Junior Photographer, School on the Trampoline, and a Tree

Little One ran in from outside yelling at the top of her lungs for me to come look at the birds in the yard. (Now there's a future bird watcher if I've ever seen one. We just have to work on the yelling at the top of her lungs part.) She wanted me to come out with my camera, but by the time I made it to the back deck I found her taking care of business herself.

Little One taking pictures of the birds in the back yard- Wednesday, March 7.

 One of the birds, by Little One- Wednesday, March 7.

 Missed the birds. Abstract shot of the garden, by Little One- Wednesday, March 7.

The Other Bird, by Little One- Wednesday, March 7.

Then we decided to move our spring tree with glass birds outside to take some pictures in the sunshine. I had much more fun taking pictures of Little One taking pictures.

Little One concentrating very hard- Wednesday, March 7.

Glass Birds, by Little One- Wednesday, March7.

Mommy still focused on Little One- Wednesday, March 7.

More glass birds, by Little One- Wednesday, March 7.

We had a review day for school today, so we decided to move school to the trampoline. Besides almost getting motion sickness from trying to read while the kids moved around, we had a great time.

Trampoline school house- Wednesday, March 7.

Then The Oldest had to go inside for piano lessons. So I grabbed my camera, and while Little One worked on pumping herself on the swings in between my giant starter pushes, I had fun photographing the budding tree in our back yard.

Budding tree- Wednesday, March 7.

Today's Post, Yesterday's Pictures

Home School Co-op today. I took lots of pictures there, but they are almost all of other people's children and not nearly as interesting as the pictures of birds and trees I took yesterday afternoon. So, I'll throw one photo in from today, just to prove I did in fact pick up my camera, but then it's on to yesterday's birds and trees.

Today's new memory work- Tuesday, February 28.

 Bird, tree, and sky- Monday, February 27.

Bird, tree, and sky again. Shift of focus to the bird- Monday, February 27.

 Tree and sky. I like the clouds and light in this one- Monday, February 27.

I think this might be a sparrow of some sort. Not sure. Whoever he is, he was greatly enjoying the last direct rays of the sun- Monday, February 27.

A cheeky little guy. Every time I'd walk around the tree to take a picture of him from the front, he would flit to the next branch and point his backside in my direction- Monday, February 27. 

More trees and sky- Monday, February 27.

 It seems strange to watch the sun begin to sink so early when it is warm enough to be outside in short sleeves. But you won't find me complaining. Well, except for the little bugs that were flying around my head. Little bugs are bad enough in the summer, but in February. Really?! Not cool. Not cool at all- Monday, February 28.

Trees and Sky

I've mentioned before my love of trees and my affinity for taking pictures of their bare branches in the winter. There are certain trees, in my opinion, that make the best branch against sky sort of pictures. There are also certain skies that help to contribute to such an image. Today I found a really great mix of sky and tree, and much to the chagrin of my children, pulled over to the side of the road just long enough to snap a few pictures.

This is a picture of the top of some billowy clouds right before we started our decent on the plane ride home from Hawaii. Okay, not really. It is a shot from my bedroom window this morning. When I saw the sky, I knew it would be a great day to find some bare trees. A bright blue sky with patchy, white clouds, to add lots of contrast, is my backdrop of choice for a tree-sky photo- Thursday, February 23.

This picture contains a nice sky background, but not my favorite type of bare tree. There are far too many little, tiny branches for my liking. I did, however, like the one little bird sitting in those little tiny branches. Also taken from my bedroom window this morning- Thursday, February 23.

This is the kind of tree, posed in front of just the right kind of sky, that entices me to throw on the four ways and hang out the driver's side window to get a picture (after pulling over, of course). I love the thick, distinct branches and how they twist and bend- Thursday, February 23.

This is the same picture, solarized. It is an option on the color curve menu in P.S.E. Most pictures just look really scary with this setting, but I thought this one looked pretty cool- Thursday, February 23.

In case any keen eyes noticed the tree with the annoying little branches in the lower left corner of the solarized picture and wondered where it came from, it was part of the original photo. I couldn't get a shot without it from the car window, so I painted it out in P.S.E. I am actually pretty surprised at how easy it is to get rid of things you don't like in a picture. Which has made me start to wonder about all those high quality reading materials filled with amazing photos of the stars in the check out lines. I mean, what if Brad and Angelina's new twins don't really have alien heads at all!? This changes everything- Thursday, February 23.

Bark and the Moon

 This tree stands in the court yard behind the church where Little One goes to preschool. I often admire it on my drive in and out as it stands in the morning sunlight. Today we arrived at preschool a good ten minutes early. All I can figure is that something must have happened to our clocks at home; we are never early for preschool. But today we were, and  I had grabbed my camera on the way out the door, so I was set for a few pictures.

 Bare branches against a blue sky- Monday, February 6.

I don't know why the bark peels like this, but I think it is beautiful- Monday, February 6.

More peeling bark. I do hope this doesn't mean the tree is sick. It's too pretty to be ill- Monday, February 6.

 I went into the kitchen to start dinner and looked out the window to see the moon making an early appearance in the sky- Monday, February 6.

I can't say that I see the man, but I do wonder what all those lines are- Monday, February 6.