Our 31st & 32nd Weeks ~ 2014

Brace yourself for two weeks worth of photos since I totally missed last week.  We had such a fun and busy week that blogging just didn't happen.  :)  

Still participating in Fat Mum Slim's photo a day challenge ... and thoroughly enjoying it!  For July I challenged myself to not only photograph something for the prompt, but I included at least one family member in each of my photos.  Even if it was just fingers or toes.  For August I'm back to just interpreting the prompt.

{July 27 - Ten}

Ten Monarch chrysalides ready to be moved to a different enclosure. I had too many containers taking up too much space on my counter, so Keira helped me get these ones moved to a cage that Doug helped me make. They are now hanging from a branch inside the cage. Can't wait for butterflies! 

{July 28 - Cool}

July 28 Photo a Day: Cool. I think it is really cool that we are raising Monarchs again this summer. I also think it is cool that I found this big guy this morning along with 4 eggs.

{July 29 - Repeat}

July 29 Photo a Day: Repeat. Lather ... rinse ... repeat if necessary. Does anyone actually repeat?  :)

{July 30 - Lost}

July 30 Photo a Day: Lost. We may have lost a caterpillar, but we gained a butterfly. (Yeah, it is a stretch, but I needed to show off the beautiful lady that joined us today! We kept her overnight due to chilly temps and torrential downpours.)

{July 31 - Rise}

July 31 Photo a Day: Rise.

A butterfly hovers closely

And then quickly moves away,

Swiftly going wheresoever

Her heart may freely say.

A butterfly lowers and *rises*

With the wind’s gusty breath,

As if coupled within a dance

Of a loving tenderness.

The butterfly only knows

How it feels to have wings,

To kiss the petals of flowers

In such elegant flitterings.

To have but one moment

Of such an exquisite flight,

Would be like a dream

Where all seems so right.

{Author Unknown}

We set our first girl free this morning. She sat on my finger for a few minutes, taking it all in, pondering what to do. We walked up to the garden in our back yard where she took flight and I cheered her on with tears in my eyes. This is always the hardest part about raising Monarchs - letting them go to live their lives. But I thought - how cool it would be if I am able to raise some of her babies? I'll never know, of course, but still.  :)

And that concludes the month of July.

{August 1 - Landscape}

The view I see when I walk out my front door in the evenings. I just love our neighbors' mulberry tree. I think it has so much character.

{August 2 - Lunch}

Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed for lunch ... and breakfast ... and dinner.  :)

{August 3 - "S" is for ... }

"S" is for ... sharing. This swallowtail butterfly and these bees seemed to be sharing this milk thistle pretty well.

{August 4 - In the middle}

In the middle of these Monarch butterflies is a gorgeous female. 

{August 5 - Pile}

We decided to pile in the car and spend the day at Idlewild. We had a blast! We took a pile of "ride selfies" with Doug's little pocket camera. This one of myself and Nick on the Tilt-a-Whirl (one of the few rides he will ride) was among them.

{August 6 - Grateful for}

I am grateful for many things. My savior Jesus, my family, my friends, my health, etc. But as far as what I have taken pictures of today :) I am thankful for this handsome fellow. He is one of five Monarch butterflies I was able to release today. Four males and one female. Today's count: 18 butterflies, 18 in chrysalis, 102 caterpillars in various stages, and 9 eggs. What a summer!

{August 7 - Spot}

Monarch butterflies have many spots on their bodies. Which is interesting to me since the caterpillar is striped.

{August 8 - Pet peeve}

While Pennsylvania has many strengths - rolling hills, beautiful farms, the opportunity to enjoy all four seasons (sometimes all in one week :) ) - it is a pet peeve of mine that it is difficult to find a good spot to take silhouette photos. We are surrounded by trees and almost always the trees end up as part of the silhouette. Even when laying on the ground with the camera.   (This photo was actually take on Thursday at the small family wedding I had the honor of photographing.)

{August 9 - Mix}

Such a mix of emotions on your wedding day. Excitement, anxiety, anticipation, nervousness. Even with all that, this bride handled everything so well. She was such a pleasure to work with. I wish her and her new husband all the best!  (From Saturday's wedding.  It was a long, tiring day but we had a blast!)

Just a quick recap of the last two weeks (more for me than for you :)) ...

Hung out with an artist friend and learned some graphic design

Shopped with another friend

Visited a new-to-us state park about an hour's drive away with the kids.  We plan to go back when we have more time.

