New Camera

  
     The other day I took the plunge and bought a new point-and-shoot camera to replace my old one which had given up the ghost a few weeks ago.  I missed having a handy, pocket-sized camera to have along when I'm outdoors doing chores.  Here's a shot taken this morning:

     The new camera has 16X zoom.  The old one had 10X.  You can see how I zoomed in on part of the scene above in this next shot.  Fun!

     I almost bought a camera that had 32X zoom and was priced lower than the 16X, but it wasn't sized to fit easily in a pocket.  I stood there in the store, mulling and pondering and weighing the advantages of each camera.  The sales clerk tried to be helpful, but I kept wishing he would just go away.  I like to be left alone to think things through, though that doesn't mean I always make the right decision.

State Tournament

Yesterday I went to Des Moines to watch a state tournament girls' basketball game in the Wells Fargo Arena at the Iowa Events Center.  It was snowing when we got there.

The team I was cheering for won!

By the time we left the arena, the snow had stopped.  I took a shot of the State Capitol on our way out.  From where we were, it was impossible to get a view free of wires and other buildings.  

Here's one last shot.  It was taken on our way in.  The spots in the sky are snowflakes.  Wish I could go to that Bon Jovi concert!

Skywatch

Ho-hum, what a boring photo for Skywatch, but its what the sky looks like this afternoon here in Iowa.

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Proof

This photo proves that snow fell yesterday and also that our porch screen door has a hole in it that Miss Kitty walks through so she can meow at us.

No Editing Needed

Here's a unedited shot taken early Sunday morning when everything was covered in frost.

    

Barm Charm

Here's a drive-by shot taken a few weeks ago.  I almost didn't see this old barn hidden behind the trees.

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Frost Macros

Yesterday morning's frost had a geometric look...

 

Frosty Shots

There was lots of photoworthy frost around this morning...

 I took this next one with the macro lens attached...

More frosty photos to come in the next post.

Snowfall

The recent snowfall brought us about six inches and then, surprisingly, was not followed by strong winds to blow it into drifts.

Cats & Snow

Overnight the forecasted snow arrived.  Most of our cats find an indoor place to sleep this time of year, but not this one.

A few snowflakes were still falling when I took this next shot.  They look like bubbles.

Skywatch

The sky looked photoworthy one evening last week...

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Branch Shot

     Here's another tree branch shot I took the same evening as the one in the post before the one before this one:

     Obviously, I haven't been using the camera much lately.  My February file has only sixteen photos in it so far and the month is nearly over.  A snowstorm is supposed to arrive this afternoon and hopefully it will bring along some photo ops.

Barn Charm

Here's a drive-by shot taken about a month ago...

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Trees & Sky

Late yesterday afternoon a colorful sky developed so I took the camera outdoors and shot around until my fingers got too cold.

Snowflakes

It was snowing a little bit this morning and I realized I'd not attempted to take any snowflake photos yet this winter.  Here's a close-up shot of some on a shingled roof:

Skywatch

While looking through boxes of old photos this week, I found a sky photo I took in 1989:

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Mountain Scenery

     In the summer of 2005 my son was working a college internship in Colorado. Some of us other family members couldn't pass up the opportunity to go visit him and enjoy the mountain scenery.  This photo was taken looking west from south of Boulder:

Here's a drive-by shot taken from Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park:

And, a little further down the road, Longs Peak could be seen in the distance:

Yesterday

     Yesterday my husband had an appointment in town so I rode along.  We've travelled the same route countless times so there was very little hope of seeing anything out of the ordinary.  Here's one shot I took.  There's a creek beyond the field and snowdrifts.

Lincoln's Birthday

Yesterday and just in time for Lincoln's birthday, I found some photos taken in 1988 in Springfield, Illinois.  This is at Lincoln's tomb:  

 We toured the house where Abraham and Mary Lincoln and their children lived:

We also toured the Old Capitol building in downtown Springfield:

Today is also my blog's 6th birthday.

Barn Charm

This barn photo was taken last week...

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