31 Days Of July

Another month down...does this mean summer is almost over?

31 July 2009 Photo: Upstaged

I started out thinking I was going to take a picture of our chiminea but this little purple flower upstaged it!

30 July 2009 Photo: Chasing Charlie

This is Charlie the grasshopper. Yes I named him because I spent the good part of the early morning chasing him around the yard. I know I already have a grasshopper pciture this month but he looks so good on the flower.

29 July 2009 Photo: Lots O' Pots

I love pots and pottery and things to put stuff in. I have more pots and containers and things to be stuff in than I can use. Is that a problem?

28 July 2009 Photo: Charlotte's Web

I was playing around with a photo aperture technique called Bokeh. The little lights in the background is the effect I was looking for but I wish I was able to get the spider with less harsh light but I ruined the web by mistake so the photo shoot was over. Oh well, still kind of cool...well except for the big creepy spider! You can learn more about bokeh at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh

27 July 2009 Photo: As Above, So Below

A snowy egret reflecting on his life.

26 July 2009 Photo: Like Peas In A Pod

My best friend was visiting this weekend and we made pan fried gnocchi with pancetta and sugar snap peas. YUM! A few peas left over became today's photo...

25 July 2009 Photo(s): Wenches and Jesters and Minstrels...HAZZAH!

We went the the Renaissance Festival in Sterling, NY today. Between the wenches, creepy drooling baby and singing minstrels, we were transcended into another time.

24 July 2009 Photo: I Spy With My Little Eye

Reflections of the way life used to be in downtown Syracuse.

23 July 2009 Photo: Am I Blue?

I flewJet Blue for the first time this week and I am in love with them. Besides the fact that they were on time, helpful and clean, they gave you free soda/water/etc and snacks (more than 5 peanuts) and MOST IMPORTANTLY, my knees were not squished against the seat in front of me. How come they cannot all be like that? I am sure they have their bad days but I will now fly them whenever possible!

I also spent time in the T5 Terminal at JFK which I learned from a friend is famous because of the architect. I don't know much about the architect but I do know they have FREE wifi and comfy chairs!

I ♥ JETBLUE!

22 July 2009 Photo: The Colonial

I stayed with my friend in DC for two nights and this is the door of her building. When I went to look up the history of the building this is what I found.

The Colonial as it is called was a private Girls Seminary at the outbreak of the Civil War. On the day of the Battle of Bull Run, (or Manassas) many Georgetown citizens went down to the riverside to view the battle, almost as if it were a romantic lark. It was hot on July 21, 1861 and the battle was brutal and bloody.

They brought the wounded and the dying up the hill to the Seminary which was immediately transformed into a hospital for the duration of the war. There are still neighbors who’ve claimed to have heard and been haunted by the ghostly screams and moans of the dying soldiers in the Colonial.

It is kind of creepy because I happened to be there on the date of the battle. I was wondering what those screams were I heard in the middle of the night...

21 July 2009 Photo: G'town With J-Cho

I am in DC for a meeting and have gotten to spend some time with my friend Jane. We wandered around Georgetown tonight and I snapped this picture with my iphone. My other camera is having issues with the shutter so I thought I would try the iphone route. Not too bad but I need to get the other camera looked at.

20 July 2009 Photo: Hibachi Volcano

Thar she blows! I have a funny story about a hibachi restaurant experience I had when I visited Japan but it is the kind of story that must be told in person because of the hand gestures...oh well I guess I need to look into video blogging next!

19 July 2009 Photo(s): Beach Bums

Another day of being a beach bum was coupled with Bill's brother and his family heading down to spend the day at Misquamicut Beach. It was a perfect summer day with lots of sun for basking, big waves for riding, sand for castle building and the laughter and smiles of the kids.

18 July 2009 Photo(s): Lazy Days Of Summer

I am in RI this weekend visiting my family. Coming to the place that I grew up always feels comfortable. The summer brings back so many childhood memories...long days at Misquamicut Beach, the Flying Horses Carousel and sunsets in Watch Hill, and good times with family!

17 July 2009 Photo: A Day We Will Never Forget

On our way to RI today, Bill and I stopped by the place where we got married almost 4 years ago. Our wedding was in a truly idyllic setting at the Branford House in Avery Point, CT overlooking Long Island Sound. It was practically perfect in every way!

The photograph below is taken at our wedding by our friend Shai. He is an amazing photographer. Check out his stuff at http://www.shaiphoto.com/

16 July 2009 Photo: Wake Up Call

What do you think our neighbors will think of our new 8 foot lawn ornament? At least it wouldn't crow at 4 AM! We were very tempted but I think we would have been arrested for driving with a giant rooster on top of our car.

15 July 2009 Photo: Time For Your Close Up

I bought my first sunflowers of the season from the farmers market. Be prepared for more sunflower pictures...they are my favorite.

14 July 2009 Photo: Regressing To Childhood

I was moving some things around in the garage this morning (recycling old work catalogues) and found some bubbles. I couldn't resist especially since it is breezy outside and the skies are a gorgeous blue.

