Welcome To My World

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

I'm Ready for Spring...

McCall, Idaho... photos taken a couple of weeks ago when I had my Friday off adventure. I first visited McCall when I was just 16 years old. I decided then, I wanted to live there some day. Boise is just two hours south of McCall, along a very scenic highway. Being from California, ending up in Boise is perfect, just a hop, skip and a jump away from McCall. Below is the south end of Payette Lake, in McCall, where it flows into the Payette River.

Back in Boise... We are in a bit of a drought this winter. We have had little, if any, snow this year. I think we even broke a record of the lowest rainfall ever recorded for a January. We have had our share of deary, foggy days though, and I'm ready for Spring!

This past Saturday, I went with my guy to unload a 53' trailer full of new trees and shrubs at a wholesale nursery. Everyone's starting to get excited about the coming of Spring. It was fun and interesting to watch these guys zip around in these little tractor like things, flipping around like a carnival ride!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

My Baby Girl...

She's all grown up and on her own. She's traveled all over the North American continent, from show to show. She's seen the sights from coast to coast. She's crossed borders to the north and south of us. She's never home anymore. Her picture is on billboards in Los Angeles and the band's hometown of London, Ontario, Canada. At book stores, I can see her in Metal magazines. Often on MTV2, I can see her play her guitar. I'm her biggest fan. I'm so proud of her. I miss her lots. I love her so.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Busy, Busy...

It's been a busy week, not much time for journaling. No new photos to add this wee, I just didn't get the chance to get out, or I didn't think I would need my camera when I was out.

Yesterday, I came upon some awesome looking cattails, dried up and crispy looking with the light feathery tops, in a ditch along the road where my guy parks his truck when he's home. I thought I'd get back to the cattails and get some shots of them. I did have my camera with me but we had errands that had to be run and I just didn't get back before the sun went down. I'll get the cattails another time.

Today, if I had only had my camera with me... I really need to carry it with me at all times! So today, I'm waiting in the car at our local grocery store parking lot while my son runs in to get a few things for his Valentine. The parking lot is full of empty vehicles of all the busy shoppers and we had to park pretty far from the store entrance. A couple of parking spots over from us, at the edge of the parking lot, was our town's Fire Engine No. 303.

I sat there for quite awhile. The store must have been packed. Finally, Engine No. 303's guys came out. Oh! I wish I had my camera... They were dressed in their casual uniforms and they all had flowers and heart shaped boxes of chocolates for their special ladies. I'm sure, if I had asked, they would have posed for a photograph in front of their Engine No. 303. It really was a Kodak moment! And, I missed it! Dang!

(Note to self: always take camera!)

Sunday, February 06, 2005

My Friday Off

I took Friday off work... My plan was to get my son off to school, grab the dogs, my camera bags, and make my way, 100 miles north of Boise, to McCall, Idaho. My destination, the McCall Winter Carnival. I took the Garden Valley turn about 45 miles into my trip, and found these photos along the South Fork of the Payette River. In the photo above, the water was crystal clear and this incredible emerald green.

I love the zoom on this camera... This photo, and the photo below, are basically the same shots. If you look closely in the photo below, you can see the ripples in the water, just above the rocks that spill out into the river on the right. I love this zoom feature, 10x Optical!

No snow... I zoomed out on this photo, the mountains are so striking, so tall, so steep. But, did you notice? There's no snow! The groundhog saw his shadow here the other day, so we're supposed to have six more weeks of winter. Boy, do we need it! Storms keep passing us by.

Lucy... She was not a happy camper! The whole time I was taking photos along the river above, (ten minutes, tops!), she was hanging out the passenger window of my truck, almost howling at me. Not quite barking, not quite crying. Her ears would stay back and she would just "ya-owl" at me!

Photo Credit: Katherine Jones / The Idaho Statesman

The tub, set up for photos and called "Relax in McCall," was awarded the Most Photogenic award. It's by Indulgence Day Spa.

I didn't capture half of the sculptures to be had. The air was warming and many of the sculptures were melting away. This was the 40th Anniversary of the McCall Winter Carnival.

"Heroes of McCall"... The title of this scupture, featuring an airplane on top of the sculpture which honors smokejumpers who train in McCall.

Whitetail Club, McCall, Idaho... One of the most beautiful hotels I've ever stayed at. I was here for a conference with my job a couple of years ago. We watched a thunder storm cross the lake from the windows of the conference room, at the bottom left in the photo above. I stayed in an upstairs room, facing the front of the hotel.

The view... from the back of the hotel. I was standing about 1/4 a mile to the right of the hotel when taking this photo. The lake, Payette Lake, is frozen over.

