Same Drive, Different Days

Those of us that still work, pretty much have the same routine when they have to go to work.  Get up, shower, eat breakfast, go to work, spend 9-12 hours at work, and come home.

It gets to be a way of life.  Some days are better than others.  We all know that.  It’s what makes us “Tick” so to speak.

There are many ways to commute to work, I for one have walked, rode a bus, rode a train, car-pooled and driven in my own vehicle.  I have commuted as far as 75 miles one direction.  And no, I do not miss that way of commuting!  

Which do I prefer?  Driving myself.  

If you’re going to make that commute no matter how short or long of a drive, there is always something going on.  Please pay attention to what is in front of you and please, no distracted driving!  

The first thing I do is of course turn on the radio.  I must have music while I am driving.   

The unfortunate part of my commute is I travel east in the morning, and west in the evening. And yes, the sun is an issue certain times of the year.  

I have two ways I can go to work.  Take the highway or take the side roads.  Weather is a huge factor in the winter on which way I go to work.    I tend to stay on the side roads in the winter. No, they’re not plowed, but I would rather have traction with snow, as I am not a fan of driving on ice.  It’s a personal preference.  I can go as slow as I want on the side roads and not have to worry about someone being in a hurry behind me.  

Living in the Southern Pacific Northwest, there is always something to see and watch out for.   This time of year it is the farming equipment.  Where we live, you are always on the look out for deer.  That is 365 days a year!  I just wish I could dodge the bugs!  

No matter which way I go it is beautiful.   I almost always come home the same way.  The side roads.  Mainly because if I take the highway I have to make a left turn off the highway, and there is no left turn lane, so I would rather be more safe.  

As a photographer, I notice things.  The sky, the trees, the migrating birds, the water levels and of course the sun position.  

I have  a favorite spot that I stop at most days.  It is at the top of a road called Township.  It is the eastern end of the road.  It’s at the top of a hill.  The view is beautiful every day of the year.  

I do stop.  I try to stop at the same place each time.  Sometimes I forget.  But no one says I have to take the picture everyday.  However, 365 days of the same place could be interesting.  

Since it is May, I will start with that month.   Spring and farming season.  

The skies are not dependable in the spring.  Amazing clouds, to gray skies, to the smoke from the farm fields being burned off for the season.  On the top of Township, you can see it all! 

5 7        Bug Spots on the windshield are common!  As is the burning of the farm fields.

5 15        Big Skies are abundant.  A hint of rain and sometimes snow, yes in May!

For some reason I didn’t take a picture in June. And I know I went to work that month, it was the beginning of butterfly season at work, so we were busy!

July and August were not our friends this past year.  The fire “Season” was horrible.  I did not take a picture in July either.  I will  post this one, it is our front yard.  And you can see the smoke and no sun.  I truly hate fire season.

7 24                                                                           July 24, 2018

8 9        August 9, 2018, you can’t even see the mountains in the horizon due to the smoke.

8 27                                                     August 27, the skies are getting clearer!

9 12                                                              September 12, 2018

9 25September 25, 2018, the sun is moving lower when I come home, usually this is about 4:50 pm or a little later.  See those mountains in the distance? Thats where I go.  It is a 7 mile straight stretch across to the highway!

10 9                                        October 9, 2018, the shadows are moving too!

10 29                                         October 29, 2018,  Fall is for sure in the air!

11 13  November 13, 2018 two weeks later, the sun is lower and there aren’t many leaves left!

11 21

November 21, 2018, the wind is abundant, the fields have been harvested and the dirt begins to blow across the roads through the fields.  This time of year is a two hands on the steering wheel time.  Because of the wind.  The trees begin to give awesome silhouettes against the sky!

12 6December 6, 2018, yes that is snow out there and on the sides of the roads.  And it’s getting darker when I get home!

12 19December 19, 2018.  The snow melted, and I think we are already wishing for spring. However, it is a long ways away!

1 29January 29, 2019.  I am certain there were many snow covered roads between this picture and the last.  Once I reach this point, I just want to get home.  The sun is low, and the temperatures are cold!

2 5February 5, 2019, six days later.  Yep, these are the 15-20mph roads.  These are not my favorite days to drive.  Township does not get plowed very often.

