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Hitting Fuzzy Yellow Balls 2024 by BJ Reed

I am a member of a mixed doubles’ tennis team that plays two days a week, from April through November, weather permitting, at lovely Norlo Park in Fayetteville, PA. My journey in 2024 included working on my recovery from a sport’s injury which keep me off the court for three months. After much hard work, I returned to the courts for team play in August for fun in the sun with the team!

Hitting that FUZZY YELLOW BALL around the court makes me a happy camper! View my YouTube video for highlights from a team player in October 2024.

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One Year On The Tennis Courts at Greene Township Park in Scotland, PA

I had the privilege of being able to play TENNIS at the two beautifully newly constructed courts located at Greene Township Municipal Park during 2022. The tennis courts are located off State Route 997 near Interstate 81 at the Scotland Exit #20 in Scotland, PA.

Many thanks to Greene Township for providing these courts, they have provided us with many hours of tennis playing pleasure!

Take an aerial tour of the beautiful park and
the many available recreational activities.
The tour ends with us, BJ and Tom, practicing on the tennis courts.

Click the YouTube video below to start the TOUR, enjoy:

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BJ’s “Return To Tennis” Story

BJ's Return To Tennis Story

A large portion of my free time this year has been devoted to my quest to return to the tennis courts. During this journey I have recorded my story with photography and videography. Although this journey has been challenging, it has produced rewarding results including health benefits, new social contacts, connection with nature and lots of laughs!

VIEW my story, “RETURN TO TENNIS”, on YouTube below…

Thank you Tom, friends and team players from Norlo Park
for your support and encouragement this year!

Here are snippets of our mixed double’s team play at Norlo Park, Fayetteville, PA. See how fast we run!
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Apple Blueberry Crumble by Coach BJ

Apple Blueberry Crumble

A healthy plant-based easy-to-prepare fruit crumble is sure to satisfy. A delightful dessert that is heavy on the fruit – apples and blueberries or apples and cherries – and heavy on nutritional value. When the blueberries or cherries are fresh, it makes a special treat but don’t stop there, make this sure-to-please dessert any time of the year with frozen fruit too. Just look at the beautiful colorful presentation, how much fun is that!

APPLE BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE: A Colorful, Yummy and Good for you Dessert!

Serves: 6 (cup size) ll Prep Time: 20 minutes ll Cook Time: 25 minutes

Main Fruit Ingredients:
5 baking apples (5 cups), peeled and cored, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or cherries ( no need to thaw)
5 (3 inch) pieces crystallized ginger, minced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 medium lemon (juice from lemon plus 1 teaspoon zest)
1 -2 tablespoon sweetener (maple syrup, date sugar or brown sugar), to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping Ingredients:
1 cup granola
1/4 cup walnut pieces or slices almonds

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Prepare apples then place into a non-stick or parchment paper lined ovenware. Add remaining main ingredients into the ovenware; gently combine. Crumble the granola over the top of the fruit and add nuts on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

ENJOY THIS DELICIOUS PLANT-BASED FRUIT CRUMBLE -WE DO!!

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Coach BJ’s So Simple RED POTATO SALAD

So Simple Red Potato Salad


So simple…who would’ve thought! Red potatoes are colorful, nutritious and delicious – here’s a tasty side dish and a plant-based carb fix! Just mix the potatoes with Sweet and Sour Mustard Salad Dressing to make a picnic treat any time of the year. It’s fun to take to a summer family outing but I love it for a winter picnic too!

Ingredients for SO SIMPLE RED POTATO SALAD by Coach BJ

So Simple RED POTATO SALAD
Serves: 4
1.5 pounds red potatoes, about four large, (microwave, boil or roast), cubed
1/2 chopped medium red onion

Cook the red potatoes using your method of choice. When cool to the touch, cube the potatoes. Place in a medium bowl along with the chopped red onion. Pour Sweet and Sour Mustard Salad Dressing (recipe below) over these ingredients then toss lightly until coated. Chill for 1 hour.

NUTRITION FACTS
Amount per Serving
Calories 118 Calories From Fat 0
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 9%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 1g
Protein 3g

Sweet and Sour Mustard Salad Dressing: A great colorful way to top off your salads with your favorite mustard dressing.
Serves: 4
1 lemon, juice from 1 lemon
4 tablespoons sweet and sour mustard (or your favorite)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon Mirin rice cooking wine or sweetener of choice
add ceyenne or black pepper and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients. Pour over red potatoes and red onion. Chill for an hour before serving. Refrigerate in covered container.

NUTRITION FACTS
Amount per Serving
Calories 23 Calories From Fat 1
Total Fat 0g
Saturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 240mg
Total Carbohydrate 2g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars 1g
Protein 0g

Happy Plant-Based cooking with Coach BJ!

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Fall Beauties from CALEDONIA STATE PARK in Pennsylvania, USA

We are so fortunate to have Caledonia State Park right around the corner from us. These days we take a break from the news and find some peace at the park. Taking in nature and photographing the park’s beauties brings peace to my heart and soul. Tom takes care of Zipper, they take “buggy” rides and get a lot of attention from park goers while I settle behind my camera.

Look at that beautiful face…our Zipper loves his buggy rides and meeting friendly people who shower him with attention!

Caledonia State Park is located in Franklin and Adams county in south-central PA. The 1,125 acre park is located between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. It is a recreational park which boasts a swimming pool with picnic areas, an 18-hole golf course, campgrounds, hiking, hunting, fishing and summer-stock Totem Pole Playhouse.

