Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR

A storm front moving through.

The clear waters of a stream in Bell Smith Springs, part of the Shawnee National Forest here in Southern Illinois.

This car was in immaculate shape and was for sale! They don't make 'em like this anymore. Unfortunately.

A boy flying his kite at the park. But, it was actually on a Friday. I just like the group Chicago, so I used that title.

This is a fruit stand located at a nearby town. These mannequins really attract the customers. And, as a matter of fact, no actual humans work here - it's all mannequins and customers put their money in a strongbox using the honor system.

I just planted my tomato plants on May 25th, that was only 15 days ago, and already, they're starting to bloom! I saw blooms on two of my four plants so far. I guess the place I picked to plant them allows them plenty of sunlight, I'm feeding them occasionally with tomato plant food, and the spot where I placed them had some real black and rich soil. I counted at least six blooms on this one spot. Taken on June 8th, 2022.

Another shot of my Fall tree, this one was taken on October 22nd, 2015, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

This is what I made for dinner last night, Silesian Pork, also known as Schlesisches Himmelreich in it's native part of Germany. Of course I also served it with the traditional Silesian potato dumplings. I used apples, prunes and apricots for the fruit. I have to say that it was delicious!

I made these cookies last week. They are really good for a different kind of taste. The frosting is regular powdered sugar icing, except that you substitute the milk with pineapple juice. I also added a hint of coconut flavoring in the icing.

The night of the Fourth of July, I was out watching some fireworks because I have a couple neighbors that always put on a great display and I never have to drive anywhere to see some great fireworks. Anyway, when the fireworks were about finished, I saw off in the distance what looked to be a helicopter coming almost straight at me. It was going slow like one. I think it was about a couple miles away. Anyway, it was moving real slow, and then it started descending. So, I thought maybe it was a Lifeflight helicopter landing to pick up an emergency victim, because they do land around here for that purpose all the time. When it seemed to be about ground level, I got this shot of it. I'm colorblind, but Diane said it looked like a flag. When I zoomed way in on the image like this, it reminded me of some kind of hot air balloon, being lit from the inside because fire is what heats it up to lift. But, it didn't look huge like a normal-sized hot air balloon. Could it be some kind of small, remote-controlled hot air balloon about 4-6-feet high, with an American flag design on the outside? Because it almost looks like the outline of a person on the lower right of the balloon reaching up to catch it. The shot isn't great, it was a long way off and it's cropped quite a bit; it was dark; the camera was handheld and I was shooting it at 1/30th of a second - and this was best shot I could get. Does anybody have any ideas of what it could have been?

The church I go to here in Norris City, Illinois is called the First Baptist Church. We help out with things like food for struggling families around our community. Here we're getting some lunches ready for kids that are out of school for the summer. There is really an issue with hunger here in America, that most other countries wouldn't believe. But, we're trying to do our part, because kids that depend on the lunch they get when they're at school stops once they go on summer vacation, so we step up and fill in the gap for them. We make up 120 bag lunches a day to hand out to kids in our town and two nearby small communities. The lunches have nutritious foods such as a fresh sandwich - ham and cheese, pulled pork, sloppy joes, etc., fruit and juice drinks, applesauce, desserts, etc. Here you can see our members loading up the bags with the various items that go into each one. It's a fun project for us and it's always a pleasure to see the kid's faces light up when we pass them out. They're so appreciative.

A leaf that fell from the tree at the edge of my town that I photograph each Autumn when the leaves turn. Taken on October 17th, 2020, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

Just moments ago, I came home from church and found this Red-Spotted Purple butterfly (they're in the Admiral family of butterflies.) flying around my front yard. There wasn't a mark on him anywhere. The reason I think that was the case is he kept landing and spreading out his wings. I think he was newly hatched and was letting his wings dry. He certainly gave me plenty of time to move up close and get some good shots. This image isn't cropped. Taken on August 21st, 2022, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

This is Logan's Roadhouse, located in Evansville, Indiana. They have great food, especially beef. Taken on August 27th, 2022, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

This is the steak I had a couple weeks back at Logan's Roadhouse, located in Evansville, Indiana. They always have good food there and they're always crowded. Taken on August 27th, 2022, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

A Greek restaurant I like to eat at called the Acropolis. Located in Evansville, Indiana, I went to eat there recently, and they had relocated across town. They have really good Greek cuisine. Taken on February 27th, 2016, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

This is the gyro I had at the Greek restaurant in Evansville, Indiana. It's called the Acropolis. I went to eat there recently and they had relocated across town. Taken on February 27th, 2016, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.

This is what the menu board looks like at my favorite drive-in restaurant - Sonic Drive-In. Taken on May 23rd, 2020, with my Sony Alpha SLT-a77V DSLR.