RoBarr {Great Falls Photographer}

We recently had the pleasure of meeting Linda O'Brien of Conrad.  Looking for a way to do some "value adding" to the family's barley production, she came up with RoBarr (roasted barley).  For all of you out there who love your coffee, but can't get past the acid and/or caffeine, this drink is a great alternative!

It offers a coffee like taste, but without any of the things that can cause people issues with coffee.  Linda has perfected her recipe.  She roasts her barley at a local pizza parlor, bags her product, seals them up, and sells them on her website http://www.robarr.com/ or in health food stores and some local stores.

Linda is currently making three different blends:  Bold, Mugicha and Original.  If your interested, she does offer free samples on her website, just pay S & H, or look for a location that carries RoBarr in your area!

For more information check out this article (Naturally Decaf. . .  Naturally Montana. . .  Naturally Robarr) published in the Summer 2012 issue of Signature Montana!

On the Road Again!

Lately Scott has been heading to the western side of the state quite a bit!  While he's not wild about traveling all over the state of Montana, he did take his camera and got some neat photos of some of the sights.

It seems that this winter has been great about making sure there is a snow storm at some time on his drive.

 
But then the roads can be dangerous even if it isn't icy!

As long as the large animals stay off the highway. . .

(Love the snow flakes!)

So for those of you not from Montana, or even some of you (like me) who are, but didn't know, Libby seems to be the City of Eagles.  It is also a great place to take a new camera and play around taking some photographs!  

Scott was informed by a local that the eagles are made by the mayor's brother.  I am impressed with his metal work, and I love the way Scott captured them in these photos!

He did a little photo editing on this one, and the result is a gorgeous portrait!  

Overall, I'm glad that he is home, but he did get some great pictures!

In Passing

It is amazing to me how time can fly.  I'm not sure if it is having 3 kiddos that keeps things moving so fast or if it's that I'm getting older!

Anyway, Scott has been taking photographs, I just haven't been blogging about them (oops!)  So, to break myself in slowly, I'm going to just give you one picture. 

Scott has been on the road quite a bit lately.  Even on a few roads here in Montana that he hadn't been on before.  On his way home last week, he saw this and had to stop and capture the image!

This is the dock at Polson Bay, on Flathead Lake.  Looks kind of wild when the lake is frozen over!

Hope you like the photograph.  I will try to get the next blog up in a more timely manner!
Jamie

Bobcat Football!

I drove down to Bozeman, Montana, with my brother and our two oldest boys to watch MSU-Bozeman play Eastern Washington this past Saturday.  Special thanks to CTA for the tickets and to the Bobcats (especially Bill Lamberty) for the freelance photographer's field pass.

It was a pretty nice day for late September - actually almost too hot.  Had some fun playing with a rented lens (Canon's 100-400mm F 4.5-5.6L IS) and watching the Bobcats tear up the Eagles.

Mt. Vernon

I also got to make a flying trip through Mount Vernon (George Washington's home), which was pretty cool.  I decided to fore go the tour through the mansion itself, mostly due to the limited amount of time I had, but I learned a lot about the man which isn't in the history books, specifically about the portions of his life BETWEEN chopping down the cherry tree and being President.  He had quite a fascinating life, and he did much to shape our country, even beyond what you may already know about.  Well worth the visit.

 
All the same, I was very glad to get on the plain and leave DC for a less humid climate.  Would I go back?  Perhaps - but definitely NOT in July!

Hi-Line Harvest

Work brought me through the hi-line, where harvest is generally in full swing.  These shots were mostly taken between Loma and Loredo, on Highway 87.  I tried to get some irrigation/haying shots around Chinook and Harlem, but the mosquitoes were too much to bear.

D.C. (continued)

I was also amazed at how hot and humid it was there.  I've honestly never experienced anything like it.  Once you accept the fact that you're just going to sweat until you're basically wringing wet, you can function pretty well.  But there is absolutely NO WAY I would ever live there without having air conditioning in my home.  I can't imagine how the early inhabitants were able to labor during the day and then laying in the sweltering heat/humidity at night.  I wouldn't have made it...

D.C.

I found myself with several hours to kill before flying out of Reagan National, and I was able to quickly take in a few of the local attractions.  The most frustrating part of the experience was being able to drive within a stone's throw of almost all of the landmarks (except the White House - can't get too close to that in a car), but NOT BEING ABLE TO PARK!  If you ever go to DC, take some time to learn about the public transit system, or just plan on biking/walking around the city.

Courtney's Restaurant

Edit:  Check out the first comment below.  Turns out my information about the proprietor (learned from a fellow patron) may not have been too accurate...

While in Lexington Park, Maryland, for a CTA project, the group I was with drove about forty five minutes into the countryside southeast of Lexington Park in search of some local flavor. And that's exactly what we found at Courtney's. Driving more-or-less aimlessly, we happened upon an intersection with two restaurant signs. One of the guys I was with knew someone named Courtney, so we opted to head that direction.

Upon arriving, we immediately decided this would either be one of those hidden local gems or a complete bust. Thankfully it was the former. The proprietor, Tommy (Courtney's husband), was our server, and we learned from him that he goes out onto Chesapeake Bay to fish each morning, and what he catches is on the menu that evening!

I had a local crab-stuffed fish fillet, prepared by his reportedly Filipino chef, and it was outstanding. This from someone who typically would prefer a vegetarian meal to a fish meal. So, if you ever find yourself near Lexington Park, I'd recommend finding Wynne Road and driving to the end of it.