2010-09-26 No Problem. Climb On.

OK, so the bad news is my SD card has given out and all I have is my cell phone to take pictures with. I ordered a couple of new ones so I have backups.

The good news is that the first picture is a classic. It's a crappy camera on these Blackberries, but I had to capture this. (He had major red-eye, so I tried to clean that up with some software, but now he looks like an alien...I know, I know!)


Pippin had been playing with a bone, when he flipped it over my leg and it sat on the bed between my knees. I felt his tension as he realized it was no longer in his possession. First, I felt one paw, then another, then he leant his whole body on my back as he stared at his bone.

Finally, with a lot of slow balanced steps, he literally climbed up on my back, sitting on a back and butt to stare down at his bone, trying to determine how he was going to get at it. This made my shake with laughter, which of course made him wobble as hat sat on top of me.

He's only ever done this one other time, and my friend was able to grab a photo.

He finally got off, jumped over my legs and got the object of his affections back. Thank you, cell phone camera.

2010-09-25 Zen Garden Construction

Well, it's a volunteer-heavy week. Yesterday, I worked on one charity and now on another. Today, we're creating a zen garden for an organization that the Junior League supports.


Locally, our League started a nature center back in the 60s, in order to provide education to children in schools regarding the natural environment of this area. We spun it off into its own non-profit and today it's a Nature Center and Planetarium. Occasionally, we go back and do little projects for them...the zen garden was so that the center could provide meditation classes in a natural environment.

OK, to be frank: this sh*t was HARD!

You have no idea how may tree roots had to be hacked up to create the new plantings and install the fountains. Oy! I was exhausted. Ended up coming home, showering, and taking a nap.

2010-09-24 It's All for the Kids

So, I accepted a volunteer position as president of a local children's charity board. I've been on the board about 5 years and this year they asked me to be president. I was not sure if I wanted to do this...in some ways I take the responsibility seriously, and I do feel sort of young to be asked to do this, but I guess by this time, I'm one of the people who has served longest on the board, and some part of my skill-set has been useful to the organization.

Today I was inaugurated as president, in front of all these people!


We had our annual meeting and awards, and we also culminated our Infant Mortality Awareness Month activity, which included a pinwheel garden to represent babies who died in our service area.


We had a wonderful speaker who discussed her experience with her son, who died of SIDS. She kicked off an awesome campaign to teach people to put infants to sleep on their back. It's a onesie that you put on the baby with "This Side Up" on the belly area. Every baby born in a birthing hospital this year will receive one courtesy of our organization.

2010-09-22 Tiles

I love tiles.


Even if they're not properly in focus...sorry about that.

But anyway, if I could totally re-make my house, I would use a lot of Spanish tile and mosaics. They just make me happy...maybe it's my Spanish heritage coming through. When I was little, we used to visit family in Coral Gables, Florida, which has a lot of houses built in the Spanish style, with clay tile floors and mosaics around the fireplace. Makes me sad to think of how many people have probably torn all those original decorations out, in a fit of "modernization." I'll just pretend they're all still there.

2010-09-19 Explanations

Imagine explaining to the tiny old lady who works at my favorite Japanese place why you are taking pictures of their lighting.


She's a super-sweet lady, and when we used to come to this place much more frequently, she would come over and coo over my friends' babies, patted our backs as she served the tea and generally treated us in a friendly way. However, while she does it, she is usually yelling at her highest level. This is just how she talks. Like if she just speaks louder, she can get over the language barrier. And we find ourselves talking loudly, too.

Lady: Hallo! HOW YOU?
Me: Good, good!
Lady: YOU FRIENDS NO COME?
Me: Not tonight...BUT THEY WILL COME NEXT WEEK!
Lady: OK! YOU TELL I MISS!!
Me: YES! YES! I WILL TELL! (now, I'm speaking like her)

Oy. She's like an Asian version of my mom.

2010-09-18 Captured Light

I stopped to capture a sunset today.


This time of year, as fall sets in, the humidity leaves the air, and we're left with beautiful evenings where you want to stop and admire the sunset, because you're not desperate to get to the next place with air conditioning!

