Almost Year's End

5/365

"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written".  Jn 21:25

I was just looking back on the posts from this year, a paltry 4 before this one.  I can hardly believe that's all I posted.  Where has the year gone?  And how bad of me that I didn't post more!  And just 4 posts in spite of my determination to post at least once a week.  Ooops.

So much has happened this year both good and sad.  I stayed in NY last winter for the first time in 10 years.  It was nasty cold with a lot of snow, but my hiking buddies and I managed to get out to snowshoe or use spikes almost once a week, which made the winter a little more tolerable. 

This Fall we continued finding trails and the one below is one of the last hikes we did before the weather turned snowy.

Last April my youngest daughter and her husband were blessed with their firstborn child.  James made his arrival three weeks early but completely healthy and happy.  The parents are over the moon.

8 months in this picture

In May my oldest grandson graduated from college.

         This past summer one of our hiking buddies passed away after a 2-year long struggle with bone cancer.  I was out of state at the time.  We think about her every time we hike.  She is missed.

In early October I attended my 50th College Reunion in Jamestown, ND.  I hadn't been back or seen anyone from my class in all those years.    Everyone reconnected so easily and we had such a great time.  It was a bittersweet weekend.

           In late November my second oldest grandson began his BB season so I spend a lot of time attending his games.  After this year's season there are only two more seasons to go.  That is, until the little guy starts sports.

 

 That's a quick review of the past year.  In between the big events were all the mundane activities that make up a life.  Sometimes those mundane things seem bothersome or annoying or pointless.  When I feel that way I try to remember how much I'm blessed 

*with good health

*with family

*with adequate finances

*with friends

*with a nice home

*and on it goes

Basically I try to keep things in perspective.  

WHAT A WINTER!!

4/365

This is the first time in 10 years that I've spent the winter in upstate NY.  What a mistake!  It has been cold and very snowy.  Seems like we've had one storm a week.

One saving grace is that my hiking friends and I have been doing some snow-shoeing.  This is my first experience with it.  I didn't think I'd like it, but it's more fun than I expected it to be.

Sometimes we don't need snowshoes, we can use our spikes instead.  I prefer the spikes if the trail is tamped down by snowmobiles, otherwise it's pretty necessary to use snowshoes.

We've been trying to go out once a week.  One week we had to cancel because the weather was so bad.  One week we went to the local golf-course instead of driving north to a trail. Most of the time we've managed to dodge the bad-weather-bullet: a storm the day before and more snow the day after.

Another storm is forecast for next week (third week in March).  We're all weary of it, but another storm guarantees a few more weeks of snowshoeing.  Another storm guarantees more water in the wells and farm fields. Another storm guarantees a real appreciation of Spring when it finally arrives. So I guess there's an up side to it all.  Sigh.

Some hikers we met along the trail

Hunting Lodge

Today Is...

3/365

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, 

"plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you

hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

I LOVE this verse.  It's such a comfort to know that God is in control.  I have choices but He ultimately knows what's in store for my life, so when I'm floundering and wondering what to do, I can be comforted that it's already decided and that it will be for my good and God's glory.

Whew, that's a load of my mind.

I just finished month #1 of taking and posting a photo a day.  I feel like I've accomplished something. Several years ago a couple of friends and I decided to do a 365 photo-a-day challenge. 

 It sounded so overwhelming, and it was.  

Although I did it, I missed a few days (maybe 3) 

and even though there were no "photo police" to chastise me, I felt guilty.

At the start of this year I thought I'd try it for the month of Jan. 

Just one month. 

Now it's the first day of Feb and I think I'll try it for another month. 

One of the last assignments for January was "nature".  I'm not a big fan of outdoor winter photography, so I photographed my little house plant which I enjoy so much 

and which puts a smile on my face every time I look at it.

NATURE

The assignment for Feb 1 is "Today is...".  

Well today is a dreary, cloudy, snowy & cold day but spring is on the way.

I'm staying home A.G.A.I.N because I don't want to deal with the roads

and nastiness, but I think I'll choose to be productive and appreciate

the blessings I have and not dwell on the restrictions imposed by

the weather.

