Our field is being harvested again and I always enjoy this as a photographic subject. I was in a rush to leave for work and did little to think about exposure of this image (or composition, or framing come to think of it). None the less it is my photo for the day.

 
I was dead tired after work this evening and took a little snooze after dinner. Now that the soccer season is over I went in to have my right knee, which has been bothering me, looked at. I almost walked out of the doctors office after waiting an hour and a half to be seen. I almost wish I had. The initial diagnosis is arthritis which is pretty dissappointing since there is little that can be done to address it, short of giving up soccer (which is not an option). I am scheduled for an MRI to confirm the initial assessment.

 
We celebrated Nico’s 14th birthday this evening. He celebrated with his friends earlier this summer before they left for vacation. For dinner he requested a rotisserie chicken on the grill. This time we did not incinerate it and it was very yummy. It has been quite a year for Nicolai and during the traditional birthday video he reflected on his Kilimanjaro and all the unexpected follow on noteriety.

 
Last night when I returned from work Maya told me that she had designed a trap for a wild cat that has taken up residence in her horse riding instructor’s basement. When I saw the plans I was amazed by both their detail and the practicality of the design. Because we used a cardboard box for the primary structure, construction went very quickly and we were able to work and see inside with the box open. I have no doubt this trap will work and Maya could not be more pleased seeing her concept turned into a working device. I think there is still hope for one engineer in the family. Click on the photo for a more detailed view.

 
Jeanine sporting a new hair fashion accessory.

 
Apparantly there were more than butterflies at the exhibit.

 
Nice work Jeanine. I love the composition.

 
Jeanine’s photographic skills have really become quite excellent. While Nico and I were kayaking on Sunday, Jeanine took Maya, Kyle and Johnnie to a butterfly exhibit.

 
Today I downloaded photos that Jeanine took from the weekend. I liked this one because it shows some detail on the kayak.

 
After a long day of training, Nico insists on taking my kayak out and demonstrates a reverse sweep stroke for his mother and siblings who have returned from a butterfly house visit to pick us up. I am told Jeanine’s camera has some great photos of their adventure and I will post once I have time to download them.

 
Thanks to Jeanine, Nicolai and I are enrolled in an all day kayak clinic featuring training in technique, safety and rescue. Nicolai was the only person in the class of a dozen who could self rescue without the assistance of a paddle float. (the standard method used). He was simply amazing, but could not keep up with his dad in his new torpedo.

 
This morning I put my kayak into the water for the first time. Jeanine photographs me as I pull away from the shore and I am happy to report that I did not sink. In fact, the kayak tracks like an arrow, handles like a dream, and is very, very, very fast. I could not be happier with this project.

 
Cousin Johnny captured in the same light. Earlier in the day, the whole crew did a 2.25 mile hike through the soggy woods in search of a 75 foot waterfall located on the 200 acre property. After getting lost (temporarily) we were able to come within ear shot of the falls but in the end only got to see the 1 foot waterfall emenating from the dam at its source.

 
As the light faded, I decided to do some shallow depth of field photos including this soft focus shot of Kyle.