Over The River...

and through the woods...

I love this spot.

Believe it or not, it is right off the parking lot

of the spa and salon where Ladybug and I 

get our hair done.

There is something about moving water that just draws me in 

and soothes me like nothing else can.

I am glad I remembered to grab my camera

when I took Ladybug the other day.

Now I have a visual "happy place"

to go to when I am stressed.

If anyone was in the parking lot watching me take this image,

they would have thought I was crazy.

I wanted to slow down the shutter speed enough

to get a good, smooth blur on the water,

but at those speeds, the camera would have had 

tons of camera shake.

So, because I lacked a tripod at that moment,

I decided to lay the camera on a stone wall 

next to the river...

only the camera tilted too far down and I couldn't get

the bridge in the frame.

So, I looked for rocks to prop up the lens at just the right angle,

but I was unsuccessful in finding just the right rock.

Hmmmm...What to do, what to do...

Then, all of the sudden, I remembered reading somewhere 

that your shoe can make

a really great stand-in tripod when you are desperate...

And people, I was desperate.

Sooooo...off came my shoe

in the freezing cold winter...

fuzzy polka-dotted sock flapping in the cold breeze

as I stook flamingo like,

one leg tucked up in the air next to my other knee.

I was hopping on one foot trying to position my shoe just so

beneath the camera to achieve the correct angle,

bending over to look through the viewfinder,

composing the shot just how I wanted it.

Oh, I am sure I was quite a sight 

to those who may have happened by

or looked out the spa window.

But me making a spectacle of myself was worth the humiliation

when I saw the final results of the shot.

I was pleased as punch.

My foot was cold, but seeing this spot on my screen made my heart warm.

:)

And that, my friends, is a lesson for today...

use what you've got to make what you want happen.

Have a good one, y'all.

*P.S.  This is my 800th post on this blog URL.

I have been blogging for about 8(ish) years,

at various url's.

I began this particular blog on 

April 19th, 2009 and it has been my happy home now 

for almost 3 years. :)

It has brought me much joy by

giving me a creative outlet,

letting me meet new friends around the country and around the world,

and by bringing me business in a job I love so much.