My Surroundings: Week 6

For this particular week, I was able to go and visit my parents and some of my siblings in central Washington state. My favorite part about the trip? It was so much warmer than my home in Idaho. It was very exciting. This is my childhood home, so you get to see my surroundings I grew up with.  cool huh? There's not any pictures really of my family because it's a very busy time of year and they are constantly in equipment or running to different places where we're not. So hopefully one of these times soon I'll get pictures of them.

Who doesn't love posting pictures of their sweet little ones? I know I love too, especially with an irresistible face like this.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/42 - ISO 100)

This is a crop duster. The pilot for in this particular crop duster's name is Jock. I've known him for as long as I can remember. Or should I say know of him, I think I have only ever met him once. Crop duster's fly really really low to the ground to spray chemicals on fields (i.e. fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides). During the summer Jock would fly over our house at least once a week. I swear sometimes that my Mom would call him to come and dust a field near our home just to get us out of bed in the morning. And it was usually around 6 am, when you're a farmer, work starts early. That's not early either early was 3:30 am. 

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5 - ISO 100)

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5 - ISO 100)

This is the "Homeplace", or in other words the field right next to my parents home. My Dad runs a family operated custom swathing, baling, stacking operation. All six of my siblings and I worked in and on the equipment. My second to youngest brother is in the tractor below pulling a baler behind him.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

I love the yellow crop duster against the beautiful blue sky. Another thing we used to do is wave at the pilot and he would almost always tilt his plane side-to-side to "wave" back.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

This is the South side of my parents home. They have an amazing view from all sides. You can barely see it, but there is a a white mountain above the green field in the back, that's actually Mt. Rainier.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

This is my maternal grandpa's grave. He passed away in a farming accident while my mom was in High School. My Grandma grows beautiful peonies and they were ready to be trimmed and set at the headstone and I was there at the right time to set them. She grows beautiful flowers.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/800 - f/5 - ISO 100)

The baler at a closer range.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/640 - f/5.3 - ISO 100)

Thing 1 loves the tractors, and is an awesome driver! :)

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/640 - f/4.5 - ISO 100)

This is the view from the South side of my parents home. I would love to have the view of the valley where I currently live the the view they have.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/160 - f/14 - ISO 100)

While we were visiting last summer, Mom planted a few rose bushes and this is one of the results she got this year. Being a farmer's wife, she's constantly in the field, equipment, or trucks helping to run things, so she was very excited to see this.

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/500 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

 

What does it look like where you grew up?

My Surroundings: Week 5

MCHope has some beautiful pictures of her Holland. I love seeing them because I've never been, but I hope to go someday (Far, distant future, but someday nonetheless)

Sorry, I wasn't able to get this up before I left on a trip to visit my family. I love my garden and it's a sight I see everyday, so this is after some of our garden was planted and during the planting process.


I'll be really disappointed if you can't tell what this seed is. Any guesses? Hopefully we will see growth soon.

This is one of my best looking raspberry plants. I wanted to get some of it's newest growth, and it seems to be doing so well. The rest of them don't look to good. After I've weeded I'll show what the not so well doing ones look like. 

My dear husband installed these sprinklers so that while I was gone visiting family I wouldn't have to bother the neighbors about watering my garden while I was gone. I am so grateful and so excited!!!

Hoping to have Week 6 pictures up by the end of the week. Wish me luck! What do your surroundings look like?

Week 4

Week 4

It started off as a really cold week and then warmed up beautifully, we even had two days without wind and 80 degree weather. However, our well pump went out and so we were left pulling a pump and replacing it. Unfortunately due to the nature of being do-ourselves people and knowing how, I was busily running around helping my husband and not carrying my camera. I'm sad that I wasn't able to get any shots, but I will definitely not forget the rusty red water that came out when we purged it after replacing our new pump. It would have been awesome, but hopefully these will do.

Our area has had a very high snow pack this year and so out of concern for flooding I've been prepared just in case we had to suddenly leave. To relieve my worries about the local dam breaking and sweeping our home away my husband took us up to Palisades Dam for a Sunday drive. The flow was high coming out of the dam and my husband took us to the reservoir instead of the flow. 

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/400 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

Thing 1 found an awesome blue looking rock. Okay, it was more blue than the rest of the gray rocks. He was going to keep it, and decided to throw it in the reservoir. Ooops, that's okay.

(Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/400 - f/5.6 - ISO 100)

 (Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/14 - ISO 100)

A lot of cool driftwood(?). I not sure if that's the right term because it's not an ocean. Anyhow, the mountains were beautiful in the background. 

(Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/1000 - f/3.5 - ISO 100)

Late Week 2: Outside lately

Thank goodness for a husband who is familiar with a camera. I've been trenching lately, I never thought that I would be A. trenching, or B. picking rocks any time soon. Thing 2 fell asleep on my back even with the violent jerks of digging.  Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/250 - f/5 - ISO 100 - Husband handheld

We've been able to get outside for just a few short days and unfortunately I've had a cold that Thing 2 decided he wanted to share with me. So I pushed myself to go outside and play (work). We have been prepping our garden for planting and this seems to be the only time to get outside and take pictures as well.

Thing 1 is a fantastic helper and loves digging in the dirt. He's also a good hand shoveler thrower. He can throw a shovel and make the handle stick out of the ground. How many 3 and 1/2 year olds do you know that can do that? Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/320 - f/5.6 - ISO 100

After two days of hard work, we decided to relax and fly a kite. The following two images have the same settings. Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/250 - f/5.6 - ISO 100 - handheld

Thing 1 was so close to falling asleep in Daddy's arms. It was really cute.

