KeepRight

Seen so many Ducks on here lately I had to put my ownQuack up.
A prettyStraw flower.
Holding on for dear life.Gecko
And a Rose by any other name is a ROSE

Thanks as always for looking :)

I little something for the lastest contest.  Mexcian land Bee on top

I haven't been able to get out and take photos lately, so I'm falling back on some old shots. Hope you don't mind.

This picture was taken on Highway 178 near Onyx, CA. I love the Joshua Trees. We don't have them on the desert floor (where I live), but once you hit about 4,000 feet heading up the Southern Sierras towards Lake Isabella, you start to run into thousands of them.

Joshual Bloom

AbondonedSHIP and  Cannon

...Nature

Winter Dawn

Leftover from December
Sinterklaas Zwarte piet

Mexico without a walk through Whitesands?

sand5s

sand6s

sand7s

sand8s

Big Spoon Reflects
Reflection in a Spoon 1
Reflection in a Spoon 2
Shiny Reflections

No blog today, just pictures.

There is no sun at this feeder and handheld at 300mm created a challenge but they were showing off for me. Nuttyhatch 1 Hey Blackie..watch the damn cat cause i am going in.

We went to Stone Mountain and the   were changing colors.  It was so beautiful.Stone Mountain Leaf Line of Telephone poles Old log Pretty colors

I haven't posted any picture in a while. Since I just returned from a wonderful holiday in New Zealand, I thought of sharing few photos with you. Wish everybody a Happy and prosperous New Year, with many good opportunities to take the shots of your dreams!
Coromandel peninsula
Napier beach
Opoutere beach
Tairua

It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides."  Jules Verne (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
   ~Storm on the Way
   ~After a storm
I miss the ocean especially this time of year.

Here are the B&W versions some of you asked for.  And yes those are my glasses.  Might add that trifocals make focusing a challenge.  The photos were taken at my desk using a tripod, room lights off with flash light as the light source.  Various extraneous 'stuff' like a pencil I forgot to move were cloned out (Paint Shop).
   ~glasses_1_B&W
I don't like this one as much as the first.   ~glasses_2_B&W

BurntTree ( another california mountain shot).. :)

Earlier in the week when I said that I was in a funk, Jojames sent me a note challenging me to take pictures of spoon.  This is some of what I did with it.  What do you think?
Dark Truffle in Spoon
Kisses in a Spoon
Peanuts in a Spoon
Reflections in a Spoon
Reflections in a Spoon 2

I pass by this barn everytime I go into town.  It's on a little country road not more than 3 miles from my house.  Got bored on my off day last friday and I couldn't find anything around my house (besides my cats) to take pictures of.  I loaded my camera in the car with me, pulled on a scarf and some gloves and took a drive.  Here's the results.

red barn with less sky
red barn 3
red barn 4
red barn 5  

Comments, critiques, suggestions?

The little town of Cheshire Ohio has a Power Plant. Several years ago folks began getting sick and an investigation revealed problems living in the plume of the smoke stacks. So the power plant bought a good portion of the homes and properties in the surrounding community...
          ...because we all need Power

Twenty-four hours a day... Smoke Stack One
Seven days a week... Smoke Stack Two
Fifty-two weeks a year... Smoke Stack Three

Two sources of power? The church sign says... Pray for the harvest but Keep Plowing

...to climb out of a funk.  Some of you gave some hints or suggestions, and I worked with them.  This may or may not be what you were thinking...but I tried.
Bananas Watercolor

Fruit Snack 1
Fruit Snack 2
Get the Point 1
Get the Point 2
Cutting Edge
Thanks for your encouragement and for looking.

This was a tiny shell that we picked up at the water's edge.  It only measured about the size of a nickel.  To our surprise, this character stuck his head out.  Then the rest of his body and he began to pull himself back toward the ocean.  I didn't know they came this small.

I didn't have the right lens for a macro, no tripod, but I got as close as I could, braced myself, held my breath and shot.  Still had to crop quite a bit but this is what I got.  

Crab