This Warm Week

Warm, lazy evening on a blanket in hot sand. Clean, blue skies cut by sails on Lake Michigan. A dog beach, a green hike. The comfort of family and friends who make me laugh. This was a great last week in May.

Creepy Door...

On a good day...

...I get to meet and photograph people who make me smile and never cease to surprise me with their gifts and contributions to the community. An art teacher retiring after 25 years of teaching kindergartens to sculpt clay into gleaming pottery. Teenage girls, whirling Double Dutch jump faster than my eyes can follow, flashing white teeth to the sound of gospel music. (Grand Rapids Press Photos)

Mother Mary

Lucy Cusack, 5, of Cascade and her mom Dianne scoop planting soil into the flower pots surrounding the Mother Mary statue outside Immaculate Heart of Mary School on Thursday, May 20 at the corner of Plymouth Ave. SE and Burton Street SE. "This is so dear to our hears," Dianne Cusack said, "this school." Lucy attends preschool at Immaculate Heart and Dianne volunteers to help with little things when needed. The statue is a place where athletic teams come to say a Hail Mary before games and where students gather at the beginning of every school year to pray. (Grand Rapids Press Photo)

Wandering the Conservatory

Our Oak Tree in my Coffee Cup (and a few others from the front yard)

Chris and I spread two yards of soil in our front yard yesterday and laid about 25 pounds of grass seed. The battle to grow shade friendly grass beneath our massive oak tree continues.

Reptile Reaction

On Tuesday I got to hang out with a third grade class at Martin Luther King Leadership Academy during a special visit from a reptile sanctuary. The kids' reaction to the toad, snake, and tortoise were classic. (Grand Rapids Press Photos)

Sunday in the Park

Shot these at Garfield Park last weekend while I was looking for a few features. Slow news days can be a blessing. (Grand Rapids Press Photos)

Mowgli.

...all he wants in life is to be outside.

Arcade at Stella's Lounge

Grand Rapids Press reporter Chris Knape plays Mrs. Packman II in the old school video archade at Stella's Lounge. (Grand Rapids Press Photo)

Guitars for Vets

What a heart warming assignment. Once a week Marc DeRuiter of Grand Rapids(featured in top photo) visits the Grand Rapids Veterans Home and gives guitar lessons. Every student who consistently shows is given a guitar to learn on. Greg Mulder, a U.S. Army veteran who lives in the home, (center photo), says the lessons are theraputic, giving him something to do with his time and thoughts. (Grand Rapids Press Photos)

Backyard in Soft Focus

The smell of earth, the soft skin of petals. Warm sun on my neck, spring is here.

The Giant Table and Chairs Come Down

This 30,000 pound ArtPrize entry has been perched on top of the Grand Valley Blue Pedestrian Bridge since last September, and finally came down on Monday. It was obviously a graphic, colorful event to shoot, and I even got a bit of a sun burn!

What Happens to my Husband after a Long Day at WZZM.