A Creek in the Back

Stingy Jack’s Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T17:13:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we went to this festival and had a great time. Here are some photos from the event.

Mountain Dan carving with a chainsaw!

Awakenings…

2011-04-24T20:07:00.001-04:00

This morning I took a quiet walk in the woods and came upon these ferns. I love seeing them at this stage. Every spring they come up… no matter how cold the winter, they always return. I like that.

An afternoon at Connemara…

2011-03-26T10:52:00.001-04:00

Here are some photos from the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site or as we call it – Connemara. My son and I had such a nice time. It really is a great place for families.

Carl Sandburg’s Presidential Medal of Freedom
presented to him by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Snow

2011-01-13T08:53:00.001-05:00

We had snow on Christmas Day. Now, how perfect is that, I ask you. The boys were thrilled and so was I. Since then we’ve had another snow storm. I’m seriously considering buying some snow shoes. Of course, once I do, we probably won’t get any more snow… there’s a thought.

It’s the little things…

2010-10-23T21:22:00.001-04:00

Even though I was surrounded by beautiful trees dressed in fall leaves and the Biltmore House behind me, these bright red leaves and berries trailing along the wall caught my eye.

A little morning to myself… at the Biltmore Estate

2010-10-15T16:54:00.001-04:00

I decided to take a morning for myself… do what I wanted to do. This doesn’t happen too often so I think it’s important to grab moments when they become available.

The Biltmore House - an impressive view every time.

Marble statue of Diana at the top of the hill.

Diana again. She’s one of my favorites.

And if you’re wondering if there are still flowers in the gardens… there are.

Plenty of beautiful, colorful flowers.

Please be gentle.

2010-10-02T18:40:00.001-04:00

A father and his son looking at a turtle. I took this photo at work during Family Camp.

A photo walk… in our yard

2010-07-26T12:45:00.001-04:00

This morning the boys and I did a photowalk in our yard. I gave each a camera and told them to have fun.

Here are my older son’s photos (10 yrs. old):

He told me he liked this one because the mushroom looked
like a huge dome in the middle of a forest.

My younger son’s photos (7 yrs old):

He took about 10 or so photos of this caterpillar until he
successfully captured a non-blurry one.

And I thought this was neat, because he decided to take a photo of the same subject but at a different angle.

A Happy Place

2010-07-25T21:25:00.001-04:00

I’ve come to the conclusion that the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site or as we simply call it – Connemara – is my happy place. This evening I had some time on my hands (no kids), so I decided to take a short hike. Even though I’ve been here many, many times, I still find things that I love taking photos of. (I used my Fujifilm camera which usually stays in the car.)

I’m thinking perhaps it’s been a long summer for Leonard… soon he’ll be in over his head.

The creek and boys

2010-07-05T18:45:00.001-04:00

They can always find something to do by… or in the creek. Sometimes I wish I could press the pause button.

After the rain

2010-05-30T20:41:00.001-04:00

I think one of my most favorite times to hike is after it rains. This evening while the light was still golden I took a quick hike… mainly for exercise, but I must admit I stopped numerous times to take photos. Just couldn’t pass them by…

Kingsnake

2010-05-29T21:38:00.001-04:00

Recently at work I was asked if I had my camera handy. Usually when I’m asked this, I know I’m about to take a photo of a critter. I walked outside and sure enough one of our maintenance guys was holding a kingsnake. It took several shots before I got these.

On a farm…

2010-05-17T18:53:00.001-04:00

This past weekend our family celebrated my parents’ 50th anniversary at Hodgin Valley Farm. It was a beautiful setting for a very special occasion. There were so many photo opportunities at every turn. Here are just a few…

Staring contest

2010-05-08T16:41:00.001-04:00

This afternoon my younger son and I were reading on the deck… that is until a bird decided to drop a present on us. While cleaning the mess, my little guy and this bug decided to have a staring contest. Any idea what kind of bug this is?

Spring has sprung

2010-04-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

And after this winter I’m very glad that it has. Here are a couple of photos from a recent trip to the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site (one of my most favorite places on Earth).

