Cows in Frost
It’s the last frost post, I promise!
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Frost on Trees
I finally got out of bed early enough to catch the frost hanging onto the branches before the sun melted it away.
Frost on Trees
by emily on February 24, 2010
Bald Eagle
We were driving down this road near the house when Jon spotted a bald eagle. We went back to the house and grabbed my camera and 300-mm lens. He flew off, and we followed.
Tags: bald eagle, Photography, South Dakota
Bald Eagle
by emily on February 23, 2010
More Australian Animals
Emus, Tasmainian Devils, Lorikeets, etc.
Tags: Australia
More Australian Animals
by emily on February 12, 2010
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Cuddling a Koala was the only thing that I REALLY wanted to do in Brisbane (other than seeing the Smiths.) I was super hot and sweaty, but Dan did a decent job of getting a photo anyway! He was really cuddly, just like a teddy bear.
Tags: Australia, Brisbane, dan & wendy & alex, koala, travel
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
by emily on February 3, 2010
Boots playing
I bought a new toy for Boots in the US. It’s just a ball that can be filled with food. As she plays with it, the kibble falls out one piece at a time.
Tags: Boots
Boots playing
by emily on January 25, 2010
Christmas Day
Our little tree – Boots and I shopped a lot while Jon was away so we’d have lots of things to put under the tree!
Boots is a really good shopper, but I had to wrap them for her. You know… the whole “I don’t have opposable thumbs” deal.
Tags: Christmas
Christmas Day
by emily on December 29, 2009
Spearfish Canyon
When the leaves begin to change colors in the fall, Spearfish Canyon is beautiful! The leaves were just starting to turn. On October 1st, it SNOWED!! That’s too early, even for South Dakota! (The sky really is this blue in South Dakota, almost every day. That may be the thing I miss most about home.)
Tags: South Dakota, spearfish canyon
Spearfish Canyon
by emily on November 6, 2009
Mount Rushmore
After the Buffalo Round-Up, we drove through the Black Hills a bit. Some people ask me what South Dakota is most well-known for – it’s Mount Rushmore!
Mount Rushmore seen through the trees.
There are seven tunnels in the Black Hills, around Keystone and Sylvan Lake. They are only wide enough for one car, and motorhomes or buses fill the entire tunnel.
There are actually two tunnels that you can view Mount Rushmore from while going through. Another blogger recently posted a photo from one. After we drove through one tunnel, I thought I missed my chance at getting a photo. After we drove through the second one, I made my father-in-law stop the car so I could get out and take photos!
It was quite hard to get the correct exposure, as the darkness of the tunnel surrounding the pinpoint of light coming through the end made difficult lighting conditions. I spent quite a while in the middle of the road trying to get it right. (photo by Jon)
We also visited the Mount Rushmore memorial. Even though Jon’s family lives about 1.5 hours away, it’s not something we visit a lot.
Tags: black hills, mount rushmore, South Dakota
Mount Rushmore
by emily on November 5, 2009
Custer State Park Buffalo Round-up
Every year, Custer State Park rounds up the herd of buffalo to vaccinate and cull the herd. The public is invited to watch.
We spent a couple hours waiting for the buffalo to appear.
Cowboys riding up the ridge.
Close to 12,000 people gathered to watch it. About twice as many pickups as cowboys followed the herd down the ridge.
That was it! They came in very easily – too easily, according to the newspaper. It was the first year that no small groups of buffalo tried to break away from the herd. The cowboys were a bit dissapointed that they didn’t get to work very hard!
Tags: buffalo round-up, custer state park, South Dakota
Custer State Park Buffalo Round-up
by emily on November 4, 2009
The new best lightning photo
I thought it was special to get lightning shots before, but it’s actually not that hard. Basically, you keep the shutter open and hope a bolt appears in at least a few photos.
This one hit really close. This photo is not Photoshopped (well, basic levels and cloning out some dust.)
Close up, lightning looks just awesome! You can see little white particles of energy all around in the air.
Tags: cool photos, lightning, Weather
The new best lightning photo
by emily on August 27, 2009
Fashion around West Lake
Here we have a classic summer look. It’s hot, so wear shorts and roll up your t-shirt for maximum air flow. You need to look stylish though, so wear your black dress shoes with white socks.
This white poodle had a fluorescent orange tail and ears. Poor little guy doesn’t even know he looks like a traffic cone.
During the summer, many dogs are shaved like lions (to keep cool, I suppose.) They leave the head furry so that it looks like a lion’s mane!
Fashion around West Lake
by emily on August 7, 2009
Seagulls
All of these photos were taken from the cruise ship with my Tamron 70-300mm telephoto lens. After getting a camera upgrade, I realize how mediocre it really is.
Seagulls
by emily on August 1, 2009
Örebro Castle
In Örebro, we also visited the castle. Instead of a traditional tour, they made the tour into a play of sorts. It was much more interesting than hearing a guide rattle off dates!
A person walking over the bridge is reflected in the moat.
I think this little ducky was laying eggs in this flower pot.
Örebro Castle
by emily on July 31, 2009
Ultrasounding cattle
|
This is probably my last post from South Dakota photos for a while! (Until October, anyway.)
When I was home, Jason and dad spent a couple days ultrasounding cattle. Not to check if they were pregnant, but to determine their back fat and marbling and the date they would be ready to sell. |
Tags: home
Ultrasounding cattle
by emily on June 13, 2009
Jaws
| Jon snapped this photo as Boots was lying in her box on the balcony. We can’t believe how far her jaws are open in this yawn! |
Tags: Boots
Jaws
by emily on June 1, 2009
Monkey Island
I felt a bit bad participating in photographing these monkeys – these little guys are kind of exploited. They get thrown some fruit (and the big rotting piles of peels attract lots of nasty bugs), and then people leave their trash on their little tiny beach. I just can’t believe how people will throw beer and soda cans on a little tiny beach on an uninhabited island. Who do they think will pick it up??