TODAY IS....

A Couple of Days

2/365

I Cor 16:13~~"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave,be strong.  
Let all that you do be done with love."

Sometimes we do things because 1) we have to,  2) for the job we have, 3) because no one else will do it, 4) because someone has told us to, 5) because we think it's the right thing to do, 6) because it has to be done before the next part can be started and the list goes on.  There are so many reasons.

But no matter the reason, we can do it with love.  That's sometimes difficult to remember when we're doing something that we find objectionable, but if we consider the blessings we have it's a little easier to squeeze love into the equation.  The blessing of health, food in the fridge, clothes in the closet, shoes on our feet, roof over our heads, friends, etc.  When we remember how blessed we are, it's easier to do "what we do" with love.  It often takes practice.  

I need to practice more.

The past two days of my Photo-a-Day challenge have been fun.  I can't believe it's day 23 and I haven't missed a day yet.  I'm not usually so diligent.

Your Shoes:  I don't have very attractive shoes, especially for the winter.  Just a pair of year-old sneakers and an old pair of semi-dress shoes that I wear to church once in a while.  After giving it some thought I decided to wear my boots.  Ho, hum.  The caption is "is it spring yet?"

Jan 22, "Your Shoes"

Something Old:  Once upon a time my husband's father and uncle ran two dairies that delivered milk to homes in the area.  My husband isn't sentimental, but I thought it would be cool to have some of their original milk bottles for the kids.  So I've been collecting them whenever I find them.  There don't see to be too many of them around, but I keep looking. 

Jan 23, "Something Old"

The First Post & Some Resolutions

1/365

Prov 19:20-21  Listen to council and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.  There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless, the Lord's counsel~~that will stand.

It's January 18, 2018 and this is the first post of the year.  Last year I only posted 6 times, huh?  I originally began this blog as an online diary.  Over time I've posted a lot some years and a little some years.  I was very enthusiastic about it at the beginning, but my enthusiasm waned as time went by.  

I still follow other bloggers.  Not as much as I used to.  I think I have to revamp "blogs I follow"~~delete some and add some new ones.  That takes time.  Time to search for new bloggers to whom I can relate and who have things to say that are meaningful to me in some way.  I generally like the blogs that have photos attached since I'm a photographer myself and get inspired by other's images.

I have to admit, though, that when I read other's posts I'm often ashamed at how shallow my posts are.  I've been so moved by others.  Not only the subject matter but by their writing.  I love words and good writing~~"why don't I post like that?" I often wonder.  Partly, maybe, because I think no one cares about what I say, partly, maybe, because I'm not in the habit of writing that way either privately or publicly.  Not sure.

So, although I'm not in the habit of making New Year's Resolutions (and I'm not doing it now), I'm going to try to follow through on a few new habits:

1) post more often in 2018 than I did in 2017 (at least once a week hopefully)

2) make my posts a little more meaningful and emotional than they've been in past years

3) include one Scripture verse in each post

There!!  short and sweet.  Only time will tell if I'm successful.

At the end of December I decided I wanted to challenge myself to posting one photo a day for the month of January.  A friend is doing it with me and we post to instagram. I got the topic list from pinterest.  The topics seem benign enough that I can/will follow through.  I'm a little over half-way through the month and have managed to keep up.  As a matter of fact, I'm keeping up so well I thought I might give it a go during February too.

A few of the topics so far have been:  you, breakfast, letterbox, daily routine, in your bag...  I'm glad so many of the topics can be photographed inside my home since right now we're dealing with one of the worst winters we've had in a long time.  But this too shall pass.

LETTERBOX

MAKES YOU SMILE

DAILY ROUTINE

Stockade

6/365

A few weeks ago I went to the Schenectady Stockade area with a couple of photo friends.  It was one of our mystery rides with a scavenger hunt.    When you've been to a place many times it seems like there isn't anything left to photograph, but our alphabet scavenger hunt helped solve that dilemma.

