Morning Activities At The River

This morning we fell out of bed more or less.  I guess we're officially back on VA summertime and that means that those, who want to engage in outdoor activities should get out there as early as possible. Getting up at five o'clock is no problem. Disadvantage of the early rise is the fact, that around eight at night you're ready to go to bed get your zzz's before having to "fall out of bed" again. Another reason for getting up so early are the dogs since they do overheat much faster than people do. Picture you only had your tongue and the sole of your feet to perspire you'd be in serious trouble once it gets above 80 degrees. Not to mention the year round fur coat you'd be wearing. We like to take the dogs to the park. There we find more shade and the dachshunds don't get overheated too quickly from the reflecting heat which is all too present when walking in town on the hot and sizzling pavement.

This morning, the best hubby of all agreed to accompany me for a photo session at the river and here is the result:

The water is getting lower and makes for quite a pretty scenery.

Here I was trying to get the water look a little bit softer by decreasing the shutter speed. (Actually my first try at this with the new camera.)

Other "first attempts" didn't turn out too well. I would LOVED for this picture to be better. What a pity ! 

Eventually the heron did land and I got a better look at him and his prey.

There were lots and lots of them out, fishing for breakfast:

After watching the herons, we continued our morning walk along the river:

The vultures are feeding on the trash some picnickers left behind. Makes you wish, people would be a bit more conscientious about the locations they leave their garbage at. 

These are some impressions of the trail that leads along the river. Isn't it pretty ? 

We are indeed lucky to live so close to a park of such beauty. 

What we left behind was a bunch of vultures on the rocks. I wonder if they enjoyed the sunrise as much as we did.

It's Photoshop Time Again

As you know, I love playing around with images in Photoshop and so I would love to share a few of my creations with you. I hope you like them. :-)

The beauty of a rose

"Leaving the page"

The Budelheimers

The Furgang

Bica (Color Key)

Scene from the Mannassas Battlefield

"Have a great journey"

Harley D V-Rod (Rodney is named after this one)

Here's a fun one. 

"Slybone and MadUncle" (Named after Simon and Garfunkel, of course.)

Not to forget "Smiliemonster's Greatest Hits"

Bath Time

Not to forget the "Stroll at the Lake"

On the left you see the castle of Hellenstein which is located in the town I was born in. On the right is part of my daily walking trail along the Potomac River at Great Falls Park. In this image I was trying to combine my hometown in Germany with my home in Virginia.

Knowledge is Power

"Creating a Masterpiece"
This is my little grand nephew Aaron. (I "borrowed" his brother Levin's open eye for this image)

"Eldin"

"Marie"

"Uncle Max"

My grandmother and my mother

The BW pictures above are restaurations. Pretty difficult, but the result isn't too bad, is it ?

Bjorn

Bicalina

Just playing around in Photoshop. :-)

Vintage Window

"Nightbird".
This is actually an edit of a picture I liked very much, but it's quality left much to be desired. So I turned a blurry bird at daylight into a nightbird and thus I am able to enjoy the image anyways. :-)

Wine and Song

Over time I create these little "masterpieces". I still use Photoshop 8 and I'm having loads of fun creating these images. Usually it takes anywhere up to two/three hours to finish one of these. I haven't been doing a whole lot of them lately because of my inflamed wrist joints. Still hoping for them to heal without having to have surgery. Three dogs and two arms in a cast doesn't sound good. Therfore: Photoshop has been put on ice for a while. 

As always: Clicking on the images will let you view them original size, and please leave them here. Don't take them with you ! ;-)

Watergames

It's been brutal the last couple of days and the heat has been almost unbearable. I always feel sorry for poor Tessa having to run around in a thick fur coat all the time. The Budelheimers take the heat much better than she does, but then again, they almost have no fur to talk about. Winter is payback time - they freeze and Tessa is frolicking.
Needless to say, when it gets hot nobody really wants to exercise either and even though we go to the park at the crack of dawn, there are times when I don't make it in time to beat the heat. Did I mention that humidity isn't all that shabby around here either ? Opening the door at 5 o'clock in the morning, you find yourself facing an instant sauna. Did I mention that I hate saunas ? They give me panic attacks ! Avoiding that total sauna feeling is not entirely possible, but trying to avoid it as best we can, makes getting up at the crack of dawn an easy task.
Right. Tessa and the heat. I got side tracked. Out comes the garden hose, which makes her turn giddy in an instant and off she goes to the grass while I stand on the patio controlling fun and games. .......and water hose of course.

Ever tried to bite water ? 

Of course you have the option of ducking under it. Don't expect not to get wet though. 

Take a running start, close your eyes and..........geronimoooooooooooooooo ! 

Hey - can I have more of this ? 

Every girl needs a good facial every now and then. 

Pawbath, anyone ? 

This goes on for a couple of minutes and you can see her disappointment once I turn the water off. 

Can you imagine how long it takes to get her dry ? 

The Budelheimers don't believe in waterworks. They rather work on their tan:

Lazy bunch !