Saturday, September 1, 2012

A Saturday Drive (& some link love)

It’s been an insufferably muggy day around here and the temperature outside was too high for comfort. It’s sad to say that most of the day was spent in air conditioned comfort but I kept busy with a few housekeeping chores and then playing around with some images I snapped this morning during George’s first outing in the new car.

To those of you who are new here, George is our 5-year-old border collie. The only car he’s ever really known is our Honda Element and exactly one week ago, we bought a new Subaru Outback and he had yet to go for a ride in it.

So today was the day.



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He looks a little disconcerted to me.




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But he soon perks up as we head down the driveway for a “ride in the car.”

Say that in our house and watch what happens.


(Pure doggie bliss).





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We drove south for awhile, then headed over the Chesapeake City Bridge after buying some fish at a market along the way.




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This is a high bridge that traverses the C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware) Canal.





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My view west.





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When I looked at all these images on my computer, I felt they were too glaring. I wanted softness, something much more calming, and so I edited them in Photoshop using a Gaussian blur technique I learned. Let me know if you'd like to learn it and I'll do a post about it.

Now the images were what I was looking for.




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Hey!


It’s hay.



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We drove around for a little while, looking things up in the car manual, my husband getting a good feel for this vehicle (which is awesome, btw) and then we headed north towards home, coming through the back side of Chesapeake City.




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The town park by the water.





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My favorite restaurant is the last building by the water there.

We have been going there for (OMG) nearly 30 years, since back when we lived in Pennsylvania. It was so good, and so worth travelling the extra miles for this place.





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And then some more driving, and finally home and we were heading up the driveway towards the old manor house on the hill. We opened the windows so George could stick his head out (one of his favorite things).

Exciting, yes?


You don't have to answer that.




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Almost home.


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And now for some Link Love:

Please don’t be hurt if I read you regularly and you don’t see your name here. These are simply a few blog posts that I read early this morning that either touched my heart, made me swoon from the photography, or just plain had me smiling. And so, in no particular order, I give you:

not necessarily in that order by Kelly Letky at that’s mrs. mediocrity to you

Once in a Blue Moon by Hilary at The Smitten Image

Hello September by Caroline Manrique at Constantly Evolving

To a Beautiful Weekend, Dahlings! by Georgianna Lane at her Photography & Other Magic

DC Drama by Kat Warren at Low Tide High Style (there’s a Giveaway there, as well)

waiting by Daryl Edelstein at Out & About in New York City


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And, with that, I bid you adieu for now, my friends . . .

123 Signature[5]

thank you for stopping by to visit.

20 comments:

Country Gal said...

Miggy does the same thing ! If we say wanta go for a truck ride she is all for it ! I do like what you have done to your photos ! Papa here has done some like you have here in photo shop as well , it's a nice look ! He is putting together a collage for a club member. We belong to a saddle club as the photographers for them at the events ! It has been humid and muggy here today as well ! Nice new car , enjoy ! Have a wonderful evening !

Anonymous said...

Love, love what you did to the photos! And love the bridge...it has always been one of my favorites.

Tiggeriffic said...

I loved looking at the picture of George when you came back into your driveway towards the manor.. Love George..
When I was a little girl our family would always go to Ocean City, Maryland for vacation and we would go
to the ocean in our little camper. Oh the wonderful memories of camping right next to the ocean.. The Chesapeake Bridge was a favorite of ours because we knew we were almost there..
Have a great day~! ta ta for now from Iowa~!

Hilary said...

Oh sweet George! I'm glad you all enjoyed his first ride in the new car. Thanks for the shout out, Kate. :)

Low Tide High Style said...

Thanks so much for the link love!! And your images perfectly captured the day today...even down this way. I'm glad you like the new car, and I'm even happier that George has given it his stamp of approval. Now I'm off to check out the other links!

xo Kat

Caroline said...

Awwww...thank you Kate! This made my day! And I love the photos...they have a glow about them! Enjoy the rest of this weekend! xoxo

merisi in Vienna said...

Magical images, bringing back memories of driving over the Chesapeake Bay bridge around Labor Day weekend. Love the blurriness of them all!

A wonderful Labor Day weekend to you and yours,
Merisi

Em Parkinson said...

I feel like I've been going through a dream sequence after that.....they're lovely!

Donna said...

I'd be interested in the Gaussian technique. I can see this being used in fall scenics. I love how you're willing to experiment and even more so that you're willing to share the results.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Scritchies to the George!

Sheila said...

i think George approves of the new car! Have a great weekend.

Kerri Farley said...

I like sticking my head out the window too :)

And "Yes Please" in response to the Blur post ...... I would LOVE to learn how you do it :)

Glad you like your new car!!
And AWESOME pics as always (probably should have said that 1st)

beth said...

your photos are blurry. really ?

with my migraine and lasting fuzzy head, my whole world pretty much looks like this....probably because i'm still squinting to prevent light in....oh well.

i loved your drive and i think today we're taking one, too. i'm so glad george like the new vehicle and settled in :)
xoxo

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thanks for taking us along for the drive. Chesapeake City looks like someplace I'd like to explore. It was really muggy here yesterday too.

Candace said...

Looove the soft shots. I can never do it myself because although I absolutely love them, I think living in AZ makes everything brighter and harsher and I feel I'm not being true to it by softening it. But these are stunning.

Mary said...

Love, love, LOVE these images!!! xoxo

Georgianna said...

Love the effect on these images, Kate. Isn't it great when you can get your vision made into reality?

Thank goodness that George is happy with the car! Subaru is definitely on the short list for our next car. David would prefer a high performance sports car but I might then have to demand a convertible like the one I sold when we got married. I did enjoy driving with the top down.

Thank you so much for the link. Lovely to have your friends visit. :)

G

mrs mediocrity said...

Oh, George! He's so cute, he does look a bit disconcerted in that first photo. (Love the soft photos by the way)

I wish our dog liked the car, he hates it and gets all anxious and worked up. Our last dog went everywhere with me, but I only take Jake out when absolutely necessary.

And, oh my, thank you so much for the link love, that was a lovely surprise!

Kelli said...

George has the best expressions.
I have an Outback for two years and I love it.
I do a ton of driving, and have a big goofy greyhound and a puggle - plenty of room for them, and they love it too. (Although I'd guess that dogs love pretty much any car as long as they get to ride in it.)

I may have lied about the Long Hill Estate being an Olmsted garden. There are a bunch of his gardens around - and Long Hill is just amazing, so worth a visit either way.
I'll keep you posted!
Kelli
P.S. Kelly's blog is terrific - Isn't she amazing with words and images?
P.P.S. I'd love to know how to use gaussian blur. I haven't been able to get it to work for me.

Barbara said...

I really like that dreamy, blurry effect! I'm behind on my blogs, but just read Hilary's Blue Moon. Awesome! I'll have to check out the others.

Lili said...

Subaru's are probably the most popular car here in Maine...wish you were driving it here soon! Love the softness you gave to your pics, that's usually how I see the world anyway,unless I'm wearing my glasses! xo ~Lili