ThomJ4 it appears from what I have seen of friends that have retired they all say the same thing, "I don't know how I ever got things done before I retired, because now I never to seem to have time to do anything!" My thoughts on that is that we all have this misconception that when we retire life gets easier when in reality it's just we no longer go to a job at a specific time everyday...that time gets replaced by other things that must be done that we had pushed down on the priority list...with that being said I have set a priority to learn photography and when I retire my new job will be to be a photographer so that I will be doing something in my golden years of retirement that I love and enjoy and the time that I now have prioritize to learning can be used to do those other things that I have pushed down on the list now....just a rearrangement of the priority list...keeping the most important thing in mind...that my life is lead working hard but still enjoyable no matter what comes my way along the journey....
This morning while out shooting around my home first I noticed a chill in the air, a little reminder that another summer is soon to come to an end, and then I noticed the plant nursery next door have started getting in their mums, yet another reminder and as I walked around Mother Nature, with the sound of the geese flying overhead and the withering of summertime's finest confirmed that within the next month the jackets will be coming out and the sandles will be put away...

WOW! What a challenge it was yesterday shooting at the art festival...capturing people moving around, keeping an eye out for things sticking out of people's heads, others walking in front of the camera, what's in the background then I get home and review what I captured and discover that I should have moved back a little because I cut off that one's back, where'd that blowing napkin come from, how'd I not see that horrible orange meter bag...aaghh! But I did meet some wonderful artists, captured a couple nice images and found out a lot about the art world; also found out that there is a gallery that offers free, no jury showing (if you sell they keep a small %, think it was 5%)in this town and they also have a fundraiser coming up early winter that they give you a 12x12 tile (free) to place your work on, the fund raiser is always a sellout...they charge the patron $25 per tile and the artist receives $20! Here are a few...images of some artists and their works and patrons...

Welcome everyone to the twelfth "No Host, Just Post, No Obligation Weekend". This should be the last weekend for “No Host, Just Post, No Obligation” Weekend challenges.

Thank you Roadrunner for hosting the Challenge: "Shooting in solitude" Aug. 19th – 23rd. Again sorry, I just didn't get the time to participate this week.

This week has been one thing after another. Honey I need you do this, Mom can you babysit, school started on Wednesday, and the weather absolutely did not cooperate, with storms and flooding most all week. Elderly neighbors needed help with trees that were damaged in last week’s Microburst cleanup. So my camera time didn’t commence until around 5 o’clock this evening. I always shoot in solitude, not necessarily because I want to, but more because, out here in the country, there aren’t any other photographers that share my interests in shots. But then again, maybe that’s a good thing. Here lately I haven’t been able to get into the woods anyway.
So, I will share what I managed to come up with from around my place this evening. Even with all the fury that mother nature presented us with last week, there is still beauty abounding around us. You just have to look for it.

With this being the last weekend of “No Host, Just Post with No Obligation Challenges, post whatever you like, but do keep in mind that this is a family friendly section.
Comments on submissions are welcomed but don't feel obligated to comment. Please don't be offended if your image doesn't receive any comments. Summer is a short and busy time of year for everyone, and not all have that much spare time.

Have a great weekend,
Johnna