Moving Grandma

Hi folks,

Well, that was a busy weekend. We moved my Grandma from her apartment to an apartment my uncle built for her. It was a perfect day for moving, seeing that it rained most of the morning. There is this uncanny phenomena about rain. One of the greatest ways to bring it on is to plan something that works better in dry weather. I guess I should quit complaining, because number one God sent it, and number two we really did need it. We need lots more of it too. Any one else need to move?
My wife and I were the first ones to arrive at grandma's, seeing that we were supposed to be there at nine o'clock in the morning. We arrived a little before nine. I calculated backwards for the Graber time factor, if I had used the calculation correctly we would have arrived at quarter after nine with the rest of them.
Anyway, as the first introductory drops of rain were gracing the earth with their presence, we began moving stuff out. Thankfully we were able to get most of it in some sort of an in closed transportation device. We had lots of hands and it went really good. A couple from the church, brought in lunch. I think the highlight of the lunch was the donuts. It was a good thing we could sit in our vehicles for about two hours and let it all settle.
Fortunately the rain ceased with our arrival to Grandma's new home. The mud was still with us though, and we had to lay down plastic to protect the nice new floors. About mid- afternoon we had it all moved in. The battle was far from over though, because the ladies had to work at it for awhile to disappear all the boxes. It was impressive how they were able to put all that stuff away. I didn't know if it would be possible. It is amazing how that apartment turned from some empty rooms with barren walls to a place that my Grandma will call home.

Here is a link to pictures from the weekend.

Catch you later!!

Rose Bushes & Big Birds

Hi folks,

I am back again. I had a relaxing weekend, and thus I had time to do what I enjoy (photography). So rather than be selfish, I thought I would share what I saw.

I know the above is not a rose bush or a bird, but I put it there for those eccentric folks who enjoy the abstract.

This is from a rose bush in my mom's front yard. Spring is an interesting time of the year, because of all the trees and bushes showing signs of life.

We went down to a bridge and a heron put on a sort of show for us. I don't think the tree held his weight too well, because he flew off to somewhere else...

...which was a lot farther away. I had to crop this so you could see it better. (If I don't tell you it is cropped, it probably isn't.)

Then he came a little closer to give us good look over. He stood there stock still for about 10 minutes I would say.

This is one is cropped too. I saw this guy on the way to work. I am a little bugged by it because the lighting is all wrong. I might be able to fix that later.

That's all for now!!

Photos from Nebraska Trip

Hi,
The long awaited Nebraska post is finally here. I wasn't sure what angle to portray, whether I should tell about what we did in NE or if I should simply post some of my favorite photos and some photos that I am trying to decide if I like or not.
I guess you will have to follow along and decide for yourself which angle I took.
The above photo was taken on purpose, but I am still trying to decide if I like it or not. I purposely lined up the rows in the field to project them selves toward the horizon at the approximate center of the photo. This also lends to a symmetrical effect on the photo. My problem is those nasty trees on the horizon. Just one tree would have been perfect, but there are several and it leaves you wondering what you are supposed to be seeing. Any way it does tell us something about Nebraska, there are lots of fields.

Friday evening we went down to a very old grave yard and that was interesting. I will confess I was too busy taking pictures to actually read some of the stuff on the stones there. I used a long lens to make the sun look so big on the tip of the grave stone.



More photo shop simply because I wanted it Black and White. Is adding a touch of sharpening cheating too? I think this photo speaks for it self. I saw this on a Saturday afternoon cruise with our Nebraska friends.

What we really went to see Saturday afternoon were sand hill cranes. We saw lots and lots of them. This is one of my favorite shots. (Cropped by the way) I think it was doing some sort of courtship dance and was looking for something to throw into the air.

At sunset we went down by bridge to watch the cranes come in for the night. This is about my favorite of all the pictures I took at the bridge.
Anyway before this post gets long and rambling.... Just one more picture.


A precious little daffodil in Jenny's flower Garden. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Till later.

To Bug Clark and Gabe....