Cracking Ice... You can't see this spot in the photo above this photo, but this was about 20 feet out from where I was standing. (Remember, I like to zoom. lol) While I was facing the hotel, taking the backside of the hotel photos, I could hear the ice cracking and moaning, just short spurts of sounds. At first, it startled me. I couldn't remember if I was on land or ice! I found some boulders showing through the snow and realized I was fine. This end of the frozen lake is starting to melt. The lake pours into the Payette River just to the left of this photo.

Heading home... This is just above my favorite photo opp bridge, heading south on Idaho Hwy 55 along the Payette River. I took a photo of the bridge last weekend, of the south facing side. We had turned around then and headed back to Boise.

So on Friday, I got out of town, drove a very scenic 100 miles to McCall, Idaho, and back. I found some snow, ice sculptures, a frozen lake, and some much needed "me time." This highway, as you can see, is very narrow and windy. I saw so many things I would have liked to have taken a photo of, but there was no where to stop. I had a wonderful day.

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Foggy to Sunny...

Thanks, Kat! You were right... see my border with color! Whoo hoo!

Today started out very, very foggy in my neighborhood. This photo was taken about 10:30 a.m. this morning as I was leaving for work. The fog was lifting in some parts of town by the time I got to work. I brought my camera with me just in case I had the chance to get out and do some shooting after work.

By the time I finished up with work, dinner was cooking and there wasn't any time for photo shooting. Dang! I hate it when that happens. No time for me. My son had dinner done for me when I walked in the door. He's so good to me, sometimes.

The photo below, is when I got home tonight. I didn't take the time to line things up, not even enough time to line up the horizon. I was in too much of a hurry. I really like the morning shot better, but I wanted to show we did finally get some sunshine!

My guy is still on the road. It's been a really slow run this time. He had more than three days to get from Los Angeles, CA, to Portland, OR. Not good when you get paid by the mile. I kept asking him to come this way, take a little detour, and stop by for the weekend. Miles-wise, it was not a good idea. Thank goodness for cell phones. I miss him!

My son was finally able to get our outside Christmas lights down. He's been really sick this past couple of weeks with the crud. And, it's been so cold the past few weeks. With the sunshine this afternoon, he was able to get this done for me. While I was at work, he got alot of things done around the house. Gotta love him! He's a good kid.

All my furbabies are doing great. Peanut, our smallest Yorkie, he's doing so well. He truly is amazing. You would never know he was so sick when he was little, if you didn't already know. Isn't he cute?

Sunday, January 23, 2005

My Photo Sunday #2

Along Highway 55, heading north from Boise... frost covered most all the vegetation. We haven't seen the sun in what seems to be a week. It's been freezing! At one point, we pulled over and stopped so I could try to get some shots. The frost was very pretty...

A hazy, overcast, foggy, cold day in Idaho... This is the Payette River along Hwy 55, looking south back towards Boise. We were about 20 minutes north of Boise here.

Pulling over whenever the opportunity arised, the SUN finally showed it's face! We had heard, if we got above the Treasure Valley, above the inversion, we could find the sunshine... Along the Paytte River...

North of Smith's Ferry is this single arched bridge. It's been one of my favorite photo opps for as long as I can remember. I wish I knew more about the bridge to share here with you...

We turned around here and headed back to Boise. After some dinner out, we found these Canadian Geese at Julia Davis Park in Boise.

This is a pond at Julia Davis Park. It was starting to get late...

The moon was rising and we decided to get home... Oh! And, as you can see, the sky cleared up in Boise too. We had a great day trip today.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Thanks To All...

Just a quick entry to THANK everyone for the Birthday wishes and cards! You are all great!

For those who know about my falling out with my family during the holidays, I am happy to let you know, I received a Birthday card from my daughter! It was short and to the point, but a communication from her in any case. I was tickled pink! Both my parents and my daughter, and even one of my brothers I rarely talk to, sent me Birthday wishes.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Birthday

It's MY Birthday, tomorrow... Friday, January 21st.

I want to treat myself to more photo paraphernalia. LOL I'll settle for a day trip full of photo opps. Weather should be perfect, mid to upper 40's, partly cloudy, all weekend.

I'm not expecting much, it's after Christmas and most of us are still paying off our holiday spending. I did, however, receive a nice birthday card from my parents with a $50 gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants. Funny, they live just four miles up the road.

I'm sure receiving this card in the mail will be all I hear from them. Well, considering all the trouble we've had recently, I am mildly surprised I received anything from them at all. I know they care about me. My daughter still isn't talking with me. She doesn't answer my calls or respond to my emails. My son has come down with a terrible cold, sore throat and all. And, my guy will be home tomorrow, he's been out a long time this time, almost two weeks, and he's caught the same bug as my son! I just hope to stay well.