Flutter by

Flutter by
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

My kitchen table is quickly becoming my favorite spot in the house and the really cool thing is I planned it that way. Out the front window I've hung my hummingbird feeder so I can see the little guys coming and going. To the right is another window that years ago I planted a french lilac bush directly beneath. The lilac is finally large enough to be seen from that window now. The one thing I didn't openly plan was all the butterfly's it was going to attract. What an awesome way to while away a little bit of time, with a nice cup of coffee, hummingbirds, lilacs and butterflies... It's like something straight out of a freakin' Disney movie!

The Fugitive

The Fugitive
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Springfield style. I was in the office yesterday when this State Police helicopter kept circling the building, it then proceeded to hover outside my bosses window overlooking the Hippodrome parking lot. Reading the story today it seems one of the "visitors" to the Springfield District Court decided he didn't want to wear the shiney bracelets anymore and managed to kick out door latch and then make his way out of the secure parking garage.

I'm busy.

I'm busy.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Yeah, I know.. not much going on on the blog of late. Sorry about that. Busy.. Busy.. Busy as a bee. I've finally switched over to my weekend schedule at the new job and my 'virtual weekend" of Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to be full of the necessities... banking.. oil changes... getting the snow tires taken off... bill paying... all the crap that just sucks the life and shooting time right out of the day...

Anyway... I'll try and do better... really I will...

ivy

ivy
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

More from my office window. Have I said I love the view from my window? I do, however, when that massive storm blew through the city yesterday I was beginning to rethink the whole "window seat" concept.

Public Water Supply

Public Water Supply
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I've shot in this exact same spot a hundred times. Easily, a hundred times! I think this is time I've gotten the shot I was looking for all along!

I'm not quite sure if I should be thrilled or a little sad that now it's kinda 'over'...

Pugsly is back!

Pugsly is back!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

YAY... It's Pugsly! He's been missing for weeks... Well, ever since my son and his girlfriend gathered up all the barn cats and took them all for a ride on "Feral Sunday" and got them all operations. They spent two days setting traps and gathering cats from near and far. I was convinced that Pugsly would be too smart and too missing to catch, but he showed up in the last trap, at the last minute and made the trip with the rest of the cats. When they all came back, minus a few bits and pieces, he took off for the hills and hasn't been seen since. It's nice to see he's getting over his loss and is starting to come back around.

Mom and crew

Mom and crew
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

There were actually 6 babies but one of them was hanging out with Dad.

Take a tour of the Ware Farmer's Market

I was heavily involved in the Ware Farmer's Market a couple of years ago, in fact, I helped get it started. Working on weekends has since taken me away from the market but I managed to make my way up to Grenville Park in Ware today and shoot some video and stills.

By the way, your tour guide for today is non-other than the Market Manager, vendor and Ware Town Selectwoman Melissa Weise!

Lily

Lily
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Hey, at least it's not an archive shot. I've been a bit busy lately and haven't even really had time to pick up the camera, never mind actually shoot it and process something. Actually, I haven't been so much 'busy' as "off schedule". The new job (which is absolutely freakin' wonderful, btw, thanks for asking!) has my schedule all topsy turvy right now and I've yet to get a handle on re-arranging my personal time. You know, it's that typical "How was your day?" conversation. Normally, when you've been in the same job for 2, 5, or 7 years the answer is pretty quick, "Fine and yours?" but with a new job comes 3 hour conversations and it seems I still only scratch the surface of what I've been doing, learning, seeing, talking about, and have scheduled.

Every day is an adventure and I'm lovin' it but I'm afraid shooting has temporarily taken a back seat. I'm sure I'll get back at it shortly.

My Favorite news story of the day:

My Favorite news story of the day:
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

NORTHAMPTON - The cleanup of leaking fuel from a tractor trailer truck has backed up northbound traffic on Interstate 91 near Exit 18.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Robert L. Wyckoff said the driver swerved to avoid a deer and hit the guardrail. The fuel is leaking from the tractor's own tank.

