Christmas Lights...

Last weekend, we ended up with a lot of snow, and although I'm not a really big fan of the white stuff, it does make for some really pretty photography, especially when the trees and bushes are decorated for Christmas.

This is the same cedar tree, shot with and without the flash.  I love how the flash captured the falling snow, but the shot without the flash gives more depth and colour to the lights.

In these shots, I love how the colour glows through the deep snow...later, the bit of heat from the bulbs caused the snow to melt away leaving interesting holes.

Playtime...

Yup, I just had to play with captions this week.  Needless to say, Casey and Dime are really enjoying one another!  And when the play is done they catch a few zzz's together too!

Casey and Dime...

The day I took the above shot, I thought it was so funny.  Dime had discovered he could sit inside the ring at the bottom of the kitchen stool, and he sat there for the longest time.  If I had put him there I'm sure he would have jumped right out...but since it was his idea he just sat there like that for about 10 minutes!  Too funny!!!

Some days Dime seems like he's getting so big, and other times he still seems like a little puppy, but when I look back over the weeks, I can see him maturing so fast! It seems especially evident in his adorable little face!

And he and Casey are never far apart.  When Dime and I go out, Bill tells me Casey looks around the house for him, and when we return the two of them always have a wonderful reunion!

Here they are...both 13...Dime at 13 wks. and Casey at 13 yrs.!

Sunset Silhouette...

I've been working on a lesson by Kim Klassen in Beyond Beyond, in which she taught us how to make 'magic' textures by inverting a texture and then adding some adjustment layers.  I used Kim's 'kk_dollard_grunge' texture to create my magic version and then used it over this image to add a bit of texture to the silhouette.

The Last of the Fall Colour...

On the weekend, while out in the garden, I shot these images of the last bit of colour left in the yard.  Although most of the leaves have fallen, and those still clinging to the trees are mostly a sad brown, there is still a bit of pretty colour to be found in a couple of spots in the garden.  I took these rather quickly, with my iPhone, and unfortunately the focus is not the best.  I do love those wonderful berries on the euonymus .  The colour and shape is so interesting.  The wine/green leaves are from my fragrant snowball bush...it smells divine when it's in bloom in the spring!  And the barberry bush is rapidly loosing it's leaves, but those still on the bush are a wonderful variegated pink/burgundy colour.

I thought you might enjoy an update on Dime too.  He's doing great and he's never too far from Casey!  He is such a clever little fellow, learning so much everyday. Happily, at 12 wks he's reliably housebroken (actually was a week ago already!) and we haven't had an accident in the house since his second week with us.

"Here are some of the commands I know...okay, I'm just kidding about that last one, but a puppy can dream can't he?"

Linking up with Texture Tuesday.

Progress on Shadows...

I've finished the hand stitching of the text on this 'Shadow' piece, and I've outlined the shadows themselves with back stitch.  

I had planned to fill in the shadows using tiny running stitches in the traditional Kantha style, but it just doesn't have the impact I want.  I think because of the texture of the actual fabric on which I transferred this image, those subtle stitches are lost.  I guess my next step will be to pull those stitches out and then figure out what I want to do instead.  

I'm also planning some machine quilting in the background, probably with a variegated thread that will blend in with the variety of golds, tans and browns in the image.  

Some many ideas, and so little time!  Dime is keeping me busy, as would be expected, but he's doing great.  I fit my stitching in during his naps, so I'm not as prolific as I was before he arrived.  Kind of reminds me of being a new mom. LOL  

Photo Inspiration for Fibre Art...

The other day, while out for a walk, I came upon this wonderful wall of vines and stunning red leaves.

 

And that was all the inspiration I needed for a new piece of fibre art!


I hope to start this piece soon.  I'll show you the progress as it comes together.
Have a fabulous week!

Today's Post Is Brought To You By The Colour Red...

Red is one of my favourite colours, especially this time of year when it's in the form of vibrant red leaves!  

On Saturday it was raining and as I sat at my desk in my studio, I kept noticing the beautiful maple across the street, blurred by the rain on my window.  It was fun experimenting with the focus as I took these shots.  Notice how green our grass is!  All this rain is certainly making keeping it happy...unlike those who have to keep going out to cut it. ;o)

Is this not the most beautiful stone house?  I love the wonderful neutral tones and then that bright pop of colour on the front door.  I pass this house sometimes when I'm out cycling, so I decided I should bring along my camera along on one of my rides.

Creating My Own Autumn Tones...

It's been a while since I've had a chance to get back into my year long photography group/class Beyond Beyond with Kim Klassen.  I'm actually a few weeks behind, but decided to play with this week's lesson ideas (I'll get caught up on the others soon, I hope).

Working in Lightroom, I've taken a couple of images that I shot in the summer and following some of Kim's tips, I've played around to create an autumn feel to them.

Before

After

Before

After

I was able to add a nice, warm glow to the images, and yet, nothing beats the wonderful fall colours I captured in these images, which I took last fall while up at the cottage.  With the incredible forecast for the next week or so, I sure wish I was up there and not down here in the city!

It's always a good idea to look up when you're surrounded by beautifully colourful trees.  The contrast of those magnificent leaves against a bright blue sky is not to be missed!

Symmetry in Nature...

I thought I'd share another beautiful reflection shot of our view at the cottage.  This was taken from our dock, and shows the little island just across and to the left of our place, and the larger island in the background.  To first time visitors, the lake looks smaller than it is because they can see the land across from us, but a boat tour quickly corrects that image as they discover that these are only islands.  Having said that, the lake is still relatively small...I can kayak to the farthest bay and back in about three hours.

Downy Woodpeckers...

As I've said before, you just never know what you might see at our cottage.  Today's post features the beautiful Downy Woodpecker.  As you can see, this female has learned that the hummingbird feeder is a great place for a sweet drink.

The woodpeckers also enjoy the peanuts we put out on the railing. Here the male is helping himself.

In the next several shots you see an adult (l) feeding the youth (r).  Although he's adult sized, this 'big baby' cries for his food and is quite persistent until he's fed!

A Family of Blue Jays...

My husband and I are always marvelling at the wonderful things we get to enjoy at our cottage.  Last year we were enjoying the Red Breasted Grosbeak, watching it bring it's young to our feeder, and even enjoying the show as the almost full grown youth was fed. This year we have a family of Blue Jays that now visit daily, calling for their peanuts.  There is a mother with her four young and although the young are now full grown, they still rely on mom.  The five of them arrive together, making quite a racket until we bring out some peanuts and set them on the railing.  The young are pretty funny to watch because they still really struggle to get the shells open.  As soon as mom flies off, all four young follow right behind her.  Sadly I haven't been able to get a shot of more than one of them at a time.

Thanks for the peanuts.

So much choice...which one shall I take?

This one looks good!

Look!  I got the shell open!

I'll just take this one in the shell.

Thanks.  We'll be back soon...

This last image was edited with a layer of Kim Klassen's new autumn texture "Savour".

Beautiful Little Hummers...

 I recently spent some time shooting hummingbirds.  These are the Ruby Throated hummingbirds that are common around our cottage.  Their pretty green feathers just sparkle in the sun.  Whether perched or flying, I just get so much enjoyment out of these little beauties.  The make me laugh when they buzz around my head on their way to the feeders.

They're a busy, ever moving target, so I was thrilled to catch two in the same shot in these next couple of photos!

Both of these shots show a couple of females.  They don't have the ruby throat that the name suggests.

 Even the shadow is pretty cool!













This shot really shows off that beautiful ruby throat of the male.














And finally, three of my favourite shots of this pretty little female in flight, the last with Kim Klassen's new texture, "Culligan Scripted":