Sun and Trees

Mud Valley Memories

Sun and Trees

A sense of awe seems to fill this picture. The dark trees rise to meet each other overhead, while the setting sun glows in the distance. I feel as if I am looking into a cathedral. The reds and greens on the ground further reflect the glory of the sun. It's fun to capture a special moment like this.

Squash Flower

Favorite Pastimes

Squash Flower

When someone mentions squash, I doubt if this beautiful bloom comes immediately to your mind. However, it is one of the loveliest vegetable flowers in the garden. It is also a great reward after all the hard work it took to get there. This particular bloom is on a spaghetti squash plant. This plant only made one squash and then it rotted, but I did enjoy the flower.

Baby Squash

Favorite Pastimes

Baby Squash

 How did this pretty green fruit get inside that little seed? In just over four weeks, a combination of sunshine, rain (lots of it!), good soil, mildew spray, and lots of hard work, have produced a practically perfect squash. The green buds at the top of this picture will produce orange flowers but will not turn into squash. Their purpose is to pollinate the fruit-bearing flowers.

Blue Ribbon

Favorite Pastimes

Blue Ribbon

I thought you might like to see what I won at the fair. This was the first time I had entered something. There were many other entries as well. Photographs, paintings, dolls, quilts, sweaters, canned goods, and even wedding cakes were all displayed in a large hall. I enjoyed seeing the interesting things other people had made. I entered three models and a miniature wooden dresser along with my train, and each one won a ribbon. It was definitely a blue-ribbon day for me.

Coneflower

Pictures From Spring Valley

Coneflower

Isn't this pretty little flower a miracle of artistry and design? My sisters enjoy growing purple coneflowers. They are perennials and will come back year after year once they get started. This one is interesting because of how the little spikes stick out. I was pleased with the detail I got here.

Hourglass

Mud Valley Memories

Hourglass

I like to watch the sun go through all its phases as the seasons roll by. I took this picture more than five years ago, but it seems to reflect the heat and power of the past week of temperatures nearing 100 here in central Ohio. The barn seen here holds the 50-year-old tractors our landlord used on his farm. It was fun to watch him get them out. He sometimes had to get out the duct tape too, as he said that was all that was holding them together.

Marigold

Pictures From Spring Valley

Marigold

I am really pleased with how this beautiful photograph turned out. I took it with my new Kodak EasyShare Z981 digital camera. I have been using it for six weeks now. I looked at quite a few different cameras and chose this one because of the 26x optical zoom, 14 MP photos, and low price. I have been very satisfied with the macro focus, as well as the clear zoom and good adjustment to various light levels. I took this picture at 14 megapixels, but after cropping out the marigold, I was only left with 3.1 MP. However, by taking it at such a high resolution, I was still able to get a good, clear image after I cropped it. This flower comes from the Safari Mix by Burpee.

Egg-cellent

Pictures From Spring Valley

Egg-cellent

This is the last picture in my series on chickens. You have probably heard by now that eggs are better when they run around in the chicken all day, rather than roll out on a conveyor belt in an egg factory. I can tell you it's true. I get to eat one almost every day, thanks to my sisters, the Henkeepers. They even know which hen laid each of these eggs. Which one would you guess was laid by the rascal, Buckeye?

Chicken Hilton

Pictures From Spring Valley

Chicken Hilton

This is a picture of our chicken pens. It includes coops for the younger chicks on the left, and they have their own door into the shed-turned-chickenhouse. On the right, the grown hens have coops and a large fenced-in yard. It seems that do-it-yourself animal operations can sometimes resemble junkyards. I'm not sure why people think that!

Jackpot!

Pictures From Spring Valley

Jackpot!

There's nothing like a determined chicken. Buckeye launched up to the scraps bowl and took full advantage of the moment. With complete disregard for its hungry coop-mates, Buckeye gobbled at top speed. Of course all good things must come to an end, and all too soon, the Henkeeper arrived. Oh, well, there's always next time!

Eye on the Prize

Pictures From Spring Valley

Eye on the Prize

Now we discover that Buckeye, indeed, is headed for mischief. Chickens learn very quickly which bowls carry their favorite treats. Buckeye has spied the bowl which contains the carrot peelings, sweet potato skins, squash seeds, and maybe even a few bits of leftover meat. Someone has left it on the hay bale, unaware that Buckeye was on the loose. Will Buckeye's little chicken brain figure out how to elude detection? Stay tuned.

Buckeye

Pictures From Spring Valley

Buckeye

This beautiful bird is named Buckeye because of its rich brown color. It looks quite majestic in this picture, but I think it's trying to hide the fact that it's comb is bent over, giving it a silly, floppy look. In fact, it's a mischievous bird, always first to the food scraps and first to fly over the fence. However, it has a good heart, since it allows Chestnut, the hen on the bottom of the pecking order, to tag along behind it.

Spring Chickens

Pictures From Spring Valley

Spring Chickens

Isn't this a handsome flock of chickens? My sister raised them from chicks which she got last April. There are Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Araucanas, and Golden Buffs. Chickens are not quite as photogenic as, say, cats or dogs, but they have very interesting temperaments. Often, the tilt of a chicken's head will tell you what it's thinking.

