The Barn

Terry has been spending 

a good amount of time down at 

the local horse barn.  

He's taken over the care of an older horse 

who needs assistance.  

As those of you who know him understand, 

that's right up his alley.

Since he's spending time there, 

I've been spending a bit of time there also.  

If I can get my pictures together, 

expect to see some horse pictures in the near future.

Today, I decided to post a few photos 

I took while wandering around the barns.  

As always, 

you can click any image for a larger version

I love the atmosphere there, 

and especially how everyone 

contributes their little goodies to the ambiance.

 I try to look for the little things.

Since Spring is springing, 

there are flowers.

Don't you love it 

when people repurpose old pieces?

I was taken with the texture 

of this weathered plywood.

The barn borders Henry Cowell State Park.

I felt like this light was there

 just for me to take this picture.

This reminded me of the forest 

where the Evil Queen banished Snow White.

In reality, it's where they walk the horses.

Clever birdhouse.

This guy stopped by for a visit . . .

Here's a lucky horseshoe.

Most probably decorated 

by some youngster who loves horses.

And here's my favorite  shot of the day.

I believe the original photograph 

has deteriorated over the years, 

leaving chemicals imprinted on the glass.

I LOVE this shot, 

so expect mpre versions 

as I shoot it in different weather.

So now you've got an idea 

of where we've been spending some time!

Ziplining!

We went ziplining!

As a reward for eating better and getting a lot more exercise, 

we decided that we would splurge 

on an afternoon of ziplining above the redwoods.  

Oh, and it was our 43rd anniversary.

Here's a view of one of the skybridges.

I took this from one of the platforms.

One of the bridges.

 

The view, 

from the bridge.

And here's my Hunny Bunny.

He discovered he liked stretching back 

and holdng on 

while we waited our turn.

Keep in mind, 

we're about 150 feet up in the air 

and his feet are holding on by the toe

(but he is strapped in . . .)

It was a great afternoon 

and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

the Aquarium Part 2

.

So here we are, 

still at the Aquarium.

(Remember you can click to enlarge).

They have this beautiful aviary.

All the birds have been wounded and are here

being safe and fostered.

It's a wonderful place 

to get close to the birds.

And unlike the rest of the aquarium, 

lots of natural light.

Natural light

equals better pictures.

Duh . . .

Now,

back to the un-natural light.

I love this guy,

hos blue is incredibly vibrant.

The aquarium also features 

an array of gorgeous bronze pieces.

They're scattered all over the place.

They have hundreds of sand dollars.

Can you imagine how beautiful 

natural beds of these must be,

nestled deep in the ocean?

Now this was a huge problem shot.

They have this gigantic tank, 

probably thirty by fifty feet.

The turtles are always there, 

but they like to swim 

right up at the top of the tank.

I kid you not, 

I took over one hundred and fifty 

shots of the turtles.

This is the best I could do.

One of the reasons I want to go back soon

 is to try to get a good shot of the turtles.

Now we're back to my lovely seahorses.

Again,. the pictures aren't as sharp as I'd like.

Good thing I'll be going back!

I really like how they group together.

This is yet another kind of seahorse,

but I can't remember what kind!

Click and enlarge and you can see his little face.

And that's it for the aquarium for this trip.

But tomorrow, we're going ziplining!

Not sure if I can get pictures,

but maybe.

I'm excited!

The Aquarium Part 1

.

As I said yesterday, 

we decided yet another trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

 was in order.  

It's a true crime to come to this area 

and not visit this world renowned venue.

We've been many times, (we have annual passes)

but every time we see it through different eyes.

I've tried almost every camera I own, 

and in the past, my iPhone 4s has done the best.  

I think photography is particularly difficult

because many of the aquarium windows 

are over twelve inches thick.

So even though I've had terrible results before, 

once again I decided to use my Canon SX50.  

Next time, I think I'll take the Canon 7D, 

but I'm not sure I'm capable enough to get good results.

So on to the pictures.

As always, 

you can click on any photo to see more detail

This is a tank called the Living Sea, 

featuring a humongous kelp forest.

I love the kelp forest,

the light streaming from above 

casts an ethereal glow.

We were lucky enough 

to catch one of the divers 

as he was feeding the tank.

Wouldn't this be a fun job?

All the divers are volunteers.

I have so many favorites at the Aquarium, 

it's hard to not shoot the same thing 

over and over.

So these are probably duplicates 

from an earlier blog.

I just love the anemones.

Incredible color,

and such beautiful shapes.

I think they look 

like they're from another planet.

This is the last one for today.

Till then, 

remember

A Day Down South

.

It was our sort of Anniversary on March 11 

(married 13 years ago) 

so we decided to take the day off 

and head on down to Monterey, 

one of our favorite places.  

Since I took too many pictures, 

I'll be posting them in several batches.

We can never go down there 

without stopping by Jetty Road, 

hoping the otters will be right there at the bridge.  

Unfortunately there weren't any otters 

(we didn't go all the way to the end) 

but I thought this dog was pretty cool.

He seems to have his owner pretty well trained!

The mustard was blooming, and I love the color.  

When I was a young girl (many years ago)

every spring, mustard covered the fields 

all over the Santa Clara Valley.  

I still love to see it.

 Next, we stopped at City Park in Monterey

 I tried to get in tight on this bee, 

and while I couldn't get it perfectly sharp, 

I liked the composition and color.

 Herons hang out at this park.  

While he was pretty well camouflaged, 

I couldn't resist.

Here's one tight shot of the heron.

 Flowers were blooming all over the park.

Don't you love Spring?

 A small part of the park is called Dennis the Menace Park,

in honor of Hank Ketchum.

 These next shots were all taken in the park.

There's not much to say about them, 

but I wanted to remember this beautiful day.

Lots of willows.

And a lovely meandering river.

There are also these lovely twisted trees.

I love how they frame the various scenes.

And of course, there are ducks . . .

This was one of those unplanned, 

unexpected stops that make a perfect day.  

For sure, we will be stopping here again.  

After a walk around the water, 

we headed down to the Aquarium.

Pictures to follow.