10 on 10: Raquette Lake, NY

For the past 2 weeks, we have been on vacation in my favorite place: Raquette Lake, NY in the central Adirondacks. I have been coming to this place my whole life for vacations and it holds a special place in my heart. A few years ago, my family made a major life decision and bought a second house in Raquette Lake. I thought of it as an investment but as far as a financial investment, it is not a great one. (Honestly, it causes some stress and I would never recommend to anyone to use property as an investment strategy). It is, however, an investment in my spirit, giving me a tangible connection to a place I love. Someday, we will live here at least for a good portion of the year.

My kids love it just as much, especially my son. The moment we walk into the house for our vacation, you can see his tension release. He is in his element with all the physical, outdoor activities: hiking where you can actually go up to the top of a mountain (that is not going to happen in Indiana!), kayaking, paddle boarding (a new activity we all loved), boating and tubing, swimming, etc.

And of course, I love the photography.

The early mornings are often misty.

But the sun will start to burn off the mist later in the morning.

The lakes and ponds have many water lilies:

Lush, green ferns are everywhere:

Waterfalls run through the forests:

Many hikes have tall fire towers on the top and I have become braver each year, making it to the top of even some of the tallest (I have a fear of heights that I am working to overcome).

And sunsets can be spectacular.

We head back home on July 11. I am always sad to leave, but know we will be back to our second home as soon as we can.

This post is part of the 10 on 10 blog circle. Please follow the circle, starting with the lovely Kristina Rust.

10 on 10: 50 mm

For the past few weeks, I have been without my beloved 100mm macro lens. It is in the camera shop for repairs. It is the lens that almost always stays on my camera, especially when I am at home and do mostly macro work. I have been feeling at a loss. In addition, I have been working long hours at my job and have not been doing much photography at all. I considered skipping the 10 on 10 blog circle this month (see link to the next photographer in the circle at the bottom of this post), but still, I wanted to participate.

So the evening before our posts were due, I found some time and  decided to take a 30 minute walk  in my local park. I would get all my photos at once and with  just my 50 mm lens (the nifty 50). The mosquitoes were biting like crazy so 30 minutes was more than enough (next time bug spray will be in order).

This is what I came up with on my quick walk.

  

Please follow the 10 on 10 blog circle, starting with the wonderful Kristina Rust.

10 on 10--Two Spring Things: Water drops and Dandelion Seeds

April and May: the time of year for a couple of my loves. Rain and dew drops bead up in lovely spheres on the new growth of the Hosta plants in my back yard; the dandelions show up in abundance and quickly go to seed. And I am in my element for these brief, stolen moments.

This post is part of the 10 on 10 collaborative blog circle. Please follow the circle of women photographers, starting with the talented Luciane Steiner.

10 on 10: Spring Break

The end of March is always our "spring break" and our annual trip to Grayton Beach in the Florida Panhandle. Grayton Beach is about a 13 hours by car from Central Indiana, so although it's a long trip, it is driveable. We have been going there since our oldest has been in school and has gotten a week long spring break at the end of March. 

I never have considered myself much of a beach person, having more affinity toward mountains and woods in general, but I love this spring break trip and look forward to it every year, and, for that week, I am absolutely a beach person.

It is the one trip that we take where it is just the four of us (all our other vacations are centered around visiting family since we do not have any family nearby where we live), and we have started to get to know the town and even some of the people of Grayton Beach . . . especially at our favorite restaurant there: the Pickle Factory, which has my son's favorite pizza he has ever had in his life. It is nearly the Pickle Factory alone that makes him look forward this this trip each year (sun and sand are not necessarily his thing either, though he does always have fun; vacations from school, no matter what, ARE his thing). 

Besides the beach and the restaurants, we find many other things to do there as well, such as bike riding on the many miles of bike paths, kayaking, and visiting some of the lovely state parks. Also we do a few more touristy things (which a part of me loves despite the ultra-tourist vibe) like going to see alligators  or play mini-golf at major tourist traps in the town of Destin. (My daughter got to cross something off her bucket list this year when she got to hold a real live alligator at one of these places.)

Grayton Beach State Park

Eden Gardens State Park

Western Lake in Grayton Beach State Park

The water there is like nothing I have ever seen before--a clear, fresh green. I know why this area of Florida is called the Emerald Coast.

And the sunsets are amazing.

Playing with the sunlight and water to make abstracts is always fun.

