180 - SCALE

A picture from the archives. All I can say is I am so glad I wasn't there that day to assist in cleaning this bunch. Scale, gut, filet. Scale, gut, filet. What a night of dreams that would have been.

179 - CULTURE

A bit of oriental culture represented at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio. A culture I've always had some curiosity about but for some reason not enough to make me want to travel there. During my more youthful years, we were blessed with the opportunity to live in Okinawa for a couple of years. I remember it quite well. I was quite fascinated with the culture and was disappointed when our stay there was actually shortened. I think about those days quite often...you know those days when you sit and think about life, the paths you've taken, the what ifs and wishes. A culture that brings out my curiosity. A culture that captures me when I come across stories and articles on it. Maybe someday...I will travel there to satisfy a bit more of that curiosity....but there are so many other bucket list items that would have to be removed before I add this one.

178 - POINTLESS

I was on a short guided hike which for some reason...seemed quite pointless. I, of course, had my camera around my neck. As we stopped to listen...although at the end of the line on the narrow pathway, not much could be heard...I snapped a shot. A picture which at that moment also seemed to add another pointless fact to what seemed to be a day of pointless moments. A little artistic touch. A bit of vignette...maybe not quite so pointless any longer.

177 - HINT

It doesn't take much. Just a hint of seeds left in the feeder tray yet this little chipper found his way from his little nest below the walkway, up the poles of the deck, across the banister and into the feeder.

176 - OVER

Another Family Reunion over. Another group picture captured for the memories. Although we are short two people from this picture, RIP Sis and Dad, we know that in reality...they are there...right beside us...guiding us as much as we will let them. I love my family...regardless of all our different personalities, our spats, our differences and our distances. Mom did good raising six of us practically on her own with dad in the air force. We all turned out...pretty human....well most of us. (hehehe)

175 - WELL

Well...sometimes you just have to figure out how to entertain yourself....no matter how many people surround you. Or...maybe...well sometimes the kid comes out in all of us.

170 - MOST

This is what makes me continue taking shot after shot after shot most days. Somedays....snap snap snap. This is what makes me want to crawl under the blankets on a daily basis when my alarm goes off and I know if I climb out of bed it means another day locked up within four walls...in front of a computer....answering emails....fighting daily fires in a very inefficient environment. The surprises...that I find in my pictures when I look back at them. The flowers that I can literally smell when looking at the pictures. The magic that warms my heart and soul. Most days...this is what I look forward to. Most days...this is what I daydream about. Most days....this is where I find peace.

169 - WANTING

I don't know about you but I believe this look is that of a typical teenager at a family reunion wanting to be somewhere else. She really is quite beautiful when she smiles.

168 - PRAY

I love this time of the year...although it is running a few weeks behind what with the delayed end of the winter. All the flowers are shining...although not as much as they normally do given the fact that now, after a long winter, the rains keep avoiding us also. Daily as I drive miles back and forth to my place of employment...I pray and hope...that some day I will be able to sit back and enjoy all of this just a bit more.

167 - SECRETLY

She looked over the edges of the boat, watches the seagulls and pelicans from a distance, secretly wishing as quietly as she could, that she could join them in the water on this warm...okay hot....humid day in the midwest. She is a January baby and so prefers the colder months over these warmer ones.

165 - PARTITION

This teenager robin was not about ready to let the fence partition I had around my garden stop him from pulling yet another worm from the fresh ground. I, knowing that he will keep some of the other bugs down, was in no way going to discourage him from romping in and amidst my veggies.

Day 164 - ENTERING

Standing. Waiting. For that last group picture of themselves surrounded by their friends of the last few years. For some....friends of the past 12 or 13 years. Waiting. To throw the hats. Waiting. Knowing. That the step they take off of those bleachers represents the entering into the next chapter of their life. The chapter that will require more schooling. Maybe. Work. full time. Not just part time. Entering into reality of adulthood. Where work is now not just... a way to get of the house, a form of spending money to be received. Work is now...required..for the most part. A necessity. Hopefully a selffulfilling, productive and awesome aweome chapter two.

