Cat Lovers

Hello everyone, here is the link to the last thread.

http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=47&pst=1191548

Here is where you will find some of the most beautiful scenery and WILD life, and WILD flowers that you will ever see. We have some very talented photographers here.

If you are new here and would like to post some of your stuff, please be sure the photos are not too big that people would have to scroll back and forth to read. Also, please confine this to scenery and wild life and the moon and stars and other visions of beauty.

Although your cats are natural beauty, please place them in one of our blue pinned folders, or make a new thread for your kitties. They DESERVE to have a thread of their own as they are more beautiful than words can say.

Hello Photography Friends - Donna has set us up with a brand new thread, and well said, too Donna! Thank you!

Have fun filling it up gang - happy shooting!

Lila, thanks for the name of the little tulip and your Shooting Stars are beautiful!  We called them Bird's Bills when I was a kid.  By the way, some of the little wild tulips and Cats Ears are in the same family. And, Amy - thanks! 

Here is a shot of the area where the little Cat's Ears were found.  It sits on a high hill above Lone Ranch Beach which reminds me more of a Celtic Tor!

This is one I took of a big hawk watching our chickens from afar:

This next one is a photo I took one night of a full moon:

This is one of a deer who wandered through our side yard:

Oooh, nice pics Billye! So pretty!

Meralyn, as always... yours are beautiful!

Very nice Billye.  Each one is perfect!

Sugar

Meralyn I have HP scanner/printer.  The software came with the scanner/printer.  It is really easy to use.  That's what I like.  I store pictures in folders in my documents and eventually put them on a CD.

Sugar

Meralyn that is beautiful. Billye I like your photos.  OK how about I do something different?

I am still putting my camera through its paces and I took this photo of a grasshopper in disguise to see how it would do at picking up the detail.  Do not worry I am not going in to an ugly bug faze.  Next time I post it will have lots of color.

No comments, no pictures, just a little info.

Picasa2 can resize photos.  It's under EXPORT on the lower right on my version. 

Choose your photo, click PICTURE, VIEW EDIT then EXPORT, and use the slide to see the new long dimension.   It may default at 800x600, but once you change it,  it will stay where you set it.    I dropped mine to 640 since they will upload much faster. And for sure not give me over sized pictures for thread posts

Oh, and mine auto exported to a new folder called Picasa exports, it created it for me

SEEK and you will find

HAPPY Picasa-ing.

As promised color:

I just wish that I could post the fragrance also.

WOW!  Great pictures Billee and Lila!  And Lila you are getting the most fantastic color and clarity with that new camera!  Amazing!

Sunny - I tried to find that once before but couldnt, re Picassa resizing.  I take mine down to 600 in shrinkpictures.  I shall look again.  And thanks everyone.

Oh Sunny, you are an angel!! 

I took them down to 640...now we will see if they come out. 

Ok now, please, feel free to tell me what I need to do to make them look better.   I will take some pictures of my lavendar tomorrow.

Wow Amy!! Great shooting!

Lila! Those are awesome! The color is gorgeous!

Everything is beautiful. I am always amazed how the bugs seem to blend in with their area. I guess God made them that way to be safe. I know some can change colors and stuff.

Ooh, look what I did! I love Picassa! Sunny you have created a monster! I can't wait for the sun to come up so I can take some more pictures and play!  Y'all never told me it was this much fun! 

Beautiful!  Your having fun and I'm so glad.  Now try Gimp and Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 and up, you'll lose your mind!  It IS addictive!  Just dropped by for a moment before going to bed.  Sweet dreams all!

Sunny - I've been too tired to check out resizing thru Picassa, will attempt that tomorrow.  Thanks again!

Ivy in my garden.  This is a delicate little ivy but very tenacious and rather invasive!  It is spreading everywhere, even gets into the flower pots and planters all by itself!  The flowers are tiny, not even as big as the eraser on the end of a pencil!  I was amazed at how well my camera did, I was able to steady the camera against a wall.  I've cropped, sharpened, but did not enhance in any way.  That silly expression is actually real!

