Sunday, August 19, 2012

Kansas Sunset Via Cell Phone Camera


I find it hard to believe that a cell phone app took this photo.  Not bad for a cell phone!

This was a quick snap since I was working a small toll booth at the Kansas turnpike, and I was relatively busy with traffic.  I had a brief 60 second lull in cars, and ran outside of my booth to grab this shot of the sun rays peeking through a hole in the clouds.

How cool is that?!  :-)

Thursday, June 14, 2012

After the Storm

Photo taken May 29, 2012, after a thunderstorm


The boring and busy minutiae of life always get in the way of what we truly enjoy each and every day.

Over the past year, the business of living has sucked many things out of my daily existence.  I only had time to get ready and go to work almost every.single.day.

Now that I have finally relinquished one of my two jobs, I hope to once again find the joy and the beauty that surrounds us here on the ginormous and wide open prairie.

Slinging my camera over my shoulder always slows me down.  Just when I think I am going to "hurry up" and take a quick picture, I find that an hour has passed.  Taking my camera outside with me causes me to lose track of time and to savor the beauty that is all around us.

And slowing down like that is not a bad thing, hmm?  I'm looking forward to many more days like that in the near future.

I think I heard my blogs softly say
"Welcome Back, we've missed you!"

Monday, March 19, 2012

Rainy Day


I love this interpretation of a rainy day in black and white.

I think black and white conveys the dreariness of a rainy day exceptionally well.

Of course, anyone who knows me, knows that I love the black and white photo.  No surprises there.

However, I feel far from dreary today.  Instead, with the windows and door screens open today, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain outside invigorates me.

I think it's time to get the guest bedroom spring cleaned.  :-)  I can't sit on the back porch, so it's the perfect day to clean and organize!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Day Trip - Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge

Actually, this was more of a last-minute, totally impulsive, late-afternoon trip on February 6th. I had taken 3 days off work and after hubby had left for work on my first day of alone-ness (Monday), I decided I needed a quick road trip adventure to salve my work-weary soul.

My 30 minutes of fast research pointed me an hour south of us in Oklahoma, to the Salt Plains NWF and State Park near Jet.

I jumped in my car and headed south, not on I-35 as one might suspect, so that I would get there quicker. Nooooo, I took the scenic route, travelling down Route 81, a 2-lane country highway.

Once in the Salt Plains NWF, I took the self-guided auto tour. It was 3:30, and I only had about an hour before I would have to head home before dark! I really wanted to hike a trail, but there just wasn't time. The auto tour would have to suffice this time.

The good part was the animals were out and about - it was a quiet winter evening in the park. No other humans were here. I was all by myself. Just the way I like it!

One of the marsh areas, above.  There were plenty of Canada geese and other duck species in the park.  This particular photo just doesn't show them.

This little guy didn't seem concerned about me whatsoever.  I managed to get quite a few photos of him before he turned his back on me!

I know most people consider armadillos nothing but a large, armored rodent, or, more precisely, an armored opossum!  However, I found it fascinating to look at the detail in his armor, and then, when you think about it, even more fascinating to compare how the armadillo appears to the way our dinosaurs looked.  It's almost as if the armadillo is a dinosaur species that survived!

Ok, isn't it funny I thought that thought?  I just researched the armadillo as I'm writing this post, and actually, they ARE a dinosaur species that basically survived.  Imagine that...



Finally, last but certainly not least,  a few deer decided that I posed no threat.  They continued foraging on some winter wheat, kindly planted by the refuge for their enjoyment, while I snapped a few photos.  Of course, two of them kept a close eye on me...

On my way out of the park, I saw a carelessly tossed beer bottle near a marshy overlook.  Disgusted, I picked it up with the intention of throwing it into a trash can before I headed home.

Oh how that decision came back to bite me in the butt!  Lo and behold, NO trash cans to be found.  Anywhere.  No kidding.  All the way home, even through the town of Medford, I kept watching for somewhere to throw this stupid beer bottle.  But now I had the added problem of someone seeing me toss a beer bottle from my car!

Would you believe that beer bottle travelled all the way home with me to finally find a home in OUR trash can?!  Luckily I wasn't pulled over and cited for "open container" rolling around on the floor of my car....

And yes, I will definitely go back soon.  I want to explore even more!  Here's a link with more information about the refuge and the state park.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Puerto Rico

As much as I love where we live on the prairie, this time of year I inevitably wish I was somewhere in the tropics, by the ocean. I'm sure many of you do also ~ unless you already live in the tropics. You lucky bug, you.

Here are some shots from a trip to Puerto Rico, several years ago, with my mom and sister. Live ecstatically through them - maybe we can all feel the warmth of the sun if we try hard enough.






We stayed at Las Casitas Village, in case anyone is interested in checking out their website.  The villas are gorgeous!! We got a really, really, really good deal.  I mean, REALLY GOOD.  I doubt we could ever afford to go there ever again!!!