2 18February 18, 2019.  By this time, we all knew the groundhog lied about spring!  But it’s still beautiful and the sun is much higher, and maybe warmer weather will be on the way?

3 4March 4, 2019.  Spring just has to be on the way, the farmers are starting to flood their fields!

3 19March 19 2019.  An odd cloudy day.  We did have snow the end of March. Just so you know!

4 10April 10, 2019, April showers bring May Flowers?  It brought cold temperatures a few snowflakes, and not much hope for spring!

4 12

April 12, 2019, two days later, a hope for spring.  We love springtime on the mountain.  It’s unpredictable.  As I write this today May 19, 2019, its a rainy cool day with the chance of a few snow flakes.  Yep.   Gotta love spring in the Southern Pacific Northwest.

Do you commute to work?  How do you go?  Do you have a favorite route?  Find a place that you can safely pull over and see what you can capture!  Try it once a month.  Maybe twice.  I don’t take my big camera to work with me, (I would never make it on time)  so these are cell phone pictures.  You should try it!  Just for a couple months.  However, if you are stuck in heavy traffic, please don’t try it.

You could pick a spot on your street, or even in your front yard.  Do you drive by a park on the way home?   Take the pictures and notice the difference in the sun position, the leaves on the trees, the clouds in the sky.

It’s an amazing world out there.  Go capture it!!!

Be Nice Humans

Tlynn

You can capture winter with your mobile device.

We all know from the previous blogs that living in the Southern Pacific Northwest requires seasons.  Something we really didn’t have much of in Southern California.

Some also might remember, I am not a fan of the fluffy white stuff called snow.  Well, driving in it.  I think it’s beautiful.  And it is a much needed evil for everyone!  It allows our rivers, lakes, streams, refuges, and ground water to replenish.  As of today we are above our 100%  snow pack.   For this, I give thanks!

The pictures I will post were all taken with my smart phone. To show that you can have awesome winter photographs with your phone!

Honestly it seems that winter has been 7 months long, when in reality, it only started the end of November. The first blast of winter arrived over night on November 30. Just in time for the December 1st (and the first) craft fair of the season! 12 1 01

It wasn’t really as bad as it could have been, it snowed Friday night, and the roads to work were clear on Monday morning. Just the way I prefer.

12 01 02

The day after the snow storm is one of my favorites, if the sun comes out! 12 02 01

Off and on the month of December it wasn’t as bad as previous years.  And then someone decided to start dreaming of a White Christmas and that seems to be the beginning of the long winter! We all know that January will be colder, and then February will bring much hope for spring. Maybe an early spring if the little groundhog is correct.

01 18 01                                                                January 18, 2019

Well, the rodent lied.  Making February the snowiest on record for most of the United States.  Breaking records over and over again.

02 04 01                                                          My drive on February 4, 2019

Winter at work can be challenging, meaning the drive can just really get you down. But there is an understanding to just go slow and make it to work safely.  Thanks Boss!

The cool thing about being one of the first ones at work, is you get to hear and see pretty cool things.  Many of which won’t be found in the hustle and bustle of a city.  I for one choose nature over the city.

I was walking up the sidewalk and noticed deer tracks and…. Cat Tracks.  These cat tracks were not from your house cat!  I got into work showed the boss after she got there, and she suggested I follow them to see where they came from. So I reversed the way the cat walked across the sidewalk and found that it had come from across the street. Sat down, so it could jump a 3 foot retaining wall, and most likely headed to a den to nap the chilly snowy day away, and avoid us humans.

Snow Tracks

The other nifty thing February brought us was cold.  It was freezing fog cold, which gave us some hoar frost.  So beautiful. Even if it was cold!

The day before Valentines day however was an adventure.  It was indeed a “snow day” a good day to stay at home from work.

02 13 01

02 13 02                      2/13/2019, the hubby and his pile of plowed snow. It’s  still growing.

Dearest February just did not want to let go.   On the 26th it was an adventure driving to work.  We did not have near the snow at home as we did at work.

When snow falls _signed

Yet, two days later we had a totally different view.

02 28 1

We are now into March and yes, it still keeps snowing off and on.  I prefer the days when there are just a few random snow flakes fluttering around and accumulating into nothing.  March brings hope of spring and warmer days!  This past week it warmed up enough to rain, a lot.

