Dappled

First day of school with kids, and am I ever glad I shot my photo of the day BEFORE going to school. Seventeen 7 & 8 year-olds in a classroom that approached 85 degrees most of the day. Talk about miserable! I found these maples on an evening walk last night. Boy are the maples changing earlier than usual!

On a related note, I was notified today that the photo I posted on June 1st of my CoCoRaHS rain gauge (after moving to my own property), was selected from over 500 submissions for their 2011 CoCoRaHS calendar contest! I get a free calendar, but even more important... now I can say I'm published!

Early Morning Moon

Caught this shot of the waning moon this morning. Am thinking I may need a different lens to portray the moon as I'd like, though. Anyone have suggestions on the best size for the job?

Colorful

My classroom's just about ready for my new second graders! Broke open the new packs of crayons. What's not to love?

Gray Tree Frog

This little guy somehow ended up atop our "Topsy Turvy" tomato planter. My daughter found him this morning, just sitting atop the plastic cover. I've never seen one of these before, and come to find out, not only are they an arboreal frog, they also can camouflage. Clearly that wasn't happening when I took this shot! Cute little fellow!

Jewelry

Not totally happy with today's post, but sometimes it just is what it is. I edited the saturation a little- normally the (fake) stones are a ruby red shade.

Maple Leaf

We've had some cool nights, and the maples are really showing their brilliant colors first! Perhaps it will be an awesome foliage season!

Alpine Awning

I just recently noticed the new "awning" at a local ski outlet. Very clever!

Fabric

I made some crude curtains for my classroom this afternoon. It was time to update the ones I made 8 years ago. I found some cheery, joyful, (cheap) fabric. But here's the litmus test- when I have to get out my sewing machine's owner's manual to remember how to thread it... it's been way too long since my last sewing project! Note to self- time to get crafty again!

Beaded

I love how my new car beads up nicely after a shower!

Orb Weaver

Found this funky little spider on the deck railing this morning. Turns out it's a variety of orb weaver spider. It is reported that Orb Weavers will re-spin a new web every night. Their proficiency at nighttime hunting and propensity to enjoy insects makes them the ultimate in the way of mosquito zappers. Well then.... carry on, I say!

Making Tracks

This is a rear tire to my son's dirt bike. Looks like it would do a great job of gripping whatever he's riding on... hopefully safely!

Happy Cows

Another example of the the good old "plan b" coming through in the clutch. We drove to a local balloon festival in hopes of seeing some launch this evening. Unfortunately, it was too breezy to launch. However, on the way home I saw a small herd of dairy cows munching by the road, and thought I'd get a picture or two. Well, as I began shooting, they all started moseying toward the edge of the road- very friendly cows!

Touch of Fall

Lots of maples in town are beginning to show a slight touch of fall. Caught this one this afternoon in front of a brilliant, blue sky. Sad to see summer fading, but it might bring some new photographic opportunities!

Parking Lot

Was out this afternoon getting some supplies for my classroom. The parking lot was virtually empty, though.

More Flowers

I have no idea what these petite pretties are, but I know they often appear near the end of summer. Guess it is about that time.

Hair

My daughter is often very creative with her hairstyles. Oh, to be so resourceful!

Screened Out

It happened again for the second time in as many days. Missed another daily post for a variety of reasons. Back on the project365 bandwagon! With the screens off for continued house painting, I came across this interesting pattern made when two screens were stacked together. I thought it looked cool, and somehow must involve math, I'm sure!

New Car

Well, it finally happened yesterday- I missed my first post ever this year. I was so spent after returning from the Literacy Conference that I just crashed last night. (Hopefully it is the only time.) However I took purchase of a new car this morning. Had to post its portrait!

Tropical

Day #2 at the Literacy Conference. I probably should be posting something more related to literacy, but this caught my eye on a before-breakfast walk. Thought it looked rather tropical! Heard lots of great info today about vocabulary and constructed response! Last day is tomorrow!

More Orange Lily

I'm off to a three-day literacy conference this morning with a team of teachers from my school, so have posted a "quickie". More of those late-planted lilies bloomed overnight!

Refreshment

White zinfandel- my favorite!

Railing

132 balusters. That's how many there are on our newly-painted railing of our deck. The last time it was painted was about 6 years ago... and I obviously had a lot more energy! The railing looks fantastic. Wish I could say the same for myself!

Yellow Lily

Planted some lilies very late this year. I was thrilled when they began blooming today!

Suds

So file this under "practice makes....". Well, admittedly this shot is far from perfect, however it is an improvement upon "suds session #1" this morning- a serendipitous moment of washing dishes, followed by "oh, that would be a cool photo"! Maybe if I'd had better lighting, or focus, or whatever didn't work. Session #2 was done after dark with a dark background. Again, although it's not perfect, I think it's kind of funky!

What Am I?

Found this critter in my garage this morning caught in a spider's web. I took pity and decided to free him. (He actually hissed at me.) But he was the most bizarre-looking insect I've seen in a while! About an inch long, and his antennae were easily twice as long as his body, with little joints along the length of each one, making it possible for him to flex them like appendages. Kind of freaked me out a little! An hour later after he'd disappeared, I began to wonder if he was some type of invasive, destructive species. I might just send his "portrait" to the Forest Service to be sure! Anybody out there know what this creepy critter is?

Grass

I love the jungle green shade of newly planted grass. My husband has several of these patches in the back yard, trying to cover up erosion from heavy rains this spring and summer. We hope they remain!

Fern

Humidity and occasional showers are back. As much as I dislike them, they give the plants a tropical look!

Dandy

My apologies for yet another flower shot. They are just so plentiful this time of year, not to mention colorful!

Quartz and Mica

I found this rock glistening in my dirt driveway earlier this week. The quartz and mica gave off considerable "bling" as I walked by. Was intrigued at how it reflected off this glass tabletop.