Digital Photography School.com had a challenge this week. Record a “Day in the life.” It could be a friend , a pet, a stranger or in my case, I used me.
Remember the Comic strip Family Circus by Bill Keane? Billy never went from A to B in a straight line.That’s kind of what my day was like.
I normally have Monday off from work but we’re really short-handed these days so I volunteered to work Monday afternoon for a few hours. I set my alarm for 8:30 am since I didn’t have to be at work until 12:30. Seemed like a good chance to grab a little extra shut-eye.
I should have known better. 7:30 am I am being pawed and pounced on by my 2 furry tormentors. Eventually they settled down (I guess they got the hint) and I dozed back off. But minutes later the alarm went off. I hit the snooze button dislodging Smokey who was camped out on my arm. Rocky was draped over my feet so I managed not to disrupt him.
I tried again but Smokey was sure that the noise from the alarm meant I should get up and like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors demanded “FEED ME!” There was no getting around it so I gave in.
Cats fed, kitty litter changed, bed made, showered and dressed, I sat down for a quick breakfast and a dose of the news. Following the morning newscast it was time to check my emails, confirm my blog post had linked to my Facebook page and play a little Farmville. I am slowly selling off the farm as it has become too time consuming. Really it’s out of control. I have other things to do with my time, like write blogs and clean my house now and then! 🙂
About 11 am I headed out the door to go to work. I took the long way and left early because I am on a quest for fall pictures and the extended forecast is for rain so I may not have much chance for outdoor work.
My first stop was at a Farm Stand loaded with pumpkins and gourds, corn stalks, hay bales and fall flowers.
Scarecrows
Attractive displays 
Even Halloween 
Next stop was the local convenience store. My lottery ticket had won me $2.00! Can’t get far on that so I just turned it in for 2 more tickets. Maybe I’ll get lucky.
Back on the road I stopped at the Herring run.
Not much going on there today. So I headed on to Plymouth. Maybe I’ll just have time to grab a quick snack before my shift starts at 12:30. I pulled into the Wendy’s drive through at 12:02. While I waited for the line to move I spotted a late blooming flower so I took the picture right out the car window.
Wendy’s is right down the street from work so moments later I was pulling into the parking lot for my office.
By 12:25 I had finished my snack and entered the building. 
At 4:30 my shift was over and I hopped back in my car to drive to Marshfield to the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary. I thought I was prepared. I had my sweatshirt hoodie, my hiking boots, my bug spray and all my camera gear. At Daniel Webster I sprayed myself down with Deep Woods Off and put the 300-500 zoom lens on the camera. I also strapped my tripod to the back pack and headed off to hike the trails. It was the perfect time for the animals to be active. The shadows were starting to get long as dusk approached.
I did not expect the bugs to be so bad with all the spray I used but the mosquitos were a cloud! I pulled my sweatshirt on and pulled the hood tight to keep them off me and they still they got up my sleeves and behind my glasses… but I wasn’t ready to give up. And I wasn’t disappointed.
My favorite meadow off the trail called The Secret Path was filled with deer. I love deer. They are such beautiful creatures.
Even though I couldn’t set up the tripod without spooking them I was able to brace myself enough to get a couple of pictures. I am so glad I had already set up with the big lens! But the mosquitos were having a field day with me so as much as I would have liked to stay longer I had to get moving again or be eaten alive..
I saw more deer along the trail and finally made it to the observation platform but the bugs were terrible there too so I turned back right away. I made one last stop in one of the blinds to get some relief from the cloud of insects.
I spent about 45 minutes in the blind hoping the bugs had given up. It was quiet. I saw some reeds moving but I couldn’t see what was causing it. There were no ducks or geese today. As it began to approach evening I stuck my nose out and was rewarded with a beautiful sunset and far fewer bugs. The temperature had dropped a little and that may have been why they gave up. I snapped the sunset as I headed back to the car. 
That pretty much wraps up my day. It’s a pretty typical day. When I get home I can count on my kitties being at the door to greet me. I feed them and pet them and fix my dinner.Then I settle down to process the pictures I’ve collected over the course of the day. Sometimes I prepare a post for this space.
Often I get a call from my friend JR. He also enjoys photography and you can check out his work at http://www.jrstjeanphotography.com/
So I’ve completed my assignment from http://www.digital-photography-school.com and I’ve brought you along with me for the day. I hope you enjoyed the peek into my life.