Floral Play Today

Kobi's waiting at home while I have a "working" visit with my friend, Shirley. I'm sure he can't wait for me to return, thinking he'll get to go walking, but I don't think that's going to happen. Not sure yet.

Last night I had a creative spurt and sewed a new top ... first sewing project in over 15 years!!! And I was up until 4:30 in the morning. Some might say, why bother going to bed ... but I just can't do all-nighters anymore and keep going during the following day.

So on only four and a half hours sleep, I only played with pictures while Shirley wrote. She was very productive. I played.

mouseover to see before image

Texture thanks to Kim Klassen: phoebe

The picture above is a composite of three floral pictures. It makes for a funky virtual garden, me-thinks.

mouseover to see before image

Texture thanks to Kim Klassen: bestill

I had fun making the yellow daisy-like chrysanthemum pink with blending modes, a texture, and gradient.

The foundation for both images is the floral arrangement on the table at the Red Frog.

I hope Kobi will take me out for a walk tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day to all my mom-friends.

And one more ... just learned about Shadowhouse Creations splatter masks ... how cool!

Textures thanks to Kim Klassen: naturally, heartfelt
Splatter mask, thanks to Shadowhouse Creations

Tales from Kobi: The Flight of the Pelicans

Sometimes the week seems long. My mom goes off early in the morning for days in a row. She always pats my head before she leaves as she says, "I'll see you later ... be a good boy." And out she goes. I sleep and eat and drink my water. I watch the world go by from my chair beside the window. So, as you can imagine I'm anxious, and hopeful, when the weekend comes that Mom will take me for a walk.

She had lots of work to do yesterday and was gone most of the day, just like a her work days. When she got home she was really happy because she got a book project done she'd been working on for a long time.

I wondered if she would take me for one of those long walks we often take on weekends.

Yay! Today we went to Walden Ponds in Boulder.

We saw geese and goslings, ducks and other shore birds ...

... and on our way back she was a bit disappointed at not seeing much out of the ordinary... then there they were ... the American White Pelicans and oh my, did they give an extraordinary air show.

It made Mom so happy to see these graceful birds glide through the air as if dancing on the wind. They circled for quite some time and her camera clicked continuously capturing their movement in seconds. We sat watching. As they hovered over the water their reflections followed them.

The pelicans come by again, and again ... there were five of them flying in formation ... synchronized .... Notice the funny growths on the bills of a couple of them (the left-most two)? Look real close. They only have those during breeding season. It is shed after they lay their eggs.

Did you know pelicans can hold up to three gallons of water in their pouches? And their wing span is 8-9 feet! Wow, huge birds!!

I love to see my mom happy. And as she enjoys herself, I wait.
It was a fine day ...

Dreaming: Taking a Poll

Thank you all for your kind words about my transition with Walk and Click Wednesday. It was a fun ride and I'm glad you all joined me here. I have been remiss in commenting on your blogs and all your wonderful adventures, but trust me I have visited and enjoyed traveling the world vicariously. Please keep walking and clicking!

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I've been busy ...

Last night I uploaded my client book project files to Lightning Source! Yay ... this project is finished; my client should get his proof in the next 5-10 days; then I get my show and tell copies.

