Walking sticks

The Walking Stick is a praying Mantis to me - it's how I always knew them as a kid. Just like 'Knitting Needles' for dragonflies AND I did think for a while that they could sew your ears together just like my Mom said!! Childhood is wonderful.

A praying mantis appeared on a day lily (more likely that I stopped long enough to become aware of it) and I decided to experiment with some of the photos. A combination of LR5 and CS6 to do selections and masks and achieve the detail I was looking for.

Can you find the mantis?

Then there is this mysterious (and dirty) photo!??

Flower plays

Flowers lend themselves to opportunities to experiment, whether staying in Lightroom or going into Grandpa Photoshop. These I stayed with LR5 and could have played a lot more - sometimes I just have to stop before I totally desecrate a photo.

The Canna Lily is a favorite as the sun creates wonderful shadows with the leaves. Color - if desired - is deep and edible. B&W gets the forms and shapes and lines.

Chasing the moon

The morning dawned in a gorgeous manner with the small moon sharp in the eastern sky. As I watched the clouds slide across the sky it seemed that they were playing a game with the moon. I love the early morning skies; they bring a light that is not seen again in the day.

Word from the home front

Murphy Update: He had his staples out Monday and as of yesterday seems to have turned a corner on his getting around. He's back to following us around, going out front in the morning and checking his pee-mail and generally alert and looking good. The vet said he looked great and was doing well.

Fuzzy is so glad to have us back he wakes us up at night a couple of times just to tell us how glad he is :-).  Here he is playing with the neighbor cat on the back fence.

Rufous hummingbirds are here and fiercely aggressive - here's one of the plump little devils. He chases away the males but doesn't seem to harass the females when they come to the feeder to drink.

And finally one of my favorite subjects - light and dark!

Hanging around

Fishing with Declan last week - he had caught a rainbow in the river under the bridge before so wanted to come back. Classic shot.

A couple more from the boat show.

One of the enjoyments of attending the antique boat show were the reminders of a slower pace of life without electronic gadgets.  Here's a couple of shots - the boat with it's small motor and layout for conversation seems like just the thing for a journey. The Johnson motor is one I remember as a kid in Minnesota.

Notice the ability to lean and richen the fuel mix both at slow and high speeds!  

Skaneateles Annual Antique and Classic Boat Show

We spent a good deal of time walking down memory lane looking at antique and classic boats today. I've included a large number of photos to cover most of what I really liked. Much fun and good energy amongst the participants and spectators and the weather cooperated quite well.
 Which is your favorite?