Two different animals…

2010-04-15T09:35:00.000-04:00

Here are two completely different animals.

What they do have in common is that looking at them makes me smile. I hope they do the same for you.

Met an old friend…

2010-04-13T19:49:00.001-04:00

Today I finally made it back to the Carl Sandburg home in Flat Rock. While there I ran into an old friend.

It appeared that he was already hard at work…

Looked like he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon…

No crows in this garden. How could he miss them wearing those nice spectacles, I ask you?

Good to see you again, Leonard. It’s been too long.

Spring has returned…

2010-03-28T09:57:00.001-04:00

I haven’t had a lot of time to take photos, but I will soon. In the meantime, I thought I would post this photo that I took at work this past week. It makes me happy.

New templates

2010-03-14T11:29:00.001-04:00

Finally Blogger added some new theme templates to their collection. As you can see I’ve been playing around, so don’t be alarmed if each time you come back, it looks different. Eventually I’ll settle on one.

A snowy morning…

2010-02-14T19:43:00.001-05:00

Friday we had snow again. It seems to be a regular occurrence around these parts. Even though I say that I have grown tired of the snow, I still love the quiet as the flakes fall to the ground and the time right after it stops. It’s simply beautiful.

Same fence, but in the sun.

2010-02-04T20:42:00.001-05:00

I went back the following morning to take a photo of the snow on the fence. Still peculiar how the snow “stacked up.”

Stacked snow…

2010-01-30T19:31:00.001-05:00

This time around the snow fell in an odd manner… I’ve never seen it do this before. Have you?

Also, if you want to see more of my photos, I’ve put some up on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40263935@N02/

Snow… again

2010-01-29T19:19:00.001-05:00

It appears that we’re in for another doozy of a storm. That’s okay. I’ll just have more opportunities to take more snow photos. Stay tuned…

A hike in the warm sunshine…

2010-01-18T18:04:00.001-05:00

Today the boys and I enjoyed a hike in the warm sunshine. After the sub-freezing temperatures earlier this month, I was thrilled to see the predicted temps of low 50s today.

We ran across this pawprint in the bits of snow along the trail.

Then we ran into some large areas of ice on a massive rock outcropping. The boys played ice-bowling on it.

This cat is happy.

2010-01-02T19:18:00.001-05:00

Dave, one of our two rescue cats, loves it when we have a fire in the woodstove. He’s like a lump of fur… a lump of fur with the cutest little pink nose.

A December Snow

2009-12-21T21:13:00.001-05:00

As you may have heard by now, the NC mountains were hit by an early snowstorm. Accumulations ranged from about 4 inches to 24 inches! We fell somewhere in the middle.

Reflections on the lake

2009-12-16T12:13:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I went on a hike on a particularly foggy morning. This scene caught my eye with all the reflections on the lake. These photos are the same, but I flipped one of them. Which one?

Patterns

2009-12-14T12:00:00.001-05:00

This morning on my hike, I noticed the remains of this leaf which reminded me of a photo I took earlier in the fall. The patterns remain.

Photo Gifts

2009-12-13T11:13:00.001-05:00

For prints in various sizes and gifts (tote bags, puzzles, ceramic tiles, playing cards, etc.), please visit my main site http://www.karenbryantphotography.com/

I’ve also been busy adding new items to my Cafe Press Gift Shop. So now you can find my photos on ornaments, mousepads, postcards, note cards, canvas tote bags, and more.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog this past year. I truly appreciate your visits and comments.

Statues at the Biltmore House

2009-11-29T21:25:00.001-05:00

Long ago, before kids, my husband and I had an annual pass to the Biltmore House. It really was like traveling back to another time and place. I loved going. We always discovered something new each time. Even though I normally take photos of nature, I enjoyed taking photos of the many statues near the house.

I loved this one particularly… the way she read her book contently as people passed her by. And the dog, waiting so patiently…

I couldn’t resist taking his photo…

Here’s another one of my favorites taken at
different times of the year.

I would really love to take the boys some day. I think they would enjoy visiting the house and grounds immensely. I’d like the chance to visit again as well, with my camera, of course.

