Suzie and Sam Call it Quits

"Ode to Muskrat Love"
1/500 sec at f/7.1 ISO 100

"Nibblin' on bacon, chewin' on cheese.
Sam says to Suzie "Honey,would you please be my Mrs?"

The Captain and Tennile were unavailable for comment, but apparently, the good times have come to a sad, and ugly, end. This sign was spotted along the highway today in Muskrat Land. Without any indication of one last jitterbug, it appears Sam and Suzie have nuzzled muzzles together for the last time.

On the bright side, it is only 48 cents a pound!

Sunday Dinner

"Eagle Eye"
1/160 sec at f13.0 at ISO 400

Sometimes you just get lucky. I was on my home from church and I saw a blue heron all alone on a frozen lake; so I put the car in neutral and coasted into position, rolled down the passenger window, reached behind me to retrieve my ever-present camera, and pulled the camera up to my face only to have the viewfinder read "No (Media) Card." Done posing, the big bird flew away. Grrrrrrr!

A half mile further down the road, I go by another frozen body of water and spot something moving fairly close to the bank. I continue past it a few hundred feet and find a place to turn around. I get out of the car and open the back door to get into my bag for a memory card. I'm certainly not going to do that twice in five minutes time. I get back behind the wheel, roll the passenger window down again and creep back to the spot. I couldn't tell what it was until I was right on top of it, the immature eagle stared at me, once again I raised the camera to my eye, I clicked the shutter, looked at the preview screen and it says "Low Battery Power" and shuts down. What????? I look at the eagle, he couldn't care less, he's still ripping and tearing away at dinner. I can't reach a spare battery without opening the car door, so I take out the battery and try warming it up in my hand and shove it back in the camera body. I look up and eagles asks, "Can't I eat in peace?" and in disgust takes off. I rattle off one more shot and the battery goes dead again. So, the above shot, is the first of only two frames taken. Timing is everything!

Enough with the Crackers, Polly!

"I Love Lucy"
1/160 sec at f4.5 ISO 800

My wife and I traveled westward yesterday to check out the World of Pets Expo. Very surprising to see how many kinds of pets there really are and how loyal a following each of them have. Besides your obvious dogs (from pocket book-size to miniature horse-size) and cats, there are tens of tens, if not hundreds, of others. And the vendors, holy mackerel (hmmm ... actually that species was not represented); for every breed of pet there are one hundred people trying to sell you something to go with it. There were certainly no obvious signs of a recession present at that event.

Changing of the Guard

"Write On"
1/200 sec at f/8.0 ISO 200

On Frozen Pond

"Shattered Ice"
1/40 sec at f/4.0 ISO 100

As I walked out on to the frozen body of water next to our house this afternoon I was reminded of my younger days playing hockey on the ponds around West Springfield, Massachusetts and actually breaking through and falling into the icy water one day .... brrrrr! What a chilly walk home that was!

Night Lights

"Bridge Fridge"
10 secs at f/4.0 ISO 100

The night air is brisk, but the scenery is still beautiful. Don't let the cold weather stop you from getting out and taking some pictures.

A Year Ago ...

Ice Cubes on a Stick

1/640 sec at f/7.1 ISO 100

C&D Canal

1/8 sec at f/5.6 ISO 200

Play Misty for Me

1/800 sec at f/11 ISO 400

Revisiting some old images from a year ago this month and looking forward to a harvesting a new crop this year.