Easter... with family.

A week ago Friday, I drove down to my sister's house to spend Easter with my family. I wanted to be there on Saturday to see my grandson's baseball games.
Saturday morning little Bean (he's five) had his game at the Pleasant Hill High School fields. This is the school that I went to for my first two years of high school. It's not a high school any more but it sure brought back memories for me.
Little Bean is very good. I can say that. I'm his Noni. Only this is not a grandma "just being kind" endorsement. He was really good.

This is advanced T-ball and you get lots of chances to hit the ball and then if you don't, they let you hit the ball off of the tee.  This was not necessary for Little Bean. He has a good eye and he is a really good hitter.

He knew I was watching him... so I gave him a thumb's up, pointed to the pitcher and whispered "Watch the ball." and he did. He's a lefty. I tell you this because I'm a lefty too and so is his Dad, my son. It really runs in our family. My Dad was left handed too.
The whole team has an immaturity that is charming but, hey!... they're five years old. It's more about having fun and learning than anything else. they worked very hard... all of them.
After the game the team got  treats, high fives and some kudos from their coach.
Big brother (in the amazing technicolor outfit) gave his little bro some pointers.

The Bean's game was later in the day, at the other end of the park, so he was running around having fun with some friends while Little Bean played his game.

Sis and I went home to clean and decorate for Sunday dinner. We had a good time and the house looked beautiful.

We set the table using leaves from the garden on each plate with the guest's names on the leaf.

We decorated the front hallway and the fireplace.

Everything was beautiful. The house was ready for company a day early. Sis and I decided that it's more fun to have a celebration when you decorate together.
I drove back to the baseball field at 4:00 in the afternoon for the Bean's game.

OK... again I have to brag. My eight year old grandson, during the course of the game, played center field and catcher (move over Buster Posey.) and showed us what being a Little League baseball player is all about.

And then, pitched his little heart out.

Look at that form! It was a beautiful thing to watch. He's a natural... a small version of Tim Lincecum.. I'm not kidding.The other team was really good and I noticed that their coach was watching Bean closely.

My oldest grandson is naturally a good ball player, but he also has a determination to do well. He always seems to be focused and "at one" with what he does.

The Bean is very, very good.

Did I tell you that he's left handed?

Giant's? Are you watching?

***********************

I spent Saturday evening with my son, Robbin and the boys. Then I went back to my sister's to relax and get a good night's rest. It seems I need more sleep lately. It's the "age" thing. It's about pacing one's self... and having a sister who allows me a private room with a good bed and flowers on the nightstand. Thanks Sis!

The next day we celebrated Easter. Sis, Ben (her youngest son) and I took a lily to Mom.

It was a beautiful day.

Then, in the afternoon everyone arrived. We hug, laughed... we played games, went outside between rain showers and sat down for a wonderful dinner. 

 Someone said grace and ended with the traditional, "Thanks for the good stuff."  I thought about all the prayers of thanks that have been said over the years and how fortunate we are, as a family. We all try our best to be good people, help others and work hard. So thanking God "for the good stuff." is not being silly... it's honest and true. We all held hands and then we ate a wonderful dinner. It was a beautiful day.

We all pray in our own way.

Wordless Wednesday: I dream...

Wordless Wednesday: "Surprise!"

"And there is pansies, that's for thoughts."

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't buy happiness. I bought a six pack of Pansies today for $1.99 at the drug store. They were a little wilted from the sun on a rack at the entrance to the store and they caught my eye. I picked off the spent flowers and brought them home.
Now I have some color... a bit of springtime in the garden and it makes me happy.

And now you ask in your heart, 
"How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?" 
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower, 

But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee. 
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life, 
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love, 
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy." 

Extract from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet



...and as if  today wasn't wonderful enough...Today is my oldest grandson's birthday. The Bean is eight years old.

Where do the years go?

 The Bean and his Bro

 His first Halloween.

