Into the Light Adventures

By Sandra J

Perseid Meteor Shower

By Sandra | August 19, 2024 | Comments 22 comments

Perseid Meteor Shower – you may have heard that last weekend was the highlight of the Perseid Meteor shower. I had my camera gear ready and we had a clear night for the even last Sunday.

I got up around 2 am and looked out the window first and noticed the sky seemed kind of bright for viewing stars. I went outside and low and behold the Northern lights were dancing across the sky as well, that is why it was brighter than normal.

Bad news, I saw a few shooting stars but not as many as they said there were because of the northern lights where I live.

This photo below shows the northern lights plus I stacked about 100 photos to show you the star trails. I had my camera set to time lapse photos, 15 sec shutter speed, WB 4500K, ISO 4000, F2.8 with a wide- angle lens.

This next photo, I was able to capture just a bit of the milky way with the northern lights, this photo was taken with a small little Go Pro Camera. Set to time lapse photos.

I did notice that these photos facing SW showed more pink and green lights

Whereas this photo below, I was facing north and the lights were greener and more vibrant. I have a lot of trees lining my driveway, so I had to walk down the driveway, which is very dark and kind of spooky because there are a lot of wolves, bears, fox, and coyotes, oh my, 🙂

So, I walked down the driveway, took 2 photos quick and hurried back to the cabin. But, not one photo with a shooting star. Maybe next time.

Perseid Meteor Shower

By Sandra J

She is Sneaky

By Sandra | August 16, 2024 | Comments 15 comments

She is Sneaky this little fawn, she is just starting to come out of the woods with mom in this first photo, the minute I come out with the camera she high tails it back to the woods.

Everyday she is getting more brave to not run when she sees me, she is curious and mom keeps a close eye on her.

Have a great weekend.

She is Sneaky

By Sandra J

The Infinity Mirror

By Sandra | August 15, 2024 | Comments 11 comments

The Infinity Mirror – as the tour guide took us upstairs and by the way, the railing on this staircase is so short. Because people were shorter back then. It was only about 3 ft tall, my husband is 6’3″ and the railing came up just above his knee. The tour guide told us that because a lot of people trip on the stairs being the railing is misleading for support.

A beautiful hallway that holds a remake of the infinity mirror.

Which is 2 mirrors right across from each other so it goes on forever.

So this is it for this tour, if you are ever crossing the border by Paducah Kentucky, make sure to stop at this welcome center. They still have lots of pretty flowers growing all around the home as well. Wonderful place to take a break on your journey.

The Infinity Mirror

By Sandra J

Some People Returned Items

By Sandra | August 14, 2024 | Comments 15 comments

Some People Returned Items – some of the stolen items were returned when they found out they were restoring this home. A lot of it was also just donated that was not original to the home. But it fit the time period and looks amazing in there now.

There are constant repairs that need to be done, like cracks in the walls and ceilings. But overall they did an amazing job restoring this old place.

Some People Returned Items

By Sandra J

Vandalism of This Historic Home

By Sandra | August 13, 2024 | Comments 7 comments

Vandalism of This Historic Home – we learned the history of this home by going on the free tour they give. The tour guide was so informative, she really new everything about this place.

So, it was owned by a couple different people, the second owners did a lot of landscaping and made flower gardens around the 52 acre home. Lots of gatden parties back in the day.

These folks left the home in 1968, as the new interstate was being built right in front of this home and they figured it was going to get torn down. But it never did get torn down as they built the interstate and subsequently, people started vandalizing the home, taking items like the chandelier below. They took all the original stained glass windows or just broke them.

You can see by the photos below what it looked like at one point. Quite a few people were actually sleeping in the house and building fires in their to cook food and keep warm, using the original wood around the house.

Along with the destruction from rain and snow coming in through the windows and roof. It seems like this place should have been torn down.

But the transportation cabinet along with Governor John Brown, they decided to restore it. They needed a welcome center on the new interstate and instead of building a new one, they restored this mansion.

They also moved in all of the Vice Presidents office things to this building as it needed a place to go from where it was at previously. So you can see his desk and items he used when he was in office.

Vandalism of This Historic Home

By Sandra J

Kentucky Rest Area

By Sandra | August 12, 2024 | Comments 8 comments

Kentucky Rest Area – This week I am going to show you a place that I have wanted to stop at for years and we finally did a few months ago. We drove by it so many times, it is a rest area in Kentucky, probably one of the best rest areas I have ever stopped at.

This unique historical rest area/welcome center is, Whitehaven. It is a Victorian home built in the 1860’s and has quite the story as to how it became a rest area.

This home is steeped in KY history from former Vice President Alben Barkley to many influential figures in the formation of Kentucky’s history.

This mansion was once destined to be destroyed, but was saved by the KY Transportation Cabinet.