Day 163 - FEAT

It's a feat any teenager should be proud of...making it through that first important chapter of life. One that many I know, never succeeded at. One that many more will have a difficult time with yet a feat that society so demands these days to get a half way decent job.


At the same time, as we parents know and are all too familiar with, it's a wonderful feat for the parents also...to have been able to 'entice', at times' our children to keep on going. Definitely a feat to be proud of for both parents and children.

Day 162 - BALANCE

There is this one little path way coming off of the boardwalk that wanders through a quaint little foresty area at the marsh I frequent. A pathway on which I know there will always be the chippers skampering around doing what they do best....make me smile. This little guy tried to sit as still as possible and balance on top of this log in hopes that I wouldn't see him. I was amazed how close he allowed me to get. He sat. He watched. He posed. He smiled. He skampered away.

Day 161 -HELP

Go figure. Add timbers to make the garden bed look nicer and of course, it then seemed empty and needed some fresh soil added. Funny how all your friends and relatives seem to disappear when you need help with these projects. Too funny. Little do they know (or they should know) how much I actually enjoy doing it myself and therefore, the best help they can give is to...tell me how wonderful it looks when it is all done.

Day 160 - WEEK

. I discovered this plant at a local nursery, individually owned, and fell in love with it. I worried whether it would return this year but it did. It's one of the smoke plants. The above shows the floral bud it presented for quite some time. The buds start out fresh and reddish. As they age, they get dried out and then

It seemed that within a week of it drying up, it 'flowered' out with these fluffy smoky like 'flowers' that were so enchanting. A true challenge trying to capture it with the wind...even a slight breeze kept them in full continuous motion.

159 -ADD

Winter keeps me cooped up way too much. Even though I've been up here for 7 years now, after having lived south for 25 years and had gardening in my life for much longer than that...this time of the year brings all kinds of 'wantings' into my daily thoughts. Wantings to dig in the dirt. Sometimes, this means adding a new place to dig...and so... The garden wasn't added completely. Just renovated. I did add the timbers to line it nicer as this garden follows along the side of the house by the driveway. It was like night and day. This is it with the addition of the timbers.

Here's to hoping an appropriate word pops up to allow me to share more on this one.

158 - HUSBAND

Husband - to use resources economically; conserve

This group of Great Whites, joined by one Great Blue, were all grouped around one little, still wet, marshy area that apparently was over populated with crawfish and tadpoles. There was abundant food for all.

I sat parked in my car on the auto route watching them. Snapping shots every which way...when I wasn't amused and amazed at the 'dancing' they were doing. Rather, the bickering and fighting they were doing over the food. They definitely had no intention to husband their energy. Flopping and jumping. Flying here...over two feet...back five. Fluffing the feathers. Snapping at each other. Crooning their necks high and cackling so all could hear.

I think I was more exhausted than they were. Even I didn't have a chance to husband my energy...twisting and turning, focusing, snapping. Stopping. Watching. Smiling. Sigh.

157 - FRIVOLOUS

Frivolous - (of a person) carefree, not serious.

Here's the thing about us Gonia girls....we all have very versatile personalities. We can be frivolous. We can be serious. We can be extrovert and/or introverts.
We like to have fun, laugh, make others happy. We like to help. We like to learn and share our knowledge. In some form or another, we are pretty artistic.

Mostly, we are all pretty awesome...if I must say so myself.

156 - FILM

A picture of my children many years ago....taken with my Canon film camera. (I shoot Nikon today....and don't think I will ever go back.) Taken at my favorite park near Houston...which just made me realize how many years I have been visiting this park ....26 years. Wow...time flies when you are having fun.

I've loved photography for at least that long and which I could have realized that so many years ago and pursued it. Well...they say it is never too late.

155 - DISTINCT

My trip to the UP brought me much pleasure, adventure and excitement and challenges. The sun was probably a bit brighter than it should have been for waterfalls and yet the air was foggy when it needed to be clear. Yet another trip with perspectives a bit different than expected, challenging yet self fulfilling.

I found the beach where I wanted to try to get the sunset...and yet the cloudy skies just laughed at me. When I first got there, it was not a deserted beach...as the children laughed and played in the water in air much cooler than I would have ventured into water with.