Homesteading the Soul: A Spiritual Apprenticeship with a Prairie Grandfather is a warm, expertly woven story of a young boy and his grandfather out on the eastern prairies of Colorado. I can't wait to announce that it is actually available for purchase. Terry Keepers has been a joy to work with and I'm delighted that I've been able to be part of his dream--publishing his life's work.

~~~~

Ok ... now on to what started this post ... dreaming about remodeling my kitchen! All manifestations begin with the dream. We know this. So I've collected a few sample chips that I liked and taped them to the edge of my counter so I can live with them for a bit. I'm struggling though with choosing just one. So I'm sharing with you, my peeps, and taking a poll. Let me know which one you like ... 1, 2, or 3.

I will probably be contracting the work sometime in the fall. In the meantime, it's good to have something to dream about.

Later today, I'll be taking myself out for an adventure to celebrate finishing my book project! Hopefully, I'll find something exciting to photograph.

Walk and Click Wednesday #34: Spring must be coming!

It's Walk and Click Wednesday! Hope you all have engaged in some new discoveries this week.

Important Announcement: This will be the last Walk and Click Wednesday. I'm so glad you all have joined me here.

I know some of you will be disappointed. For that I'm very sorry. But my hope is that you will continue to explore venues close to home as well as vistas farther away and share them on your blogs. I will love to come visit your there.

So for now, I am looking forward to posting my various interests here when I am inspired to do so and possibly pursue some other creative ideas. I hope you'll still visit me here as I will continue walking and clicking!

Since this is a bit of a finale, I've decided to open the post early and you can link up through Saturday at midnight.

We had a weekend free of snowy weather, but are now experiencing snow again. That's Spring in Colorado for you!

mouseover to see before image
Texture thanks to Kim Klassen: Autumnburst

At the end of the last snow (last Friday), I noticed this beautiful melting ice formation sparkling in the setting sun. Since I haven't done any texturing in a while I decided to do a before and after. Don't miss it.

Yesterday, I caught some great weather just before the end of the day. I decided to revisit some areas I've been before, but was delighted to find some new surprises ... first, a three-day-old lamb. I've never seen one with this coloring. Isn't he the sweetest? He bounded around his mama on his spindly legs. It was hard to get a picture in focus!

Before returning home, Kobi and I visited Sawhill Ponds to get our exercise. Lots of water fowl dunking for their dinner, red-winged blackbirds twittering, frogs croaking, and Canada geese and ducks gliding on the ponds' reflections.

Gotta love those Rocky Mountains and the solitude one can find not far from work and home.

And at the end of our stroll, we were rewarded with this interesting wood formation that looked like someone got spooked in the night!

I wish you all the best and hope you continue to enjoy all the benefits of walking and clicking: a little exercise; beautiful captures of nature, architecture, unusual sightings; and the power of observing the new and unusual.

I'll be visiting ... hoping to gain inspiration from what you see in your neighborhood.

Have a great week and find some time to walk and click. ;->

Walk and Click Wednesday #33: Pineridge Natural Area

It's time for Walk and Click Wednesday! So glad you've found your way back.

We've had some real weather changes around here over the past few days. Over the weekend when I took these pictures, it was really quite nice albeit rather windy. But I was able to get some really cool pictures and Kobi and I enjoyed our walk.

We went up north to Pineridge Natural Area just west of Ft. Collins, Colorado. I've discovered that there are lots of places to visit there, so I'll be back.

Regardless of the cloudy skies, Dixon Reservoir was enticing and the walking path around it inviting. That house on the hill could be my dream house with one exception ... it's waaay to big for me, but I love its placement on the hill overlooking the water.

Kobi met a few pups along the way including this four-month-old named Jackson. He was a mix and I can't remember the combo of breeds, but it was part Aussie. Isn't he just adorable?

This wood sculpture just called to me ... take my picture ... take my picture, so I did. I thought it looked a bit like the Blue Heron I caught later.

I was inspired by Bambi Cantrell's talk about placing things out of place on Kevin Kubota's Photographers Ignite site. Thanks to Julieanne Kost for bringing it to my attention!

So ... the result was taking a tiara I used for a Halloween costume years ago and imagining Kobi pining for his princess. ;-> He is just so patient with me as I make him model while click away.

I was so blessed to have noticed this Great Blue Heron ... first sighting was the image on the left. The others are cropped so as to see it better even though I did manage to get a bit closer. Can you see the Robin under the bush there? Amazing visual for scale of the incredible Heron. How I wish I'd had at least a 300mm zoom rather than my 200mm zoom.

Did you know? The Blue Heron is a carnivore. Its life span is 15 years. It stands 3.2 to 4.5 feet! Its wingspan is 5.5 to 6.6 feet! and it can cruise at 20-30 mph. Wow!

Pepper and his owner had stopped for their companions--Shadow and his rider. I love the detail of the hairs on his chinny chin chin ... and the bridle contrasts so beautifully with his black mane and white coat. I wonder if he is a kindly English gentleman.

Even though it was very windy, Kobi and I had a delightful walk capturing new scenes.

We got over 12" of snow yesterday, but the roads are melted off already. No snow days for this girl, but Kobi did have me running home from work today almost as soon as I arrived. My neighbor called saying my adventurous pup got out and had snow balls hanging on his fur. So I ran home, made sure Kobi was warm and safe, and placed a board where it appeared he got through the fence. Whew! Thank goodness for the kindness of my new neighbor!