Kentucky Rest Area

By Sandra J

By Sandra | August 9, 2024 | Comments 9 comments

The Sly Fox – I photographed this beautiful animal on the gulf coast. I don’t see fox very often, they are around where I live, but never see them during the day. I did catch one on my trail camera last week passing by.

Beautiful animals, have a wonderful weekend.

This is AI’s version of my fox photo painted. I kind of like it. In any of my digital work, I always list it as digital. I am a photographer before being a digital artist. But I always use photos I take to get this look with the help of technology.

The Sly Fox

By Sandra J

By Sandra | August 8, 2024 | Comments 15 comments

Heading Out to Sea – what a job this must be. Staying out on the water for days or weeks. I know I could not do it. I am pretty sure I would get sea sick. I like to boat, but I have never been on really big boats or big waves.

I will stick to taking their pictures instead.

Heading Out to Sea

By Sandra J

Treasures on the Gulf Coast

By Sandra | August 7, 2024 | Comments 24 comments

Treasures on the Gulf Coast – The Gulf Coast is a treasure trove of vibrant seascapes, and the shrimp boats there add a special splash of color to the scene.

Picture a cluster of these boats lined up along the dock or gently bobbing on the water, each one a canvas of bold hues. Bright blues, vivid reds, sunny yellows, and deep greens paint a lively mosaic against the backdrop of the shimmering Gulf.

I love seeing the shrimp boats on the water when we visit the coast down south. I photographed these boats at Bayou La Batre in LA when we were there.

Treasures on the Gulf Coast

By Sandra J

A Dazzling Jewel

By Sandra | August 6, 2024 | Comments 16 comments

A Dazzling Jewel – The male cardinal’s brilliant red plumage is nothing short of breathtaking, resembling a vivid splash of crimson against the soft green foliage backdrop. His striking color radiates with an almost fiery intensity, making him a dazzling jewel amidst the muted tones of his surroundings.

A Dazzling Jewel

By Sandra J

The Eye of a Cat

By Sandra | August 5, 2024 | Comments 27 comments

The Eye of a Cat, this is my cat. Kit Kit is her name. I sit at my dinning room table to do all my computer work and this table is right by a nice large window. I like to watch the birds outdoors as I am doing my work.

My cat loves to sit right next to my computer, sometimes looking out the window and if it is a little cooler in the house. She likes to curl up on the transformer box that I use to charge the computer. It is like her own little warming station.

Anyway, on this day she was looking out the window and I was looking at her eyes. An amazing thing to see up close, a cats eye. So I had to take a few photos close up. I had my phone camera right next to her face and she just sat there perfectly still. Liking the attention.

The Eye of a Cat

By Sandra J

The Storm Clouds Gather

By Sandra | August 2, 2024 | Comments 21 comments

The Storm Clouds Gather, dark and dense, A tumult roars, the heavens tense, Lightning cracks the twilight’s veil, A furious dance, a tempest’s wail.

The sky ignites with electric fire, Each flash a fierce, consuming pyre, Thunder’s voice, a booming cry, Echoes through the bruised night sky.

Yet in the chaos, midst the rage, A fleeting light begins to wage, As torrents drench the world below, A secret promise starts to show.

The storm, though wild, begins to fade, Its fierce embrace now softly swayed, And through the tears of shattered rain, A ribbon forms, a hopeful chain.

Colors break through, soft and bright, A spectral arc against the night, A rainbow blooms, a quiet cheer, A bridge of peace in storm’s austere.

Have a wonderful weekend.

The Storm Clouds Gather

By Sandra J

Serenity in Reflection

By Sandra | August 1, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

“Serenity in Reflection: Capturing Nature’s Canvas at the Lake”

First day of August, last year our first frost was on August 25th, but it is near 90 today, so we will see what the month brings.

Finally took the boat out this summer. The loons are swimming with their babies. Hope to get photos of them next time.

Serenity in Reflection

Nature’s Fury

By Sandra | July 31, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

Nature’s Fury: The Dramatic Beauty of Shelf Clouds

Last month brought some stormy weather where I live, two shelf clouds this year so far. They move very fast being pushed by some horrific winds. The clouds roll at you in so many different shapes.

The first one here, it was a big shelf cloud with some cloud movements like nothing I have ever seen. Video Below.

Video Below; or click this title here to see the video on my You Tube Channel, Natures Fury

Thunder Rolls, Scary Cloud Formations, Time Lapse, Heavens Open, Rainbows Shine in the End

The Second Shelf cloud storm was more straight lined right across, rolling like pie dough in a tight line. Both with winds and rain that almost made me run back into the house. 🙂

Nature’s Fury

By Sandra J

The Old Windmill

By Sandra | July 30, 2024 | Comments 3 comments

The Old Windmill – In the 18th century, the Great Plains were considered unfit for cultivation. The area was termed the “Great American Desert.” Droughts would follow rainy spells and the sun and wind would dry up surface moisture.