Photos were taken with a Canon AE-1.

Boy heaven

2009-11-08T17:53:00.001-05:00

Today the little guy and I visited an old helicopter that had been used in the Vietnam War and later refurbished for the Forest Service. What made this one special is that there were no “Don’t Touch” signs anywhere. You can push all the buttons, turn the dials, and pull back on the levers. Even though the helicopter can’t fly anymore, in my son’s imagination we traveled to faraway places this afternoon. Awesome.

Ladybug, ladybug…

2009-10-24T19:17:00.001-04:00

Isn’t there some kind of legend that if a ladybug lands on you, you’re supposed to have good luck? Today on our hike we saw so many ladybugs with many deciding to join us on the hike by hanging out on our clothes, backpacks, and hair… I thought to myself, perhaps I should’ve stopped to buy a lottery ticket on the way home…

Autumn leaves… up close

2009-10-16T09:54:00.001-04:00

This morning I finally got to go on a hike at Carl Sandburg. Between working and rainy days, I haven’t had much of a chance lately. The leaves haven’t peaked, but they’re getting close.

The Devil’s Courthouse on the Blue Ridge Parkway

2009-10-11T18:44:00.001-04:00

This afternoon we took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at several overlooks and the Devil’s Courthhouse. The clouds were swirling around us as we enjoyed the views.

On today’s hike…

2009-10-01T19:45:00.001-04:00

Today I went hiking with a school group. We saw all sorts of interesting things from large, colorful mushrooms to well… large, colorful spiders!

A few photos from the boys

2009-09-26T09:23:00.001-04:00

Yesterday evening the boys used our old digital camera to take photos around the house.

Here’s one that my older son took of our cat Sam.

And then here’s one that my younger son took.
I thought it was particularly funny.

My older son, who adores Legos,
took several of his newest creations.

Both boys had a really good time taking photographs.
I think we might have to do it more often.

A morning on the river…

2009-09-05T15:13:00.001-04:00

This morning I took the boys to work with me – a summer camp. We spent most of it playing in a river and looking for wildlife. Later this evening we’re going back to sit around a campfire and listen to stories.

We were lucky enough to see this beautiful black snake.

Did I mention that I really love where I work?

I really could write a story about him…

2009-09-04T20:30:00.001-04:00

Today I went to Carl Sandburg for a hike. It was WONDERFUL! So peaceful and quiet that I almost cried. Near the end of my hike I saw this gentleman standing in the garden and I could have sworn I saw him wink at me.

By the way, I have named him Leonard. It just seemed to fit somehow.

Powered by steam…

2009-08-28T09:04:00.000-04:00

While visiting home, I saw this steam tractor.

I thought I would take a few photos… sort of “stretch” myself, since I normally take photos of flowers, moss, bugs, etc.

I admit it was kind of fun to do. I’d love to learn more about it… what it looked like in its heyday, who owned it and so on.

I asked first…

2009-08-26T17:35:00.000-04:00

On our hike this past weekend these flowers caught my attention.

But then I noticed something else…

Love must’ve been in the air. Also, the yellow flowers were on the trail mixed in with the purple ones. Just these few though.

A quiet little mushroom…

2009-08-23T17:10:00.001-04:00

This afternoon we all went on a hike in a nearby state forest. Along the path were mushrooms of all types. Several made me stop in my tracks because of their size and brilliant colors.

But then this one caught my eye for some reason… an unassuming little mushroom tucked in among the moss and leaves. I think it’s my favorite.

Creekwalking…

2009-08-21T14:06:00.001-04:00

Today we decided to hang out at home and do some creekwalking. I don’t think the boys will ever get tired of doing it… neither will I.

A trip back in time… sort of

2009-08-17T17:28:00.001-04:00

This past weekend we visited with my parents, grandma and other relatives. Sunday evening, I decided I would eat with my aunt, mom, and grandma, while my husband and the boys ate with his parents. It’s something we used to do when I was growing up. While my aunt was preparing the meal, I decided to go out and take some photos of my great-grandparents’ house.

When I see the front porch, I think of flowers. I also remember jumping off the end which I thought was a lot of fun. I wish I could remember more, but I was pretty young when my great-grandma passed away.