Sunny - I finally found the resizing options in Picassa!  Thanks foryour help!

OK - get out there and enjoy your cameras gang!  Happy shooting! 

Great pictures, Meralyn! Yours make mine look sad.  But, I am enjoying it anyway, and maybe someday I will either get better or will be able to get a better camera. That may be a good thing to look into with the stimulus payment we are supposed to be getting.

Here are a few I took today, I am having trouble getting them as sharp as I would like them, especially the lavender. Any suggestions?

My camera is a little cheap one, it is the Olympus D-535 Zoom.

I am not sure what the problem is with them, they just don't look like I would like for them to. 

Amy I think your flowers are very pretty.  I didn't jot down notes....Lila are the lilacs yours?  They are pretty too!  Mine are blooming now.

Sugar

Amy - I'm back from shopping, bought a rotisserie chicken and a chilled bottle of Yellow Tail chardonnay, had a small salad with it, I am now full and fairly mellow, LOL!'

You asked if there is any way to improve your pix - frankly girl, I think they're marvelous!!!  Especially with the camera your working with, how could you do better?!  A couple are a little out of focus, you might try propping your camera on something if you dont have a tripod.  But some cameras just can not do a tight macro shot. At my age I can't either, LOL!!!  I need to buy a tripod that will fold down low, but some of these little wild flowers, bugs, and whatever, require getting down and dirty to shoot them!   And I hate the thought of packing a tripod, unless Harry is along, tee, hee,!  When you get down low enough you can prop the camera against your knee or use your arms (elbows) as a tripod, that's when your flat on your belly!  Yeah, I still do that!  Quite a sight I imagine, LOL!!! 

Sometimes you can go into Picassa and sharpen your pix a bit, but if the focus, and resolution, is not there to begin with its impossible.  Also if you go too far the pic will go grainy.  If that happens just unsharpen a bit.

Happy shooting everyone!  P.S. Harry and I had to cancel the trip to shoot the Tall Ships, weather drizzly, uncooperative $hit!!!  So I'm going over to his house for dinner & a movie, not a bad trade off!  

Baby Blue Eyes - A small wildflower growing on a sunny hillside at Cape Ferrelo, Oregon, March, 2008

That is a beautiful picture, Meralyn. You capture so many flowers that I have never seen!

I have a little birdhouse in one of my flower gardens that I painted as a burial marker for my bird and I noticed today that a family of little lizards have taken up residence in it. They have been poking their little heads out the hole. I have been trying all day to get a picture, but they are so skiddish that they are not cooperating! 

Amy thanks.  And maybe you could hide behind something to shoot the lizards? That's a cute story!  I didn't know lizards did that.  What kind are they?  I used to play with them when I was a kid, obviously I was considered a bit weird, LOL!   I've been trying to sneak up on a Wilson's Warbler part of the day, shy little twit! 

So...where were me 

Ah yes.  Welcome to the  thread Billye.  I guess that's a real live Chicken Hawk ya got there, huh.  I say, a live one  son ya see ma boy, chicken hawks  doesn't has to eat us chickens now boy. He said in his best Foghorn Leghorn impersonation.

Lila, you're teasing me with those  Lilacs.  It'll be another 2 to 3 weeks before mine bloom. But I'll get to smell them then  Hey, nothing like a good bug for a change of pace.  I have a few  Mantis in my Webshots albums.  They are  creepy close up especially when they look right at you.

Oh and I just found out something I never knew.  Someone sent me a NJ facts list.  And I think I found out why I'm so behind the rest of  you guys.   Near where I live just happens to be not only the highest point  in NJ, but the highest elevation of the entire east coast!  No wonder when we get snow it stays until April.  I'm in what is called the "Highlands".  That I've always known that, but being the highest of the high I thought for  sure the Smokey's or the Catskills  must be  higher.  And compared to the Rockies, these are bumps.

