Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: fluffy

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is doing well, staying healthy and away from others! I've been getting a few notes from folks checking in on me so I wanted to let everyone know that both Steve and I are doing just great! Healthy, happy and doing just fine, our supervisor, Pumpkin (our parrot) is making sure we're doing everything right each day. :) All of this virus business is just really hard to deal with so we continue to keep our heads down. I also wanted to apologize for not coming around to visit. I feel very guilty. :( It's really hard for me because the moment I get to a person's stream I'm hit with a wall of concern and worry about each person and their family. I think maybe it's because I'm so empathic that this just totally immobilizes me and makes me hugely depressed and anxious. Please forgive my absence, I just can't handle the deep concern and worry that I feel about each and every one of you. I am sure that once the world turns the corner on this virus I will feel better but right now it's just too hard for me to be the social butterfly, even though I want to so badly. :( I continue to hide from the world's horrendous tragedies by playing the amazing and wonderfully innocent game, "Garden Paws."(link to review) It's hopelessly adorable, beautiful and really fun, full of animals so cute you just want to pop. You can raise baby farm animals to adults and then use their eggs, feathers, milk, etc. for crafting many things. Seeds you plant in your garden grow into flowers for bouquets, fruits and veggies for cooking and baking and you can pick them in the wild too. There are trees and minerals to harvest, a town to help develop, and about 10 zillion things to keep you running and happily distracted from the worries of the real world. I used to play another game like this called "Animal Crossing" but I am happy to say that this game is much better, in my opinion. If you are looking for a way to distract yourself in a world that is beautiful and full of fun things to keep you busy, it might be something for you to try! Today's picture was taken a year ago in the nearby town of Grant's Pass. They have a lovely riverside park which is the home to many semi-tame waterfowl and one day Steve and I stopped for a short visit. This darling Mallard hen is one of my favorites of the pictures I took and I hope that it makes you chuckle too. My, but isn't she WIDE?! Hilarious! I can't help but smile whenever I see this picture so I figured it would be perfect for my post! :) *** Pam, it's always so nice to hear from you and I'm glad to know that you guys are keeping healthy and have everything you need to keep away from the world for the most part. I know you're right--this will all blow over--but it's staggering to see this thing blowing up bigger and bigger... You are in my thoughts and I hope my virtual hugs make it to you! :) Explored on 4/5/20; highest placement #1.

(+3 insets!) We’ve arrived back at our home on our 14th day out on the road! It’s so strange to be back after all of our adventures! We're feeling a little bit like the Twilight Zone...:D Steve and I had a luxurious morning full of happy snuggles, a delicious steak omelet and a relaxed check-out. We continue to streamline our process and it’s faster and easier each time we break down our RV and hook the truck up to pull out. We use walkie-talkies when Steve backs up to the RV and I’m getting better at directing him exactly into place. It’s fun to be a strong team and wherever there are problems, we face them head-on and deal with them as best we can to remove them hopefully for good! There is something to be said about being forced into close proximity for long periods of time. Issues come up and either you deal with them or else, right? We love our teamwork spirit and it’s helping us so much in every way. Hooray! What a lovely, sunny morning it was. We were so happy about our successful trip and the sunny exit was like a goodbye gift! It would mean we didn’t have to drive in the rain and could enjoy a bright and beautiful day, how nice! We got on the road at about noon and headed south and then east, revisiting the beautiful road that took us to our first destination at Jedediah Smith State Park. It seemed like so long ago that we were there, and we oohed and ahhhhed over the incredible trees, ferns and verdant forest all around us as we drove past. It didn’t take but a couple of hours before we were in Grants Pass (about 35 minutes from home) where we stopped to stock up on groceries. Then it was off again and soon we were pulling up to our gate. We wondered if the stormy weather would make our driveway a mess but a couple of dry days made the drive up our hill easy and Steve backed the RV into place without any problems. How odd it feels to be home after such a long time away in our “home away from home.” We both feel like our RV is becoming our real home and our “land-based” home is more like a temporary place to be before our next trip. Isn’t that odd? I’ve never experienced anything like this before and it’s very interesting to think about. Other than a short stop for dinner, we have both been working non-stop to unpack and put things away, get the RV set up properly so Steve can work on it, and do the million things around the house that need tending to. I fed our very ravenous Snakey McSnakerton (our California Mountain King Snake) and watered all the plants, started in on the laundry, etc, etc. I like doing all of this though because it’s a nice way to get settled at home. I am tired though, so I’m going to post my pictures! Today’s main image is the gorgeous, full-fluff Stellar’s Jay that I got a picture of yesterday on our Whaleshead Cove hike. I am so happy that the picture turned out well, we’ve never seen them in a fluffy state like this and I am delighted at my luck! My insets include a detail shot of that lovely Rolls Royce I saw at the car show! Look at that inlayed wood…it’s just WOW! :) I'm also sharing a pair of pictures of the Driftwood RV Park(ing Lot) and our rig there so you can see what I mean when I say it’s not a place to write home about. It wasn’t bad, just nothing special, you know? Heh. Pam, I’m so glad that you’ve been enjoying our trip notes and pictures. It means so much to me that I’ve been able to entertain you with our adventures. Stay tuned for more, my dear…next up will be Bend—John Day—Sun River—and another place we haven’t decided on yet…we’ll be home for a couple of weeks while Steve does a few upgrades to the rig and so forth…we’ll let you know as things develop! :) We’re thinking of you and hope you are well! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 5/29/19; highest placement, #1.