 First camping trip with Dad and Papa.

 Helping Noni plant gourds.

 First swimming lesson.

 His desk at Noni and Papa's.

 Just a boy and his goats.

 Painting Papa's truck with a feather.

 Study in black and white

 Mr. Cool.

 6th birthday party

 Last summer at the park

We love you little boy. May all your dreams come true.  Happy Birthday!
 

Miniature Monsters Lurking in the Woods

Yes, it rained the night before. I should have skipped my walk until the grasses and trail dried out . I don't know what I was thinking.

It could have happen when I hugged my favorite tree.

Or sat on this log that use to be my favorite tree...

because I actually sat down on it to get a lower shot.

It might have been when I picked up this bunch of grass and hummus that was decaying  near the creek.

Or, maybe it was waiting for me on the end of a blade of grass when I took this photo of a cool rock with quartz growing out of it..

Where ever this tick was. He traveled home ON ME, waiting until after dinner, and then decided to dig in on my right side. I felt the familiar soreness. Yes, this has happen before.
Yes, I forgot to check for ticks when I came home. It was dinnertime and... I just forgot. I usually  do a "tick check" and change clothes when I've been out in the woods.
So I removed him from my body. Yuck! (I'm not going to describe this procedure. You can read about it anywhere online.) Cleaned the area with Hydrogen Peroxide and put some antibiotic cream on it. It HURT that night. It hurt yesterday. Today it looks better. No red ring around it so I think I'm OK.
Did you know that these little critters are arachnids, like scorpions, SPIDERS and mites?
Ghastly thought isn't it?
They lay in wait for you. They drink your blood. If they were big like us they could take over the world. They are truly miniature vampires.
Did you watch GRIMM last night? Ticks... human size, could be an episode on this program.
Ticks climb to the ends of leaves or branches and attach to hosts (that would be ME.) that brush against them. They're opportunist, just waiting for some animal to walk by. They carry diseases like Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They are horrible little creatures.
This one made a mistake. This one is dead. 
Until it dries out around here, I'm going to stay on the roads and dirt trails... she says.

Wordless Wednesday: My neighbor's Plum tree.

Taking a hike with a monopod and a prime lens

I know that this is probably going to bore some of you to death, but for my photography friends this is called field work.
I went for a walk into the countryside beyond my house today, as I usually do. I will be going to a three day workshop in Portland soon and I want to at least know the equipment that I have and how to use it. Kind of like knowing how to program and use your new magical phones these days, I have a camera and lens that  almost defy the limits of man's knowledge and have so many special and unique accessories attached to them that you have to read an owner's manual before you can even turn them on. So it is with my camera (Nikon 5100D) and a new lens ( a Nikon 35mm1:1.8 prime lens). I also took my monopod. This is a one leg support for my Nikon. The camera attaches to the top of the monopod and this helps to steady the camera for sharper photos. It also adjusts from about 18 inches to as tall as I am ( 5' 8'').
Off I went with my camera attached to the monopod and my camera bag filled with some camera accessories, my phone and another lens that came with the camera,  the 18-55mm kit lens.
I have to tell you that I'm not a perfectionist. I'm a wabi sabi, kind of person that loves all things new and creative, but has little patience for complicated electronics and related equipment. I was raised by two perfectionist and my sister and I have not continued the tradition. I think a little rebellion is involve.

Anyway, my first pictures were of the bees, in the Rosemary, near the chicken house.
Out of maybe 15 photos this one was clear and focused. I realized I had a lot to learn.

I'm still learning about focus points inside the camera and how to focus in more than one area.
It's like "America's funniest home videos" watching me trying to keep the camera steady on that "single pod" stick while the bees are moving all over the place. I found it's best to wait, focused, in one place and let the bees come to you. Bee's move around so much that trying to follow them is almost impossible.

