A skinny squirrel, after the lean Winter months, eyes me, eying him.
Lovely early sundown light.
Walking towards my car after time in the park, spent enjoying flowers and taking some photos of same and other sights.
Mr. Squirrel tried to keep away from my lens.
He was kind enough to pause once or twice as I clicked away.
For your pleasure and as a portent of Spring. =)
From our trip to Hawaii in 2003 celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.
I believe this was taken at the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai, which is maintained by the Allerton Trust. See this link for more information.
I love flowers.
In fact, I love them so much, I used to eat them as a wee lad. Not so much anymore. 
On this Easter Sunday, when it’s a bit colder than I like, I found this flower to warm up and remind me of the new life blooming in Spring.
We had a very nice service this morning, where Karen and I sang, and my sister Trish sang and played the bells. I muddled along on guitar, making up with enthusiasm what I lack in technique.
This afternoon, we shared a meal with Karen’s brother Tom, and his boys. Uncle Don came over earlier to share some wine and discussion prior to his going on to his main meal at his brother’s house.
Family is important, and family time is vital to keep that sense of family strong.
Jennie and Chris came over to share our meal after their earlier time with her folks.
It was a full house with good conversation, punctuated by watching bits and pieces of the Masters golf - Tom and crew are very much into golf. Chris got the bug from them. Not me!
Enjoy the beauty of nature wherever you are, and create the beauty of family, with those around you.
From our 25th Wedding Anniversary vacation in 2003.
Taken with my dearly beloved Olympus C2100UZ, taken from me before it’s time by a sticky-fingered airport employee (can you tell I still miss it?).
This is one of the windiest places that we visited while on the garden island of Kauai. I really had to hold onto my hat just walking around!
The lighthouse is known as the northernmost point of the main Hawaiian islands. It is built on a narrow outcrop of the island, accessed by a narrow road.
My imagination took me on a trip, seeing what it might be like in the midst of a tropical storm. It seems to have weathered the elements well.
I re-cropped the original photograph with a 16 by 9 ratio to give it a cinematic feel. I also played around with saturation, contrast, and added a layer of Gaussian blur with about 46% of Multiply effect for that layer (simulating the Oorton Effect).
I like the result.
I loved our trip there.
We’d go again and plan on doing so!
Inspiration comes from all over.
Today’s photo came from an online source.
I subscribe to a Yahoo group for my town, Springfield, Illinois.
In today’s email of new postings was a request from a gentleman named Jim, who’s grandparents used to run a store on East Capitol Avenue, and live around the block on East Monroe Street. I thought, “I can do that easily!” and replied to the posting by email.
I got a quick response, with details and let Jim know that he could expect the photos online sometime tonight.
I did a quick map lookup for the two addresses and headed out - I was going out anyway - it was a gorgeous day today. Temperatures around 60 F. No coat! =)
The neighborhood was quickly found and the two addresses had houses still standing. I made some passes and took about a dozen shots.
This one is looking West on Monroe Street towards the State Capitol building in the distance. The tower holds lights for the Chamberlain Park ball field. It’s a bit unique due to the high mounds that surround the ball field.
I like the bare trees which give detail and shout out Winter, heading to Spring.
Thanks for the assignment, Jim. I hope you like the photos, and as I said in my email to you, that they bring back happy memories.
By Karen
Our neighbors called to tell us that there were thousands of geese high in the sky flying North! Karen grabbed some photos of the high-flying flocks. It was amazing to see all the “V” formations.
Those photos didn’t turn out as well as this one did.
Fortune shines on those who create opportunities by action.
Nice photo of the Illinois State Bird - the Cardinal.
In our sun room, the moon shines through the tree limbs which are bare in Winter.
Karen loves this view. She has asked me several times this Winter to take this shot.
It’s not perfect, but it’s evocative of the mood of a Winter’s night.
I hope to make a better version next month.
Rainy day today.
Melting the snow piles from last week. That’s nice.
I had my camera out and on, sitting in the driveway waiting for the car to warm up.
Saw the rain on my windshield, and there you are! The Sigma 17-70mm lens is a nice macro as well as a great walk-about lens.
Opportunities abound, I just have to stop thinking and keep doing. Sometimes I get in my own way!
I like how this turned out.