As a kid I grew up in Berea and it seems like we always had quite a bit of snow but not like that. Back then (the 50's) it didn't melt so fast -- you had snow on the ground for a long time. Now I live out in the country near Johnstown, Ohio and we woke up to what looked like a fairyland yesterday morning. Just about all of it is still there too.

I had the very same thing (complete right shoulder replacement) back at the end of Feb. 2018. I had gotten to the point where I couldn't even lift my camera up to my face. I have a Nikon 5300. I was able to go on a trip to Alaska at the middle of June that summer without any difficulty. Now, nearly 2 years later I'm taking pictures like a pro (ha, ha!). The key to recovery is to do exactly what the Drs. tell you -- do the rehab & don't miss physical therapy. I would do the surgery again in a heartbeat. It completely changed my life & if there comes the time that my other shoulder needs it, I wouldn't hesitate to get it done. Good luck with yours.

Hi, I had my right shoulder replaced the last day of Feb. 2018. I had gotten to the point where I couldn't hold a camera of any kind up to my face because of the pain. Couldn't brush my hair or do much of anything. I went to all the physical therapy sessions that they wanted me to and by the middle of June was able to go to Alaska (for the 2nd time) and had no problem with my camera. Just before going I got an 18-400 lens to really zoom in on the critters & glaciers up there and had no problems. Now, that's my go-to lens & have it on my camera most of the time. Shoulder is probably 90 - 95% there after a year & 1/2. No pain at all and would go through the surgery again in a heartbeat. Be sure to ask for a nerve block if your surgeon doesn't say something first. Because of it, I didn't need any kind of narcotic pain reliever post surgery.

Your pictures & narrative remind me of back in the late 1980's - 2000 when a group of us would go out to Yellowstone either over MLK weekend or President's Day weekend. We stayed at the Stagecoach Inn in W. Yellowstone & one day go to Old Faithful, another to the Canyon area, and the 3rd to Mammoth. Always lots of elk along the Madison R. between W. Yellowstone & Madison Junction. There was also a decent size herd of buffalo just before we got to Madison Junct. too. Back then we rented snowmobiles from some place in W. Yellowstone and didn't need a guide to take us so if we wanted to stop along the groomed roads to see something, we could - like lots of wildlife! What fun times & great memories. For 3 days while we were there all the cares & worries of our lives & the world just disappeared.

I purchased this lens about a year ago for my Nikon 5300 and absolutely love it. I got it because my other telephoto lens (55-300) just didn't pull in the animals I was going to be photographing on an Alaska land/cruise trip that I had used before. I was, and still am, very pleased with it's performance. I also have a Sigma 10-20 for wide angle shots and these are my 2 main lenses I use. Love them both.

I got this lens about a year ago for a trip to Alaska. I checked it out at Midwest Photo first in Columbus and they had it for $649 + tax. I then got it on Amazon for $649 + no tax and free shipping. Absolutely love the lens (in fact it's on my camera now).

It's been many years since we went to Yellowstone in good weather and that was probably 30 years ago when we put up our tent around the Lewis Lake area. We've gone snowmobiling in the winter there many times and always stayed at the Stagecoach Inn in West Yellowstone. Have also been to Glacier & love it too. We've stayed at Many Glacier Lodge twice and if you get up early, get your cup of coffee & sit out on the back deck to watch the sunrise on the mountains across Swiftcurrent Lake -- you're in heaven! Have seen bears on the hillside to the right. If you get the chance, don't pass up a night at the Prince of Wales either. Some waterfalls nearby. Don't know if Going to the Sun Rd. will be open yet at that time. Sometimes plowing doesn't finish up until the beginning of June.

We went there many years ago for our anniversary between Christmas & New Years. Loved all the fruit wreaths on the doors. One of my favorite places to visit.

Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane! I grew up in Berea but all those structures weren't there when I was a kid (back in the 50's & 60's) so they've really improved the looks. We'd ride our bikes down there in the summer to skip rocks.

I also have a Nikon 5300 and love it! It came with the 18-55 "kit" lens & shortly after getting it I purchased a 55-300 zoom lens. For quite awhile that was enough including a trip to Alaska. Pictures were good but I couldn't zoom in close enough on the wildlife. Since that 1st Alaska trip I've gotten a Tamron 18-400 zoom and a wide angle Sigma 10-20. These 2 have become my "go to" lenses. I have since been back to Alaska and the 18-400 lens was just perfect for me. Really brought in those Dall sheep & glaciers!

I love the picture. I've got one of this same grist mill taken in the fall that I sometimes use as my desktop background. I've saved this one of yours to use perhaps in the spring. I change my desktop picture often!

Great pictures and I really enjoyed reading about them too. Ali looks so sweet. Living just outside of Columbus, I love going to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium to shoot. Jack Hanna has done a fabulous job of turning that zoo around from what it was the first time I went there about 45 years ago.

They look a lot like the berries on my flowering crab. This winter when it gets harder to find food, the birds will strip all the berries off for food. I have 3 flowering crabs in the yard -- two red and one white -- and the birds love them all.

I live in the Columbus area so have been to Midwest many, many times both when it was on High St. and now on Silver Dr. Never been steered wrong and they are all so helpful and nice. Great place to do business!

I got one in April of this year for an Alaskan land/cruise trip because when on my last Alaskan trip my 55-300mm just didn't pull in the critters quite as close as I'd liked. I love this new lens and it's rarely off my Nikon 5300 camera unless I put on my Sigma 10-20 wide angle for landscapes. I'm no "pro" and the pictures taken with the 18-400 were wonderful. I would recommend the lens to anyone looking for an inexpensive zoom that will also get the 18-100mm shots.