunch of steps and a snowy hill there was the most fabulous view of the beautiful city of Minneapolis.  This landmark is known as the "Witch's Hat".  This water tower was built in 1913 and sits in Prospect Park which is the highest natural spot in the city. With the lamp post in the foreground doesn't this remind you of Narnia -- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? 

  More than a pair of pears...   Another photo inspiration while grocery shopping.  I didn't have my camera with this morning so I bought a few of these Forelle pears. So glad I took a photo at home in the sunshine.  Great light, color and shadows.   This is what I found out about these little pears. "For what they lack in size, Forelle pears make up in sweet flavor and beautiful appearance. Known as a great snacking pear."   So today, I got a great photo, a snack and hopefully taught anyone who reads this blog something new. 

  A Flash in the Dark...     It is snowing once again.  This has been a photo op that I've wanted to do since starting my 365Project.  Tonight the conditions were perfect.  A tad warmer, snowing and skaters on the ice.  I took about 10 photos out there tonight, this was the first one.  By accident my flash was on but the effect was pretty cool.  

  Snow, light, shadow...     After what seems like months of bitter cold weather we had a minor warm up tonight.  It went from 12 below zero this morning to 8 degrees above zero at dinner time.  With this slight warm up it started to snow -- pretty, big, fluffy snow flakes.  I love all the shadows being created by the spotlight and the way the snow glitters. And yes I do know that the months of bitter cold was actually only a few days.