Color Bursts

It was a slow day today and wasn't feeling all that creative. So, in order to fulfill my Project 365 assignment here is a colorful shot of some pretty fall leaves. BEFORE they fall!

10-19-11

Doodle Dips' Gourmet Dogs!

If you've been following this Project 365 Blog for any length of time you know by now that one of my favorite places to visit is Joe Thurston's "Doodle Dips Hershey Ice Cream Shop" in Sunbury.

Well, now I have a whole new reason to stop in there; his new selection of "gourmet" hot dogs. He has a menu of five or six specialty ones and the choice for today's lunch was difficult. Guess that means I'll just have to visit him again REAL soon.

Check out these two great tasting dogs. My favorite one was the Slaw Dog. He makes his own slaw, sweet and crisp!

Taco Dog

Slaw Dog

10-18-11

Cropped Leaves

On my way home. I kept looking for something interesting to photograph. Nothing. Zilch. Sooo, while waiting for the light to change at Cooper Rd. and Schrock, I just clicked a few frames out the window at the trees that line the road.

Gotta wonder what the people in the car behind me were thinking.

10-17-11

Barnyard Shed

I really like the colors in this photo, but what makes it are those awesome trees leaning into the photo. For me, all the angles in this photo work really well together!

10-16-11

Pumpkin Bale

Our "Egg Lady", where we go to buy fresh eggs, had this nice fall arrangement set up by her driveway. I was sicker than a dog but was tired of being cooped up in the house so I rode along with Barbara. I took the photos from the car window.. after I had Barbara back up, pull forward.. no, back up a bit more.. more... more.. there!  :-)

10-15-11

Turkey Vulture

Can't seem to find anything around you that's interesting enough to shoot?  Look up! Ya never know what's overhead. I snapped several shots of this old Turkey Vulture flying above me. He must have smelled my socks. This one was the most interesting as I liked how his wing tips were spread.

10-14-11

Loose Pane

Found this cool, old loose window pane on a barn that was just off the road a bit. I used the telephoto lens to reach out and get it. Still had to crop in tight to get the frame that I was wanting.

10-13-11

Fall on Hoover's Shore

What can I say? Beautiful colors and nice reflection. Hain't it purdy? ;-)

10-12-11

Autumn Fowls

The trees, they are a changin'.

That is always quite evident along the rivers and lakes and even though you can't see the trees in this photo, their reflection tells the story. And as an added bonus, a little wildlife. This heron on the left didn't seem bothered at all by the drake mallard swimming past him. In fact, the duck swam back and forth a few times.

It was a very peaceful view.

10-11-11

Unknown Grave

A few dozen steps into the woods and about 10 yards off of the trail lies this strange maker for a grave. I didn't go over to inspect it. I made a few photos and walked away pondering all the possibilities for the reason of such a sight.

Strange.

10-10-11

Goat Milk Soaps

I've spent all of this morning taking individual photos of my cousin Maureen's Hand Made Soaps. The photos will go on her blog and also on the new web site that she is building. She uses all natural ingredients, including goat milk, and no dyes or synthetic stuff. This is the photo that I took to show all of the scents she is currently making. Her blog is: http://cleansingtouch.blogspot.com/

"Cleansing Touch" Handmade Goat Milk Soaps

Left to Right, Bottom to Top:

Patchouli/Gardenia/Orange Blend, Lavender, Indian Summer, Apple Jack

Twist of Cinnamon, Vanilla, Grapefruit, Tea Tree with Rosemary

Peppermint/Eucalyptus and Lemon Grass

10-09-11

HoneyDip Donuts

Oh my. Totally threw the ol' "watching our weight" plan right out the window today! Ever since late Friday evening Barbara and I both had a hankering for a good donut, so this morning we got up and headed over to HoneyDip Donuts, had a nice breakfast of eggs and sausages and then walked out with this box of yummies.

A few today. A few on Sunday.

Well, okay. Maybe more than just a few.  :-)

10-08-11

Autumn Battle

I re-visited the park today. The weather has been awesome this week!

I like this photo as it shows the transition of the fall colors. It's as if they are doing battle to see which one will survive. Well, we all know the outcome of this scenario! Better enjoy it while we can. 

10-07-11

An Autumn Trail

Okay. This was actually taken yesterday, same time as the Fall Canopy one. I didn't have time to photograph anything today. It happens.

10-06-11

Fall Canopy

A walk in the park found me under this beautiful fall canopy. 