Thing 2 has a nasty cold, so he stayed inside except for about the hour or so he was on my back in the first picture. So he got his own photo shoot, and I have to say I love that little boy. Hopefully, if it ever gets warm, I will do just a post of him and his beautiful blue eyes. Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/4.5 - ISO 100 - handheld

Surroundings: Week 1

I see this building quite frequently when I leave home to go somewhere and I love it. It's a very unique building if you can't tell. It was an old sugar beet processing mill, but that industry went down the drain locally several years ago. Ownership has changed hands many times. One of the most recent changes was to someone trying to turn it into the Old Sugar Mill Market. It was painted, but not quite finished in one spot that you'll see. I love coming here for portraits with the colored walls, fun "backgrounds".

  

The clouds had created some diffused lighting so it was really nice at times and harsh at other times, which you have to learn how to work with one way or another.

I love the contrast of the beautiful blue sky and the stormy looking clouds. The following four images are used in these settings. Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/13 - ISO 100 -  First two are tripod - third and fourth are handheld

I think the artist did a beautiful job on the details  of this building.

This painted door is  my favorite! It has so many details of a real door.

Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/14 - ISO 100 -Handheld

The columns and archway look awesome.

Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/7.1 - ISO 100 - Handheld

 

This is the wrought iron detail on the doors you see above. 

Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/4.8 - ISO 200 - Handheld

The next two images are  of the following Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/10 - ISO 100 - Handheld

A random tree on property but I couldn't resist the sun glare. It was beautiful.

Here's the unfinished painting, the bed of the truck wasn't finished. I love the blue sky! Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/100 - f/10 - ISO 200 - Handheld (The sun went behind a dark cloud, that's the reason for the 200 ISO)

I got home from shooting and couldn't resist the opportunity for this B&W. The house is in my neighbor one house over. Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/100 - f/25 - ISO 100 -Tripod

Challenge Rules

Well, here is the information about the rules and the challenge that MCHope from the Netherlands has issued. She has started her end of the challenge and I feel a little bit behind. My computer was gone for two days and I wasn't to upload pictures to get things going. So here are the guidelines:

1. You need to take the photo that week. So no using archives.
2. And no putting yourself down or excusing yourself ;)
3. It needs be a typical you picture: showing your surroundings, atmosphere where you are, or something typical American. I do the same here.
4. Why not show the settings we've used too. That'll teach us (and others) a lot too.
5. Lets dare to comment on each other's photos both the positive and learning points!

I'm so excited to do this! It means I actually have an excuse to carry my camera around with me! With two rambunctious little boys though, this could be interesting.  I hope to post this week's surroundings by tomorrow.

As an example, I took these of the Mother's Day hanging basket my boys gave me. It was beautiful and I love plants and flowers, so they can't ever go wrong.

Nikon D7000 - Nikkor 18-135mm 5.6 - Manual - 1/125 - f/5 - ISO 400 - Handheld

What are some of your surroundings?

Typical Surroundings

Because my friend in the Netherlands has decided to put rules on our little challenge ;), I guess this post doesn't count. Besides, this was supposed to be last week's post as part of the challenge. I'll post the details as to what our challenge is about shortly.

On Easter Sunday we gathered with my husband's and had a dinner to commemorate the wonderful yet horrible event that took place over 2000 years ago. We took some family pictures, and my brother-in-law's wife, L, brought this awesome kite. The kite is two meters long and is meant to be a trainer kite. "A trainer kite?" you may ask. There are kites that are 6 m., and I think she said 9 m. as well that come with harnesses so that you may be pulled by the wind on skis or some other sort of transportation. This is to help train you for the bigger ones. I don't know a whole lot, but I thought it to be really cool.

This is my Mother-in-Law and my oldest son (Thing 1 as he will be referred to). They enjoyed watching this enormous kite for about 20 minutes.

This is my handsome husband. I know you can't see him but that's okay, trust me, he's handsome. L let him have a try with the kite and it was definitely not as easy as she made it look. She made it look absolutely effortless.

Do you know how difficult it can be to get a shot you want of an individual flying a kite? Especially when all of the sudden the kite swoops in and out of the frame? Gaaaah! It was fun and a challenge.  These were my two favorites of L flying her kite.

 

My husband didn't grow up very far away from the Grand Tetons. It is definitely a gorgeous view if it's a clear day.

*Note: If the pictures look out of focus, don't worry they're not. I'm not sure why that is. Click on the image and you'll see that they're not.

Challenge Accepted

I have a friend that I have met online. I'm not sure if they want me to identify them, so unless they say otherwise, they will go by M. M is from Europe. I think we have developed a good friendship through pictures and a mutual friend. I had asked for help with finding a challenge sometime ago, and M has challenged me to take pictures of the everyday here in the U.S. and post them once a week. So, here we go.

Unfortunately due to weather, I wasn't able to take pictures of the things I wanted to, so I'll start with this. This picture was taken with a point and shoot (my apologies for the blur, the lens was fogged and it's not mine) in December and describes the area about 20 minutes to the East of my home. I love the mountains, they're gorgeous and the air is refreshing. I love living so close to them especially because it means lots of skiing. 

My only complaint about living close to them (or should I say at a higher elevation) is this....

Today is April 22 and we had 3/4" of snow on the ground. These are the tulips and grape hyacinths I planted about a year and a half ago. I'm very proud of them because honestly, I'm very new to flower gardening. (You'll see more when there are actual blossoms)

I know I should be used to this by now after living here for seven years, but a slightly warmer climate just can't seem to leave my head. Someday, I will be in a place where I can plant my garden before the end of May, but until then I will enjoy the cold because it brings snow, and having snow means sledding, hot chocolate, and my all-time winter favorite, downhill skiing.