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The Backyard Cam
More wildlife...
Wednesday 7 April 2010
Just a few more wildlife pics taken while we are here in the UK.
Scottish Wildlife...
Tuesday 6 April 2010
I have to say... I have been surprised by something in Scotland. I never expected to see so much wildlife. Don’t get me wrong... Ireland has its fair share of wild animals... but I have seen more here in the last few days than I would normally see in Ireland in 6 months (not counting livestock)! The amazing thing is... we have seen a ton of wild deer in the highlands. Who would have thought? The first night we were here we were driving in the evening time, and the deer must have been coming down to the valleys to eat. Time after time we saw small herds of them grazing. Some deer were feet away from the road! We even stopped once and got out of the car and the deer didn’t even notice that we were there! The whole thing was SO beautiful! There really is no way to capture just how amazing it was to see the animals against the backdrop of the highland mountains!
Out of the window...
Monday 5 April 2010
As I said before... I have been taking a lot of photos out of windows over the last few days. As you might imagine... this is not an easy task! It is especially hard if you get car sick! I can’t tell you how many times I took the perfect shot only to have a tree or car... or person zoom past the window just at the wrong time! In the end, I had to delete tons of the pictures due to blur, a reflection on the window or a streak of mud or a bug on the window. BUT... the chase after the perfect photo is what I find most fun about photography.
Here are a few more of the ‘out the window pictures’ I took the other day.
Another day... another country...
Saturday 3 April 2010
We seem to really be on the road a lot these days. To be honest, I really have not had a chance to really recover from my last trip! But... once again work takes us on the road. This time we are in the United Kingdom. Believe it or not - we have not had much time to do any sightseeing. I have, however, been snapping pics like crazy out of the car window. The photo below is actually five photos that are stitched together to give a panoramic view of the Scottish Highlands.
A few more...
Thursday 1 April 2010
Here are just a few more pics from my evening with the windmills... This time the photos are in color.
So much for Spring...
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Does anyone know... is the old saying that, “March comes in like a lamb but leaves like a lion” or “in like a lion and out like a lamb”? I have searched online, but find the saying both ways. Well... it is proving to be “in like a lamb but out like a lion” in Ireland this year!
I don’t know what has happened. We had a couple of weeks of amazing weather, and now we have rain, wind, and SNOW! This is about to drive me crazy! I’m sitting here in our office watching the daffodils dance wildly in the wind outside my window, and I’m doubtful that they will survive the brutal treatment! I SO badly wish that summer would come already, and the thought of snow coming over the next few days really makes me shiver! Someone needs to let the weatherman know that it is Easter, and that we need some better weather!
The weather noticeably changed on Saturday night. There was a real bite to the wind, and I had to get my winter coat... hat... and gloves back out. I witnessed
Today’s Random Pic...
Monday 29 March 2010
Today’s pic was taken last summer... this was taken in one of my new favorite spots.
More Cat...
Saturday 27 March 2010
A followup pic from my time with the cat next door...
An afternoon on the rock wall...
Friday 26 March 2010
Have I ever told you about our neighborhood cat? She technically belongs to my next door neighbors, but she really spends most of her time out on adventures or hanging out at a different house in the neighborhood. I couldn’t tell you the cat’s name, but we have had several hair raising adventures together. You see... the cat really does live for adventure... On several occasions she has come lurking into our house through an open window (or door) and decided to give Dee or I an awful fright! We don’t own any cats or dogs... so when you see something streak past a door or hear something upstairs you instantly jump out of your seat... OR... many times I have been working in the office (or washing dishes, etc.) only to have the cat rub up against my leg. You want to talk about being startled? I nearly wet myself!
Having said this... I really do love this little cat. Who could resist her sweet nature or her purr? After all.... she just wants to be held or rubbed. She often
Today’s Random Pic...
Thursday 25 March 2010
Yesterday was such a beautiful day... and I didn’t have a chance to get out and really go anywhere to take photos... but I did make a quick stop for a self portrait. This is taken up an old bog road where families still cut and dry turf for their fires. It is about 5 min away from where I live.
