Day 357/365

     Every time I walk Kip at night since there's been snow on the ground, I keep noticing the funky shadows that the fencing in my apartment complex casts over everything. I keep telling myself to take a picture next time, so on Monday night/day 357 I finally remembered. Not my best, but there's only so much you can do when you have a leashed energetic mutt vying for your attention.

Day 335/365

     This morning was spent at the cabin, and the dogs were ecstatic when we all woke up to a fresh dusting of snow on the ground. 

Day 328/365

     On Sunday/day 328 I ventured down to Flint with a friend from work who knew the area pretty well. I thought parts of Saginaw looked depressing; Flint was on a whole other level. We definitely found some places we wanted to check out but couldn't get into, so we'll have to make another trip down with better tools sometime. We did find a shut down elementary school that we were able to get into, and checked out part of an old dam as well. It's sad what neglect can do to a place.

Day 321/365

     When I was out and about running a few errands this past Sunday/day 321 I drove by Cheboygan Creek and saw that the layers of ice were piling up on one another to form large masses of the frozen chunks. It'll be interesting to check back on the creek and the river when all of that ice starts to melt...

Day 284/365

     One of my assignments on Friday/day 284 was to get some photos of some of the migratory birds in the Saginaw area. One of our editors noticed a lot of them at a park nearby, so I went out and saw literally hundreds of Canada geese and a few dozen gulls walking around on the ice and in the few open patches of water. It was such a bitter cold day, I wouldn't have wanted to spend it here if I were them. 

Day 252/365

     Today I was in a bit of a weird mood; it was one of those days where I wasn't necessarily unhappy, but I definitely wasn't happy... just kind of a 'meh' kind of mood. Anyways, to cut short my rambling, I ventured out on my own more often than I stayed in the office today out in Bay City. It was a relatively quiet day and the only assignments I had were little last minute ones here and there. The area got its first snow of the season this weekend, and I didn't get a chance to get pictures when it first arrived Sunday/yesterday morning so I attempted to go out and get a few shots of what was left today. This photo was taken in Wenonah Park, which is a nice little park right along the Saginaw River in downtown Bay City. Most of the snow is now gone, but I'll definitely be ready for when it really hits and makes everything look like a winter wonderland; I love it when it does that. 

Day 246/365

     Yesterday/Tuesday/day 246 was a bit of a let down. I was supposed to cover a high-profile preliminary hearing, but the FBI ending up taking over the case, making it federal, meaning no photos would be allowed. Anyways, one of the assignments I ended up shooting instead was an orchid greenhouse that a local woman fashioned out of her screened in porch. There's supposed to be a big orchid show put on by the Saginaw Valley Orchid Society this weekend, and the woman whose orchids I photographed will be showing a number of her plants. To see a few more orchid photos, you can find a gallery on MLive here.

Day 244/365

     Today I took Kip to a local park where he got to see the lake for the first time. He. Loved. It. Out of all the dogs my family's had, none of them have been water dogs. To say I was excited to see that Kip seems to love water is a major understatement. Next summer should be interesting. 

Day 224/365

     I ended up having to work Monday night instead of having the day off as originally planned. I covered some high school sports and some early trick-or-treating, and a sad story about a family's dog who was killed by loose neighborhood dogs. I was in a weird mood after that one, but the amazing sunset managed to make up  for it a bit. 

Day 223/365

     This past Sunday/day 223 was a lazy day inside. The weather in Ohio was rainy and cool, so the only time I actually ventured outside was to take the dogs out in my mom's front yard. Other than that, it was a movies and sweatpants kind of day, (not that that's a bad thing).

Day 210/365

     Today one of my assignments was to try and get some photos of the local fall color since it probably won't be around much longer. I'm a sucker for bright and vibrant autumn leaves, and, as much as I love snow and winter, I'll miss them when they're gone. 

Day 209/365

     The rain did let up a little bit on Sunday/yesterday/day 209, but you wouldn't have known it with the way the parking lots in my apartment complex like to flood. The wet leaves  on the trees did make some nice ripple effects in the puddles *cough* lakes *cough* though. 

Day 202/365

     Fall is definitely here, and I'm extremely happy about that fact. I just hope the leaves stick around for a while longer. 

Day 197/365

     Yesterday the tree with bright red leaves in front of my apartment, (in other words, my favorite tree), started to drop its leaves. They're super pretty, but at the same time it's a little bittersweet because that means the tree will be bare soon... 

Day 192/365

     One of my assignments today was covering the current renovations that an arts and sciences museum in the area is undergoing. The Alan B. Dow Museum of Science and Art up here in Midland has a pretty interesting taxidermy display. I've never really been particularly interested in those kinds of displays before, but they way these animals were posed was pretty interesting, I'll admit. For whatever reason I took a liking to this photo of one of the stuffed cougars taking down a deer. Fierce-looking cat, isn't it?

Day 181/365

     I spent a much-needed weekend off back home in Ohio, and spent almost all of it with my family. Sunday was spent going out to my mom's cabin and then visiting a few of the wineries out in that area. It was an absolutely beautiful day outside, and it's finally starting to feel like fall!

Day 176/365

     Tonight I covered a cross country meet. It was at a park nearby that had a small pond and quite a few hills, so it was at least visually different as far as the course went. These were the two photos I liked the most, and when it came to posting today's entry I just couldn't pick between them, so day 176 is a diptych! Click on the image if you'd like to view it in a better size.

Day 167/365

     Day 167/Sunday's post is a quick photo I took of one of the gardens in my apartment complex when my dog and I went for a walk during the day. I've always liked how echinacea flowers look, so I couldn't help but take a picture of these since they were in full bloom. 

Day 156/365

     Today one of my assignments was to get photos of a former Detroit Red Wings hockey player, Kris Draper, visiting the local minor league baseball stadium in Midland. While I was waiting for Draper to arrive at Dow Diamond I got to sit by the dugout and watch the Great Lakes Loons warm up and have batting practice. It was such a nice day out; it was a perfect afternoon for baseball. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stay for the game, but I'm hoping that I get assigned to cover one before this season's over. We'll see!

Day 154/365

     The weather during my drive back to Saginaw yesterday couldn't seem to make up its mind. It would be sunny one second, then part of the sky would become overcast and rain at the same time. It made for some interesting clouds, which I'm always a sucker for.