The butterflies are blooming

Every year at Meijer Gardens in March and April, the butterflies bloom. I love that time of the year. I head out there several times even if it is only for an hour or so (memberships are great). These didn't pop in exactly in the order I wanted but it really makes no difference.

This little guy seemed really intent on letting me take his picture. I think I took about a dozen.

I've only had one person be able to tell me what this is. I know. Do you?

Pretty cool flower. I think it is something new out there.

I tried a new "filter" on this one. It is called Posterization. Sure changed the original photo.

This one is probably my favorite one. It has gotten the most comments for the folks at work.

I have all these photos cycling through on my screens. It is so much fun to share my photos with others.

Where is the year going?

Can you believe that it is almost the middle of March already? We've had an easy winter -- so far. Only 70" of snow. And this last week we've had temps in the mid to high 50's. Not bad. Course they are saying more snow the last part of the month.

I made a quilt in the last week. It is for the baby of the son of a friend of mine. They are having their first... a little boy. This is the first quilt I've made in over a year. It may be the last. Oh boy!!! What could go wrong did. Well, a couple things went right. I had all the fabric in my stash. I didn't slash the fabric when I was ripping out quilting. I do like the way it turned out. I think the little guy will like it. The baby shower is tomorrow afternoon. I was sweating the finishing of it. But I have time to spare.

I've been doing some photography and was going to upload some tonight but the pictures I wanted to upload are in the bedroom and I am too lazy to get up and get them. So I'll save them for another post, which hopefully won't take as long to do.

The Halls Are Decked

This is the first year in ages that I've really decorated my livingroom. I've put up maybe a few but no tree for over 15 years. I have to thank some friends for some of my decorations. They have spent hours making them and I truely love them.

The above tree wallhanging and potholders were made by my friend Mary out in MA. The barn wallhanging that is on the right is also a gift from her. Mary has made me so many things over the years we've been friends. What a blessing she is to me.

Here's my tree. I splurged last year on New Year's Eve and bought this pre-lit tree. Three of the decorations on it are shown below. They were cross-stitched by my friend Karen in NJ. She's given me one each year since we've become friends. They are a treasure as is she.

I have this thing about snowmen and Santas. And bears too. The hanging Wedgewood is new this year. It's from my friend Mike. No, he didn't make it, but I love it anyway. He has really good taste.

2008

2009

2007

A new lens

For a few weeks months I’ve been wanting to buy a new zoom lens for my camera.  I finally was able to purchase one.  (I sold my old d-slr.) I bought a 70-300 zoom.  I think my first shoot came out pretty good with it.  I had some willing subjects and some not so willing.

 

 

 

 

 

I found a spot overlooking Grand Rapids that is great for taking pictures.  I’m sure I will return many times.

A long time coming

It was brought to my attention last night that it had been 3 months since I last posted.  Boy time sure flies.  Much has happened since the last post: a couple of vacations, a stay in the hospital (while on vacation) from which I have completely recovered, Thanksgiving weekend with a trip to OH, a big snow storm today for our first significant snow of the season.  There was anywhere from 4” to 15” in the area depending on where the measurement was taken.  I got maybe 7” or 8”. 

A couple weeks ago was the first night of the Christmas tree display at Meijer Gardens.  One of my favorite exhibits of the year there.  The other is the butterfly exhibit in March/April.  It was a great night for photography and I had a great time.

The above picture was taken in the conservatory part of the gardens.  That’s also where the butterflies come alive in the Spring.

This is a section of the lights in the ceiling of the restaurant.  Pictures don’t do them justice at all.

 

One of the many trees inside the building.  I think there are about 50 trees on display.  Each is decorated for a country. Can’t read the sign for the country this one represents.

 

I had rained off and on most of the day so the walkways were wet and reflected the lights perfectly for taking pictures.  The rain had stopped and the temp was not too bad.

 

Leonard DaVinci’s American Horse is probably my favorite sculpture in the gardens.  I have no idea how many pictures I have of it taken at various times throughout the year.

Another sculpture in the gardens is this one of Fred and Lena Meijer.  The gardens are named for them.  They have donated a very large amount of money for the gardens and continue to do so.

 

My morning walk today

Friday evening I went for a walk on a nearby bike path and saw all these wonderful wild flowers and berries. Of course, I had not brought my camera. Silly me. So I got out this morning before the sun was very high (or hot) and took pictures. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

This one above is an experiment with zooming while taking the picture. I needed a tripod. It was in my trunk about a quarter mile away.

To see more of my pictures click Here

Photography is so much fun

Last month a friend of mine and I went to Frankenmuth, MI which is a Bavarian city on the east side of the state. I took lots of pictures. I'll only post a few. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

If you want to see more you can check out this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029778&id=1024935020&l=e7a387aa5a