Instant Sunshine

I love Gerbera daisies. They always make me smile. Gerbera daisies are like a dose of instant sunshine! The reddish-orange color of this Gerbera really makes it stand out.

We are finally enjoying a sunny day here in Central New York State. It is 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) here this afternoon. What an improvement. Hopefully, March will go out like a lamb. I just love the scent of spring in the air.

I may go to the Palm Sunday event at the local florist tomorrow. I love to be in the greenhouse, even if it is not an outdoor nature center. I just love to smell the flowers and see the spring promises! Of course, I will bring the camera. (I just hope that there will be enough light.)

I hope that you all are having a good weekend!

Cheers!

The sun came out today and the temperature was about 50 degrees F. The sweet scent of spring was in the air! It is a harbinger of good things to come.

I need some signs of beauty and cheer after the cruel winter weather we had to endure during the last few months. Indeed, I need to find comfort, joy and inspiration again in my life.

So what brings me comfort and a sense of peace? Here are a few simple things in life that mean a great deal to me:

My mother's reassuring voice
Embracing S, the love of my life
Having coffee with friends
Walking in nature
Listening to music, especially the "oldies" like the Beatles tunes
Spending time with my nieces, nephews, and family
Taking photos of nature's gifts.

I am trying to stay positive while considering my housing options. I have the support of family and friends, and that means a great deal to me.

So, I hope to slow down a bit this weekend and enjoy some of the simple pleasure in life. What brings you inspiration and joy?

I hope that everyone has a very good weekend. I will be checking in on your blogs. HUGS!

Spring Delights

Spring is finally showing some of it beautiful signs here in Central New York State. The sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Most of the snow has finally melted (except for the mountains in the parking lots). I heard the geese overhead a few days ago. It is still only 7 degrees C (44 degrees F) today, but these are all welcomed signs of a delightful season to come.

One of the local florist will have its annual open house and floral show this Sunday. This is an annual Palm Sunday event. Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to attend this wonderful celebration of spring. The florist welcome photographers. I took this pink mum photo with my trusty point-and-shoot camera last year.

Well, I have definitely decided that I will have to move in the near future. I have been busy working on my options. I pray that everything will work out for the best!

I hope that all of you are enjoying very nice spring weather. Who has been out with their cameras?

I am still here!

Hello everyone, It seems that I have been neglecting my blog lately. Unfortunately, I have been busy with some neighborhood watch activities lately. My neighbors and I are keeping an eye on two men who don't live or belong on our street.

This has been a safe neighborhood (even if it is close to the main street in our city.) Some of my neighbors have raised their families here. I have some neighbors who have lived here for 35 years and they are concerned about the safety of our street.

So, I am busy reviewing my options, too. Hopefully, I will be reading and commenting on your blogs soon! I have missed posting in my blog and I promise to add some new photos soon. In the meantime, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Forget Me Not

I thought that I would post another photo from the Root Glen nature center. These forget-me-not flowers will be some of the first spring plants to bloom. I really liked the way the delicate blue flowers stood out against the rough tree bark.

We are very fortunate to have such a nature center in this area. The gardens and hiking trails are very well kept and people enjoy the nature center during all of the seasons.
Root Glen seems to be ever changing. It is indeed a magical place to visit and see what is in bloom.

Root Glen is a lovely place to just be able to walk and think. It is a very tranquil place and visitors are very respectful of each other as well as the beautiful environment.

It would be wonderful to have more of this tranquil places devoted to nature's beauty in our world. Do you have a special place such as Root Glen?

"Silently one by one,
in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars,
the forget-me-nots of the angels."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Beautiful Season

Spring is officially here! There is still snow on the ground here in Central New York State, but the days seem to be getting a bit warmer and the days are definitely longer. It is wonderful to hear the sweet sounds of the birds once again.

I am looking forward to spending time at my favorite local nature center. It is called Root Glen. The Glen is kept in pristine condition by a local university. There are all kinds of walking trails. Small brooks meander through the Glen. Spring will bring a host of beauty: daffodils, bluebells, tulips, peonies and bleeding hearts. The above photograph was taken at Root Glen.

