Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: silhouettes

(+1 inset!) (please view large for the best impression!) :D What a day! Finally I have a moment to sit down and it's after 8pm! Sheesh! So much to write though, so let me get this new novel written! :D The excitement of today began last night, actually. Every evening we watch an hour of a movie or an episode brought to us via Netflix. Night before last we'd finished watching the first season of what turned out to be a fantastic sci-fi show called "The Expanse." We'd need to start something new except...I had a plan. We're leaving on our next RV adventure in a few days and I'd been dropping hints about fishing but Steve apparently wasn't tuning in. Fact is, for all but the past couple of months of our relationship, Steve has been totally uninterested in fishing. He had an issue with it, but primarily with folks who catch and release because he thinks it's horribly cruel (I agree). Those who fish and actually eat the fish or catch to sell the fish are fine but because he loves fish (as divers and self-appointed ambassadors to the sea, we both love and respect marine life), the idea of catching, killing, cleaning and eating a fish was totally out of the question. I respected his feelings on the subject and didn't try to change his mind. We both feel that it's a person's right to choose not to do something they don't like. However, that being said...I love fishing! What fun it is! Throughout my teen years until I was about 16 or so, I went fishing almost every weekend up at our summer cabin. The resort community where our family's cabin resided put on a couple of fishing contests every year, and every single year I'd invariably with first or second place in several categories—Biggest Bluegill, Most Bluegill Caught, Biggest Catfish, Most Catfish Caught, and sometimes I'd get lucky and catch a winning Carp too. My brothers also fished (except my oldest brother, he couldn't care less about fishing!) and both Brian and Scott vied for the top place in the Bass and Trout categories. Once we stopped going up to the cabin, I stopped fishing and life went on. I never thought about it. When I met Steve, it was fun telling him about my fishing history and it was ok to me that he didn't like the idea. I'd had my day in the sun with angling and was content without it. But a funny thing happened. We got an RV. We began going on camping trips. And everywhere we went, we saw folks fishing and going out in boats. I didn't say anything about it...but one day out of the blue, Steve said to me, "You know, I think I might want to change my mind about fishing." We talked about our feelings regarding fish and he thought that maybe he could handle killing a fish and ultimately eating it. I was amazed because it's a big step to get to that point. In fact, even though we love eating poultry, beef and pork, we absolutely could not raise these animals, have them killed and then eat them. We are very cognizant of the origin of every bite we eat but we love these animals too much to kill and eat livestock that we actually know. It's too close. Fish are different. They are different enough that even though they do have a variable amount of intelligence, it's not a hard task to distance yourself from feeling destroyed over the thought. I have killed plenty of fish in my young days of fishing and even though it's not fun, it can be done quickly and humanely and then you have a meal to eat! Which brings me to an admission: when I fished as a teen, I never ever ate my catches! (My parents did!) At that age, the only fish I'd eat was tuna from a can, mixed with plenty of mayonnaise and made into a sandwich or casserole. We all know that canned tuna really isn't like a normal "fishy" fish, and that's the only reason I'd eat it. Other than a bit of catfish sometimes in my 30's, I wouldn't eat fish for years until I met Steve. My ex tried to get me to eat raw fish in sushi but his attempts to shame me into it weren't exactly a technique that would have a chance of working. Then I met Steve. Soon after we met he took me to his favorite sushi restaurant and had me try hamachi. To my utter disbelief, I *LOVED* it. Sushi soon became my favorite food and at the same time, Steve took me to seafood restaurants and introduced me to different kinds of fish that I almost always loved. These days we have sushi on special occasions and we will pick up a lovely steelhead trout about once a month. We adore fish and are hopeless trout junkies. Bass is lovely too but too pricey usually, as are most of our favorites. Which brings us back to camping in our RV and our next adventure. We'll be staying at several lakes for up to 5 days each and I couldn't stop thinking about fishing and what Steve had said. However, I wasn't making a big enough noise apparently. So last night, instead of watching Netflix, I suggested we watch a series of videos made by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. They explained everything you'd need to know about how to catch trout, including what to buy, how to get set up and even exact techniques. Steve loved the idea so much that we not only watched the entire series last night, we got up early this morning and went all over the place to look at fishing gear! We are now the proud owners of two new poles, really nice reels and everything we need to go trout fishing on our trip!! HOORAY!!! We are so excited! The idea of catching our yummy trout dinners has us bouncing up and down! I am so happy that Steve is excited too. We can't wait to try out this new fun activity together! :) Ok, today's photo is another view of the amazing sunset that Steve and I photographed when we were in Coo's Bay. It was the first picture I took as we arrived on the beach and I loved the way the sun was shining through the trees. I am also including an inset, which is an archive picture I posted years ago when I had my older camera. Steve and I went to Ashland, about 40 miles south of us, to photograph the splendor of autumn at Lithia Park. I found this amazing mosaic artwork as we entered the park and just loved the detail. It's a trout! How perfect to share for today! :) Pam, do you like to go fishing? It really is such fun and so exciting. I can't wait to catch and cook our own fish...what about you? Is that something you've ever tried? Anyway, my thoughts are on you right now...and I'm hoping you'd doing well today! *BIG HUGS*!!! Explored on 6/8/19; highest placement, #1.

