weekend

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Our Day

Posted by Photonstopper on October 16, 2011
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Photo: A brooding sky over a rural autumn scene in Medina County, Ohio. Photo by James Guilford.

A field of soybeans and line of color-touched trees in Medina County, Ohio.

Today was “our” day. Whereas recently weekends have either been paid work or, more often, prep work for sale of Mom-In-Law’s house, today was ours. Of course it was cloudy, chilly, rainy, and breezy but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing. At any rate, that was the day we were dealt. We spent the morning shopping: I have had to discard several shirts lately so I picked up three replacements. The discarded shirts in question were fraying a bit at the collar and had even developed holes in the left elbows. I must prop up my head on my left hand way more than I know! Lunch at the mall and we headed out to Root Candles in Medina. If one were studying retail merchandising and display, Root Candles is a place to go for good examples. We enjoy the look and scent of the place; its welcoming and warm atmosphere always comfort. I looked around and soaked up the atmosphere; She Who Must be Obeyed bought a bunch of their high-quality candles, made in the very old factory attached to the store. I really would have liked to have set up a camera and shot gobs of photos of the way light plays on the beautiful candle holders and home decor items but, with a sigh and an eye toward budget preservation (She bought a bunch of candles), we left. Enjoying the drive through the moody countryside and watching the dramatic skies, I asked Her to pull over on a county road adjacent to a soybean field. The field, a line of trees in the distance, brooding clouds above, all came together to make a beautiful image. My trusty Canon PowerShot G11 in hand, I recorded the scene. A little reminder of Our Day.

Season’s end

Posted by Photonstopper on October 15, 2011
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Photo: Hinckley Lake on a blustery autumn day. Photo by James Guilford.

Hinckley Lake on a blustery autumn day.

It was a very blustery day. Any autumn leaf that was thinking about dropping to the ground had its decision made for it by 15- to 30-mile-per-hour winds. Early in the day it was dreary and overcast. Later, openings appeared between the clouds. We were on our way home from a bit of shopping –She needed new jeans– and decided to make a quick stop at Hinckley Lake. Spots of sun drifted over the color-dappled trees and whorls of ripples spread on the surface of the water as the wind drove through the valley. I had my little Canon PowerShot G11 with me and so made some photos. The stop was brief but beautiful. Robbing a bit from the joy of the moment was discovering the cozy little boat rental and outdoors shop, the Hinckley Lake Boathouse, was going out of business. Stepping inside we found the shop nearly empty and a lone employee idly minding the cash register. {I hope to learn more of the circumstances but it sounds like Cleveland Metroparks may have chosen to not renew the owner’s lease and will take over the property.}

Photo: Hinckley Lake Boathouse with store closing sign. Photo by James Guilford.

Hinckley Lake Boathouse with store closing sign.

As if it knew

Posted by Photonstopper on September 17, 2011
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Photo: Dragonfly resting on wall. Photo by James Guilford.

The living decoration at our door.

During the past few years I have been enjoying making photographs of dragonflies. Though I sometimes see them in unexpected places, I usually travel to nearby ponds and still, small lakes to find the gossamer-winged beauties. Today we spent on errands, traveling all about shopping for groceries, looking in on contractors preparing mom-in-law’s house for sale, buying a new office chair for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Arriving back at home, walking ’round the bend to our house what should I see but a big, beautiful dragonfly perched at eye-level, just to the left of our screen door! I hesitated a bit thinking the big insect would take flight as soon as I approached but no, it stayed put! I was carrying several items so I set them down on the porch, took my trusty G11 from its pouch, set it for macro and moved it. The dragonfly stayed put, even wiped its eye as I lined up shot after shot! Once I was sure I’d gotten as good images as I could, I slowly stretched out my finger and touched the resting flyer’s abdomen. Still, it stayed put! Our visitor stayed in place until I tried to place a piece of white paper under its wing in order to photograph the intricate details then off it went… but only about six feet higher on the same wall. Such a welcome visitor; it’s as if it knew it would be appreciated.

PS – Not long after this, we spotted the resident garter snake sunning itself among the barberry hedges. Hopefully the neighbors will leave mister snake alone.