Top 25!!!!
Wednesday 24 March 2010
Just a quick thank you to everyone who nominated me for the Irish Blog Awards 2010! I have been meaning to update everyone for a while now on how the judging has been going.
I found out that our little blog made it into the top 25 photoblogs in Ireland!!!!
The top 25 have been narrowed down to the top 5. Irish Rain is not in the top 5... but it has been fun to be a part... and as cheesy as this sounds... It really has been an honor to be nominated!
I am over the moon! Thank you again to everyone that nominated me!
An Update...
Tuesday 23 March 2010
I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone that has stuck with us during this whole website redesign faze. Let me explain what has been going on.
Blogger.com is the website we had been using, and for the last six years we have been really happy with them. For some reason (which they explained but I still don’t like), they have decided to change how they allow people to publish their website. So... because we have our own web address and web server we needed to either upload all of our images to the ‘Blogger.com’ server and stop using our own, or we needed to stop using Blogger. We decided that we like having a bit more control over the server side of things, and that we would possibly loose our archives (6 years worth) by changing over to their server.
So... we have been working like crazy to redesign and restart our website.... which is NOT AN EASY TASK! Having said this... I’m really glad to have the chance to start something new. I was really
Last from the Air
Tuesday 23 March 2010
This is the last of the aerial shots for a while... These were both taken of the same mountain... we were somewhere over Arizona.... I think!
More from the States...
Sunday 21 March 2010
I have already posted a few pics from my flight over Greenland... which was AWESOME! But... I didn’t stop taking photos there. In fact I took just under 300 photos from my flights on that day. Don’t worry... I’m not going to post them all....... but I do want to post a few! I have to confess that the 30+ hours of travel really passed quick... well, that isn’t true... each hour passed painfully slower than the one before. But... they did pass quicker thanks to the distraction of watching the changing landscapes below me. From Ireland to London ... to Scotland ... to Greenland ... to Canada ... to the USA. I snapped and snapped photos. Here are just a couple from New Mexico (I think).
St. Paddy’s Day!
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Today is that magical day when all of the world is Irish! St. Patrick’s day is now being celebrated by Irish and non-Irish in every corner of the world. It might surprise you to learn that St. Patrick’s day celebrations have drastically changed over the years. Twenty years ago there were no parades or crazy celebrations in Ireland. That was an American invention. In fact, it was the Irish in Boston that organized the world’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1737. Ireland only made Paddy’s Day a national holiday in 1903, and it only became a government-backed festival in 1995 as a way to boost tourism. Since that time celebrations have really taken on a life of their own. Parades and celebrations now get the spotlight, but there is no green beer or rivers. In fact, being pinched for not wearing green is an American invention too!
This year our own little town decided to have a parade! It was so much fun to see our whole community turn out for a bit of craic. The local
My Niece
Tuesday 16 March 2010
One of the best things I got to do while in the States was getting to spend some time with my youngest niece, B. I got to spend several mornings playing with this cool little three year old (about to be 4) while her mom and siblings were at school. I think taking photos turned into a bit of a game, and most of my pictures are of her with her hands over her eyes... but we had a lot of fun!
Hang’n with the Fam....
Monday 15 March 2010
As you can tell... I had a lot of fun during my time in California. I was there for work purposes, but I made a point to get out and enjoy every moment of sunshine that I could.
After I wrapped everything up in California I stopped over for a short layover in my hometown. I can’t tell you just how much I needed some time to play and hang out with my family! I love them SO much... and any chance to be with them really is precious!
I couldn’t get over just how much my nieces and nephews had grown over the past year! Thankfully we were able to pick up right where we left off... being silly!
Today’s Random Pic...
Saturday 13 March 2010
One last photo from California. This was actually taken out of a bus window as we drove. I love that you can see the desert and the mountains.
April 2 2:15 PM
