P*S*B - Oct 26-Nov 1 ~ "Portrait"

This is my friend Rhonda's daughter, Becca, who is 12 years old and really has a heart for the Lord. Becca has a Holy Spirit-boldness when praying for and encouraging others and she loves to dance before her King! She is genuine and forthright and has a compassionate spirit. I'm so thankful to be her "Auntie Kimmie!"

Becca Ann, Daughter of the King

ISO 200, F3.4, 1/155 Shutter Speed

Buck Branson ~ Nov 1999 - Oct 25, 2007

With great sadness and heavy hearts, we had to put our beloved "Buck" to sleep yesterday evening. After several months of dealing with what we believed to be bouts of constipation, Rog took Buck into the vet's yesterday and it was discovered that he had a hernia in his bowel area and a large tumor that was believed to be cancerous. We were told that the only way to know for sure was to operate and even after doing so, there were no guarantees that he would live. As much as we loved our "Buckster," we simply don't have the discretionary funds for this procedure, especially since the outcome was so "iffy." We chose to have Buck cremated and will be keeping his ashes until Rog and I decide what to do with them. We also clipped some of his fur to keep as a momento.

Buck on Oct 16, 2007

Now that he is gone, I can share openly that Buck was half wolf and half malamute. In 2002, Alaska declared it ilegal to own or sell wolf-hybrids; anyone owning a such an animal before 2002 had to get a permit and a microchip imbedded in the skin for identification purposes. Rog got Buck as a puppy in early 2000, but we never got the permit, nor did we have him micro-chipped or neutered (also required by law). Therefore, had it been discovered that Buck was part wolf, he would've been destroyed by the authorities and we would've been fined.

Cully and Buck, saying Hi ~ Oct 23, 2007

Contrary to many "horror stories" that exist about wolf-hybrids, our Buck was a sweet-natured, friendly dog. He was protective of his territory and his family, but also quite welcoming to the meter-readers, septic cleaners and such. And he did his best to keep our property moose- bear- and porcupine-free - twice, getting a muzzle-full of quills in the process!

Unfortunately, none of us took the time to properly train Buck when he was young and, consequently, he could not be let into our home, as he would jump on everything (and everyone), knock things over, pull things down off of counters, etc and pee everywhere. The few times we did let him in to hang out with the family only lasted about 15 minutes, tops. When the temps outside were too cold for Buck, we would put him in our heated garage - but unless he was tethered, he would again, knock things over, pull things down off of counter tops (my DH's workshop is the garage) and "do his business" everywhere.

Still, he was a lovable dog and I truly regret not making more of an effort to have him trained well enough to be involved in our family the way our little dog, Cully, is.

I have a lot more photos of Buck over the years that I would like to post here now, but it will take some time to locate them (some are in digital files and others are actual photos from my "pre-digital' stage). Once those pics are found, I'll post them in another blog entry.

-- kimB

P*S*B - Oct 19-25 ~ "Depth of Field"

Nothing like getting in under the wire! This week's challenge for the Point*Shoot*Blog group is Depth of Field. These photos were taken at this year's State Fair around the first of September.

TFL ~ kimB

Fun with Fiber-Optics!

Was over at Jen & Ivory's yesterday morning (while it was still dark) and we had fun playing with their new fiber-optic light! Using her hands, Jen kept moving the lights around and I took photos while she did. I really like the results and hope you will too. TFL ~ kimB

In this shot, Jen is holding all the fibers together in a cluster...

P*S*B - Oct 12-18 ~ "Rule of Thirds"

This week's challenge is the "Rule of Thirds" ~ I am submitting this photo of Jacey in his cute little hat, but does it even qualify as a "3rds" photo? His body fills most of the frame, but it's his face and hat that draws the eye and they are in the upper third of the frame, so...opinions? Also, I am including both the color and B&W versions here - please let me know which one you think looks better!

TFL ~ kimB

I will upload more "3rds" photos during the week...

