Welcome to the Photo a Day Project blog, where you can read about my adventures in my quest to take a photo every day for the whole year!
The Night Sky
Day 74
I decided today to try something different, I thought I would try to get a pictures of the planets Venus and Jupiter. I know next to nothing about the stars and planets but heard on the news that these 2 planets would be visible to the naked eye and next to each other for a few nights. Today was perfectly clear and tonight was supposed to stay that way, so I gathered up my stuff and went to look for a spot. I haven't tried to take pictures of 
the stars in a long time, and have never tried it with a digital camera so I wanted to give myself sometime to figure it out, I got to my spot out in the country away from any lights and got set up. I was able to watch the sunset and waited for the stars to come out. One by one they did, the first bright light I saw was Venus, then a little while later Jupiter showed up. I started to take some photos, it was still pretty light out but you could see the 2 planets clearly, in fact you could see 3 of Jupiter's moons, I was amazed that the pictures came out, I'm sure there are better ways to take photos of stars but I think these came out just fine.
I am in awe of the stars and space, like I said, I don't know much about it but have always been fascinated by the whole vastness of it. I live out in the 'country' that is, not near any big cities and you can see a zillion stars on a clear night like tonight, I can remember as a little kid looking up and trying to count them, trying to remember what the constellations are called, is anyone out there? Is the moon really made of cheese? I hope so because then the man in the moon won't get hungry.
"No sight is more provocative of awe than is the night sky." -Llewelyn Powys
In the above photo, it shows Jupiter, the bright dot, and 3 small dashes that are 3 of the planets moons, in the below photo you can see Venus, the bright star in the upper center, and Jupiter just below and to the left. The planets look like dashes because of the long exposure time needed.
Sofie's Smile
Day 73
I love little kid's smiles, they're so genuine, every part of their face smiles and once you see one of those smiles you can't help but smile back. I'm lucky I have 2 nieces that do nothing but smile which in turn makes me smile.
I had taken a picture for today, but wasn't overly thrilled by it, so when I came home after work my niece Sofie was outside waiting for us and I've been wanting to get a picture of her with her 'new' front teeth. I think she's still getting used to them, and it's so funny. They seem like they're too big for her mouth and it is the cutest thing ever. I was able to get a couple of shots of her before she lost interest and got all giggly on me. She went home and I went out to see about a different picture for today. I took a couple of photos down at the lake and went home. When I downloaded the photos I had the one from the lake and this one, I was going to use the lake photo but kept coming back to this one. Every time I look at it I smile and that's reason enough for me to choose it for the photo of the day.
"A child's smile is like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day." -Author Unknown
Snow Drops
Day 72
I think it's awesome that God gave us flowers, they decorate our lives inside and out, we use them to express everything from joy to sorrow, we put them in vases to brighten our homes, and plant them outside to brighten our yards. I don't know the names of very many flowers, and that doesn't bother me much, I like them for their looks not their names. I love all the different shapes and colors and smells, the intricate patterns of the petals, how some bloom just for a day and some for days at a time. They give the world some needed color, and sometimes bloom in unexpected places, I found this little patch of flowers along side the street on my way home from work, I was so surprised when I saw them, I had to turn the car around to make sure I was seeing real flowers, it made a long Monday suddenly much brighter. Don't you think it's funny that the first flowers I see this spring are called... snow drops!
"Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul." -The Koran
It's About to Spring
Day 71
Today was a wonderfully warm day, in the 60s, and I think I'm feeling a vibe in the air. Spring is about to pop, there are leaf buds on the trees that will open soon and I've seen flowers start to poke through the dirt. This whole week is going to be in the 60s, and I am thrilled, no heavy winter coat, no scarf, no gloves and the best part, the sun doesn't set till after seven, thank you daylight savings time! I love this time of year, 
everything starts to wake up, the trees have a bit of a glow, some yellow, some red, and the grass is trying to turn green, if it stays warm I think it will soon.
I don't think I could live in a place that has longer winters than ours, the only saving thing would be that the sun shines more in other places, it's not the cold I mind it's the constant cloudy days, so today's blue sky was a shot in the arm for me. The only problem is, I think its eight o'clock but it's really nine, I have to go to bed soon, but I'm not tired, but if I don't go to bed I'll never get up in the morning...at least this year I remembered to change my clock.
"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created spring." -Bern Williams
Traveling Daydreams
Day 70
I like to daydream, when I see planes overhead I wonder where they're going, is it somewhere exotic? Is this plane full of spring breakers? Is there anyone famous on the plane? Do famous people even fly commercial planes any more? I like to fly, well sort of, ever since a certain flight to Orlando years ago, (ask my sister she'll tell you all about it), I haven't flown much. But I do like to travel, I mostly go visit my sister in Florida and we drive, it's not a bad drive and you do get to see what the country actually looks like. On our trip last fall they had just harvested the cotton in Alabama, and there were bits of raw cotton all along the road, I stopped and grabbed some for my niece so she could show the kids in school, if you look for little things like that on long car trips it makes it more fun. I also like to read the little blurbs in the guide books about the country. I drive my family nuts with useless facts about the areas we are traveling through, for example, cheeseburgers were first served inn 1934 at Kaolins restaurant in Louisville Kentucky. You learned something today, you're welcome. Maybe I am just feeling a bit of cabin fever, spring is just right around the corner and it is spring break time after all, so for now I will look at the planes in the sky and imagine where I would be going if I were with them. And just remember the monarch butterfly is the official state insect of Alabama.
"I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering." -Steven Wright