Today is New Year's Eve here in the United States but over in Europe it's New Year's Day!! So I am posting this picture now since it works for both days. :) First off, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and wonderful new year. I'd like to thank all of you for the support and comradery we've shared since I've returned to ipernity a couple of months ago. I feel like I'm a totally new person, and a whole lot of that is because of the community here at ipernity. I am so thankful. I look forward to another year of getting to share our photography and learning more about one another, getting inspired, and growing more creative each day. For today's picture, you will recognize my theme: Christmas Eve and Christmas featured holiday cards of two adorable birds I photographed a couple of years ago. If you didn't read about it in my previous posts, it was a perfectly snowy day so I set up our 100-300mm lens in our kitchen doorway that opens out onto our back porch. It also has a perfect view of our bird feeders, so I sat inside while it snowed and clicked away as the birdies stopped by to have some snacks. I ended up getting hundreds of pictures, most of which were crisp and useable. The majority featured the darling Oregon Junco, but I got lots of pictures of House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, a few Lark Sparrows, and even a Northern Flicker and a White-Breasted Nuthatch! I thought it would be fun to feature a different bird for each card, so this one has an extremely fluffy Lesser Goldfinch. (I will try to post pictures of the other species when I can.) Pam, it's been so nice to see more and more comments from you. You leave them for me, and you have been making the rounds too! That makes me so happy. It's nice to know that you're feeling a little better as time passes. Here's to better health in 2019! Explored on 1/1/19, highest placement, #1.

