John got me a tripod for Christmas – Woo Hoo!! My little digital camera looks like a shrunken head on top of it, though they work just fine together – LOL. This shot was the first time I used the tripod – last night when storm clouds were shooting over the moon at an alarming rate. I was outside just admiring it when I thought, “DUH! Tripod! Camera! Quick!”

I digitally manipulated the shot at the right in order to capture the elusive feel of the scene – the rather barren hills with whisps of long, dry grass highlighted on the edges, and the single tree nestled in among and yet above the mounds of earth. It felt moody and gold, so I went with it.

And this little bugger was another Christmas gift! Usually the ground squirrels run for their holes even if they just HEAR us moving around in the house. I happened to be looking out the kitchen window and saw one ground squirrel dashing for the hole under the shed, when more movement caught my eye. Looking almost straight down, I saw the critter just hanging out by the hole close to the house (you can fill in the squirrel holes, but they reappear within a few days). I assumed it would be gone when I got back from a quiet dash to get my camera, but it wasn’t! Okay, not much of a dramatic story, but the squirrel posed nicely, and cast a lovely early morning shadow, so that’s what counts! *grin*