Cross country event

I got to go to Elko Ga to take photos of a cross country meet. I went with Gary and it was raining at first then man oh man was it muggy! This is the first race, junior girls, and their start.
I saw these shoes and wondered if they were magic or something- they sure are red.

One of the many young ladies running in the races today

This guy was on his last (of two) laps for the varsity mens race. He was pushing through some pain from somewhere.

There were four schools there and four races were ran. Congrats to each child that ran today. It takes a lot to run, let alone to enjoy what you do. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Gary for a fun day.

Amazing Clouds

I thought this looked like a cat or Cheetah or some creature in running motion

The clouds this morning were just ..wow. I came in and got my camera and snapped a few of them. The texture and motion of the clouds were too cool not to.

Brasstown Bald Beauty

We headed out early Saturday 20 Oct to Brasstown Bald. We had never been there and it was suppose to be a lovely day temp wise and I had hoped some color would be out. When we go further up Hwy 129, my hopes were more than I could have wanted. This was taken standing down in the parking lot looking up to the top of the mountain. This is suppose to be the tallest spot in Ga.
Wonderful colors bathed the trees and shrubs

The winding roads were fun. There were a lot of cars as well as motorcycles going up and down the road. It was a perfect day for it.

It is nice finding paths to follow when they look like this

This was a small creek we paused at on the side of the road. We ate a snack and just enjoyed the sights, sounds and watching the people drive by us. Get out and see the world around you. There are many parks and hiking places to take your family and pets. Make memories and live.

Atlanta Botanical Garden- Scarecrows

Fall is such a wonderful time of the year; cooler temps, lovely fall colors and the natural scenery is remarkable. Christy and I went to the Atlanta Botanical Garden for their Scarecrow displays. We had fun taking photos of the scarecrows as well as the flowers and scenery.
This is a cool scarecrow that was welded together wonderfully. He has a lot of pumpkins surrounding him.

I always love the frog pong. They are HUGE and usually sit well for photos. We got to take a few here and this was one that turned out rather well. Thanks Froggie!

This was one of the glass sculptures that were on display. This one happen to be in one of the huge outer fountains that werent working with water in it. We took several of these. This is just a snippet of the section. The sculpture itself is rather large and very cool.

This was in the orchid house. It is part of a pitcher plant. I loved the curl of the leaves/petals and the contrasting color of red against the green. I didnt want the entire plant blossom, just a section and I really liked how it turned out.

This was one of the scarecrows in the orchid house. I immediately thought of Grateful Dead. Wonder why! They did a good job on this and the others throughout the gardens. Some really took a good deal of thought to produce. Various corporations and organizations made the scarecrows and had them on display throughout the garden area. While we were there, they were also in the middle of changing over some of the planter's floral arrangments, making them more fall plantings. Take the time to go by there either soon or next Spring. Its a lovely place to walk through, see the fountains, the flowers and enjoy the kids area as well.

Texas Trip

I'm back! Man did I have an amazing time in Texas. First though- I wish to thank my wonderful host Doug (Xalyth) for showing me around and being such a super friend and companion on my trip there.

Thursday my flights went well and I made it to the airport. We went to Galveston to the sea wall and saw some folks fishing, surfing and just having fun in the ocean. We went to Cherry Hill and saw some dude catch a huge huge fish! We then went to Moody Gardens and visited their Aquarium area and Atrium area. I took heaps more photos don't ya know! We ate at my new favorite Mexican restaurant-Tortugas! Then we went to visit Joe (Mikal/Serge) and his wife Tiffany and their son Joshua.