~~~~~

I look forward to seeing you here for Walk and Click Wednesday. Can't wait to see what you saw on your strolls.

Please join me in the adventure. The only "requirement" other than those below is that you go out walking and take some pictures. Please keep in mind that you don't have to walk, take pictures, process them, and post all on Wednesday ... take the weekend before to explore and a few days to process your photos ... then link up.

Walk and Click Wednesday (WCW) Guidelines:

Are you new to Walk and Click Wednesdays? The party will open on Wednesday and close on Saturday at midnight.

Here are just a few guidelines to keep everyone on target.

• Please link directly to your blog post or the specific flickr image, not to your main blog url or flickr stream url. Please do not link to an online shop.
• Please link back to laf Custom Designs. I'd love it if you'd share my WCW button on your blog (it's over there on the sidebar--see it?--just under the Friends Who Love It Here icons). It will also serve as a reminder to you since I know you all have a lot going on in your lives.
• Please visit the other WCW participants and share the love. Gotta get this party goin' on.

Have a great weekend and find some time to walk and click. ;->

Walk and Click Wednesday #32: Making the Ordinary Special

Note: Now that I'm working full time, I just don't have time to respond to everyone every week even though I would love to, but please do know that I visit everyone's blog posts and will do my best to comment. Thank you all so much for being part of Walk and Click Wednesday!!

It's Walk and Click Wednesday and I've been looking forward to sharing with you all.

One thing I've learned by walking and clicking on a consistent basis is sometimes I am only able to capture the ordinary. But with that said if I pay attention, I discover that the ordinary can be quite special.

It doesn't matter how many pictures I take of Kobi, I love each one ... a different pose, an unusual gaze, the forever cute.

I visited Anthem Planned Community for a second time. I still love the waterfall and the walking path. Look at those vibrant red branches!

This time I paid attention to the small planes flying overhead as they go to land at the nearby Erie Municipal Airport. This one was much more colorful than I had noticed before. What a treat!

And today the weather changed again. More snow, but it didn't really stick even though it snowed all night last night and off and on all day today.

My boss, Karen, treated me to lunch. We walked Pearl Street Mall to Riff's Urban Fare as big fluffy snowflakes floated down like a soft blanket. We had a delightful social time talking about remodeling, selling homes, and even politics! Good food ... great company! She even encouraged my photographic indulgence. ;->

Textures thanks to Kim Klassen: emptypage
(food images taken with my cell phone)

Top to Bottom: roasted beets with queso de mano, orange, almonds; trout (on the specials menu, so I don't have the details; the salmon sandwich with horseradish aioli, red onion marmalade.