I am able to get some ex cerise while I look for my photographic subjects at the Glen. I have done a lot of floral and nature shots at the Glen, but the gardens make excellent backdrops for portraits.

Do you like to make nature photos, especially during the springtime? As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, " "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. "

Blessings

Tonight I am going to try and think of the blessings that God has given to me in my life. It has certainly been a long, cold winter, but I know that there are better days ahead.

The most beautiful blessing are the people in my life. I have been thinking about how much my parents always done for me and my siblings. My parents were always home and spent time with us. I always felt safe when I was a child and that is a tribute to my Mom and Dad. They taught me such lifelong values as doing my best, treat others with kindness and respect, and celebrate the little things in life.

God also brought S, my love and best friend into my life. He listens to me, makes me laugh, and holds my hand. I feel so comfortable with him around, even when we are silent. And we can finish each others sentences. He has taught me about trust and forever love.

And there are my darling nieces and nephews. It is wonderful to see myself and my siblings in this next generation. It is a joy to see my parents with their grandchildren.

My very good friends are like hand picked flowers in a garden. My friend Mare is like a sister to me. And I have to thank my friends who read my blog for all of your support. You are wonderful!

I also find comfort in God's creation. I posted one of my favorite sunset photos above in order to remind me that there is beauty all around, even in the depths of winter. I look forward to being able to get out with my camera and photograph the natural world once again.

A Promise

I can't believe that we had more snow yesterday. Today it was very windy and the temperature was about -1 degree C. We still have piles of snow here.

I am feeling discouraged because I can't get out with my camera. I hope and pray that we will get spring flowers. The snow drops, daffodils, and tulips are still buried underneath snow and ice.

There hasn't been enough natural light to do some indoor photography lately. I did buy some daffodils at the store today, so maybe I will try to photograph them using halogen lights.

So, I am posting this peony photo as my reminder that there is still a promise of spring, even here in the middle of New York State. I hope that everyone has a good week! I will be sure to catch up on posting on every one's blogs.

Irish Heritage

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is one of those days when I have the opportunity to remember my Irish heritage. I like to do genealogical research on my family history, including my Irish ancestors.

My maternal grandfather's ancestors were Irish. My great-great grandfather was John Charles Hanley. He was born in County Meath around 1820. He came to America during the Irish Potato Famine and settled just outside of Syracuse, NY. He and his wife had a very large family, including my great-grandmother, Ester Hanley Brown.

Ester Hanley Brown was my great-grandmother. My mother has very fond memories of her Irish grandmother. I have had the pleasure of learning more about her and my Irish roots through my genealogy work.

My Mom has kept our Irish heritage alive. She gave three of her six children Irish names. My real name is Kathleen and my youngest brother's name is Patrick. My brother Rob's full name is Robert Hanley. It seems that my Mom wanted some Irish names to go along with our big, long Italian surname!

I also have Italian and English ancestors, but that will have to wait for other blog posts! And so I will leave you with an Irish blessing:

Irish Blessing

"May the road rise to meet you,

may the wind be always at your back,

may the sun shine warm upon your face,

the rains fall soft upon your fields and,

until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Where's Spring?

It is snowing again as I sit here at the computer. We had some warmer days and the snow started to melt. Now it seems that winter is back again and we may get between 6 and 10 inches of snow by tomorrow.

I am so discouraged! I managed to get the same virus or bug that the children and teachers have at school. Let's just say that I have a variety of symptoms at the moment. And now I have to go out and shovel that dreaded snow. (I hear sirens in the area right now, so I hope that there aren't too many accidents.

And to top it all off, we found out this week that our spring vacation will be three days shorter this year. We will have Good Friday and the following Monday and Tuesday off, but not the rest of the week. This is because our local schools were closed for seven snow days this winter. We are only allowed 4 snow days.