No injuries were reported and the deer has fled the scene, Wyckoff, who is attached to the Northampton barracks, said.

Yet another driving video, but with a passenger!

Yet another driving video, but with a passenger!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Silly... silly... little dog.

Jenny gets a nuvi voice.

Jenny gets a nuvi voice.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

So, as a length of service award, my husband got a Garmin nuvi... (cue the "gotta gotta get a Garmin" promo music... there's a moose again!)... Well, seeing as how he already has a gps I ended up with it. All I can say is "Loving it!"... So now Jenny has a voice. A lovely female voice that attempts to keep me on the road to where ever it is that I'm headed. She is perhaps the perfect co-pilot, patiently telling me where to go and when to go and so forth. So far though, by far the most frequent thing I've heard her say is "recalculating" when I purposely diverge from her intended route. She will patiently tell me again.. and again... to turn left and when I don't she simply says "recalculating" and gives me a new route. Sometimes I think though that she would be ever so much more fun if she sounded more like Jack Nicholson when I ignore her... You know... let loose with a couple of "WTF you completely aren't LISTENING to me... that's it... I'll give you a new route... go straight to hell you freakin' idiot... cause you know what.. you can't handle the HIGHWAY!"

Take a walk on the old bridge.

Take a walk on the old bridge.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Ok.. so it's lame.. but what can you do? Mike has gotten kind of addicted to shooting little videos on his BlackJack phone... He really is very creative. Me? I never even think in terms of video until he's already pulled out his phone and shot his. I'm going to have to try and change that.

My Blue Window

My Blue Window
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

've been getting spoiled at my new job, they actually gave me a window seat! Mine is the top right. I even had a couple of feathered visitors today... ok.. so they were pigeons which are basically 'sky rats'... but it was cool just the same. Cities spend thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to rid the city of these flying scourges of car owners everywhere, I think I've found the perfect answer for them, all you have to do is hire a fleet of pigeon photographers because apparently all it takes is pointing a camera at them and they fly off. DSLRs for everyone... pigeon problem solved.

Jenny and The Republican

Jenny and The Republican
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

This is one of the coolest buildings in the entire city of Springfield, MA. The Republican Newspaper. The curve to the building is not lens induced but the actually way the building is. If you go large you can see three really cool huge tanks in the bottom right; one red, one yellow and one blue. The company I started working for on Monday has a really strong affiliation with these guys and I'm hoping that along with my press pass I get an indepth tour of this building. I definitely will be stopping back by here after dark as I can only imagine what this place looks like all lit up! OH.. and just ignore that "No Parking" sign... We weren't parked, we were on a photo-safari.

muzzled

| | | | m | u | z | z | l | e | d | | | |
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I really like this shot of the Wallaby I took at the zoo the other day. I call it "Muzzled" which frankly I would have liked to have done to Mom yesterday. I picked her up in Jenny (with the top down) and took her up to the Dairy Queen for ice cream for her birthday. After slathering herself with sunscreen that had an SPF rating of like 345, we headed up town for the 5 minute ride to the DQ. Amazingly she didn't make a single comment about how she shouldn't be eating ice cream and she even requested whipped cream on her Sundae. Nope, instead, as we were standing in line making our flavor decisions she regaled me with stories about her colonoscopy and how she can't have nuts or seeds anymore. Somehow my Peanut Buster Parfait with it's plethora of Spanish Peanuts just didn't seem the same. It wasn't as bad as you think though, probably because I had heard the colonoscopy story before, you know, when I was standing in line for the buffet at big brother's 50th birthday party.

I tell you, who needs Jenny Craig when you can just have dinner with Mom.

