December 31, 2007 "Happy New Year!" A little fun with sparklers to start the new year (Well, ok, a couple of hours early) :) I was going to post some New Year's black-eyed peas, but Shelly beat me to it. Thought that was funny, 'cause the shots are almost identical. :)

December 30, 2007 "...It's Delicious" Stayed home and took a lazy day today....first one in a long time... The sign pretty much says it all 'bout this pic...

December 29, 2007 Just an old railroad bridge- Seems like all I did today was drive....not much time for shooting-

December 28, 2007 "Wetlands" Another cloudy day - First time in a while I really couldn't decide what to post. I didn't have anything great, but took several that I liked...

December 27, 2007 "Talladega Mountains" Nice quiet drive home today- Stopped briefly at one of the Talladega Mountains senic overlooks on AL 281. They're not really high mountains, but it's still a nice view....I don't think this picture really shows how nice the view is, but it's about all I took... A self portrait version here, but it doesn't really show the mountains, just the clouds...

December 26, 2007 "Full Moon" Well, since no one has ever taken a shot of a full moon, I thought I would...... :) Actually, I've got a 400mm lens temporarily, so this was the first chance I've ever really had......Don't I wish it was a 600mm. :) .

December 25, 2007 "Pirate in the Mirror" At first glance, this shot doesn't look too Christmasy, but trust me, it is......No sooner than Trev unwrapped his pirate outfit did he run off to try it on. After it's on, what better for him to do than admire himself in his shiny new pirate mirror! (He's a little into pirates) ... This was a bit of a lucky shot as he only held up the mirror for a split second....but if anyone asks, it was all skill :) -Thanks Grandmom, for making the pirate costume -- I think he likes it :) Trev is also the "Santa" from yesterday's pic...he's got a lot of personality, and likes to show it. :) .

December 24, 2007 Ok, so it's Christmas Eve-- guess it's about time to post a Christmasy pic- Here's one of our milk and cookie platter for Santa... We left him a little extra treat this year. :) Merry Christmas! .

December 23, 2007 IMG_9950d - "Eagle!" First eagle I've ever seen anywhere near home! Many years back, I'd heard there were a few, but never even caught a glimpse. Driving through some wetlands and spotted the huge nest, just had to go back and check it out...few minutes later, I saw this guy sitting about 50 yards away...don't know how long he'd been there...

December 22, 2007 IMG_9839b - Another foggy-morning, smooth-lake, pier-reflection shot- This one does show how severe our drought has been (is?).

December 21, 2007 IMG_9744b - "Early Morning Solitude" An early morning walk around a lake today- This shot really shows how peaceful it was- almost perfectly still water and just enough fog. This shot is just about straight from the camera (a rarity from me), all I did was correct about one degree of rotation. Maybe I could do a little on the exposure, but this is one of the few times that the picture looks exactly like I thought it should have, or exactly like I remember it-

December 20, 2007 IMG_9868b Just a couple ducks taking off...

December 19, 2007 IMG_8368c - "Old Okolona Water Tower" Just an old rusty watertower, from a little different perspective. :)

December 18, 2007 IMG_9723b - "The Courthouse" Short days and long work leaves little time for photos- Snapped this one today during lunch, and it's about all I had time for...At least there will be some time off soon...

December 17, 2007 IMG_9721e - "First Fire of the Year" Waddaya know, another self portrait...Finally cold enough for a fire-- actually the first of the year was last night, but I don't have a pic of it... I had quite a few shots from today, but none of them really grabbed me- So this is me, relaxing in the evening with a nice warm fire and my laptop...I didn't mean to leave a similar pic on the screen, but kind of liked it. And I know the selective coloring is not all that popular, but the entire pic was orangey...not too pleasing to look at- We did go to a Christmas-decoration-wonderland (the outdoor kind) this evening....complete with "snow" machines.....but they spit out soap bubbles....talk about disappointment. Sorry to say, the best thing there was the hot chocolate. :)

December 16, 2007 IMG_9602b - "Walking on Water" Actually running on water, I suppose....... I'm not sure exactly what these are (American Coots, maybe?) -- I went by the lake in search of a blue heron, but all I found was these guys. They promptly ran off when they saw me--and they have a funny way of doing it. :) - sparky - Check this out: My house search has ended, pending approval from the wife, of course. :) .

December 15, 2007 IMG_9401c - "Nice Quiet Dinner" Yeah, right. Not with these two. I honestly don't think they ever stop moving. This is only a second or so exposure-- it would take me at least 10 seconds to move that much- :)

December 14, 2007 IMG_9391d - "Grass Covered Hills..." This was going to be "Snow Covered Hills", but I don't really know when (if?) we're ever going to get any snow, so I took the shot anyway... It was actually a beautiful day, about 60ish degrees and sunny. :)

December 13, 2007 IMG_9128b - "Wait For Me!" A Canada Goose, a little late for the party-

December 12, 2007 IMG_9136a - "Take-Off" So I know I botched the exposure on this one, but it's the kind of Duck picture I've been trying to catch for a while- I actually scared this one--well, it was sort of a mutual scaring--never saw it until it took off about 20 or 30 feet in front of me. This was the first shot, and I wasn't near ready, so I'm lucky to have anything to show...

December 11, 2007 IMG_9187b2 - "Howling Duck" Ok, so technically, he wasn't howling, but that's all I see when I look at the picture- He was actually quacking very loudly at me -- don't think he liked me being there...

December 10, 2007 IMG_8977c - "Garage" Pretty much your one-stop fix-it shop -- according to the signs...

December 9, 2007 IMG_9152c - "Crash Landing" This guy came in with his nose just a little too low and skipped across the water- I'm sure all the other geese made fun of him for a while......it was pretty funny-

December 8, 2007 IMG_8838a - "Not Done, Yet!" So we go to this pick-and-cut-your-own Christmas tree farm. Trevor decides to use the "stick a fork in it and see if it's done" method to find just the right one. (He always has his own style.) -- This one didn't meet his standards. :)