..........more softball

I don't often stand behind the backstop during a game. This was an entirely different viewpoint than what I'm usually shooting, intending to get our star pitcher in action.. I can really feel the momentum in both of these shots.

softball

the pitcher

I don't get to catch the boys games very often once the season starts.. I'm usually at the girls softball games. I managed to get to the start of tonights dbl header... so I parked myself at center field with my big zoom.

20 years in 7 days

I'm told time flies when your having fun ...it feels like time goes faster every day.
This is my husband of almost 20 years.
I hear the new trend is tattooed wedding bands. (note the tattooed ring finger on his left hand). We went together quite a few years ago and had the artist do a simple design I drew out. His is a slightly larger, more masculine version of mine. And no it didn't hurt much.. it didn't hurt at all in comparison to getting a ring caught on something.

awesome violet

This weeks job was repairing and painting this dining room and living room. The dining room went awesome violet (a sherwin williams color)... which wasn't too different from the original color. The upper photos were taken with my camera phone. They didn't really come out too bad. The true colors show much better in the lower shots taken with my SLR.

I had one more photo to include here but I decided against it. It was my husband and painting partner. Any time I want a shot of him I can't get cooperation.. I admit I point the camera at him pretty often. So of course, any time I'm taking a shot of a job(I take 'before & after' of all our work) there he is, like it or not, right in the middle of it.

testing Daisy

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I'm trying for a little larger photo, hoping flickr does the trick.
My long tailed Boxer Daisy, daring me to grab her toy... just so she can grab it and run.

baseball

the high school boys had their first game of the season last night... it was a cold soggy start. and the diamond didn't have lights so it was an early night.

Precious

Shes a sweetheart.....and queen of the pasture.

after snow......

.......comes mud.



we're all anxious for the grass to come in.

old school

Sitting, waiting in the parking lot on a rainy afternoon for the kids to get out of practice..... this is the view. The old high school may be one of the first casualties from budget cuts.

the door in the basement

the dim lighting adds to the muted tones of the bathroom door.

not today

My timing wasn't right today, I was earlier than yesterday, the pony wasn't up.

a reminder

I drove cross country going home from work today. I got a look at the little fat pony a neighbor keeps in the pasture across from their house. The snow is melting so I got a good look at his feet... long and all curled up.
This view was from a parade last Fall, reminding me tomorrow I'll stop and take a picture of the pony.

the bridge to home.

We crossed this bridge on the drive home... after a long day of softball.

old fence...

more Winter barns

fresh clean snow blends perfectly with old weathered wood.

Spring... in black and white!

it's a sure sign Spring is on it's way... the Skunks are out.
This one was happily searching the grass in the backyard of todays job. I was a little concerned about getting out of the Jeep since it was less than 20ft away, but this guy was on a mission and I didn't seem to bother him.
btw, I took these photos from the safety of my vehicle. My husband saw a new baby lamb today, bouncing and dancing...too bad he doesn't carry a camera.

freezing fog

While the rest of the world posts photos of Roses for their Valentines I'm showing off frosted whiskers from freezing fog.

game over!

Basketball season is over for UNITED girls with their final game last night. They played a good game right to the end, losing by 5.

neglected

I'm neglecting my blog, it's been almost a month since I've been here.
This is our 2nd day of snow and the wind is suppose to pick up with 30mph gusts, so since school canceled I canceled work, giving me the perfect opportunity to add something here.
These barn shots are from last week. I took my youngest son for a haircut(actually he has his learners permit, I was being chauffeured) so this was a drive-by shooting. I need to go back alone to get more variety with different angles. Too bad it's on the North side of the road, the sunrise or sunset would be an awesome background.


This is the point of(my) interest.... I straightened, cropped and adjusted the levels to make it more a silhouette.

PhotoShopping snow

These 2 get pretty impatient when it comes time to feed. With all the snow we've got on the ground there's nothing to even nibble.
The barn and fence in the background couldn't be cropped out.... just a little bit of PS magic, spreading out the white, and the distractions are gone.

Winter Joy

They're beautiful animals, in any season.
Joy was snow covered, waiting for me to bring out the hay this morning.

deer run

Most of our snow melted, but in true Illinois form I think the cold is here for the duration. We had a high of 12f today.
I spotted this on my way to town this afternoon... the field across from the house.

snowhorses

Yesterdays blizzard brought with it frigid cold(+14f @ 1:35pm).. on the plus side, the winds are calm and we have plenty of sunshine.
The horses actually ventured away from the shed. Of course as soon as they spotted me they were on a dead run. From zero to 60... in 2.5 seconds!

first snow

2 days ago we had our first snow, it was so nice and pretty, giving the world that fresh clean look. Thats when I took these pictures.
Today it's quite a bit more hostile out there, bitter cold with blizzard conditions ...40mph winds. All that pretty snow is moving very quickly straight East.
And subzero temperatures are predicted for the next few days.
yeehaw! Happy Winter!