Golden Leaf

Is it floating through the air ?

Or is it stuck on the side of the cars fender a visual slight of hand !

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The Eyes Have It !

They say the eyes are the window into the person. What do you see ?

Posted via email from Ted's Posterous

Fall Bloom

Just thought I would share this picture I took at Stanford Shopping Center of this lovely fall flower. Who would think that we still have summer foliage at this time of year ? The picture is displayed in a new type of viewer that allow you to see the picture full screen or zoomed in with the depth of color and sharpness of the original photo. Experiment with the controls I hope you like the results as much as I do.

Hot Mail

A hauntingly interesting picture of Grant as he checks the mail and explores the grounds at one of his favorite play sites. Grant didn't have school on Wednesday so he came to visit and supervise our daily walk. Since he has been going to nursery school we normally only see him two afternoons a week so he doesn't have much of a chance to get to all of his favorite haunts or visit his animal friends.

He certainly made up for lost time with visits to play areas and horses he has not seen for a while. The horses were thrilled to see him and kept whining at him to give them some carrots. He happily obliged them running back and forth to make sure they all got their share.

What would a walk through the valley be without stopping to see the omnipresent giraffe to discover what hat he was wearing today. Needless to say Grant had a great walk and visit with some of his friends and places.

Shots at Home

This morning I heard the woodpeckers banging away outside and Ricki and I decided to see if we could capture the little guys in a photo. Here is a picture of the little guy with a nut in his beak, getting ready for winter I suppose.

I found that they are harder to photograph than you might think. Even thou they are collecting nuts they don't stay in one place for long. While I was in the backyard I also took a quick shot of Ricki. It looks like he is concentrating on the birds too. I wonder if he wanted to take a picture of them or did he have something else in mind?

Halloween II

Last year Grant visited the Lemos Halloween Farm for the first time and this video is of his visit this year.

Elsa and Saga at 11 months

It is Sunday and we had little visitors come to see us this morning. They brought their mom with them of course someone has to drive. As you can see from the pictures they are lovely little girls with wonderful personalities.
They jointed us for a little lunch and that gave me some interesting and colorful pictures. They really enjoyed the small pumpkins we had on the fireplace hearth and Grant's race car set. Sit back and enjoy some of the pictures from today's visit.



You may want to come back later as I have a lot more pictures to add to this show!

Fall is Coming

Yes there is a a bit of fall in the air the leaves are starting to turn and the temperature has bite of coolness in it. As you can see from the pictures this season has a lot to offer in photo subjects. To see larger versions of these pictures just click on them and watch them pop. If you would like even larger version click here and you will find versions suitable for use as desktop wallpaper.

A old fashion rose the last one left on the plant.

Leaf turning from green to gold.

Future Athlete

"G" on the move shows the form of a future athlete. Note the Popsicle in his hand nothing seems to slow him down.

Art Work

Today I'm featuring my X-Art Album which highlights photographs I have taken that I digitally enhanced.

New Way !

There is a new way to follow all my web posts. Check it out! It will contain pictures, videos and text.

Posted via email from Ted's Posterous

Seascape - Capitola

On Tuesday we took a ride down to Seascape and Capitola in Santa Cruz County. The weather was spectacular and the differences between the two areas where stark. Capitola is a busy extremely popular and well populated town. There are lots of businesses in walking distance to the beach, parking availability is tight and expensive. The public bathrooms are well maintained and exceptionally clean.
Seascape (La Selva Beach) on the other hand is mostly residential with unbelievable clean beaches with good public access. Driving time was about 60 minutes from our house under light traffic conditions.
Here are some other pictures from our trip:

Seagull sitting on a rail in Capitola.

Hidden trail brings you by this lovely garden in Capitola.

Looking back at the river running into the sea.

Public Access to La Selva Beach.

S.F. Zoo 2

Last week Eivor, Grant and I went to the San Francisco Zoo to see more of the animals that we missed on our last trip. This was to be Grants last outing before he returned to pre-school and we all made the best of it. The weather was wonderful and the crowds were small and we got to see lots of animals and the steam railroad.
Polar bears were the main focus for me as I got lots of good pictures. Grant loved the steam train and the carousel and it was hard to pry him away from the train crossing. He loved the playground and the ice cream. He practiced roaring back at the tiger who was pacing in the moat and bounding up and down the stairs to his main living area.
I have posted the pictures in two albums if you want to take a look at them. One is of Grant and his adventure and the other is of the Animals we saw. I'm also posting these in slide shows below.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

We took day trip to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach this week and I just had to share this picture with you.

As you can see Grant had a wonderful time with sea weed he called a sea pickle. He discovered that when you squeezed it you get several sprays of water. The opportunity to squirt his grandparents with the sea pickle was just to much fun to forgo.
I love the happy look on his face that I captured in this and several other pictures I took on this trip. This picture has been manipulated by using a filter that gives the photo a look of being on a canvas background. I'm currently using this picture as my wallpaper and it looks great.
I will be posting more pictures from the trip on my SmugMug photo site.

Day Trip

Eivor and I took a day trip to Aptos, Capitola and Santa Cruz to escape the heat of the bay area and to enjoy the cooler temperatures of the coast. We were not disappointed as the coast was cool and gray with just a touch of sun breaking through. A beautiful time to walk along the sea shore and to enjoy the views.
We had a nice lunch at the Crows Nest in the Santa Cruz Harbor and we are happy to report that the food and the views from the restaurant are as good as ever. On our way home we stopped in Halfmoon Bay at a orchid wholesaler and picked up some lovely inexpensive orchids.

As you can see from the picture the color on this orchid is unbelievable.

