Red Hair

Red hair runs in my family........I am a fifth generation redhead. It probably goes back farther than that, but we don't have record of it, or color photographs of anyone back that far. So, that makes Preston a seventh generation redhead. Interestingly, everyone that I'm aware of, is the same color of red.......not a solid color, but red ranging from auburn to blonde, all mixed together. (Preston's mom, my daughter Jenni actually is the same color red, but she adds lots of blonde highlights.)

It's funny how many people that have red hair, wish that they didn't. Personally, I love having red hair.....it's not a common color and I've always been proud that I have carried on the "family tradition." The color comes from my dad's side of the family, so I consider it "Lindsay red." I hope that as Preston grows up, he won't be teased by friends because of his red hair.....I think it looks gorgeous! (I don't think that Preston could have ended up with any color of hair other than red, because his Grandma Thomas has the exact same color red that I do! )

"Never underestimate the power of a redhed!"

P.S. My mother tells me that her father, James John Sutherland was also a redhead! Wow.....I have redheads all through my family!

Upclose & Personal

Today was the first day of Spring.......it was 71 degrees in the Seattle area, which is a lot warmer than usual, but I have absolutely no complaints! We spent the afternoon with our daughter Jenni and grandson Preston, at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. There were lots of people there, enjoying the beautiful warm weather and the early blooming flowers. Preston brought a ball and we threw the ball back and forth to him, inbetween taking photos of the flowers. (Will was running a 50km race near Bellinham....along Chuckanut Drive.........he was able to meet us at the Gardens after his race.......I was amazed that he was still standing after that little trek......5,000 feet elevation gain. He completed the 50km in less than 6 hours too!)

I used a 50mm Zeiss lens with a couple of extension tubes, for these closeup flower shots.

Below: Ron getting a shot of some tiny blue flowers. You can get up to an inch away from the flowers, so it is really "up-close and personal."

Preston fed the ducks part of his peanutbutter sandwich.

It was the perfect beginning to Spring.

Macro Universe - A Whole New World

I think that I just discovered a new universe. . . . . . . . .well, new to me that is. Ron and I drove up Highway 20 (the North Cascades Highway) and turned off the road at Marblemount and headed up to Cascade Pass on a dirt road. (our Camry thought is was a 4-wheel drive again.) We just wanted to take photographs of "whatever." I decided to try my hand at the miniscule world of macro photography. It 's an entire unverise by itself! I can't believe all the minute details of creation......it's completely mind boggling.

The following photos were taken about an inch and a half away from the subjects......it was moss covering a rock. When you are this close, it looks like huge leaves on a tree.......but the area I was focused on was less than an inch at the most. Pretty amazing!

A different kind of moss, with a water droplet a quarter the size of my little fingernail.

This is a shot a litte farther away, of the first kind of mossy fern. They are absolutely exquisite.

Another view of this miniscule mossy fern.

Just to get a feel for where we were, this is a creek that we stopped at......I photographed all the closeup moss, and Ron photographed the creek. This shot is taken with a super slow shutter speed, so it blurs the water.

After we got home, I wanted to try some closeup shots of some flowers that we had on the dining room table. These photos are not as close as the ones in the mountains, but I think they are still amazing when you look at the detail of the flowers.

You almost expect a honeybee to land on the center of the flower petals.

I love the texture of the rose petals. It doesn't take much work to find beauty in just about everything in the world. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for creating such a beautiful place for us to live in.