What's in Your backyard?

You don't have to guess what is in our backyard this winter. Everybody knows that is is snow, snow and more snow. One of the things that I love doing is taking a walk in the woods, which has been a little hard to do when the temps are way below zero. Yesterday, it actually got to be about 19 degrees above zero, so into the woods I went. It felt a little strange to know that I was actually walking about a foot above the ground level on solidly packed snow. Some of these photos are from the woods, but the rest are from around the neighborhood. Tonight the sunset was absolutely colorful and amazing. What amazing grandeur God gives us this time of year.Thanks for stopping by my Backyard, here in Trego. Please come back often to visit.

Winter's backyard Gems

Quite a while ago, I started this blog to share photos taken right here in Washburn County. This morning I was in Spooner doing some studying at McDonald's and on the way home I took an alternate route down Spooner Lake Road. This route is beautiful because of the golf course, the parks and of course the lake. The parks are covered with snow this time of year, but that makes it just that much more interesting and challenging. The tree stumps covered with snow really stand out. Then I saw the chairs sitting in the background, just waiting to be photographed. I have included both the color and the Black and White version of the park. Sometimes I get the urge to travel great distances to take a few photos, but the real challenge is right here in our own backyard. Thanks for stopping by!

Daily Changes

Today we finished up our first week of VBS, which was held in Shell lake. It was a great week of teaching S.S. Charlie to about 20 kids. One of the things I enjoy about this series is that each day it leaves off at an exciting place where the kids have to come back the next day to find out what happens. The same is true with photographing nature. Every day holds new surprises and exciting things to discover. It is fun to travel around the "block" and see what is new and different. Tonight it was turtles on the side of the road. If you don't think turtles are quick, try taking a picture of them while they cross the road. They can really move those little legs. Wild flowers are quick to change. What was there yesterday may be gone today or totally changed. I love wild roses and Irises, but they do not last long, so I realized I better shoot while I can. Our great God keeps things exciting and ever changing and yet He NEVER changes. he is always the same, yesterday, today and forever.

When I saw the sun start to set tonight I knew I had to take a few pictures. It wasn't so much the color of the sun itself that drew my attention, but the clouds. Once you start taking pictures of area scenes the clouds are always amazing and many times make the photo. I found a spot that the sun was setting between 2 pine trees, which made a great border. Down the road was a couple of fence posts that stood out and screamed "shoot me". Some of the sunset shots actually looked better in black and white. For sun I took a photo of a birch tree, which looks like an arrow pointing to the sky. Can you tell what it really is? (Hint: Look at it sideways).

   As I mentioned in the first article, some of the best photo opportunities are right here in our own back yard. Where else can a person see hundreds of lakes in a few short miles. When we arrived in N.W. Wisconsin 25 years ago we knew that we had arrived in "God's Country."  Enjoy and leave a comment.

BackYard Photos

I have always thought that it would be great to travel to some of the exotic places here in the United States to take photos. It would be great to travel to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Grand Canyon or even the Everglades. A few weeks ago, I saw a documentary about a photographer in southern Minnesota whose goal was to memorialize the area he lived in. For the past 10 or 15 years he has primarily taken pictures of the landscapes and wildlife in his own county. It made me realize that right here in Washburn County is some of the most beautiful scenery and wildlife that must be photographed. This first set of pictures were taken right here in Spooner and Trego. In fact the bees and butterfly were taken right outside Mc Donald's in Spooner. They may be simple flowers and insects to some, but to me they are part of the heritage that we have right here in our own backyard. As I take photos in our county I will publish them so you can get a feel for our "backyard" and the beauty of God's creation right here.
   Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this new blogpage and if you have any suggestions of how to improve the site. Also please suggest area scenery that would make a great photos for this blog. Thank You and God Bless...