We are home again in Indiana after a great week with perfect weather (not a spot of rain)--and already looking forward to our spring break next year.

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This post is part of the 10 on 10 collaboration (a blog circle). Please follow the circle of women photographers, starting with Kim Bajorek.

10 on 10: Maple Syrup Festival

Early March in Indiana is the time for maple syrup festivals throughout the state. Indiana is the Southernmost state in the US Maple Belt and, therefore, Indiana maple syrup producers are often the ones to tap the trees the earliest in the season. The temperatures can still be cold (but in the Midwest, you never know: the temperatures could be quite warm, too--just not this year). In any case, the sap is flowing.

For the past several years, our family has made a weekend out of attending a maple syrup festival somewhere in the state. This year, my husband had to be away for a month from mid-February to mid-March so he could be with his mother as she is dealing with some health issues (she is doing okay) and I was home with the kids by myself during that time--just keeping everything going. Because it has been a cold and dreary winter in Indiana, I wanted to get the kids out of town for a bit .

I  decided it would be fun to attend the maple syrup festival in Salem, Indiana. It would be the first time at this particular festival--about 2 hours from home--not too bad. I asked the kids whether they wanted to take just a day trip or stay overnight, and they said they preferred an  overnight stay, so I booked a hotel--hey, it had a pool and between that and the festival, it would be a welcome break from all the TV and video games that become the default activity when the kids don't want to go outside.   And it was. That is, once we got there.

Whenever I am planning to go somewhere on a trip, I have ideas in my head about how it will go (or mostly when it will go). In this case, the idea was to leave by 10:30. The festival ended at 5, so that would give us a good long time--most likely more time than we needed and we'd probably leave early. But, you know the saying: "the best laid plans". Long story, short, we did not leave home until noon. Still, we'd be there by 2 and there were snacks in the car and the promise of pancakes with maple syrup when we got there. No need to stop for lunch.

I knew how to get to Salem; that was easy. And towns in Southern Indiana, well, most of them are not that big, and when there are festivals in these towns, well, typically they are a big deal. I figured there would be signs. Usually, there are signs.

Okay, so there were no signs. I had to switch over to using Google navigator on my phone and though, I am sure, it was the quickest, most straight forward way to get to the farm where the festival was, Google navigator sent me on a snow and ice covered gravel road. It did not look that bad at first, but, eventually, I got to a fairly big hill to go up, and it was quite icy. I failed the first two attempts--just  not enough speed and momentum, and I had to drive back down the hill (more like slide back down the hill, actually). My poor daughter was getting nervous (luckily my son was asleep because he can get quite tense in situations like this as well). My daughter declared that she did not like Salem, Indiana at all, and she just wanted to go home. Although I have to admit to being a bit nervous myself, luckily the third time was a charm, and I got up enough speed to make it up and told my daughter it was all part of the adventure--easy to say when things end up working out fine. 

And then we were on to another adventure at the parking lot for the festival. It was so muddy that nearly all the drivers, including myself, were getting stuck and needed to be pushed through the mud to park or get out. This time the adventure was less worrisome because we were not alone. In fact, they had a whole crew of volunteers helping people get through the mud in the parking lot--complete with tractors and chains. I just needed a push by two guys and we got parked.

Finally, we were ready to go into the festival--a few hours later than I had at first planned--but we were there. We ate first: pancakes with maple syrup, of course (not pictured) and then on to the activities. 

We got to try our hands at tomahawk throwing:

And crosscut sawing.

Ian made it to the top of the rope ladder and rang the bell:

Margot and Ian were fascinated by the old fashioned method of making syrup.

And then there was this: a hand made merry-go-round. It is one of the neatest things I have ever seen, and I think my kids would agree. It was operated by two volunteers pushing the seats to wind up the ropes and then letting go. It spins (quite fast) on its own. I did not try it because I would rather take pictures, but I am sure my kids can attest to it being very fun.

When we had to leave because they were shutting down for the day, I said to Ian and Margot, "well, I thought that this festival was a lot of fun". Ian said, "of course it was fun. What wouldn't be fun about this?"

Yes, nothing flashy; nothing complicated or electronic; it was just good, pure fun on a family-owned Indiana farm.

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This post is a part of the 10 on 10 collaborative blog circle. In this collaboration, woman photographers post 10 photos a month and then form a virtual circle in cyberspace, so please follow around our circle, starting with the very talented Trine Lise Nilson from Norway.