Identy Crisis

There is a chipmunk that has been hanging around thebackyard birdfeeder for a week or two. I was watching him today & found him to be a bit confused. First I looked out & he was scooting around on top of the bird feeder, he moved on to the tray & the goodies, & then finally he perched at the top of the metal post for the other birdfeeder. This kinda makes me wonder how these little guys climb, I always thought kinda like a cat with claws, but apparently not. He didn't sink claws into that metal post or the roof of the feeder where he slid around like he was on ice.

I got a good chuckle & a couple of shots, but was not quick enough to capture him on the metal post.

New Camera - Digital SLR

After stating many times that I did not want a digital SLR because I was quite happy with the results of my Fuji's & SLRs are too much work, I am eating my words! A couple weeks ago I ran into a Canon XT at a very good price & made the jump. Since that time I have been learning & practicing - nothing is safe from being captured by me & my Canon! I can manage the kit lens fairly well, but missed the far reach of the 18x zoom on the Fuji. So, I found a 75-300 refurbished Canon lens I could afford. It does not have image stabilization & makes the camera a bit heavy for me to keep still, so my next move will be to use a tripod. Taking some bird feeder shots I supported it with a table top tripod & those shots are very nice. What did I do with the Fuji's? Bought a bigger camera bag so I can have everything!! Here are a few of my practice shots.

Mady bowling. I think this one will be good for blackmail in a few years!!

Gold finch guarding the feeder

Love that motor drive.

Mountains on a cloudy day. Taken from the overlook on Tuscuora mountain.

Swans

A friend had mentioned to me that there were swan on the lake at City Park in Hagerstown Maryland. Since I am a country girl, swans are birds that I don't see often........ I can remember visiting my Grandmom, who lived in the city, walking down over the hill to the park to play on the swings & watch the graceful swan in the stream. Somehow, they seemed so magical floating by. So, hearing about swans nearby had me heading in that direction. I noticed several on the little island, but just one on the lake. Soon it was joined by another - thankfully there were plenty of geese & ducks to keep the Fuji occupied while we waited for them to come our way. I was not disappointed, they came quite near & posed for lots of shots. As an adult (I hope it's OK to admit) they hold the same appeal. Beautiful, graceful, magical. Princess material all the way!

I am posting a couple of the shots post-processed in PSE to be used in card making. One of the card fronts I worked up is the swan image posterized (black outline)narrowly framed with pink & blue softly flowered cardstock highlighted with gold glitter curly-ques, then framed again in blue. A magical swan for sure!

Ducks & Scenery

A couple more shots from last weekend's journey. The ducks were taken in Roaring Springs PA on the spring. There were several kinds of ducks, but I loved the colors on this one. As you can see it's snowing.

Supper time! I wonder if this is how the 10 of us looked to my Mom when she said those magic words.

Snowy scene in Elk County. I didn't add the blue tint, it came from the camera that way. Cold!

Railroad bridge seen on our travels, tinted sephia.

More from our Trip

I couldn't help noticing these plump buds in contrast to the snow on the ground. A promise that spring is coming!

There are many hunting camps, cabins, & summer homes in this area of Pennsylvania. While I love the idea of being across the river relaxing away from the crowd, I would seriously need to consider using a swinging bridge to get there! We seen quite a few of the foot bridges along the way. This one had a seperate line & carrier for your supplies. Notice it has solar lights for night time travel.

One way to brighten your trip to the outhouse!

Take notice in this shot & the one from my last post how the elk don't mind sharing with people, especially if you share your garden, your crops, your shrubbery, & your flowers with them. The only large bull we seen was in the little town of Benzette quite close to houses. We have often seen elk browsing in front yards, back yards, under apple trees, or even resting in a yard. I can't forget one of my early trips to the area. We rented a room in a boarding house in Benzette, did some traveling around in the evening then returned to our room. A huge bull elk had bedded down between the car & the house! How exciting to walk cautiously past! Should you decide to visit this beautiful area & take a peek at these magnificent animals, please remember, even thought some elk will allow one to walk up & sometimes even take an offered apple - DON'T DO IT!! They are wild animals & can cause significant injury. It saddens me to think an elk could be destroyed because it injured someone that did not respect it's space.

Pennsylvania Wilds

I have taken a break from blogging for a little while trying my hand at something new. I decided to try making greeting cards using my pictures & with stamping. The hardest part seems to be cutting everything straight! Anyhow, Andy & I made a trip to Elk County in northern PA to see the elk & photograph anything that would stand still. Falling snow made it quite interesting - my elk are spotted! I really don't care if I shoot cow or bull elk, they are all magnificent animals, but one could not help noticing the lack of males. There were quite a few elk to photograph, but only one decent sized bull. This is compared to several years ago, before the PA Game Commission decided to allow a hunting season, when the proud bulls were everywhere. I plan to share shots of the elk & the surrounding area (although I don't have my favorites post-processed yet). Then move on to the ride home & a stop to capture ducks on the pond in Roaring Springs

Birthday Boy

Levi turned "2" today. We celebrated with a "Cars" party at his house. Hard to imagine 2 years ago he weighted in at 3lb 6oz.


He really enjoyed his cake & sneaking a car in once in a while made it better. We were afraid the pink would stay on him! Happy Birthday, little one.