Day 229 ~ Wasatch Mountains

 

 

 

After our classes at BYU Education Week today, we picked up my niece and drove up to Snowbird.  My parents bought a time share condominium there when I was in grade school and now it belongs to my brothers and sister and I.  This is our week, so my sister was spending the week up there.  I took these photos of the mountains on the drive up.  I miss the mountains!
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 3:34 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/250, 1/400, 1/250 sec
ISO: 250, 400, 400
Focal Length: 28, 20, 29 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels.

Day 227 ~ BYU Campus

I flew to Utah to visit my mom.  She was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  So we went to BYU Education Week this week.  It is wonderful and just what we both needed!  These flowers are some of the many beautiful flowers on campus.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 8:13 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/60, 1/30, 1/60 sec
ISO: 2500
Focal Length: 65, 200, 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the last photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 224 ~ Sunset in the Parking Lot

We were in the Sam's Club parking lot and heading back to our car when I noticed the sunset.  Good thing I've started carrying my camera with me more :)
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:56 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
ISO: 2500
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 223 ~ "Jacqueline" and the Beanstalk

We drove to Fort Worth this afternoon so we could see some of our friends.  Three of their children were in a play tonight, which we thoroughly enjoyed :)  Their oldest daughter was the lead, so they renamed it "Jacqueline" and the Beanstalk instead of "Jack."  She was incredible!  Both her acting and singing was just amazing! 

Unfortunately I forgot my CPAP machine and I can't sleep without it, so we drove back home late that night :(

Day 216 ~ Immature Katydid

This little guy looked plain green until I pulled it up on my computer. Maybe it's time for me to wear my glasses?!  But his coloring is quite interesting.  I thought he was a cricket, but after looking on the internet I think he is a Bush Katydid nymph.

Day 215 ~ Tree Bark

Our next assignment is to take photos of trees and flowers.  I don't have any flowers on my property at the moment, so I'll have to go for a drive tomorrow.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:16 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 214 ~ Itsy Bitsy Spider - Not!

I was walking on the back of our property tonight and found this spider on the side of the path.  It was huge - it's body was about an inch long. Apparently it is a female Yellow Garden Orb Weaver Spider and it's considered a beneficial spider.  This is the underside of the spider.  Yuck!
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 8:05 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 1000
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 212 ~ Duck on a Pond

The third Nature Photography lesson was on landscapes.  I've tried taking some landscape photos a couple of times over the weekend and nothing was worthwhile.  But tonight I finally got one I was happy with :)
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:37 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 500
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 206 ~ Mushrooms

As I was leaving yesterday to run an errand, I noticed these mushrooms growing way off in the forest, but I didn't have my camera with me.  They were so bright!  We have lots of mushrooms here with all the rain we've had lately, but I've never seen any this colorful.  My second lesson for Nature Photography has three parts - the first part is to take a photo showing line (and he said to try to find something circular if possible.)  So the mushrooms fit the assignment perfectly!
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 1:04 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 130 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 205 ~ Tendrils

I like focusing on details.  I found these tendrils interesting.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:25 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/8 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 52 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 204 ~ Mini Rose

I found this very small flower that look just like a mini rose bud.  It was only about 1/2 inch long.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:14 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/30 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 150 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 203 ~ Purple Berries

Another photo focusing on detail - these purple berries are everywhere right now.  I'm not sure what kind of plant they are, but I need to find out.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:13 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 202 ~ Curling Leaves

This is another photo focusing on detail.  I liked the way the edges of the leaves curled.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 7:09 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/10 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I slightly cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 201 ~ Fluff

This is another photo I took for the lesson focusing on detail.  I like the "fluff" of the seeds.
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Camera: NIKON D7000
Time of Day: 6:56 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 200 ~ Weeds

I started an online Nature Photography class.  Our first assignment is to take photos in which we notice the detail.  This is a weed I found interesting.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 6:55 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 177 ~ Painted Walls

My husband painted the ceilings and walls of the entire guest house today! He primed all the walls on Saturday, and then today he sprayed the ceilings with ceiling paint and sprayed the walls with the colors we chose. He ended up buying a new paint sprayer and it is awesome!