What have you discovered in the ordinary? Why is it special? Can't wait to see where you've been this week!!

~~~~~

I look forward to seeing you here for Walk and Click Wednesday. Can't wait to see what you saw on your strolls.

Please join me in the adventure. The only "requirement" other than those below is that you go out walking and take some pictures. Please keep in mind that you don't have to walk, take pictures, process them, and post all on Wednesday ... take the weekend before to explore and a few days to process your photos ... then link up.

Walk and Click Wednesday (WCW) Guidelines:

Are you new to Walk and Click Wednesdays? The party will open on Wednesday and close on Saturday at midnight.

Here are just a few guidelines to keep everyone on target.

• Please link directly to your blog post or the specific flickr image, not to your main blog url or flickr stream url. Please do not link to an online shop.
• Please link back to laf Custom Designs. I'd love it if you'd share my WCW button on your blog (it's over there on the sidebar--see it?--just under the Friends Who Love It Here icons). It will also serve as a reminder to you since I know you all have a lot going on in your lives.
• Please visit the other WCW participants and share the love. Gotta get this party goin' on.

Have a great weekend and find some time to walk and click. ;->

Walk and Click Wednesday #31: Not My Brightest Light Bulb Moment

It's Walk and Click Wednesday! Aren't you glad? Sometimes I barely get out of my house; sometimes I find myself far from home.

I had an interesting experience this weekend ... not my brightest light bulb moment ... I think I'll let Kobi tell it ...

First, we got gas because it was going to be a loooong trip ... to Colorado Springs. Then Mom treated me to the local dog park to get rid of some of my energy and so I'd sleep on the trip down.

She just had to stop for that bestest frozen yogurt along the way ... PomBlueberry is her favorite. She's pretty stingy with that stuff. I didn't even get a sniff. ;->

When we got to Seven Falls, one of the local tourist traps in Colorado Springs, I was just aching to get out of the car. After walking by a little falls, we walked down a dark corridor inside the mountain to an elevator. On we went with a family of six ... Grandma and Grandpa, their kids, and the grandkids. Of course, the children wanted to pet me ... I was a little bit skittish, but the ride up the elevator to the lookout was otherwise uneventful. Mom took a few pics and then ... the real adventure began.

See those stairs that go up the side of the mountain at a 45º angle? There were 100 of them on the first leg. Well, Mom decide we should go up there. Going up was easy-peasy. I had no trouble. And even Mom made it up only a tad breathless. We sat there for quite a bit. She took more pictures and talked to some of the other visitors. Then she started asking questions ... is it worth it going up to the top? And talking about how she was nervous to go back down from the platform/landing. Finally she decided ... we weren't going up any farther ... 124 more steps from the landing. It took her a bit to get up the courage to go down. It always seems harder going down than up. She took a picture of that view, but it wasn't one of the best, so she opted to leave it out.

Mom kept me on a short leash and we started down. We only made it a few steps though before she got worried about me, so picked me up and carried me (23 lbs) down most of the 100 steps in one arm while holding on herself with her other hand. She even had to stop briefly, but then decided it was easier to keep going. I didn't even wiggle ... a good thing because if I had, it might have been disastrous. As it was Mom told me in the morning that she had nightmares about dropping me. I don't think we'll be doing anything like that again very soon.

These beautiful falls were the easiest to see ... just outside the main gift shop ... the ones we passed on the way to the elevator.

On the way home we stopped where I could walk and meet some pup-pals in Red Rocks. What a nice Mom I have! It was actually a little warm and we didn't go far, but it was super to get out of the car and stretch my legs. I met this sweet 9 month old Lab puppy, Zubie. What a great name for a dog! Wish I could have played with him more.

Hope you enjoyed our adventure. We look forward to seeing where you've been this week.

~~~~~

I look forward to seeing you here for Walk and Click Wednesday. Can't wait to see what you saw on your strolls.

Please join me in the adventure. The only "requirement" other than those below is that you go out walking and take some pictures. Please keep in mind that you don't have to walk, take pictures, process them, and post all on Wednesday ... take the weekend before to explore and a few days to process your photos ... then link up.

Walk and Click Wednesday (WCW) Guidelines:

Are you new to Walk and Click Wednesdays? The party will open on Wednesday and close on Saturday at midnight.

Here are just a few guidelines to keep everyone on target.

• Please link directly to your blog post or the specific flickr image, not to your main blog url or flickr stream url. Please do not link to an online shop.
• Please link back to laf Custom Designs. I'd love it if you'd share my WCW button on your blog (it's over there on the sidebar--see it?--just under the Friends Who Love It Here icons). It will also serve as a reminder to you since I know you all have a lot going on in your lives.
• Please visit the other WCW participants and share the love. Gotta get this party goin' on.

Have a great weekend and find some time to walk and click. ;->