 Amy, I know I'm going to spell this wrong, but are those colorful little flowers Kalochia or something like that.  In the cactus family??   They're cool whatever they are.  And you see, you can take pictures, good ones at that.  I think your little lavender is fuzzy due to camera shake, which is like Meralyn said, you need a support so the camera doesn't move  when you squeeze the shutter.  Mini tripods work good for close ups and they're fairly inexpensive.  And there are all sorts of them too.    There are even little bean bags made to support cameras.   And quite a few  of my early digitals, were taken with an old Olympus D380 which is about as basic as you can get.  Doesn't even have an optical zoom and is only 2 mega pixels,  so you can't crop things  up  or all you'll see all the pixels.  All my  food photos are taken with that one too. I leave it set for 640 since I'm never going to use any of those for anything but the food thread.

   Meralyn.  I only realized Sunday night that I  even had Picasa on my   laptop.  I see everyone talking about it and  never knew I had it.  Was a freebie that came with it I guess.  Took some digging to find  that resize  feature.  It was sort of hidden away.  Most  imaging programs that I have it put it where it can be seen easily, not  under sub menus.   Now I'm going to have to look better and see what else Picasa can do.  Although I'm way too lazy to learn this  imaging stuff.

I not only have the original Elements, LE, (Limited Edition), and Elements 2.0 but I have the full  $600 or so, at the time, version of Photo Shop 7!   Never use it.  Steep learning curve and I'm not into  learning it.    Of course I didn't pay for it, it was a gift. Also have Paint Shop Pro, Picture It, Photo Suite 4 and a few others, and don't understand any of them.

My best ever digital image   And I didn't even get Joxer behind the wheel.  In fact didn't take the  pic of the dragster either.  I just did the  writing and the rainbow.

Amy, Meralyn lives in Paradise  That's why she  has so many  flowers and birds and  rivers and  ocean to  take  pictures of.

Bet this doesn't post.

When I took the shot of the lavender it was very windy, too, and I was trying to take the picture in between gusts. Maybe that was some of my problem.

I am going to continue trying to get the picture of the lizards. They usually come out when I water, they like to play in the water.  I am not sure what they are actually called, Meralyn, we always called them geckos, but I am not sure that is really the correct name. I have one big black one that gets on top of my cactus and flares is neck thingy out looking for love. But of course, when I came outside to try to shoot him he left, too. Nothing like being rejected by a lizard!! I think I have hit an all time low! 

I have been playing with Picassa, Sunny, and I really like it. I am sure it doesn't do as much as some of the programs you and Meralyn are used to, but for someone just starting out, it is great. Re-sizing is very easy since you told us how to do it!

Ok, now I am off to the shower - I have to get to bed so I can get up early to resume my lizard quest! 

This is the strange and oh so beautiful Indian Sands about 12 mi's north of where I live on the Oregon coast.  That is wild Ice plant growing on the sandstone.  The winds have worn the sandstone down to sand so there are also sand dunes here, and rocks with holes, starkly beautiful, as if in some other world!

Close-up of wild Ice plant.  I will post other pix of this intrigueing, and fantastically beautiful, area a little at a time for you.

Amy - good luck with your "lizard quest", LOL!  I would love to see pix!

OK - get out there with your cameras, commune with nature, and get a good soul lift!

Meralyn thanks RE the lilac. The ivy is wonderful. I love the baby blue eyes. We have one that is smilier here it is a cousin I photographed it a couple days ago but have not had time to do any thing with it. Meralyn your photos from Indian Sands can be described in one word WOW. One day you will get a knock on your door and it will be me .

Amy you are doing great.

Thank you sandy

Sugar the lilac is ours my mom planted it when she was a kid it was a start off of a very old bush. I think that the original bush was torn out a few years ago it was probably 60-80 years old of not older.

Sunny I would never tease you.  I hate Praying Mantis you are right they are creepy, last year we had one that lived out side of our kitchen and loved to climb up the window and watch us especially when we were eating yuck!

Here is a photo of a Gray Squirrel this is the first time I have got a good shot of one.

Got to run the puppies are waking up and it is my turn to puppy sit.

Good Morning All You Happy Photographers!  I'm posting in here first today as I gave up trying to get the Reply box in Chit Chat, jeesh!  care2 can be maddening sometimes!

