Sun & Berries & a Holiday

{ I wanted to write a little post about the summer so far . . . since I've been otherwised absorbed blogging the photosessions :) }

Personal:

Today is a beautiful day.

Nate had a day off, I left work a half hour early and he had a great idea to go Salmonberry picking.

Nate is extremely busy working this summer so any moments together and time together are simply golden.

It was so. much. fun. to just be out doing something together even though we went our own way finding berries occasionaly shouting out to each other how it was going . . . no cars . . . just the sun, the bugs, the berries, the mountains, and the birds.

It is a strangely beautiful feeling.

Nate and I just made a bunch of Salmonberry jam, too . . . might be your next present. hehe.

:)

~

Hiking and Photography:

The day before the 4th, we (Ev, Tom, Kyle and myself . . . Nate was out catching kings for a few days) went on a new hike from Harbor Mtn ridge to Gavan Hill and down. It felt like a completely new area to explore and more new amazing views. Not to mention a clear blue sky, too!

I've been shooting mostly with an old film Nikon F3 . . . My friend Tom and I switched cameras . . . he has my digital backup camera with wide range /zoom lens and I have this trusty{???} fully manual camera:

I do still have my 50 mm lens and main digital body but it's hardly been touched since I began my film "experiment". (only have wrecked one roll {carefully exposed/composed} roll of B&W film so far . . . due to improper rewinding. So sad.

Tomorrow I will get my "first" roll of film back . . . nervous. Feels like I'm relearning photography shooting film! Fun, though!!

~

Me:

In other updates, my sweet sister-in-law, who also happens to be a phenomenal hairstylist, cut my hair . . .

There she is. She really needs to charge for her services; she's that good!

~
Weather:
Sitka has been having a heat wave. Yesterday, it reached 84 degrees, which is a record for July 6! (Headlines in the paper today!) . . .
so while everybody was sweating it, literally, K&R, Nate and I went to have root beer floats at the beach after work. Such a treat.




(Excuse my exposure of Katrina, I just snapped, didn't expose for the highlights . . .)




Enjoying the RB Floats and the sun . . .

. . . and that's just a little bit of the going's on up in SE Alaska.
I could get into the Alaskan politics, too, but I won't. :)


Finally, Happy Belated 4th of July to all!
*May Freedom Ring*
Also, Happy Belated Birthday (July 4) to my mother dearest who turned a number that starts with a "5" and ends with an "0". She always told us as kids that we never needed to celebrate her birthday because the whole country already celebrates it. I thought that was so cool.