Blue porch ceiling… for some reason this is one of the features that sticks out in my mind, so I had to take a photo.

Interesting to see a bottle of Ivory Liquid on the window sill as if waiting for the next set of dirty dishes to be washed.

A magical photo…

2009-08-01T13:08:00.001-04:00

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago at work. I was in a cave looking up through a “chimney hole.” They look like two wee little faires, don’t you think?

Creek light

2009-07-27T19:50:00.001-04:00

I just love creek light… the way it makes the plants shimmer and creates bursts of sunlight.

Catching frogs…

2009-07-22T20:38:00.001-04:00

For the last couple of days, I had to take my boys to work with me. It’s a good thing I work at a camp. While I was in the office, they caught frogs, played boardgames, drew pictures and flew paper airplanes in a big field. Oh, they also got slapped with water by a rainbow trout… no kidding. For some reason, they weren’t ready to leave when I was. I wonder why…

Mushrooms and flowers…

2009-06-19T12:45:00.001-04:00

It’s been a while since I last posted. Work has kept me very busy. This morning I went on a hike with the boys and my mother-in-law who will be in town for the next few weeks. It was a beautiful morning on the trail.

Rain on leaves…

2009-05-30T20:42:00.000-04:00

As I like to do at times, I like to apply a black & white filter to some of my photos. I took these after one of our many recent rains.

Things are a tad wet around here…

2009-05-28T19:57:00.001-04:00

We have had some kind of rain lately. I don’t know for sure, but I think I might be getting webbed feet. We've needed it though. The good news is that we’re officially out of the drought.

Bloomin’ left and right

2009-05-08T17:06:00.001-04:00

It had been a couple of weeks since I had last visited Carl Sandburg and it’s amazing how much can change in that little bit of time during the spring.

And I don’t know what this little flower is, but I just love it!

Lily of the Valley – Black & White

2009-05-05T10:07:00.000-04:00

I took these the same time I took the photos on Sunday, but decided to apply a black & white filter to them.

Lily of the Valley

2009-05-03T09:59:00.001-04:00

We have a large cluster of these growing in our backyard. They were there when we moved in. I think they are so lovely especially after a spring shower.

And this isn’t a lily of the valley… actually the name escapes me at the moment… that probably doesn’t surprise you. Once I remember I’ll post it.

Oh, I think I’m in love…

2009-04-24T16:31:00.001-04:00

Take a look at this guy. You can’t help but smile when looking at him.

See, you’re smiling right now… can’t be helped.
Don’t fight it…He’s not our dog though, but I really wish he were. He belongs to the directors of a local camp where I work part-time. At least I get to visit with him… and that will just have to do for now. (Plus, I don’t think our cats Sam and Dave would be too pleased with him.)

*sigh*

Meet Sam & Dave

2009-04-22T09:25:00.000-04:00

You’ll probably not see many photos of my cats Sam and Dave on this blog. Taking photos of them isn’t exactly my specialty, but I thought I would give it a shot. Usually when I take photos of the cats I get this:

or this:

But today, I got this one of Sam and was rather pleased with it.

And so that Dave doesn’t get jealous, here’s a better one of him. The previous one of his nose isn’t very flattering…

Waterbug

2009-04-20T09:19:00.000-04:00

Here’s a photo of one of the many waterbugs which like to scuttle and skate on the surface of our creek. I took dozens of photos before getting this one… not to mention almost falling into the creek a couple of times… Now that I think about it, I’m not sure if waterbug is its official name. I might have to look into that.

Dolphin in the creek?

2009-04-18T20:05:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I took a few photos near the creek. I was trying to get some photos of waterbugs which were skating on the surface, but it was no easy task let me tell you. As I was shooting, I noticed how the light was shining through the water and thought it was pretty darn interesting. So, I took a few. I didn’t even notice this shadow until l had uploaded the photos to my computer.

My first impression? Looked like a dolphin to me. How about you?

Candytuft

2009-04-10T14:00:00.001-04:00

And the name of the mysterious white flower is Candytuft. For more information check out this link.

