Made It!

After an agonizing morning spent on the foggy backroads, we were finally in familiar territory, although with 20 years worth of changes.

A convenience store on the last corner was a bit of a shock, so it was comforting to see that the driveway we were looking for was the same as it had been all our lives:



Likewise the house that holds so many memories:




It was a great visit--I only wish we could have stayed longer.
Got to visit with our aunt and three of the cousins on Thanksgiving day and part of Friday, along with new (to us) extended family. You can see how happy we were just being there:





The crops and cows and chickens are long gone since there aren't as many mouths to feed these days, but evidence remains:



When we were kids, this barbed wire was loosely wrapped around a much smaller tree:
It marked the end of the homestead, and the beginning of the wilderness where only us kids bothered to venture.
Lean-to campouts, the springs and the caves, running with the dogs, swinging on vines, being immersed in nature and family...it was our playground.

Barbed Wire

These are the actual photos I took during the SuperBowl last Sunday--the previous post had pics from the previous visit.





Red didn't want to hang out.



He just kept facing North, for well over an hour.



So I shifted gears.

The Mother's Day Lizard(s)

After having so much fun with the Easter Lizard I went looking for him on Mother's Day.

It made a nice test of the depth of focus with my new lens at F1.8.
Very shallow!

In this crop you can see that he is again flaring his dewlap.
Too bad someone got part of his tail.

It's not easy getting a shot of a prairie racerunner.
This one kept running away from me until it got on the other side of the fence.
Do small lizards even understand fences?
He seemed to know that I was no longer a danger.

Wished I had my 55-200mm lens right then, but I'm not taking my new 50mm off the camera until there is a compelling reason.
Still haven't used manual focus or stopped it down for more sharpness.

What's In My Alley?

I was standing in our back yard as the sun was going down.
(Nov 17th)
Heard some noises coming from the alley, then saw some movement through the gaps in our wood fence.
Went inside for a camera.

I spooked the deer as I rose up over the fence, and only got a picture of the buck's flag as they ran away.
But less than a minute later I heard them coming back, so I got into position again.
The doe jumped the chainlink fence across the alley from us, where the drummer who likes Black Sabbath lives.


The buck posed for a photo or four, and decided that the noises my camera was making were less important than what he had on his mind.

So over he went, after the doe.
He chased her around the yard, so she hopped the fence into the next yard up the hill.

He followed, chased her around a bit, then they both came back to the first yard.
Repeat.
Repeat again.
And again.

In all I got 14 photos of these two jumping fences in just four minutes, and I missed quite a few. I would guess I saw 30+ jumps.
It was wild!
I could hardly believe what I was seeing, and started laughing out loud halfway through, which is no way to take good photos. Had I known they were going to put on a show, I would have grabbed a camera that shoots video.

The 10-point buck wanted some, and the doe was having none of that.
I saw them together again last night, so maybe things worked out.