In 1854, Daniel Halladay developed the American-type windmill. It was smaller, less expensive and could be shipped and built easily. Its sails were held into the wind by a weight, which would rise slowing to reduce the area of the sails when the wind was too fast. Traditional cloth covered sails were soon replaced with smaller wooden blades.

These new windmills were ideal for settlers on the plains. They could pump water from great depths at a steady rate. They could shift into the prevailing winds and functioned well in fast and slow winds. And to top it off, they required little maintenance.

You can still find a few of these scattered across the states. Iowa still has a few, I took this photo from the RV window. There is just something nostalgic about these windmills.

I don’t know how many of these old windmills are in Iowa these days.

But it does say there are 6000 of these wind turbines in Iowa alone as of today. The giant thing in the background of the photo below. A big difference in windmills from the old days.

I won’t get into the efficiency of these or all the controversy about them all over the country. I know at this little horse show I went to, I photographed a lot of children with their horses and had to delete a lot of windmills from the background. Which is not that hard to do in photoshop these days.

The Old Windmill

By Sandra J

In Twilight’s Hush

By Sandra | July 29, 2024 | Comments 16 comments

In Twilight’s Hush, where whispers drift, The storm clouds weave a gentle shift, Like ghosts in realms of azure seas, They float with soft, enigmatic ease.

With edges brushed in shades of grey, They roam the sky in a fleeting ballet, Their wispy tendrils tease the night, An ethereal dance of shadowed light.

They gather slow with sighs of lore, A murmured tale of tempest’s core, Yet in their grace, a calm prevails, An artful play where calmness sails.

No thunder’s roar or lightning’s claim, Just drifting clouds with no ill aim, They kiss the heavens, drift and part, An endless play of storm and heart.

Their fleeting forms in twilight blend, A moment’s breath that does transcend, In wispy trails, their stories told, Of storms unbound and skies unrolled.

In Twilight’s Hush

By Sandra J

Silhouettes and Sunsets

By Sandra | July 26, 2024 | Comments 23 comments

Silhouettes and Sunsets – In the quiet of dusk, where day meets night, Silhouettes dance in the fading light, Outlined figures against the golden blaze, A moment suspended in the sun’s last gaze.

Trees stretch their limbs like ink on the sky, Birds soar in patterns, bidding day goodbye, Silhouettes of wings, elegant and free, Caught in the hues of a painted reverie.

And when the night arrives, with stars aglow,
Silhouettes fade where memories flow,
But in the heart’s canvas, they remain,
Silhouettes and sunsets, eternally framed.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Silhouettes and Sunsets

By Sandra J

By Sandra | July 25, 2024 | Comments 10 comments

Spring Bird Family Vacations – or lets call it the bird resort here at our place. This is the baby update of these 4 birds who have nested around our place.

The Raven is here every year all year. This couple had 2 babies this year. I have been trying to get a photo of all 4 of them together, but not easy to do. The 2 babies follow mom and dad everywhere still wanting to be fed by them. I just love watching how birds take care of their families.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that the Eastern Bluebirds had 4 babies. They have all left the nest and I am really going to miss these because they eat a lot of bugs. One baby somehow landed in a bucket I had outside, I took him over by the bird house and he wondered out of the bucket and than flew off.

I hope they come back next year.

The beautiful Tree Swallows had 4 or 5 babies. It is hard to count these because they fly so fast. They have all left as well. I looked up on the internet to find out where do they go after fledging. It said they usually find a group of their own and all hang out together until they fly south for the winter.

My northern Flicker residence are still here and they had 2 babies as well. I still see them flying around as a family for now.

If I can get any new photos of the kids, I will surely share them with you.

Spring Bird Family Vacations

Love of Bird Photography

By Sandra | July 24, 2024 | Comments 19 comments

Love of Bird Photography – Some of my favorite shots this summer so far.

Eastern Bluebird on the Fly, update on these birds nesting in my purple martin house. They had 4 babies and I saw one fly out of the bird house with its parent. The other 3 would take turns coming out of the nesting box and sit on the little porch. That is a small space for 4 baby birds so they are all probably about ready to test their wings and fly to a tree.

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird stopping by the feeder.

Shore bird after a dip in the water

Oh and my favorite, the White Pelican in flight. Nothing I love more than photographing these beautiful birds as they fly right over top of me. It is very hard to hold the camera in a complete vertical position but so worth the efforts. 🙂

Love of Bird Photography

By Sandra J

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out

By Sandra | July 23, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out – just grabbing a bite to eat on the run.

Eastern Bluebird with Take Out

Part of the Farm

By Sandra | July 22, 2024 | Comments 13 comments

Part of the Farm – My niece not only has horses, pigs are a part of the farm during the summer months. Her two children and their cousins show pigs, sheep and rabbits at their local fair. Which we are going to this year.