Once they left...I continued trying to get shots of the waterfall and the lake landscapes....wondering if the clouds might break just enough to allow for a magical end of the day. It didn't.

When I finally gave in and decided to head back to the hotel...after all I had had a full day starting at 4:30 am in hopes of catching sunrise, over a hundred miles on the road and another six to ten hiking on trails, climbing hills and rocky ledges and sand dunes. I was exhausted.

I turned and was closing down my tripod when....this face....very distinct face...was smiling at me from the sand. He didn't move. He just grinned and welcomed the snaps coming from my 'looking glass'.

Thank you, sir. G'nite.

(He looks like a mix of George Washington and Fred Flinstone. Hey, I said I was exhausted.)

154 - RESULT

You have to wonder what this could be a result of....out of hand children, unsupervised? Problem children...or adults? Kids...just having fun? Artists by night?

When I see it...the colorful palette attracts me. I don't read what any of it says. The top portion looks as if maybe it was intentional....meant to be...put there by the town or some other organization, not knowing the reason.

Regardless...it makes me stop. Wonder. Amazed and yet not understanding. A wall of colors. A wall of mixed feelings...not only mine but of those that participated.

Result....unknown.

153 - HEALTH

I believe every one has their own 'antidotes' for sickness, their own traditions for maintaining health from day to day...whether it be physical or mental health. Or not...for those that just can't get it and continue to drive themselves into the ground insisting that bad habits of smoking and excessive drinking and poor eating habits, lack of exercise have nothing to do with the way they feel.

I try to eat healthy on a daily basis. I work out atleast four days a week even if it means just walking for 45 minutes at lunch when the weather cooperates. This in itself helps maintain my mental health and allows me to get out and away from the main stress in my life.

On those really, really bad days...and even on many good days, my photography, bird watching and/or hiking relieves all of it. It takes me to another world that I enjoy extremely. I have a favorite marsh area in which I have discovered some new areas this year where, well, birds can be birds...and can sit close enough and quietly enough and watch for pretty much as long as I need.

It brings peace to an otherwise disruptive day.

152 - BRIEFLY

.. Every fifteen minutes this female Hairy Woodpecker would swoop in, chattering the entire time until she actually flew to the feeder. She would feed herself for a very brief moment, grab one last beak full of suet, turn and fly away. As often as she returned and fed, flying off each and every time with a beakful I'm guessing she had little ones tucked away in a tree hole somewhere near by.

Later that day, after realizing it was always a female, I noticed visiting the feeder in front was a male Hairy Woodpecker, again visiting and feeding ever so briefly. He didn't seem to think it was necessary to take any with him though. Go figure.

151 - FLUSH

I've had a great opportunity over the past week to travel a bit to an area of north Wisconsin and the Michigan UP where several water falls can be found. I love the photographs I see of the water falls where the flush of water rushing over the rocks looks all silky. This is the look I still have some work to perfect in my photography. I get close and absolutely get it right in some photos. In others, I take several of the same view in different settings trying to get that silky look.
I have discovered that shooting falls on an intensely sunlit day is a true challenge. There is only so far you can crank down the aperture or

slow down the shutter speed. Sometimes it is a constant changing one this way and the other that way trying to find just the perfect combination of the two.

I did that for two days last weekend while I was hiking and finding falls to photograph. To some frustration and disappointment. On my way back home, I stopped at one last waterfall. It was early in the day. It was foggy and overcast. Voila....the shots came a lot easier. The flush of the water flow wasn't all washed out and blurry looking. Instead, it seemed Mother Nature had laid a silk blanket over the hillside, creating a magical, mystical view that mesmerized even the simplest of viewers.

150 - INTENSE

Yes, the picture is not focused on this one Mr. No shoulders. It definitely helps to reduce the intense williness I get when watching one of these slither across the surface. This guy...well...he didn't quite make it across the road although I'm not sure he wasn't out basking in the long overdue warm spring sunshine.