(+1 inset) Just like any child the world over, Pumpkin woke up at 5am this Christmas morning and entered my fluffy, comfortable dream. "Peep!" I kept on sleeping, but wondered what that odd sound played in my narrative. Who knows was I was dreaming about but I could surely say that the next announcement woke me up. "Burble-burble-burble-burble…PEEP!" I cringed when I saw the time. "Peep-PEEP!" Nope. I wasn’t going to answer. Without shame, I pretended I didn't hear her. However, she knew it was Christmas and there was no stopping that little beaky of hers from chiming in another "Peep!" every 5 or 10 minutes. *whimper* I felt as one with all parents on the West Coast right now…all of us trying in vain to get our children to allow us another few moments to sleep. At least my child wasn't running all over the house and sneaking peeks at the presents Santa brought! Memories of joyful Christmas mornings as a child brought a smile to my face. However, I wasn't going to get up at 5am. Nor would I arise at 6am or even 6:30am, thank you very much! Pumpkin finally lapsed her "snooze" feature to 15 minute intervals and eventually I dragged my bedraggled corpse out of bed at 6:45am. I stumbled, zombie-like, into the bathroom to start the day. Once I was up, of course, all was well but I certainly wore a pair of very heavy-lidded eyes to begin with! As predicted yesterday, this morning wasn't rainy and it wasn't terribly cold either. As I started my walk, I watched the sun lighten the sky and colors appeared. My present from Mother Nature was a spectacular sunrise full of lemon, orange, purple, blue and magenta. All against lovely cloud and fog formations that whispered around and over the Upper Table Rock in the distance. (See my inset!) The lovely show continued well past the end of my walk, and Steve would go on to mention the beauty of this day. Colors bounced off the clouds. Fog crawled up and down the valley, socking in our property and then falling back again to reveal the valley beyond. Wisps and tendrils of mist created delicate lines into the sky like a diaphanous curtain. It was wondrous. The birds gave me their present too. Early off on my walk I heard the resident turkeys down in the woods making themselves heard and I enjoyed every note. I heard a pair of acorn woodpeckers calling back and forth to each other. Many little song birds--finches, sparrows and juncos--twittered in nearby trees and flew together from tree to tree. As I started my last lap I looked up and was overjoyed to see the flock of turkeys near our shop. I stopped for a moment to listen to their lovely contact trills and purrs, smiling happily. They pecked at the dirt, relaxed and comfortable as they wandered towards the hillside. I resumed my walk, hoping I'd see them when I returned back up the hill. I didn't see them at first but I did hear them and watched as they appeared from the rear of our shop. Quietly I padded up the hill, knowing they hadn't seen me. They wandered up the side of the hill just on the other side of some thick brush next to me. I stood, totally captivated. For the first time I was very close to them as they were vocalizing their beautiful, intimate purrs and trills. Such soft notes was like sweet conversation among a loving family. It was so wonderful to hear them cooing so sweetly, and blissful moments passed as I drank it all in. The flock climbed up the steep hill and disturbed a trio of mule deer does. They trotted away and stopped to turn and stare at me. They could see me, but the turkeys hadn't, or if they could, were far enough away now that they weren't bothered. I heard some deep flapping and tried to spot the birds through the trees. One of the turkeys was putting on some sort of wing-flapping display, and with that, all of the turkeys began making a lot more noise. In fact, they were making such a ruckus I tried to record the racket on my phone--to no avail, unfortunately. The flock was obscured by trees but it sounded like they were having a turkey convention up there! No alarm "gobble-gobbles" but all kinds of noisy calls…it was completely crazy! After a while I crept back down the hill to the house, thoroughly delighted by the amazing Christmas present I'd been given by Mother Nature. I am so happy!! Today's picture is another holiday card! I thought it would be perfect because today is Christmas here in the United States. It also gives me the opportunity to share another picture from my "Birds in the Snow" folder! I spent some time looking through the hundreds of pictures and found lots of really neat shots. I'd set up our 100-300mm lens so I could take multiple pictures in succession, a technique which I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the many choices you get this way but it also means an absolute GLUT of pictures and you must look through them. UGH! The most horrible thing of all was that I discovered that I hadn't processed a single picture from that photo shoot. What a shame, but now I am sharing the second picture. YAY! :) Pam, I hope you had a very merry Christmas! I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you enjoying ipernity more these days. I know you'd like to be 100% better but gosh, you're doing so well! Let's hope you keep seeing more and more improvement…you sure do deserve it. Many, many great big *HUGGGGGGSSSSSS*!!! Explored on 12/26/18, highest placement, #5.

