The world's favorite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May.
~Edwin Way Teale~

I am so thrilled that May is finally here! Yesterday, it warmed up enough to start some serious melting again. The water dripped off the roof and made puddles in the yard. The deck cleared - again - and I'm hoping that it will stay that way!

Yesterday, my new camera also arrived via UPS! It didn't get here until later in the afternoon, so I didn't have time to play around with it, except for some indoor photos of nothing important.

Today, I had the chance to take it out and really play with it, but it's going to take me a little while to learn all of the special functions and capabilities of this new toy. Tomorrow, I will have another chance to practice with it, as I will be going to a First Holy Communion rehearsal and checking out the lighting situation in the church. On Sunday, I will be photographing the Communion, so I'm glad I'll have the opportunity to get some practice shots ahead of time.

I had a few errands to run in town, so I packed up my camera and my faithful companion (Sedona). Our first stop was Glass Park on Fort Wainwright. Glass Park used to be a lovely RV/tent campground. That's where Steve and I lived when we first arrived in AK almost 5 years ago. They've since torn down the campground and are building new military housing on the grounds. The housing is definitely needed. The cost of living up here is very high, and affordable rental homes are few and far between. But it's so sad too. I spent many days walking through Glass Park with Rachael when our guys were deployed. We used to see moose all the time. I don't think the moose visit that area anymore. There were huge puddles everywhere, and the roads were a muddy, rutted mess.

After running my errands, I drove to Plant Kingdom - a nursery/greenhouse on Farmers Loop Rd. I had the pleasure of meeting Cindy (the owner) a few weeks ago, when I went to Plant Kingdom with my friend Celeste and she introduced us. I had my camera with me that day, but there were no flowers to photograph. I let her know that I'd be back again.

What a difference a few weeks makes! There are three greenhouses full of plants. One has almost all flowers and lawn care products, the second has flowers and herbs, and the third has vegetable seedlings and plants. I took my time in the first greenhouse, savoring the many colors and shapes and sizes. I took quite a few photos, before making my way to the second and third greenhouses. I ran into Cindy in the second house, watering the plants.

I saw quite a few flowering plants I want to go back and get for my containers. I also saw some tomato plants (dwarf variety) that were on sale. Steve's always wanted to grow tomatoes, and I told him about them when I got home. The rule of thumb is not to put anything outside until after June 1st - to avoid the chance of frost. After the horrible April we had, I sure hope we're past any risk of frost by June.

		<== These images ==> Computer wallpaper (1200x1600) Click below: Orange Daisies Three Pink Daisies

Yesterday, I spent several hours copying older photos (pre-Alaska) from CDs to my new 1TB (terabyte) external hard drive. I only had them saved to disk, and not anywhere else - and I'm not comfortable unless my photos are saved in at least two - if not three - different locations.

I had many moments of reminiscing while copying these files over. The unfortunate thing is that the photos I took back in the early 2000s were taken with my very first digital camera - a Canon A20 with only 2.1 megapixels. Even under the best conditions, the best quality print you can expect from a camera like that is about 5x7. So many of my photos were taken utilizing the digital zoom (a huge no-no, if you ever want to take photos worthy of printing). I'd be lucky to get 3x5 prints from them. They look OK for email or web posting, however.

I haven't written much about our life "before Alaska", except for the fact that we moved up here from Florida. We lived in Jacksonville, in a third floor apartment which overlooked a beautiful pond with a fountain in the middle, as well as one of the two pools. Our living room opened up onto a screened in balcony, and Steve and I spent a lot of time out there - all year round. Our most favorite thing to do was to sit out there, sipping on wine, as torrential rain fell from the sky. There were some really awesome rainstorms in Florida - with loud thunder and blinding lightning, and winds strong enough to cause the palm tree fronds to blow almost straight out to one side. The storms always left the air smelling so fresh and clean, and lowered the humidity. We don't get storms like that here in Fairbanks, and sometimes I miss them.

Steve and I have always enjoyed roadtrips and exploring whatever area of the country we were living in. It was no different in Florida. We only lived there a little more than two years, but we saw just about the entire state. One Christmas, we took a 10-day trip, leaving Jacksonville on the east coast, driving all the way to Key West, crossing the state through the Everglades, driving up the Gulf Coast, and then driving back across the state to Jacksonville. We were tent campers then, but that Christmas trip was a *luxury* vacation, and we stayed in hotels the entire time.

Camping with tents allowed us to experience some of the 'off the beaten path' campgrounds; those campgrounds with no amenities but a pit toilet or two. Despite the primitive conditions, we always had a fabulous time.

We took roadtrips to Savannah, and St Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Talbot Island, and Clearwater Beach. We were lucky enough to attend a shuttle launch too - an incredible experience. We visited Disney and SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens. No grass grew under our feet! As I was sorting through the hundreds of photos from those days in FL, I decided to choose a dozen or so, and share them with you. We have so many beautiful places in the world - and in our country. It's a shame to not take advantage of where you live, and explore every nook and cranny!

The other reason I wanted to share these photos is to show you that you don't need to have a $1500 camera and a $1000 lens to take a pretty picture. Sure, the more expensive cameras with bells and whistles might help you to take photos in more challenging light or specific situations. And with a large number of megapixels, you'll be able to enlarge a print to 16x20 and more. But the truth of the matter is that if you don't have a knack for "seeing" photos, and composing them well, even the most expensive camera won't give you top-notch results. The most important thing is to enjoy taking photos, and expanding your visual skills to see light and shadow and color and texture. And then, even if you're using a small point and shoot, the outcome will be a pleasing photograph.

Before I end this entry, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to Rachael! (May 3rd) I wish you were still here in Alaska, so we could go out to lunch, and grab some Starbucks coffee, and enjoy some retail therapy together. I miss you, girlfriend!