picture day

Each fall our family friend and photographer comes to the Ponderosa to make family photos.  She always makes us look good!  Here's what we have received so far. . .

hike

On Thursday we had an appointment to get the oil changed in our car.  Toyota was extra fast only taking about 15 minutes.  Since it was such a nice day we decided to grab something for lunch and drive out to Burgess Falls State Park.  Peanut choose Hardee's new fried bologna and Velveeta on a biscuit and I ordered a ham and cheese.

After we tanked up it was time to hit the trail.  As close as we live to this spot, neither one of us had been here before.  The  trail signs warned us about being strenuous, but being fearless we traveled on!  It turns out that Burgess Falls is actually three falls. The first one is about 100 feet down the trail.  It's called First Falls

In about half a mile you come to Middle Falls.

 

And at about 3/4 of a mile the trail takes you to the big/high falls

 

From this observation deck you can take the trail to the bottom of the falls, or back to the parking lot. You can return on the trail or take a road above the trail, which is a much smoother but less scenic walk. 

We need to practice our selfie skills!

 

We took the trail down to the top of the falls, but it was too steep for us to go all the way to the bottom. 

The trail is not for sissies and is steep and rough in places, not to mention all the steps. There are actually a few places that looked like you could plunge off, so I do not recommend this walk for small children.

We made it back to the top and took the road back to our car.  It was worth the climb and the round trip took about an hour. 
We came back via Sparta and ended our trip with a stop at Walmart and then  a little Sonic ice cream treat!

sept 26

Photo a day
Sept. 26
Best

I had the best view at lunch.  It was from a corner table on my front porch.

sept 25

Photo a day
Sept. 25
Angle

Dear knees,
I am sorry for making you climb steps today that were so steep, they formed acute angles on the hillside.  I know you will pay me back tomorrow!

sept 24

Photo a day

Sept. 24

Loud

Acorns are falling everywhere. They are loud when bouncing off the deck, the driveway, the roof and the air conditioning unit. 

sept 23

Photo a day

Sept. 23

Triangle

Can you tell where Mom and I had lunch?

sept 22

Photo a day

Sept. 22

Crisp

It's the first day if fall and the air tonight is crisp!

sept 21

Photo a day

Sept. 21

Favorite word

Didn't even have to think about this one!

sept 20

Photo a day
Sept. 20
Beginning

He's beginning to play team sports.  He's the smallest, youngest one.  The field is big.  The weather is hot.  He's a little unsure of exactly what to do yet, but he gives it his best.  He's number 7.  He's my favorite player!

sept 19

Photo a day
Sept. 19
Even

I am just sure there is an even number of Romas in this pan!  It took all day to get 4 pints of pasta sauce from them!

sept 18

Photo a day
Sept. 18
Person

 

This person was feeding cane into the "squeezer" today at Muddy Pond.  He was working alone with his horse.  I'm pretty sure its not the only way they have to get cane juice because it would take a long time just to finish this one field!

 

And to use up all this wood

 

He was working here

 

I'm sure the people working here are grateful for the cool weather we are having because there was a lot of boiling and a lot of steam coming from their mill!

We also stopped at a couple of stores while we were there.

I did not buy any of these, but I need one for working in my garden!
We did however buy some food.  We had chocolate covered pretzels, a pumpkin roll, a piece of molasses cake, a small sample jar of sorghum syrup, and a coke!

We took the "hilly" way there going through Alpine, Crawford and Hanging Limb communities.  We came back through Jamestown.  It does not matter which way you travel to Muddy Pond from the Ponderosa it is going to be a winding road!

sept 17

Photo a day
Sept. 17
Key

 

There's some key light in this photo.  It's coming through the leaves right above his head!

The key light does not have to directly illuminate the subject: it may pass through various filters, screens, or reflectors. Light passing through tree leaves, window panes, and other obstacles can make a scene more visually interesting, as well as cue the audience to the location of the subject.

There's not any key light in this photo but as I was practicing my focusing, this bee flew right into my shot.

sept 16

Photo a day

Sept. 16

I don't like

I don't like tomatoes with my gravy but someone else does!

sept 15

Photo a day

Sept. 15

Remember 

Remember a couple of months ago when everyone had fresh corn, well we still do! Gathered our late planting today!

sept 14

Photo a day

Sept. 14

Healthy

Riding my bike instead of the golf cart to the second garden!

celebrating one

She won't remember, but we have the photos to show her how we celebrated her being one! I think she will be able to tell how well she is loved!!