The State of Louisiana...Belle

Warm greetings from Cajun Country! I'm as happy as a tick on a fat dog. :) Seriously though, I am incredibly thankful for the prayers God has answered after spending 2 years wandering around in the desert. My daughter and I both agree that this is our year, and we are going to enjoy and savor every moment. Here's the "State of Me" bullet points.

• Helping plan my daughter's wedding, though she's so organized, she doesn't need any help. Still, it's fun talking about it with her.
• Making new friends and reconnecting with old ones. (Many, MANY prayers sent up about this issue, as I tend to close myself off when depressed.)
• Displaying my photography in different venues.
• Participating in workshops and photography classes.
• Starting a small vegetable garden.

And the big one...........drum roll..............................

• Opening a booth at a flea market with my friend, B! 

B came up with our name: Bayou Belles. B has been a godsend. She's full of GREAT ideas and we work extremely well together. We have a logo, a Facebook page and a blog!

My cup runneth over. I am so energized every day with all the things I want to do, and there are not enough hours to get it done.

Okay, enough of this chit-chat.

Glimpse into Bayou Belles' space.

A new shrub for my garden: Indigofera

Indigofera with St. Francis statue in background.

Another new shrub: Angel's Earrings.

Planted next to my angel statue. :)

The heart-shaped leaves behind the bird ornament is called Moonflower.

It is vining quickly around my palm tree. I hope to attract hummingbird moths with it.

Bell peppers! Well, a single bell pepper, but the blooms promise many more!

Cherry tomatoes!!

Cucumbers!!

Female House Finch visiting the new feeder.

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Thanks, Anni!

Curly

I hope everyone had a very blessed and Merry Christmas! It seems many of my blogging friends are taking a break until after the first of the year which has me feeling like the lone ranger out here. :(

I noticed these curly vines while Double D fished on Hoo Shoo Too Rd. in early November. After spying the first one, I started seeing them everywhere.

Iris and April

Tuesday was the only day available to me this week to check out the barred owl situation at Bluebonnet Swamp since it was closed on Monday and rain is expected for the rest of the week. I'll start with what I saw as I left the swamp and save what I saw at first for last. :)

These irises were clumped together near a small pond at the entrance. There were several little boys lying around the perimeter, their arms buried in water up to their shoulders, trying to catch crawfish. A worker at the center had to keep them from picking the irises and using the flowers as bait. The imagination of little boys is too cute!

Meet April! 

She first appeared from the nest on Monday, April 1. (Please note that I do not name any of the wildlife at the swamp myself―my birding buddies are in charge of that.) We don't know if this is a boy or a girl, but I guess because he/she appeared on April Fool's Day, the name seemed appropriate. April is so small that my camera's AF has trouble zeroing in, perhaps because of all the fuzz and surrounding leaves and limbs. There were three of us with different models of Canons, and all had a bit of trouble in that regard. Therefore, not my best work, but at least you get an idea of what we're seeing from several hundred feet away and about 30' up. Hoping another babe emerges soon, as Barbara and Barry usually produce two.

I'll be working from home Thursday and Friday, so my blog visiting may be a bit sporadic. Thank you all for your kind comments and visits. It really does brighten my day!

Thank you to Michelle for hosting

Nature Notes. Feel better soon!

Mum's the word

We stopped by Home Depot to get mulch for the beds and trees this afternoon. Smitten with the mums on display, I retrieved my new camera, which is my new bff accompanying me everywhere, and shot these with the 400mm lens, hand held. We're still getting to know one another and I'm still trying to think of a good name for her, but overall I am happy with the new purchase. I was almost starting to regret buying the 5D MKII with its full frame sensor (a cropped sensor gives you more reach with lenses X 1.6; i.e., a 400mm lens becomes a 640mm lens). BUT, here's where the major difference is: the full frame sensor lets in more light and the quality is superb. So while I was debating if the loss of the extra reach was worth it, I am now convinced that it definitely is.

Processed with a Shadowhouse Creations texture

Sorry, I don't know the origin of this texture; it was one of the first ones I downloaded years ago. 

About the LSU vs SC game: my ears are still ringing and my right arm is bruised thanks to the inebriated, overzealous fan who stood next to me. Every time LSU made an awesome play, he'd grab my arm and shake me like a rag doll. Thank goodness LSU only made two exceptional plays or I might have a concussion. LSU won, yet I am the one bruised and battered. What the heck? Oh! And with 92.5k fans pouring out of the stadium, I ran into my first cousin. What are the odds?

I am headed out to my dad's for a few days, so I won't be around to comment on blogs or post until later in the week. Y'all have a good one!

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Have camera—will shoot

Last week I was informed that I would receive one more small check from my mother's estate. This bonus, if you will, allows me to continue the rest of the year without working, plus a little extra to treat my kids when they come to visit in December and maybe a toy for myself. Imagine my delight when I saw that the Canon 5D MARK II was discounted $400. Could I resist? I'm sure you know the answer to that! To make it all a little less painful, my good friend is buying my 50D. Mabel II (50D) has 57k clicks after two years, so her life is half over—just like mine. Time's a wastin'! There are pictures to be taken, dadgummit!

Sometimes I surprise myself at all the justifications I can come up with to satisfy my photography habit. If there is a photography addicts group, I don't want to know about it. Thanks. :)

The camera arrived after dark, so I tested the ISO to see if it was as good as the reviews claimed. Uh, I'd say the hype is real. This is one of the first shots I tried. None of the dogs wanted to cooperate, but Izzy is always good for a profile shot. Taken with the 35mm at f2.0, 1/40 sec, 3200 ISO. There is virtually no visible grain at 3200! Normally I shoot in RAW, but the camera settings were already on jpg. Hmmm....not bad. Very minimal PP. I like!

Today I couldn't wait to test the 100-400mm lens at the botanical garden. After 200+ shots, I am slightly disappointed that the automatic focus seems a tad slow, but the high ISO might make up for that. The ability to bump it up to 1600 in bright sunlight and get a really fast shutter speed to freeze action gives me much more flexibility. Another slight negative with the 5D is the high speed continuous (burst) mode is not as fast as the 50D. I missed some shots between that and the slow AF, but overall I am quite happy. These all needed very minimal processing; basically crop, levels adjustment and slight sharpen. Not bad for our first time out together!

Sulphur

Skipper

Gulf Fritillary

Monarch

Skipper

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spicebush Swallowtail

Sulphur

Bye bye!

Should I christen the new camera Mabel III or come up with a new name? I think the name Mabel is ready to be retired for my camera line.

Double D scored tickets to the LSU vs SC game tonight, so I'm sure my ears will be suffering tomorrow. LSU Stadium is called Deaf Dome for a reason. :/ I'd love to hear your plans for the weekend. Hope everyone has a good one!

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The Best Medicine

I don't need to pop a pill or drink alcohol or smoke "whatever" to calm my nerves. (Although I certainly don't condemn or judge anyone who does. And I occasionally partake in 1 or 2 of these things if I so desire.) No, all I need is my camera in my hand and God's creation surrounding me. Though I've always loved the outdoors, it took me YEARS to figure out how calming communing with nature can be. It's my favorite way to de-stress and get my thoughts in order. I'm a nature nerd, what can I say! When I was a geeky teenager I wish that I had embraced my nerdness instead of trying to run with the cool crowd, driving my mother around the bend. Self-acceptance is the most awesome thing about being older and wiser. Ooops, I almost typed wider. Yeah, I'm a little wider, too. And I don't care. ;) Happy Monday everyone!

I love the curled proboscis. One of these days I'm going to get the perfect shot of it!

Frames courtesy of Steve Rich. Love these!

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