149 - ALPHA

Sam is one of the many alpha males in my Lexi's life. Yet, although she isn't an alpha, she knows how to put them in their place if they confront her in the wrong way one too many times. Mostly...they are best friends and we miss having Sam right across the road to visit.

148 - EXTRACT

Home made compost extracted from kitchen vegetable leftovers and yard waste/trimmings. Almost done but not quite. Just a couple more weeks of this warm weather should give it the right amount of cooking and flavor. My rose bushes love it as do most of my garden floral varieties. I can't wait to feed.

147 - NEVER

My luck seems to have changed over the past few weeks as far as being able to get close up and personal with my subjects. Last year, this little lady would never have let me get this close to her. I'm guessing she was more hungry for the green grass after this long winter (oh yeah....its 36 degrees here in the morning today so maybe winter hasn't left).

The trick, you have to move forward slowly. I got to her level...on the ground and snapped a shot. I crept a little bit closer and took another. A little bit closer and snapped again. A bit more. Another pic. Closer. Snap. Closer.

There she goes into her abandoned house yard next door.

146 - NOTHING

There are those days when ...well...I've got nothing. No pictures. No creative thoughts. No warmth. No sunshine. Zip. Nothing. No energy. No incentive. I guess this is what they call 'writers block' or 'photography block'.

It is these days, that my bff shines for me. Poses...in a non-knowingly way. (Maybe I should say she snoozes.) On the couch, of course. No way to let a queen sleep on the floor. So....I quietly grab my camera (she does not smile for me when she sees it) and.....snap. Nothing turns in to something.

145 - DRINK

Sometimes you just have to enjoy a drink more refreshing than a bottle of water mixed with cranberry juice.

And, that's all I have to say 'bout that.

144 - IGNORING

They, too, turned their back towards me...ignoring the fact that I was coming upon them, determined to remain in the midst of the sunshine and warmth of the gravel lying on the pathway. I was no more than about 10 feet away from them when I took this picture. Amazed. That they let me get so close as these weren't your normal beach seagulls that are used to people (you know, the ones that are waiting for your left over french fries).

143 - RIVAL

Along the great shores of Lake Superior are sand dunes. Huge sand dunes that used to be used for sliding logs down in the days of logging. I am sure many of these have been repositioned, rebuilt, reshaped with the winds of the lake frequenting the shoreline.

As I hiked along these areas looking for photo ops, I was in awe of how the pine trees were trying to encroach on to the sandy dunes, yet allowing the sand to spill over into the forest grounds. Amidst these dunes, just on the edge of the forest, a rival between vegetation and sand continues on. I found these flowers trying so desperately to be the winner of this fight. Showing their strength and determination.

With sand all around, I took my over shirt off to lay my camera equipment on, laid low to the ground and snapped this shot with my macro lense, amazed at the assumed to be brown/tan sand pebbles which turned out have a wonderful pallete of diversified colors.

Living together in harmony. Nature. What an amazing role model.

142 - GRACE

She was wandering down the gravel road as I slowly passed through. She realized I was coming closer and moved with grace across the road, out of the way of the big black round rubber things coming her direction. I crept slowly closer in hopes I wouldn't scare her totally away and also because I knew that more than likely somewhere on the edge of this gravel pathway, there was probably a barren nest with eggs, camoflauged as rocks.

She scurried gracefully a little bit more, trying to get behind the very short, dried up blades of vegetation that were on the sidelines...hoping that she also would be camoflauged from site. I was blessed enough to have been able to quietly roll down my window and snap some good shots of her using my car door as a support.

I drove off slowly, praying that the nest was out of harms way, and she scurried with grace back to her nesting position, watching the black round rubber things roll away.

141 - PACE

As I headed north for my 'get away' photography weekend, this dam caught my eyes...as I sped by. I thought about turning around but didn't, thinking I would stop on my way back. Luckily there was a car parked on the side of the road on my return trip and I remembered to stop as it was positioned in a manner that I would have looked at the river on the right side and not noticed this on the left side.

