283/365 Spider Web

"More Spider Than Web"

This is not the photo that I was hoping for today.  I had images in my mind of a beautifully symmetrical web coated with dew glistening in the morning sun - preferably one where the spider was not at home.  As you can clearly see, I did not get that picture.  As the saying goes, "Life is what happens while we are busy making plans."  This is what life had planned for me today.

As I debated whether or not to keep searching for a spider web, it dawned on me that I encountered this spider because she has a message for me.  Spider webs are indeed beautiful, but it is this creature that makes those awesome webs.  It is not right or wise to ignore the one that does the creating.  Sometimes we need to encounter and acknowledge the "not so pretty" in our world to fully appreciate the beauty beyond.  So, I owe this eight-legged creature a big "thank-you" for today's lesson, for reminding me that I ned to look at the whole picture, the foreground, middle ground and background.

For those of you who have a bizarre nerdiness streak in you, check this out.

Do you think maybe caffeine?

282/365 Practice

"Forty-seven Years of Practice"

281/365 Reflection

"Trees"

I guess this is officially my picture of the day because it is the one that is a more accurate response to the day's prompt - photograph a reflection in water.  I do like the symmetry of this; I think I might like it even better in black and white.  Hmmm, something to try.  I did not see the heron when I was taking the photo so he/she is a little obscured.  Oh well…

I really like photo below. 

"Reflective Duck"

 I'm not exactly sure why.  The silhouetted trees are reflected in the pond so I guess technically it does fit the prompt.  But, what draws me to it is the "reflective" duck - not that he is reflected in the water but that he seems to be reflecting over his day that is about over.  Call me weird.  Maybe I just kind of feel like that duck right now.

280/365 Repetition

"Belly of the Bridge"

This is the underside of a bridge that we cross regularly going from one side of town to the other.

279/365 Harvest

"Making Applesauce"

I wish that I could say that I had harvested these apples from my orchard to make applesauce.  Sadly, I did not.  I had to settle for the apples at the grocery store, which are good right now since wee are in the midst of apple season.  I decided to make a small batch of applesauce this afternoon.  Applesauce is one of my favorite things.  It fills the bill when I want something sweet and it is good for me as well.  Win-win!

I have had this food mill for a long time.  It is the one that I used to rice countless sweet potatoes, squash, peas, bananas, pears, and yes, apples, when the girls were babies.  It has definitely served me well for all these years!

"Simple and Pure"

278/365 Storm Clouds

"Rain and Bales"

It finally feels like fall today!  The temperatures didn't make it above 70; the skies were gray; there was a breeze; and tonight, it finally rained.  To me, the weather today was just perfect.

Weber and I went to see Robert Reich's movie Inequality for All this afternoon.  It attempts to explain how this country has ended up in the economic mess in which we find ourselves.  The movie is exceptionally well done.  It looks at many factors that, over the past 30-40 years, have lead to the earning inequalities in this country.  In a nutshell, he says that for there to be economic health, we need to take care of our middle class.  

277/365 Two Become One

"A Duet"

Today's prompt is a little misleading taken out of the context of the monthly list.  It sounds romantic, but in reality, it's technical.  The task was to combine two images into one.  The two photos here are a bagpiper that I saw on the street when we were in London over the summer and a photo taken today of the newest addition to my mini figure collection.  

Creating this stretched my post-processing abilities.  I definitely learned a great deal along the way.  For a first attempt at this technique, Im fairly satisfied with the result.