Life in the Shade

No filters or effects used - this is how it came out of the camera!

It's quiet here in the shady confines of northern Minnesota.  The heat wave finally broke and it is once again bearable to be outdoors.
It's the quiet I love the most about our new lifestyle.  We go to bed listening to the owls and wake to the sound of the loons.

His face makes me laugh...but mine probably has the same effect on him.

Now that it's cooler I can get out more with the camera and work on becoming familiar with my new lens, the Tamrom 18-270.

I am so glad I was willing to choke back on my own words about not buying something new and getting this lens.

I really do think the vibration control is better than what I had on the Canon as the photos seem sharper to me.  Using a tripod always results in better photos, but I'm basically lazy and hate to drag it out and set it up, so handheld is my prefered method.

Our complete set up, RV, scooter, car, screen tent, Left Brain....

We've added a couple of new things to our set up.  While we love the shade, the mosquitos are fierce...of course, this IS Minnesota after all.  So our first investment was in the screen tent.  It is super easy to set up and not terribly big and heavy for hauling.  It also adds a splash of color with the red sides.  You can see the bright blue scooter in the front that we take for rides to catch a breeze when it's hot.

Since using the plastic folding tables tends to wreck them, we bought a special cookstove table that has wire on one side for the cooking part, and the other side is handy for plates and food.

It folds in half just like the other ones so it makes handling it very easy.  Now we'd like to find a folding picnic table and bench seats for inside the screen tent.

We had our cousins, Joel and  Anne, over for supper Sunday night and served our meal in the screen tent. 
It's very comfortable for four but I'd like to have the bench seats instead of the larger folding chairs.  But after a few beers and margueritas nobody seems to mind it at all.
Supper was a simple affair - beef and chicken kabobs on the grill, deli salad and angel food cake with cool whip and lots of berries for dessert.  It's all about the people and sharing stories...not the fussing with the food and fancy set ups.

Long Live the Queen of the Shade