I don't know what captured my attention more, the beautiful rusty colors of the dam itself or the fast pace of the water flowing through it. I got down below the bridge to snap shots and realized that it didn't really seem the water was flowing at as fast a pace as I had thought but the downward flow created this awesome flurry of water gyrations that it seemed it was extremely fast. It was mesmerizing and magical. I sat for quite some time watching it and listening to it as it seemed to drown out all other sounds around. Even the passing by cars.

140 - BROTHER

Oh Brother. Wow. And holy crap. Did that fog ever roll in fast. I hope this person is coming in from kayaking and not going out. Somewhere amidst that foggy background is Lake Superior.

138 - LYING

I watched this guy through my camera lense for a while, snapping a shot now and then, as he munched out on what looked like a corn cob. When all of a sudden, pop, up came another head and I realized all the while, this wasn't just one but two muskrats. One lying on top of the other. Trying to keep warm maybe on this cold, blustery spring?? day.

137 - MANDATE

There are times in our lives when life itself mandates a 'get away'. For a peace of mind. To regroup. Recollect. Think. Ponder. Plan. Relax and enjoy. Or just plain forget. Everything. Responsibilities more so than anything.

I am bad about taking these mandates. I feel guilty about not dealing with the day to day responsibilities that are thrown at me from every direction. So I continue on. And on. And on. And one day, the life vat that fills from giving and giving and giving overflows. It spills over. It floods. At this point, the vat begins to crack and a quick repair is needed. A mandated 'get away'. For personal reasons. For regrouping. Recollecting. Pondering. Relaxing and enjoying. For finding a new path, a new road, that will lead to beautiful curves, twists and turns and straightaways.

This is that road for me right now. A road filled with new life of spring. Budding out trees. Carpets of trillium, trout lilies and violets. A road filled with new challenges and revived breathes.

136 - BILLION

I am guessing that along the many miles of this Lake Superior Beach there are probably billions and billions of these multi colored, multi sized rocks and pebbles.

I'd love to have the opportunity to walk every inch while counting and guesstimating and studying and admiring each and every one of them. (Well atleast during the less cold months of the year.)

135 - BACKSPACE

The backspace key. Here on the keyboard. Don't we all, at some point in time, wonder what our life would be like if we could delete, backspace, and do somethings differently? I do. Once in a while. More so from a professional perspective. I guess maybe I could now but...not sure many people would accept that newness out of this oldness.

If I could though, this is what I would do. Study nature more (or would I then not appreciate it as much as I do now?). I love birdwatching. I love photography. I could still do that - photographing nature/birds, and try to make a living on it. With my continued passion and dream of travelling and writing and photographing.

Really...can't I just backspace...jump in the car and go?

PS...it's my birthday today and I ignored all my responsibilities so I could go to my favorite marsh area and find this (which I had a glimpse of over the weekend), mom Sandhill and her two little ones.

134 - TWENTY

He watched me very closely as I stood, behind my looking glass, no more than twenty feet away from his feeding station. He would turn quickly and grab some seed and return his eye back in my direction to see if I had moved. I'd hold my breathe. I hoped with every stare he gave me, that the wind blowing my hair wouldn't scare him off. I did all I could to keep from shivering too loudly because of my excitement as well as the cool non-spring like wind that blowed just a bit too much for my photographic preference.

'What is that click I hear?', I could hear him wondering as I snapped as quickly as I dared in hopes of not scaring him away. He continued on until the Orioles returned to scold him, advising him it just wasn't his turn anymore...regardless, again that he wasn't even interested in the grape jelly.

133 - ORDER

I remember the first time I heard there was a pecking order at the feeder amongst birds. Attract a bunch of different species and you will see who the bosses are. And this pecking order is different depending on what the food seems to be...so it seems.

Very loudly the Orioles let all the others visiting the feeder (even if they were going for the seeds and not the grape jelly and oranges) know that they were Queen and King for the moment. No one dare come into their space.

I wonder to myself....what the order would be if there was one for us humans. But I don't wonder too long. Knowing that of course, I'm pretty sure...I would be queen...if even for just a moment.

