In a Forest of Tiny Minxes

[LoneRanger]

Beautiful

[ShadowFun]

A Dusting of Snow

Finally…

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“Giggle!”

“Hello Cedar luv… I was starting to worry I’d never see you in your bear suit this winter.”

Seriously tho… this winter has been far too mild.

I’ve stared to give up hope that I’ll ever see much snow again around my home. I’ve lived in this area my whole 57 years, and winter has always been another opportunity for FUN outside, but not so much anymore. We only seem to get rain these days instead of snow.

And Cedar doesn’t particularly like grey, cold and mucky weather…

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But this morning, there was perfect snow for Cedar…

Indeed… a fluffy dusting clinging to everything… making wonderful pure white contrast everywhere I looked. Cedar was beautiful everywhere.

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Unfortunately, I knew this dusting of snow would be gone by the time I got home from work.

And we’d be back to the cold and damp greys… but this morning, it was perfect. I’m grateful I could get out there for just a little bit with my tiny luv!

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“Giggle!”

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

[agent0013]

I'm just going to leave this page open until tomorrow morning (Monday) because what better way to start your day than the beauty that is Cedar?

I thought nymphs didn't feel the affects of the cold, but her hair is looking particularly poofy in this set, like a bird or other animal all poofed up for warmth. You can hardly see her little ears in some of the photos!

She never fails to put a smile on my face. Lovely set, SF!

Oh, and winter comes for us all eventually... I've had it mild here all winter with highs near or above zero pretty consistently. Over the course of this week we're dropping colder and colder to Friday's high of -32!

[john1972]

I like this photo.
This tree or tree branch is just really cool lol.
Its good to see you out and about doing photos again
And Cedar is back yay..

[ShadowFun]

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The poofy-ness was probably because I was in a hurry… lol

I’m definitely rusty. Quick trips out to play with Cedar are typically things I have to do very little prep for. But it’s been a long time since I’ve done one… especially in the snow. It’s amazing how quickly I can become disorganized.

Or maybe Cedar was distracting me with her curves…

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Thanks for stopping by Agent, John and everyone else!

[john1972]

Great photos .
Ummm is that the same tree ? lol.
You had to show me how to properly focus on that tree lol.
That's ok lol, I fixed the problem and put the old focus screens back in .
We will have to revisit that place again and make things right in the world lol

[agent0013]

Don't worry, she's still cute with poofy hair!

Pros: POOF!
Cons: Less ear

There are no bad photos of Cedar. The closest you can get would be an out of focus photo, but that's not her fault! It would still be the cutest blur around!

[4891d]

Warm on her bear fur.

[ShadowFun]

Thanks everyone! Just a couple more pics from yesterday…

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This time, from my phone.

I’ve been doing better lately of remembering to use my phone for pics too when I’m out. Interestingly, this time around, I think I actually prefer the phone pics over my camera ones.

As I said earlier, I wasn’t the best prepared for my trip out to play with Cedar yesterday… that included my choice of lens. As I’ve mentioned before, I almost exclusively shoot with prime lenses and swap them out on my camera when I want a different perspective. But yesterday, I was packing light and only brought 2 lenses. I didn’t end up swapping however, and shot everything with my 35mm.

But worse… I ignored the small voice in my head that told me to bring my one compact zoom lens…

“Silly SF… listen when I’m whispering!”

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“Sorry Luv!”

My only zoom is a 15-45mm “pancake” lens. It’s light and super compact. In the world of Fujifilm lenses, it’s also cheap and not of as stellar a quality. I bought it as a “walk around” lens for my last trip to Europe. These days, it mostly lives in a drawer.

But yesterday, I should’ve taken it. I didn’t have much time, and I wasn’t packing the 4 prime lenses I usually do. The little zoom would’ve let me just focus on Cedar and the composition I wanted. Plus, it actually has some image stabilization. You might have noticed the little camera-shake blur in one of my posted pics… sigh.

