My Portal to the World

My New Store

2010-05-08T14:32:00.001-05:00

I just started a new venture with my photos. I am creating some really cool products with them in my new Zazzle store NatureByRose. To see some of my products check the panel above or go visit my store at:

http://www.zazzle.com/naturebyrose*

Fun Site

2010-03-07T11:31:00.003-06:00

I've been spending a lot of time lately on RedGage. It is a site where you can upload content from other sites to create backlinks. But the cool thing is, not only do you increase the traffic to your content on other sites, you get paid for the views on RedGage. To make it more interesting, if your content is put on the featured page, you receive anywhere from $2 - $5. You can upload links, videos, blogs, documents and photos. I have tons of photos so I started uploading those too. The photos are making me the most money. And three of them have been featured so far. I've made many friends and seen many great photos. My links to HubPages and eHow are starting to pick up traffic also. Check out my article How to Make Money With Photos on RedGage and then check out RedGage if you get a chance. I think you will like it!

Here's the link: http://www.redgage.com/

If you decide to join, please put rosekolowinski in the referred by box! The only thing I get for referring you is points in the daily contest for a $25 Visa debit card. Thanks! : )

Prepare For Google Adsense Payments

2009-12-27T20:57:00.005-06:00

If you have a website that uses Google Adsense or if you write articles or upload links to web sites that use this program, you may want to read my lastest hub on How to Prepare for Google Adsense Payments. There are 5 steps to complete before you may be sent any payments. Follow the link to the right to learn all about these steps. Don't lose out on any of your hard-earned revenue!

Check out my articles on eHow!

2009-11-10T18:59:00.004-06:00

I have just started writing articles on eHow.com. They all have to be in the "How to" format. My first four articles are listed to the right. I will be adding more articles frequently so check back often. Thanks!

2009-10-11T11:07:00.003-05:00

We had our first snow yesterday...October 10th! It did make the grass white but was soon gone. Eighty-seven percent of our Octobers see snow but ususally not this early. Many times we don't have a white Christmas! Hope it is not an omen of snowstorms to come.

2009-09-26T09:22:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the reminder, but as the days are getting shorter, the nights are cooling down more, the leaves are turning and falling to the ground, this is what we can look forward to in the coming months! I love the first one or two snowfalls. It is so beautiful with all the evergreens covered in white and the snow sparkling in the sun, but after that... this is a view from my garage looking at my snow-filled driveway. I own a large 2-stage snowblower and a smaller one or I'd be out in the driveway all winter long!

Foggy Morning on the Mississippi River

2009-09-13T18:25:00.006-05:00

A foggy morning on the Mississippit River. When the days reach the upper 70's/lower 80's and the mornings are in the 50's, the river fog is so dense you can not even see across the slough. When we first went out we could not see the trees in the distance. So we fished on our side of the river until about 10:15am and then we could see to venture across into the backwaters and fish our favorite spots. I started out with jeans (with my shorts underneath), a tee-shirt, a pullover sweatshirt, and another zip-up sweatshirt on top of that....and I was still cold. By the time the sun appeared, about 10:30, I was down to tee-shirt and shorts and wishing for some shade and cool breezes. But the fishing was great and the time spent with my parents even more important. And relaxation from the usual stresses accomplished!

A Cancun Sunrise: Fire in the Sky

2009-08-28T19:20:00.003-05:00

Pictures of a sunrise in Cancun, Mexico. I took them from a balcony overlooking the ocean. I was fascinated by the changes in colors from pastel pinks and blues to fiery yellows, oranges and reds.

The Grand Tetons

2009-08-19T00:31:00.006-05:00

This first one is a picture coming down the mountain with my first view of the Grand Tetons in western Wyoming. The second one is down in the valley up closer. I went way out of my way to see these mountains. I was way up north in Sheridan, WY on my way to Coeur d' Alene, ID when I decided to take a detour through Wyoming. The trip through Wyoming was spectacular in itself. But the Grand Tetons were amazing, even though it was hazy that day. Well worth the extra mileage and time. Only wish I could have stopped and spent some time...maybe in a future trip.

Perseid Meteor Showers

2009-08-13T20:37:00.011-05:00

NASA/courtesy of nasaimages.org

Did you happen to see the Perseid Meteor Showers Wednesday night, 8/12? That was the peak night. It was cloudy at my location so I missed it. But there will be more to come this year.

Just what is a meteor shower? Some people also call them shooting stars or falling stars. It is debris from comets consisting of ice and dust. They are named for the constellation from which they appear to fall.

Here is the peak schedule for the rest of the year:

Orionids-morning of Oct 12th-constellation Orion

Leonids-night of Nov 17th/morning of Nov 18th-constellation Leo

Geminids-nights of Dec 13th & 14th-constellation Gemini

For the best viewing, drive to a dark spot with no light pollution and look for the appropriate constellation. Eyes are the only equipment necessary. Enjoy the show!

Mississippi River Bullfrog

2009-08-06T18:17:00.005-05:00

Going to take a few days of much needed R & R. And there isn't any internet access! One of the things I love to do is fish on the Upper Mississippi River. I've been fishing there since I was old enough to hold a pole. I love to be out in the boat in the backwaters. I'm not a fancy fisherwoman. Give me a nightcrawler and I'll catch bluegills, sunfish, bass, catfish, walleye, crappie, sheephead and even carp, dogfish (very ugly fish), mooneye and redhorse. That's what I love about the river. You never know what you have caught until you pull it out of the water. And then there are the mysterious ones that catch your hook and break your line and you never do get to see what it was. There are some mighty big fish in the Mississippi River! If the fish aren't biting, I watch the birds and animals. For more pictures, see my hub Gone Fishing: Fishing on the Upper Mississippi River. The HubPages link to the right will take you there. Until, next week...

