Meet otis!

On the road again to Hesperia last night:



Clapton has a new obsession: Otis, a stray cat that has moved in with Erin's parents.



He's incredibly adorable and friendly, though he doesn't take to well to the dog's obnoxious attentions.

The reason for the trip was so that Erin could get some tips on how to use her new sewing machine:



It snowed quite a bit this morning and the drive back was horrendous. I wanted to take some shots with my new 21mm lens though, so I took advantage of the K20D's weather sealing:



Here is the "pond" frozen over (though as Clapton found out, it wasn't terribly thick ice):

Grand sweeping recap

Of the last several weeks, over the duration of which I have been both incredibly busy at work and incredibly busy behind my new camera. So where to begin?

I think I need to start at Christmas. Second Christmas, I mean. This took place at my parents' house on the 26th of December (just in time for Boxing Day). We had breakfast for dinner, and opened presents at night, so it was mentally quite confusing.



My sister decided to wrap the present with lots of bows. I don't know, she's got a wacky sense of humor just like me. I remember we used to wrap gifts in such a way that it was obnoxiously difficult for my parents to open them. Good times!



My mom opening up a very hilarious gift. She gave us all quite a good first piano recital later!

It got warmer. For a day or two, and the melted snow floated just off the ground in a thick fog.



New Year's Eve was at Patrick's friend James' place. Quite fun. I had too much to drink though.



I think the girls played Partini a kind of Cranium aimed at adults.



The girls came by a week later and had (hopefully) a fun time at our place. I think they played Mad Gab this time.



We visited Kirk and Michele and the kids for dinner. Mike showed up as well, and I got to jam on Caden's new guitar. Here are the girls!



It thawed again. It would be the warmest all month, as we went on to arctic, frigid temperatures.



I went with my parents to a hot rod show at Devos Place the convention center here.



I saw Liz working the ticket booth!



My Dad and I had a great time taking photographs of all the crazy, tricked out vintage automobiles.



Aaron came back to Grand Rapids for a week to study for a job interview in Boston that is actually taking place today (good luck man!).



Unhappily for him he managed to show up in the worst winter period that I can remember, and at least since I've been home. Usually when it's below zero it doesn't snow, right?

And yet...



This was taken on the way to Hesperia. The next day it was actually quite warm (read: above 15 degrees Fahrenheit) and I got to go outside. Luckily I had Lou's trusty farm-and-fleet boots, because the snow was deep!



It may seem like a crazy time to shave my head, but I need to run on the treadmill and all that hair gets very annoying. From a buzz cut to shaving it down all the way with a razor was not a huge leap, though it did require Erin to help snip down some of the excess with scissors before the Mach 5 could manage its sweet, vibrational duty.



I guess now I'm officially an egghead. (courtesy of Not Appealing)

And that brings us up to the present. Finally.

A balmy sunday indeed

I wanted to share this: the White River, mostly frozen over.



I'm trying my best to get the hang of manual focus over long distances, and optimal apertures for landscape work.

Also, stay tuned for an epic post tomorrow, which will essentially fold the past two weeks up into one single entry (undoubtedly glossing over many important details in the process, but... I have been busy, and make no apologies).

I'll let this one slide

The first one never depresses me. I can't say the same thing about the subsequent occurrences.







Thank goodness we just got the brakes fixed on the car we're driving home later.

I go for a kayak

Headed out on the white river yesterday in Jayne's excellent kayak.



Kayaking is fun, except when you are trying to take pictures. Then it floats too much, and you have to beach yourself to get that shot you want.



Then, of course, getting free again can be a problem, especially when you have a camera around your neck that you're trying to avoid exposing to any moisture.



Being out on the river is quite relaxing. Especially drifting, while you listen to the birds and the reeds and the water.


Drifting from ILoveVerdi on Vimeo.

In the end I was forced to exit the kayak and drag it back through the 5 inch deep water. Still, quite fun.

Natural habitat

Erin decided that Clapton really needed a kiddie pool to wade in while he was outside. I had to capture the moment in video:


Don't Pee In It from ILoveVerdi on Vimeo.

Edit: This is post #200!

Digging

Well we thought we were going to be setting up a fence, but that will have to wait for another day. Clapton is hardly disappointed though; he got to go for a swim and loves being up in Hesperia!



I did get to take some fun pictures, even though it rained quite a bit. Everything is growing profusely due to that precipitation.



Here's a rare self-portrait. I think I need a shave and a haircut.



Birdbath on the back porch.



Erin and Lou in another heated Nemastil discussion. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree sometimes...



This is the Pollen Nation.



I think we got these for Jayne on St. Patrick's day.



Curtis and Cassie came by to help dig the electrical line ditch out to the garage. It started pouring though so we came in for lemonade. (thanks Erin!)



I feel like I'm a 6 year-old again. Yay dirt!



Ok I'm going to be selfish here. The last two are just photos I am kind of proud of. One:



And two:



Ok, the rain has stopped, it's time to finish our little ditch. Hopefully nobody will hit any gas or water or cable lines!

Croton

The wife and I and Clapper (that's Clapton's nickname, one of many) stopped at Croton dam on our way up to the in-laws'.



I took the opportunity to dig out my camera, which I haven't done very much for the last two weeks. So excuse me if these are a little wannabe artsy.



It is such a nice day today! Upper 80s, humid, but for some reason I don't care at all and am enjoying the heat.



This is kind of scary. There were a few of these posted around.



I like this photo a lot, I'm not sure why.



One more, of the great old brick building.

Stormy evening skies

This was a big late-spring storm last week.



And this was just before raining, last night at Alexis'.



I love this time of year! It's about to rain again right now, too. We're up in Hesperia for the weekend, helping to put up a fence. Thank god they have high speed wireless now!

Near Fremont, Michigan

I took these in the car on the way to the art fair.



A few abandoned barns and farm houses.



Mostly, a lot of farm land. I can't wait for the corn to come in!