My 365~ Day 29 Fabulous Limon Talinum ...

Day 29~ Fabulous Limon

First I would like to acknowledge that it is taking me a hell of a long time to compile "my 365". For the most part, I just run out of time on any given day, but sometimes it is hard to find the motivation, I tend to be super critical of my stuff and then I feel frustrated instead of just enjoying the moment and capturing some interesting memories. Either way that is for me to work out with myself. Today's photos were taken this past weekend, I don't have to tell anyone how wonderful it was right!! We bought some new additions for the garden and one of them was this awesomely, fabulous Limon Talinum plant. It is an incredible colour with these really interesting small copper buds that open into little pink blossoms, very cool.  Hope you all had a great weekend with many more to come.

Bean

My 365~ Day 28 An Enchanting Garden

An Enchanting Garden

A dear friend of mine has a wonderful garden, full of lots of interesting plants, but also enchanting elements throughout her garden. Many times while visiting with her I find myself viewing her garden and considering that it is a good reflection of the person that she is, interesting to be around with unexpected nuances that intrigue the guest. Thanks Mimi for making the world a more interesting place.

My 365~Day 27

Day 27~Ready for the Garden

I love this time of year, everything is starting to grow, nice afternoon days sitting out side with a book and the warm sun on your skin. So many choices too, new trees for the front, new perennials for the back and welcoming the new spring blossoms of established plants. These little daisies will be going in to my garden as soon as the temperature allows. I love their pretty blue centers with bits of gold and blue underbellies. Get outside and enjoy the weather and the garden, and Happy Earth Day!!

My 365~Day 26

A Bird in the Hand

I spent this beautiful afternoon taking a long walk through our favorite  local trail today, Cherry Hill Gate. Perfect temperature, sun warm on our faces and lots of photographic opportunities. Emily loves to feed the birds and the chipmunks at Cherry Hill, and I was able to get a pretty good shot of this little guy in her hand with a seed in his mouth, and then all to quickly he was gone. Enjoy your Easter holiday everyone, I encourage you to get out for a hike if you haven't.

Bean

My 365~Day 25

Day 25~ Thank you Argentina

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything, work has been busy, life is sometimes complicated and time gets away from us. I am back at it, with a photo of a great bottle of Argentine wine, Trumpeter. I am pretty sure that my son and his wife would enjoy this wine very much, it is one of those peppery wines, slightly dry with a long finish, great with pasta it was delicious. 


Cheers 
Bean

My 365~Day 24

Day 24~ Thinking spring!!

Today was a gorgeous early spring day, perfect for a walk at Cherry Hill Gate. The RBG has done a great job, supporting the ecosystem, it is a wonderful place to walk and see all kinds of birds, small animals and great plants and trees. Little chickadees will light on your hand for seeds, and the squirrels will come close for food as well. Emily got quite a thrill when a small bird sat on her hand to feed from some seeds she had.If you live close by, take a walk through on the warm spring day, you will be glad you did.

Bean

My 365~Day 23

Day 23~ Love my Jewelry and my Macro Lens

Not a great deal to say with this one, I believe it is self explanatory, love my jewelry and my camera and I think they are a match made in heaven. The photo on the left is the container the photo on the right is the contents.

Bean

My 365~Day 22

Day 22~ Waiting for Spring

I took this photo in the garden during our last snow storm and it made me think about spring, actually, long for spring. I am not someone who really enjoys the winter and usually by this time of the year and am becoming quite impatient for the longer and milder, snow free days. I can't wait to get out there and add some new plants to my garden and hopefully get some interesting shots as well.

Bean

My 365~Day 21

Day 21 ~ All alone

I find overcast days are my favorite to take photos, and today was no exception. Lots of snow and a single leaf remaining on one of our trees caught my eye today during a snow storm. I am a big fan of black and white photography which is probably one of the reasons I enjoy the diffused light of an overcast day.

