48 - Childhood Favorite

I've always loved dragons! (Not as much as horses, but when's the last time you petted a dragon?) These are two of he dragon figurines I've collected over the years. Most of them have gone on to other homes, other dracophiles, but somehow these two guys, along with a tiny pewter one, have stuck around. They were always my favorites.

325 - Things That Go

Ladies' Single Pleasure Driving class. Yes, those little horses sure can go!

208 - On the Road

This is the first half of a sharp s-turn that I tackle every day, to and from work. Amazing how often they have to replace or repair that guard rail. (And those are million dollar + homes on the other side of those bushes--those 10-foot-tall bushes!) There was no guard rail at all until they built the first few of those homes.

BTW: Those 10 ft bushes were less than 18" tall when they were planted. My husband worked for the landscape company that put them in, and put most of them in himself! (That was 33 years ago!)

Speed limit's 35, I usually take it around 40, but never if the weather's bad. Wet weather, it's a 25 mph turn.

177 - Looking Down

This is Symphony on her first day out of the stall (four days old). A horse's lips are equivalent to a human's fingers, so mouthing and tasting everything is the first thing they do. This brat, I mean filly, has only her four milk teeth (and I have the bruise on my arm to prove she can use them!). She's checking out the semi-dried dirt clods, lumps, etc. in the front lot.

The camera setting was all wrong, and the picture was way too dark. Once I lightened it up to where it was readily visible, the color noise was so loud I had to plug my ears (eyes?)! B&W does wonders with photos that would otherwise be a wash, so I gave it a try. I use the Black and White on Photoshop, rather than Desaturate, because it gives me the ability to enhance or diminish each color separately, which allows me to get the best possible B&W image.

223 - Pair

I'm running out of photos! But the sun is out today (finally!!) and I'll be out later with my trusty sidekick the D80, making like the photographic big game hunter: looking for anything worth shooting! My way's much better: No blood!

Horse show pic again. Single Pleasure, Under class in AMHR show. (The "Under" means under 34". "Over" is over 34" to 38". They used to call it A and B divisions. I prefer that. Under/Over implies imperfect height to my mind. No one ever said my mind was normal!)

183 - Living the Green Life

Can't get much greener (or oranger???) than a ladybug on a weedstalk. When I was photographing the unusual green butterfly (a few posts back), I saw this little lady on a nearby plant, slowly making her way around and down, on her way to ?? where? I don't know where ladybugs go, but I'm always glad to see one on her journey.

127 - Grass, Lawn, Turf

A neighbor around the corner has a lovely stand of bluebonnets in his side yard every spring. I had to get a shot or two, and this is the view from the street. His three little trees (about 7 or 8 feet tall now) are ankle deep in bluebonnets. They may be common here in the spring, but they're beautiful. I think they're about the best thing about Texas!