Meet my camera

2009-04-09T11:38:00.001-04:00

I hesitated about writing about my camera, but I thought I would just fess up. Readers, let me introduce you:

It’s a Fujifilm FinePix s1000fd, 10 MP, 12x Optical Zoom. Yep, that’s it… no detachable lenses and other fancy stuff. Just a souped up point ‘n’ shoot. I’m currently saving up for a digital SLR, but it’s slow-going.

Why did I hesitate? Well, sometimes I’m kind of embarrassed about admitting what I use. I’ve been asked about my “equipment” in the past, and I just kind of hold up my little camera and say “this is it.” At times, I get some funny looks.

On the other hand, I do want encourage those, who really want to take photos, that you don’t necessarily need the newest and greatest to do what you love. I LOVE photography and I wasn’t going to wait around until I could afford a dslr. Overall I’ve been fairly happy with it.

There, that’s done.

Wildflowers and a frog

2009-04-08T18:11:00.001-04:00

On my hike this afternoon, I saw some beautiful wildflowers by the trail. I don’t know what the small purple/white ones are, but the yellow one looks like a violet of some kind. As for the frog, I took that photo in our creek on Sunday, but then my camera decided to stop working for the rest of the afternoon. Keeping my fingers crossed that it just didn’t like amphibians…

Hibiscus

2009-04-06T12:08:00.000-04:00

On my Friday hike, in addition to the white flowers, I also took several photographs of a hibiscus bush. Here’s my favorite shot. Enjoy.

Flowers and more flowers

2009-04-03T12:03:00.001-04:00

I stopped a lot on my hike today… just couldn’t help it. Everywhere I turned there were flowers blooming and I just couldn’t pass up taking photos of them. I need your help though. I don’t know what these white flowers are called. Do you? (Found out on 4/10 that they’re called Candytuft.)

Interview at Carolina Mama & Rhododendron Photos

2009-04-02T17:15:00.001-04:00

My first ever interview! Go check it out at Carolina Mama!

Couldn’t leave you without a photo though. Here’s one I recently took of some rhododendrons. To me, the black and white one is more interesting with the light coming through the leaves and the other details. What do you think?

More Trout Lilies

2009-04-01T09:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, I couldn’t help it… I had to take more photos of these little flowers. As you can see, these were taken by our creek. I think I got them out of my system… not promising anything though. (For more trout lily photos click here.)

There’s a new kid in the… barn

2009-03-31T09:55:00.001-04:00

Today I went to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site for a hike and was told that there was a new baby in the barn. Well, I had to interrupt my hike because a baby goat is just about the cutest thing you’ll ever see. (I didn’t use flash so as not to frighten the little guy. Not my best work, but I think the subject makes up for it.) Oh, and now that it’s baby goat season, you’ll probably see more photos… just thought I should warn you.

“Enough with the photos already! Baaaaaaack off!”

(Actually she was pretty calm while I took these photos.
Not a peep out of her.)

Horses in the Mist

2009-03-29T18:30:00.001-04:00

A couple of days ago I decided to go exploring… something I like to do every now and then to find new places for my photography. Well, I didn’t see much this particular morning, because it was so foggy. I saw these horses though. (I had to take the photo quickly from the car because there was nowhere to park.)

Trout Lilies

2009-03-22T15:58:00.001-04:00

Took a little walk in the woods and I discovered that the trout lilies (Erythronium americanum) are in bloom. There are quite a number of them around here. You have to watch where you step though, because sometimes they can be hidden by the leaves. They’re native to the area.

It may not be officially Spring…

2009-03-17T12:42:00.001-04:00

Today I took another trip to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Mainly I went to exercise, but I took my camera as usual. Many of the flowers and trees were either in the budding or blooming stage. To me, nothing says Spring like a daffodil in bloom. I’m really enjoying this time of year… for some reason more this year than others.

Beyond the bark

2009-03-16T12:13:00.001-04:00

Yesterday afternoon there was finally a break in the rain. I told the boys to put on their shoes because we definitely needed some outside time. As they ran around the yard pretending to fight space aliens, I took photos. This time I walked around looking at trees up close—noticing the moss and such growing on them. It’s really marvelous what you will find, if you just stop and look.

