Living in the country

 Jim looking over his estate.

 Max

 Jim getting ready for bow season.

 "Posted" all around the property

The pond

Really enjoyed my visit to Ohio and spending a few days in the country. It was a real change since I am a city girl. I have to drive 20 minutes to get this kind of scenery. What really struck me was how quiet it was at night...total silence.... until morning when someones rooster started crowing.

I didn't see any birds because it rained almost continually for 2 days which was the only damper on my little vacation. On the way home, just down the road from my brother's, I did see a flock (hermitage) of bluebirds. On the same road I saw one lone wild turkey as well. Jim tells me that they do have a resident owl as well as coyotes.

Thanks again, Jim and Mary Ann, for your hospitality although I do regret not getting my share of the zucchini  bread ;-)

Lunch With My Ohio Family

 Lunch with my aunts and cousins and my sister-in-law.

 My second cousins, Helen and Nora. Both were nurses in their working lives. Now my cousin Nora is 93 and just had her drivers license renewed  :-)

 My first cousin, Joan, and my Aunt Mildred. My Aunt Mildred is my Mother's sister and the last living sibling on either side of my family.

My sister-in-law, Mary Ann and my Aunt Pauline.

It was so good seeing everyone although the luncheon went by so quickly that I felt there wasn't enough time to visit with everyone. I was so reminded of my Mom seeing my Aunt Mildred......as she said, well, they were sisters so of course the resemblance. Love you all my Ohio family!

Shattered Childhood Memories

 You have heard the old saying that you can never go back? Well, I found this out when I recently went back to the small town where I grew up and revisited the old homesteads. My brother and I took a walk around the neighborhood where we lived as children and it was a sad sight to see. Maybe memories are the best...what we have stored in our heads. Seeing the real thing was really depressing. Now keep in mind that it has been 50 years since I lived there so of course there will be changes. There were houses on the street that were well kept as if they were new but my grandparents house (above) was falling down. I remember all the wonderful times that I had on this front porch. I was able to walk the one block and visit almost every day. My Grandfather built this house himself. So sad to see what a ruin it is now

Didn't even have the heart to take a picture of my parent's house....my childhood home. This is the gate. My Dad made it. It was always kept closed as there was a private patio area behind it. The garage is in the background....don't get the corn growing there.
Anyway, thanks to my brother, Jim, for making the journey with me. I just hope that my Mom and Dad can't look down from heaven and see what it all looks like now.

Toledo, Ohio

Had a great photography shoot last night in Toledo. I really learned a lot ( if I could only remember all this stuff)! The area was near the docks but there was this park and a river walk of sorts. We had great Mexican food afterward.



Sandhill Cranes

These birds amaze me everytime that I see them!

Bulldog Football

 My grandson, #95, Mikey Carney

So far the team is 1-1. Wishing them luck today. It's so much fun watching these kids play. Wish that I was in Kansas to see Mikey's game and to see my son Mike ride in the "Bike MS" event today.....140 miles?? Let us pray!

The Hat

I have a  box in my trunk that contains items that I might need on my walks like an extra jacket, bug spray etc. I also have lots of hats varying from several cheap Meijers hats to an expensive Tuga. When we went on our nature hike, Liam decided on that Tuga which is a men/women design and Emma chose this cute flowered button hat. She was styling this hat for 1.5 miles and I caught some cute pictures.

Hawkfest Pancake Breakfast

The crowd almost doubled after I took this picture. There is our group (Crackers) at the center table...Rita and Bernie are clapping.

 I  Ulanawa is having a good laugh about something.

Enjoyed the demonstration and getting to see the owls up close and personal!

Advanced Class

This is a group photo of our class last year at the Parade Company.
Last night we had our first class for this semester and spent 2 hours hashing out where we would go for our photo shoots. .....and also where we would go out to eat. Some great places were decided on. Our first shoot will be at the Toledo docks. We also plan on the Detroit Riverwalk, DIA, Luna Pier Beach, Barn tour and 3 more....plus our table top which we save for a rainy day. Really looking forward to it and will, of course, post photos on this blog.

Hawk Fest

Really enjoyed the Hawkfest this past Sunday. We Crack O' Dawners all sat together at the pancake breakfast and enjoyed the very educational and entertaining show. Will soon post photos from that. Afterward we went to the Nature Center for more raptors and these are the wonderful photos that I took.

It was a spectacular day with moderate temps and sunny skys. Ulanawa and I took a walk on the Trapper's Run Trail and we were amazed at how many others were out walking as well. Everyone was taking advantage of the fine weather. This week we are headed for cooler temperatures and rain.

If I were a real "hawker" I would have gone out to the lake to watch for the migrates. Hear on FB that they really saw a lot.

My first advance photography class is tonight. It is the only time that we meet at school. We will get some ideas where everyone would like to go on our shoots. Really looking forward to it.

On The Trail at Kensington

A morning sunning!

 Just walking the trail and enjoying the fresh air and sunshine and looking to see who is out for the morning....a deer giving me a look over, a Cedar Waxwing posing on a branch, fish swimming in the lake, beautiful swamp marigolds growing in the water, a whole new array of wildflowers and the sun's shadows making everything fresh and new.