Yes, yes, it's me

Yes, yes, it's me
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

No, I don't know why. I also don't know exactly what the Stupid Little Angry Dog™ was doing behind me, this isn't the first selfie I've done where she's just kind of hanging out in the background and something tells me it won't be the last. OH, and the audio on this thing really stinks, my son assures me that I DO NOT have a lisp, contrary to what it sounds like on here.

Dig Dog Dig

Dig Dog Dig
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Here's some more video for you, just because I can. It's somewhat low quality as it was shot with a BlackJack phone, but you can get the idea... With our luck she was probably trying to dig a bear out of it's den.

If he ever writes a book this should be his cover portrait.

If he ever writes a book this should be his cover portrait.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

These little guys were my absolute favorite at the zoo. The Marmoset. They are so tiny, with heads about the size of golf balls, and yet have so much personality. He was just as curious about my camera as I was of him.

Osprey Cam

Osprey Cam
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

We took a ride down to Rhode Island yesterday and spotted these nesting osprey's off the side of the road in a marsh. Yes, that is a webcam that is pointed at the nest. Cool, huh? This is the feed from the webcam. See the spot of blue material in the front of the nest here, you can see it on the webcam as well. BTW... the male is sitting on the nest here and the female is on the camera stand so apparently they are still in the building process.

YOU... AGAIN!!!

YOU... AGAIN!!!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I got an email from Sister #3 suggesting that I post this picture here. She had spotted it on my Flickr account and really liked it and was questioning as to whether everyone that reads this blog (or my other blog) is aware that what they see on here is just a fraction of what I actually shoot. What she doesn't realize is that even the Flickr account is a fraction of what I actually shoot. Often I'll get 4 or 5 or 20 awesome shots of a particular subject and to keep the Flickr account interesting, I'll only post 1 or maybe 2. To this I say.. You should see my hard drive... . Anyway... So, here you go...

You.. Again....

Several times on my way down the driveway, I've caught this guy diving and swooping at his own reflection in the old "Nice Boat"... He's got to be wondering how come every time he comes around that same freakin' other guy is hanging around too!

I <3 you, now give me more food.

I
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

The tree rats are getting smarter and one day will evolve completely and begin their assault, eventually taking over the entire free world, one nut at a time.

Runaway

Runaway
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I love this one. Straight outta the camera.. well ok.. I played with the exposure a bit but that was it.. I was shooting just as another car startled the deer and I just followed along with the camera.

A Balloon for Melissa!

A Balloon for Melissa!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

or should I say, A Balloon for Selectwoman Melissa!

A good friend of mine just won herself a seat on our local Board of Selectmen! She will most definitely be a huge asset to the town of Ware!

I sat through quite a few town meetings with Melissa when we were lobbying for space and funds to get the Farmer's Market started here in town. After each meeting we would have quite the discussions (over ice cream) about what we would love to see changed about the convoluted, red-tape-laden, pain-in-the-butt, no-wonder-nothing-ever-gets-done, meeting process. We always joked that one of us should run for office and try to make some changes. I guess that's the difference between her and I. I talked. SHE DID IT!

Congratulations Melissa!

Cake for a Quitter...

Cake for a Quitter...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

One of my wonderful, now ex, coworkers got me this lovely cake for my last day at the Walmart Photo Lab yesterday. How awesome is that? It was not only delicious, but extremely fitting. Note the "Walmart happy face" decoration. I insisted that I get to scrape off the happy face and eat it before I cut the cake to share. They willingly obliged. It tasted sweet... Really sweet... in more ways than one! Now... on to much bigger and better things! :)

I think this is a repeat

Take a quick ride in Jenny
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

You may have seen this bit of video on here before but FLICKR (where I host all my photos) just added a video function and in the interest of finding out if the "send to blog" function works with video like it does with photos, you guys get to see it again. Lucky, lucky you!

The secret to 53 years of happy marriage.

The secret to 53 years of happy marriage.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Sometimes hours would go by when Grandpa just couldn't find Grandma. He never worried much, she would always turn up, with a smile on her face and pine pitch in her hair.

