Stony Frog

My friend, Steve, his son and I went to my sister's place in Indiana. We mainly went there at the beginning of the week to do some fishing. My sister has a pretty good sized pond where I do most of my fishing during the summer and fall seasons. I'd like to try my hand at doing a little ice fishing here this winter.

There's basically eight types of life you'll find living in and around the pond. That would be:

Turtles

Sunfish

Large Mouth Bass

Catfish

Snakes

Toads and Frogs

Flying Insects

and...

Bloodsucking Ticks (lots of them) That's why all of our mutual friends call my sister's place The Tick Ranch. Because 99% of the time you're guaranteed to go home with a tick on you or the stuff you left with.

Now, while we were down there we were doing more talking than catching anything. I have a feeling that might have had something to do with all the algae on the surface of the water. We were limited in where we could cast our line out. In the summer, I'll catch anywhere between ten to twenty good sized fish.

The lack of action gave us plenty of time to look around while we sat on the dock. Steve found what looked to be a the axle of a truck, which is surprising, since it would be extremely difficult to go down the steep hill to park decently next to the pond. This makes me think that a truck went off the field path and slid into the lake some years before my sister and brother-in-law bought the place and the surrounding acres of land. That wouldn't surprise me that much. Stranger things have happened at her place. A previous owner of the 100 year old farm house, barns and land had hung himself in one of the barns.

I found a frog (or toad) that wouldn't freaking move. Not even a blink of one of it's eyes.

I watched it off and on for 45 minutes and it would not move a tiny bit. I yelled, "Move!"

But it didn't budge or make a peep. It just sat there with it's eyes wide open.

In my younger, somewhat less compassionate years, I probably would have thrown a stick or rock at it. But I didn't. I just watched the Frog of Stone sit there. I was beginning to think it was a ceramic thing-a-ma-jiggy that my sister or niece put down by the lake for decoration.

Finally, one of my nieces came down by the lake. I hoped that she could solve the mystery. I asked her several questions about Mr. Stony Frog but she couldn't tell me if it was real or not. She said she didn't put it there.

A few minutes went by before I turned my back to talk to somebody. When I turned back around, the frog wasn't there. I looked at the water near the bank where he had sat and I could see his big frog peepers (eyes, you know) sitting just above the water. Then he winked. I shouted, "Look! He's real! There he is!" Everyone looked at him and that's when he swam off.

Mystery solved.

After several hours of unsuccessful fishing but lots of interesting conversation (no, not about the frog), we head back up to the house. After my sister, Steve, his son and I are talking for awhile, I notice a huge hornet's nest on a nearby tree branch. I make mention of it and my sister says she doesn't think there's anything in it. Her sense of humor almost equals mine in pure wickedness. Guess what happens next? Why... She snaps off the limb the nest is hanging off of and holds it over Steve's head, of course.

At least he's happy about it.

Here's another shot of it. No hornets ever came out of it. The sun was rapidly going down about this time.

It almost looks like a dead chicken from this angle and the lighting. I would likely discourage you from eating it. Well, actually, no, I wouldn't. I think seeing you eating it would give me a chuckle or two.

Sunsets and Sunrises Over The Ocean

My wife and I took a cruise in the Caribbeans around the end of August. During the course of our trip, we visited and explored the Bahamas, Grand Cayman Islands and Mexico. While we were on our cruise ship, Freedom Of The Seas, I took several shots of the sunsets and sunrises over the ocean.

I believe these were the best of those pics.

Did you notice the partial image of the solarium in the top left corner? The solarium was a large indoor sauna and pool area with a skylight above.

Yes, that is handsome me, below, striking a pose against the rail of one of the upper decks. lol. This was taken right before the sun began it's descent.

I just think that when the sun is in these phases, it's at it's most awesome. These are the times when the sun inspires a real, genuine feeling of peace. I guess that's why so many people are attracted to it the most during these moments.

I really like this one below the best so I saved it for last.

Who knows when and if I'll ever get to see the sun in these types of settings again? Over the ocean? I'm just glad I captured these moments.

Wind Gusts and Downpours

First off, I would like to thank all of my first followers and fellow bloggers for checking out my new site and leaving kind remarks. I know this is quite different from my other site and I believe I'm staying more true to myself and everyone else by showing another facet of my personality.

Today, we had some inclement weather in the tri-state Ohio Valley area. Tornado warnings were being given for nearly every county. We had wind gusts of up to 70 mph. What better time, I thought, than to go out and take some snapshots. Who knows? Maybe I'll see a tornado or perhaps a tree breaking in half and landing on the hood of my truck or a house, I thought, to my morbid delight. What fun!

The photos show a gradual progression of the severity of today's storm. In this one, you can see the clouds gathering, quite nicely.

I like this pic because the rain drops hitting the parking lot really show the intensity of their impact when you zoom in on them.

This is pretty cool, too. If you have a decent imagination, you can see patterns, shapes and forms on the front windshield. This is also one you would definitely want to zoom in on.

The visibility became progressively worse, as you can see. And it's because of the rain... Not clouds, fog or steam.

Notice how it became so dark, even though it was just 1:00 in the afternoon, that the parking lot lights came on.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture any tornado shots but I still liked what I was able to get. When you look at the details of a photograph, you will surprise yourself, at times, by the scope of what you are able to perceive and observe.

Surrounded By The Early Autumn Trees

Trees are their most beautiful and amazing, I find, during the Fall season. They offer color, shade and seem to embrace you with their inviting long, outward branches.

I took these photos along various roads and parks in Indiana and Kentucky.

Photos taken at Versailles State Park, IN

The path leading from an old shelter house.