Wednesday

Black and White and Frozen Watery Wednesday

These photographs were taken during the ice storm of January 2009. We were without electricity for seventeen days. All of our appliances are electric. Virtually every tree in our woods lost its top. The second night of the storm, we didn't sleep. Every three to five seconds (I do mean this literally; we counted!) we were startled by the sound of large branches falling or trees falling on the house and all around us. We lived in fear that the 96 foot poplar next to our house would fall. Thankfully, the poplar only lost branches.
The tree was cut down the summer after the ice storm.

Every time I catch myself complaining about all the snow we've had this winter, I remember that I should be above all thankful that this is just some snow. The power is still on, we have heat, I can wash clothes and diapers in the washing machine and dry them in the dryer. I sincerely hope that no one ever sees an ice storm of that magnitude again.





Our driveway


A nearby field

I liked the barbed wire in this one.

As I look outside and see snow, I can smile. It's not ice!!!
I'm joining Lisa at
The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday.
I'm also linking up with 2sweetnsaxy for Watery Wednesday.
Hope you're having a great week!

-Susan

Black and White Wednesday

Well, from color on Monday to black and white on Wednesday.
As it's snowing again, it seems somehow appropriate. We have had quite a few nocturnal visitors lately. Most nights, we have three to five raccoons visit the deck. Frequently, but not every night, we also have a Virginia Opossum.
Since these guys visit at night, photographing them has really been challenging. Black and white makes my not-too-good photos look better.

He's not aggressive, he's just chewing.

This individual has a notch on his left ear. He's also the largest visitor.

Opossums have always looked ghostly to me. Since watching the movie, The Princess Bride as a kid, they have also reminded me of R.O.U.S.-es.
("Rodents of unusual size? I don't think they exist.")

While not as skittish as the raccoons, the 'possum had had enough.


The raccoons seem much more nervous than the 'possum. Perhaps that's because 'possums have fifty teeth, perhaps not.


Stop by
The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday and see what others have linked!

Hope you're having a great week.

Black and White Wednesday

I'm sorry I've been absent so much lately, but as predicted, the baby did finally arrive! She's healthy and beautiful and amazingly sweet. I'm going back to see her (and her parents) as soon as I can. Aren't babies wonderful?! It's unreal to me to realize that my little guy was nearly that small this time last year.

Anyway, I thought I'd get back in the swing of blogging by joining
The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday. How wonderful for Lisa to finally get to be with her daughter!

Here is one of my first "babies." This is my birthday beagle, Hardy. He's one of the sweetest dogs ever. And for some reason, he nearly always smells like Fritos.
Good dog.

-Susan

Black and White Wednesday

I have had some wonderful tree frog encounters lately. There was one that was almost white with sea foam green on his back. Another was light gray with distinct patterns on his back. Well, even after trying to edit to make the color look like it really did, I thought these would work better in black and white. This is a Bird-voiced Tree Frog with sea foam green on his back. He's a tiny little thing, no bigger than an inch.

Also, this week, I got a Canon Canoscan 8800F. The scanner hasn't been working on my printer for a while, but the big selling point for me is that this thing will scan negatives, several at a time. How cool is that?
It would be a lie to say it was easy to set up on my computer, but that's Hubby's department. It's still really easy to use. I have been going through a shoe box full of pictures and negatives. Grandma left massive amounts of photos, but few of her.
I didn't take the next two photos, but I did get permission from the photographer's next of kin.


Here is my beautiful mommy on her second birthday.
Notice the icing on her fingers and the cake showing.


Here she is with my beautiful grandmother. Losing my grandmother was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I'm glad she left so many photos behind.
If you still have a grandmother, go hug her now.

Stop by The Long Road to China for more Black and White Wednesday.

-Susan

Black and White Wednesday

I have seen more Bird-voiced Tree Frogs this year than any year I can remember. As a kid, these were simply "tree frogs." We'd occasionally see them on the window screens in the summer. This year, hardly a week has gone by without a sighting. The color variation is amazing. Some are quite green, others are nearly brown, and one individual is a dovey gray. He matches our house. I saw my little gray frog on a cold morning this week. I don't know how cold is too cold for tree frogs. I suppose, as long as there are bugs about, they'll be okay.

So, here's my black and white Bird-voiced Tree Frog for Black and White Wednesday.
Originally, he was one of the green ones.

Above is my gray one.
Below is the gray one blending in on my house.


And this is one of my green ones.

Now for a little confession. About 95% of all my blogging and photo editing is done while holding Bonus. So, if anyone knows of a good tutorial for making a real watermark with the GIMP, I'd appreciate it. There is only so much I can figure out while holding a one year old.
Any good "intro to blogging" tutes would be welcome, too.

So, today, I'm linking up with The Long Road to China for Black and White Wednesday. Hop on over and see what black and white goodies today brings!

-Susan