A church along I-80 in NE. I've always liked this church, and have wanted to get a picture of it ever since I saw it the first time. So when we were coming home Monday, I grabbed the camera. I'm rather proud of how it turned out, can you tell? I took this riding in a car going 80 mph. It was taken through a window. I didn't really know what I was doing. No, I don't know what ISO I used. No, I don't know what aperture it is. No, I don't know what kind of camera I used. No I don't know anything about the lens other then that it was automatic. No, I don't know what the zoom was set at. Actually, I didn't use a zoom at all. The top picture is cropped from the original, which appears below (see, I show my mistakes instead of pretending they didn't happen). And Clark says the cropped picture could still be blown up to a 11x16. I just set the camera to continuous shoot and held the trigger. I do know that the lighting is kind of harsh, but beggars can't be choosers, esp. not at 9:30 am. Anyway, this goes to show that anyone can take a good picture without knowing anything at all about ISO's and apertures and other way-over-my-head techie terms that certain people throw around all the time. Sometimes, something will just have an emotion with out all the other stuff (no, I guess I won't ponder the emotion of this picture right here right now). So, there you have it!

Btw, these pictures are copyrighted.

Just Rambling Along...

I'm sitting here looking out the window at the green outdoors. It finally rained and thundered properly yesterday! We are very grateful for the rain, we've had an extremely dry spring so far. It's been an early spring too. I'm seriously being tempted to plant garden and stuff, but Grandma says there is no point in doing that yet. I'm afraid that impatience might over rule wisdom in the end though. I uncovered my stuff in the flowerbed yesterday, and was very pleased to see that most of my perennials survived the winter. Now I'm thinking about what to plant this year.

We went out to NE last weekend to visit Clark's sister and her husband, and see their new baby. We had a very enjoyable time (pictures here) . It was good for me to get a dose of reality in regards to babies as well. Somehow it didn't dampen my anticipation of mine though. We had a good visit with Clark's aunt as well. It's really funny to think of her as being a "generation" ahead of us, we relate more as peers.

I've been busy sewing. I'm still having trouble getting a pattern that I like. Once I figure it out, I won't need it any more, and I'll have to figure out a whole new pattern... My mom says I'll be doing that for the next twenty years. How encouraging! I'm really ready to get done with sewing, and start cleaning my house good and proper. And throw stuff away. I LOVE to throw things away, which is amazing, because I used to be a pack rat when I was growing up. Maybe something about living in a small house has helped that.

I'm in a baking mood today, so we'll see if it's productive beyond a batch of bread. I'd love to do pies or cinnamon rolls, only the two of us do not need those kinds of goodies at all! I have a lot of yummy farm fresh eggs from NE right now to use, so maybe I should dig my cookbooks out and find something that takes a lot of eggs.

Anyway, that's the odds and ends of my life today. I have a feeling this is a rather boring post. Maybe someday I will do up something a little more interesting. See you all later!

Cattails and Feathered Friends.

Hi,

I found another favorite swamp!! I went by this morning and saw some interesting things, so take a look and see for yourself.

Some Cattails.

And a goose.

Same goose, different pose.

This is a red wing blackbird, a sure sign of summer.

There I cropped it. Is that better?

This is cropped too, I couldn't get very close. I think this is a wood duck.

That's all for now!!

--Clark Graber--

Hi All,

I am back, but incidently I have not much to say, so I will just post some photos that I happened by and my new camera (Nikon DSLR) "happened" to be with me. (In my wife's words"New Toy".) For your information the "New Toy" was worth every penny and my relationship with the wife.......... is doing just fine. In the future, I probably won't always mention what camera I took them with, because 75% of the time it doesn't really matter. People take pictures and a good camera just makes it easier.

My favorite swamp.

OK, So it is a bit abstract, but you have admit the lighting was good.

A humble, dead, and rotting stump. You don't have to like this picture if you don't want to.

These guys are aggravating, they won't come around to the other side of the feeder and let me get a full view of them.



An old farm stead that I go by on the way to work. The sunlight was a bit harsh..... Blah......

Is that any better?

Last but not least, I like this one because is means spring is on the way. I can't wait!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

--Clark Graber--

Yes, I am still alive

Well I typed up a post a few weeks, or maybe a month ago, and never posted it. So I've deleted what I had written, except for the title, and we shall see if this epistle gets posted.

I missed most of winter this year due to the 'Egyptian flu'. I decided however, that if I had to pick a season to miss, I would choose winter. And as soon as I got to second trimester, I couldn't believe how much better I felt (I still have my bad days though). I am having fun feeling ambitious again. Sewing, gardening, shopping, house cleaning and organizing, painting (maybe), all that is on my agenda for the summer. And maybe I will squeeze in a little scrap booking. ( My man bought me a Cricut cartridge for my birthday, and I haven't gotten to use it yet. I've heard others are enjoying it though!) Somehow my summer is starting to morph into busyness like it always does, but I like it that way. I am glad I decided not to clean this summer though.

