Day 61 - Poulet Brûlé...

...Or as the French would say, "Burnt chicken".  Okay, it wasn't really burnt.  It was actually just right, and pretty tasty!  One of our local stores has chicken breasts on sale for 99 cents a pound, so I couldn't resist.  The smallest package I could find was $5.50 and had 7 of them in it, so we have lots of chicken.

Anyway, I tried a marinade that turned out to be kind of blah.  I think it would have been just as good if I would have just brushed them with olive oil and threw em on. 

But they were colorful!

Day 60 - Terra Cotta Kittys

Wow, it's been two months since I started doing this picture-a-day thing!  I still have a ways to go don't I?

These are just a couple of the assorted kittycats that are scattered around our house.  All I can say is, it's a good thing she doesn't actually collect kittycats... Who knows how many we'd be tripping over.

This was just a very dim (15-watt?) light bulb in a decorative lamp that lit this shot.  They're not actually this color, but ended up this way because of the weird lighting.  I chose this one because of the shadow it cast.  Okay, I like the overall effect too.

Day 59 - Tree Root Swirls

Suzie and I were at the beach at Redondo today and found this.  It's the root side of a tree trunk, and as you can see it was bleached and pounded by the elements turning it into smooth and clean driftwood.  It was made even more interesting by the rocks that the tree had grown around in a couple places during its life.  The swirls made quite an interesting effect.

You can't really tell how big it is either... I'll leave that up to the reader to ponder.

Day 58 - A Cold One on a Friday Night

I guess the title says it all.  I know I can do better at this, but it's almost a self-defeating quest if you know what I mean...

I'd better just stop with this one for now.

Day 57 - Just a Barn

I was driving home today and took a different route than usual.  I do that a lot lately.  As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I even have a "regular route any more...

This was off the main road on its own private drive so I was able to turn around and go back without any traffic problems.  Like I said... Just a barn.

Day 56 - Rainy Day

I was sitting at a stop light when I snapped this picture today on the way home from work and I noticed something:  In front of me were 3 people walking across the street with umbrellas.  None of them were together, but all of them were Mexicans.  Hmm... Makes sense I guess because you hardly ever see locals with umbrellas...

Okay, now that I read it, it doesn't look even worthy of mentioning.  Never mind.

Day 55 - Doors

This is a shot of our front door from the inside looking out.  Why did I call is doors plural?  Because you can also see the screen door in the shot.  It wouldn't be quite the same without the screen showing through.  Remember... Click for full size...

Day 54 - Lupin

I went on a drive today from work to deliver some stuff, and at the top of the hill from our plant I saw this field overlooking the valley.  It was totally packed with Lupin so I told myself, "Self? You better go up there after work and take some pictures."  That's what I did.

I took a bunch of pictures facing the valley view from up there, but this one came out much more striking than the ones facing the opposite direction.

Day 53 - Spiral Nails

This shot came from me wandering around the garage looking for inspiration.  My eyes fell upon a roll of nails for a nail gun, held tight with a rubber band.

Placing it in an interesting spot was almost as easy:  I just put it on my radial arm saw table.  Oh, a little back light from a flashlight didn't hurt either...

Day 52 - Sea of Legs

We went to Petpalooza today, and although it's a festival celebrating pets of all shapes and sizes, it was dominated by dogs.  There were dogs of all breeds imaginable from the smallest to the biggest.  Fluffy hair, wiry hair, braided hair, and even dyed hair--It was all there.  There were many demonstrations of Frisbee-catching acrobatics too.  So many pictures that came out great made it hard to choose.

I chose this picture because it captured what many dogs probably felt:  Apprehension.  Unease.  Nervousness.  Picture in your mind what it must be like to have a nose that smells things we can't even imagine being bombarded by all those smells of other dogs.  Imagine looking up at almost everything that goes by you while you're being herded through the sea of legs and strollers on your leash...

Day 51 - Paper Sculpture

Today was my mom's birthday.  Sarah and I went over to pay a visit, and of course I took my camera.  Their house is a treasure trove of photo opportunities, but it's not lit very well at all.

This one is one of a male/female pair of sculptures they got at a yard sale recently.  Each one is about a foot tall, and they appear to be made of paper and heavily shellacked (weird word) to stiffen them and make them shiny.