Bean

My 365~Day 20

Day 20~ Manneken Pis

Today's subject is a golf ball that my daughter and son-in-law sent to my husband last year. The logo on the ball is somewhat of a legend and national mascot for Brussels, his name is Manneken Pis. Manneken Pis is the focal point of much folklore and he is the center of attention in the Grande Place in Brussels, so much so that there are an entire array of costumes an souvenirs dedicated to this little man. If you want to learn more about this little man see the attached link http://www.trabel.com/brussel/brussel-manneken.htm.
Rick and I actually had the opportunity to visit the home of the Manneken Pis last summer when we went to Europe, I was amazed at the amount of conversation, merchandise and general story telling this little guy generates.

Bean

My 365~ Day 19

Day 19~ Snow Day

Finally a chance to take a photo of the snow at night. Clearly I need the Night photography 101 lesson but I love the look,particularly the car moving past in this shot.





Bean

My 365~Day 18

Day 18~ A little comfort food!

I love lazy Sunday afternoons, no expectation for the day, "whatever". I used the afternoon to make this awesome, decadent treat, thanks cookiesandcups.blogspot.com for the recipe, chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake bars. I did say they were decadent but whatever we have to treat ourselves once in a while...right. Just the perfect subject for my macro lens, I love my macro lens!! Emily and Andrew love cookie dough cheesecake squares.


Bean

My 365~Day 17

Day17~ Icicles and Anne-Marie
It took me a considerable amount of effort and concentration to take this shot in an attempt to catch the melt off the icicles. Anne-Marie was most instrumental in my success, she is a great teacher, I learn something new with each photo I take and love every minute of it. We went for a great hike while we were away and took some great shot's in a sculpture park, I have posted some of those in my previous post. Thanks Anne Marie.

Bean

My 365~Day 12 thru Day 16

5 Day Compilation~Day 12 through Day 17 are a compilation of our long weekend in Haliburton for Family Day. Rick and I spent the long weekend with 2 of our 3 children and their respective partners, the only thing missing was our oldest and her her husband and of coarse our darling little grandson The Feb. long weekend has become somewhat of a tradition now, a much needed downtime and a chance to reconnect as a family. We typically spend the long weekend renting a cottage in a winter destination in either Quebec or Ontario engaged in winter activities, enjoying great food and just having fun. 2010 was no exception, we found a great place in Gooderham, in the Haliburton Highlands, we shared some great food including homemade pasta and Chinese hot pot as well as a great hike and some interesting board games. The first and second photo's in this compilation were taken in an interesting sculpture park in Haliburton. I was also able to capture a photo of my daughter in law through a window view taking photo's of some little chickadee's that were using the bird feeder, she is a very patient photographer. Thank you to all my family for the great memories and here is hoping that our daughter will be home next year and we will all be together our next family day weekend.

Bean

My 365~Day 11

Day 11~"Oot and Aboot"




Today's post is a collage of photo's that I created with my daughter in mind. Everyone knows that my daughter, son-in-law, and my grandson were here during the Holidays,and when they went home they left behind my grandson's little toque that we just discovered today. I am sure she has been missing it, she really liked it and it was super cute on him. So I took a few shot's of it around the house, sort of like a where's Waldo theme. I have to say that when Emily found it, the thoughts of them came flooding in , we really miss them all. So for now this little piece of him is living on my dresser, making me smile while we wait for them to return.

Bean

My 365~Day 10

Day 10~ Pizza Day

When I arrived home from work tonight I was completely done in, very hectic day, bad nights sleep, I'm sure you all the know the scenario, and to top it all off I had a pile of work to review at home with me....ugh! So needless to say I was not really inspired to take photo's this evening and then I made dinner.Yummy is all I can say, I made 4 different pies, my favourite is the subject of this photograph. Olive oil and parmesan crust with no tomato sauce, mozzarella and fontina cheese, red pepper and onion. Delicious. Hopefully tomorrow will be less hectic, but somehow I think it is just the way this week is shaping up, in any case I would really like to get a night shot tomorrow night. Wish me luck.

