An Awesome View of Life

An old favorite I've been a bit under the weather ALL week.  Not sure what it is but I've been taking it easy.  I still wanted to post a photos but just don't have the energy to find something to photograph. This one was taken last September and is one of my more favorite photos.

Two of... my favorite things.  Books and family photos. So very, very creative but time seems to get away from me.  And without any sunshine I have no drive to go anywhere to take pictures.

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? 

  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.  

  You can run but you can't hide...   Didn't we all love this game?  I'm not sure what made me decide to use Mouse Trap for my photo shoot today.  It was just too cold to head out today to find anything to take photos of and I was just so very tired of all of the other non-creative things I had been using.  I hope this brightens someone's day just a little. 

  The Blue Barn...   Oh how I love barns!  Some of my favorite memories are connected with my grandparent's  barn. And I would love to own a property with a barn more than anything. This one would make the best workshop for my hubby's woodworking.  There could be a corner for me to learn to weld.  And maybe there would even be enough space for my current business.  If you enlarge this photo there is a little blue tricycle, a birdhouse, a bucket of tools, snow shovel, watering can, window and a chair. This little hobby farm is for sale but I couldn't tell you a thing about the house or the rest of the property because I was so enamored with this little blue barn.

    Boys will be boys...   Today was once again a dark, gloomy day here in Minnesota.  When there isn't any sunshine there is also no color to our landscape.  Even the pine trees lose their deep green color and look brown and blah.  Wanting to take outdoor photos while the weather was warmer we went in search of outdoor color.  Maybe in a building or ?? The first stop was at a local theater that has this beautiful, bright colored mural on the side of the building.  But outdoor color was found in the most unexpected place.  In a park overlooking the Rum River there were dozens of ducks.  These brightly colored "boys" walked right up to the camera, quacking and asking for a little attention. 

  The Mighty Mississippi...   It was so fun to have more than photos of my backyard to choose from today.  But being on a photography field trip causes the dilemma of which photo to use for the day.  This photo was taken from the top of the Coon Rapids Dam. Again it would have been a prettier photo if we had some blue skies and sunshine but unfortunately I have no control over the weather.

Wishing for Spring...     The snowflakes were so huge today.  I know this isn't the most creative photo and I am getting tired of taking photos of my backyard but I truly hate going out in this kind of weather.  These flower pots are waiting for spring so they can be filled with bright, pretty flowers.  I'm also waiting for spring so I can work in my yard and see what new things will be growing. 

    SnowKiting... (click to enlarge)     Facebook was to blame for this photo today.  Lakawa, a company that teaches snowkiting in the winter and kiteboarding when there is less ice on the lakes posted a picture this afternoon.  They were out giving lessons and in the background of their picture was a building I thought I knew. I've been waiting for a chance to have a photo op of the snowkiters so hoped in my car and drove in the direction I thought they were.  When I got close I saw a kite pop up, exactly where I thought they would be. My camera's battery died after three photos but my trusty HTC One X's camera did the trick. A little sunshine would have made these much better photos but... 

(click to enlarge) It takes a village... This is another of my MANY collections.  For some reason I found my header caption totally funny.  I'm not sure why but I laughed for quite awhile about it.  I am always concerned that my whacked sense of humor will get in the way of a good photo. Or a good description of a good photo. When in reality it should enhance ANY photo I take and any story I tell.

  Wishing for...   While grabbing my shoes this morning I saw one of these flip flops. My mind was flooded with memories of the warmth of the sun and sand between my toes.  I'm hoping I captured a little of that in this photo. 

  Winter Drab or Bits of Color...   This photo was taken from my kitchen window.  I wasn't really afraid or avoiding going outside to take pictures today, even though it never made it above zero.  The window is just where I saw this scene.  I did go out briefly to take two photos, neither of which made me smile or go "hmmm..."  One of these criteria must be met in order for a photo to be used in my photo journal.    When I first looked at this photo I thought it was rather drab, which winter is here in Minnesota.  Or is it?  But when I flipped the picture to full screen I realized just how much color is in this photo.  Color is there if you look... (You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the colors for yourself.)

    An Apple a Day...   Well, today I had plans to go on an adventure.  Somewhere super creative and inside out of the wind.  But... So my photos were taken on a quick trip into Home Depot and the grocery store.  This is the last picture I took.  But once it was cropped it made me smile which is usually how I pick my photo of the day. 

Coming and Going...   Footprints in the light snow we got overnight (once again).  The UPS guy delivered early this morning and I thought his footprints would make a good photo.  I also think there are a couple of prints from the family smoker.

It's about time...       Various clocks around my house.  Oh and my hubby's watch.  Not creative??  Hmmm...  

This...     or this?   Another day of not going out and taking pictures so I had to improvise.  And yes I AM posting a picture of myself.  Well, actually TWO of them.  And yes they were strategically taken! ha! I couldn't decide which one I liked better.  I like the one with the flash in the mirror but also like the little pout in the second one.  And now that I've looked at these for awhile I find them to be a little more creative than at first glance or thought. 

One of Many...   My cute collection of mini sewing machines with one of my BIG machines.  I think the three of these little machines actually cost more than the real working machine.

  Crumbs and all...   This is one of my favorite seating areas in my house.  I love that while I am cooking dinner someone is always sitting here either helping or just keeping me company.  And I swear I had all the crumbs wiped off before I took this picture.  And its really strange no matter how hard I try to brush them away they just stay in the picture.  ha!           

Vacation Memories   Seashells and rocks in an antique bowl.  These are from our vacation to Del Ray Beach, FL in 2011. We have a jar full of sand and seashells in our bathroom aswell.  I also have two other baggies full of seashells.  Do I have a problem?  I don't think so, I just love the beaches of Florida and love to bring just a bit of each of them back with me.  ha!