Day 50 - A Tree Perspective

I stopped at Kent Station today on the way home.  I was hoping to capture some pictures of people enjoying their food or drink at outdoor tables.  Unfortunately, the weather was just a little too cool and blustery to have outside diners.  Instead I wandered around.  To their credit, a security guy talked to me for a bit to see what I was up to (I like to see security guys that actually do their job).

This shot was taken from the top floor (6 floors?) of the parking garage near the AMC theater there.  A pretty cool "skewed" perspective isn't it?  I also like the darker color of asphalt behind it--It provided a good contrast.  Even the street sign post visible in it adds to the confusion.  It looks like a second trunk...

Day 49 - Cool Jack

Yeah, you know Jack... Everybody knows Jack.  When someone says, "You don't know jack" don't you believe them.  Everybody knows Jack.  As you can see, Jack is cool.  He's got that confidence thing going for him.  You can see it in his eyes.  Okay, maybe not his eyes, but at least in his body language.

This particular Jack sits on my computer desk.  He's a bobblehead that I got from Sue's uncle's house in Lakewood, California when we were down there liquidating his estate.

Day 48 - The Mystery

This place is on a very well-traveled road near us here and I go by it often.  I find it intriguing to wonder what's in the garage.  After all, the old Buick is a cool-looking car and seems to be in very good shape.

What could it be that is worthy of being locked up and hidden from prying eyes?  Logic tells me it must be better than what we can see...

Day 47 - I Looked Up

Yeah, today was a day of not taking a good picture.  I guess everyone deserves to settle for an "okay" one every now and then, and this is my day.

I don't have any good excuse for not taking a better picture.  At least it's a decent sky...

Day 46 - The Finch Sock

We have a special sock in our back yard filled with thistle seed (say that real fast 5 times) which is apparently the favorite food of Finches.  The original white one didn't last long, so Sue found some black material that was about as porous as the original stuff, but with the added advantage of making the birds show up even more on the black.

Here's a shot of a couple of Finches being gluttons.  It's cool how they let you get within just a few feet of them while you're snapping their pictures.  I guess as long as they're at an all-you-can-eat buffet they want to be sure to get their money's worth...

Day 45 - My First Flower?

Today I was playing around with a lens that Suzie bought a few months ago.  Although she has had it for a while it was the first time I have used it--Maybe partly because it has autofocus issues and is best used as a manual focus only lens.

At any rate, I played with it today and was pretty impressed with it's clarity.  I think this was the first time I have submitted a floral shot during my 365 project.  I've tried before, but none passed muster until now.

Day 44 - Skate Park Thrasher

We stopped by a local skate park and shot some of the boys tearin' it up on skateboards and scooters.  Like always, when the cameras come out there are always the eager-to-please riders.

I took shot after shot of this guy, and his face was screwed up tight in every one of them.  I thought he was an interesting kid.

Day 43 - Cookie

This is Cookie.  Again.  She likes to hang out underneath our bird feeders--Probably hoping a bird will fly right into her mouth (much like the bears that stand in the rivers catching salmon in midair).

She was looking pretty regal in the waning afternoon light.  She found her own little pool of light and sat there... No doubt knowing that she would look good and I would take her picture.

Day 42 - Boarding in Kent

In my opinion it was way too cold to be doing something like this.  It was even breezy.  This shot at Kent's Lake Meridian Park proves how much longing we Pacific Northwesterners have for summer fun.

Day 41 - Fresh Dirt

I took a slight detour off the beaten path on the way home from work today and took a few shots of a guy in a tractor (John Deere of course) plowing his field.  After I looked at my pictures, I like the plain ones better then the ones with the tractor in them.

Day 40 - Death of a Dealership

This is Auburn Nissan.  It was only open for a short time, but like many other businesses, fell victim to financial factors.  It was a brand-new building, but it's been vacant for at least a year.

There are weeds and overgrowth all over the grounds, and I tried to capture the "feel" of the neglect that permeates the place.  Even after taking a bunch of pictures couldn't quite get it.    I opted for one that I thought looked interesting instead.

