Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been able to make lots of progress on the stairwell to the basement. It was just a shell, basically nothing more than the frame and outside walls and roof. My vision was to put in insulation then cover that with plywood, which would give me a much more functional space. Sometimes when I see a space that's not being used for anything I get a little verklempt. Unused space is a waste.  So I went to work and this is what I now have (yes, I totally neglected to do before pictures). I'm able to hang a lot of my garden tools in this space, freeing up area in the garage. I'm thinking I might also hang my bike here, moving it out of the guest bedroom. I'm so loving having this space be functional. And the doors. Painting them then hanging them to replace the awful doors is like the icing on the cake. A few weeks ago, I guess more like a month ago now, my brother and sister-in-law stopped by on their way home from visiting their daughter i...

The weather has been quite beautiful the last couple of days. Today especially. I got up early and set out on a long walk. I wandered down to a creek not far past the village limits. When I looked to the left, I saw this:  I've seen several eagles over the past few months, and I never tire of getting a glimpse of one. I took a path into the field, with the intention of getting closer for another shot. I tried hiding behind the big oak trees and took my time going from one tree to the next, but this beauty took flight before I could get the camera up and ready.  Because it was early and the stars had shed their little glitters all over us during the night, the grass was sparkling like gems had been scattered. I wasn't sure my camera would be able to pick up the colors, but I had to try. This is what I got for my effort: Hopefully you can see all the different colored dots in the grass. The one thing about photography is sometimes what I see isn't what the camera sees. It...