Big Splashes!

If you live anywhere near Lake Superior,

every November

your thoughts turn

to the horror of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

So many men lost their lives during this

awful shipwreck accident...

and

our November's are notorious for high winds

and freezing temps.

The deaths those men experienced must have been unbearable.

Right around this anniversary,

I was out with my camera

when the lake had high, high winds.

That always makes for dramatic photos of the lake and its tall whitecaps....

Here are some waves crashing on shore:

And, definite evidence

of an approaching Lake Superior storm:

Waves crashing against the breakwater to the lighthouse:

A black and white of the rolling whitecaps:

There is this little log home on a point by the lighthouse

that I have always loved:

And the waves were crashing right in his front yard!:

I hope you have a calmer day

than 

this...

and that your December Christmas shopping 

isn't full of gale winds and stress!!

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Just a few days left, PEOPLE!

Enter the November FREE PHOTO CONTEST 

by midnight, NOV. 30th.

The theme is: CLOUDS!!!

You don't have to be a blogger to enter, but you do have to become a FOLLOWER 

of my blog to enter....

Follow THESE RULES...

however, you CAN enter a photo that you have posted before on your own blog, if you have one.

Deer, Roots and Woods!

A mixture of

some pictures we took in the woods...

Enjoy!!

I always love looking for tree roots with a little art in them:

And then I also play in black and white!:

Did I mention that it is deer hunting season in Michigan from Nov. 15th thru Nov. 30th?

I am kind of waiting for it to be over.

I don't go out to get pictures then in the woods.

I am not suicidal.

(Despite any rumors you may have heard.)

LOL

But, when I see this beauty, I cannot bear to think of hunting season:

Run, Bambi...RUNNNNN!!!:

Besides tree roots, I have always liked tree mushrooms.

I am sure you have noticed that about me:

No.

NO! BAMBI!  I was NOT talking to you....

I said RUNNNNNNN!!!:

Gheesh.

I hope she listened and is hiding safely in the woods.

I will be hunting her in a different, safer way soon...

(with my lens).

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

Don't forget!!

You only have THREE MORE DAYS to

enter

the FREE PHOTO CONTEST for November.

Get your

CLOUDS

picture

into me no later than midnight, Nov. 30th, 2010

following THESE RULES!!

Sturgeon River Gorge and some ducks!

Back out in the autumn woods today....

some photos taken before we got our dusting of snow!

Although the lighting was bad

and made the pond shimmer,

I still wanted to capture

these ducks playing in the sun:

We took a ride to a place we haven't been in a long while...

Sturgeon River Gorge.

It is a gorge over looking a long, winding rive

and for our part of the country, it is a pretty deep gorge.

Of course, the minute I got there, I wished we had gotten the photos when the leaves

were in full color.

So, I put a mental note to remember to do it NEXT year.

But it was still remarkably pretty.

I loved how the trees looked like little dustmops over the now golden forest floor:

See the river, far below?:

Looking through the trees at the hills and wilderness beyond:

Love, love, LOVE this spot!:

No civilization for miles and miles!:

We will definitely return here for some spring and fall photos...

maybe we will see some eagles soaring....

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Sunrise, Sunset...and a Deer and Barn! A kalideoscope of photos.

One day, I was heading out on a nine hour trip

to attend a good friend's son's wedding downstate.

As I pulled out on the highway right beside my little town,

THIS was the morning's sunrise!:

The highway is to your left on this shot:

It only stayed this intense for about five minutes.

I was so happy to see it.

I embarked on the road trip farther.

I had to pick up two girlfriends who were driving down in the car with me.

Needless to say, there was plenty of laughter in the car during that long, long trip.

We were so looking forward to the mini-reunion where even more friends

were going to be at the wedding.

I figured it was a great omen to start the trip with that beautiful sunrise.

A promise of good times to come.

And then, we finally got to her house by sunset.

And THIS greeted us:

Almost identical, intense colors,

only that was the sunset.

Amazing!

And yes, we had a GREAT time.

One should rely more on omens. Don't you think???

On one of our treks out in the woods after getting back from the wedding,

I saw a neat old, falling apart house.  I had to take it in black and white:

It looks a bit breezy!

From Nov. 15th to Nov. 30th here, it is firearm deer season.

About a month ago, we saw this beauty in the woods.

She just stood there and posed.

I hope she is wiser now, and still safe:

I know many deer would starve to death if they didn't allow hunting up here.

And I even like venison sausage...

but I can't bear to think of killing one.

If it was up to me, I couldn't do it.

I know it is hypocritical of me to think both ways (liking venison yet not being able to kill one).

I eat meat, but could never slaughter an animal either.

I try not to think of it as I am grilling a juicy T-bone on the grill or frying up bacon.

Let's move on, shall we?

I'm getting guilty and hungry at the same time. LOL

 

Here is that same abandoned farmhouse, now done is Sepia.  Isn't it fun to play around with your shots?:

May you get to play a bit today.

It is essential.

And it helps with that guilt thing.

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

Don't forget to enter the montly FREE PHOTO CONTEST!!

This month's theme is:

CLOUDS

Enter no later than midnight on Nov. 30, 2010

following THESE RULES.*

*You CAN use a picture you have published before on your blog.

Rainbows, Bees, Butterflies and Flowers

Before we got snow here

(and YES we got snow!!)

I had

taken

some shots that I haven't shared with you yet.

So,

here we go-----

It was late on an autumn night, on the way home from a wedding.  I looked in

my REARVIEW mirror....

and

see THIS:

I almost missed them...a double rainbow and I just

HAPPENED to see it

in

my rearview mirror.

Which goes to show you,

sometimes it DOES help

to look in your past.

Of course, I screeched on my brakes slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road

(because yes I was driving)

and

put it in park

(thank goodness I remembered to do THAT)

and

snapped away.

The sun was setting, the sun was setting!

The bright sun on the colored leaves was stunning...

and then the rainbow added???

HEAVEN!!:

I have NO DOUBT

that

this is part of what Heaven will look like if I ever make it there .

********

 

All my garden flowers died

except

for my Mums.

So I went out one sunny day

to capture

some shots of them.

To my  horror delight,

they were FULL of bees

and

white butterflies (or moths?)

so

I was one terrified happy woman!

And then?

If that wasn't enough...

I saw this little bee

with

a

heart-shaped

face!!:

I  hope you enjoyed the last part of my autumn pictures

and of my flowers (which are all wilted now and dead). Sigh.

But I will be waiting for spring to come, and for them to start all over again.

That is what life is all about.

Memories and anticipation!

Lake Superior Rocks!

If you have never seen the Great Lakes,

especially Lake Superior

(which is the prettiest of all of the Great Lakes by FAR)

(Ok, I'm just a tad bit biased)...

You may not appreciate or understand

the fascination one gets from it's rocks.

Lake Superior has this myriad of wonderful smooth rocks

along many of it's beaches...

green ones, blue ones, gray ones, gold ones..

they are just amazing.

So today, for a bit of a change...

I will do less talking

and more showing...

Enjoy this great lake's rocks....

Did I just do an entire blogposts about rocks?

Yes,

yes I did.

I am smitten with them

and with Lake Superior.

So, go ahead..get to work and tell your co-workers that some crazy lady did an entire blogpost

showing just Lake Superior rocks.

Go ahead.

I'll be here when you get back.

But somewhere, sometime...

one of those co-workers (that has actually SEEN Lake Superior

and it's rocks)

is gonna ask you for the blog address.

It's a sickness, I tell ya'..................