Day 39 - Adirondacks on the Dock

Suz and I dragged the canoe out today and drove it to Lake Wilderness.  Although there were boats all over on the lake, they were quiet, electric trolling motor-equipped.  Apparently the lake has a motorized boat restriction (I'm only guessing).  The only sounds we heard during the couple hours we circled the lake was the occasional lawn mower or weed whacker.  We like to cruise around shorelines and look for photo ops, but there were a few too many fishing lines.  If they weren't extended out from a boat we were going past, they were snaking outward from the aspiring fishermen on the shore.

It was a great day for canoeing, and when I saw these Adirondack chairs all lined up I had to snap the shot.  If I owned a dock on a lake, you can bet it would have a few of these on it too.

 

Day 38 - Tail Draggin'

Sue and I had a great day today.  We spent time doing "catch-up" stuff around the house until mid afternoon, then we drove around scoping out the local lakes for the possibility of canoeing.

During our drive we took a lot of pictures of some very interesting and picturesque stuff.  Lakes, scenery, kids playing, and stuff like that.  On the way home we stopped at a new eatery in Covington, called 2 Seven 2.  When we left we saw this nice looking 50's Chevy pickup sitting in an interesting stance.  Complete with lake pipes and sporting a primer paint job, I thought it looked "Fifties" all the way and deserved to be featured in black and white.

Be sure to click these pictures I post so you can see the whole thing (Blogger clips them to fit).

Day 37 - Auburn on a Friday Night

Yep, it's a hoppin' and boppin' kind of place isn't it? 

I shot this from the top of the Auburn Station parking garage at sundown.  It came out a lot better than my sundown pictures did.

Day 36 - Aging the Yard

This portion of picket fence--Complete with freestanding, glass-paned door behind it--Resides in our back yard.  These are often photographed, but not usually made to look old.

I couldn't resist tweaking it a little with my Photoshop Topaz plugin...

Day 35 - Water Droplets

This is a shot of water droplets on the inside of Sue's little collapsible greenhouse in the back yard.  It's basically like a clear shower curtain.

The late afternoon light gave a cold appearance to the pattern of water trapped inside.

Day 34 - Colorful Bounty

I stopped at Auburn Produce Market on the way home from work today, hoping to buy some of the delicious Landjaeger sausage (specifically the hot variety!) that I bought there last summer.  Nada.

Like the 365 photographer junkie I am, my camera traveled into the store with me.  I asked the owner if it was okay if I took some shots, explaining what my wife and daughter like to do.  He said sure, and we talked a little about the cyclical nature of his business, suppliers, and stuff like that.  It was a good visit.

Day 33 - Power Outage

We had some really strong winds in our area all day yesterday.  Sue sent me a text at one point in the day saying the power was out, followed not long after by another text declaring it to be back on.  She sent me another at about 2:30 saying it was out again.  When I got home and saw the highway closed past the entrance to our street (I lucked out there!) I figured it had something to do with it.  We hopped in the car and took a back road that we know of and came out on the other side of the closure and walked around snapping a few pictures.  I'd say this was a good explanation as to why we were without power!

So this was the first time I have failed to post my picture of the day on that day, but as you can see, it was at least taken on the right day.  I guess the power came back on around midnight... I'm not sure.

Day 32 - Inner Beauty

Inside a computer that is... It's not every day you see a computer card that's made from a PCB other than green.  I have seen very few myself, but then I'm not really in the business.  For all I know there are tons of them out in various colors now.  I know I have a blue video card around here somewhere...

Anyway, I spent the day messing around with getting a computer up and running so I thought this sort of theme was fitting for today's picture.  Behold the beauty of a bright, shiny, red video card.

Day 31 - A Chlorophyll Rainbow

I don't do many flower shots.  It's not that I don't like them--They are willing subjects being captive and non-moving like they are.  I try not to do them because--I don't know--They seem too easy?  Maybe that's it.

We stopped at the Farmer's Market in downtown Puyallup today and wandered around taking it all in.  Like many days such as this, I had many other shots that I thought would be more interesting.  That is until I actually saw the finished product on the computer.  This shot caught my eye because it was all shades of green and yellow and everything in between, but I never thought it would be worthy when I got home and looked my shots over.

Funny... A plant shot that doesn't even have flowers in it!