2010-09-15 Posers

I need people to pose for me! My photography class asks that I bring in 5 pictures of people each week, and honestly I'm having trouble. I work from home, so I'm not always out and about. But the lady that occasionally does my facials is very friendly and she agreed to pose for me in her facial room.


What a good sport... she was even willing to use props!


This gadget is used on the skin to kill bacteria, and occasionally she uses it on me to reduce inflammation. It feels really weird on your skin, but it looks like she's a mad scientist!

2010-09-14 Projecting

We're really rolling along with the training of our new Junior League members. Here, one of my committee members (far left), speaks to the new members about their project.

This year, we will be working on updating a local youth center and creating a study and recreation area for the youngsters that use the center.

Looking forward to seeing our group take on this challenge as they train to become members of our League!

2010-09-13 Name that Food

OK, $50 if you know what this is:


Well, not $50. Maybe $.50. Fiddy cent. [amusing self]

These are malanga. And they are tasty! I love when my grocery carries them because I do love to make these. To cook them you peel off the brown outside. You are left with creamy white potato-like substance. I like to boil it, and then when it's really soft, I make a mashed potato dish with olive oil. It's creamy and kind of earthy and delicious. I remember eating this when I felt sick. My mom would make this for me and, to this day, I crave malanga when I'm under the weather.

2010-09-11 Game Day

Nine years ago today was a world-changing day, and when I woke up this morning, I recalled the memories of the scene playing out in front of our windows at the office. It was good to know that now I can think of it with some perspective, but I wasn't planning on spending the day in sadness. I have plans to watch some football.

It's nice to watch football in a communal setting. I won't sit and watch by myself, but I love going to a bar to watch the Gators play. Many of my friends are also fans of my school, but some of my friends are part-time fans! My friend Shirley and her niece will always watch a Florida game, but when Shirley's team (USF) plays my team(UF), well...let's just say she was praying that her team would just score once!!

It wasn't pretty.


But she was a good sport...and that's what makes game-day fun!

2010-09-09 What's Your F-Stop?

Ugh. I did not know I was going to have to do math in photography class!


Well, its not so much math, but it's definitely numbers. In my class, one of the most confusing concepts is that the lower your F-stop, the wider your aperture. And you always have to remember the right wording. To "increase" your aperture, you lower the number. I don't like this -- whomever made up this system is making my brain boil.

Then, the higher your shutter speed number, the faster the lens will open and close. OK. Normal. That makes sense.

Now combine the two. When adjusting for light conditions, use this handy-dandy guide to determine how to set your F-stop and shutter speed, and...ugh, I fell over.

2010-09-08 Ridin with my Homey

Me and Pippin are taking a ride today...sometimes I feel bad that I don't take him more places to socialize him better.


But he occasionally wants to sit in my lap while I drive, and that's NOT gonna happen...see that paw sneaking up as if he might crawl over without me knowing? Sneaky.

2010-09-07 Staring at Flowers

I've hardly seen such an interesting flower as this one...


Yes, I know it's some common type of hibiscus. But the two colors in the same flower just fascinate me. Up close, the reddish tones of the center almost make it look like if you touched it, the color would come off, like lipstick. While the outside is such a delicate peachy tone, it looks as soft as is feels.

I had to climb past some bushes to look at these and they really surprised me because they were such vivid colors. Should took a cutting...

2010-09-06 Fading World

I continue today with a photo I actually took yesterday, because yesterday was a BIG photo day, and I had something left over to share. These are two shots of a part of "old Florida" that is fading away...so I hope I can capture it for the future.

On my way home from the Muck-About, we pulled over to take this shot of America's Smallest Post Office.


This post office was made in 1953 after a fire destroyed the area's "real" post office. It was converted from an irrigation shed, and today a postal worker sits in there with her computer and her air conditioner and serves primarily the Native American Seminole and Miccosukee tribes living nearby.