When I look out the window, all I still see is white and mud.  But spring is going to be here soon, I can just feel it. Or is this wishful thinking?

At time of writing this, I have layers of clothes, socks and slippers and a blanket on me, because of the cooties the hubby brought home from where ever he was.  Do I really need to get sick on my three day weekend?  I will lay low for a couple days and hope Sunday is the better day.

I have many family and friends in the other cold tundra of America.  I wish them warmth and sunshine and blooming flowers soon.

So, March, do us a favor and LET GO…  We all know, In Like a Lion  Out Like A Lamb… Please.

Stay warm and healthy!

Blessings to you all.

Tracy Lynn

03 04 01

12 Months 12 Photos

Season’s Greetings to you all!  I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and I wish the best for you in the coming year!

The 12th month of 2017 is nearing its end.  So hard to believe another year has gone.

What were your favorite parts of 2017?  Did you accomplish all that you set out to?  As for me, I don’t make resolutions.  Mainly because I don’t want to set myself up for failure, so to speak.  I don’t want to tell everyone my resolutions and then come February 1st I get asked about my resolutions.  I don’t need that stress! (ha) So I merely make a mental list of things I would like to accomplish in the new year.  Some I do, some I don’t.

One thing I do though, is take more pictures than the previous year.  Not sure my computer is happy with that.  Guess that is why there are two external hard drives attached plus a reliable back up system.  I am trying to teach myself that it’s okay to delete a photo that didn’t work!  It’s not an easy task!  Baby steps I guess!

I decided this month to share with you 12 months of  iPhone pictures.  I almost always have my phone with me, because you just never know when you might need it.  Besides, what if I saw someone famous and no one would believe me if I wasn’t able to get a picture right?   Doubtful there would be anyone famous where I live, but hey, one can dream!

01 Jan                                             This is January.  January wasn’t very nice.

January brought about one heck of a snow storm. I think we had more than one good storm, but this one was volumes.  We even got a snow day from work.  For which I was thankful.  I don’t remember when I last experienced the joy of a heavy snow fall like this. I am thinking 1982 or 83 in Eastern Montana.  Either way, once the skies cleared, and we were able to make paths outside, it was beautiful to photograph!  May as well turn it into a photographic event!

02 Feb                                            Something new for me to learn in February

With the first experience of seeing the bald eagles up close this year, hubby and I decided it was time for that new lens.  I was ecstatic!  I still am!  But it’s been a learning curve.  It is an amazing lens.  One that only lets you shoot manual focus if you put the doubler on it.  I learned two important things.  I need to practice patience, and I needed an eye exam.  I am still working on the patience! There are still things to learn and I need to sit down and read about the lens and let it teach me.  I’ll get back to you on that!  I am learning little things.  I know that between my lens and my camera it weighs over 10 pounds and walking over a mile hurts my arms!  And I am learning the tripod is my new best friend.

03 Mar copy                                                       A hope for spring in March!

I did’t know there was such a thing as miniature daffodils, but there is. Either that, or my soil is bad enough that they decide to stay small.  March brought about hopes of spring and warmer days.  The new beginnings after a long cold winter.  Flowers, birds, deer, bugs, all those things you love about spring.  Searching for warmer days and nights!

 

04 Apr copy

April kind of reminded us that March was only kidding.  We had various snow storms through out April.  Winter just did not want to go away.  It actually started to get a little old.  However on the plus side, some of the spring flowers looked quite nice with snow capped buds.  But by the end of April, we were out of the snow zone.

 

05-May-copy

May brought about new hopes of a nice calm spring, green grass and new planters. One thing I love to do is get my hands dirty with flowers and plants.  I have learned that things don’t bloom as early on the mountain as they do on the lower lands.  The first year we moved up here, I was reminded that it still freezes at the end of April and those pretty geraniums you bought for the back deck? Ya, they would die… I should have really remembered that from growing up in Western Montana. But I didn’t.  And now I think it’s more fun to plant the seeds than it is to buy the flowers. Unless of course, it’s a basket full of petunias!  Our spring lasted maybe 3 weeks before the heat of summer began to creep in and steal the season!

