Pics from the New Camera

I am having fun playing with my new camera, but it is becoming painfully obvious to me that I have much to learn about how to use it. Thankfully, until I learn how to use all the features and the difference between ISO and f-stops and white balance, it has an auto-focus mode :) It was a rather spendy camera, so I figure I owe it to myself (and the camera) to learn how to use every button and dial (omigosh, there are more dials than I know what to do with on it!) before the year is out. A photography class is likely in store for me.

The girl child and I took a walk this morning before our guys woke up. The sun was shining, but it was hidden from us during our walk on our nature trail because of all the tall trees. While we walked, we enjoyed hearing the crickets sing to us.



My Beanarina at the top of the steps leading down to the nature trail at the bottom of our street.



Cool lichen growing on one side of a little tree stump.



Here is Chloe walking up to the footbridge. It is just at the edge of our little forest of trees after we walked about half a mile under their cover.




This pic better captured the floating water bug than it did my reflection as I leaned over the footbridge where we turned around to come home.



I thought this was a neat leaf with cool spots. Pretty spider on the underside, although I kept a safe distance. I do better with vertebrates than arachnids or some of the unpredictably jumpy insects.





Some quick fancy footwork helped us jump over this guy on our way back home. He was almost as big as my index finger!



Newest beads using Ekho from Double Helix



Here is the same glass encased in clear. Love the purple that comes out! Need to play with this glass a little more :)



My Owen boy is feeling 100% again after being on antibiotics for over 24 hours. He tested positive for strep throat Saturday morning when I took him into the pediatrician's office. They looked at me like I had three heads when I told them my Wendy treated six cases of it on Thursday (strep season starts as soon as school is back in session). But the quick strep test that normally takes 5-10 minutes to show the results turned Owen's little throat culture back in less than two minutes. Poor guy...he just had strep in February. Although, I'd rather it be strep and get antibiotics to feel better in less than a day, than it be a cold virus and treat the symptoms for a week or more.



And the other good news is that the union for the Southeast did not walk out on strike when their contract expired at 11:59pm Saturday night. Which keeps me at home with my family and not climbing phone poles in Northwest Georgia or Oklahoma. Soooo thankful!

Now if I could just kick this sore throat that I picked up on Friday!