Little Sunflower

We have a little sunflower growing in our yard! I took quite a few shots of it yesterday; in color, sepia, and black/white.  I can't decide which I like the most.

Color...

 

Black and White...

Or Sepia?

 

 

 

On the Road and Back at Home

After having to make a trip to Mankato on Saturday, we stopped at Minneopa State Park to enjoy the nice summer weather before heading back home. 

 

Matt reading about the history of the Seppmann Mill.

The Seppmann Mill

Dead twisted limbs from an Oak

 

Not much water to speak of in Minneopa Creek!

Snapshot of me by Minneopa Creek.

Matt!  One photo is enough!  Ha ha ha

The falls of Minneopa Creek... down to nothing but a trickle this time of year.

 

 

Back at home; Matt taking a moment to play with Fluff.

 

We had a chance to work on the yard some more on Sunday.  The long process on ripping out the overgrown perennial bed continues. 

More overgrown perennials and weeds pulled, and a couple of stumps from volunteer trees.

 

Hershey meets the neighbor!  By the look of his tail, he wasn't too happy!

An Annabelle Hydrangea flower from the yard.  Most times, the Annabelle flower bloom turns from white to brown.  Luckily, ours turned green!  They make for great dried cuttings.

 

 

 

 

Editing for Shadow corrections

I'm slowly learning more photo editing techniques.  Today, I read a tutorial on how to lighten harsh shadows in a photograph using GIMP software.  I used a technique called contrast mask.  I edited a wedding photo that I took a few years ago of my friend's wedding. 

Before editing:  Harsh shadows cast upon faces.

After:  Shadows greatly decreased; more detail shown in faces!

Around the Backyard

 

This weekend we did more unpacking and started to tackle some of the yard work in the backyard.  It was a busy, but satisfying weekend!

 

Tiger lily in the backyard landscape.  I saved this one, and am planning on moving it somewhere. 

Traditional Phlox...my previous landlord loves these, I plan to give her them for her yard.

Miss Manners in black and white.

A classic daisy.

Saturday night fun!  Matt and I had a fire out on the back patio.  The weather was prime; cool and calm!

 

The beasts are loving the new backyard!  Lots of places to roam.  Tic enjoyed hanging out by some Monarda along the fence.  Luckily, he was never hit by black walnuts that periodically dropped from the tree overhead from the neighbor's yard.

Hershey's first tree climb!  I honestly didn't think  the tank could hoist his self up one (he weighs 13.5 lbs)!  At this point he was about 8' in the air.

What do you know, Pudgy is afraid to get back down!  I had to climb up and pull him down... and he sunk his claws into my flesh and clinged to me for dear life. Ouch. 

 

The fence line along our one neighbors house.  I plan to tear this all out, except for the Monarda.  There are some volunteer trees in the midst that need to go.

Before:  the backyard landscape.  At one time, I'm sure this looked lovely.  Now, it's an overgrown mess of weeds, perennials, volunteer trees, and grass.  When I "wade" through it, it's up to my waist in some areas!

Before:  Are plan is to tear everything out and start over from scratch.  We began by taking out the small "island" of lilies and other misc. perennials. 

 

After:  The island of misplaced lilies is gone!  This took forever to clear out; the soil is very rocky and clay-like.  We plan to turn this section back to grass.

After:  Another view of the section of perennial bed gone.