Back from a quick trip to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!

I’ll write a little later but I wanted to post a few photos from my trip.

Fawn at play, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

I took a few minutes away from book design to process a couple of photos from my recent trip to the Shenandoah NP. What a wonderful couple of days photographing the fawns and deer at play. I’ll post more after I get through this upcoming deadline.

Canon EOS 5D, Sigma 80-400 EX OS @ 400mm, no filters, RAW file processed with Capture One 4.1

Goodbye to gas forever! (well for mowing anyway)

Yes, I did it! I’ve retired my gas-powered mower and trimmer!  I’m now   in the lawn department!

Last week I purchased a new Homelite (cordless) 24volt 20″ electric walk-behind mower. http://www.homelite.com/products/lawn_mowers/model/UT13122

There’s been a bunch of bad reviews on the first ones and, in fact, my first had a battery problem. You have to look at the manufacture date. Buy the most recent build, they have a better battery. The first time out I was able to mow the entire lawn with one charge. BTW, if you are a “lawn skinner” like so many here in the south, then you have to change the way you cut or forget it. For a healthy lawn you should never cut more than 25% anyway. This mower, with a very sharp blade, mows beautifully and I had no problems. It was fun mowing with this beauty! The unit is so quite and it spins the blade very fast, cutting the grass very cleanly. I’ll never burn gas ever again doing yard work!.

I also replaced my gas trimmer with a new Black & Decker 18 Volt 12″ Cordless GRASSHOG Trimmer/Edger. This is another wonderful product! http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide/Product-Details.aspx?ProductID=6427

Now, if I can figure out a way to buy that electric/hybrid car then I’ll be good! Oh, now I’m looking into a solar panel system for charging all of my rechargeables! I’ll let you all know when I find the best deal that works.

Turkey beard and meadow, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Well, I went to photograph the fawns but I couldn’t resist the temptations to shoot a few landscapes! This was a beautiful scene with the prolific bloom of turkey beard accented by ferns and mountain grasses.

Canon EOS 5D, TS-E 24mm, f/18 @ 1/60 sec, ISO 320 (due to wind!)

Fawns, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

I’ve just returned from a quick trip to Shenandoah National Park to photograph the fawns. I’ll post more tomorrow when I get the images processed. Here’s one of my favorites!

Canon EOS 5D, Sigma 80-400 EX OS lens at 400mm (this is the first time that I’ve really shot my 80-400 since getting it back from Sigma. There was a problem with the focus and it’s now fixed! Very Sharp!!!)