10-05-11

Green Fling

This is actually a photo of a deer that was along the road I was driving down. Well, it would have been one of a deer if I had been prepared. I had the wrong setting on my camera and the shutter stayed open for several seconds and while I swung it up to change it, this blurry, motion-filled abstract was created.

I like this. It's what I call a "happy accident". Works for me!

10-04-11

Alum Creek Doe

I left work about 15 minutes later than usual today with still no photo for my daily "Project 365". So, I pulled into Alum Creek State Park to shoot a completely different photo than what you see here. I'll save that idea for another day. Today, I want to share this pretty little doe. She was with a group of 4 and was the only one curious enough to stand still for a few shots with my zoom lens.

I thank her for that.

10-03-11

Driving Into Fall

I came home from church this morning and found yet another reminder that fall is going ahead as planned whether I want it to or not. It's not that I dislike fall. I just don't like what comes after it. Perhaps.. and I am hoping this to be true.. this winter things will be different for me and I will be able to even enjoy it. We'll see. In the mean time, I can't help but like the beautiful fall leaves such as this one in my drive way.

10-02-11

Waitin' on Ralph

My cousin Ralph lives in Marion and I live in Columbus. Whenever we can find time to hook up for a few hours, we meet at a certain parking spot in the Polaris Mall area of southern Delaware County. Today we found such a time. I arrived about 15 minutes earlier than him but that was okay as I was enjoying sitting there listing to a new Glenn Kaiser CD. I had a loud, rockin' good time.

10-01-11

Walking Stick

I had found this cool stick on a Hocking Hills hike way back, oh, 6 or 7 years ago when Barbara and I were just friends. It had a cool knot so I decided to keep it and make it into a walking stick for myself. So, I am carving a "self-portrait" using the knot as my mouth. Then I have to fill a few, no, a lot of cracks in with wood filler, sand and stain and then do some embellishing on it such as some studs, leathers pieces, rubber end cap and a few National Park plates that I have for it. May take awhile, but an "end result" photo will eventually be posted.

09-30-11

Welcome Home

This was our first full day back home from Yellowstone. We entered Ohio late last night with rain. wind, cold and falling leaves. Falling leaves?? Already?  (Sigh) These are my trees in the back yard. They all had leaves on them when we left!

09-29-11

The Lone Dot

I love stuff like this; the bright blue with a stark contrasting lone white dot, along with the intense shadowing! Just makes me feel good to look at it. This was a curb at some roadside rest we had stopped at. I was waiting in the van for Barbara, looked down and saw it, grabbed my camera and there ya go!

Couldn't think of any other name for it. Any suggestions?

09-28-11

Indiana Farm Scape

An Indiana Farm Scape. I loved the way the cloud's perspectives drew my attention to the distant farm.

09-27-11

Illinois Landscape

This was taken on our way home from Yellowstone. It is a view of the Illinois landscape as we shot through the state. It was an awesome "cloud" day!

09-26-11

The Badlands

The Badlands is full of rugged mountains, mesas and gullies all with a variety of textures produced by volcanos, rain, rivers, wind and sun. I particularly liked this "elephant skin" ridge in the foreground.

09-25-11

Red and Green

This is the edge of a pool of run-off from one of the many hot springs that are found in Yellowstone. I found the contrast of the "soon to be overtaken" clump of grass and the reddish water to be interesting.

09-24-11

Old Faithful Raven

Ravens were everywhere at Yellowstone, even at Old Faithful. Right after it spewed, several ravens swooped in and flew around it. Not sure why, but they are very cool birds.

09-23-11

A Yellowstone Bull Elk

The Bull Elk were in full rut (mating) while we were in Yellowstone. It was awesome to hear them bugle all day long. Even more so at night when we were settling down to sleep. THIS is probably the best wildlife photo I could have ever dreamed of taking. What a magnificent animal!

09-22-11

Mammoth Falls "Crystal Tree"

This is a photo of a small twig that fell into the hot springs at Mammoth Falls in Yellowstone National Park. It is actually underwater and has been collecting the lime and other minerals that come up out of the boiling ground. 

09-21-11

Mid-Day Moon

While on a hike in "Grizzly Bear Country", we stopped at a small lake to look for animal tracks. The lake was very beautiful, but I found this simplistic design with basic elements to be even more captivating. Thats the moon above the top branch.

09-20-11

Old Snaggly Tree

At a pull off on the way through the north pass into Yellowstone we stopped for a break. I found this snaggly, rock-hugging tree. We were always amazed at where mountain trees would take root and manage to grow. Survival.