There’s more snow coming this week. I promise to listen better Cedar!

BTW John, you are correct… that is THE tree. Thankfully, Cedar didn’t climb up into it because the fish didn’t need another tasty treat!

[agent0013]

Just to be clear, I was in no way commenting on the quality of your photos when I made the comment about out of focus. I think they all look great!

Also, did you know that if you stare at these photos long enough, there's other things in the image aside from Cedar? The perfectly still water with the reflection of the tree branches then the forming ice is a pretty nice image on it's own!

[ShadowFun]

Sleet Fun

I wasn’t going to the Forest today… but then I heard that tiny whisper…

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“ShadowFun… come out, come out… Giggle!”

“But Cedar… it’s yucky out!”

Of course, she will not be denied… even if it’s sleeting.

Realistically, I need the practice anyway. As I said in my previous postings, I’m feeling rusty. Going outside in bad weather definitely gives me a chance to check my gear and methods. I’ve never been a “nice weather only” outdoorsman, and I’ve no intentions of starting now.

Besides, Cedar doesn’t care if she gets wet or dirty…

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Snow was only predicted for an hour or two this morning… then rain the rest of the day…

As I anticipated, by the time I got to the Forest, the snow had become sleet. I was dressed well for it. I’ve got a new waterproof winter coat and felt cozy and dry. Probably in future trips out this winter, I should just bring my warmer mittens instead of gloves. I wasn’t able to do much of anything with my gloves on anyway, and took them off except for walking around.

I remembered my zoom lens this morning, but forgot other stuff. Specifically, my rain cover for my camera. I’ve never had a “wet camera” failure, but I really don’t want to tempt it. Additionally, the hood/cap I use on the little zoom shielded the front of the lens poorly from raindrops. And lastly, every time I turned on the camera or reviewed photos, I saw little water drops on the barrel get sucked in and out…

So I begged Cedar to pose for me under the picnic shelter… out of the rain.

“Wimp!!!”

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All in all, I’m glad I went… even if it was just a short walk.

There is “real” snow predicted for the end of this week and I’d like to be ready for it. I’m easily distracted from my FUN when I’ve forgotten things or haven’t worked out little bugs in my system. All the grey weather in the past couple months has kept me inside way too much.

Plus, a little yucky weather FUN goes a long way towards keeping Cedar from getting grumpy!

Thanks for dropping by everyone!

[agent0013]

More Cedar!

It's just what my day needed after a bad night!

I have a working theory that nymphs live in old logs or tree stumps. Or perhaps something they prey on can be found within? You seem to get a lot of photos of her in logs and such, and my last photos of Rosebud were on an old stump. It's just a theory, but I think there's something there!

The poof was cute yesterday, but I can't help but notice that her ears are poking out again today! Must be warmer out.

We're expecting 3-5cm of snow here today with more tomorrow. It seems like winter is finally hitting N. America!

Thanks for posting, SF! She always makes me smile!

[john1972]

Better then being snowed in lol
Great pics

[LoneRanger]

Cedar, what a sweetie!

[ShadowFun]

Cedar, what a sweetie!

She certainly is! I hope we get enough snow to properly get out and play this weekend. It’d be nice to use my snowshoes!

Better then being snowed in lol

I doubt there’ll be much chance of that. We are getting rained to death this winter!

I have a working theory that nymphs live in old logs or tree stumps. Or perhaps something they prey on can be found within? You seem to get a lot of photos of her in logs and such, and my last photos of Rosebud were on an old stump. It's just a theory, but I think there's something there!

The poof was cute yesterday, but I can't help but notice that her ears are poking out again today! Must be warmer out.

Yes, I suspect that Cedar is a “Tiny Wood Nymph” officially… but I don’t make the rules… lol.

I noticed her hair was less poofy too. Possibly she went to the nymph salon since my last trip out???

Thanks for dropping by Lone, John, Agent and everyone else!