The Adventures of Aitch

04 July 2011

Stars

I went camping this weekend in beautiful Superior National Forest right outside of Boundary Waters. The sky was crystal clear for two of the three nights I was there and the stars were incredible. I broke out my camera, stayed up way too late, and practiced my night photography skills. I am definitely still a beginner at this, but I managed to get a few cool shots!

I was trying to do an hour-long exposure for this one, buy my camera battery died
forty minutes into it. Luckily it didn't ruin the picture. It is very difficult to
compose a shot in the dark, but I really like how this one turned out.

This one was a twenty-minute exposure from earlier in the evening.

I wish I could see stars like this in Eden Prairie!

This isn't a great shot, but I liked that you could see the trail of a plane that
flew overhead during the shot. It also shows how incredibly thick the stars are when
you have clear skies and no light pollution.

11 April 2011

Spring!

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.
Just thought I would share a few pictures I took this weekend at the Como Park Conservatory. Spring has finally arrived in Minnesota and I couldn't be happier about it!

27 March 2011

Eagles

Created with flickr slideshow from softsea.

Yesterday afternoon was gorgeous and I decided to head down to Wabasha to go hunting for bald eagles. I had read that this was a great time of year to see them along the Mississippi River and I thought it might be a fun photo opportunity. As you can see, I had pretty good luck and saw at least 25-30 of them. It was incredible to watch them soar above the river and I even managed to catch a few sitting in trees. The black and white speckled birds are juvenile bald eagles. On the way back home I saw several other big birds that I could tell weren't bald eagles. After a little googling I'm pretty sure they were turkey vultures. There is a picture or two of them in the slideshow. All in all, it was a fabulous way to spend a beautiful spring afternoon!

26 March 2011

What color are my eyes?

Ever since I was a little girl I have never quite known what to say when someone asked what color my eyes are. Are they brown? Green? Blue? Eventually, I just started calling them hazel.

The other day I came across a website that discussed people who have two different colored eyes--a condition called heterochromia iridum. It turns out that there is a related condition called central heterochromia. This is what Wiki has to say about it:

Central heterochromia is an eye condition where there are two colors in the same iris; the central (pupillary) zone of the iris is a different color than the mid-peripheral (ciliary) zone. Eyes displaying central heterochromia are often referred to as "cat eyes" because of the appearance of a multi-colored iris. Central heterochromia appears to be prevalent in irises containing low amounts of melanin. Central heterochromia does not label an eye as hazel. This is because the outer ring of an eye affected by central heterochromia is that iris's true color.

I think it's kind of fascinating that the color of my eyes constitutes an "eye condition." Apparently central heterochromia is a dominant genetic trait. I know that Mom and Lara both have eyes like mine. Does anyone else in the family have multi-colored eyes? Any of the nieces and nephews?

And let me know what you think I should say when someone asks what color my eyes are!

22 February 2011

Nothing too exciting

Since nothing very exciting has been happening in my life lately, I thought I would share a couple of my new favorite songs. What are some of the frequently played songs on your iPod right now?

Adele--Rolling in the Deep. The video is a bit weird, but I am loving this song. Adele has an amazing voice and several other great songs.

Avett Brothers--I and Love and You. Another great song from the Avett Brothers.

06 December 2010

La Isla del Encanto

Puerto Rico is truly the "Island of Enchantment." The scenery was beautiful, the people friendly, and, most importantly, the beaches were gorgeous! Nate and I stayed in Luquillo, about a half hour east of San Juan, in a wonderful beachfront condo. We were able to spend a lot of time on the beach relaxing, but we also enjoyed some more active pursuits, including hiking in the rain forest a night kayaking trip through a bioluminescent lagoon.

The kayaking trip was one of the most incredible things I have ever done. We set out from a small bay and headed through a narrow channel surrounded by mangrove trees. Once we were in the channel, it was almost pitch black. At first we were focused solely on trying to avoid running into the trees or other kayakers, but suddenly I noticed that our paddles were glowing when we dipped them in the water. I stuck my hand in and was amazed to see sparkling, shimmering lights on my hand when I brought it out of the water. It looked similar to lightning bugs, but much smaller. It was so cool! At that point I started tossing water onto my legs so I could watch my legs sparkle and shimmer. Poor Nate ended up doing more than his fair share of paddling because I was so fascinated with the sparkles.

The glowing is caused by bioluminescent micro-organisms that give off light when they are disturbed. There are only a few bioluminscent bays in the world (including some where you are allowed to swim) and I highly recommend a visit if you ever have the chance. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

View from the balcony on the condo. There is nothing like enjoying

breakfast outside with the fresh breeze blowing, the sound of the

waves crashing, and the smell of ocean in the air.

Enjoying the balcony.

In the rain forest.

My flight home left several hours after Nate's, so after we dropped off the rental car, I found a place to store my luggage and took a taxi to Old San Juan to do a little sight seeing. Old San Juan is a really neat place with several Spanish forts and beautiful old homes. Below are a few pictures from my last afternoon in Puerto Rico.