Worker Ants

We had lots of help show up yesterday and today to get the tree mess cleaned up. They reminded me of busy little worker ants scurrying here and there, very organized and on a mission. A mission to move trees off buildings and cut down trees that were hanging precariously.

I'm quickly posting these pics while the generator is on to run the water heater, so they are in no sort of order.

This is "the man" right here. He used to be a logger and let me tell you...he can lay a tree down wherever he pretty well pleases. I doubted his ability to remove a tree that was hanging directly over the chicken coop. I thought I should remove the chickens for their safety. He said they'd be fine. He was right. He fell that tree like a pro. The chickens are thankful.

And check out the size of that saw blade!!!

Taking a little break. Yes, that's me in the yellow. One of my girls shot this. They actually took some good shots while we were all working.

Doesn't this shot just lend itself to a "how many men does it take" joke?

Holding the tree up with the bobcat while they run a cable to another tree. That's the chicken coop directly behind him. Hang in there chickens, you're gonna be all right!

"The man" at work again skillfully grabbing a tree off dad's shed.

You want me to get that tree down from WHERE??!! :)

T...I...M...B...E...R...!!!!!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that helped the last few days. It is VERY much appreciated.

B

Tornado damage at our house...

We're running on a generator so I have to be quick....just posting some pictures of the tornado/derecho damage at our house.

The back side of our house.
Front yard we share with mom and dad.

Dad's garage...that hump in the ground is NOT landscaping...the tree is leaning.

The side of mom and dad's house...the tree knocked the cap off the propane tank and it spewed gas for about 20 minutes till dad got it turned back off.

Tree in my brother's yard.

My brother's rental house...it was a week away from being rented out and now it's a total loss....the drywall is cracked all the way through and the electric panel was ripped off the side of the house.

The side view of dad's garage.

A close up view of mom's cheap little greenhouse that didn't recieve a scratch on it.

Mom's fully unharmed greenhouse.

The kids' trampoline in between two trees...the hole was already there...burning accident.

Going out our driveway...notice the electric wire hanging above.

More when we get electric.

B

Word.

Do you ever feel like you talk and no one hears you? I do. A lot. I'm not lodging a complaint with those who don't hear me. This is merely an observation.

It's not that they aren't listening...they hear me. They just don't get me. Now don't get me wrong...I'm not now, nor have I ever been or claimed to be a deep person. So there's not that much to get. But there are many times that words come out of my mouth and then...silence. No grunting, no head shaking or nose wrinkling. Nothing. Blank. No expression.

What's wrong with me? Maybe I'm a bad communicator. I'll work on that. shrug.

Hello?

Is anybody there?

Did you hear what I just said?

Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter. It's just a bunch of words.

And some more words.

B

Quick shoot...

A super quick shoot I had last week with a friend's cuties. These are my two favorites of the two kids together. Upon further inspection I think the color shot may be a little on the yellow side. I'll have to go fix that now.

Just look at those eyes though. Better get out the bat, dad.
B

Experiment

I've had these little lightbulbs on my computer desk for several months. I like them. I wanted to come up with a cool way to shoot them but my brain didn't want to. It revolted. So they've been just sitting there in a glass jar, looking at me...taunting me..."take our picture".

They were being particularly nasty today with their little tungsten filaments shimmering at me just begging to be photographed (look it up, that's what they're called). The sun was coming in my office window just perfectly, so I laid them on the wood table top and started shooting. You do NOT want to see those pictures...blah. So I looked around and found some red paper....um, it's okay. I like red. I think it's pretty. But then my little eye spied my Sony dvd burner in all it's metallic glory. PERFECT! I flipped it on it's side and fired away. Silver+lightbulbs+evening sun=pretty.

They're probably not technically perfect...uh, I shot them using electronics as the background, but that's how I roll.

Ooooooooooh.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh.

Oooooooooooooo.

Me likey.

B

Rear Window

If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It's one of my favorite movies. I don't know if it's because I remember watching it as a child or because it stars James Stewart, who I think is an amazing actor. Either way, it's a great movie.

Speaking of "windows"...don't you love my segue into that?...I finished my window today.

Weeeeee!

Here's a picture of the view from the inside and the outside. The outside view is MUCH more interesting. :) Don't judge my abilities as a photographer based on these images...it was pouring rain. I ran outside, snapped and ran back in.

Here's the outside...
You can see a reflection of yours truly in the window. The black box is a t.v. that plays a constantly looping slideshow of my best work. The pictures are hanging from very thin wire by big metal clamps and the pictures on the bottom are being held up by a 4" screw at each end with a washer and nut holding it in place. We were going for an industrial look. Not sure we achieved it, but I think it looks awesome. Now if I could just get the slideshow to play the way I want it to, I'd be purring like a kitten...well, not exactly purring because I've tried to purr and can't manage. It sounds more like I'm gurgling. So I'd be as giddy as a schoolgirl. I can manage that one.

Here's a view from inside the office. Not very fascinating, but it gives you an idea of how everything is situated.

I feel so "professional" now that I have a window display. sigh. I'm really a photographer.

The window space actually belongs to Heartland Satelitte. They're generously letting me use their space to advertise.

Thank you Reid family! And thank you husband of mine for doing the hard labor.

B

I'm confused.

I was laying in bed last night unable to sleep because I was thinking about how to get my slideshow program to work properly. I then started thinking about my identity. This is how my mind works.

By identity, I mean how other people view me, how I view myself...my identifying characteristics. I've always thought that I had characteristics that define me...make me who I am. These are not amazing things, it might be something simple like the way I hold my hand when I'm thinking. But I'm conscious of those little things and realize that it makes up me...good or bad.

