Following the sun 

Lauren's Flower 

Crab Apples after the Rain

The Children's Garden

Yesterday I visited the Children's Garden at Monument Park in Canton, Ohio. On summer mornings since May, children have come to this delightful, whimsical outdoor setting to hear stories, plant seeds, study bugs, and make flower-faeries. Contributing to the whimsy are the stunning metal scultpures created by Iron Orchid of Navarre, Ohio.

A walkway around the garden is lined with the following words:

Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud-turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade, waterlilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pinecones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, and hornets; any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education. -- Luther Burbank 

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. (From Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann, 1952) 

"Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time." (From Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann, 1952)

"Be yourself..."

Touch-Me-Not Cafe 

Darning Needle. 

Don't know what it was, but it was happy to be in the sunshine! 

I have a question about digital SLRs. Right now I have a Canon point-and-shoot with manual controls (Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual modes, exposure compensation, auto or flexpoint autofocus, ISO 100-400, etc.) I'm okay with the larger size of an SLR and with the shorter battery life, but what will an 8mp SLR do that an 8mp point-and-shoot with manual options won't? Do any of your SLRs allow you to see the image on an LCD on the back of the camera, or do all SLRs require you to look through the eyepiece? I really value your opinions - thanks in advance.

Daddy Long Legs feasting on Pokeberry

Watery Web 

The spiders are back 

This is the original of the balloon shot below. It was after sunset and getting dark, so Owen was right...it's blurry (and grainy and dark and desaturated too!). Anyway, I got out my poor-person's Photoshop (Ulead PhotoImpact, which I love), and upped the saturation, the contrast, stretched out the levels, sharpened the image, and then found another photo with a nice sunny blue sky and layered blue sky in behind the balloon. Me bad?