First Snow Up North, I wrote on my calendar that the first snow in 2023 was in November. But it isn’t anything that is going to collect on the ground, yet.

It is that time of year. 🙂

Digital Art by Sandra J’s Photography

First Snow Up North

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Good Ole John Deere

John Deere the company would not have been possible without the determination of John Deere the man. From the time he created the first steel plow in 1837, Deere worked hard. He was committed to helping farmers handle their daily tasks with ease.

Demand for these plows increased. Deere moved the business from Grand Detour to Moline, IL in 1848. He chose this new location due to the power and transportation benefits it offered. 

Iowa isn’t just farmland, it is made up of beautiful rolling hills and lots of state parks and lakes.

Good Ole John Deere

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Harvesting Beans in Iowa. Harvest was in full swing when we were in Iowa, it is hard to get a photo of combines in the field without some windmills in the background.

Husband has a quick mind for coming up with funny statements. He saw this photo and said, ” So that is how they dry beans in Iowa.” Get it, the big turbines, they are spinning and drying the bean fields. :0 Ha, Love his sense of humor.

I took these photos with a cell phone camera, so the windmills look kind of funny when the camera does not have a fast enough shutter speed.

Harvesting Beans

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Standard Long Hair Collie. Such a beautiful and unique looking dog. This dog is one of the smartest dogs I have been around. Very good dog around the family and he actually won grand champion at the dog show that my nieces daughter took him to.

Below is a photo of how much he has changed since his puppy picture from last year.

Have a great weekend. 🙂

Standard Long Hair Collie

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Horses and Mules. This mule below is a new one to my nieces farm. She just got it. Half mule half draft horse. Really nice mule.

And more photos and a video below. 🙂

I love videoing horses in slow motion. Here is a cute video below of two horses standing by the gate. Or click the link Here – When They Fell In Love

Horses and Mules

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After the Rain, water going over a dam. I might have posted these photos before. But, here they are again, encase you missed them. 🙂

After the Rain Link to You Tube Video Here

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Beautiful Morning at one of the campgrounds as we head south. It is very dry here in Iowa, as most areas in the mid-west. Harvest season is in full motion. The combines are out everywhere. They are working on the bean fields first and then moving to the corn fields.

Finally some cool nights this month, long time coming I say. I like the evenings when they are in the 50’s.

Beautiful Morning

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Last of the Summer Flowers full of color. Bees and hummingbirds were enjoying them all month, but we have had a couple of frost already. So they are about done now.

Thanks to my husband, I had the best gardening year ever. Below is a photo of my old garden area.

This summer he built this for me. So much easier to work in and keep.

Who knew dill plants can grow as tall as corn. When I finally pulled them out they were almost 6 feet long.

This plant below is Eggplant. I have never grown them before. It is very interesting to watch this plant grow. But I have to start them much earlier in the season. They never produced completely because they take over 100 days to mature. There are dozens of fruit on each plant as well. Next year I will try again.

Overall it was a very productive garden. We were picking vegetables everyday, adding them to our meals. Such a delight to grow your own food. Can’t wait until spring.

Last of the Summer Flowers

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We Learn From Nature. Look at this amazing dragon fly up close.

Awhile ago I mentioned something interesting. Engineers observed birds in flight to figure out the design of airplanes. Feathers on bird wings have different purposes that help them land and take off.

Well, I am going out on a limb here. I am thinking they may have gotten the design of pilots helmets from these little guys. Look at the next few photos and you will see what I mean. As I keep zooming in closer to the eyes of this one.

Have a great weekend. 😉

So amazing.

We Learn From Nature

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On pine tree needles, dew drops lie,
In soft, glistening light beneath the sky.
Each pearl of dawn, so pure and bright,
Reflects the grace of morning light.

In their shimmer, a silent prayer,
A testament to love and care.
A whisper of our Savior’s grace,
In nature’s touch, we see His face.

On Pine Tree Needles

The Horse Show. My favorite class to watch at horse shows is the halter class. Where they mostly just show the composition of the horse compared to the others in the class.

The judge is in the pink shirt heading over to this 4 H girl showing her horse. I think her horse has done this a few times. Its eyes are closed, taking a nap I believe. 🙂

This next one has a bit more energy. But the girl has no problem with her horse and lets him warm up a bit before the class.

Short video below of the horse and riders at the beginning of the show carrying the flags.

Horse Show Video Click Here

The Horse Show

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Glowing Spots – I love this shot, as if this fawns white fur is glowing in the morning light. The sun is just coming up over the trees, and with a faster shutter speed. The white really stands out as the background is darker.

Glowing Spots

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Horses at the Fair. I have a couple more photos to share. They are from my visit to the small town fair in Iowa. I went to the fair recently.

I showed horses in my younger days. It was so much fun getting together with other like-minded people. We enjoyed a day or two of hanging around with some very beautiful horses.

They spent some time working on this horses mane below. Lots of rubber bands. Very pretty.

Horses at the Fair

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Local Canine Beauties that I have photographed this past week. Neighbors pups, a little corgi and golden retriever.

The golden is a pure bred with curly hair. I have never seen that before on a golden. Sweet pups.

Local Canine Beauties

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Next Generation. I am so excited, my oldest niece is interested in photography. I have been helping her learn how to use a DSLR camera and the camera on her phone. But she wants to learn with a camera which is so exciting to me.

I love talking photography and teaching her everything I know. Photography is fun and gets you to slow down a bit. It helps you look at everything around you more closely.

Even though I live 8 hours away from her, with today’s technology, she sends me photos that she takes. I give her advice on how to change the composition to make an eye catching photo. She likes to enter her photos into the fair in her town.