Bean

My 365~Day 9

Day 9

Another photo from my winter garden, these hydrangeas are so beautiful in the summer, one group in my garden is blue, the other pink they are one of my favorite flowers. I first fell in love with them when I saw them in abundance in the quaint little Cape Cod village of Chatham, they really are quite striking with very large blooms and vibrant colours. However, that being said they are also very interesting to see in a winter garden. So here they are. Hope you find them as interesting as I do.

Bean

My 365~Day 8

Week 2~Day 8

Spent the morning thinking and planning for the garden in the spring and late in the afternoon I took a walk back there just to check things out and was inspired by some of the winter garden. Today's subject is the ornamental grass that I have planted in the garden, looking very different now then it did in the summer. I actually find it much more interesting in this state then in the it's green summer presentation, so much so that I had to take a few photo's. So although I have not taken any night shots yet I did get outside today with my camera. Spring is only 5 weeks away!!




Bean

My 365~Day 7

Day 7

So this evening didn't unfold as I had planned. I have been waiting for a clear night so that I can take a photo of the moon, and when I woke up today it was sunny and clear and I thought for sure today was the day. Well that didn't happen, the moon is not making an appearance in our night sky until 0100. So today's subject is the fantastic "Snow Day Cookie" that I made after reading a great blog that I follow Ezra Pound Cake. If you want the recipe go here, you will be so glad that you did http://www.ezrapoundcake.com.

I will try again tomorrow for a opportunity to shoot the moon. Go check out the foodie blog it is awesome. I am really glad that I started this project it is really inspiring me everyday to keep taking photos and learning how to use my camera in a much more meaningful way.


Bye for now
Bean

My 365~Day 6

Day 5~ I first enjoyed this bottle of wine with my daughter-in-law during my last trip to Ottawa. It was so delicious and a perfect bottle of wine to share with someone so special. Anne Marie is beautiful, kind, creative and light of heart. I have had occasion to share many fine bottles of wine with her and this was no exception. Currently available in your LCBO vintages section, but something this special won't be there for long. We are planning a family day weekend with them in the Haliburton Highlands and I will be bringing a bottle of this with me.

Technically speaking, Anne Marie I can't seem figure out how to include the photo info from Iphoto with my shot. Can you tell me what I need to do to include the info on my blog. I able to find it in Iphoto but I am not sure how to import it to my blog with the photo.

Tomorrow I hope it is clear enough to take a night shot!!



Cheers
Bean

My 365~Day 5

"Jappy's Poker Face" Today's photo was taken during some family weekend poker fun, Jappy put on his best poker face for this shot. I have written other posts about Jappy he is a great subject for my photo's and a good sport to boot, with the exception of a need to lay on the table in the middle of a poker game or board game. All and all we love him and he generates some lively conversation........hope you enjoy it.


Bean

My 365~Day 4

Day 4~A thoughtful gesture

Today's subject is a thoughtful host gift from our daughter and son-in-law that they gave to Rick when they were home at Christmas. Totally not necessary because they brought us the only gift we wanted, our little grandson Aodhan. What a magic Christmas, your thoughts go right back to when you kids were just babies themselves. Aodhan is a special little soul and watching our daughter love and encourage her son is the only gift any parent could ever want. Having said all that, I am sure that Rick will be happy to raise a glass to them when he opens this treat.

Cheers
Bean

My 365~Day 3

Day 3 is a photo of a beautiful gift from my youngest, a topaz glass perfume bottle. I was given this gorgeous bottle for Christmas last year and will treasure it always. It is interesting to see the light catch the glass in different ways, highlighting the internal blown glass aspect of this piece. I used my macro lens for this photo, I love my macro lens.