Went to a play with Keira - A Midsummer Night's Dream.  It was an outside, moving play where we had to move from location to location to watch each act.  LOVED IT!  My friend, Rainey, was part of the production.  We honestly didn't understand most of it but we got the basic concept of the story.  And it was funny!  I really hope that production group does more of that type of play!

Had a family date to our local semi-pro baseball team's game.  They lost but it was still a lot of fun.  Wishing we had gone sooner in the season, because we are already talking about going next year.  Several times.

Spent the day at Idlewild.  FUN!

Had another family date at our local farm show.  (So much family togetherness this week!)

Then started my busy photography schedule - which is why we crammed in so much fun earlier in the week.  

Thursday - wedding at a local lake.

Friday - 50th anniversary party for a wonderful couple.

Saturday - wedding at a park; reception at a banquet hall.  Long, tiring but fun day!

If you made it this far, kudos to you!  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

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Our 23rd Week ~ 2014

We are just one short (or long if you ask the kids) half day of school away from summer break!  The kids last day is Tuesday.  They only have a half day, but if you would ask them, it is the longest day of the year.  Those snow days were pretty cool back in January and February, but now that they are still in school on June 9th and 10th, those snow days have lost their appeal.  :)  I hate to tell them "I told you so" but ...  :)

Normally on the last day we go visit our local zoo or something but thunderstorms are in the forecast, so I'm not sure what we will do.  Something free probably since we're trying not to spend much money before vacation.  :)  Maybe a bike ride if it's not raining.  If it is raining, a movie marathon sounds good to me.  I can get some editing done while the kids chill and eat popcorn.

I decided to continue with the photo a day challenge that Fat Mum Slim hosts.  I wasn't sure I was going to continue in June, but I am going to do my best to keep up.  Here are last week's prompts and my interpretations ...

{June 1: Joy}

You are probably thinking - what does a picture of a little spider have to do with JOY? Well, it involves macro photography, which brings me great joy. I love capturing the tiny details that we so often overlook in our busy lives. So when this tiny spider stayed still long enough for me to capture this image - when I was only inches away - I was so excited!  I was also happy that he didn't jump on me or anything because I probably would have freaked out.  :)

{June 2: Doing}

A bumble bee doing what bees do best.

{June 3: Family}

I don't know about you but my family teaches me something every day. Like patience, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. {sigh} 

{June 4: Ordinary}

Nothing great happens when you settle for ordinary.

{June 5: 11 o'clock}

Was running a little behind, so at 11:00 I was getting ready to run some errands.

{June 6: Adventure}

As Ellie from the movie Up says ... "Adventure is out there!" 

{June 7: Pattern}

The pattern on our neighbor's new foal's face looks like the letter F.  They named him Slick, but I think they should have named him F-stop.  :)

Here are a few random shots from the week ...


Keira spotted this young Robin while we were visiting her grandparents.


On Monday I visited my friend Nikki for a few hours.  We wanted to get some photos of her incredibly handsome cat, Lincoln, but it was so dark and rainy that we decided to wait until another time.  Though I did get on the floor and snap a few.  Not bad considering the lack of light and the super slow shutter speed.  :)  Isn't he gorgeous?


Azalea or rhododendron?  Either way, I loved this unusual color.  They are growing in a local park that I like to walk in occasionally.


As you saw Friday's prompt was "adventure".  Well, I had a picture in my brain similar to the movie Up that required helium balloons.  Fortunately there is a little shop that can whip out some helium balloons in a few minutes as long as they aren't too busy.  After we were done with the balloons for the photos, Alex wanted to let a few go.  So we attached notes to them and set them free.  Hopefully someone found them and it brightened their day.  (Focusing on a rising balloon isn't the easiest thing to do!)  :)

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world!  Hope you have a fabulous week!

Linking with Tamar.

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Project 52 - Week 29

Last week was a HOT one here in Pennsylvania!  A good friend gave us an open invitation to swim in her pool since ours never got put up.  We took advantage of that a few times.  The kids had a blast and it was a great way to cool off!

This is what I get when I interrupt their fun and ask them to be still for a moment while I take a photo of all 3 of them together. :)  You can see one of the other silly photos I got of them on Sunday's Scavenger Hunt post.