I thought that I would post this snow drop photo to cheer myself up. I hope that everyone is well and has a very good weekend!

Longing for Spring

It has been a strange winter here in the middle of New York State. It was very mild through the end of January. We didn't have snow until then and we thought that the rest of the winter couldn't be so bad. And then February. The big snowstorm was just one month ago. We received 27 inches of snow in one day and then another 10 inches a few days later.

Today, that snow is melting and the rains have come once again. I am waiting with much anticipation for just one beautiful spring day: mild temperatures, soft breeze, and spring flowers in bloom.

Oh, I really miss those spring blooms! I took this abstract tulip photo last spring. I really liked the contrasting colors and water droplets. I just can't wait until I can get outside with my camera and take more floral photos. I never seem to tire of taking photos of nature's miracles!

What is your favorite part of spring? Do you have spring weather where you live or is winter still hanging on like it is here in Central New York State?

Spring Ahead

I thought that I would post the companion to the crocus photo that I posted here yesterday. This is another close up shot that I did with my Canon point-and-shoot camera. My goal was to work with composition and color.

The weather here in Central New York State is finally beginning to improve. The temperature was actually 13 degrees C (56 degrees F) here today. We had some sunshine this afternoon. There is snow cover on the ground (along with ugly gray snowbanks), but it has begun to melt.

I am looking forward to seeing signs of spring flowers. I may have to wait at least a few weeks, but I am hoping to see snow drops and crocuses in the near future. Hopefully, the deep snowfall didn't ruin the spring flowers this year.

We are suppose to have warmer temperatures and rain tomorrow. I just hope that this situation doesn't create flooding problems.

I hope that everyone is having a good week!

A Hopeless Romantic

I just found a great link from visiting CG's blog! The idea is to choose your favorite photos in order to tell you more about your personality. It is called your Visual DNA. (See my example at the right hand side of this blog.) You can certainly create your own profile by visiting this site.

Naturally, I was surprised about how the profile really described my personality. Indeed, I am easy going by nature. I enjoy drinking a good cup of coffee while reading an excellent book. I enjoy visiting with friends, spending time with my family and learning new things.

Photography has enabled me to appreciate the natural world: sunsets, autumn leaves, rain drops, ducks on a pond, spring flowers and reflections. This photo of a purple crocus is just one example of what I love to photograph in the natural world. (The photo was taken several years ago with my trusty point and shoot camera.) What a wonderful canvas God has created!

I have to say that I am a romantic at heart. I do believe that God gives us people in our lives to cherish and I believe that true love is eternal.

Be sure to try this Visual DNA profile!

Simple Delights

I am still searching for simple, everyday things to photograph. Today I was in the grocery store. I thought that I would buy some flowers, but they did not look fresh and healthy. However, I spotted some colorful mini marshmallows, so I decided to purchase them so that I could photograph them.

I was able to use natural light, but I ended up using some white card stock to reflect some of the light. Oh, I finally received my remote camera switch in the mail and I put it to good use. Now I can keep my hands completely off the camera while the photo is being shot.

It was fun to make this photo. The mini marshmallows remind me of simple delights in life: daffodils in the spring, a good cup of coffee, chatting with a friend, scrapbooking, reading a good book, and listening to music.

I am a bit behind with my blog entries, but I will catch up soon. Of course, I will be sure to catch up in visiting your blogs, too! I hope that everyone has a good week!

Experiment

I am finding that it is fun to experiment with my camera. Although this photo of a CD isn't ready for gallery viewing, it was still challenging to work with composition, colors, reflections, and an ordinary object.

In addition, I have also tried photographing such everyday objects as forks, keys, stuffed animals and peacock feathers with varying degrees of success.

There isn't too much to photograph here in Central New York State during these March days. Everything outside seems drab and gray. Our spring flowers (including the snow drops) are still buried underneath mountains of snow and ice. Hopefully, the clear light of April will bring spring breezes and flowers.

