Our Week in Review 2014 ~ 10/12-10/18

Hello!  Happy Monday morning!  Wait, is that an oxymoron?  :)

I'm actually posting on time for a change.  Not quite sure how that happened.

The past week has been full of ups and downs.  I photographed a vow renewal on Sunday.  They have been married for 35 years!  Then I photographed a gorgeous high school senior later that day.  I can't wait to share photos from both sessions.  

Our school district had a meeting on Wednesday to announce proposals to close some elementary schools and consolidate.  Unfortunately our school is on the chopping block. 

Nick found out that he needs glasses for reading.  

And he ran in a cross country track meet on Saturday morning.  It was cold and rainy but he did great!  He finished 20th out of 60+ boys!  The thing that really got me though was this one boy, who is on the bigger side, was the last one to finish - and when he got to a certain point, a bunch of kids rallied around him and ran with him to the finish line.  It made me cry then and I'm tearing up now just typing this.  I don't even know his name, but I found it so touching that our kids are so caring.  (I'm blaming the emotions on hormones).  :)

I visited a craft show also on Saturday and picked up some really cute stuff.  The talent of folks just blows me away sometimes.

After the craft show Doug and the boys joined me on a drive up to a local apple orchard for their Fritterfest.  I have never had an apple fritter before, but it was YUMMY!  I could have eaten a few more.  :)

We also finally found a buyer for the Lincoln!  We didn't expect it to sell overnight - it is a luxury car after all - but we didn't really expect it to take 6 months either.  I will miss those heated seats.  :)

I am still participating in Fat Mum Slim's Photo a Day challenge.  Here are this week's pics ...

{October 12:  L is for ...}

Lazy.  After a long, busy day which included church, photographing a vow renewal (they are celebrating 35 years of marriage!), and photographing a high school senior, I was just going to dig into the archives for today's prompt. But then this evening Honey jumped up on the couch and assumed the position. :)

{October 13:  M is for ...}

Magenta.  We are having a beautiful fall here in Western Pennsylvania.

I thought about doing "M is for Monarch" and using an archive photo (since my babies are still in the caterpillar stage and I just shared a caterpillar photo last week), but I took this photo this morning while out walking the dog and I just had to share.  The colors surrounding us right now are absolutely gorgeous.

{October 14: N is for ...}

Nick.  He doesn't let me take his picture very often, so I take advantage of the times when he lets me. Normally he yells "PAPARAZZI!!!" and runs the other way. Or he makes goofy faces. You should see how many shots I took before I got this face.

{October 15: O is for ...}

Open.  When a Monarch butterfly opens its wings, it is easier to see whether it is a male or a female. This handsome fellow is a male, indicated by the thin webbing in his wings and the two dots on his hind wings (scent glands).

Digging into the recent archives today. This was butterfly number 154 of 155 that I released so far this year. I was fortunate enough to find some late babies the same day I released him. As of today, I have 16 in chrysalis and 2 more still munching away. (The last 2 were found a few days after the 16). I might be making a road trip south when it comes time to release them, but if it is cold here, I won't be complaining.

{October 16: P is for ...}

Pupa.  Was there any doubt I would share this photo today?  :)

A Monarch caterpillar forms its chrysalis then spends about 10-14 days in the pupa stage before emerging as a gorgeous butterfly. This particular chrysalis is 3 days old. I have 15 more just like it. Along with 2 big juicy caterpillars still munching away. I expect they will form their chrysalises in the next few days.

{October 17: Q is for ...}

Quiet and Quick.  As I was pondering over what to share for today's prompt, my son brought in a praying mantis that he had found. Normally I'm not a big fan of mantises. They eat butterflies after all. However, since there are no butterflies around right now, I was excited to see her. I placed her on my flowers and just observed. She {quietly} sat very still and watched while bees and flies buzzed around her. She {quickly} reached out to try to grab a few but she was not {quick} enough. She preened herself every now and then, which is what she is doing in this picture. I hope she is {quick} enough tonight or tomorrow to snag herself a meal.

{October 18: R is for ...}

Running.  Alex has been asking me to go take his pictures for a week or so now. I think he misses his mama and since photo shoots are what take me away from him, that would be a good way to get to spend time with me. Makes me both happy and sad at the same time. Anyway, we made it a quick session. I snapped some posed shots and then told him to just explore and have fun. He ran around - having a good time like an 8YO boy should do. And then we went for ice cream. Of course. Hmmm, maybe that was the reason he wanted to go do pictures. :)

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