Paint me some Spring

Paint me some Spring
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

The cardinals that live in the shrub pile near our brook.

cow #131

cow #131 aka "The Trouble Maker"
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Here's that shot of the cows that I took with the Brownie. I just realized I hadn't posted here to the blog. It's funny how you feel all safe when your looking at things through a little tiny blurry viewfinder, but when you look up and see what's actually right in front of you, you get a WHOLE new perspective on the situation!

Half Frozen

Half Frozen
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

More shots from the new, old Brownie. I'm really enjoying shooting with the little plastic box and just got my order for 10 more rolls of film! I'm sure you'll be seeing alot more Brownie shots on here in the near future. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think!

So what did the Easter Bunny leave for you?

So what did the Easter Bunny leave for you?
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Happy Easter, Everyone! :)

Brownies and Milk

Brownies and Milk
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Yeah, that's me, out in the wind and cold, shooting cows with a Brownie... They were just kind of standing in the field looking at me, so in my infinite wisdom, I began banging on the fence to get their attention. Next thing I knew, there was a stampede--headed straight for me! I won't show you the pic of me running in fear, it would just be too painful. Of course, my husband, who shot the picture, thinks it's hysterical!

warp

warp
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Wow.. Wow.. Wow... I'm loving it... I found myself at a flea market on Sunday and due to the eagle-eye of my husband who apparently can spot an old camera, stuffed in a box, under a table, in a dusty dimly lit hall, at 50 paces, I walked away with an incredibly clean Brownie for 3 bucks. I didn't even dicker with the guy... The sticker said 3 bucks, and I said "Thank you very much!"

reclaim

reclaim
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Completely by chance I found an awesome new shooting ground--the old "AO", American Optical in Southbridge. Although we've driven past the area hundreds of times, today was the first day we decided to side track and drive through. Definitely worth it and I'll definitely be back.

If this is "50", then no thanks.

If this is "50", then no thanks.
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

We had my brother's 50th birthday party last nite. Apparently when your 50 people force you to dress like Fred Flintstone and then video tape you for posterities sake. I've got some time before I have to worry about it, but I think I'll just stop at 49 birthdays if it's all the same to you. LOL

one way

one way
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I really love the starkness of this shot. It just really speaks to me. If you wanna see it as it's best check it out by clicking on it and going to Flickr and then under the picture hit "View on Black".

A vision of grace and beauty...

A vision of grace and beauty...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

HA! It's not the clearest shot I got.. but it's certainly the funniest... Who knew that this wild beautiful graceful creature of the forest could be a klutz at times!

None of us will make it to Spring...

None of us will make it to Spring...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Another 6 inches or so of snow again today.

It's getting really hard to not just wither up right along with my lovely tulips...

Just another day at the Ibuprofen Mine...

Just another day at the Ibuprofen Mine...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Although they have had to double up their shifts due to the massive amounts of Ibuprofen that I've been single-handedly consuming. Sorry guys!

Ode to Joy!

Ode to Joy!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

The Stupid Little Angry Dog™ is gonna sleep good tonite! :)

Goal Interrupted

Goal Interrupted
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Ok.. so the goal was to take this lovely old tank of a camera, the Canon A1 - run a roll of film through her for demonstration purposes - and put the whole shebang up on eBay for sale.

Then I got the roll developed.

I think I need to rethink the "for sale" part.

btw... These were the lovely roses my husband got me for Valentine's day... They are not only beautiful.. but they are lasting forever!

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I'm half frozen... but it was really cool and well worth it...

Before and After.. A Re-enactment

Before and After.. A Re-enactment
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Yes. Yes, this was my day yesterday. Of course this is just a re-enactment. With Barbie playing the role of myself and Tanner standing in for Gretchen... Yup... It was a banner day...

Sushi's Revenge!

Sushi's Revenge!
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Why, yes. I did take some toys to the Boston Aquarium.