Lila - your squirrel is super - great clarity and color!  Your camera IS a champ and so are you!  It is never just the cam!

Thanks re Indian Sands pix.  I'd like to take you-all on a photo-tour of that fantastic area and will do so a little at a time but first I want to post a couple pix from my walk yesterday that, to me, are rather special. Have fun!

I went for a walk yesterday at the Wayside park, only about a mile below Kamp Park which is my usual haunt, just across the border on the California side.  I had fully intended to hoof it on down to the Indian Island, Prince, on the Tolowa Rancheria  end, and try to shoot birds, starfish, sea anemones, and whatever I could find.  I was only a short ways down the beach, studying the surf, turned, and found two Oyster Catchers right on the beach not far from me!  They are usually on the rocks, I have never seen them on the beach before!  The would squat down on the sand and rest, as if ill, then when I would get closer they would take off in a huff, but on foot!  I shot them at a distance, kept following them slowly, got one funny pic, then they went to the surf edge and shot me a dirty look!LOL!  I left them alone at this point!  I hope they are OK!?

WOW, I have never seen them before. They look like they have carrot noses.   They are not around here, but I love the shore birds. I saw a blue heron flying over today.

View of Whaleshead Beach from the trail overlook.

Small sign on the bench at Whaleshead overlook.  This is the beginning of the beautiful trail leading from Whaleshead to Indian Sands along some of the most rugged, and beautifully picturesque, sites in the world!  I will take you on a photo tour of this special area a little at a time.  These photos were taken last year with my Konica Minolta. 

And thanks Donna re Oystercatchers.

Meralyn, I love that sign! I always try to keep that attitude. Helped get me through some really tough times. And the birds - great shots! Donna - carrot noses. Can't wait to see the beach tour, Meralyn. Lila, I love your squirrel! He's too cute. And Amy - a photographer lurks!!

I took some time yesterday to find some flowering something to photograph. I miss my photography when life doesn't give me time to enjoy it. Sometimes, you just have to do the things that you enjoy for a bit so you don't go crazy! Yesterday was like that. So, I snapped these little guys.

And here is one to show you the actual size of those little guys.

I envy all of you with your 7 + megapixels! I've only got a 3.2 and I can't make the little flowers look huge without turning them into a blurry mess! Can't wait to see whose going to post what next!!

Deb - Wow!  Fantastic macro work with the MP that your working with!  Absolutely beautiful pix!  And I DO understand, fully!!!  Thanks re my pix. Will post more on the "Tour" series later, I'm moving slowly today, lots of stress yesterday!

OK people - get your butts in gear, get out there and excercise, breathe fresh air, lighten your souls, and have fun with your cameras! 

Thanks, Meralyn. I just really love those blown up flower shots and it is frustrating to not be able to get them. Course, maybe if I found a bigger flower??  All I have is weeds here. Our water is too alkaline and kills anything really pretty.  I did manage to get this one while in town the other day.

I must go out and do more work with Jack's foot. I'm going to try and take a bit more time to stop and "shoot" the roses so I can come in more often and contribute! Love this thread!

Awesomely beautiful, and extremely rugged, coves between Whaleshead and Indian Sands.  You get as close as you dare to the edge, wrap yourself around a tree, or a friend hangs onto you, and you shoot!  Its a thrill!   I tried to make a panorama from these two shots but it didn't work well.  The fog made it even more difficult!

Another cove along the trail.  This shot gives you a feeling of the heighth when your hanging over the edge shooting it!  Sometimes you luck out and see sea lions in these coves!

Where is everyone?!

Meralyn I can not tell you how much I am enjoying your tour.  It is like going on a vacation from the comfort of my computer.

OK here is a wild flower that I promised to post several days ago, it is in the baby blue eye's family.

I will see every one later I have to go shopping.

Nice work gang- Lila, Deb & Meralyn! Woweee! You ladies are pros!!

PS They do look like carrot noses! They are gorgeous pics, and gorgeous birds, Meralyn! I so eny where you live! To see such beauty every day!! Wow! I get to see a lot of concrete all day!