(+1 inset) (please view large!) Now that Steve and I have been home from Upper Klamath Lake for a day, we've been reflecting on the differences. Most notably, it was only just entering spring there, though the temperature was quite nice and cold only late at night. Did you experience a long winter where you live? We did and I know that many places in Oregon had a very late winter too. Talking to the folks at Rocky Point Resort, we learned that they've only been open for business for a couple of weeks because their winter was about a month longer than normal--just like us. In fact, daffodils were just beginning to bloom there, whereas our daffodils peaked a month ago. Checking the elevation, I was surprised to find that Upper Klamath Lake sits at 4100 feet, whereas we are at 1500 feet. This all made sense to us when we thought about it and all of this explains why it didn't feel like spring hadn't arrived yet. I've only stayed at a campground once, many years ago, and that was traditional tent camping so it this place was very interesting to me. Modern campgrounds in the United States have specific sites meant for RVs and other spots are just for tents or small camper vans. Some spots have no "hookups" and are just a place to pitch a tent or to "dry camp", which means that you have to provide water and electricity. Fancy spots, like the one we had, included "full hook-ups", which meant we had electricity, water AND a sewer. Sewer hookups are uncommon but most campgrounds offer water and electricity hookups. It was all new and fascinating to me. Another interesting point is that sites are sorted by size of trailer. Many campsites, especially remote ones without the luxury of a lot of space cannot accept camper vehicles at all, only tents. Some can only accommodate camper vans or trailers up to 25 feet long or so. More often than not, campsites are only long enough for a trailer; the truck must be unhooked and parked beside the trailer. However, there are some campsites that have spots which will allow a very long RV AND a truck which doesn't even need to be unhooked! We're talking 80 feet or longer!! That's just astonishing to me! I really shouldn't be surprised because I've seen some unbelievably long combinations of truck + RV or huge motorhome + car towed behind. Still, I never really thought about it before! Did you know that in most cases, you reserve your campsite online? In fact, there are many places that are so popular that you must reserve a spot an entire YEAR (or longer) before you want to go!! And then, there are lots of places that don't allow reservation at all!. How would you like to drive all day to get to a campsite without even knowing if there is a place to pull into?! What do you do if you can't get in? It's a whole new thing for us to learn about and it's lots of fun to figure it all out. I'll be writing about what we learn as we go whenever it's interesting enough to pass along. I expect it's probably fascinating to some of you who live in Europe and don't see anything larger than camper vans. The difference between European camping and US camping totally blows me away and I figure it's fun to read about! I'll do my best to be entertaining! :) Today's picture was taken yesterday morning before sunrise when I stepped out of our RV and headed towards the dock. The colors in the sky behind the bare trees was just incredible. Part of me wanted to rush out to the dock because I didn't want to miss the sunrise but I simply couldn't miss this picture. I'm so glad I got it. :) My inset was the picture I thought about posting yesterday for Happy Fence Friday. It shows the Rocky Point Lodge and the actual "rocky point" which is the namesake of this beautiful place. I am very happy with the way the picture turned out but I don't think it's got the "wow-factor" I am hoping for in a main shot. I hope you like it! This lodge is a restaurant but it's currently being remodeled and because of the long winter they are far behind on the renovations. Maybe we'll get the chance to eat there some day on a return trip! Pam, I did a search for "lake" and came up with a picture that looks a bit like Upper Klamath, namely one of your pictures of Lake Arbuckle ! :D Such a lovely view. Looks like a wonderful place for a picnic! By the way, thank you for your sweet comments about our trip…and I hope that your day has been a nice one! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 4/27/19, highest placement, #2.