Friday we ate breakfast then headed off to San Jacinto Battlegrounds, saw Flat Stanley and then the battleship USS Texas. The Flat Stanley thing is an older couple was there with this hand drawn shape of a little boy/male drawing. It was decorated by someone else and sent to them through their grandson to have his picture taken in Texas. Then the grandparents are to make their own "Flat Stanley" but in true Texas fashion and then send it on to another state for the same thing. It was rather cute an idea. After the battleship tour, we ate at Chic-fil-a , we stopped at Kemah Boardwalk to walk around the coastline park there. Next we headed back towards Galveston to ride the Ferry. THAT was fun! This was also when my friend and host, Doug, shown his Knightly manners and took a bullet for me. Some people below had come prepared to feed the seagulls with a bag of bread. So they worked up the feeding frenzy. Well you know you put something in and something has to come out. He shown his quickness of mind and hand and saved me from the fatal blow! Thanks Doug! You're the best! We worked up an appetite and made our way towards our DDO Dinner meeting spot- Texas Roadhouse Steakhouse. We met up with Jason and his wife Andrea as well as Chris and his wife Cindy. After a yummy meal (I had catfish mmm!), we headed back to see Chris and Cindy's mass of girls (they have four between them) and visited there for a bit. I fell asleep in the car on the 45 min drive back- I was tired!

Saturday was great! We ate breakfast and made the 1.5 hour drive one way (Poor Doug's butt and all that driving) towards Magnolia Texas for the Renaissance Fair there. Oh that was so much fun! Chris, Cindy and Julie were in garb and I had to buy myself a hat (Jester one ya know!). We watched a pirate show, some pre jousting fun and a comedy skit (Sounds of Fury I think. They were a PG-13 rated funny show) and this man that plays the bells- Cast and Bronze. Its a huge thing similar to a piano type deal but its bells cast and different shapes from tiny to huge. It was so cool. I took a lot more pictures too! Awesome costumes, good food and lots of fun. The trip back towards Kemah was easy enough and once we got there, we walked the boardwalk some and picked out a place to go eat- Cadillac Grill. While eating there (Man was all those places busy!), we watched the many boats 'cruising' the harbor area. We hung out there eating, yammering and watching the boats until dark then we went on our photo quest- low shutter speed testing with colorful amusement park rides!

Sunday I had to do some packing and get myself ready. We ate breakfast and headed to the airport. My flights back were pretty easy and it was a long day. I was in the bed by 10:30 pm! It was a wonderful adventure with great friends in a lovely place on this earth. I thank everyone for such a splendid time. My photos will be in flickr once I finally get through all 685 of them and select which ones to put there! hehe

I will work on adding photos soon- Im still working through all 685 pics!

More Ga State Fair

Carousel horses are always so colorful and fun
One of the several mules there demonstrating how to plow/till with mule teams

This was too cute. This little filly was playing with the lady's number on her back

This is a Grand Champion Paso Fino demonstrating the gates of the horse. He is beautiful and only 4 yrs old!

I will be taking some tonight in the dark with the lights of the fair so if any good ones turn out, I will add them here. Wish me luck!

Georgia State Fair- Perry Ga

Lovely Saddlebred

I love the close up detail on the equipment. Thought this made a cool picture.

This little cowboy was too adorable. He was in the walk lead line 4-5 yr old Saddlebred show.

I loved these cute whistles

These yummy slushy machines were irresistable with their color and perfect lines for DoF photo.

I loved the colors and shapes for this honey taste/display area in one of the buildings.

Jorge and Cicero were working the Super Himalayas ride- nice guys go say hello to them! Tell them you saw them on Donna's site hehe

The photos included are some of my favorite ones thus far from the fair.

I am loving the fair being here. It gives lots of chances to try new things, different settings and your hard to do photographs. I have a time in low lighting and motion, so with this cloudy weather hanging around the fair, it gives me the time to practice in a fun way. Ive been taking many photos: food, vendors, game area, and the shows (Horses and other livestock). I have gone to the fair several times already to take different things and Tuesday night, I get to try my hand and the lights at night. I want to thank Michelle Treptow for giving me 3-1 day passes to come in more than once to take photos. And thanks to Gary Harmon for letting me tag along with him tomorrow night.