Meralyn there is nothing like your scenery around here! 

Each and every photo above this would make a wonderful painting!

sugar

I am in the middle of house cleaning and the sun peeped out so I ran out to get some pictures in my shade garden.  (shaded by lilacs)

Jack In The Pulpit!

Lily of the Valley.  These were given to me many years ago from my Mother's lillies.

These lilacs are from very old stock.  My Grandmother's who got them from her mother....

I love lilacs.  Here is another.  This picture shows the length better than the above.

Sugar

Lila - Your Baby Blue Eyes is just exquisite!  Harry is going to go mad over it!  Its so much bluer than the ones here!  Did you enhance the color any? 

Sugar - your photos are absolutely lovely!  Wonderful clarity and color!   Super work ladies!

Thanks ladies re the "Tour" and for sharing your work with us!  I still have a few more to post on the "Tour".  I dont get to see that awesome beauty every day, its too tough a hike for me, but Harry does it!  Wiry little cuss is like a damn hyper mountain goat!  And just as stubborn!  Good night all!

Great pictures all!!

Sugar that is so cool that you have flowers that have been in the family that long!!! All of mine are newbies, except an ugly green plant that was my dad's (seriously ugly, my son calls it "papaw's ugly grass plant"). I am not even sure what it is, it just looks like huge blades of grass bushing everywhere, but since it was daddy's I can't bear to take it out. Damn thing is having babies like crazy, too. My mother said "well it's never had babies before" I said, "Well I don't think it had ever been watered before!".    Anyway, I guess I am stuck with it and I will jsut continue to dig up babies daily and throw them away quickly.  LOL

I have two strawberries and cream lilies that were late bloomers this year but they look like they should be blooming soon, they have good sized buds on them. I am hoping I can get some good pictures.

Meralyn, you crack me right up! I just keep picturing a little hyper active mountain goat (with a Finnish accent) following you around. No wonder you are stressed!

Well, sweet dreams all and happy picture taking!!

Sugar your photos are wonderful.  Meralyn all I did was crop the photo of the Baby Blue Eye.  I did not sharpen or enhance it.  Here is one I took before I left to go shopping it is interesting but not overly artistic or pretty.  I thought that it was neat the way the curve of the hummingbird feeder tuned the tree up side down.  OK I know kind of silly humm?

Very cool picture, Lila! I agree, it is very neat and interesting!!

OK Amy, I just came back in here for a few minutes to see what's going on, give the pain killers a chance to take effect, and am now laughing so hard, tears running down my face, that I can hardly see to type!  Yep, Finnish accent and all!  Shhhh, dont tell him what I said, he'd be hurt!  He's awfully sensitive!

Lila - You have a wonderfully creative and artistic mind!  Its a great photo!  Dont put yourself down!  I would never have thought of something like that!

Now I really must get ready for bed.  I want to go out walking with Harry tomorrow to look for more wild flowers if I'm up to it.  Good night, again!

Have fun on your hike, Meralyn! I can't wait to see your pictures!!    

Lila, I think it is a beautiful picture!  You must have a very good eye for beauty and visualizing the finished photo.  My artistist side is a little on the short side.  Oh, your picture reminds me, the red to the left on the second lilac photo is one of my hummingbird feeders.  It isn't in focus of course, and for a minute I didn't know what it was....

Amy the reason I have so many plants that have been handed down for generations is that I still live within 15 miles of where I was born.  I love these plants, they are a connection with my past.

Have a good day everyone.

Sugar

Meralyn & Amy!!! I'm laughing so hard now too!

Lila, that pic is great! Very interesting!!

This little lighthouse is one of the most photographed and painted lighthouses in the world!  The local art club members have made a few bucks off it!  Harry and I did a tour of it last year and I got a shot of the light, while on, looking right into it!  Its a wonder I didn't cremate the camera's sensors!!!  I shot this yesterday and will also post one or two of the Tall Ships as I get them edited and loaded.  Will continue with the "Tour" later.