(+6 insets!) (please view large!) I'm going to make this a quick write-up because it's getting late and I need to post my pictures for Saturday-Self Challenge! The theme this week is "Trees" so today I went around on our property looking for likely candidates. I found a good choice in our big meadow that shows our bulldozer in the background. I also took a picture of a huge old Oak tree that had been turned into a tree house many years ago. It had died by the time we moved there, the tree house long since decayed into ruin. Then, the ancient relic toppled over a few years ago. It makes me sad when I see this fallen friend but I do my best to honor it by capturing images when I can of the interesting things about it. The wood from the tree house has nails and old carpet and growing all over it are various kinds of moss and lichen. I've even found mushrooms there. Perhaps I should to a series on this departed fellow, I think that would be fun and give it some well-deserved immortality. :) I turned and walked across our big meadow and made my way up to the base of our steep hillside. Looking back across our little valley, I saw the view which is my main image today--a line of trees marching along the far ridge. Cool. I climbed up onto our hillside and at the top I got many pictures of the burned trees which are just skeletons now. Some had their tops broken off and stand like sentries. Another looked out over the valley and forest beyond. One of the silhouetted images shows the huge old madrone which I loved so dearly. Even though it looks dead, all around its base and 6-feet high and taller are new branches and vibrant growth. It's going to be just fine, though it will take many years before it regains its past magnificence. I especially liked the tree skeleton which appears to be windswept. I felt very satisfied by my tree-finding excursion, and tomorrow I'll tell you--and show you--what else I found on my adventure! Pam, does your home reside in a valley like ours? I get the impression that it doesn't because I've never seen pictures of yours which indicate a valley. I did a search for "valley" and found your gorgeous coastal image, Valley of the Rocks Sunset . It's incredible, and yet, rife with sorrow, for it was a goodbye for you of a place you love. :( *MANY HUGS* for what is behind you but I do hope that you have plenty of special memories to add in the future. Thinking of you! Explored on 4/7/19, highest placement, #3.

(+7 insets!!) This morning I woke up feeling so happy! I was really delighted with how my hammock pictures turned out for my post yesterday and I have been so touched by the wonderful comments I've gotten. I am all a-glow! It feels great when you make a challenge for yourself and achieve the goal you'd hoped for! The fact that you guys like the pictures too is icing on the cake! Hooray! I looked out to see that there was yet another incredible sunrise, along with amazing fog banks swirling around the Table Rocks. Of course I had to take pictures, and I've shared them as insets so you can see how lovely my morning started off! :) On top of that, when I walked down the road on my first lap, the golden light shining on the trees created some really beautiful reflections in our seasonal pond, which has FINALLY filled up (It's usually full by November)! I got a bunch of pictures of the reflections that I'm sharing too! I kind of went crazy, I hope you enjoy them! :) Today's picture is for Happy Fence Friday even though it's actually Thursday here in the United States. In addition to my main picture I am also including an inset. Each was taken on our trip down to San Anselmo over New Years. Nathalie and Brian live on a nice-sized property with endless subjects to photograph. One of the things that kept catching my eye was the cool fencing along one side. Old and weathered, some was crusted with lichen and moss, other spots had rust stains running down from the nails. While I was investigating the front corner, I noticed the sun shining through the trees created a lovely dappling on the fence. It was so pretty that I knew it would be perfect for my Happy Fence Friday picture! The inset fence picture was taken on the first hike we did up in the hills above their home. You may recognize that sun flare and Oak tree from the sepia picture I posted a few days ago. While looking through my photos today, I was surprised to discover that the first sun flare image I took included a fence line. I wondered if I might be able to use it for an inset but wasn’t sure. The picture was kind of uninteresting but it hit me…I could play with textures and I bet it would look great! Picking one textured image is the hardest part…it's such fun to fool around with the various looks! Pam, is your pond full now too? When did yours fill up (if it is)? We haven't had as much rain this year, nor has it been as cold. I wonder what it's like for you guys? Are the dogs playing in the pond or is it frozen over? I had to make sure Zoey didn't jump into our pond when it was icy but I don't think it has ever been solid. I used to imagine what it would be like if she ran onto the frozen pond, tried to stop and then spun around in circles…I never got to see that reality but just thinking about it made me laugh! :) I am thinking good thoughts about you my dear…hope your day has been good! Explored on 1/10/19, highest placement, #4.

Photographed on the Rogue Gorge Trail, near Union Creek, Southern Oregon