Astronomy - a Fascinating Hobby

2009-08-01T16:58:00.001-05:00

I have always been fascinated by astronomy. Living in a city, it is hard to appreciate how many heavenly bodies exist out there. But get out into the country where there is no light pollution and and gaze upward and be amazed by how many stars you see. I am fortunate to live in a community that has an active astronomy club. They raised money and erected a building where they have monthly public lecture nights on a variety of topics. They constructed domes for the telescopes they have acquired. The latest and coolest telescope has a 24" lens. Not very many astronomy clubs have anything that large. It was a gift from the local university's Physics & Astronomy department. I have gazed in wonder at Saturn and her rings and at the mighty planet Jupiter and some of its many moons. I want to buy my own telescope but I am having trouble trying to decide which kind to get. A refractor telescope with lenses for gathering light is good for viewing planets. A reflector telescope uses mirrors to gather the light and is better at looking at deep space objects. And then there is a variety of telescopes that use a combination of both lenses and mirrors. I would like to look at everything and even eventually learn astrophotography so I am still on the fence. And the prices range from $300 to thousands of dollars. I think I just need to buy one I can afford and get started observing. You can do a lot of observing with your eyes and a good pair of binoculars. Learning the constellations is a good place to start. So get out there and start learning about the stars and the planets!

Fairy Rings in my Lawn

2009-07-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

I have Fairy Rings in my lawn. It conjures up images of little fairies dancing in a circle in the middle of the night. That is actually the superstition that contributed to their name. They are circles or arcs of lush, dark green grass that are caused by the release of nitrogen by a class of fungi called Basidiomycetes that live in the soil. The rings can be anywhere from a few centimeters to 20 meters in diameter. They appear after an extremely rainy period and become larger each year, growing up to 1/2 meter per year. But they cause no serious injury to the lawn. They just keep on expanding until they run into a barrier.... or they make it into the neighbor's yard! There are three types: just grass like the one I have, grass and mushrooms, or just mushrooms. The mushrooms may or may not be poisonous so if you have kids or pets you need to be vigilant and remove them. You can get rid of them by removing the soil to a depth of one foot and two feet beyond either side of the rings. Then replace with new soil and reseed or lay sod. But if you drop any of the contaminated soil onto a healthy area, it will start over again in that area. Since mine is just grass and it isn't hurting anything, I am going to leave them alone. Besides, I wouldn't want to disturb the dancing fairies!

Shooting in Macro Mode

2009-07-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

I took a photography class a few weeks ago on macros. The macro setting is used to take close-ups of flowers or whatever else you want to get that close to. Most point and shoot cameras have a macro mode, usually symbolized by a flower. This mode puts your close-up object in focus while the background will be out of focus. Some cameras don't allow you to make many adjustments in macro mode, but I learned that my camera will allow me to move the focus from the middle of the picture to a different location so it is easier to take pictures like the orchid photo above. It is a more interesting picture if it is not centered in the screen. I had the camera on a tripod so it was a lot more steady than me trying to hold the camera! Shooting something that close will exaggerate any movement. So along with the tripod to steady the camera it needs to be a day without much wind if you are shooting outside. I learned the best time to shoot with minimal wind is early morning and evening. I love to take close-ups of flowers so the macro setting definitely comes in handy for getting great shots. The photo in the post Digital Photography is another orchid shot in the macro mode. Of course if you have a DSLR there are actual macro lenses called diopters. But I get some pretty good shots with just my point and shoot camera. So do some experimenting and happy shooting!

First Man on the Moon Anniversary

2009-07-21T19:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, June 20th, was the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moon - Commander Neil Armstrong. I will never forget his historic words "One step for man, one giant leap for mankind". Very inspiring! I was 15 years old then and I was enthralled by it all. I remember staying up and watching it on TV with my Dad. Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot and Michael Collins, the command module pilot rounded out the Apollo 11 crew. I always thought it would be cool to be the first woman on the moon. Needless to say that never happened! Maybe a woman will be included in the next lunar missions.

Helicopter Ride Above Glacier National Park

2009-07-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

This is a view of Glacier National Park from a helicopter. Never thought I would have enough guts to go up in such a small aircraft. But on an impulse I decided to go. It is a little pricey but well worth the money. I even sprung for a full hour ride. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was fantastic. Best way to see the park because there are not very many roads. Stay tuned for more travel photos in the future.

Digital Photography

2009-07-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

Photography is another hobby of mine. I love the digital world. Much less expensive than developing tons of bad pictures! I own three digital cameras now and I am considering a fourth to get into the DSLR group. But that will be a bit more of an investment so it might be a ways down the road. I also love to travel and take pictures. You may see many of my pictures in my travel articles on HubPages. Either hit the link at the bottom of the page or see a list of my current hubs on the top right-hand corner of this blog.

A Return to Writing

2009-06-28T21:37:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my 1st blog! I intend to use this space to talk about all of my favorite hobbies and interests.

One of them is writing. I have written a little in the past. I even took some workshops at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa. I'm sure some of you have heard of this festival. I once submitted a children's book to a publisher but suffered my first rejection. I should have tried more publishers because some of the best books and stories were rejected many times before someone published them. But I put writing on the backburner for a long time. I recently decided there was no time like the present to start writing again! To get me going, I have started writing articles on HubPages. You may enjoy reading those and looking at the related photos which I have taken myself.
This blog is also another great way to get back into writing. So check it out and let me know what you think!