It is a great way for children to learn how to take care of animals and the importance of feeding and grooming them, even pigs. I don’t know much about pigs, but it is fun to watch the children work with them and take care of them.

They are a very curious animal, I was standing at their fence trying to get a photo and this one kept wanting to get close, looking for more food I reckon.

Part of the Farm

What Keeps You Busy

By Sandra | July 19, 2024 | Comments 26 comments

What Keeps You Busy in the summer months? Well, I love to work in the garden. But as I am getting older, it gets harder to weed the garden and plant it when it is at ground level. I have been reading a lot about raised garden beds. So this is what is going on here.

This photo is my garden from last year. It has to be fenced because of the deer. But imagine this spot covered with grass that is at least 4 ft tall and intertwined into the fence around it in the spring.

It is so discouraging to start a garden when you have to clean up the weeds first.

My husband is an amazing guy, he rototilled the garden for me and it looks ready, but I asked him if he could maybe build me a raised garden area in this spot. I showed him a picture of what I was thinking of, and by the way, he can build anything. I am quite impressed at what all he does for us, from fixing our cars to caring for our home and RV.

So he started with one box, than the dirt had to be moved.

Then he built another box, so on and so forth.

We did not have enough dirt to fill the boxes so husband cut up a bunch of dead trees to fill the boxes up half way.

We put a fence around the garden that the birds love to perch on.

Plus, they are helping me weed the garden I think and picking out bugs.

This is the final project. So much easier on my back when it comes to planting and weeding. The entire thing is planted and now I just have to maintain it. Thank you dear husband. 😉

Have a great weekend.

What Keeps You Busy

By Sandra J

Horse Art

By Sandra | July 18, 2024 | Comments 8 comments

Horse Art – nothing prettier than a team of draft horses in harness I think. I raised draft horses for years. But never did drive them. I only raised them just because they are beautiful animals. I had one that I rode which was a blast. He weighed in at almost 1 ton. His name was Big Mac.

Draft horses and mules seem to go together. They sometimes use mules to train young horses to lead. This mule below is a cutie, also belonging to my niece.

Horse Art

By Sandra J

Whistle the Paint Horse

By Sandra | July 17, 2024 | Comments 12 comments

Whistle the Paint Horse – this is my niece’s horse, I made this first photo for her this year. Showing Whistle when she was just a youngster and how she has grown into a beautiful 3 year old mare this year. She does have one blue eye as well. Beautiful horse indeed.

The paint horse is a very popular breed, thanks to its flashy coloring, genial temperament, and versatility. In fact, the American Paint Horse Association counts around 100,000 members in roughly 40 countries around the world.

Whistle the Paint Horse

By Sandra J

Outstanding in Her Field

By Sandra | July 16, 2024 | Comments 6 comments

Outstanding in Her Field – who me?

Thank you very much the White tailed deer says. She is outstanding in beauty perseverance. 🙂

Outstanding in Her Field

By Sandra J

The Ruby’s

By Sandra | July 15, 2024 | Comments 24 comments

The Ruby’s – Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Ruby, Emerald, Touch of Safire. This tiny bird has all the royal colors from creation. In such a small package, a tiny little heart that keeps this bird going. I am always amazed to watch hummingbirds, how fast they are and to know how many miles they fly a year is a wonderous thing. Truly a gift to witness the strength and tenacity of this living thing.

The Ruby’s

By Sandra J

A Colorful Surprise

By Sandra | July 12, 2024 | Comments 17 comments

A Colorful Surprise this year at home. Eastern Bluebirds have decided to use my bird house this year to raise their babies. I have never seen an eastern bluebird up here. Matter of fact I have only seen a couple of them over the years, so I feel that it is a treat to see them at all.

Their beautiful colors of blue and tan and a wonderful song they have as well.

I put two bird houses up to try and attract Purple Martins. Over the last couple of years, the only birds using this house are tree swallows. They are interesting birds because they will put nesting material in every spot so other birds think this home is occupied.

Come to find out, eastern bluebirds do the same thing. There was a slight battle between the bluebirds and tree swallows. But they seem to come to an agreement. Tree swallows took one house and bluebirds took the other.

This could have been a great shot of the tree swallow in flight, they are super fast birds. Very hard to photograph in flight. This couple had 3 or 4 babies this years. Yesterday they all came out of the house for a fly around the place. I counted 5 or 6 flying around.

Both birds eat lots of bugs, so they are a wonderful addition to our home this year.

A Colorful Surprise – Have a great weekend.

By Sandra J

Stormy Weather

By Sandra | July 11, 2024 | Comments 17 comments

Stormy Weather here lately. From Iowa and up where I live. Iowa is known for a lot of stormy weather. Seems like their tornado warnings go off quite often there during the summer months.

Angry cloud face.

Stormy Weather