These images were captured on October 21, 2020. Enjoy the beauty of our colorful Pennsylvania FALL!

VISIT OUR BEAUTIFUL PARK!

Caledonia State Park
101 Pine Grove Road
Fayetteville, Pennsylvania   17222
Phone: 717-352-2161
Toll Free: 888-727-2757

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BJ Reed’s Portrait Shoot at Fulton Farm

Owens Barn, Civil War Era building

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020, I had the opportunity to shoot portraitures of the farmers and the interns who work at Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies (FCSS) at Wilson College in Chambersburg PA. Locally we call the farm, Fulton Farm. The farm is 50-acres including a seven-acre, USDA Certified Organic portion. Fulton Farm is a community treasure, Tom and I personally participate in their beautiful weekly market shares CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) which we conveniently order online then pick up later in the week at the farm.

Fulton Farms Wilson College Chambersburg PA
Fulton Farm at Wilson College in Chambersburg PA

I was hunkered down at home practicing my portrait photography for months during the pandemic, then PA opened up a bit and I was chomping at the bit to set up some shoots. So I contacted Chris Mayer, FCSS Director to ask if I could come onto the Fulton Farm’s property to capture portraits, with distancing. Chris gave me, BJ’s PHOTOGRAPHY, the opportunity to take 8 portraits during the shoot, they would be used in their next newsletter and for other social media materials.

I happily gathered my camera and equipment then headed over to scout out the location with my assistant/friend Barb Pogue. I studied the landscape, looked for good spaces to shoot, took some test shots with Barb – she’s such a good sport.

Barb at Fulton Farm June, 2020
Barb at Fulton Farm June, 2020

The next beautiful bright sunny day, I set up the shoot. We literally pulled the farmers and the interns from the field. It was such a joy to be outside and my subjects were such a delight! They were engaging and respectful. It was such fun!!

Tooke Farmhouse, Civil War Era building
Tooke Farmhouse, Civil War Era building
Fulton Farms Wilson College Chambersburg PA
One of the greenhouses at Fulton Farm at Wilson College in Chambersburg PA

Here are the hard working members of the team who manage and bring in the bountiful organic harvest from Mother Nature at Fulton Farm:

Chris Mayer is the FCSS Director
Dan Emig is the College Farmer
Jessica Larkin is a farmer and Wilson graduate who has worked at Fulton Farm for a number of years
Dani Stafford is a student in Environmental Sustainability and Health Science at Wilson College
Austin Cubbage is studying Computer Science at Penn State and wanted to try the important work that’s happening at Fulton Farm
Emily is working as an apprentice, she has also been accepted into Wilson College and hopes to start soon
Ethan Kron is a recent graduate of Wilson College with a BA in History and Political Science and he is a second summer intern at Fulton Farm
Grace Ruback is a May Wilson graduate with a Bachelor of Science in animals studies, environmental science and a minor in conservation studies, she is currently working as an intern
Fulton Farms Wilson College Chambersburg PA
Fulton Farm at Wilson College in Chambersburg PA
Fulton Farms Wilson College Chambersburg PA
Look at the beautiful view from Fulton Farm at Wilson College in Chambersburg PA

For more information on Fulton Farm https://www.wilson.edu/fulton-center-sustainability-studies.

Thanks for the shoot and allowing me, BJ’s PHOTOGRAPHY, to enjoy the beautiful setting, take a deep breath and connect with Mother Nature! The clouds are amazing these days!

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BJ’s Studio Portraits Project

BJ Self-Portrait

I’ve began a journey in my studio during the Covid-19 years. Starting in January 2020, my project was to learn more about portrait photography. My artistic winter project – practice, practice, practice, lighting, lighting, lighting- the king pin of photography. I pulled old strobe lights out of the closet, one literally fell apart, trashed it. Purchased another strobe and a speed light plus lots of accessories.

Experimenting: Let the fun begin. I started with the one old strobe for Rembrandt and Loop style dramatic portraits but I wasn’t thrilled with those, not for me, dark shadows on my face was less than flattering. Tried Butterfly portrait style too. My favorite style turned out to be flooding the face with ambient light as well as flash or back-lighting as in the window shots. I learned to use various reflectors to shape the light.

Modeling: While in my studio, at that time, I had three choices for models; Zipper, Tom and myself. So, I tried Tom but he could only stand modeling for 3 minutes, Zipper was even worse, that left me. So self-portraits it was. With make-up and hair flying all which way, I became my own model, I really like my boss!

Shooting: I set up a process whereby I could set my own focusing point and shoot remotely…off to the races. After I nailed a few head shots, standing positions and in-front-of-window poses I was ready for prime-time. A few of my friends joined the fun in my studio, lots of laughing going on! So when the COVID-19 lock-down arrived, I was once again alone in the studio…back to self-portraits.

Technology: I feel like I’m technology savvy but this was challenging! Going from using natural light to incorporating various supplemental lighting processes turned out to have a steep learning curve. Finding the most effective new camera settings was tedious, setting up the strobes (I used many years ago) took a lot of trial and error, learning the speed light was a slow process. In the meantime, I took at least 4 online photography classes. AND then we bought a new computer and monitor! But I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and pushed forward.

Lessons Learned: The more you learn, the more you know you have lots more to learn!

CLICK on the thumbnails below to see larger images, enjoy the slideshow.

Hope you enjoyed sharing BJ Reed’s PORTRAIT journey!