green

 

Header Challenge:green

July 3, 2013

Today's challenge is green.  It was my pick, and to be honest, I didn't have any clear ideas in mind prior to the selection, but I figured it would be easy for us to find something good in green, whether new or from the archives.  What you see here then is pretty raw.  Last week I spent time with my parents at a time share, and the tinted water on the manicured golf course struck me funny, like it was fake scenery, so I took a picture.  Except for the border and text, the image is SOOC (straight out of the camera).  Oh, and I obviously cropped it to the 16 x 8 format I like to use for my headers. Check out my  pals for their interpretations on this theme: Fishing  Guy, Katney, Imac and Lew.

[click on any picture to enlarge... especially the macros]

This one may be a bit overbaked.  I still like it because the color saturation makes it pop!  I didn't pick it for the header because it exceeds reality too much for my taste.

The depth & focal zoom for this carpetball setup is interesting, yes?

It's a nice touch when bloggers give specific names of bugs & stuff, so we'll call this character "Bob."

And this fella is "Todd."

I have little toys decorating my work cubicle.

I like these so much better than the flowers and stuff at other work stations.

The Green Knight and a young admirer.

More green?  Yes, please & tanks.

gnostic tollbooth

The pic here looks more like Fall to me, but it was taken on Saturday. I liked the rich colors that remain in the leaves and the reflected light in the water.

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Driving up to Wisconsin Saturday, we passed a few toll booths. I don't know whether people give them a rough time about the prices, but my observations of human nature suggests that there are grumbles-a-plenty from lots of travelers. I sympathize with people who are frustrated at the ever-increasing fees from a charge that was initially supposed to be temporary, but the person inside that spacious, luxurious and stimulating booth is not the person who decided to overcharge us. I see no reason to take our frustrations out on them.

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When I greeted the attendant at the first booth, I reported that the vehicle in front of me had a bumper sticker from a rival sports team and asked whether the vehicle was penalized with a doubled fee. The attendant smiled and said, "Yep, got it." I like how he played along, and my passengers laughed.

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Nothing clever or snappy sprang to mind at the next booth, but I greeted the attendant with a big smile and enthusiastic, "Hi, Robert!" Normally, the attendant echoes back some of that cheer with a simple "Have a nice day," accompanied by a freshly cracked smile. He said something different. He said, "What's the word?" No one told me that I had to be ready with "the word." I thought all I had to do was hand him a couple of bucks. Now there's a PASSWORD, too?!! What an odd greeting. What's next, a secret handshake? That's too much pressure. I couldn't think a quick to answer that. On the way back to Illinois, I was so afraid of not knowing the secret password, that I just stuck to a perfunctory, "Hello."

frogger

I frequently drive past an amusing spot. It amuses me because this large area has three distinct sections. First, there is a small woodsy preserve, then a marshy preserve, and finally a good-sized plot where they'll probably build a shopping center. Smack in the middle of the marsh, there is a bare tree with large nests, and I noticed a big bird in there while driving past, but it's not in an area that is easy to pull over and park, so I did not get a good look at it until Friday. I was driving in the opposite direction, and I had assumed that it was a silhouette of a heron or egret.

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Friday morning, anticipating a bird in that tree, I found a place to pull over. Then, I put the biggest lens on the camera, mounted it on the tripod, and hauled that across a dangerous street. It's four lanes of 40 mph in a spot where the road curves. (40 mph posted means the cars really go 50 or more*) It felt like playing Frogger, but I made it across and back and lived to tell the story, so that's good, right?

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Now, when I was across this street, I came to a construction fence. Long story short, there was no way to get any closer to the bird I was looking at. The sun was behind me, and I could see now, that it was no silhouette, but that my bird was black. Maybe a vulture, I thought. I snapped a few pics, and when I got to the office, I tried to identify it. It is a Double-crested Cormorant. I have never noticed that bird here before, but maybe I just wasn't looking.

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On Saturday, I saw one on a lake. That would have been a nice one, if I could get it. Plus, it was in a spot where I didn't have to endanger my life, trying to get to it. I pulled over and it immediately flew away. (grrr...) Not wanting to waste an opportunity, I took pics of some Mallards. Then I saw them... up in a tree. There were four of them taking a mid-morning nap. I stood at the closest bank across the little lake and captured the image below. It's not perfect, but better than what I got the day before. It would have been so cool to get a fishing shot. Maybe another time.

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[click to enlarge]

*Metric conversion: 40 mph = 64 kph, and 50 mph = 80 kph