Knot so much...

OK, the wood part was easy. The knot part, not so much. The strong rope is a challenge to work with. Marine rope would probably be better? Perhaps I need to go to Boat depot or something like that because Home Depot had strong rope, but I don't remember marine rope. The 720 lb strong rope is a challenge to cut with my girlie hands, then frays and doesn't tie well; if you can't tie a good knot, there is no way it will hold 720 lbs, let alone 100! Back to the drawing board.

I googled the knots, but can't seem to get my right brain/left hand to make the proper knots. Bummer. I don't remember learning to tie knots in girl scouts or brownies.

The perfect tree for a swing

I have been eying this branch since I started working on the shed 3 years ago. It is hard to believe that this will be the 3rd and (hopefully) final season building the shed. I have lots of trees on my 3-acre lot but none with a branch nearly horizontal to the earth. As a portrait photographer I am always looking for interesting backdrops to photograph people on and have been wanting to build a tree swing for this branch for at least 2 years. I used to love to swing high up in the air and back down again. A simple way to relax and enjoy.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I went out and googled Tree swings and found an aol video with a pretty basic tree swing "recipe". As a woman, I am used to cooking up a recipe and kinda get a laugh out of calling my building project plans "recipes". Oh well, it is fun. Perhaps the guys think I am a bimbo, but I am not. I just like to have fun.
Anyway, since I could not locate any redwood in this area, I went to the local lumber yard and found some cedar 2 x 6's (that I paid a premium price for-- $ 4/ln ft. Ouch) However, a plastic tree swing kit would have cost me $50 and I could not say that I created it. So, I am ahead of the game at spending only $35.
Now I have to figure out how to tie the knots that will hold up the swing. That could be a challenge. I did buy super duty rope, that is guaranteed to hold up to 720 lbs. I think that should do it. I would rather be safe than sorry. I will go back out to google for a knot search. Once complete, I will post updated photos.

Locks of Love - Part 6

Well it was time to donate once again. I have now donated approximately 72" of hair since 1999. On May 1, 2008, I cut off 12" and will send it off to Locks of Love.org so they can make wigs for kids that have had hair loss.
I wonder if there are others that donate hair over and over again? I've donated 6 times and I am amazed that I have grown that much hair since 1999. I have now donated 6" more hair than I am tall. I don't know if I will continue this forever, but it is a good cause.

Spring is coming!

It's official. I think spring is actually going to show up in the next month or so. We have had sun a few days in a row which leads me to believe it will be warming up. Winter is OK for about a month but this winter has been super-sized and seems to be holding on longer than last year. However, in an effort to "warm" up, I decided to head over to Meijer Gardens and see the butterfly exhibit that started on March 1. I love going to see the butterflies in the botanical gardens, soak in some warmth and humidity, and see the kids trying to get one of the pretty creatures to land on their fingers. It is the real reason I joined the gardens--all about the butterflies, the beautiful grounds and sculpture exhibits all year long. I think I will head back over this weekend to see if any other butterflies have emerged. Last week I saw a few that I had not seen before, so perhaps they spread em out.
Anyway, here is a photo I shot along with some modifications. Can you say, Fun with Wacom?

A beautiful day to go to Grand Haven

Yesterday was one of the first full days with sun which made it a perfect day for me to pack up my camera and head out to Grand Haven for sunset. One of the great things about living on the west side of the state of Michigan is that it is relatively easy to get to the lake in about an hour. The roads were clear and it was not too cold so I took off for the lake. I was rather surprised to see all the other folks at the lighthouse although given that it was the first day of sun in ages, I think people wanted to get out. While it was more crowded than I would have liked, it was good to get out and see the sunset. It was very red and pink, even more so than some of the summer sunsets. While that warmth in color did not translate to the air temperature, it was good for the soul.
Here are two of the pictures I shot yesterday. I will post more later.

Snow, snow and more snow

It is snowing (again). While it can be beautiful, I must say that I am already tired of it and it is only mid-February. We still have a good 6 to 8 weeks of this stuff left. The news says that we are already above our yearly average for the Grand Rapids area at 80" as of Sunday. It is now Tuesday as I write and we continue to get snow.
Before the arctic temps came in Saturday night, I decided to get out in the snow and walk around the park by my house. There were lots of people cross country skiing and there was evidence that people had been in the park with snow-shoes, but I didn't see anyone with them on. I just took my camera with me and walked the cold trails. It was really quite beautiful since the trees were all snow covered from previous snows. The trail was surprisingly easy to walk as long as I stayed on the cross country skiers path. Otherwise, I would have been knee-deep in snow. I ventured off path a few times for a shot or two, but mostly stayed on path. I don't like being cold. I felt very fortunate to have two pairs of socks, pants, and shirts on underneath my big down coat. The gloves I had on were not much help but did OK.
When I got back from my hour long walk, I decided to take some pics of my piles of snow. Below are some of the pics I took. I am standing in front of the tallest pile in my driveway. I am 5'6" so I am guessing it is piled up about 5'? Anyway, the snow plow guy told me that he is running out of places to put my snow. My driveway is 476' long so there should be plenty of places to put it. Oh well. One of these days, I need to make snow angels. I think it would be fun. : )

Me in my old coat (for the walk)

Me in the new coat.

part black and white, part full color.

This pic was taken in my driveway Sunday morning. It was minus 3 degrees not counting windchill. BRRR!

This tree was found at the park; a lot of the pine trees look like this these days.

Project Iris

Being a photo "geek", I frequently have a camera in my hand. After getting a macro lens last fall, I started playing around with it and shooting various things up close and personal. One of those things was the eye. While eyes have actually creeped me out in years past, I've found them pretty interesting recently. I guess I was trying to see if those in my family had a similar eye shape. What I found most interesting was the variation in color within each iris. Some had a dark circle around the outside, some were just pure color. The youngest eyes were very dilated and the older folks had lots of spots in their eyes. It seems as though our eyes change over time. Some of the patterning from the elders showed up in the youngest children. It was pretty cool. I am sure some of the folks over the holidays thought I was a bit odd, but....Oh well. I am a bit of a geek.

Happy Valentine's Day (early)

My friend Lew sent me this great gift today. It was a simple Valentine's heart but it made me happy and reminded me of the decorations the teachers put up in school. Below is an updated photo of me with the heart on; I had to play with the image in Photoshop (Photoshop is my "video game"). Anyway, it has been far too long since last I blogged, so...here goes.

Happy Valentine's Day. Thanks Lew!

Summer, come and gone, then back

Summer has come and gone but it made an appearance here in Michigan and reached the upper 70's. It was an incredibly beautiful day. I spent the morning in front of the computer but dedicated the afternoon to the great outdoors. I mowed the lawn, mulched some of the leaves that have fallen, and even cooked a burger on the grill. It was the first burger I have had since June and it was great. It was good to just relax and take it easy outside today instead of spending so much time at my computer.
This weather has been so strange lately. Hot, then cold, then warm but I am enjoying the beautiful blue skies that and bold fall colors before the gray of winter sets in. Perhaps this year we won't have winter. The rain returns tomorrow which is perfect working weather. : )