We have a sheet with the alphabet and spaces next to each letter to write what our subject is.  It's just as much fun to see what the others get for each letter as it is to take the photos.

B~~blue steps (this was originally in color and the steps are blue)

W~~watering can

V~~vines around window

I~~ice cream sign

M~~mail

just a random shot~~I like the symmetry of it and the colors

another random shot of a barber pole

 

Saratoga Race Track Morning Warm-up

5/365

After delaying our field trip to the Saratoga track morning warm-ups twice, my friend and I finally made it on a beautiful cool morning just in the nick of time.  The track closes for the season in a few days.

We treated ourselves to a track-side breakfast, then spent some time photographing the horses during their warm-ups.  It's not a colorful as it is during a race, but still fun to try and capture the horses as they run.

Mystery Ride to Corinth

4/365

Two of my friends and I have begun a tradition.  It's a mystery ride for a photo shooting day.  We take turns choosing a surprise location.  Whoever is in charge chauffeurs the others to a surprise location.  Once there we spend some time photographing for an alphabet scavenger hunt.

This month we arrived in Corinth on a beautiful sunny day and after about an hour we met back at the park to  look at each other's images.  It's truly amazing how we each come up with such different ideas for each letter. 

After finishing the scavenger hunt we managed to get this group shot by the lake.

None of us were able to complete the entire alphabet, and we decided that for the next trip time we might need a little more time.  

Following are some of the images I made that day.

D Doggie Decal

L  Lock

N  Newspaper

R  Red Firehydrant

U  Umbrella

X  

3/365

Panther Mountain/Echo Cliffs

It's the middle of June.  This is only my 3rd post of the year. 

It's not that I haven't had anything to write about, just that I've been kind of lazy about keeping up.  So here goes for this post.

Today, two of my hiking buddies, Jane & Trish and I, went to the Caroga Lake area and did a short but intense hike up Panther Mt to Echo Cliffs.  It's the first uphill trek we've done this year.

It was one of those picture-perfect days and the trail is beautiful.

On the way to the trailhead

we saw this field of beautiful lupines.  We did a quick U-turn to get some photos.

When we began the trail this young woman, Lindsey, passed us but we met her again as she was coming down (and we were still on the way up).  She had just returned from 3 months of study-abroad in Italy.  Lindsey lives nearby and does this trail 2-3/summer.  She was a pleasure to talk with.

While at the summit this young family arrived and we had a fun and interesting conversation with them.  The dad is military and they were home on leave after being in Japan for 4 years.  After leave they would be heading back to Japan for 3 more years.  

The youngest 2, 5-year old twins, were just adorable.

Some scenes from the summit. 

On the descent we met this cute couple.  She was doing the trail barefooted. 

It was a great day.

Koko Head Botanical Garden

2/365

The other day my friend and I finally had the chance to get together to go out shooting.  In all the years she's lived on Oahu, she's never been able to get to this particular Botanical Garden, so that's what we did.  

When we first got there I was a little disappointed.  It was very dry, not much grass and I didn't think there was much to photograph.  Flowers are not my favorite subjects.  But as we walked around I began to see things and decided to get busy with the camera.  

There were a lot of plumeria trees and many of them were blooming.  A lot of the clusters were way up high, but some were at eye level and some low enough to look down on.  

There were several different colors which made for nice changes.  

I thought this gnarly branch was interesting.

This botanical garden has several sections.  The American, the Hawaiian, the African and one or two other areas.  For me, this cactus area was the most interesting.  Who would think that cactus would grow and survive in Hawaii, especially on the windward (rainy) side, but they do.

I don't know what the name of the tree is in the image below, but the cactus is called

Golden Barrel Cactus.  

Octopus Agave (below)  

Since I took this photo, I've discovered that Agave is NOT related to cacti or aloe, but it grows in conditions similar to those plants.  Agave bloom but it takes a long time to flower and then it dies.  

After we left the botanical garden, we stopped at this beach park just to see if there was anything interesting.  By then we were playing around with multiple exposures.  I didn't like most of the ones I created, but I think this one is pretty fun.