Mud Ranch's Real Dirt » Nature Photography

“Oh What a Beautiful Morning!…”

mudranch — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:47:52 +0000

We had such a gorgeous morning here at Mud Ranch – One of my favorite weather conditions, Hoary Frost. There were little white spikes all over everything and it made the landscape have a beautiful texture that is hard to describe. Of course, I had to go out and take photos, so here’s some to enjoy.

I loved how the blue skies would peek out from behind the fog here and there.

And a close up of what the frost really looks like, it found it’s resting place here on some wild rose hips.

Hank, Harry, and I walked up to a couple of settling ponds that are very seasonal. Annie and I catch Pollywogs here in the spring. Now they’re very much frozen over.

Hank will now demonstrate how to break the ice to have a nice cool drink (he’s nibbling on my arm as I type.)

I loved the colors and textures of this water grass, which is very sharp by itself but now has a special ‘edge’ with it’s new frosty look.

Harry, despite his very cold paws, couldn’t stand not to come along. He thought I was crazy at a couple points but continued to follow anyway.

I knew that if I hunkered down and called his name, that I’d get this next photo…

And effortless leap, all fours off the ground! What a good kitty.

And just to add some ‘punch’ to a couple of my hoary frost photos, the Orton Effect.

This last one was my favorite.

Last Nights…err…This Morning’s Full Lunar Eclipse

mudranch — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 22:00:31 +0000

I wasn’t all that tired as Annie headed off to bed and the Hubby did as well… I am glad I wasn’t too. I knew about the Full Lunar Eclipse but didn’t realize that it would be starting at 11 PM PST. Hmm… That’s not too bad of a wait. Well, little did I know how long it would go through it’s cycle, nor how cold it would be standing outside with my camera and tripod. It was a fun sight to see and was one that I guess many people could not due to the amount of clouds in the sky (or the era they were born in to see one on winter solstice which happened the back in the 1600′s). So, here’s some photos for those of you who couldn’t see it. And, obviously I need to work on my night photography.

The last two were especially hard to get… I actually lost the moon from view because it was so faint. Then the clouds were rolling through and I was afraid I was going to miss it alltogether but thankfully the sky opened up for a moment and I got the last photo. There’s the red moon in the shadow of our earth.

Wordless Wednesday — Snowy Mountains

mudranch — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 16:58:33 +0000

Wordless Wednesday — Nature’s Pearls

mudranch — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 17:30:59 +0000

Why I Love Fall

mudranch — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:54:22 +0000

It is by far, without a doubt, my favorite season. I love wearing sweatshirts or long sleeve shirts and pants, I love the crisp mornings and warm days, and the color that surrounds.

So many fruits and berries are ready to be harvested and are in their prime.

Did I mention the colors? The textures are just enhanced by this season too, and I’m a big texture lover.

The lighting is amazing too. So much warmth in all this cool.

So I brought it inside to enjoy throughout the day.

More photos will be added to my Flickr account. You can click on that at the bottom of this page, where all the photos are lined up.

AND, my kitties get nice and fluffy.