Take for example this photo below, She took this with her phone and sent it to me. As she was standing there by the river and it was getting close to sunset.

So I had just a couple of suggestions for her. First there is too much in the foreground with that cement pad there. I can tell the river curves to the left in front of her. The sun is dropping off to the right in the background.

I text her back. I said to go right down to the edge of the river. She needed to turn her cell phone upside down so that the camera was right at the water’s edge. Then put the camera on its widest angle, which is .6 with a Samsung. She said ok and give her a minute and she will try it.

This is what she sent me next. So much better. I love the clouds reflecting in the water and the trees on both sides. By the time she took the shot, the sun was adding a bit of color.

It looks like she is in the water and the viewer has a leading line to look down the river.

I edited it just a bit to straighten up the horizon and sent it back. Amazing that she and I can do this all through texting.

I gave her my old DSLR bridge camera that she will learn from. We will be working with that this fall when I get down there.

I took this photo on drift wood beach in Georgia, An example of using a wide angle lens. With the right landscape, I love how it elongates the scene. It draws the eye down to that tree in the middle of the shot.

Next Generation

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When They Look right at you. I love shots like this. When it looks like I have made eye contact with the animals I photograph. As if the animal is posing just for the shot.

I also love the fact that this horses main is framing its face. Definitely going into my favorite folder and I am printing this one.

This one is just the opposite, they are all looking at something down the street. 🙂 Well, except for two who look like they are napping.

When They Look

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Colorful Semi Truck. I always like seeing some of the nice semi rigs out on the road. This one was turning right in front of us. Quite the colors.

I used to go and watch the world of outlaw funny cars back in the day. It was very fun.

Colorful Semi Truck

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White Tailed Deer.

When a white-tailed deer raises its tail, it is signaling a warning. This signals a warning of possible danger to other deer that be nearby.

This is called flagging. It exposes the white fur of its tail and backside. This alerts others in its herd of danger

The deer also wags its tail from side to side while flagging. Flagging also helps other members of the herd locate each other. A startled deer skip any or all of the preliminary signals, but it almost always displays the flaglike tail as it runs away

Video Here, Click the Link – Mother and Fawn Playing in a Puddle

I took this video below with my phone camera through a window. It is not the clearest video. I saw mother and fawn playing in a water puddle out in the yard.

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I Believe I Can Fly – After the hot spell finally went away, the deer are back in the yard and the fawn is running and having a good time.

Fawn chasing Mom in video below or click this link here from my you tube channel; Fawn after Mom

I Believe I Can Fly

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On The Road Again. That is all for Paducah Kentucky, I am sure we will be back there. I do have a couple of new spots we are going to camp at this winter. So much to see, nature is calling.

Have a great weekend.

On The Road Again

The Old 1518. A Mikado steam engine, the last “Iron Horse” used by the I.C.R.R., serves as a memorial to the passage of the Steam Age.

Located on Water Street in Historic Downtown, the memorial and marker are dedicated to the Illinois Central Railroad Company. They emphasize the importance of the railroad to Paducah’s history and commerce.

I am truly fascinated with the old steam locomotives. The power of them, the sound and the engineering itself.

There is one locomotive that I would love to see one day, it is the Big Boy 4014. It does tour the states, the last couple of years it sat still during the covid. But this year it is back on tour.

I found the schedule. It is going through Iowa. I think it is next week. I just can’t make it there right now.

But I will see it one of these days. 🙂

The Old 1518

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CN’s Autonomous Track Inspection. CN’s ATIP is a fleet of fully automated rail cars. They use wireless communications to test and check real-time geometric track measurements. They also conduct track asset condition assessments without interrupting normal railroad operations.

With its ATIP cars powered by solar panels and a generator, CN achieves 24/7/365 track inspections. The cars travel at revenue service track speed. These completely self-sustaining and autonomous test platforms make it possible.

I had no idea what this train car was until I looked it up. We were sitting at a park and I looked up and it was crossing this bridge. I just assumed it was a passenger rail car but I noticed it did not have an engine.

Interesting

CN’s Autonomous Track Inspection 

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Exploring the National Quilt Museum. A Visual Delight

Well, I never knew there was a museum for quilts. But a museum it should be because the quilts were amazing. I have never seen anything like them.

This museum is in Paducah Kentucky. Each quilt has a card next to it with a bar code. You can scan it and read all about the making of the quilt. You can see how long it took to make and where it was from.

This one below is my favorite quilt, the picture does not do it justice. It has hundreds of sequence on it that just sparkle no matter what angle you view the quilt at.

I am not a quilt maker, I do not have the patience for that at all. I truly enjoyed looking at these as did my husband. Amazing what people can make.

Exploring the National Quilt Museum

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The Other Side of the Wall in Paducah is the Ohio River. This river flooded the town many years ago, hence the building of the mural wall.

Lined with interesting looking trees

Mural of the locks on the river

Street musicians playing some wonderful music as we walked downtown enjoying the scenery.

Have a wonderful weekend. Next week I will show you a museum. I did not know this type of museum existed anywhere in the country. Cool place though. 🙂

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Lots to See in Paducah. An old style theater where they still put on plays. Beautiful architecture on all the streets.

Signs every where telling you some history as you walk along the river side.

Museums with lots of items from days gone by. This is what the drug stores looked like, beautiful wooden cabinets holding all the medicinal items.

Lots to See in Paducah

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Murals Depicting Real Time. The painter picked photographs to paint on the wall of actual scenes from back in the day in Paducah Kentucky. You get to walk along the wall and see how the area changed from his murals.

Murals Depicting Real Time

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