Bean

My 365~Day 2

Hi guys, thanks to those of you who commented on fb, it really encourages me. Today's subject is one of the family felines, he was actually my Moms favorite cat. When she was in her last days he would curl up on the bed beside her and just snuggle in, there is something to be said for that kind of peace at the end of your journey. Anyway he has been with us for some 12 years now and he is a great old guy, his name is Jasper but my Mom somehow ended up calling him Jappy and it just stuck with him. That makes me smile just thinking about it, she used to mispronounce all kinds of words and I would tease the pants off her and we would laugh so hard sometimes at some of the names that she would come up with. Jappy is getting old now, he doesn't move as easily anymore, but he is still the boss if you know what I mean.

I used the same lens as yesterday and my tripod. I am having fun messing around with all of the features on my camera, just so you know I took 30 photos and only one survived.

Talk to you tomorrow
Bean

My 365~ Day 1

OK, so before we get to the technical review of my photo, here is the history on the subject. I was born in Carluke Ontario, a rural farming area where my Grandfather owned and ran the General Store, the school house was one room and my parents built the house whilst waiting for me to arrive. My paternal grandfather was a very engaging man, and I have very clear memories of him even though I was only 8 years old when he left this world. Today when I arrived at the cemetery in Carluke and walked out to the grave site, I was struck by the big smile on my face thinking about him, all the happy memories that reside in my head. So this is where my 365 will begin where I began, visiting the grave site of the only Grandfather I knew.

Now for the technical bit, please be kind, if I learn anything from this project it will be what I don't know about photography, it is exciting to start something from the very basic foundation and believe me I do mean basic. I took this photo with an 18-105 mm lens and used my tripod for the first time. It was cold with flurries and the wind was howling but here it is and I think this was the perfect place to start. So tell me what you think, help me to improve and I will enjoy the memories that come along for the ride.

Bean

My 365

With January behind us we start to think about the possibilities that the spring will bring , new life, longer days, you know what I am saying. I have decided to start a project that I was inspired to begin by a blog that I follow ttp://digital-photography-school.com/. I was given a fantastic digital camera for Christmas last year, the Nikon D90, and have been very slowly and tentatively learning how to take a photo. I should also mention that my wonderful daughter in law is a fantastic photographer and she has given me a lot of support and encouragement to challenge myself. So with all that in mind beginning tomorrow I will take a photograph a day and post to my blog and ask for your feedback and critique as I go along in an attempt to develop my skills as a novice photo geek. The project will be My 365 and my hope is that next January I will look back and not only feel that I have developed some skill, but that I will have and interesting library of personal photos and memories. Wish me luck and stay tuned.

Bean

Family life

Wow, six months has gone by in the blink of an eye, Happy New Year!! Since my last post, our son has been married, our grandson has turned 6 months old and they were here for Christmas, and our youngest is more than half way through her second year at university and caking up a storm....whew!! Our son's wedding was celebrated in the Gatineau region of Quebec, intimate and beautiful, just like the two of them. Christmas was wonderful, everyone was home and Matt and Emily finally met their nephew. I have to say that it became very clear to my husband and I how blessed we really are, watching them all together over the holidays. Our grandson is a delightful, engaging little soul, easy to smile, vocalizing up a storm and charming everyone he comes in contact with. Our daughter and son-in-law are wonderful parents as evidenced by the calm demeanor of this little marvel. Emily has been caking every special occasion she can get her hands on, including her brother's shower and wedding cakes and a delightful "hungry caterpillar" cake for baby Aodhan's half birthday!! one of her favorite books. The cake was competely vegan (Aodhan is 100% vegan baby), and was delicious. We enjoyed 2 weeks together and then sadly had to say goodbye. Everyone keep your fingers crossed, they are planning to move back to Canada in 6 months time. We are hunkered down for the winter, planning a family winter vacation in Quebec during the month of February and possibly a trip along the west coast of Canada/USA via the pacific coast highway....if anyone has any advice with regard to a trip along the PCH please feel free to share.


Ciao for now
Bean