Of cosmic smoke rings and flying dragons

Posted by Photonstopper on July 10, 2011
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Photo: Red dragonfly in flight over sparkling water. Photo by James Guilford.

Red dragonfly in flight over sparkling water.

Saturday night was spent at the Observatory showing off Earth’s Moon, brilliant red giant star Antares, a faint star cluster, and the Ring Nebula to a nice group of folks. The sky was mostly clear but high humidity and moonlight make for less than optimal seeing. Still, our visitors were interested and enthusiastic. Views of the Moon were exquisite and exciting with craters along the terminator showing off inky black unlit floors and brilliantly sunlit walls. Mountains cast deep shadows across the lunar seas. The old telescope was in fine form. Two couples stayed late and we enjoyed the night’s best views of the Ring as I changed out eyepieces. As they were leaving we stepped out on the front lawn talking and looking at some constellations, parting company at 11:25 PM. That meant a very late night for me but the overall experience was so positive, I didn’t mind at all!

Today we got around slowly and, because the day promised to be uncomfortably hot and humid, we went to the zoo early enough to arrive a little before opening. We saw some wonderful exotic animals ranging from meerkats and elephants in the zoo’s new Elephant Crossing area to flamingos, lions, giraffes, and storks. We took loads of pictures but, as these things often happen, my favorite photos were of free-flying, native dragonflies that were buzzing around a small pond on the grounds.

It was an all-too-short weekend of cosmic smoke rings and flying dragons.

Sunday at Schoepfle

Posted by Photonstopper on June 27, 2011
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Photo: Tiny Eastern Amberwing red dragonfly rests on a bright green leaf. Photo by James Guilford.

A tiny Eastern Amberwing dragonfly rests on a bright green leaf.

Don’t worry, I’m not sure how to pronounce it either! I believe it’s “Show-fel” but hesitate to say the name out loud. What I can say is that it’s one of the gems of Northeastern Ohio parks. Located in Lorain County and part of the parks system there, Schoepfle features large formal gardens, paved and earthen walking trails, ponds and a river, along with woodlands to explore. On a whim we took off Sunday morning and paid a return visit to the place spending an unusual and welcome time quietly watching and photographing the grounds and, in my case in particular, the dragonflies that flit around the ponds. I saw and photographed several varieties. We saw many thin and tiny blue-headed damselflies in the act of mating! Dragonfly copulation is an interesting hook-up (literally) and you can read about it elsewhere. At any rate I’m sorry to report that many of my photos did not live up to my expectations — and I wasn’t seeking dragonfly porn but beauty shots of the various gossamer-winged creatures. She Who Must Be Obeyed often bemoans her humble all-in-one pocketable digital camera but yesterday managed to out-do my digital SLR and its top-of-the-line close-focus telephoto. It’s a great little camera she’s got so I wasn’t too surprised. I’ll just have to learn from my mistakes and try again… maybe today!

A very good day away

Posted by Photonstopper on June 19, 2011
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Photo: Halloween Pennant dragonfly. Photo by James Guilford.

Dragonfly Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina)

We got around early today and set off for what we hoped would be a “day to ourselves” — a relaxing time away from work and worry for the two of us. The journey was a good one. We visited the Carlisle Reservation of Lorain Metroparks and had a fine (if warm) hike along a meadow trail. I also got my first look at the John Nielsen Observatory there; it’s a place built in cooperation with amateur astronomers to serve their needs and those of Parks’ star party guests and looks to be in an excellent location. I’m still gathering observatory design ideas for possible future developments. It was getting on towards lunch time when we left Carlisle so we headed to nearby Oberlin. We were surprised and pleased by stunning new business developments there including a fresh new building that features condominiums up and businesses down. Looking at the new development, right off the town square, made us feel as if we were in some trendy section of a much larger city. After good lunch at the newish Aladdin’s Eatery, we began a loop towards home with a planned stop at the Caley Reservation nature preserve of Lorain Metroparks. Almost exactly two years ago we visited Caley and were delighted by the presence of large numbers and a wide variety of dragonflies. This year we saw not so many of the little beasties but I noticed two that were unfamiliar: one had black wings with blue tips and the other was decorated in brown and red-brown colors. The former escaped un-photographed. The latter posed nicely and several times for a number of shots. The heat, humidity, and blood-loving insects were setting in so we stayed not long. A thunderstorm to the south added dark drama to the sky. It was a very good day away.