Monkey Island
by emily on February 3, 2009
October 12 – Bridgewater
Jon and Megan invited us to Bridgewater to sit by the fire and drink beer.
I definitely was missing America….
And what will they think of next? Budweiser came out with lime-flavored beer. Maybe they are trying to compete with Corona (which is the beer that should always have a lime in it.)
This is Blaze – she’s a really sweet Rottweiler.
Jon got a new camera, the SD1100IS. It has a pretty good macro mode and also takes time lapse videos. (I will post some eventually.)
John and Megs
Tags: home
October 12 – Bridgewater
by emily on December 16, 2008
October 5th – Wiener dog races
Deadwood was holding their annual Oktoberfest celebration that weekend. It included Wiener Dog races!
First there was a costume contest:
Then the race! There were several heats. Most of the dogs didn’t care too much about being the first to the other end – they were more interested in each other.
This guy won! He’d been in a few competitions before. His owner’s secret was to have a T-bone in his pocket, let him smell it right before the race, and hold it so the dog would race to the bone. It worked!
Tags: home
October 5th – Wiener dog races
by emily on December 5, 2008
Devil kitty…
Her eyes are like lasers in this photo!
Here is Boots’ new kitty tower. It’s pretty cool. She loves it so much that I even threw away her box. She sleeps on the second tower, and lays under it too. She won’t get in the hammock though.
I think it is exactly like the one fellow blogger WoAi got for his cat Tommy, who actually looks a bit like Boot’s sibling. Boots’ still has a couple mice hanging from the top levels, which she loves to bat at.
Tags: Boots
Devil kitty…
by emily on August 31, 2008
Boots
Boots got a new toy – a kitty tree house with 4 different levels. She likes to sit on it and look out over the city.
I have to admit, her new favorite thing is due to the fact I saw it on WoAi’s blog! His kitty Tommy has one. Wendy ordered it from China’s version of eBay for us (everything was in Chinese.) The best part is that it was about 1/3 of what it would cost in the USA.
Oh, and she likes it so much that she hasn’t sat in her box AT ALL since we got it.
Occasionally I like to use my 50mm 1.8f lens. It makes it super easy to get photos with just one area in focus.
Tags: Boots
Boots
by emily on August 25, 2008
Poor Boots!!!
Today I took Boots to the vet. When Inge was here, we noticed that she seemed to be getting scrapes on her neck, then one appeared on her chest. Yesterday the one on her chest seemed to be getting even bigger, so we decided she should get looked at.
I took her to PAWS which may be one of the only foreign-run vets in Shanghai. The first thing he said was, “I’m going to have to shave her to get a better look.” So, she has a funky haircut now. Luckily, it is NOT fleas!! The doctor thinks that it is a fungal infection. We just have to put ointment on twice a day.
I also asked if she was too fat. The answer: yes. He said to be fair, she is a “large lady” – she has a big head and is long (sorry Boots, you are just big-boned.) She weighs 5.85 kilos right now and he wants her to get to 5 kilos in 6 months. He talked a lot about how cats typically eat 10 to 20 small meals a day, like mice or other small things, so we feed them all wrong by doing it twice a day. For other cat owners, here is a link to a site that he recommended to me.
You can all help in the fight against obesity by sending her toys! She needs more stimulation. One thing we are supposed to do is feed her 11 tiny meals throughout the day and night, and put them all over the house. Then she has to move to get them (kinda like getting prey).
Tags: Boots
Poor Boots!!!
by emily on July 31, 2008
Time lapse of Boots in her box
I took a photo of Boots sitting in her box every 10 seconds for about an hour. It’s pretty funny to watch her head bob around. She is content to just sit there for hours. My last post about her in the box got 5 comments… which is way more than I usually get.
Tags: Boots
Time lapse of Boots in her box
by emily on July 23, 2008
Boots in a Box
Yesterday, Kelly (sales coordinator from the Beijing office) came to the apartment so she and Jon could put the official company chop on hundreds of bid documents. She brought all of the documents in a box, which Boots loved.
She’s always had a box addiction. This lid is her favorite type of box. The sides aren’t too high, and it’s small enough that she needs to curl up to fit in it.
I think she’s spent about 80% of her time in the box since Kelly gave it to her. At this very moment, she is sleeping in it with her head curled down and tail sticking out. Today I told Xiao Huang not to throw it away since Boots likes it so much. Thanks Kelly!
Tags: Boots
Boots in a Box
by emily on July 2, 2008
Finally updated!!!
Well, I haven’t posted anything for about a month. Sorry to all of my loyal readers who check everyday for an update. :-) I probably lost all of you by now!
I’ve posted a bunch of stuff, so continue to scroll down and read until things begin to look familiar.
Boots is enjoying the nice weather! We’ve been opening the patio doors and letting the fresh air in. (Can it be considered fresh when China’s air pollution is the worst in the world? I’m glad I don’t live in Beijing.)
Tags: Boots
Finally updated!!!
by emily on April 20, 2008
Wo de mao mao jiao Boots!
What a tubby kitty. She doesn’t have to run up and down three flights of days daily, as she did in our house in South Dakota. Now, she lies in the window sill all day. She has a pretty good life.
We really do play with her to give her some exercise! See how ferocious she is? She’s stalking some string.
Tags: Boots
