Perfect...and Not So Perfect....

So this summer, I spent a morning taking photos.

It is not something I do every day.

Just some days.

Often I will take lots of photos one day and then use them for a dozen posts later.

I was taking pictures of different places outside.

Shifting up and down a few inches to change the look.

Trying to make sure you don't see anything I don't want you to see.

I moved from one area to another.

I always love to take flower photos.

Rudbeckia is a favorite.

As are these African Daisies.

While I was taking the daisy picture, I noticed this little guy.

He is not as perfect.

I would normally shift left or right to find a better picture/specimen.

But then I got to thinking about how a lot of us do that.

Focus on the perfect one.

Glance past the flawed one.

And I decided to take different photos.

Real photos.

Normally I would shift for this one so you could not see the trash cans.

And I would shift left so you would not see the stuff on my work table.

Silly, really.

I am proud of my work table.

It is from a high school science lab.

I love working at it outside.

You can see it has wool sweaters on it here.

Cutting the wool outside keeps all the fuzz and lint out of the house.

And I get to breathe fresh air, listen to the birds and look at my yard.

This little spot serves to camouflage the trash can area.

I stacked the cement blocks to build a little wall. 

 Then I put flower pots and boxes around it to hide the plain cement blocks.

Morning glories climb an old trellis I made from bamboo...

And a few of my rustic mushrooms provide some visual appeal (to me anyway).

Looking back at my work table from the other direction...

Normally I would shoot this at a different angle so you could not see the trash cans.

Why?

Most of us have trash cans, right?

Why should I pretend they are not there?

My trash cans don't match.

Do yours?

You can see how I throw two burlap coffee sacks over the fence for photos...

Now you know my behind-the-scenes tricks...

If I turn around, you can see my clothesline.

I love my clothesline.

It is green and natural and my clothes smell so good when I bring them in. 

 I love hanging things up too.

  It is meditative.

Turning the other direction, I show you real again.

See all that grass growing between the cracks in the sidewalk?

I don't like when that happens.

So I would normally angle the camera up, so you would not see.

In front of that round brown shed is my secret garden.

I love the mishmash of plants and herbs and flowers. 

I never have a plan.

  I just plant them.

And seeds blow around and seed themselves...

There is my hypertufa experiment from a few years ago...

My rough birdbath...

This rustic little birdhouse sits outside my round shed.

Normally I would not show you my rain barrels with their peeling paint.

Or my stakes for fairy lanterns that are bare right now.

So today I am sharing some of the not-so-perfect parts of my yard.

Trust me, there are many, many more.

But I wanted to get real today.

Because we all have weeds, and trash cans and things we just have not made perfect yet.

Thanks for stopping by...

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Playing with Photos...

This week I shared my fun little wool can cozies.

When I was taking the pictures I was goofing around.

My photo area had sheer curtains hanging next to it so I tried placing them over the camera lense to see what would happen...

Ok.

So that one is not too great.

I tried a few more.

It is sort of interesting...

Sort of ethereal.

That or it just makes me feel like I need to rub my eyes...

The easiest possible filter...

Enough of that.

Here are the cozies again.

Have a great day...

                      Thanks for stopping by....

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Ahhh...the Country Life...

 Hard to believe it has been almost a week since I posted.

Whew!

Sorry about that.

It was one of those weeks that was both a fast forward and a slow motion week.

Our county fair started last week so the two weeks leading up to it were a whirlwind of busy, trying to get submissions done.

We dropped off our submissions this weekend and then drove right from there to see family for the weekend.

Had a great time but when I got home, I just sort of tuckered out.

Lost the wind in my sails and just could not get a direction.

Has that ever happened to you?

So this is my flock.

I tried to take photos when I let them out of their pen one night.

They move fast when they get out...

Eating bugs and grass.

Taking a dust bath.

Just exploring.

Most pictures are blurry from the flurry of movement.

They love getting out in the evenings.

In winter we keep them in their enclosure because they don't like the snow anyway.

They still get lots of fresh air from their little courtyard but they do not run around the yard.

They squawk when it is time to fly down from the nesting box in the morning because they don't want their little feet to touch the snow.

Silly Birds.

When I let them out in the evening, there are always one or two feeling broody in the nesting box.  

I pick each hen up and hold her until she cools a little and wants to fly down.

Then I gather the eggs.

After the broody girls walk around a little bit, they return to the nesting box.

This is Emma and Agent C (from Phineas and Ferb).

This is Sally (short for salad).  

Most of them are named after Chicken dishes...

Chicken Salad= Sally.

Chicken Barbeque= BeeBee

Chicken Fajita= Fay

Chicken Patty= Patty

Fried Chicken= Fred

I know, it is weird.

  We don't eat them.

They are egg producing pets.

Here is Fred, from the 2 new chicks this year.

Yup, he's a rooster.

So far, so good with Chester, the other rooster.

 And here is Frick, the other new chick.

I have the most pictures of them.

  They imprinted on us so they think the humans are their flock.

Frick and Fred are Araucanas.

Frick should lay green or blue eggs.

All the Bantam hens lay little white to tan eggs.

It will be exciting the first time we find a blue one.

I am going to try to get back on track with my posts.

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs.