Changes

How quickly the sky can change.

Skywatch Friday - Nehalem Bay Sunrise

Wow! What a surprise to find out I am today's guest host on Skywatch Friday. Wouldn't you know, it came when I've neglected my blog for an entire week! I think all of the snow last week and over the weekend threw me into a funk where I just wanted to nestle in my warm house and not take many pictures. I did do some bird watching, making sure my little feathered friends had lots of food in the feeder.

So now it's time to get back in the swing of things. And please accept my apologies for not visiting your blog last week.

The awesome Skywatch Team led by Klaus along with Sylvia, Wren, Sandy and Fishing Guy bring us the Skywatch meme each week. Click on the banner below to go see other skies from around the world.

Today's shot is from our trip to Oregon in late December/early January. On our final day, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Cold, but spectacular. Ahhh, the memories. :)

Nehalem Bay - Manzanita, Oregon

Skywatch Friday - More from the Beach

I couldn't decide which one to post, so you get them both! These are from our recent trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida. I love the beach at sunrise.

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Why be satisfied with watching TV when there are awesome skies being shared through the Skywatch meme each week? Klaus, Wren, Sandy, Fishing Guy and Sylvia are the team behind Skywatch Friday. Go visit by clicking on the banner above.

Weekend Reflections - Two Light Sources

It was just too darn cold to go out and take pictures of the sunrise one morning. So I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures through the dining room window. I didn't realize until I looked at it that I caught the reflection of the dining room lights in the shot.

Sun - lights...two light sources in one picture

 

To see more pictures with a reflective mood, click on the banner above.

Skywatch Friday - Sunrise

One of the benefits (or downfalls depending on how you look at it) of being at the Okanogan house is no TV. We normally go to bed early and get up early the next morning. Early enough to enjoy the sunrise.

On this particular morning, the sky was brightening and then the sun looked like fire as it crested the ridge.

Wait for it!

Here it comes!

Go check out more fantastic pictures from the Skywatch participants by clicking on the banner above.

Skywatch Friday - Cocoa Beach Sunrise

Welcome to the Beach

Heading to Work

 

For more pictures from Skywatch participants, click on the banner above.

Skywatch Friday - Sailors Take Warning

Red sky at night, sailor's delight,

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning

Sunrise in the Okanogan

It's worth the trip!

Ready for Inspections!

The past several weekends have been busy. We've had a few friends pitch in (thank you soooo much!) so we could get to the point of being ready for our final electrical inspection and final building permit inspection.

Lighting fixtures have gone in, water heater up and running, a furnace that works and the woodstove hooked up are just some of the activities that have taken place. It is soooo nice to have a real working bathroom complete with shower!

First Dinner Under Lights

Karl the Electrician

Bill Starting on Side Entrance Steps

Finished Steps

Karl Working on Back Steps

Tim Hard at Work on Back Steps

Tim, Karl & Don - Teamwork

Bill Putting the Finishing Touches on Woodstove Chimney

Don Reinstalling Roof Panels

Moving the Beast into Position

It Works!

Here Comes the Propane Tank

Not everything was all work and no fun. Our first night with lights inside the house we played a few games of rummy.

Throw Out the Ace of Hearts, Dad!

A few opportunities to watch the sunrise also were enjoyed.

Sun Rising...

... and the Moon Setting

Early Morning Hiker

Visitor. Yuck. But Good for Future Rodent Control.

Next up - getting the electrical inspector in, then the building inspector for our occupancy permit. Our plans are to work on installing the wood laminate flooring during the winter months.

Thanks again to Don, Tim and Bill for their invaluable help and patience!

Skywatch Friday - Morning Light

Time for Skywatch Friday!

Sunrise over Pilchuck

Photo Information
Location: Arlington, Washington with Mt. Pilchuck in the background
Additional Info: Taken from the Smokey Point area facing east
Date: November 2, 2009

To see more outstanding shots of the sky or to share one of your own, click on the Skywatch badge below. Thanks to the Skywatch team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise & Sylvia for hosting this each week.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Today I spent the better part of the day (in between loads of laundry) learning how to use Adobe's Photoshop CS2.

Karl is a Photoshop wizard and me, well...I know how to start the program and that's about it. I have always been intimidated by Photoshop. No more.

A co-worker graciously loaned me a DVD with tutorials on it. Wow! Just the lessons I watched today made me feel a little more comfortable using the program. I actually learned a few basic things in Photoshop like cropping, color correction and adding a custom brush (for my signature).

I used a picture I shot this morning as the sun was coming up over the lake to practice on.

I also re-learned that I need to use the tripod in low light conditions since most of my photos did not turn out. Live and learn.

Here is the original picture, only resized to upload faster.

Before

And here is the photo after working in Photoshop. I corrected the color and cropped it as well.

After

I think it looks better than the original and is more representative of the colors in the morning sky.

Just like anything, practice makes perfect and I've got a LOT of practicing to do.

Time to go -- the dryer has stopped!