No Ribbons, But Raves for Show

Well, neither I -- nor my husband Jack or our grandchildren Jackie and Jarrett -- took home a prize at this year's nature photography exhibit sponsored by Mill Creek Metroparks this year, but we had a great time looking at all the beautiful entries and look forward to entering more in next year's contest. I will say, admittedly with a somewhat biased eye, that the photos Jackie and Jarrett submitted held their own quite well with the others in the Youth Division.

Yesterday, we wrestled Jackie and Jarrett away from their parents (yeah, right!) and took them to see the exhibit, which is in the Weller Gallery in the visitor center. As always, the exhibit is well laid out. The day was even more special since we met up with our friends Michele and James and their two children, India and Sabrina. Michele and India had photos in the exhibit as well, so we all got to "ooh" and "aaah" over each other's entries. In the photo, left to right, are budding photographers India, Jarrett and Jackie. After we looked at all the photos, the kids found their way to the library area of the visitor center, where there's a special play area for children (that's Sabrina taking a break to flip through one of the books).

This time of year isn't the best for outdoor photography; even if you manage to keep your camera batteries from dying in the freezing temperatures, everything -- water, trees and ground -- is a sea of browns (and maybe the occasional patch of dirty gray snow). In fact, Jack and I made a pre-grandkid run to see the exhibit the previous day -- the first day the show opened -- so we could decide whether or how to warn the kids about what they won, or didn't win. Of course, our hope was that if one got an award, so would the other -- which in the end is how it turned out (although we'd have been happier, of course, had they both been winners).

But on that day, we drove through most of the park and found no reason whatsoever to stop except at one spot where several of the geese seemed to be enjoying the rather gloomy day. I snapped a few macro shots of what few flowers were on display inside the visitor center, but that was about the extent of it.

Same for yesterday, except we didn't bother driving through the park. Instead, we piled the kids into the car and headed off to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, joined by our friends. Even though we ended up with few good photos and no award ribbons, the chance to talk with old friends and let the kids get to know each other better was well worth the trip.