132 - STARK

I've gone to my archives for this one. As I watch the robins that have returned this year to my yard. I have a garden shelf next to my back door with a wood, decorative bird house sitting on it. There is just enough room between it and my garage wall where the Robins last year decided was a good spot for a nest. Did I say...right by my backdoor? Stories from others about being dive bombed by birds when going near nests worried me. Did I say...the back door is our main entrance and exit. Not only for us but also for my canine friend. Did I say that?

Every day we were careful. Every time the garage door opened she flew away. Every day we watched as a new egg was layed. Every day we were excited when another hatched. Pink. Stark naked. Naked as a jay bird. Or robin bird. Will they really grow into those eyes? Will they survive their first fall as they try to fly out of the nest onto the concrete floor below them?

I thought of many ways I could line the ground to make it softer.

We went to Mother's Day celebration.
We came home.
Gone. All of them. Not 4 days old and. Gone. No sign whatso ever as to what happened. Nest still intact. Babies. Gone. Tears. Deep sigh.

Maybe next year. No. Robins are smart.

131 - TRAIL

I hike a lot. It takes me away from reality which is good many days after the long work weeks. This time of the year, I even try to find someplace to scurry off to right after I get home, dog in tow, wagging her tail knowingly as I change from high heels to hiking shoes, listening for the jingle of the tags on her collar.

Some places, I go back to many times because they have magic in them that keeps drawing me towards them. Others...well sometimes we need a change.

Just about every where I go, this is one of the most favorite things I love to photograph...given the right viewpoint. The trail. Sometimes as I walk forward, a curve or distant view catches my interest. Sometimes when I turn around the trail has a complete different perspective. Sometimes I stoop to the ground to capture a snap of something else and 'voila'....a view from my canine perspective can be even more interesting than mine.

Trails. Always interesting. Always wondering where the next one, the next corner, the next curve or uphill or downhill valley will lead. Trails. Wonderful things.

130 - CRITICIZED

I am criticized on my photography on almost a daily basis....by myself. Of course, we are our own worst critic. I do happen upon a picture here and there...more often than not, atleast one per day from a photo excursion...that I am really impressed with. (Pat myself on the back, something which I have a difficult time doing.)

So I joined a photography club where we share pictures at each meeting and critique them, yet, I still have not been brave enough to actually bring in any of my pics. I was with another group though of photographers that I don't know much at all. A group that only meets a few times a year and some were from all over the state and/or Midwest and I suppose I won't see them much if at all again. I shared some of my pics. I received lots of 'atta girls'. They criticized in a good way. Okay, I guess that is more critiquing than criticizing.

It has given me a new 'light' to follow. A new bounce to my step, if only for a few days. I think I'll share some of the same set of pics with my regular group to see if there is a common agreement that maybe, just maybe, there is some hope to maintaining that bounce to my step for a bit longer.

129 - DULL

One of the first decent evenings where it actually feels that spring might actually show up this year...this spring...before summer hits (if it arrives). Wandering around the gardens wondering what all is peeking it's head out...anxious to know if there are any bare spots that will require me to go to the garden center (you know, the one where I will buy way more than I really have room for). Face to the ground. Pulling weeds. Talking to my canine friend. Listening to hear the birds that have arrived back after winter.

It's getting dark now. We should go in. I stand. I turn to take one last look...and stop..to gasp...at one of the first pretty sunsets in a while. Air fresh and clear and brisk and not DULL in any way.

Sigh. We should go in.

128 - ATTITUDE

This is my garden angel. Purchased many years ago when my residence was in the deep south. I purchased her for her 'attitude'. The smile on her face. The mystery to the smile. The mischieviousness. She continues to look over my gardens, putting a smile on my face each and every day as she informs me that....life is too short to worry about much of anything.

127 - BESIDE

Beside my home...is this home. An abandoned house. Slowly falling apart. The owner no longer resides there...but for some reason won't depart with the place. Waiting until the very last moment, just prior to being taken away, and then the taxes are paid up....resulting in yet another 3 years of....this...the house beside mine. Abandoned. Falling apart. One shingle, one support beam...at a time. So often I wonder....will it take someone getting hurt before ...the issue is resolved.

126 - ALAS

Alas, it is time for the neighborly Derby Party. All eyes on the race....