(originally posted in 2018 on Christmas Eve) It's Christmas Eve here in southern Oregon! If it was cold like it was a couple of days ago, snow would be falling heavily right now. Instead it's raining hard and has been since I got up at my usual crack of dawn. It's a bummer because I was hoping for a white Christmas but it's not going to happen. And, even though tomorrow will be cold enough for snow, the day will be clear so we are out of luck...phooey! Oh well! The rain clouds held back the lightening sky so it was almost dark enough for a flashlight when I stepped out for my daily walk. Splashing down the driveway I peered around for possible stray cats and dogs falling from the clouds—boy was it coming down! The noise on my umbrella was so loud that I couldn't have my usual internal conversation about thoughts for the day. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to just walk along and look through the pouring rain and into the forest and meadow. Actually, it was quite Zen. No distractions, just Being. Very peaceful. After about an hour the rain finally let up and I put my umbrella on the porch. It was light out now and the world seemed like it was happy to take a break from the relentless deluge. I listened to my podcasts and enjoyed myself. On my last lap, I was walking up our hill when I noticed an odd filament on the road. Something about it was really strange and I kneeled down to take a closer look. It looked like a 1.5-foot/45.72cm piece of really thin wire coated in a creamy brown color. "Well, that's weird..." I thought to myself. "What is that?" I wondered if Steve dropped an odd piece of wire on the road, or maybe it was a stripped root of some kind. It moved. In a combination of horror and excitement I yelled, "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!! IT'S ALIVE!" I stared in absolute disbelief at the strange filament that was ever so slowly coiling and waving around on the road. As I stared, the weeks spent studying invertebrates in my Zoology class a zillion years ago came hurtling into my head. "WOAH!! DUDES!! IT'S A WORM!!!" I could hardly believe I was doing this, but I reached down and ever-so-gently picked it up. It was like holding the thinnest snake I'd ever handled, but I managed to sort of drape it over my fingers as I would a snake. At which point it slid off and landed on the road again. I tried again. This time it didn't slip off and I held it up to my face to get a really close look. Which was its front end? Hmm...one end was a bit squared off, and I guessed it might have actually been longer at some point because it appeared to be cut off there. The other end looked like an extremely miniature version of an earthworm's head. I exclaimed in delight, "SO COOL!" Suddenly, I had a mission. Carrying my umbrella in one hand and my bizarre wormy buddy in the other, I made my way hastily up our hill. Steve needed to see this! It will blow him away! As luck would have it, Steve was walking out to greet me as I neared the house. "STEVE! I FOUND THE WIERDEST THING EVER!! LOOK!!!" He came over and I held out my hand so he could see the strange creature. Suitably impressed and fascinated, Steve pointed out its shortened back end. We both wondered how long it might have been originally. 1.5-foot/45.72cm seemed awfully long already. Kinda creepy. I walked over to the meadow and gently placed it on the dirt. Part of me was totally grossed-out, but I was really happy to find such a strange animal on our property. I wondered what kind of worm it was. However, one thing I knew about worms is that there are a LOT of them. We're talking over a MILLION. The odds of me identifying exactly which one seemed unlikely but with that Earthworm head, I thought I might have a chance. To my great surprise, it only took about five minutes to discover what it was--a Horsehair Worm ! (And they are in the same family as Earthworms!) And, though they are normally as long as 14"/35.56cm, some be 6.5 feet/2 meters!! UGH! The good news is that adults don't eat. Only the larvae are parasitic and go after insects. Oh dear, I hope I haven't disgusted everyone! Please forgive me...wildlife of all kinds fascinates me so I hope you haven't lost your lunch on account of my unusual animal discovery! Today's picture is a minimalist snowy holiday card! A few years ago it was snowing and I set up our 100-300mm lens in our doorway and took pictures of the birds that visited our feeders. This darling is an Oregon Junco and is among my favorite birds. Did you notice how huge and fluffy it is?! AHHHHH!!! SO CUTE!!! :D Pam, I hope that this Christmas Eve finds you doing as well as can be and better than you have been doing. Every little step forward is progress, no matter how small. I hope that my healing energy finds its way to you and gives you a burst of energy! Thinking of you always! Explored on 12/25/18, highest placement, #1.