So in my state of dreaming while awake I was thinking of all the times I've seen other people say/do those same things. Was I influenced by them or were they influenced by me? Did I steal their characteristic or did they steal mine?

It doesn't matter either way, but it's a little disconcerting when someone's carrying on a conversation with you and your mind says, "That's exactly how I hold MY hand when I laugh! Am I copying them or are they copying me?!" It just makes it a little hard to pay attention.

I realize that we are all shaped by those around us and we're going to exhibit each other's characteristics from time to time, but I guess I was thinking that there were some things that were just mine.

Is this an identity crisis?

I don't know.

I do know that some days I feel like this...

And some days I feel like this.
And I'm okay with that.
B

Self Discovery

I've discovered some things about myself recently.

I think I may be a procrastinator. I would never have described myself as one. I think of a procrastinator as someone who is always late, never gets the job done and is constantly unorganized. I am none of those things...at least I don't think I am. However, I now think I may be a procrastinator, or something like one. Maybe there's another word to describe me...a less icky word.

I like to be busy. I like to have deadlines. I like the sense of accomplishment I get when I complete something under pressure. It makes me happy because I rose to the challenge, however small or great that challenge may be. What does this say about me?

Here's a small for instance...I've been wanting to do a shoot involving a baker's hat and a rolling pin for several months now. I searched the internet and found little baker's hats for kids that I could buy. I didn't buy one. I waited. I looked at them again. I waited some more. I had a shoot with the cutie patootie in the previous post planned for over a week. Did I buy the hat then? No.

It was the morning of the shoot and I was filtering through the mental file of creative options for the shoot and I thought, "Ooooo. I wish I had a baker's hat. I wonder if Walmart has one". No. Walmart does not have baker's hats. So I decided at 10:00 the morning of the shoot scheduled for 12:30 that I would buy the pattern and MAKE the hat.

So I did.

I haven't sewn in probably eight years but I slapped that hat together like nobody's business. It won't win any awards and I had to seam rip twice, but it worked and it was done in time for the shoot. Plus, it only cost me $8.00. Bargain!

This is the result:

What does this mean? Why do I act this way? I think it's like a rush for me. I'm an adrenaline junkie.

More self-analysis soon...I hope you enjoy the "soul baring". wink wink

B

More cuteness...

Before you even think it, let me clarify. The first photo is NOT selective color. I repeat...it is NOT selective color. For those of you who think you've caught me in a moment of selective color weakness...you're wrong. It's a slightly desaturated image and the bright pink shows up as faded pink.

So, though I am repulsed by selective color and will only begrudgingly do it if a client asks for it specifically, this is NOT selective color. And it is bea-u-ti-ful.

Don't roll your eyes at me!

Just SOME of my favorites from this shoot. I'm finally done with it and they ended up with 72 proofs. 72!!!! I'm out of control. But this was only a two hour shoot, so I think I did pretty good. I made a slideshow for them too. It makes me want to cry (this is a family friend's baby). I'm going to attempt to post the video so you can almost cry too.

B

This could get someone through a bad day...

If you have a bad day, just look at this picture and you just HAVE to smile. Even if it's just on the inside.

I don't know what you're bad day might consist of...maybe you were sitting on the deck with your new laptop drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying the ability to do your work anywhere in the house. Ah. It's so refreshing not being tethered to an office desk! Maybe your cat jumped up on your laptop looking for a warm place to lay. Maybe you grabbed the cat off of the precious laptop and in the process the cat ripped three of your keys off the keyboard. Maybe those keys fell through the decking to the inaccessible black hole beneath the deck. That would be bad. NO FEAR! Just look at the picture below...take a deep breath and the world will right itself. Double click the picture for an even more calming effect.

Because you can't look at that picture and not smile. And if you can, I don't want to know you.

Especially when I tell you that Madison requested her "sparky shoes". Not spark"l"y shoes but "sparky". Oh. My. It's too much cuteness. I can't take it!

More world righting cuteness to come.
B

Fla-fla

Translation: Madison-ese for "flower".

This is the first set and first shot I've edited from this set of Madison. More to come!
B

Carnival Ride

I have been told recently that my mind is "like a carnival ride". I'm not mentioning any names, but it started with an "R" and ended with an "ob".

I'm not sure if I should be concerned with the actual statement about my mental condition or the fact that it came from the aforementioned person, who themselves are not the most mentally stable (normal).

So. Is having a mind like a "carnival ride" a bad thing? I like carnival rides. Except the ones that spin you around until you feel like you're going to vomit. Oh dear. Do I make people want to vomit? I hope not. Carnival rides also make you feel like a kid again and give you a warm, happy feeling. Maybe I'm that carnival ride. oooh. I want to be that one.

Either way. Here are pictures from said "carnival ride"...


I love this one. The shadows are so cool and I love the little wisp of clouds in the corner.
Same building only in color. I love the yellow. It makes me smile.

I don't know why. I just like these next two. They're gritty and have direction. I just like it.

Bird on a wire. The last one is my favorite out of all of these shots. I love the blue sky. I love the lines because they aren't exactly straight and I'm okay with that. I love the space. I love the cute little bird. Doesn't it seem as if he's sitting there waiting for company? I think he's having a party and all his little bird friends just haven't arrived yet. They're coming....be patient little bird.

For some reason I'm craving cotton candy and a snow cone.

B

According to Rob...

these are Prince William flowers. That's according to Rob. They are actually Sweet Williams. But I will forever call them Sweet Prince Williams now. Thanks to Rob.

He says these are his favorite flower. He picks them for his wife because HE likes them. Does that make his picking them for her invalid? Because he's not really picking them for her? He's picking them for her for him. Wait. I'm confused.

Rob (and you know who you are)...pick your wife some flowers that SHE likes. I mean it.

B