This is the first bedroom which my youngest son will use for now. The ceiling is white and then the stripe along the upper wall is just the colored primer showing through. The dark tan is the finished wall color, but he was unable to spray all the way to the ceiling, so he will come back over that section with a roller and I will paint along the edge with a brush.

This is the second bedroom that we will use for now. And yes, he still needs to paint the strip of wall between the two closets :) This room is a dusty green color.

This room is the kitchen/family room - this end is the kitchen. It is also a dark tan color. It is SO exciting to see so much progress!!

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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 6:11 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/9
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 1250
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I slightly adjusted the levels.

Day 176 ~ Riding Piggyback

I saw this spider in the grass while I was taking photos at youth conference.  I didn't notice the many babies riding piggyback until I pulled the photo up on my computer!
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 9:09 am
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 150 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 175 ~ Tall, Taller, Tallest

At youth conference, Thurl Bailey (6'11" - played for the Utah Jazz for 8 years among others) and Steve Hayes (7'0" - also played for the Utah Jazz among others) let me take a photo of them with my son.  He looks so short compared to them!  Both of them played professional basketball and they came to speak at the conference.  They were both great speakers!

After they spoke, my son had them both sign the back of his phone :)

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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 1:27 pm
Mode:  Shutter Priority

Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO: 1250
Focal Length: 27 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 174 ~ Painting with Light

My youngest son had youth conference for church this weekend.  For the opening ceremonies, some of the youth taped glow sticks to themselves and the lights were turned out.  It made for some interesting effects!
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:39 am
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: 10 sec
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 27 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: None

Day 173 ~ Lots of Chicken!

I ordered 80 lb of fresh chicken breasts that I picked up today from Zaycon Foods. If you ever have the chance to order meat from them, try it! We've tried their chicken, ground beef, and bacon and it has all been great. Our favorite is the bacon! We finally ran out of chicken a couple of weeks ago and I bought some frozen chicken breasts from the grocery store.  It made me realize how much better this chicken is! The breasts are huge and are still hooked together, so I had to cut them apart, trim them, and vacuum seal them in bags so I could freeze them. It took about 8 hours (and my daughter in law helped this evening for a couple of hours as well - thanks!) but now it's all finished and we can enjoy yummy chicken for quite awhile.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 10:17pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 1250
Focal Length: 32 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 172 ~ Rat Snake

My son went out to put the chickens in tonight and found a rat snake eating one of them!  My husband hurried out and killed it, but it was too late to save the chicken.  So sad.  It was one of our 3 month old chickens we hatched ourselves in March.  We'll see in the morning if we're missing a hen or a rooster.  I have a feeling it was a hen :(  (The photo isn't very clear because my lens kept fogging up from the high humidity.)
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Camera: Nikon D7000
Time of Day: 10:22 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/16

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 2000
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 171 ~ Rain Lily

I'm still quite sick today; better than yesterday but far from well.  I still don't have enough energy to get up to take a photo.  So here's a photo I took recently of a rain lily I found on the side of the road.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 2:38 pm

Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/640 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 170 ~ Words with Friends

I woke up very sick today.  I spent the morning and afternoon in my bed and finally felt good enough to move to the recliner this evening.  I wasn't interested in what the boys were watching on TV, so I played Words with Friends (Scrabble) on my iPad.  I just earned 67 points for the word "bracer!"
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:03 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 169 ~ Cattle

I walked out to visit with our cattle this evening. They've grown so much! Immediately after I took this photo, they all came running to see me. Well, maybe they wanted some grain :)
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:12 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: 1/8 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 65 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 168 ~ Wild Flower

It's pouring a strong Texas rain at the moment - much too hard to go out and take photos.  And since we'll be gone for the rest of the evening, I thought I'd post another photo I took yesterday.  The light outside was beautiful for taking photos!  This is another pretty wildflower on our property.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:22 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/25 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 105 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 167 ~ Chickens and Cucumbers

I'm back!  I know I've been absent for awhile - life has been crazy and I'm SO glad school is out for the summer!!  I have actually taken some photos in the last month, but I've been too busy to post them, so I will be adding some past photos in the next little while to get all caught up.