Red Lettuce

Favorite Pastimes

Red Lettuce

I've always enjoyed watching things grow. Maybe it is because all of my great-grandfathers were farmers. Once I planted a lettuce seed in a little glass bottle on my desk. I let it grow for about six months and it shot more than three feet out of the jar. On the very tip was a yellow lettuce flower. I took this picture of my sister's red lettuce patch just a few weeks ago. She is growing it to feed her flock of chickens. She doesn't mind the weeds because the chickens will eat those too. I like the beautiful reddish color of the ribbed leaves and how it contrasts with the rich, tropical green.

Streaks of Light

Mud Valley Memories

Streaks of Light

Here we have the pond scene again with a very different mood. The glowing rays of light energize the air and water. The light seems to create a splash of its own in the pond. However, back behind the rays of light, the farm buildings sustain the peaceful, harmonious tranquility that characterizes Amish country.

Summer Day

Mud Valley Memories

Summer Day

I took this picture when I was eleven. I was happy with the deep blue color I caught in the pool's reflection of a brilliant summer day. We walked by these fish ponds almost every day. Our elderly neighbor dug them out to raise catfish. Every day around dusk, this white-bearded, suspendered gentleman would throw fish food out on the ponds. Soon the ponds would be covered with tiny rippled circles, as the fish grabbed their dinner from below. I never got tired of watching this peaceful scene.

Lilly Chapel

Around Ohio

Lilly Chapel

Each month Battelle Darby Metro Park hosts a photography meeting for enthusiastic shutterbugs. We've learned about photographing birds, flowers, fall colors, winter  scenes, macro photography, and more. After the group discussion, we can go right out into the park and snap pictures. I got this shot after the last meeting-but it was on the way home! I couldn't resist the sun setting over the grain elevators. Madison County residents may recognize it as Lilly Chapel. Don't you think the old trucks complement this farm scene nicely?

Watermelon Delight

Favorite Pastimes

Watermelon Delight

What tastes more like summer than a succulent, rosy-red watermelon? I managed to grow this all-organic watermelon two summers ago. But it wasn't easy. Our first small ones became food for the rabbits. We planted a couple more and they actually flowered. Then they started getting crowded out by the pumpkins, and we had to move one plant into the yard. The fruits never got bigger than about five inches across, but that was the best watermelon I ever ate.

Silky & Fuzzy

Pictures From Spring Valley

Silky & Fuzzy

Ducklings grow up very quickly. We have had Silky and Fuzzy for about three months, and they have been so much fun to watch. The first day we gave them a swimming pool, they both hopped in and splashed water all over the yard! They love to slurp in mud holes and flap their wings. They have already flown about two feet off the ground. You should see them chomping up all the unwanted bugs in our yard as well!

Rubber Ducky

Pictures From Spring Valley

 Rubber Ducky

Did you know that only ducklings can be yellow? When they grow up they always turn white. We have been learning a lot about ducks through trial and error this spring. The yellow Pekins in this picture got sick and died sadly, but the brown Khaki Campbells have now outgrown their duckling feathers. Those little stubs have turned into full-grown wings ready for flight. Like most ladies, my sister likes to coo over these baby pictures.

Wire Train

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Wire Train

Trains and wires combine two of my favorite hobbies. I've spent many hours wiring my model train into a complex series of circles and crossovers. This string art project was a fun way to "wire up" another train. I plan to show it at our county fair next week in the arts and crafts hall. Whether it wins or not, I know I will enjoy the fair.

Sailing Clouds

Around Ohio

Sailing Clouds

I took this picture at Slate Run Metro Park on the southeast side of Columbus. The park has a very interesting living history farm along with the traditional hiking trails and beautiful scenery. After watching the chickens, cows, and  pigs doing their thing, you can relax beside a photogenic view like this one. What could be more perfectly symmetrical than a reflection? However, if you look closely, do you see any differences?

Chief of the Bird Club

Pictures From Spring Valley

Chief of the Bird Club

I caught this beauty after a heavy snowstorm in 2010. It's hard to imagine now with summer temperatures hovering around 90. I enjoy snow pictures in summer because they make me feel cooler. And I don't have to shovel anything! Here's a poem my sister wrote about that snowfall.

So silently, so swiftly,

The snowflakes softly fall—

Weaving for the frozen earth

An icy, glist'ning shawl.

Donkey

Mud Valley Memories

Donkey

There's a reason Eeyore is a donkey. Donkeys can look very sad. This donkey was our neighbor down the road in Mud Valley. He is looking sad because his brand-new baby has been put in another pen with mama. Amish donkeys can be excellent cart-pullers for smaller folks. I myself got to drive a pony cart once thanks to some very kind neighbors. It was great fun. Don't worry, the donkey family was soon reunited.

Foggy Morning

Pictures From Spring Valley

Foggy Morning

Besides sunrises and sunsets, fog is another subject I am fascinated with. Early in the morning the fog rolls in and changes the ordinary scenery into something mysterious. In this picture, the farm silo becomes a castle turret. What else might be hiding in the fog?