NOTE: there are three inset images above! :) I have been having such a great time reacquainting myself with the ipernity community since my return a week ago. It's been so much fun seeing your photography and leaving comments. I am overwhelmed at the positive response I've been getting to my pictures and the warm welcome back from everyone. It's so humbling and touching. The other day I was admiring a beautiful macro of an apple and noticed that it was a submission to an ipernity group called Macro 2.0. I went to see what they were about and thought the group sounded like a lot of fun. I considered. Participating in group projects can be a lot of fun but one must be cautious about getting overwhelmed by joining too many of these activities. However, one group would be fine and this would be a perfect choice because I love macro so much. The new project theme was posted and I mused over the single word, "soft". Hmmm…I had a week to come up with something though I immediately had the perfect idea: I would take pictures of our darling parrot's feathers in various ways and hopefully get one that said "soft" when you looked at it. Feathers are a fascinating thing. Starting as reptile scales, they evolved over millions of years to become the modern-day feather. Nature is truly remarkable, isn't it? It may be hard to believe that feathers started as scales but one look at Pumpkin's big, scaly feet points to the obvious fact: her ancestors were undoubtedly dinosaurs. Every bird is covered with many types of feathers, each with an important job—for example, some are used to help them fly, others offer coat-like waterproofing, and close to their skin are mostly-hidden fluffy down feathers which keep them warm. As soft as they look at a distance, a close-up reveals that every feather is incredibly detailed...and they don't look soft at all! Even the softest down feather is composed of dozens of hookless barbs which have even smaller barbules—these look a little bit like thin pipe-cleaners. (If you would like to learn more, here are two really good resources: Everything You Need To Know About Feathers and Anatomy of a Feather .) This would soon reveal a problem with my idea. Using our nifty macro twin light flash setup, I got lots of well-lit pictures of Pumpkin's fluffiest feathers. The nicest were terrific with crisp detail, bright color and nice background blur. But though the previewed images said positive things they did NOT say "SOFT." Thinking about this, I changed my tactics. I used a shallower depth of field and just a hint of focus which drifted off into bokeh. After adding another bunch of pictures to my memory card, I left my macro setup and hopped on my computer. As I'd already noticed, most of my pictures weren't what I was after. Then I landed on the picture that I picked for today. "Now THAT is what I wanted...SOFT!" I did have another picture that would have worked too, but I think my choice was the right one. I included three inset pictures—one of them is my other choice, and the second one is a crisply detailed image that I really loved. It says "COOL" all over it, but it's in no way a "SOFT" picture! And finally, the third picture isn't a macro at all, but it does say "SOFT" and would you just take a look at our little star?! We do love our darling Pumpkin girl!! Pam, I know you love stuff like this so I hope you get some enjoyment out of my adventures and subsequent images. Here's hoping that you get my packet of love and hugs through the virtual mailbox! Explored on 11/20/18, highest position, #5.

This picture worked out nicely too because to me it says "soft." However, it doesn't have the quality of my main pick. What do you think?

OMG...this house finch is so fluffy that it may just explode! :D I don't think I've seen a fluffier finch in my life...and I've seen quite a few! Best of all, I was somehow able to fit all of his enormous bulk into the frame so I can share this sight with you too! :) This image was taken in December, 2011.

Look at this gorgeous bird!! And look at the orange coloring!! House Finches usually have red coloring, but depending on what they eat, and on the season, they can have coloring in tones of yellow, gold, and orange. Steve and I think they are just stunning, what do you think?! This image was taken in January, 2012.

Today Steve and I went to our first photoshoot! (not paid, we went for experience and practice!) We went to Celebrity Pets, which is a dog groomer with many services, including self-service washing stations! We had a wonderful time and learned so much! My pick of the day was this gorgeous Bichon Frise, who was there for a bath, trim and manicure. Steve got some very funny images of it getting blow-dried, but I saw this beautiful face and knew I had to fill the frame! What a stunning dog! :) Robert John Wagner, Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television, best known for starring in the television shows It Takes a Thief (1968–70), Switch (1975–78), and Hart to Hart (1979–84). In movies, Wagner is known for his role as Number Two in the Austin Powers trilogy of films (1997, 1999, 2002). He also had a recurring role as Teddy Leopold on the TV sitcom Two and a Half Men. Wikipedia: Robert Wagner