Our snow is mostly gone. Spring came in a hurry this year, although I am sure we are in for more cold weather and maybe even a snowstorm yet! I always love spring, esp. warm windy days like we had the last two days. I had the window open today while I was working on some projects, and the breeze and smell was wonderful! One of these evenings we need to walk down to the river, although it won't be tonight I know. My man won't be home in time. I'm really looking forward to my flower garden, and I'm contemplating planting blueberries, but I haven't decided if I'm brave enough for that or not. I came to the realization that our yard full of poplar trees aren't going to last forever, and maybe we need to start thinking about planting some other kinds as well. I'm also getting the itch to go fishing, although that won't happen for quite a few weeks yet. The lakes still have ice on them!

I cut out a dress today, and please wish me well as I sew it. I have no clue how it's going to turn out. One minute I think it's way too big, and the next I'm sure it's too small. Why can't someone make a nice, decent, easy pattern? I bought one that looks like it would make a very nice tent or something. Sigh! I got some material today that I had ordered, and I like it, so that made me happy. I think I should have other people buy me fabric, I like what they buy me better then I like what I buy me sometimes. Both moms got me a piece or two recently when they had opportunity to be at a fabric place, and while I wouldn't have picked out what they got for me if I had been the one shopping, I really like what they got me. Does that make sense?

Anyway, that's what I can think of for now. Hopefully I can be more regular at updates after this. We shall see I suppose. My man should be home soon, and supper will be ready. We are having meatloaf, potatoes and carrots. He doesn't like cooked carrots, so I get to eat them myself!

March Thaw or Spring Proper?

Greetings,

Coming to you from a foggy, damp, and rainy northern Wisconsin. I am some what reluctant to classify this as spring proper; that probably has to do with my past experience. It always seems that we have this thaw and then suddenly, like a wounded lion, winter hurls one last mighty snow storm. So we shall see. For now we will deal with the side effects of 12" of snow melting and a week of never ceasing rain.

One of the most inconvenient side effects for me, is our drive. Our main parking area turns into a very muddy and watery sort of place. I thought maybe I had planted our car in the midst of it the other day, but with a little more acceleration and gentle rocking it came out. It really wasn't that serious, but the ruts I left would have said other wise. So today I had some spare time and thought maybe if I punctured a hole through the frost it would drain. I think maybe it worked but can't be sure. Imagine a grown man in rubber boots out playing in the mud puddles.

Anyway until next time.

--Clark Graber--

P.S. If this is in fact spring proper, it is just ducky with me!!

QUACK!!

Paths & Life

Hello,
My mind went to how our lives are like roads & paths.

God may give us a glimpse far into the future and give us a reason to travel.

Many corners and turns come on the way.

Making the next bend in the road a mystery.

Maybe even a little cold comes our way.



Do you let rough weather stop you?




Maybe you can't see very far ahead.

I won't leave out the pleasant places!!

Don't forget to bring a map!!

Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. "

Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. "

Matthew 28:20 "......... and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the World. "

Thanks for reading!!

--Clark Graber--

Just A Few Odds & Ends

Hi folks,

I am about to try and bring life back into a seemingly forgotten blog. I do not have a lot to say. So, without too much ado and pontification on pointless humdrum, I will just post some humble photos that happened to present them selves; and I happened to be there at the same time they were. So now I get to share them with you.

Ok so this one is photo shopped just to bring out the fading red glow of sunlight. No, it is not a mountain, it is just a simple sand pile. I went by the same area again and met up with the next three photos.

Anyway I have been looking for an orange sunlight on snow. That is the closest I have come so far. Two more pictures from last weekend with a brief explanation and I must sign off soon.

The hands are around the handle of a milling machine thingy. Picture was taken at an event our friends put on. Basically it is a display of the colonial times and how they did things. This was the miller of course.

Last but not least. Ethan and I went down to the beach to have a look around. The sunlight was somewhat harsh so I decided to turn this one B&W for the fun of it. Well, I have to go now, seeing that I have others things to do.

Thanks for stopping by!!

--Clark Graber--

2010

Happy New Year Everyone!

"For I know the thoughts I have toward you," says the Lord, "Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a hope and a future." --Jer.29:11

May God bless all of you this year!

PS

Ok, so I don't know how to make blogs post in sequence. You'll have to go to 'Nativity, Live From...' and then read backwards. Grr! Next time I'll have to post 'backwards', and then hopefully it will make more sense! You would think that Blogger would be a little more 'up-to-date' then that! Anyway...

A cute little fellow in front of us. Poor Baby! (Sorry to his parents, it was too cute to resist!)