Day 359 - Heron Condo

I was driving in Kent today in the work van when I passed by this stand of trees.  I have known there were several nests in it for quite a while because in winter there is no foliage to hide them.  The empty nests in those barren trees were easy to see.

Today was a different story.  I couldn't believe how many Blue Herons I saw in these trees!  There still aren't any leaves on the trees, but it's apparently nest-building season.  I counted something like 9 of these huge birds in just a few trees all grouped together.  They were quite a ways away, but I snapped a few pics of them anyway.

Too bad I don't have a better lens!

Day 358 - Stones of the Past

This is the town cemetery in Black Diamond, Washington.  This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I've been here shooting pictures, and I know Sue has been here a couple times at least too.  Even Sarah has been here once.

I went for "feel" this time... Using a Photoshop filter called "grunge" which is part of a downloadable pack from Filter Forge.  It's really good with things like this.  If something isn't gritty or isn't gritty enough, it comes in handy.

Day 357 - The Gazing Ball

Out in the back yard in a little patch of garden there sits this gazing ball.  It's not in a very big patch of ground really, just a small meandering stepping-stone pathway and an antique door standing all by itself.

I liked the reflections of the sky and trees but it still lacked a little punch so I gave it a little bit of the Photoshop Topaz adjust treatment to spice it up a bit.  Nothing very dramatic other than adding some more color.

Day 356 - The Camel from India

Sarah brought this handmade camel back from India for me.  It's got a metal head, and the blanket that's formed over the hump is also metal.  It's pretty detailed.  Anyway, I figured I'd probably use it in a 365 post eventually, but obviously it took me a while to get to it.

I tried a little something odd on this shot (duh).  I used Photoshop to replicate some ghosts of it.  I don't know if I like it much, but it was something different.

Day 355 - Fishin' on the Green

All up and down the Green River in our area you'll find these little fishing huts that dedicated fisherman have constructed to make their fishing more pleasurable.  I like the added touch the owner put on this one when he added the fish cutout to it.  It even has plexiglass windows and cedar shingles.

A couple months ago the river was right at the top of its banks.  I remember seeing this shanty before the river rose and it was no different than it is now.  I guess the construction of this thing was better than most.

Day 354 - The First Day of Spring

Well, what else are you supposed to take pictures of on the first day of spring?  It's got to be flowers doesn't it?  I think it's a requirement.

These poor ol' Crocuses are always first on the scene.  Sometimes they're so early they pop up right through the middle of snow.  They don't look before they leap.  When I went out to see what flowers I had to pick from, they were the only ones blooming.

Day 353 - Reflections

Today was supposed to be a better-than-average full moon.  A rare occurrence in a full moon is all the reason we need to consider scouting out a good vantage point for when the evening moonrise came along.

In the course of our exploration we came across this small pond.  The smooth water created a nice reflection of the barn and trees.

The moon?  Sure, we managed to get some shots.  Truth is, if any of them were any good I'd probably have one of them posted here.