13 July 2009: Dirty Daisy

I was dead-heading some of the plants in my yard and popped off this "undead" bloom by mistake. I decided to play around with the bowl of water in the yard and above is the result. Click on it to make it bigger and see the details.

12 July 2009 Photo: Alien Invasion

We stopped by a playground and were quickly scared off by the aliens. Doesn't the shadow of the swing look like an alien head? Maybe it is just me...beam me up Scottie, there's no intelligent life here! http://nvibeproductions.com/images/alien_head.jpg

11 July 2009 Photo(s): S.O.S.

Bill and I stopped by the SPCA today because I am always thinking about getting a second dog. We found some real sweethearts when we were there and my heart broke as I walked away knowing that it is really not the right time for us to add another dog to our family. Most of the dogs that were there had some pitbull in them. I am amazed that people think these dogs are inherently evil. All of these dogs you see pictured above are available for adoption at the Central NY SPCA in Syracuse. http://www.cnyspca.org/ Look at those eyes, they are so hard to resist. The one at the top of page, Deuce, stole both our hearts and kept trying to squeeze through the bars. When we are ready, we will definitely be getting a rescue dog!

10 July 2009 Photo(s): Patience Young Grasshopper

I found this grasshopper in my kitchen and captured him to bring him outside for a little photo shoot. He kept hopping all over the place...what's up with that? Add them to the list of difficult clients!

9 July 2009 Photo: Fruit Or Vegetable?

My tomato plants finally have little green fruits. Or is it vegetables? Either way I am glad the rain has stopped for now and my little Roma tomatoes are getting some much needed sun. The homemade salsa will be coming soon!!!

8 July 2009 Photo: Buzzzzzzzz

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...like my new age bee hive??

7 July 2009 Photo: When Life Give You Lemons...

...make lemonade

...twist some of the peel into a martini

...squeeze the juice into a water gun and squirt it into other peoples eyes

...make grape juice. Then sit back and watch the world try to figure out how you did it

...gentically modify them and use your Super Lemons to destroy the world!

...find someone whose life gave them tequila and have a party

Who knew you could do so much with lemons?

6 July 2009 Photo: Sun Drenched

The rain returned intermittently today but the sun shone brightly between the rain drops. These sun drenched fronds captured the light beautifully.

5 July 2009 Photo(s): Fear Of Flying

After I said goodbye to my weekend guests this morning, the water was calling me. It was the first perfect day in over a week. No clouds in the sky, no immediate items to check off the list so off I went for a morning paddle. Kayaking was amazing as always and allowed me to relax and re-energize.

My first greeting was from a seagull which always makes me think of the book Jonathon Livingston Seagull. In the book Jonathon explains his theory...

"The same rule holds for us now, of course: we choose our next world through what we learn in this one. Learn nothing , and the next is the same as this one, all the same limitations and lead weights to overcome"

Next I came upon some baby ducks but the mama would not let me get too close. As I was watching them, I saw a heron fly overhead and land. I also was not able to get too close to this majestic bird but captured the photo above.

I love to watch birds in flight and dream of being able to do the same. The closest I have ever come to that feeling was the hot air balloon rides I have taken. Maybe in my next life...

4 July 2009 Photo(s): Yankee Doodle Doggie

Happy Birthday America! My very patriotic puppy insisted on being the photo of the day and since she was singing Stars And Stripes Forever while posing in front of the flag, I had to accommodate.

Later in the night we walked across the street to our neighbors to see the Ring of Fire. This is a yearly tradition the lakefront homes do every Fourth of July using flares. The rockets red glare bursted in air while we were watching as well. All in all a good birthday celebration!

3 July 2009 Photo(s): Three Is The Magic Number

I received an NPR feed on my facebook page about this photographer.
"Photographer Ed Kashi has been all over the world, documenting some pretty tough pills to swallow. That's why his latest project is a real departure. In his book Three, photographs are presented as triptychs with no context, no captions."

If you want to see some of his work you can check it out here:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2009/07/three.html?sc=fb&cc=fphttp://edkashi.com/three.php

In the past, I have had to do triptychs for photography classes and always find them very interesting. When I went to take pictures this morning, the final droplets of rain were hanging around. In looking at the photos from today, I put together this little triptyph for the blog. No where near as good as Kashi but it has given me some motivation to look at some of my old photos to see what I can put together.

Also today is July 3...weird! Perhaps THREE really is magic! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11N-BD1aBo0

2 July 2009 Photo: Building The Ark

If you live in the northeast, you are probably gathering your animals two by two and building a boat.

1 July 2009 Photo: Color vs Black and White

I couldn't decide on color or black and white for today's photo so I am putting both up. You decide! We have grapes growing in the yard for the 2nd year. They have some sort of critter or fungus but they are interesting to watch grow! I will have to do some research before next summer to see if I can figure out how to really cultivate them properly.

I also found out that I have the kind of grapes leaves on this plant used to make stuffed grapes leaves. I have memories of my grandmother making these stuffed leaves and was very confused as a child. I would never eat them because she was going and picking leaves off a tree and I knew that was just crazy! Leaves were for bugs to eat not me! Ahhh the things you just don't understand as a child!