After downpours here that seeped into the basement followed by a coating of snow last night, I’m in the mood for some of the glories of Autumn. So here is a picture of tree in my neighborhood that was gorgeous this fall.
Archive for category Photos
Tree Blogging
Jan 8
Dog Blogging
Jan 8
I know the tradition that Fridays are for Cat Blogging, but I have no idea when you’re supposed to dog blog. So I’m going to do mine on Saturday:
He loves pillows.
Vacation Act 1 Scene 2
Oct 23
At the rate I’m posting the summer vacation pictures, I won’t be done before the next one. Anyway, we crammed a lot into our first full day in Colorado. First, we went to the Denver Botanic Gardens in the morning. Then we went to Casa Bonita for lunch. The pictures from there didn’t turn out, but it’s a giant (and I don’t throw that term around loosely) Mexican restaurant complete with game room, gift shop, and cliff divers. To walk off lunch, we visited Red Rocks state park outside Denver. After the park, we went and visited the Drews at their house in Boulder. They fixed us a mighty fine dinner and it was nice to meet Christina and catch up with Carl again. On vacation, you cram it in until you’re exhausted, then you get up and do it again the next day, and the next day, until finally you get home and go back to work so you can rest up.
Yes, this is the location of Red Rocks Ampitheatre:
The rocks were a lot bigger in person:
We hiked down the hill in front of the rocks, and then back up the hill behind the rocks. The trail was only supposed to be a couple of miles, but there was no end in sight of the rocks as we were going down the hill, and we knew we couldn’t be more than half way there until we circled behind and started back up the hill. It must have been the thin air and thick lunch:
Thankfully, the day was sort of overcast, or it would have been really hot that day. The rocks sure were impressive:
The Murphy Women are lookin’ good through it all:
The trail at last came to an end, and so too do the pictures. I hope you aren’t as tired at the end as we were, but the cold sodas on the back patio were delightful.
Whitewater Rafting
Sep 6
When we were in Colorado we went whitewater rafting on the Cache La Poudre river and had a blast. I can recommend Wanderlust rafting — and try to get Kate as your guide, because she is not only good at the rafting part, she’s a lot of fun too (if you value your dryness, don’t splash her first) and good with children. Look for the green rafting helmet. They take pictures of your trip and for a fee will provide you with either individual shots or the whole set. I plumped for the whole set on CD so you don’t have to. We did the taste of wild as the other trips had age restrictions that would have left the Fruit of the Murphy Loins behind.
Some people always seem to know where the camera is and play to it. The two littlest fruit are mine; I’m the guy with the Pancho Villa mustache (since trimmed, thankfully), and my better half is the gal behind the Foster Grants.
Stroke, stroke, stroke, … Boy, that Kate sure was a slave driver!
Yeeaaaagghhhhhh!!!!! A trip like this lets your inner Dean out (whether you want it out or not).
The other Fearless Leader and Kate are chatting away like they’re in the line at the grocery store. Women.
Whitewater is fun. No, they didn’t teach us that display paddle position — it just comes naturally.
Well, I made it all the way to the end without a gratuitous Clinton joke about Whitewater. Good luck on a speedy recovery Bill!
If you get a chance, you should go rafting too as it is too much fun to be legal for much longer.
Vacation Act 1, Scene 1
Aug 18
We stayed in Denver for 3 days on vacation. We did a lot of fun things there, but the very first thing we did was visit the Denver Botanic Garden. It is a lot more compact than the Missouri Botanical Garden, but still a joy to visit. I’m taking you on a visit through the magic of digital photography.
They had a wonderful Mediterranean garden with these cool pastel washed columns:
I know this is a cliched shot, but this cluster of viburnum berries was too pretty to pass up:
They had a high impact — more in person than in photo — red border inspired by Kew Gardens (I’m not sure what all the sculpture was inspired by):
Seemingly every body of water in Colorado had lilies, but at least these were in bloom:
They had an english cottage garden, and this was the yellow section:
These are not giant speakers, but a fountain that wasn’t on. The view wasn’t much better when it was on, but the sound sure was: 
No display garden is complete without a Japanese garden, so here is the Denver version:
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
Back In The Saddle Again
Aug 14
The Murphy Family has returned refreshed and renewed from the mountains. And with views like this one, how else could we have returned? It’s not like I had to endure 2 days of hearing the Fruit of the Murphy Loins cooped up in the van tell each other “Don’t touch me” a hundred times a day. OK, I did. But just look at the view. And when they went with “Don’t touch me in any way, shape, or form”, that almost made me smile. Almost.
\You can almost hear the wind whisper in the trees. I did.
Mighty Casey
Jul 9
Nighttime shot with a digital camera of exciting sports action. OK, he didn’t strikeout, but he did miss this pitch. And I didn’t get the exact shot I wanted, but then digital cameras (in my price range anyway) don’t give split second control over the shutter. I suppose I should use the “movie” feature, start earlier, and pick the exact frame I want. I’ll try that next year, as mighty Casey’s season is over and swimming has started. And yes, those are soccer shoes he’s wearing — that’s what comes after swimming.
This weeks entry for Picture Envy
Portrait of the Artist
Jun 26
This old picture is from my college days. I’m the dweeb on the right, Carla is on the left. This picture does more than bring back fond memories; it illustrates something important in photography, which is why I’m including it in this week’s Picture Envy. You can’t tell it, but I’m holding a couple of disgusting oil stained paper bags filled with left over pizza. I put one behind Carla’s back and I held my other arm out and the photographer framed the shot without it. If the photographer had centered us better, you’d have seen even less of my arm, but they did such a nice job with the greenery at the top of the frame I can’t complain. So the point is this – framing is important for both what is included as well as what’s not included.
Friday On The Road With Ali
Jun 18
This photo is from my long ago sojurn in Pakistan. What can I say? I was young, experimental, and I thought taking black and white photo’s had edge. This mythic shot depects the journey of linear thought along the road to nowhere in the arid plane of logic. Or it could just be somebody riding a donkey along a dusty road.
Another photo entry for Unbillable Hours Picture Envy
Little Man in Big Shot
Jun 11
In 1997 we vacationed in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Kyle was fascinated by the birds at the beach. It was just one of the many things he loves about the beach.
I’m putting this shot up in honor of a new photo carnival. Now we’ll see if I have time to actually enter it.
Link Via Da Goddess
