Day 31 ~ Rain Puddle Reflection

It rained this morning and there are puddles everywhere.  That means I didn't have to water my garden today :)  It also means that the driveway is muddy again.  This is an old logging road that cuts through the back of our property.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  5:42 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 40 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows and increased the saturation slightly.

Day 30 ~ Gate Post

This is one of the posts on our back gate.  I loved the look of the rusty chain hanging over the rail.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  5:46 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/8 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 80 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows and increased the saturation slightly.

Day 29 ~ Strawberries

Yesterday I planted strawberries in my garden :)  By the time I finished it was too dark to take a photo, so I took one today.  I planted 60 strawberry plants, but since I really have no idea how many we need, I hope that's enough!

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:20 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels and took out a distraction in the background.

Day 28 ~ Tree Stump

This is the stump of one of the trees that was taken out when we made room for the pump house.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:50 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/10 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 56 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly.

Day 27 ~ Fruits & Vegetables

I participate in a fruit and vegetable co-op.  There are about 15-18 families in our group and every other week my friend places an order with a restaurant supply company.  They even deliver the cases to her house and a few of us divide it up between everyone's baskets.  We each pay $20 each time which gives her between $300 and $360 to spend.  That's seems to be about the right amount to get a good variety without becoming overwhelming.  Each time we get a little bit different variety of fruits and vegetables.  Today I got all of this (plus some grapes I gave away).  If you aren't able to see it all, this is what I got:  a pineapple, 5 large Gala apples, 2 heads of broccoli, lettuce, carrots, 2 zucchini, 4 oranges, 7 bananas, 4 Roma tomatoes, about a lb of green beans, red potatoes, and a bag of red grapes.  Not too bad for $20!

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:18 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5
Shutter Speed: 1/1000 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 56 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo.

Day 26 ~ Field Peas

The grass we have planted is field grass for the animals.  It is a mixture of rye, wheat, and field peas.  I just noticed that some of the field peas are blooming due to the unusually warm weather we've been having.  On Sunday the high was 78 degrees!  Most days have been in the high 60's.

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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  5:35 pm
Mode: Macro
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 170 mm
Flash Mode: Auto
Image Alterations: I cropped the photo.

Day 25 ~ Rain Through the Window

It was raining so hard all day today I couldn't really even go out to take photos.  So I took some photos through the window :)  In this photo I focused outside at the trees and the raindrops on the windows took on a cool bokeh effect.



Even though this photo was only taken 5 minutes later, it was raining much harder.  I focused more on the rivers of water coming down the window and got a different fun effect.

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Both photos had the same settings.

Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  10:02 am
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 46 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels slightly.



Day 24 ~ Laundry

I did laundry yesterday and today.  We have a gas dryer and since we don't have a propane tank yet, it is unusable at the moment :(  So I get to hang all of our clothes to dry.  If the weather is good, it's not a problem.  But if we have rain, it can sure make doing laundry much more difficult.  I knew rain was coming this afternoon, so I had to get the laundry caught up.  I barely got it all in before the rain started!
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  6:00 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 46 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly, increased the saturation slightly and sharpened the image.

Day 23 ~ Roof Trusses

The pump house is almost done!  These are the roof trusses.  My husband and youngest son finished roofing half of it today and they will finish the other half tomorrow.  (The siding was finished on Saturday.)  It is supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon so they want to get it finished before then :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  5:18 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels slightly.

Day 22 ~ Bottle Weaning Calves

The time has come.  No more milk for my babies and they are NOT happy.  We've been giving them only one milk feeding a day for the past few days, and now none.  They've been bawling all day for more milk.  I feel sorry for them :(  But the younger two are 3 months old now and Annabelle is almost 4 months.  So, it's time.  Hopefully they'll adjust quickly!
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:39 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/4.8
Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
Focal Length: 52 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly.

Day 21 ~ Exploding Target

My husband bought some exploding targets to shoot at.  One of his good friends came over this morning to help him on the pump house and when they finished, they had to have a bit of fun before he left.  This is the exploding target before the blast and during the blast.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you'll be able to see all the pine needles and debris flying!  It was loud too - like a cannon shot!  Boys and their toys :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  11:02 am
Mode: Shutter Priority
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec taken with the settings set at 3 frames per second
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 75 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly.

Day 20 ~ Sunset

I was out watching my husband and son work on the pump house tonight and was out there at just the right time to see the beautiful sunset :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  5:55 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 52 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly.

Day 19 ~ My Son with our Dog

My husband, son, and neighbor were out putting up the roof trusses on the pump house today - that's what the wood in the background is for.  I came out to take photos of the process and my son actually ASKED me to take a photo of him with Cali.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:58 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 75 mm
Flash Mode: Flash on
Image Alterations: I increased the saturation slightly, lightened it slightly, and used the healing brush on his face.

Day 18 ~ Hollow Tree

I found this interesting hollow tree on the edge of our property today.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  1:14 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/8
Shutter Speed: 1/40 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 31 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I increased the saturation slightly.