Thanks girls, glad you enjoyed it!  After kidding around I remembered this is an open group and I told Harry about the Baby Blue Eyes photo, ooppss!!!  Sure hope he doesn't come in here now!  He has always been there when I needed him.  Oh, yes, I have a photo of him that I'll post later, too.  Cute goat, Amy, LOL!!!

Have a wonderful day, hope your weather is great and you have fun with your cameras!  I'm going to, God willing!  Bye!

Meralyn,  that is a beautiful photo. Picture postcard perfect

This is my friend Harry up to his nose in huge, very old, wild roses, rhodies, and ferns!  He led me down a deer path, NOT for humans, to see the wild roses as I'd been looking for some to photograph!  Harry is at his happiest doing things like this.  The trails that I have trouble just walking & hiking he runs!  And he's 65 but does not look it!  He's been a computer programer most of his life, is a genius, has a very high degree in science, and is quite different!  But Harry has always been there for me when I needed him!  And he gave me permission to post this photo that I took of him last year at Cape Ferrelo.

Sandy - thank you dearheart!

 Lila!!  Gorgeous pics!

Lila Beautiful photo of the wild vetch!  And Meralyn tell Harry he seems to be the kind of man I could enjoy walking trails and taking photos.  I am so happy you have him.

Sugar

Sugar and Sandy thank you.

I do not know what these are they grow in large patches the flowers are small only 1/4" or so across.

Lila - your work is so very beautiful and I love the vignettes also!  Lovely!

And thanks everyone re Harry.  I'll pass it along.

First picture shows the trail down to the Hole in the Rock cove.  That's Indian Paint Brush flowers in foreground. Next shot is showing the Hole in the Rock and thats hundreds of feet down!  I scooted to the edge on my butt, took the photo, scooted back!  Scary!  No photos really show the awesome beauty of this wild and unbelievably rugged area!  These were also taken last year, scanned film pix.

Oh to hell with housework, I am taking my camera out! be back in a bit!!

Well I couldn't go far, too much going today, but I did find some little flowers in my yard, does that count? 

 This is a litle oregano bloom.

A little more focused picture of my lavender. It is getting huge!

I am not sure what these are, but they are really tiny flowers, I tried to crop and bring them in a little.

And then, you know me, I had to play a litle...

Well not what I really wanted to get today with my camera, but it will have to do for now. Maybe I can do better tomorrow. 

I love all of your pictures! You guys are great! I really want a better camera, maybe after June when things calm down a little I can start saving for one.

Thank you Amy for sharing!  They are beautiful!  I think you are doing great with your camera.  But good luck on getting a new one later.  I was very lucky, my old one broke and Ray sold a gun to buy me my new one.  I wish I had more time and also I wish I had it with me more often.  Like when Rosie found the little baby garter snake!  And all the gorgeous wildflowers that are in bloom right now.

Meralyn you are so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world.  With all the beauty there has to be a downside, is there any?  Like terrible snows, blizzards, horrible heat?  I have that and don't have the scenery.  I love your place.  I wish I could afford to visit your part of the country and walk the trails myself with or without a camera.  But it's an impossible dream.

Good night all,

Sugar

Meralyn I can not tell you how much I am enjoying the tour.  Amy you are doing wonderful.

We had some thunder heads billow up a little wile ago fortunately nothing came of them tonight except for some neat photos

And a close up:

Sugar - Never say never!  You never know, things might change and you can come out here on vacation and walk the trails and I will give you a tour if I am able to.  We only get a lot of rain in the winter, and howling cyclones sometimes, one right after another.  But fortunately there ae breaks so you can get out and walk.  Its called the "Banana Belt" for a reason, has quite lovely weather compared to inland.  You just have to be able to put up with rain and damp!

Lila - gorgeous thunderheads dear!  Lovely clarity and color! Thanks for sharing!

I've been out doing yard work and keeping an eye on the contractor that is tearing holy hell out of my driveway putting in a new water line and I'm beat!  Sorry I was late getting in here, I'll try to post later this afternoon or evening!  And you go right ahead and share with us girl!  We love it!

Happy shooting all!  I'm off to take a nap!  Bye now!

