On the Cutting Board

I've been intrigued by those who take photos of  food...

either while at restaurants or while preparing food in the kitchen.

A few nights ago, cooking dinner in the kitchen,

I made time for a spare minute or two to take some quick snaps.

As I was cutting up the green onions,

I kept the stringy heads from immediately going

into the trash, keeping them on the cutting board.

I took a few photos on the cutting board,

then moved them to a black plate, which didn't take long either.

The lighting is different from the counter-top to being

under the stove's hood light.

I guess what took the longest time to do was to download them!

Reviewing the photos, I choose these two

below 'cause some of the others

were either too blurry or crooked!

I did add some shadows and cropped the photos a little to cut

out the clutter of the kitchen.

(Hey, when there's a meal in progress, there's bound to be a mess)

Above, the initial thought was to take a photo to show the depth of field.

I think the photo could have been better if I had added a little bit more

space between them, stretching the lines out just a bit longer.

I like how this photo shows the

different areas of focus...

The right side of the photo is clear, while the left

is a bit fuzzy and the middle

is a complete blur.

Lawnmower Power

Can't you smell the just-cut grass?

The grass seems to grow as fast as it's

cut with all the rain we've been receiving lately.

Today, I was able to spend sometime outdoors,

listening to the chirps of the birds

and the buzzing of the cicadas 

hiding in the leafy trees.  

I watched the clouds float away

and cars roll by.

I saw the leaves of the trees

being shuffled by a light breeze.

I didn't see the grass grow while I was out there,

but I'm pretty sure by tomorrow,

I'll have noticed that too.

It was a good day,

being able to take in all of this

from my front porch.

Doggone Cute Photos

In one of my previous posts,

I introduced our dog, Shelby, a fox terrier mix.

In this photo, she's giving you the

"I've got the sweetest face ever" look that

sometimes works when she wants a treat or

just some attention.

Even though she would have preferred to remain

the only (and, thus favorite) furry pet of the house,

Shelby now has a lil' brother...Bentley!

He's about a 2 year old yorkie mix..we think :)

Bentley is playful, somewhat protective

(barks when the doorbell rings) and

just has that mischievous look about him.

He's quick to learn, likes going for walks

and is super-curious!

Aside from a little jealousy from time to time,

these two get along pretty good,

which makes life that much easier.

Curbside Caterpillar

While taking photos outside,

I noticed a little movement

out of the corner of my eye.

This lil' caterpillar was really moving too.

I scooped him up and placed him on the grass,

but by the time I got him in my sights,

he had already reached the curb.

Sometimes, 'ya gotta be quick

and even then, it's not fast enough!

After the Flood

Earlier this week, the rain kept fallin',

causing some flooding in Gruene

and surrounding areas in Texas.

The flooding occured in the early morning hours

and subsided as the day wore on.

There were many photos being
circulated online as things were happening -
it's amazing to see how fast things like that

get posted online.

I walked out to the bridge - that was recently
re-constructed to be a bit

higher to allow for tubers to safely
travel beneath it - and saw that

the water easily rose above it.

Mother Nature is a powerful force

and can be scary and amazing at the same time....