09-19-11

South Dakota Sunflowers

Sunflowers. Acres and acres and acres of sunflowers. It was truly a beautiful site to see. If they look a bit blurry, it's because I snapped the photo while Barbara was cruising along at 75 mph.

09-18-11

Illinois Farm Land

When you're heading to Yellowstone for vacation, you don't have time to stop and smell the roses. Thankfully we did make time to stop at roadside rests. This was a pretty farm setting behind such a stop, over in Illinois.

09-17-11

Indiana Sky Portal

After work, we headed out on vacation to Yellowstone National Park. In route, I snapped this photo of a cool sky in Indiana. Made me think of some kind of portal, thus the title.

09-16-11

Ace Is The Place!

I know. Kind of weird, huh? This is the cupola of the new Ace Hardware Store in Sunbury. Not sure what else to say about it.

I will tell you that this is the last photo that I'll  be posting for the next couple of weeks. I'll be on vacation and will only have limited internet access at the best. Definitely not enough to upload and post photos. BUT.... I WILL be taking photos each day and keeping track, so in a couple of weeks I'll be playing "catch up" here on Project 365.  See ya soon!

09-15-11

OSU Memorial

A lot of love and thought was put into this Roadside Memorial for an Ohio State Buckeye fan. A very colorful display and even a couple of solar powered night lights for evening viewing. I didn't walk over to see if there was a name on there or not. I put the passing motorist in this photo to try and capture the idea that even in death, life rolls on by.

09-14-11

Bright Silo, Country Living

Another beautiful, warm, sunny day. Came across this bright white silo and barn. To me, this just reeks of country living. 

09-13-11

Bark: New Growth Bark

This tree was lying as horizontal as a tree could lie, seemingly completely uprooted.  Yet there, at the very center of it's length, was what looked like new life growing out and reaching upward. It's hard to imagine, if left alone, what this might look like years from now.

09-12-11

A Sign of Fall

Behind my house and along the creek, Fall is slowly creeping up on me. <SIGH>

09-11-11

Market Egg Plants

Lots of color at the Mount Vernon Farmer's Market this morning. I found these purple egg plants to be pretty enough for a photo.  :-)

09-10-11

Bark: Slithering Bark

Remember the post a couple photos back of the tree bark that emulated the leaves? I found the same type of tree on a walk along the creek, only this one had fallen across the trail. It reminded me right away of a big boa constrictor slithering through the woods. Not the I've ever actually SEEN a boa constrictor slithering through the woods, but if I had I am sure it would have looked like this. Sort of. Kind of. Maybe.

09-09-11

Bang Bricks

This is a close up section of the garage at Bang, Ohio's "Haunted Mansion". VERY COOL place and worth another trip back to poke around some. Thanks Sharon R.!

09-08-11

Rainy Day Silo

Rainy day today. The negative side of rain is lack of contrast not only in the sky but on the subject matter. The plus side of rain is that it seems to intensify the colors, especially blacks. I found this black silo peaking out from behind a nice red barn.

09-07-11

Bark: Leaf Pattern Bark

On again, off again sunshine today. Mostly off. As a continuation of my "Bark Series", I took a photo of this tree. I like the way that the bark seems to emulate the pattern of the leaves.

09-06-11

Wet Weather Toad

Another wet day today and another walk out back. Found this little toad deep under a canopy of limbs. I took several photos of him but this one really captured his natural camouflage. 

09-05-11

Deep Wood Flower

Wet day today. I walked out back and down along Alum Creek to find this bright splash of yellow in an otherwise pretty dark woods. This is a beautiful color!

09-04-11

Windowed Oil Lamps

Oil lamps that were sitting on the window ledge of a Lancaster antique store. I think it was called Shoe Factory Antiques. Hint: The basement held the more interesting stuff. Lots of real cool junk!

09-03-11

Bark: Wild Wood Flowers

Still shooting photos for my self-imposed "Bark" subject. I like this one as it has such wonderful contrasting colors and textures. I think I should have taken the aperture down just a wee bit more to get better depth of field. Or perhaps I was just standing too close to the subject. It's all a learning lesson.  :-)

09-02-11

Soy Bean Silos

I found these silos to be striking against the beautiful blue sky that we had today.  I am also realizing that silos such as these are disappearing from the farm scene. It seems that most farms are updating to the shorter, stouter metal dryer bins. Not a drop of personality in those things.  :-(

09-01-11