And of course, I can't end a trip without seeing some giant animal made out of fiberglass, so please enjoy this 12-foot high Florida Panther...you're welcome.

2010-09-05 A Swampy Day

Well today is a BIG day for pictures...today I walked up to my waist in a swamp! Why? I'll tell you...

Last year, I went to a photography exhibit that really inspired my interest in cameras and taking photos. In a way, I would not be doing this photo blog if I had not gone to this exhibit. I went to see the photography of Clyde Butcher.

Clyde specializes in large-format photography of America's unique natural environments...from the western mountains and forests to the "sea of grass" of the Everglades. Clyde makes his home in Florida and has a gallery on US 41 in the Everglades. After I attended that first gallery show, my friend Ana told me she and her family would be going down to the Butcher gallery to partake in an annual event called the "Muck-About." Each year, the Butchers open their property around the gallery to the public and engage local guides to give people in-depth tours of the swamp.

Now, many people would not even go near a swamp, and most of my life I've been one of those people, so when Ana encouraged me to do it, I demurred, saying I had something else going on for Labor Day, which was true! But she returned and described the experience in glowing terms, so I said that I would join her next year.

So, fast-forward a year to my nephew's wedding in July. I was sitting next to my sister-in-law, saying that I really was enjoying photography and that I was very inspired by Butcher's work. Lo and behold, she said, "I actually own two of his signed prints." Wha?? We started talking and she told me that a woman in an old junk shop had made her an amazing deal for these prints without any of them knowing that they were worth 10 times what she bought them for. Amazing! So I talked about possibly going to do the Muck-About, and she said she would go with me. Bang!! Awesome!!

Tiny fast-forward to today, where my SIL and I got up early, made a picnic, loaded our car with a change of clothes, bug spray, hats, towels and everything we would need to both walk in the swamp and recover from walking in the swamp. We drove down to the gallery, registered and, dressed in our old sneakers and jeans and t-shirts, we headed to the swamp entrance.


Then we joined our guide...Bob. Hi, Bob.


Bob is a botanist and specializes in the plant ecosystems of my fine state. What he doesn't know about the plants and life in the Everglades probably ain't worth knowing. Bob gave us the ins and outs about our tour, showed us to use our walking sticks in front of us to feel our way in the water, and then promptly jumped in and encouraged us to come, too.

The rest of the trip had us seeing this swamp from every angle, and considering how much each plant and animal depended on the others. We saw the very high...


And the lowest of the low...


We saw the flora...


And a tiny bit of fauna...(which was plenty, in this case)


At the end we dragged ourselves out of this beautiful, silent and watery world...


But even though we were tired after 2 hours of climbing and slogging, we were proud of ourselves, and felt ourselves simultaneously "masters of all we surveyed" and humbled by the knowledge that we're just a small part of this world. So, if someone ever asks you to get in a swamp, don't think twice. Jump in.

2010-09-04 Company Cake

I'm expecting company...my brother and sister in law are coming over to go on a Swamp Walk tomorrow. So I thought a little cake was in order...this is a banana cake, which we went to town on!


Tomorrow's event will be epic! More tomorrow...

2010-09-03 Evening Light

I love the end of the day...kind of around 5 or 6pm. I think since I'm a "night person," this is sort of the time of day I feel most active. But I really love the light at that time of the day...and living in an area with a lot of trees, lets you enjoy the dappling of the sun through the leaves. Love it.

2010-09-01 Pippin Face

Of course Pippin is one of my favorite subjects to shoot, and this month will be sort of Pippin-heavy since I was not "out there" shooting due to some technical difficulties.



This is one of my favorite "poses" - sometimes when I'm walking around the bedroom, to and fro, he sort of lays on the bed and just watches me walk around. Kinda like he's watching some sort of tennis game. And finally when I leave the room, he gets really alert, wondering if he needs to jump off the bed and follow me.

In this case, I had my little camera and turned it on just when I walked out to see if he would turn my way, then I slipped back in the room and snapped it. He was on full alert. "Where did she go? Is she coming back?"

Yes, little dog, I'm always coming back.