It is good to be able to work with the camera inside when the weather just will not cooperation. So, I am off to look for some more common objects to photograph. Any ideas?

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

Sammy

This is my nephew Sam. He is now five years old and attends kindergarten classes at school. He is four months older than my niece Rachel (his cousin.)

Sammy has big brown eyes and curly brown hair. He loves to visit my parent's house because he can run in the backyard and play with his cousins. Sam loves music, cars, and dinosaurs.

Unfortunately, Sam lives with his parents (my brother and sister-in-law) in New Jersey and my family only gets to see him a few times per year.

I am glad that I have photographs of him. I was going through more photographs tonight and found this one of Sam in action. The photographs really help me to feel closer to Sammy across the miles.

The joyful part of photography is that we are able to create lasting memories. I have started a scrapbook for Sam, too. I have all of his baby and birthday photos in there. (Sam was born a month early, but it happened to be my brother's birthday, too.) In addition, I have photos of Sam at his martial arts class as well as his trip to Disneyland. Now I have his kindergarten photo in there, too. I can look at his scrapbook and feel closer to him. That's the power of photography.

Dreaming of Spring

Today I tried to remember what the local landscape actually looks like without all of the snow. I thought about how green the valley looks when spring reawakens the earth. My imagination allowed me to breath in the fresh air and drown myself in the sweet rain. And the spring flowers dotted the countryside: snow drops, crocuses, daffodils, and tulips. (I make the above photo last year when the tulips were in bloom.)

I had a group of seven year olds in the library today. They wanted to know how many days are left until spring arrives. So, we looked at the calendar and found out that there are 12 days left until spring is suppose to arrive, even here in Central New York State. They also knew that the snow will still be on the ground on March 20!

Fortunately, the temperatures are suppose to be a bit warmer starting on Saturday. The daily high temperatures are suppose to be above 40 degrees F. We are going to start daylight savings time on Sunday, and I look forward to the longer days.

It has been a very strange winter here indeed. Actually, we didn't have much snow at all here until the end of January. We even had a green Christmas. However, we have suffered with all of the snow and very cold weather since the end of January. I read in the local newspaper that we received 85 inches of snow last winter and our total for this winter is 115 inches.

I recently found a quotation that brought me some comfort, "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." (Hal Borland) And so I hope and pray that winter will give way to a gentle spring.

Get to the Point: A Digital Photo Project

I was viewing some of my first photography projects when I came across this one entitled "Get to the Point". The original photo was taken with my trusty Canon point-and-shoot camera. First, I took a photo of ordinary yellow pencils. Next, I used Paint Shop Pro and created a digital photo art project.

I liked the effect of the digital editing technique. Now the ordinary pencils almost look like they glow in the dark. It's fun and challenging to use programs such as Paint Shop Pro because the possibilities are endless!

I have been spending a lot of time inside because of the terrible weather that we have been experiencing here in Central New York State. We had white out conditions on the roads yesterday due to very high winds. It was below 0 degrees F here this morning and the wind chill factor made it feel like -25 degrees F. We had yet another snow (or I should say cold day) here. This makes the 7th snow day that we have had (all in February and March.) That's a record! We will probably have to make up at least 3 days, so the school year will be extra long!

So, it is good to spend some time looking at my photos!

Baby Oh Baby!

I was so happy to be able to visit with my little nephew yesterday. Christopher is just seven months old and he is such a good baby. He loves to jump around in his jumper and babble. He can even sit up now!

Christopher brings so much joy to his family. He squeals with delight when he sees his parents (my sister and brother-in-law.) His big sister Rachel just loves to hug and kiss him. Of course, his grandparents (my Mom and Dad), argue over who will hold him. And his Aunt and Godmother thinks that he is such a handsome and smart little fellow.

I am posting my nephew's photo here in my blog. I took it yesterday and it is a very informal photograph! (I forgot to bring my Canon Speedlite flash.) However, I know that this photo will definitely go into his scrapbook!

