(Day 286) He leads me beside quiet waters

 ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
 ² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
       He leads me beside quiet waters,
 ³ He restores my soul.
       He guides me in paths of righteousness
       for his name's sake.
 ⁴ Even though I walk
       through the valley of the shadow of death,
       I will fear no evil,
       for You are with me;
       your rod and your staff,
       they comfort me.
 ⁵ You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies.
       You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.
 ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
       all the days of my life,
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
       forever.

(All photos made with a 10-22mm lens, aperture of 7.1, shutter speeds from 1/6 to 1/40 sec and ISO of 200 or 800).

(Day 285) Flotsam and Jetsam of Fall

I was out on the old David Brown yesterday and again today, cutting a few acres of grass before we get hit with heavy frost. We've had beautiful, although cool, weather over the past week and it feels a little cooler than the thermometer suggests due to a fairly stiff breeze. I've noticed that besides the usual autumn leaves, there's lots of other 'stuff' floating around on the wind.

After the grass was all cut, I wandered around the yard some, camera in hand. Often when I set out on one of these jaunts, I'm never too sure what I will see and what might prompt me to stop and make a photo. After dinner I noticed that the wind had calmed down so I went in another direction, this time with an idea of what I wanted to capture. I think I discovered some of the sources of the flotsam and jetsam.

(70-200mm  f18  1/160 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f7.1  1/80 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO200)

 (70-200mm  f11  1/20 sec  ISO200)

(Day 284) (Not) just another sunset

No, I'm not doing a repeat of Sunset Sunday. I was walking through the field on the west side of our property while on a little photo shoot, with Sasha as company (she never complains when I dawdle). I had already captured some brilliant red sumacs in the setting sun when I walked over to the split cedar rail fence that surrounds our land to watch the sun disappear beyond the neighbour's field. As I approached it I thought it might make a suitable subject in the late day glow. This fence has certainly seen many decades of sunsets !

(10-22mm  f5  1/100 sec  ISO200)

(Day 283) You say it's your birthday !

Just as seasons mark points throughout the year, so do birthdays mark milestones in our lives. Today we celebrated the 6th (!) birthday of our oldest granddaughter, Hailey. Now, it's not quite her birthday yet - that's Oct. 18 - but since we were all together for Thanksgiving and most of the family lives a 4-hour drive away, what better time to do it. It's a milestone for her because it marks the first year of her 'formal' education - although she's been receiving an 'education' virtually since the day she was born.

We celebrated with what most of us probably still appreciate - family, balloons, and a chocolate cake, and of course, the presents came nicely wrapped, some in pretty fancy paper !

And for any of you that have had enough birthdays, this should bring back some memories. Enjoy.

(60mm  f4.5  1/13 sec  ISO800)

Now I've been a follower of Scott's photo blog for some time and I really enjoy his Sunset Sunday theme. Tonight, as 2 of our daughters were getting ready to head out on the journey back to their home, I managed to capture this sunset.

(18-55mm  f8  1/800 sec  ISO200)

(Day 282) Sharing the wealth

Sat. Oct. 9, 2010

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada which is an opportunity for families to get together to enjoy the special bonds of family, and to celebrate the blessings of another year. One of the blessings this weekend was the beautiful weather we enjoyed - a day which started out crisp but sunny and soon warmed up nicely. I took the opportunity to go with my son-in-law and granddaughter to one of my favourite places for a brief walk in the afternoon. Then the whole family, including 4 dogs, went there after dinner to shuffle through the thick layer of leaves that now cover the ground. It was good to share the beauty of this small, quiet piece of the creation.

I wish all of my Canadian friends a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend !

 (18-55mm  f5.6  1/60 sec  ISO200)

 (18-55mm  f5.6  1/800 sec  ISO800)