P52 Week 11 - Signs Of Spring!

This weeks challenge was by my good friend Brooke Swanson. (no relation)...And hey Brooke - Love your name! lol. Brooke's challenge to me was 'Signs of Spring!"  She gave me this on Friday morning. Thought it was a great idea! And then it snowed...again... Any thoughts I had of finding buds starting to emerge from the ground were dashed. I'm sure they are there...Buried.
Signs of Spring...Hmmm. Gonna have to put on my thinking cap..
With camera in hand...I went out Saturday morning..

First stop, Spring Street! Uh-huh! A clever lad, aren't I? Not going to let a little snow get me down. While I was there, a gentleman, walking his dog came over to see what I was doing. I was next to a snowbank, and he thought I was trying to make it look like a mountain shot. I wasn't, but it was a funny idea! So here is my mountain view...

Next up, I thought I'd go down to the little Winnisquam and get some shots of the bob houses before they sink into the lake. It was cold, but the sun was shining...Spring is on the way! As this fisherman can attest. Just fishing and soaking up the sun.

Further down Winnisquam, Sponge Bob Square House, was also soaking up the sun. waiting for his owner to come rescue him. Bobhouses have to be off the lake by April 1st, but we have had some warm days. It would be a good idea to get this guy off sooner rather than later.

I drove around, looking for more signs of Spring. Headed over to my father-in-law's sap house to see if they were boiling. That's always a good sign of spring. Nope. Was too cold and the sap was not running.
Next, I headed over to the Ramblin' Vewe Sheep farm to see if the lambs have been born yet..But didn't see anyone around, and didn't want to just barge in. Will try another time. So those two springy ideas were out.
Next, while I was out and about, I stopped by Lowe's to pick up some things. First thing I saw was the Line up of shiny new grills in the snow, ready to go. If that doesn't mean Spring, I don't know what does.

Inside, there were plenty of signs of spring. Seeds, garden tools, lawn furniture, and grass seed.

Spring is almost here! (And so is yardwork).

After running my errands,  I went home and worked on my taxes. Another Sign of Spring. Albeit, one of the worst signs.

After spending hours getting receipts together and plugging things into turbotax, I needed a creative break and went down to my studio.(aka workshop) and pulled out my lightbox. And in honor of St. Patrick's day...

I find that I do enjoy product photography, so whenever I have a chance, I'm all over it.

As a last play on 'Spring', I took apart a ballpoint pen and used my macro lens.

Before finishing up my assignment, I wanted to take one last look around the yard looking for signs of spring. Sue told me to look right outside our front door at the Climbing Hydrangea..Wished I thought of that sooner..Would have saved me some gas! 

Happy St. Patrick's day folks. Top 'O the Morning to ya, and the rest o' the day to myself..
Till next week!
Em

P52 Week 10 - For the Dogs

Dog-Tired, that's what I am. Soo glad I didn't set myself up for P365 like I did a couple of years ago. The Project 52 is quite enough.

My Dog, Bella. Also tired.

I started off the week by shooting at the World Championship Dog Sled races in Laconia last Sunday. It was a snowy day but not too cold. I walked quite a way and found a decent spot away from the crowds, and made myself a comfortable spot on the ground near the track. I laid down in the snow in order to get down at the dog's level and get some decent shots.

Home stretch

I was close all right. It was a 2 way track, and at one point, two teams nearly collided. One of them almost left the track and headed towards me. Close call, and it got my heart pounding. As well as the mushers I'm sure. I could practically feel the lead dogs breath. Whew!

The Lead Dog

It was a neat event. I hadn't been for about 10 years. And at the time, I wasn't shooting. This time, I got into it and felt like a part of the action. I won't claim to understand the sport at all. As a matter of fact, I felt really bad for the dogs working so hard, and running so hard in the cold. But I'm sure they are well taken care of. Hope so. From what I saw and heard, the mushers loved their pets, so I was glad to see that.
Here's a smattering of other shots.

Go Team!

Booties

Lemme help

Rounding the bend

This one is a collection of 10 shots, 

stitched together into a Gif file at Picasion.

Check them out!

Anyway, I was rewarded for my morning of shooting and laying in the snow, by getting a cold and having a fever for a couple of days. That didn't help my energy level this week.
And it was a busy one:
I had an all-nighter of billing on Tuesday.
A meeting of NHPPA  (New Hampshire Professional Photographers Association) on Wednesday.
Late nights studying SSRS and SSAS for work (Sql Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services), and Tableau Reporting.
Sold some pictures on Friday!
And also lost another hour of sleep thanks to daylight savings.
So as I mentioned, I'm dog-tired...But not complaining! There will be plenty of time to sleep when I'm old.

Bella, in a contemplative moment

 So that's it for another week. Now to get back and hit the books.

Who has next week's assignment for me?

Have an awesome week gang!
Em

By the way, I was originally going to name this post "Going To the Dogs". Thought it was clever since I was going to the Sled dog races. But then I googled it and found this for a meaning:
"if a country or an organization is going to the dogs, it is becoming less successful than it was in the past (usually in continuous tenses)"
And that is definitely not the case, so I renamed it "For the Dogs"

P52 - Week 9 - Clover

This week's challenge comes from my son's girlfriend Shelbie...I didn't have an assignment for the week, and  went and opened my big mouth and announced that. Shelbie said, "How about Clover?" "Clover?", I answered, "the middle of winter is a lousy time for finding clover?" "Well, you wanted a challenge, didn't you?, she replied.  "Ya got me there, Shelbie". So Clover it is.
Now, where was I going to find clover? "A-Ha!" I said Thursday. There's an Irish Pub in Manchester near work called Murphy's taproom. Great place. They have to have clover on the sign. Nope...Just a gaelic design..Ok, what to do next?
Patrick's Pub right near us in Gilford! One of our favorite places. They've got clover (or shamrock) on the sign. Should have thought of that sooner.

That's how a pub sign should look. This is a great place to eat! And the owners are awesome.

Nabbed these shots off of the Patrick's Van.

My next stop was the grocery store. Lucky Charms! Pink hearts, yellow stars, blue moons, and green clover...That's how the slogan used to be. Not the case now...Mostly moons. I had to really dig in the box, and the clover are now replaced with leprechaun hats with clover on them. Oh well, still counts as clover. And it's still good cereal!

Went a little crazy after going to the grocery store (you know how I am)  and then went to the dollar store...Picked up a few things there. And back home, got out my Patrick's mug (from 2000), and Celtics beanie baby to complete the ensemble.

 There you go Shelbie...Your clover..

Next week, I'm going to the dogs... C'mon back now..

Have a great week
Em