Flora

I got some nice images of from my walk today. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I enjoyed taking them. Lots of lovely flowers with strong colors and contrasting pictures of trees and branches for variety.

Gorilla Exhibit

We went to the San Francisco Zoo this week and I thought that I would share this collage of the gorilla exhibit with you. As you can see the zoo has a new baby gorilla that has just made its appearance with the other gorillas with his surrogate mother. If you would like to see more or larger pictures click here.

Last Day of Summer School

Just thought that I would share these two pictures from my grandsons last day of summer school. We picked him up from school as you can see from the pictures that he was happiest to see his beloved BMW X-5.
I'm not sure why this car is his favorite but it is and as you maybe able to make out in the picture he is pointing to the BMW insignia on the wheel while saying BMW at the same time. Very smart boy indeed.
Don't tell his mom and dad but yes those are the cars keys in his hand he has to unlock the car and help his grandmother into the passengers seat before starting the car for me.

This is the full view of Grant and the X-5.

Morning Sky

The weather yesterday and this morning are showing the influence that tropical storms have on our local skies. This shot was taken this morning from my back door and is highlighted with blue skies and puffy white clouds. Last night we even had a little rain something that was not in any of the local weather forecasts. Any rain this time of year is gratefully accepted.

4th of July

It was a nice quiet 4th of July at our house this year. We did have three visitors come and brighten our day. Eivors niece Jennie and her twin girls Elsa and Saga. The girls are growing fast and are starting to move around rolling on their tummies and almost sitting up on their own. There are busy days ahead for mom and dad as they master crawling and walking.
I took a few pictures and some video of the girls and I have posted the pictures to my SmugMug album for your viewing pleasure. As you can see from these pictures they are getting cuter all the time. Saga is in the blue and you guessed it Elsa is in the red.
Soon it was time for Jennie to take the twins to a barbecue at dads work and yes that's him holding the girls in front of the fire truck. Jennie thanks for the picture I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday.

Just Thought

I just thought that you might like to see this pic of Saxon and Grant from last Wednesday.

I'm also sharing this compilation of pictures from our Santa Cruz visit.

I have a new Blog

As some of you may know I have a interest in photography. In the last several years I have taken a little more time to pursue this interest and it has led to the purchase of several cameras. My most recent purchase was of a Leica D-Lux4 compact camera.
I thought that some folks might be interested my impressions of the camera and to see what is available out there. Today's picture was taken with the camera and highlights the picture quality you can expect. For more please visit my new blog at: http://leicacompact.blogspot.com/

Note this picture was taken in wide aspect 16x9 ratio.
Click on pic to see larger view.

New Twins Photo Album

Grant, Eivor and I took a drive to Santa Cruz to visit Mike, Jennie and the twins Elsa and Saga. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time visiting and walking to the beach. Here is a slide show featuring the Twins and Grant. If you want to see more check out Grant's blog site.

Late Spring

Today is one of the last days before summer begins. You would never know it from the weather the middle 80's and the way the landscape has changed. The grasses that were green just weeks ago know have a golden glow. The light rains we have been experiencing are a thing of the past and are replaced by bright blue skies.

The small creatures that I see everyday on my walk seem to be enjoying the warmth of the mid-morning sun. These lizards perch themselves on the top of the trail fence posts and warm their bodies from last nights cold.
Summer will be here in a few days and I'm looking forward to taking more outdoor photographs.
Look for Little "G"s and my adventures coming soon to a blog near you!

Babies are growing fast

These three little Blue Jays are growing fast. We have been monitoring their progress from the parents building their nest on April 23,2009. The first egg came on April 25,2009 and they hatched on May 16,2009 tiny, pink and naked. As you can see in the picture it didn't take long before they where screaming for food.
Today they have their eyes open and most of their feathers are in place. They have started to move around in the nest more and look forward to their next meal. I have some interesting video that I will share with you after they have fledged.

Fun Pic's

Grant and I are having fun on the computer we are editing some fun pictures. We take them in Apples Photo Booth program and then alter them some more in Adobe Photoshop Elements. Hopefully this pic bring a little smile to your face too. It is the two faces of "G"
Now this last one is just for some colorful fun it features Grant and I with some interesting highlights.

It's Nice to have a Pool

The weekend has been more than a little hot! In the high 90's both Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully we have a nice pool to cool off in. In this picture my German Shepherd is getting into the act as she waits to have the ball thrown to her.


You might notice in the picture that I have added a filter to the picture to soften the image.

Aviation

On Thursday Eivor, "G" and I went to the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California. It is a most impressive museum with dozens of old airplanes chronicling the history of flight. Well "G" really loved the hands on portion of the museum and in this long version of the video documenting our adventure you will see the museum in all its glory.


If you want to see the short version go to Little "G"s Blog its shorter and snappier.

Musing

I've been musing about what pic's to share this week and I have come up with a few that I took yesterday. I thought should I highlight the statues or the grounds or maybe the interesting patterns that I found in the wood and buildings.

I decided to share a picture of a white statue that I manipulated a bit and some pictures of our lovely dogs. The first is a head shot of Ricki on the tennis court. He was taking a break from playing with his toy as you might get from the fact his tongue is hanging out and the happy expression on his face.

Nika on the other hand is resting on the driveway after playing fetch with her kong. It seems that she never tires of retrieving toys.

Update

I have just updated my website to give you snapshots of what I'm doing on the web. Everything from photos, blogs and now tweets. Take a look you might see something that interests you.

New Art

Hi for those of you that are following my grandson and my photographic art work. I have a new piece for your enjoyment. Let me know what you think.