Now, I have to start a scrapbook for him. I have started scrapbooks for each of my nieces and my other nephew. I plan to give them their scrapbooks when they are older. Kay loves to look at the photos in the scrapbooks when my mother and I are working on them. It is well worth the time to put these scrapbooks together (although I never seem to be caught up on them.) "We gather up pictures and bits of our past and scrapbook them into a gift that will last." ~Kim Rinehart. Does anyone else do scrapbooking projects?

I am going to have an early night. We are having horrible weather here in Central NY State again. The wind is just terrible and it is blowing all of the snow we already have around. We are getting some snow flurries and the visibility is very bad. And it is bitterly cold. Where is spring?

Make A Wish

I had a wonderful visit with my niece this afternoon. Kay is a very lively eight year old who just announced that she has goals! She thought of these dreams all by herself and said that they were not for a school project. Here is her list:

--- Visit Hawaii

--- Learn to play the drums

--- Learn to ride horses

--- Learn more about cameras

--- Save money

--- Become a Librarian when she grows up

What an impressive list of dreams and goals! She even wants to learn more about photography. (I call her my photography assistant and let her use my Canon point-and-shoot camera.) I am especially proud of the fact that she wants to follow in my footsteps and become a Librarian when she gets older!

I am posting this photo of Kay blowing bubbles because it reminds me of her wishes. " God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them." (Anonymous) Although her goals will certainly change and evolve, it is refreshing to know that she is already dreaming about what she would like to do in the future. And there is no better time like the present to help her to begin to achieve her goals.

Just Ducky

I just wanted to post a fun image today, so I choose "Quackers". Quakers is one of the Ty Beanie Babies. The Beanie Babies were a real fad here in the US several years ago.

Our weather has been so dismal and I just wanted a cheerful photo. It didn't turn out the best, but it still make me smile. I like the bright, contrasting colors. I tried to photograph the duck using a different angle.

I can't wait for the spring days when I can get out and take photos of real ducks!

I hope that everyone is having a very good weekend!

Informal Potrait Photography

I attended my local camera club meeting this evening. Our speaker was a local photographer who owns his own portrait studio. He brought all of his photography equipment, including the lighting. It was very exciting to see him demonstrate how he takes studio portraits.

Our club was fortunate to see this photographer in action. We learned so many valuable tips. He showed us just how important it is to know the different ways to pose the subjects in a potrait. The club members acted as his models and we were able see the creative ways he composes his potraits.

In addition, he showed us how he uses his lighting equipment. Light is everything in photography, whether it is natural or studio lighting. It was so helpful to see him work with the lighting equipment. "Light is the signature of every good photographer." (Bill Hurther, Editor of Rangefinder Magazine).

I enjoy taking informal potraits of my nieces and nephews using natural light. Today's photo is one I took of my niece Rachel last spring. I used the available window light (to her right). She is such a natural model. I really enjoy taking photos of her and she is so patient with me!

It was wonderful to be able to get out in order attend the camera club meeting. We had a horrible winter storm here early this morning, complete with freezing rain, sleet, snow, and rain. It all turned into a slick coating of ice. The wind was so fierce this morning. I thought that we were going to lose more tree limbs. Luckily, the power did not go out. I am ready for some calm, peaceful spring weather!

I hope that all of you have a fantastic weekend!

Santuary

The wintry weather seems to be in full force here in Central New York State. Tonight we are getting sleet and freezing rain mixed in with snow. And the wind is just howling outside, too. This lovely mixture is falling on our enoromous snow banks.

So, I am trying to think about more pleasant thoughts. I am posting this photo because of all of the soothing green hues. I took this photo last spring at my favorite local nature perserve. It is called Root Glen and it is located on the Hamilton College campus in Clinton, New York.

I like to visit the area with my camera in hand. (Many local photographers go there, too.) There are many trails for hiking. There are benches thoughout the area, too. Birds sing and streams babble and meander. You can just be alone with your thoughts and it is such a peaceful place.

This is another one of my special places to just sit and think. Do you have such a favorite place?