Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!

Sunday Stills - Going To The Dogs

I had fun with this challenge. Of course. How could you not, taking pictures of Hank on a warm, sunny winter afternoon :-). 

I played around with my aperture settings to determine how much of Hank and his background was in focus.  This one, just his face, with the setting sun glancing through his tail.

If you are careful how you place yourself and your subject, I think you can break the rule of keeping the sun at your back.  I think it looks nice on Hank's back :-).  He's a little shadowed, but I still love this picture.

I also have learned to bracket my shots when I'm shooting in manual mode, especially in harder light situations.  What the camera wants to read and do (in an auto mode) and what I want to do are often two completely different shots.  Since I'm still learning to use my manual settings, I'll set my shutter speed down a bit lower than I think and then click, bump it up one, click, bump it up one, click, bump it up one...and sometimes take 5 different shots that way.  I'm almost always surprised.

Click, bump it up one...

Click.

The slower shutter speed of the first shot is brighter.  The one bump faster shutter speed of the second shot gives better detail and less wash out.  Which do you like best?

The sun spot is probably not a great element and Hank is pretty shadowed, but it doesn't bother me.  The  happy look on Hank's face makes this a keeper.  Take the shots that speak to you even if they're not quite "right".

For more Sunday Stills...

Sheep Shadows

Hershey

Baby Belly

Me and Hank

The Punkin's Patch Pumpkin Party

I took the Halloween/Maisie's birthday/Christmas pumpkin out to the barn lot yesterday.  It was a huge pumpkin so heavy I used the hay cart to haul it up from the house. 

I should have just left it on the cart.

A little interest from the nosiest sheep...and chickens.

And then Hank showed up.

So Chocula split.  Does the chicken photo bomb remind you of someone?

Hank left so Chocula came back.

And Renny walked over.  These are brown sheep, not really dirty white sheep.  Sort of like my kitchen floor does have a hint of brown...  Just sayin' ;-).

"Um, we like watermelon much better."

B. Willard did actually put some in his mouth.

And a couple Adventure Chickens gave it a couple tries.

But in the end...it was a bust.  

Note Chicken No's interest in the sledge hammer.  The Graham Lamb of the chicken world...

The Christmas Eve Cookie Party

This is long and basically pretty boring, but there are some jewels in here and I decided to just let it run, rather than try to cut and piece the "good" parts.  Really, it's all good parts to me :-).  Some things to watch for if you are interested - Boudreaux and Popcorn PeePee Pants trying to fit through the side door at the same time (a classic), Maisie pounding on the outside door and then running around (still not eating cookies), someone (I think it was Woolliam) stepping on my foot, Hank (always on duty) and Graham (watch the wheels turning).  Graham, Graham, Graham...

More Merry Christmas

A Very Maisie Christmas

We didn't get enough Christmas Eve snow for the boys to build a snowman, but with the bright sunshine and beautiful blue sky, everyone was happy to enjoy breakfast in the barn yard.  Iris and Weaslie are looking on from the gray gate :-).

Maisie found a new favorite toy and kept us all entertained for quite awhile.  Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

The Punkin's Patch Office Party

I turned my back for 5 seconds this morning.  And no, I didn't leave the door open.  Well, it was apparently open enough that Hershey could wedge his fat head in and push it open enough for his fat body ;-).  That's all it took - a sheep flash mob in the hay stall... 

Chocula!

Oh, now Woolliam's in.

And here comes Graham.  Ain't a party til Graham shows up ;-).

Poor Daniel.  Always looking over his shoulder with a guilty conscience.

Oh, look!  A Jacob sheep (Heidi) thinks she's going to fight her way in that crowd of big bodies. HAHAHAHAHA

No room in the inn.  See ya, Heidi ;-).

Woolliam and Willard, bellying up to the open bar.

Hershey, way in the back.

"This party always has the best food!"

And the aftermath.

We got a dusting of snow last night (YAY!!) and I thought I'd be taking and posting pictures of that, but a little impromptu fun wins out every time.  I have a cookie party planned for this evening and I'm taking my video camera.  If everything works, I'll post it before bed :-).

 

Christmas Eve 2013

While Visions Of Sugar Plums...

I heart sleepy sheepies :-).

Sunday Stills - Holiday Lights

Tucked in by our front door.

For more Sunday Stills...

The God Of Simple Shepherds

The dental woes continue.  I ended up having to drive to the "big city" almost an hour away yesterday for a fit-in lunchtime appointment.  They took a couple looks at me and passed me off to a specialist.  Who was kind enough to fit me in that day...but at the end of the day. 

But wait, let's back up a few hours.  The person I'd woven the throw for was planning on coming out to pick it up yesterday morning.  I called her to say I'd just have to leave it inside the door for her as I had an emergency dental appointment scheduled at a dentist at Hamburg and was going to have to leave immediately to get there in time.

"That's where I live.  I could throw a rock at Hamburg!  Can you bring it with you?"  Of course!

So, now I'm sitting in a dentist chair (one of my least favorite places to be), not on my farm (one of my favorite places to be), in the "big city" (not one of my favorite places) at a mega huge shopping center (a place I avoid like the plague) and they're telling me I'm going to have to hang out here for 4 1/2 hours before an (oh joy) emergency root canal.

It's too far to go home and come back.

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, well, I'll get some lunch and drop off the throw and then I guess I'll run to the bookstore and try to amuse myself for while.  I called Nancy to let her know I was on the way and mentioned I had my camera with me in case she'd like me to take a picture of the throw with the sheep it came from.  The throw is to be a Christmas gift for her mother.

"Oh great!  They just got back.  Kathy (of Lamb Camp fame) is here dropping them off (from being at her farm getting bred) and picking up a ram."  This is just not the sort of conversation you expect to be having with someone who "lives at Hamburg" ("the largest shopping and dining area in Central Kentucky") .  And here I was, the country mouse, scared all alone in the big city, facing a horrid afternoon, finding myself five minutes away from a good friend, surrounded by sheep.

I didn't really know what to expect.  I only knew Nancy casually, but she raises a lot of Kathy's bottle lambs...  Let me just say, if I pull up to your house and you have a roll bale on your tennis court with two adorable donkeys and a group of old retired sheep chomping down?  That throw has a good home :-D.

Two big galloofing happy guard dogs :-D.

The throw girls - we used the fleeces from the ones in front and back.  That's their mother in the middle I think.

Everyone checking it out.  That sheep climbing up to get a better look just cracks me up :-D.

Look at that face on the right.  "Bleck, colored wool.  She should have used my white wool!"

"Don't listen to her.  I think it looks pretty."

The retirement field has its own retired dog.

And a funny faced old wether :-).

Love the speckled noses!

Going out to check on her sheep.  Do you see both dogs?

Look at this funny face :-D.

And this pretty one.

"Eat your heart out Ramsey and Emma."  ;-)

And horses!

And that's not all.  There were sheep everywhere!  The Border Collie puppy had "herded" a couple of these ;-).

In the dining room.   Do you see the carolers?

And this room didn't have any more sheep than any of the other rooms.

Everywhere! 

And this?  Not her house, but a room in her amazing doll house.

The dining room, complete with miniature Hadley pottery plates of horses and sheep! 

 

Even the miniature cradle has sheep pillows!!!

I could have taken 100 pictures and you'd still not seen all the sheep - inside and out!  It was fabulous.  Where was the one place I wanted/needed to be as I was sitting there in the dentist chair?  I spent my afternoon as near to that place as I possibly could.  

Amen.