Fun with a digital SLR!

So I borrowed a Nikon D80 for a few days last week to take pictures for a class. I spent most of the time taking pictures of dead animals (Yay! Forensics!), but I also got some less disgusting pictures:



And just 'cause I can't resist, some dead animal pics :)

Shasta helps with dinner!

Pastry Chef Shasta's a messy baker! (or rather when she stands underneath me at the counter she gets rained on :)

A NEW snake adventure!

So in the continuing saga of the snake, I found a real, live, hissing, coiled BABY. RATTLE. SNAKE. in my garage today!!! It was trapped in the bottom of a plastic garbage can hunting the mice that were also trapped in there. Alas, I couldn't find my digital camera so there's no pictures right now, but I did take some real film pics. In an ironic twist I didn't even swear this time (even though there was actually a reason to!)-I think it jumped up my threat meter directly to "Icy chill going up and down spine." Thankfully I just dumped the garbage can in the woods and ran like hell, but it was still definitely an adventure!

Digging the garden

We did it quickly, our backyard is solid clay... it was a long day of digging, mixing compost and dirt, digging more, rolling sod, etc...

it may have been a bit too much for poor Jim...

The growth of a garden

Hopefully soon (this weekend) we'll have pics of the garden when it's established (and not raining)!

Flowers from our yard

I don't know what these purple ones are but they're beautiful... and we have a magnificent rose bush with dozens of enormous pink flowers that smell like heaven. I don't have a good picture of the rose, though. I'll have to find one.

$@&! Snake!

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not much of a swearer, but nothing brings out the profanity in me more than seeing one of our scaly friends crossing my path. Don't get me wrong, I'm not particularly afraid of snakes, and after the initial shock wears off I love to get right down next to them and check out their total coolness, but that first encounter almost always sparks a sharper response. At least I've improved from the "stand in place and scream" reaction.

The latest reptile encounter was this past Saturday in the backyard. This magnificent black snake was motoring across the yard from the woods, headed to parts unknown in the flower beds. He (or she) was definitely a crusty, old character-the tip of it's tail looked chopped off and it had lots of scars. But he was nice enough to pose for some good pictures...