Then I got to the cattle gate and was reminded of the beautiful post a friend did on webs the other day. I
 readjusted the "stick", focused the camera and got some good shots of these webs that some really huge ( I'm sure it's a BIG one) spider has been constructing in the metal pieces of the fence.
These turned out OK, but not like my friend's photos of webs in British Columbia.

and this one... I love the Bokeh (the blur in the background). I love the leaves and forest debrie that is caught in the web.
I'm sure a big, bad spider lives... in the corner...  back there... somewhere.
I backed away and tripped over a rock and started to fall.  I clutched the camera (always protect the camera first.), took a few steps backward and recovered like the cool person that I am. I continued on up the road, thankful that no one had observed my clumsy, little dance. But you never know these days. You do something stupid, in what you think is the privacy of your life, and bam! It's on U tube and it's going "viral". Thank god we live in the middle of 40 acres surrounded by BLM land. Not too many folks are just walking around here in the boonies, taking pictures. Only the crazy ones... like me.
I started to notice that something was changing. My pictures weren't focusing too well and the sun disappeared. I took this photo of the oak trees above me.
Tell me this is not rather sinister?

Maybe I was falling again.Maybe I fell and knocked myself out. Maybe this was a dream and I was on my way to OZ. Were the trees coming to life?
I heard the turkey making calls down the hill but couldn't see them.

No turkey. Just a weird feeling that something was watching me.
Even the poison oak was reaching out toward me...

I never woke up from "the dream" so I guess I never passed out. I was awake the whole time. Was this one of those serious, senior moments? Is that how it is?  You just go somewhere else for a while and then come back with a whole sense of "What just happen." ?  Wow! better than the 60's.

I tripped over the monopod again because I had it in front of me and was trying to watch the ridge line for wild beasts at the same time. Sometimes the woods takes on a different, more sinister presence. I feel pretty safe up there until I think about having an encounter with a Mountain Lion or some human that might want to do some harm. I try not to think about this too much.  I have my phone and it actually works up there. I guess I'm kind of wabi sabi about this. Guess I should take my gun with me but it's just one more thing and I might trip over that too. Maybe I can just take a picture of whatever attacks me and that will scare it away... you think?
All this fearful thinking dwindling. The sun came out again and I started walking back down the trail.

 I saw a small yellow flower and tried to take a picture of it but the monopod got in the way. The flower was too close to the ground and I was getting a little crazy trying to use my camera on this stick of a thing.
So, I took the camera off the monopod and  laid down on the ground. Another photographer friend told me that some of his best shots of flowers are at ground level. So, down I sat... I laid down in the forest humus... and this was the result.

Yes, that's a tiny spider on that buttercup. Cool isn't it? I need some close up lens on my prime lens and then you could see him waving at me.
I took a few shots of the flower and its visitor and I sat there trying to figure out how I was going to get up... then I looked at the Monopod laying there next to me.
Well, guess what? These ''sticks" have another purpose in life. They make great "assistance for old ladies" sticks. I used it to get up and to walk back to the house... walking along like Maurice Chevalier... well, more like Charlie Chaplin.
I may never be comfortable with these tripods and things, that are suppose to make your pictures better, sharper, but I do know how to re-purpose these things. If I don't learn how to use this camera stabilizing monopod, I can always use it for a walking stick and if I never master the use of a tripod it will make a great trellis for growing tomatoes.
I need to learn how to use these things though. I like the monopod better than the tripod but they both seem awkward. I like using my camera spontaneously and by itself, but I keep practicing.
I love photographing the world from the ground. It's such a different perspective. It's like a squirrel cam. You see the world  the way a small animal does. I find that fascinating!
OK, so I have to learn how to get back up afterwards, but it's worth it.
As a friend says, "God is in the details". It's true. There will always be a camera in my hands for those moments when the gods show us small, exquisite "details". We just have to pay attention.

Just wondering...

"Even if you think the Big Bang created the stars,

don't you wonder who sent the flowers?" ~Robert Brault~