Macro Chick

Macro Chick
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

More fun with birds

Squabble

Squabble
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Breakfast with the Chickadees can be a noisy affair.

I'm just coming off of a 7 day stretch of working every day. It's hard to know what to do first with a whole day to myself. Today I decided to go up and have breakfast with the birds. It's exciting and calming all at once, a really good start to free day.

People of Boston

People of Boston
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Inside of Quincy Market. I'm still working my way through tons and tons of photos I took over the weekend. Boston is nothing if not photogenic!

mc escher does Boston

mc escher does Boston
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I love the stairs in Faneuil Hall, they so reminded me of an Escher print...

Harborside Inn of Boston

Harborside Inn of Boston
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

We spent a lovely weekend in Boston... ok.. so it was FREEZING but we made the best of it and dressed for the weather... This is where we stayed, the Harborside Inn of Boston.. It was the perfect place to stay... the people were very nice... the room was huge, lovely and spotless.. and the location couldn't be beat... one block over and there was Quincy Market... two blocks to the left and your at the Aquarium... just step out the door and pick up the T to everywhere else... all for a very reasonable 125 bucks complete with taxes... We definitely will be back when it's MUCH warmer! I'm telling you tho... we can't go anywhere anymore without running into someone that my husband knows... we parked the car and headed directly to the hotel, opened the door, walked in, and promptly ran directly into a guy that Mike works with hanging out in the lobby! Freaky.

Check out my set of photo's from Boston, don't forget to come back again as I've got a ton more to add!

A typical day off...

A typical day off...
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Just hanging out on the couch with a couple of my buddies trying to keep warm in our fuzzy striped sweaters...

J x 3

J x 3
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

I spent a good hour and half down my driveway the other day waiting for the UPS man. He had thrown my brand new battery grip into a snow banking at the end of my driveway and I needed to meet him to keep him from throwing my new scanner into the same snowbanking. It worked, I was down there shooting and being entertained by these lovely bluejays when he showed up. He was backing into the drive which means that, yes, he fully intended to 'deliver' this package in the same manner he did the battery grip. As I approached the truck he said "Wow.. what timing!" so I replied "Not really, I was waiting for you to keep you from throwing THIS delivery into a snow banking as well." His brilliant response....

"OH.. I would have put this one in a plastic bag for you."

pfft.

Walking with Ms. Fran

Walking with Ms. Fran
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

can be an adventure... She never seems to want to go in the same direction as you do... She's already almost too big to control, add a few more months and it may be too late to train her properly.

The Saint

The Saint
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

By special request of the owner of these lovely eyes. I hope I did them justice!

A Portrait of Charles

A Portrait of Charles
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

If Burl Ives had really lived life to the fullest... kicked @ss and took names... he'd have ended up looking just like Charles... and I suspect he would have had alot more fun as well!

Charles comes off as gruff and tough, which works great for keeping the customers off his back... Half of them are afraid of him and the other half are terrified of him. LOL... In reality he's a hilarious teddy bear! He showed up at work in the long leather coat and the bowler hat and announced that he wore them just for me because he knew I would love it! He could not have been more right, and I'm extremely honored that he did this for me. What a guy! :)

Cover Me

Cover Me
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

Seems we never set out to photograph the covered bridges of the area but stumble upon them by accident. By happy, happy accident!

Snow

Snow
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

More shots from Tuesday's ride through the blizzard. I'm in the process of combining these shots with the red barn shots into a single 6 paned black photo frame. The combination of the black, white and red has always been one of my favorites. I'll be sure to shoot the final product and post it here!

Snow Day

Snow Day
Originally uploaded by BayRoadPhoto/Laura

We lucked out and both of us had the day off today, so of course, we packed up the camera gear and headed out for the day. First west, then north to Vermont, then east to New Hampshire and then back south to home. It started snowing somewhere around Brattleboro and didn't stop till we got back home. It was a great day.