Our chickens were happy tonight that we shared a cucumber with them :)  They love fresh veggies!  And isn't my chicken coop awesome?!  My husband designed it and built it for me.  The back even has a hinged lid to gather the eggs.  I love it (and I love him too!)

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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:30 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/4.5
Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 48 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.  I also cloned out some distractions in the background.

Day 166 ~ Sunset at the Ranch

The clouds were amazing this evening!  It's so nice to be able to see the sun set here.  For some reason, we weren't able to see the sun set very well from our last house, so it has been nice to be able to enjoy the sunsets here.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:19 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 29 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels.

Day 165 ~ Girl's Camp

I drove some of the Young Women from church to girl's camp this morning and stayed until they were done setting up camp.  They put up their tents fairly quickly - many hands makes light work :)
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 10:32 am
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1600 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 52 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels.

Day 164 ~ Another Weed

We have no end to weeds on our property, but it's amazing that some of them are still quite pretty.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:20 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: 1/4 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels.

Day 142 ~ Starting Insulation

The guest house is moving along (too slowly for me) and my husband and two oldest boys are just starting to put up the insulation.  Hopefully it will be ready to move into by the end of the summer!  I miss my bed, my shower, and my kitchen :)  I'm learning to be grateful for the little things!
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 10:13 pm
Mode: Shutter Priority
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 20 mm
Flash Mode: Flash On
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 141 ~ Fountain from Above

Here is another view of the fountain I photographed yesterday.  I took this photo from above the fountain.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 2:18 pm
Mode: Shutter Priority
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 27 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped it and adjusted the levels.

Day 140 ~ Fountain

I was in town today and had fun taking some photos of water, especially this fountain.  I played quite a bit with the shutter speed trying different effects.
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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 2:14 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 44 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped it and adjusted the levels.

Day 139 ~ Bonfire

f/4, 1/8 sec, ISO 100

My oldest son built a large bonfire this evening and had some friends over to make s'mores.  The fire was very hot and they had to use long branches to even roast the marshmallows. Everyone had a great time :)

f/7.1, 1/25 sec, ISO 100

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Camera: NIKON D7000

Time of Day: 8:50 pm
Mode: Shutter Priority
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photos and adjusted the levels slightly.

Day 138 ~ Mushrooms

It has been rainy the past few days and we have more mushrooms popping up.  These were out by the calf pens growing out from beneath a log.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 3:18 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/50 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 137 ~ Our Front Gate

This is our front gate - yes, we live in the woods :)  We're Texans and proud of it!  (Well, at least we got here as fast as we could and our two youngest boys are true Texans.)

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 1:16 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 120 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels slightly.

Day 136 ~ Butterfly

I have no idea what kind of butterfly this is.  He was just hanging out on the side of the driveway and I thought his coloring was rather different than the usual ones I see around here.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 2:10 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 135 ~ Blossoms

I love walking around our property looking for something to take a photo of because I can always find something.  Today I found these blossoms on the side of the driveway.
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 3:11 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 134 ~ Weed

Another weed - we have LOTS of them on ten acres :)  But it still amazes me that weeds can be so different and even pretty at times.  What I liked about this one, was the tiny hairs on the edges of the leaves.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 3:04 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 105 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 133 ~ Purple Blossomed Vine

This vine was growing in some trees.  Quite the pretty flowers on it.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 3:21 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.

Day 132 ~ Our Missionary

Our second son left today to serve a mission in Omaha, Nebraska for the next two years.  This is him at the airport - notice he is carrying his long board on his back since he going to Idaho for a few days to hang out with his cousin first :)  As he was in line to check his luggage we ran into our old bishop - he was on the same flight!

**Update:  Our son called us from the Mission Training Center after being there for 5 days and told us he had decided to come home because he didn't have a desire to serve a mission at this time.  Our Stake President told him that if he changes his mind in the next 6 months, he can return to his mission.  We are trying to be supportive of him, but we are very sad that he has decided not to serve a mission.  He has returned to college for now. We love him!

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day: 12:47 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/18
Shutter Speed: 1/5 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 22 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and adjusted the levels.