Somewhat larger than average, a bit like the Moon!

Posted by Photonstopper on March 20, 2011
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Much was made by the media of the so-called “super moon” which was a rare combination of a full Moon phase with Earth’s one satellite reaching the perigee, or low point, of its orbit; in this case reaching a distance of 221,567 miles.

One attention-seeking astrologer went to far as to suggest the coming lunar event possibly caused the terrible earthquake and tsunami that devastated areas of Japan on March 11. Of course that disaster occurred a full week before the “super moon” happened and the Moon was well within its normal distance range from its parent Earth. The good that did come from the attention was that people were interested in seeing our friendly Moon at its best and brightest.

The observatory had already scheduled a season-opening Public Night for March 19 –the night of the so-called super moon– which worked out well. The evening sky was clearer than it has been in quite some time and visitors began arriving early (well before Luna had risen above our local horizon). Though they enjoyed excellent tales and views of stars Sirius and Betelgeuse, and decent looks at the constellation Orion and the Great Orion Nebula, they really wanted that Moon! As soon as it cleared neighboring trees, we trained the old 9-inch refractor on Luna’s orange face. I was astonished at the detail I was seeing in the crater ejecta and other markings on the lunar surface; I don’t believe I’ve ever seen those details so pronounced in any previous viewing. I regret not being able to capture that view as a photograph. Other eyes, however, eagerly awaited their turn at the telescope.

As the evening progressed and the Moon rose, the details faded and we were left with more typical but still very good views (for so low to the horizon) of Earth’s nearest neighbor in its Full phase. Visitors climbed the ladder one-by-one and most were astonished by what they saw. The grand old telescope and its 110-year-old optics continue to excite! By the time I closed the door, we had hosted 48 visitors which, while not a world record, was somewhat larger than our average night … a bit like the Moon itself!

Working cats

Posted by Photonstopper on November 9, 2010
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Photo: Black cat perches on the tire of a large vehicle. Photo by James Guilford.

A black cat, resident of a hardware store's property, peers out from the wheelwell of a disused industrial truck.

 

During a little exploration Sunday afternoon, we happened across a couple of “working cats” — felines that live on the premises of businesses, not strays but not housecats. One cat lives in the yard of a small town hardware store. There’s a large industrial truck parked permanently in front of the store’s windows but behind the firewood for which we were shopping. On the giant tire of that yellow-green truck was a beautiful black cat that put us in mind of our dear departed Missy. The kitty posed for a few pictures then, wary of strangers’ attentions, took off for parts more secluded. Stopping by at a nearby winery we sighted another cat sunning and grooming itself on a sub-roof near the main entrance. Kit paused, took a good look at us, then went about its business and we did the same. The wine wasn’t very good.

Photo: Cat on the shingled roof of a winery. Photo by James Guilford.

A cat suns and grooms itself on the shingled roof of a winery. Photo by James Guilford.

A good day to be an indoor cat

Posted by Photonstopper on November 5, 2010
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Photo: Cat on bed looking out windows. Photo by James Guilford.

Tasha, dry and warm on the bed, watches birds flit to and from bird feeders hanging from the tree.

It was a truly miserable November day. Skies were overcast, temperatures never rose out of the 40s, there was rain, there was rain with ice pellets. I started work on my 2011 photographic calendar. I ventured outdoors only to hang the freshly-cleaned bird feeders and travel to Taco Bell for lunch. That was enough. The damp cold seemed to penetrate to the bone. It was a good day to be an indoor cat… or a “cat” indoors!

Photo: Birds on bird feeders. Photo by James Guilford.

Freshly-cleaned, the bird feeders were hung out today. Within a short time the neighborhood birds found the bounty and had some lunch. A red-bellied woodpecker and a cardinal were seen already. Shot through two panes of glass and a screen door!

Photo: Tall window on the stairwell landing. Photo by James Guilford.

The tall window at the landing in our stairwell. We have never put window treatments on that window -- the view of the sky, trees, and the light itself are too good to block.