Final showing

We've had gorgeous, almost spring-like weather in Minnesota, and the rain has urged our flora to show off one last time before winter sets in. I've had the opportunity to use a high quality macro lens for the past week or so, and it has been a good exercise in steady photography. Nature's wind and one's own heartbeat and breathing are amplified greatly when using a long lens. I could have stopped a few of these down a bit more...I overestimated my depth of field and didn't get as much of the key areas of the flowers in focus as I would have liked.

I'm not dead...

...just hibernating, much like many other things in Minnesota. Apologies to all (six) of my readers for not posting since early December. Winter brought with it illness at home and craziness at work that made a few months go by in a snap. But I am back "online", clearing the cobwebs and trying to remember what font I'm using and how I managed to post 600-pixel-wide photos in the last few entries.

The days are getting longer, the temperature is rising, and while I fully expect Minnesotans will get pounded with one or two final snowstorms, I can't help but marvel at the prospect of the spring activities, many of which will be shared for the first time with my son. Em and I share a fondness for cycling and are eager to wheel Miles around in a trailer behind our bikes. As a young child, I spent a fair amount of the summer seated in a trailer, rolling along behind Dad's 10-speed, waving at cars as they passed. It was such simple, practical and effective entertainment that will always be one of the most enduring memories of my own childhood--and one that I hope I can pass along to the next generation.

Turning point

I took this photo at a very old and rugged cemetery less than a mile from our house. While I had all sorts of great ideas for capturing shadow and light around the grave stones, the shooting session was cut a bit short as the temperature fell well below zero. I also forgot to reset my ISO. The entire shoot was done at a very noisy 1600.

Spring is just starting to shine through the dead of winter in Minnesota after a long stretch of cold and snow. As a child, I remember damming up small rivers that ran the length of curbs and sidewalks--the result of winter's snow succumbing to spring's warming air--with sticks and rocks and mud and watching as the river always, always found a way around the boy-made obstacle a few minutes later. As I look out my window now, I see places on our street and our driveway where I might have constructed such a dam to briefly hold the water I can see melting away from the snow covering only part of our lawn. What now seems so unsightly--week old snow covered by dust and mud--has, every spring, a natural cleaning process wherein the snow melts, the water washes away, evaporates, and the mud that once tarnished the pureness of winter eventually returns to the earth.

Much has changed at our home, too, since my last post. Our son Miles was born on December 29, 2007 and has been nothing but a joy. He is likely to be the only kid in his class with two middle names, Harold and Michel, tributes to my and Emily's dads. After taking time off and returning briefly to work, Emily decided to take a longer leave and stay home with Miles. I'm looking forward to the flexibility it will give us to enjoy more time together as a family. Additionally, I have found new work within the same company that allows me to work from home. The time not spent in stressful and polluted traffic is priceless.