Christmas is upon us and I'm not nearly ready...am admonishing myself for waiting so long to do the things I know must be done...finally, gifts are wrapped and treats are baked. Only the tins to fill for family and friends.

Awoke to a downpour this morning...temps are above freezing so I won't have to deal with ice on my last round of errands this morning. Back to work 1/2 day tomorrow before spending Christmas with my family.

Spent an evening near downtown last weekend shooting the lights. Like this one a lot. It's a zoomed city skyline after dark.

Look closely, you can see the pedestrian bridge and street in the lower part of the photo.

I wish you all a joyful Christmas spent with family and/or friends.

Happy Monday. A last 40 degree day before winter sets in again...but then today's the first day of winter, isn't it? My week will be filled with last-minute errands preparing for Christmas. The promise of snow for late Thursday and Friday excites me... I love white Christmases...

Here's my artzy version of Christmas lights, thanks for my neighbors for their display.

Two short weeks ago it was 70 degrees here in the Plains. Today we had an all-day rain that will turn the roads into skating surfaces in the next couple of hours....tomorrow promises single digit temps and a 35-40 mph wind.... that makes the wind chill about -20 degrees. oh, the joys of living in Kansas in the winter!! Feels more like Montana to me.

The blog's not loading photos tonight. I'll try again tomorrow.

Blessed today with sunny, 70 degree weather. Just what my psyche needed!!! Went out shooting all afternoon. Nothing specific in mind, just pointed the truck West and drove until some place interesting presented itself.

The tree is in a nearby park, the hawk was also near the lake in the same park, the shadow is my truck scooting down a two lane road near dusk.

Snowy surprise

Awoke this morning to a fresh skiff on snow on my world. A nice respite from the pouring rain of the past couple of days. I threw on sweats, grabbed my camera and went outside for a look at the fading colors of fall. Found a few leaves hanging on to their 'personalities' despite the snow.
Enjoyed an afternoon visit from a photographer friend. Recounting good times in Missoula helps to take the dreary day blues away.

Birthday fun

Yesterday was as perfect a day as I could imagine.
I spent the afternoon in two different local parks taking photographs and soaking up some gorgeous weather. The wildlife was frisky, the colors still okay and I was in the mood to just take in whatever was happening around me.

At the first park, the ducks and geese were absorbed in bathing.

At the second park, I spotted the perfect picnic spot.

I didn't have an agenda, nor time constraints. I captured a few dozen photos. Got in a nice long walk and came away refreshed and revived. A great way to spend a birthday.

Indian Summer

We're being blessed with a few gorgeous 'Indian summer' days, so I took full advantage of one today. Met with some friends from my photography club and went
scavenger hunt shooting... We took a list of ten words like 'tacky', 'out of place', 'childhood' and 'annoying' and went in search of a photo that would represent the word. 3 hours later we met back at a member's house, had pizza and reviewed photos. A great way to spend a beautiful day.
These are two of the nearly 500 photos I shot throughout the course of the day.