A couple more snow photos…

2009-03-09T11:47:00.001-04:00

Well, I promised that I would post a couple more photos from my snowy hike last week and I’m doing just that. Feels strange though now that it’s sunny and warm. This time last week we were outside playing in the snow and now we’re all wearing short-sleeves!

Ice sculpting

2009-03-04T13:31:00.001-05:00

This morning I took a hike at Carl Sandburg in the snow. It was a wonderful experience. Honestly, I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time. It was just so beautiful and peaceful.

These two photos were taken on a large rock outcropping near the house… where the water had frozen in little valleys. I’ll post more photos from my hike later this week.

Finally… snow

2009-03-02T14:24:00.001-05:00

Snow started falling yesterday afternoon—big globs of flakes and it was still snowing when I went to bed at about 10:30. The boys were understandably excited because this was our first “real” snow this whole season. Heck, I was excited as well.

New gallery: black & white

2009-02-23T12:15:00.001-05:00

I decided to put my black and white photos in their own separate gallery on my web site. I realized that I had quite a few and thought they deserved their own space. I will be adding more this coming year. Enjoy.

The 100 step challenge

2009-02-07T21:08:00.001-05:00

Today I tried the 100 step challenge which I found in The Photo Critic Photography blog. Basically you walk 100 steps, stop and then take a photo… you have to take a photo. Well, that’s what I did and I ended up in front of the neighbor’s storage building. I might have to try this exercise again tomorrow.

A cat in the hayloft

2009-01-26T21:54:00.001-05:00

If I had not been paying attention, I would’ve totally missed seeing this barn cat in the hayloft.

It snowed… at least a little

2009-01-18T16:59:00.001-05:00

This morning we woke up to snow falling. The boys were so excited. They jumped up and down in front of the window yelling “Five inches, five inches!” Not sure where they got the number, but the snowfall amount didn’t even get that close… maybe a millimeter.

Flowers from the past

2009-01-13T09:02:00.001-05:00

Well, between having a cold that keeps on giving and cloudy, rainy weather, I haven’t had much of a chance to get out and take new photos. So, I thought I would share with you some photos from the past.

Flowers… yep, I’ve been thinking of spring already. Usually I’m not the type who likes to hurry the seasons, but a part of me can’t wait to get out and take some photos of flowers.

Since it’s raining…

2009-01-06T11:35:00.001-05:00

It’s been raining quite a bit which has cut down on my hiking and taking photographs. So, I thought I would post a few of my favorite photos from the past. Hope you enjoy them.

This is one of those last-minute shots as I was finishing up a hike. I was crossing a bridge over the creek when I noticed the leaf.

When I was a little girl, you were more likely to find me playing in the woods than playing inside the house. As I got older, it’s where I would go to find peace and quiet.

And this photo is of a view we used to have when we lived near Canton, North Carolina. It seems to be a favorite with my online shop customers.

A foggy morning

2008-12-17T09:52:00.000-05:00

On the news yesterday morning, I saw that there was a dense fog advisory for our county. So, I took my camera with me on the way out the door to drop off the kids. I love fog… I really do.

Ice Stars

2008-12-16T13:25:00.001-05:00

Last week I took a hike around the lake and saw these “ice stars.” They stopped me in my tracks. I took about a zillion photos, but chose these two to post here. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

Our Creek: Before and After

2008-12-11T20:18:00.001-05:00

We’ve been experiencing some rain the last few days. Even though we needed it, I was kind of glad it stopped this evening. I was developing a bad case of cabin fever. Below are two different photos of our creek. Big difference, eh?

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

A few random photos from the backyard…

2008-12-07T15:25:00.001-05:00

This afternoon the boys and I went outside. I was hoping they would get some of their “energies” out. Didn’t work… In any case, I decided to take a few random shots while they played. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

And a couple of black & white shots…

An unexpected surprise

2008-11-19T19:22:00.001-05:00

Today I went on a short hike and found something unexpected. You might either want to grab a cup of coffee or wrap a warm blanket around you. These photos might make you feel a bit chilly.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Veterans Day 2008

2008-11-11T20:24:00.001-05:00

Thank you.