Sunset Shots - Oct 11, 2007

Sunset photos I took this evening -- playing with different features, too. TFL - kimB

Landscape Mode; 6:39 pm; WalMart parking lot, Eagle River

Sunset Mode; 6:51 pm; St Andrews' parking lot, Eagle River

Sunset Mode; 6:51 pm; St Andrews' parking lot; B&W

(Never thought a B&W sunset would be anything special, but I have to admit, I really like this one!)

TFL ~ kimB

Point *Shoot* Blog Challenge October 6-12, 2007

Okay - the challenge this week was to play with our shutter speed and discover the different effects we can achieve. I have five photos to share but I will be the first to admit they are far from good. I am hoping to tackle this challenge again sometime soon --

Landscape mode; ISO 800; Shutter 1/56

Shutter Priority; ISO 200; Shutter 1/832

Shutter Priority; ISO 200; Shutter 1/20

Shutter Priority; ISO 200; Shutter 1/8

Shutter Priority; ISO 200; Shutter 1/3

I could only adjust the shutter speed; the ISO adjusted on its own. I will need to read through my instruction book to learn how to take better photos. Also, I had to haike about 3/4 mile - up hill most of the way - and cose to leave my tripod in the car, as I did not want to lug it all that way. Maybe I'll be able to get to one of our local rivers and set the tripod up there. We're supposed to get snow this weekend, though, so not sure if I'll be able to.

TFL - kimB

A Few More Photos to Share ~

Just sharing a few more photos...

Oct 10 ~ Thunderbird Falls Trail (Photo-a-Day shot)

Oct 11 ~ Sunrise Over Chugach Range (Photo-a-Day shot)

Thunderbird Falls Trail, Eklutna

Jacey in His Hat ~ Jen's Place, Oct 11

TFL ~ kimB

More "Photo-a-Day" Pics

Here are some more photos taken for the P-a-D challenge at scrapbook.com ~

"(Miss) Bob-Cat & Jenner"

"Autumn at Rhonda's"

"Mariah at the Pool"

"Morning Commute"

"Winter's Getting Closer!

"Mini-Challenge ~ Looking Down"

"Snow Crystals"

TFL ~ kimB

Recent Photos ~ Just for Fun!

Just sharing a few pics taken in the past few days. TFL!

Hybrid Sunflower - Anchorage

Yellow Flowers, Red Leaves - Anchorage

Flags & Pioneer Peak - Palmer

Tiny, Delicate Mushroom - Eagle River

Mirror Lake in Black & White - Peters Creek

Photo-a-Day Challenge

This month, I joined up with the "October Photo-a-Day Challenge" at scrapbook.com. The photos below are my submissions so far this month. I will be adding my new submissions each week. CC is encouraged! TFL - kimB

Jacey on the Phone ~ Oct 1

My first entry for the October Photo-a-Day Challenge group. I was at my DD's home today and this is the little boy she watches during the daytime (she watches two older girls, ages 6 & 7 yrs, at night). Jacey was playing with her house phone and I was teaching him how to listen and say "Hello?" :) I used my Fujifilm S6000fd on portrait mode and changed the color image to B&W in Roxio PhotoSuite 5.0; I also cropped the image to keep the focus on Jacey.

3 Books I'm Currently Reading ~ Oct 2

All three are Christian non-fiction: *3:16 ~ the Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado *Every Thought Captive ~ battling the toxic beliefs that separate us from the life we crave by Jerusha Clark *Heaven by Randy Alcorn The first one I read in the evening, the second I read before falling asleep at night and the third...I read in the bathroom (!). All three are excellent books and for those of us here who are Christian (and even those who are not), I highly encourage you to peruse them - you'll not regret it :)!

First Frost ~ Oct 3

The temperature finally dipped down below freezing last night and when I went out to walk the dog this morning, I spotted this frosted leaf in our front yard.

P-a-D Mini-Challenge ~ Childhood

These are my Mom's cookie cutters. They now reside on my kitchen windowsill, but I remember the fun we used to have making cookies for the holidays and covering them with colorful icing and little candy embellishments...miss you, Ma.