06 Jun copy

Hello June, hello summer.  Hello summer skies.  June was beautiful.  The thunderstorms, the rainbows, the beautiful clouds.  Time to plan the rest of the summer.  Plan a vacation, go fishing, take a road trip.  Of which we did one of those.  We planned our vacation.  Most of my cloud scenes were again, taken while driving to and from work.  I really need to take the good camera with me more often.  Guess I would also need to leave for work earlier and plan to get home later!  There are just so many cool things to shoot most days. From calves to birds to clouds!  The sky is literally the limit!

07 Jul copy                                                               My Montana Sky!

July brought us home.  Vacation from here to South Dakota and back.  Time to see family and friends.  Hubby and I hadn’t been on a vacation since 2013.  It was time.  We did a lot of miles in a short time and realized we didn’t give ourselves enough time to decompress after each travel day.  We were going all the time.  We were able to see a few things we wanted, but mostly we were just on the go to our next destination.  There were still many pictures taken.  Not all were out of the front windshield like the above one was!

 

08 Aug copy

August brought about the hint that fall wasn’t  far behind.  I had some amazing sunrises on the way to work.  I wasn’t even late!  We enjoyed what summer has to bring us on the mountain.  Long evenings on the deck, BBQ’s in the front yard,  watching the baby deer run around.  And enjoying those seeds I planted that bloomed into pretty summer flowers!

09 Sep copy

September was a busy Monarch Butterfly time at work.   We had a late start to our season this year, by about a full month. The weather wasn’t cooperating at all this spring.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get a lot of butterfly pictures with the big camera.  Mainly because I was at work and we were moving caterpillars, and chrysalis, and observing our butterfly season.  I do love this majestic Monarch.  And we are doing our little part to help them along.  Incidentally this is a male Monarch.  And if I remember right, the day this was taken, was his birthday.

10 Oct copy

October brought us fall, the end of our butterfly season at work, and our first snow.  At work we were able to enjoy nice fall day walks.  The days were warm enough you didn’t need  a sweater.  The deer were abundant and the way they were always bunched up you would think they really did know something we didn’t.  Like snow was on the way.   Walking at work is always a plus anyway, and the phone is most always with me.  These deer were enjoying the shade of the warm day. They didn’t want to move along to fast either!  So we slowed down and enjoyed them.

11 Nov copy

November brought us more snow and cold weather, and awesome sunsets and sunrises.  I will admit, I was later than normal getting home a few days.  This stretch of road I travel is a straight 7 miles of agriculture fields.  Potatoes, alfalfa, wheat, and I don’t know what else they plant.  But after the harvest, the fields are flooded and the migrating water fowl start enjoying the seeds and water.  This was one of the last fields that hadn’t iced over yet.  Tundra Swan, Canada Geese and lots of ducks I couldn’t identify were taking in the last rays of Gods light!  The skies were changing so fast I couldn’t keep up.  I did safely pull over the truck to take the pictures.  If you call stopping in the middle of the road safe.  I made sure no one was around.  Remember I don’t live in a city!  Traffic is sparse on this road!

12 Dec copy

December is always a busy month for most.  The hustle and bustle of the holidays, getting together with family and friends, and a shopping day with a friend.

Last year I had done a few craft fairs and sold mostly ornaments, centerpieces and my photo coasters.  This year I focused on my photography.  I was pleased with the success.  I met many wonderful people and heard a lot of encouraging words about my work.  I was happy.  I am still happy.  I have a great cheering section. My husband and my co-worker, who did the craft fair as well.  Between the two of them I branched out.  The greeting cards were a good fit.  My coasters sold faster than I thought, and we’ve come up with some ideas for next year.  I can’t wait to get started.  But first I must clean up all my messes from the garage so the husband can have his work bench back.  I hear rumblings.

My thoughts about next year for you.  Take pictures.  And at the end of each month, pick your favorites.  Print them out or put them in a special folder on your computer or tablet.  At the end of the year you will have a wonderful re-cap of your year.  There are so many affordable sources for photo books and memory type books that you could print a nice book out for yourself!  Of all those favorite photos, pick 12 and make a calendar for the next year!!!

Enjoy every day.  Capture it on your camera.  Don’t be upset that every picture doesn’t turn out.  And delete the bad ones!  (A note to myself)

There is something to take a picture of every day.  I would love to do a photo challenge but I am not sure I would post every day. (Just being honest)  Step out of the box!  Learn something new!

Do what makes you Happy!!

Blessings to you all in the coming new year!

