Update

Well, it seems my photography and hiking days are behind me. I just haven't been taking any photos for the last year or so. I'm going to keep this blog up though because it's good to take a trip down memory lane sometimes. And I'll definitely take photos on my next vacation. Eric and I are planning on renting an SUV this summer and taking a road trip to the north shore. Maybe that will be the oomph I need to get back into nature walks and photography. I found my camera! It was missing for 6 months or so, I even bought a new one. So now I have two cameras, but I still like my old one best. So there's no excuses for not taking photos next year.

In other news, Eric is on his last round of chemo. he's feeling pretty good. Tonight we went out shopping at Walmart then we headed to Perkins for pie and hot chocolate. We are hot cocoa connisseurs. Getting back to his cancer, he's almost done with chemo and then he has surgery to remove the tumor in December. Then he has radiation to kill any remaining cancer cells. After that he should be in the clear. The dark days are almost behind us!

I'm still not working, still waiting for a court date for SSI. I'm getting antsy to get back out there and do something like school or work. Just anything to have a purpose outside of the house. A paycheck would be nice too. Right now I spend most of my time with Eric, but when I do my own thing I write on my poetry blog, read romance novels, and crochet, I sound like a little old lady! My sister's second child is due in March and I am crocheting a baby blanket. It's only fair since I made one for the first kid. This time we won't know the gender til it's born so it's just going to be a pure white blanket. Well that's about it. I'm looking forward to the holidays, not looking forward to the snow. I live with Eric now and we don't have a garage. This will be my first winter in a very long time without a garage to park in :(. For Thanksgiving we are going to have a little turkey dinner with cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cranberry sauce. It's only a week after his last chemo so we'll just eat alone, but next year I hope to invite our parents. I've never made a holiday meal for my family before, it should be interesting.

Okay, that's definitely all I have to say. I hope to be back here posting photos in the next year, so stay tuned!

~ Angela

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge

*sigh* Perhaps I need to change the title of this blog one more time to "Diary of a Hermit", because for several reasons that's what I've been lately. But I still have the heart of a nomad, and to prove it I left the yard today. Yay me!

For your enjoyment, or maybe not, here are some pictures from the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 30 miles northwest of where I live.



I know next to nothing about plant life, so it beats me what type of flowers these are.




Double-crested Cormorants


I couldn't see them well but my best guess is Trumpeter Swans.


Great Blue Heron

Common Loon
(the Minnesota State bird, besides the mosquito!)

I've finally got my State Park Permit so we'll see if I can take some fun trips in the next few months *fingers crossed*. 'Til then, stay cool my babies! Aawww, I miss Conan. What happened to him is a travesty, I tell you! Maybe not so much for him, as he probably uses twenty dollar bills for toilet paper now, but for fans like me without cable for sure!

Nature, In Shades Of Gray

I bet you thought I'd abandoned my photographic nature walks and hikes. Only temporarily. My hobbies happen in phases and I'm still in my writing phase right now. But sometimes the phases overlap and it was so nice out this evening that I couldn't resist a walk. (A nice reprieve from the rainy, hot, muggy, buggy weather of late.) For a challenge I decided to only post photos from this evening's walk in black and white. Man, sometimes I almost wish I'd never seen the works of Ansel Adams. They've made such an impact on me that it's sort of compromised my own artistic vision. Instead of something original, my stuff just looks like retarded clones of his amazing photos. It's still a fun hobby though. Here goes nothing...

These were taken on my family's property this evening.














See the deer above? It's sorta hard to see so I'll post another in color:


I was taking photos of flowers alongside a trail when a doe showed up with her family just behind me. I counted 2 small buck and 3 doe. I stayed in place and just turned the tripod around to face them and starting taking pics and video. The lead doe became aggressive towards me, a behavior I've never seen. Our property is part of a major deer corridor and I watch them out back almost every night. The only time I ever saw a hint of aggression was during the fall rut when the bucks were fearless. Anyway, this doe started making strange vocal sounds, stomping the ground, and charging at me. She got close but never closed the gap. It was obvious that my presence startled her and she felt the need to protect her family. Eventually they all took off. Unfortunately I didn't start rolling video until after she was finished with her displays of aggression. All I have are pics and videos of her staring me down. It's something to keep in mind though - although Bambi is cute, deer are still wild, unpredictable animals and we need to be cautious of them.

Life is Fragile

Seen today on a framed cross-stitching in a thrift store:

Life is fragile, handle with prayer.

I've never heard that saying before, how sweet.

P.S. I suppose another valid viewpoint would be "Life is short, handle with dare." hehe

To my dad on Father's Day

I've had a couple of father figures in my life, but only one real dad, that's you.
We've had our share of good, bad, and lukewarm moments over the years, haven't we? I've been at times a deeply flawed daughter, and perhaps you have your regrets as well, but that doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter that we don't share the same last name or genetic make-up. Because we are connected for life, you and I, by something even stronger - a bond that began roughly 32 years ago when you stepped into my life, held me, played with me, and became my dad.

We had our fun over the years as I grew up. I recall you taking us to drive-in movies, and carrying me when I lost my battle to stay awake. I remember riding on the back of your Harley, my pudgy little arms hanging on to you for dear life. I remember you and Grampa Vern taking me along on your early morning fishing trips because I begged and pleaded to go, then enduring my whining when I got bored after 5 minutes out on the lake. When I was a little older you took us in the RV to Tennessee and I remember riding the motorcycles up to the highest point in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then on the way back down we coasted silently through the mountain mist with the engines off, amongst a thick forest of the biggest Pines and Evergreens I'd ever seen. When I graduated from high school I remember you throwing me a party in the back yard of your house on the river and teaming with my grandparents to buy me a graduation gift - a computer for college. These are just a few in a big collection of fond memories I hang on to.

Now that I'm grown I see our residual bond as something like an invisible fishing line strung between my heart and yours; and whether I'm 50 miles away or 1,500 I still feel its tug. Although I get lost and drift far off, I'll always find my way back sooner or later, knowing you'll be there to greet me with a hug. You've always been and continue to be a source of quiet strength for me, an anchor that keeps me grounded, and I'm grateful for that. Being the tough guy you are I'm sure you hate all this sappy stuff, but this is just my own way of saying I love you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.



P.S. Nice bell-bottoms! But don't worry, trust me, no one ever reads my blog.