Meralyn I just got back in from watching birds and was glad to see that you had posted I was starting to get worried about you.

Western Towhee

I do not know if that is a Black Bird or Cow Bird's tail feathers in the photo.

Not his most faltering end .

Pacific Silverweed bud.  These beautiful little flowers (plants) spread thru runners and seem to like the damp seepage areas along the beach edges by the cliffs.

Blossom of the Silverweed fully open.  These pretty little fowers are actually about the size of buttercups, and strangely enough they are classified in the rose family!

Harry and I went out in strong, gale force winds to look for these little gems, he had seen and photographed them and I was determined to find them, too!  Luckily we found them in a sheltered area!  I wouldn't let him go all the way to the end of the beach (Lone Ranch) as the wind was just too strong and that was where it literally blew him off his feet and broke his wrist last year!  We were trying to photograph swallows and their nests!  Yep, we're nutty photographers!

Lila and Meralyn, beautiful pictures!!! I love to come in here because I know I can look at beautiful pictures that will always calm me down.

I may not be able to get out much with my camera for a few days until things calm down here, but keep posting, I will be here lots to look and de-stress!

Amy - thanks and just post when you can and what you can.  We love hearing from you!  Take care.

 photographers!!!  I've been away for a bit and look at all these gorgeous photos! Meralyn, I enjoyed the tour! And your flowers are always so nice! I just love that area of Oregon. Your cloud shots are really good, Lila. So crisp!! I love clouds. Yesterday I saw one that looked like a turtle with his head all the way out.  I was driving or I would have whipped out the camera and taken a shot. Here's one from my train ride - this is the "hang yourself out the window and hope you don't fall out" kind of photo.

and then, I have to share what I saw this morning

and here's one just a few seconds later and zoomed a bit

Oh wow!! Look at these beautiful pics! Lila, Deb & Meralyn, you ladies are so talented!! Great work!

Meralyn, I'm sorry I never contribute anything. I still haven't replaced my broken camera yet. I'm trying to save up for a new one.

It is very soothing and thrilling here to see things through all of your eyes (and of course your cameras!)  The clouds, the water, flowers, wildlife....everything!  I really enjoy just looking and being uplifted!  And it is even better because of you all, not just some nameless photographer!  It helps with the bad things of life.

Sugar

Deb - Very beautiful pix!  Wow!  I do have a thing for sunsets!

Sandy - when ever you get a new camera we will welcome your pictures, too.

And Thanks ladies!  I wasn't tired enough from insomnia so I went out and knocked myself out on yard work!  Dumb?  Yeah!  But maybe I'll be able to sleep!  I have a couple more pix to share from the "Tour" series and will get them posted soon, I hope?!  Have fun shooting!

Aw, Sugar - what a wonderful thing to say. Can't agree with you more. I love looking at the pics here because they are great - but mostly because they were taken by Cat Lovers friends! I think this thread is such a great way for us to share parts of our lives. Thanks Meralyn - I love sunsets/rises, as well. Have been a sunrise/set photo nut since when I was 17 years old. Never grew out of the stage - sort of like the GARY stage. hehehe. Where is Sunny, by the way?? I know for a fact that no CO missiles have been fired.  Well, one more from the train ride. This one was enhanced a bit - sharpened and added saturation as it was a bit dull due to the direction of the sun.

And here is some weird weed that we have growing at our place.

Its' got some water drops on it that look a bit strange.

And here is a little dandy that was soaking wet so I had to pry it open.

Okay - that's it for me. Happy shooting everyone!!

I just started getting my Daily Digest from Care2 again, so I can look at more threads. Youse guys wit' da cameras, you know who I'm talkin' to--GREAT JOB! love-- Pennie

Deb - great pix and the clarity and set-up is wonderful!  What is that flower?

Pennie - thanks from all of us!  Get your camera out girl!  I know your good! 

Happy shooting all  Have a great TGIF day!

This is the first view you get of the hole in the rock at Indian Sands as you come down the trail, it is totally awesome!  The photo does NOT do it justice.  Again, scanned SLR film pic.  You can not get to the hole from here, you have to go around the dunes.  I hope I havn't posted this pic before, I surfed back thru and didn't see it.

These are some of the dunes at Indian Sands.  You see this view as your entering and leaving.  That's an abrupt drop-off on the other side, hundreds of feet down, to another cove!  Its a very dangerous area!  I have other pix that show the depth of the cove at the Hole in the Rock, but they're rather repetitious so I wont post them.  Needless to say, NO photos show this area truely and honestly!  It is "Other Worldly"!  End of the "Tour".  Hope you've enjoyed it.

Hey gals!!!  Where have you all been, he said with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Long one short.  My wireless router got turned off last week and it took me 3 days to discover where the on switch was  Didn't know it had one!  Sooo the dumb guy figured since  I couldn't get on line I'd do a "bit" more around the  yard to take up the  slack.  STUPID!  STUPID!  STUPID!  I won't go into to it, but STUPID kind of covers it fairly well  Only good thing that's come of it, is I found a couple more boxes of old photos from vacations and what not that have some nice shots in them that don't include the obligatory photos of the  wife and kids standing in front of the nice scenery  And as soon as I get the new scanner installed I scan some.  I'm finally giving up on the old one.  It's showing too many pixels, and what looks like a dirty glass on the  left  side of everything I scan, and I know I just cleaned it both inside and out so it shouldn't be showing streaks or blotches.   I got the new scanner free with the laptop I got for  Xmas.  I may as well try it out.

Meanwhile.  I'm loving  THE TOUR of Gods country Meralyn  And Lila the feeder is one really cool shot.  And is that the way a bird shoots you "the bird"     My lilac are in bloom  Also the late daffies are  up.  Have ot get them in an album, they're so cute.  They're mini's I guess, since they only measure 2" or less across.

So!  Did I ever put these up before.  Me and my Blahhhck & whites.     Ahh, CRS Syndrome  Blame it on turning, 60, ah, um, something.

Now this is a CLASSIC car

This one is sepia toned but it doesn't show good in a scan  Although on my laptop I don't get good color (tones).

Hi Sunny!  'bout time, LOL!!!  Good to have you back!  And I LOVE your Blk & Wh's and the sepia!!!  Great shots! Thanks for sharing with us!  Also, thank you re "Tour" series.

I have found that it makes a big difference in which program I scan my pix into the first time.  The quality wasn't very good in My Pix but much better in Adobe Photoshop!  Now I've found they come thru even better in Picassa!  Go fugure?!

So - go forth and shoot, be merry and - Its the weekend soon!  I just made a fried egg sandwich with Colby melted on top on Rye, Sweet Pepper at the side, with corn chips, and a small glass of Chardonnay!  Ummm!!!  I'm mellowed out, its nap time!!!

Meralyn, is that sweet pepper a banana pepper?  I love banana peppers on any thing!

Sugar

Meralyn thanks re: the towhees, the silverweed is beautiful, I love the tour.

Hi Amy and thank you!

Deb you photos from the triam are amazing, I love the sunrise.

Sandy, Sugar and Pennie.

Sunny those photos are neat I real like the classic car. I am lucky my sister is a computer whiz so when I have trouble I just yell for her, and that is often.

Today I was out shooting and old snag I got lucky enough to capture this shot:

That is an Acorn Woodpecker poking it's head out the hole. I did not even know that he was there until I down loaded the photos and that is the only photo he was in. 

This is the old snag that I was photographing.

Lila - great shots of the old snag and I love the woodpecker sticking his head out, too!  And thanks!

Sugar - I forgot to mention that the peppers are Sweet Cherry peppers!  Sorry about that!  I can't handle the hot ones!

I'm going to go watch a movie now.  Today is rest time.

Lila what a great shot!  How exciting to see that head poking out when you download!  I would love that.  I saw an indigo bunting earlier and I wished I had had my camera!

Sugar

Great pictures everyone. I enjoyed all of them. Sunny, your age was given away on a cake picture. And you are older than me. YIPPEEEEE  haha

OK, it is close to the 100 post mark so I am going to close this now, and will put the link in the new one.