Happy Shooting

T Lynnb916768ded54f754f422869425ee65ee

Clouds

There are songs and sayings and poems written about clouds.  I originally searched for a witty saying but there were to many to choose from. But all in all I discovered “I really don’t know clouds at all.”

Clouds are mesmerizing.  They are wispy, fluffy, dark, mean and pretty.

Depending of course on the type of cloud they can be pretty.  I’m not much of a fan of dark windy tornado looking clouds.  I’ve seen a few and it was never fun.

I have my favorite clouds.  Flat bottom clouds.  (I heard you singing Fat Bottom Girls by Queen, don’t deny it.)

Not just any flat bottom clouds.  But my clouds from Eastern Montana.  Those are my favorite for two reasons, I’m home or I’m seeing a picture from being home.

Flat Bottom Clouds Montana                                     Eastern Montana clouds and the Yellowstone River

 

Flat Bottom Clouds Oregon                                  Southern Oregon clouds and the Klamath Basin Refuge

Here in Oregon, you know, the southern pacific northwest where we live, the clouds do resemble my Montana clouds.  Of course, it always makes me homesick.

There are a lot of memories in those Montana clouds.  One of my first blue ribbons at the fair was of a cloud and the sun after a good rain storm in Eastern Montana.

Last time when we were in Montana it was a beautiful day, the sky was blue and the clouds were gathering.  I remember hubby and I driving around taking pictures of my home town and the clouds.

One other vacation we were in Rawlins Wyoming touring the Frontier prison.  (It’s haunted)  we were in the courtyard and the clouds were so close and so big.  They were popping all over!  http://www.wyomingfrontierprison.org/

Rawlins Wyoming                                                                Rawlins Wyoming

I like rain clouds too.  Watching the rain stream out of a cloud, wishing it was over us instead of farther away.  When we were living in the desert of Southern California, it seemed the storms would almost always go around us.

Rosamond Rain                                     Rain just out of our reach in Rosamond California

One year, on the 4th of July the clouds were building up in the east of where we lived.  Our grandson and I kept watching the storm build as it moved closer to where we were. Those were some dark clouds.  Of course, the husband was certain that storm would never get to us because we never get storms from the east.

Rosamond Storm from East                                                 Something Wicked This Way Comes

Okay, you may be right husband, but guess what, that little storm was actually a tornado. I was shooting the clouds as they were forming over the house and after the storm passed and we had no power, I was looking at the pictures from our hotel room.  Low and behold, one of the pictures was of a funnel cloud.  It was indeed an adventure.

Rosamond Funnel Cloud                                                                             Uh Oh…

The grandson, the husband and I were muddy messes, because like any other storm loving crazy people we just had to be outside while the storm blew through our back yard.  Little did we know at the time of the storm, power poles down the street snapped in half. We had no water to clean up before going to the hotel. I bet the staff was frightened when we walked in.  We stayed in the hotel two nights.

So, not all clouds and storms are bad.  We did have some pretty great cloud and sunset opportunities in the desert.

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA                                                Rosamond California Desert Sunset

But, I will always prefer the mountain clouds and sky scenes over the desert sky scenes.

Mountain Sunrise                                              Mountain Sunrise over Keno Oregon

Yet, the flat bottomed clouds are still my favorite.

You can be creative with clouds.  If you have the right programs on your computer, you can use clouds as fog, or add them to a picture that just seems to be missing something.

WIndmill no clouds                                                                    Before

WIndmill with clouds                                                                  After            Vya Nevada

The after picture was also turned into a water color using a Topaz Labs adjustment filter.

Grab your camera, or use your phone and go out and find some clouds to capture!  Try some different filters on your phone to make the clouds more dramatic.  Everyone has their favorite photo-apps!

Try some black and white filters to give them a different feel!

Wyoming Somewhere                                                       Somewhere in Wyoming

I guess the key is to Go Outside!  Enjoy your surroundings. Find new areas!    I love to be outside.  I would rather be outside than inside, unless of course it’s the middle of winter, or it might be blazing hot out.  But I also like to be inside when updating the blog!

Monument Valley Clouds                                                Monument Valley with a few clouds

This summer go outside and capture some great weather scenes!

Enjoy nature, enjoy the nice weather and enjoy life!

Be Safe

Happy Shooting

T Lynn