I had the best of intentions…

2008-11-06T11:23:00.006-05:00

This morning, I was determined to go walking for a good cardiovascular workout. My plan was to walk non-stop for thirty minutes straight. Yes, I was… until I saw some pretty red leaves on the ground…So, I stopped and took a few photos. Then I remembered why I was at the park and started walking again until I saw this lovely cat coming towards me. So friendly that I had to stop and pet him.

I mean, look at him... how could you say no to that face?

After visiting with the cat, I continued on my way until I peeked in the barnyard and saw the goats. This one was just begging me to take her photo... sitting in the morning sun. So I took the camera back out of the bag...

Okay, I thought to myself, enough is enough. I came here for a purpose—to exercise. Finally I was walking at a brisk pace, heart rate was up and I was feeling good, but then I saw Duck and Goose (pals who hang out regularly together by the lake) eating their breakfast. Well, you know what happened next…

Some of you might ask why I even took my camera. Well, it’s like walking out the door without shoes on. I just can’t seem go anywhere without it. Maybe I should wear blinders the next time… might get some strange looks though…

Glorious Fall Leaves

2008-11-04T15:28:00.004-05:00

We went up to Caesar’s Head, South Carolina this morning. I had been earlier in the month and was told about this time in November, the leaves would be at their best.

While taking photos, I heard several visitors gasp as they saw the view for the first time. I loved that.

A Dog Made of Stone

2008-10-28T12:31:00.011-04:00

(Click on collage to enlarge.)

When we moved to our current house, this little dog made of stone was in the backyard--quietly sitting as he has for who knows how long. I don't know why, but I really like him.

Obediently he stays still, watching the squirrels, foxes and other creatures go about their business. Through snow, pouring rain and sunshine, he sits, seemingly not bothered by the elements. He also keeps an eye on the boys when they play in the creek. One summer afternoon he even let them color him with sidewalk chalk without budging an inch.

I don't know why, but I really like him.

Goats and more goats...

2008-10-16T16:28:00.006-04:00

(Click on collage to enlarge.)

Well, since Carl Sandburg's wife operated a goat dairy, I thought I should probably take some photos of goats. There are three different breeds at the farm - Saanen and Toggenburg which are Swiss and Nubian which is an Anglo-African breed.

Now, which is which? I'm glad you asked because I actually know the answer. The white goats are the Saanens, light brown ones--Toggenburgs and the darker brown and black ones are the Nubians. (Hint: Look for floppy ears.)

Not only do you get to look at nice photos, but you learn a thing or two on this blog. Mind you, this won't happen all the time...

Carl Sandburg's Home in North Carolina

2008-09-30T19:15:00.003-04:00

Final collage from my trip to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Kind of ironic for the biographer of Abraham Lincoln, but this house also used to be the home of Christopher Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate Army. Interesting, eh?

Two boys and a creek...

2008-09-24T15:13:00.003-04:00

There is nothing more entertaining than a creek. You can make waterways, find crawdads and discover all sorts of things. Now this is the way to spend an afternoon...

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site - Barns

2008-09-19T16:07:00.004-04:00

I like barns and at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, you'll find plenty of them. Did you know his wife, Lilian, owned and operated a goat dairy from 1935 to 1965? To see some goat photos, click here. (Click on collage to enlarge.)

Up close and personal

2008-09-18T12:41:00.004-04:00

I can't resist flowers. I love getting as close as possible to catch every detail. Now, if you were to ask me the names of them, I'm afriad I would have to get back to you on that. (Click to enlarge collage.)

Camouflage

2008-09-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

Took these this morning among many others.

Various summertime photos at the creek

2008-09-14T16:20:00.006-04:00

To see the photos up close, click on the collage.

A morning walk

2008-09-13T11:23:00.000-04:00

This morning I took a walk in my yard and this is what I found. We finally have been getting some decent rain which produced a wide variety of mushrooms. I hope you enjoy the photos.