Day 17 ~ Pine Perspective

Here's a different view of our tall pine trees.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  4:37 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/3.5
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 18 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I lightened the photo slightly.

Day 16 ~ Traffic

We had to drive into town tonight to run a few errands and we ran into some slow traffic.  It wasn't raining, but there was a light mist coming down.  I played with the filters in Photoshop Elements to emphasize the effect.
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  7:28 pm
Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/4.8
Shutter Speed: 1/10 sec
ISO: 1000
Focal Length: 52 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I used the Filter Distort on the Glass setting to get the effect.

Day 15 ~ Neighbor's Gate

This is a photo of our neighbor's gate as you leave their property.  We love our neighborhood!  It's like living in the mountains - only it's flat :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  10:50 am
Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/13
Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 22 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I lightened the photo slightly.

Day 14 ~ Scout in Training

The neighbors had the Scouts over for a campout and I went over this morning to take some photos.  One of the leaders brought his young son.  I loved his hat!
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Camera: NIKON D70s
Time of Day:  8:50 am
Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1250 sec
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 200 mm
Flash Mode: None
Image Alterations: I cleaned up his runny nose.

Day 13 ~ Candy Jars

I had to go to town today and stopped at Hubble & Hudson on my way home.  As I was taking photos of the candy counter, a store employee kindly let me know I wasn't allowed to take pictures of their displays :)  Oops!
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day:  1:16 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/13 sec
ISO: 200

Focal Length: 46 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I adjusted the white balance.

Day 12 ~ Relaxing

This is my youngest son relaxing after taking his chemistry final for school.  I was happily surprised he let me take this photo :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day:  12:52 pm
Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/20 sec
ISO: 200

Focal Length: 90 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I cropped the photo and converted to black and white.

Day 11 ~ Cali

It was a beautiful day today!  Cali walked around with me this afternoon while I took some photos.
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day:  4:05 pm
Mode: Manual
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec
ISO: 200

Focal Length: 170 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I lightened the right side of her face slightly.

Day 10 ~ Forest Floor

While walking down the driveway this afternoon, I found these very small mushrooms under the trees.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day:  4:32 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 720

Focal Length: 120 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I adjusted the levels and darkened the highlights slightly.

Day 9 ~ Kissing Calves

After feeding the calves their milk, they always "kiss" each other to get every last drop of milk they can :) 

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 4:42 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Focal Length: 62 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I darkened the shadows slightly.

Day 8 ~ Rain

We are getting some much needed rain today!  So I put up my umbrella and went for a walk around our property.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 3:01 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 500

Focal Length: 200 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I increased the saturation slightly.

It was a medium rain, just right for seeing the ripples created by the raindrops.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 3:04 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 400

Focal Length: 200 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I adjusted the white balance and increased the saturation slightly.

After the rain it was a little foggy.  This is the road that leads to the back of our property.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 5:34 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
ISO: 720

Focal Length: 65 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I increased the saturation slightly.

Day 7 ~ The Bobtail Kitty

This is Remus, one of our outdoor cats.  And even though you can't tell in this photo, he has a little bobtail.  He is our favorite kitty!

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 4:58 pm
Mode: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/4.5

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Focal Length: 44 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I adjusted the white balance and cropped the photo slightly.  I also lightened the photo slightly.

Day 6 ~ Close-up of the Moon

This wasn't originally what I was trying for, but I thought it turned out well considering my tripod is still packed in storage :)  I leaned against a tree to help steady the camera.  I also used bracketing to determine the correct exposure.
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 9:34 pm
Mode: Manual
ISO: 200
Aperture: f/11

Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec

Focal Length: 200 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: I zoomed in and cropped the photo.  I also darkened the highlights.

Day 5 ~ Sun Worshipper

It never fails.  I can always find Cali, our Vizsla, curled up in whatever sun she can find :)  This morning she was on my son's bed.
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 10:31 am
Mode: Aperture Priority

Aperture: f/5

Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec

Focal Length: 62 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: Lightened dark shadows slightly and converted to sepia

Day 4 ~ Construction Debris

We are in the middle of putting in a well.  I walked out to check on the progress today and found some remnants of the foundation for the pump house :)
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 2:58 pm

Aperture: f/4.5

Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec

Focal Length: 42 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: Increased the saturation slightly

Day 3 ~ Chicken Roaming

My chickens are SO much happier when I let them out to roam in the yard.  How do I know they're happier?  They lay more eggs!
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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 5:01 pm

Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Focal Length: 150 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: None

Day 2 ~ Moon in the Afternoon

Late this afternoon, I noticed the moon showing in the sky and loved the way the sun was still shining on the trees.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 5:08 pm

Aperture: f/6.3

Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec

Focal Length: 29 mm

Flash Mode: None

Image Alterations: None

Day 1 ~ Family Photo

Ok, so I didn't personally take this first photo.  But it was taken on January 1st and I thought it would be a good photo to start with.  This is me and my family on our farm with some of our animals.

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Camera: NIKON D70s

Time of Day: 4:46 pm

Aperture: f/5

Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec

Focal Length: 62 mm

Flash Mode: None