My First Photo

I know that this is a terrible photo, but I'm posting it for sentimental purposes, so try not to laugh too much. As far as I can tell, it's the first photo I ever took, back in April of 1972 when I was growing up. Obviously, it's the Eiffel Tower, probably taken from the Arc de Triumph.

My first camera was a little box that took square photos, and black-and-white film is all I had back then. Despite the poor quality, I hope this photo brings back some memories for other bloggers of their earliest photography attempts.

Having spent many of my early years in Holland, I've got lots more old photos of Europe in case I ever run out of recent photos of the American West (and wherever else I might happen to visit). Europe remains an important part of my world, and I'm sure their are other My World Tuesday bloggers that will post much better shots from it this week! Hopefully I'll get to visit France again one of these years, and get some much better photographs.

Friendly Little Yellowstone Critters

Our cabin in Yellowstone was surrounded by many of these little creatures, which I think are prairie dogs. They were obviously used to being fed by people because they'd come right up to us, even though we didn't give them anything. They were certainly cute!

Visit the Camera Critters meme to see more creatures from around the world.

This Evening's Sunset

Just in time for Skywatch Friday, Mother Nature decided to give us a feast for the eyes this evening.

The photo was taken in my yard this evening, and as is always the case unless otherwise noted here, is straight out of the camera. Enjoy lots more Skywatch Friday sunsets!

Thanks to all my followers - I was pleased to reach 100 a few days ago, something I never imagined when I started blogging! Thanks also to those who comment - I read and enjoy all the comments, and it's fun visiting those blogs. To answer a couple of recent questions:

1. I used to ski, but I haven't in several years. I plan to go a couple of times again this winter.

2. There are certainly wild animals where I hike. I have seen bears (mama with her two cubs not more than 30 feet [10 meters] from me), snakes, and assorted other creatures. One time a bear ran across our yard as my son was walking in the front door. But they are generally not dangerous around here - the two main outdoor dangers in Colorado are lightning and hypothermia, even in the summer if you're at very high altitudes. Although there have been a couple of mountain lion attacks nearby in the last few weeks...

My Cold World

My world has finally turned wintery - it was 13 degrees Fahrenheit this morning (that's -10.5 Celsius). These photos were taken in my yard last Friday morning, when the snow and freezing fog had lifted and left some very pretty scenes.

I'm sure you can find warmer worlds on the My World Tuesday site.

Monument Rock Hike

For Scenic Sunday, here are some photos from a hike around Monument Rock back in June. The light was flat but I did the best I could. The path winds through the trees.

There's a pretty little lake with a bench that makes a nice resting place.

This is Monument Rock, a towering slab in the middle of a field.

On the way back to the car is an old root cellar, now open to the sky and vandalized.

I enjoy having hikes like this just a few minutes drive from my house - I'll try to get out there again after it snows. And for more scenic blog entries, visit the great Scenic Sunday meme.

Tunnel Vision

We're getting into the time of year when it's harder to get good photos for Skywatch Friday - for the next few months it's usually cloudless blue, or occasionally simple gray when snow is falling. I was hoping to get photos of last nights snow before I went to work this morning, but the clouds stuck around and the flat light would have made any photos boring. So I'm reaching into my archives from late last year for these.

 That photo was taken walking into this tunnel, on Gold Camp Road just above Colorado Springs.

Enjoy lots more skies from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

Westlands Park

Here are the last of the photos from Westlands Park near Denver last weekend. The park was very attractive - I think these tall stones were part of a water feature, turned off for the winter.

Nearby was a covered area, ideal for picnics shaded from the hot summer sunshine or to shelter from a rainstorm.

You may have heard of the Harvest Moon, but each full moon throughout the year has its own name. This little circular area was inscribed with the names of the various moons throughout the year, along with astrological information in the concrete around it.

Even the concrete walls were decorated - this example shows a hole the shape of a bird to keep things interesting.

And that's this week's visit to my world, visit the My World Tuesday website to visit other parts of this amazing world.