Yates Mill

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Donnie offered to take me to a park yesterday to test out my new camera (Canon SX40 HS), and we ended up at Yates Mill which is probably my favorite park in our area to take nature pics at.  It wasn't real warm or real cold, and we enjoyed a just brisk walk around the mill pond loop trail.  My main reaction is that I really like the camera and am pleased with the pictures that it took.  My only comment is that the wheel for adjusting the aperture and exposure is harder than the button (click) control on my Canon Powershot S3 IS.  I knew about the wheel as they changed this back with the SX10 IS several years ago.  All it means is that I was a tad slower adjusting the exposure in manual mode.  I was still able to properly adjust things and am sure that I will get faster at making the adjustments pretty quickly.

My daily is a 3-shot HDR of the mill.  I just couldn't resist.  I guess you can't tell it's really a mill from this vantage point since the spillway blocks the view of the wheel.  Here is another HDR which Donnie said has a very flat depth due to no roof line showing in the composition.  I have to agree.  Still it shows off the mill wheel.

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Another beautiful view over the mill pond:

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Of course my favorite subject at the mill was Donnie...

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I could come away with 100 good pics from the mill, but if I didn't also have a good pic of Donnie to remember our outing by, they wouldn't matter.

Here's the flora and fauna going on at the mill this time of year:

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This shot was taken at 140 times digital zoom so I could try to identify these ducks.  What a great pair of binoculars this lens makes too!

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There are two other shots from the mill that I really like.  Since it's raining here today, I just may have to post one of them tomorrow!

I start my chemo tomorrow.  It's scary, and I really wish this wasn't happening to me and my loved ones, but I know Donnie will be very supportive and the boys as understanding as they can be, and I've just got to hold on until it's over (4 treatments 21-28 days apart) and get through this looking forward to all the great things on the other side.  I've got so much to live for.  I don't plan to be lying in the bed every day with the chemo, and hopefully my health is going to cooperate!  I'll keep shooting and posting and doing my other daily activities with Donnie and the boys as much as I am able.