The boys and I also did a little exploring around some local parks this week.  The blazing stars are blooming in one so we thought we'd go check it out.  There were lots of butterflies fluttering and bees buzzing around.  It wasn't a spectacular sight to see but it was still kind of cool.  While I was photographing a swallowtail butterfly ...

a bumble bee photobombed my photo!  Cool, huh?  I didn't even realize it until I got home and started to process my photos.

The temps are much more bearable this week.  We had some rain yesterday which cooled things down.  Unfortunately it also caused a photo workshop that I was teaching to be cancelled since we were going to be outside so the ladies could practice what I was teaching them.  We rescheduled it though and I look forward to being a part of it.  I think it will be fun!

This week we don't have any great plans.  Violin lessons and maybe a movie.  Just relaxing.  Oh, and I might head over to Staples for some back to school shopping.  ;)  They have some great deals happening right now.  And I go kinda gaga over office supplies.  Sharpies and Post-it notes and notebooks and such!  Tell me I'm not alone!  :)

Have a great week!  Whatever it is you are doing!

   

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Scavenger Hunt Sunday 11.18.12

I almost didn't make another Scavenger Hunt, but I managed to scrounge up the last couple photos just in time.

{vision}

A sweet young woman hosted a girls' masquerade at our church Friday night and asked me to be the photographer.  She had masks made up for the girls attending.   The evening was lovely ... with good food and an uplifting, inspiring message.  I am honored to have been a part.

{strong}

One from the archives ... bumble bees must have very strong wings in order to be able to fly those big bodies around.

{buttons}

At least my scrapbooking stuff is getting used for something.  :)

{map}

This was the hardest prompt for me.  Who still uses maps when we all have GPS?  :)  But I did remember that I had this map of a local park in our county's visitor's guide.

{favorite fruit}

Orange, grape, cherry, lime, and lemon Skittles.  While they are not technically fruit ... at least they are fruit flavors.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!  If you want to check out more great Scavenger Hunt finds, be sure to visit Ashley.  And if you want to play along for next week, these are the items to look for:

1. Home or Thankful
2. In the Kitchen
3. Couple
4. Bubbles
5. Trees

Have a great week and a Blessed Thanksgiving!

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Week 35 in Pictures

Here we are again ... another week has flown by.  The kids started school this week, so we are all adjusting to our new schedules.  I have my days to myself now that all three kids are in school all day this year.  It is taking some getting used to.  Although I haven't really been home long enough to get used to it as I've been helping my friend, Laura, clean her new house so they can paint before they move in.  It has been fun and I look forward to helping more this week.

I'm also excited about Bible study starting this week.  Some other things on this week's agenda include: getting my car fixed and hopefully inspected, our first PTO meeting of the school year, and our church's Fall Kickoff party.  Looks like another busy week!

{Sunday}

I am totally cheating on this photo.  (I don't know why I always feel obligated to confess.)  :)  This is from a few weeks ago.  Apparently I was all camera'd out from our fun weekend to even pick up the camera.  Anyway, this bee was keeping dry from the rain on one of our sunflowers this particular day.

{Monday}

The kids and I enjoyed a morning walk on the bike trail and came across this cool spider web.  I love how the sun brings out all those yummy colors!

{Tuesday}

We cheated a little and took back-to-school photos the evening before school started.  I figured that way we'd be less rushed and it would be less hectic.  I was pleasantly surprised by how well the kids cooperated.  :)  And since I have to be fair, I created a collage with all three kids in it.

{Wednesday}

On this day, the first day of school for my offspring, this handsome fellow decided to join us and emerge from his chrysalis.  He didn't emerge until the afternoon right before the kids got home from school.

{Thursday}

This sweet little thang emerged in the morning in the car on the way to Laura's house where I was going to help her clean.  Laura's new house has all these Morning Glories in the back, so I had a flower to put her on so I could keep busy with scrubbing walls and stuff.

{Friday}

Laura and her husband, Mike, and their two kids sitting on their new front porch.  This is their first home and I'm excited to be a part of it!

{Saturday}

I took this for the Scavenger Hunt prompt, toys.  We have plenty of LEGOs around our house these days.  It is interesting to see what kinds of things Nick builds.

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Color Me Weekly + Wordless Wednesday

I always enjoy participating in Rosie's Color Me Weekly.  It is fun to pull colors from your photo.  Sometimes I find myself pleasantly surprised.  This week I have to share more than just one photo.  Keep scrolling and you'll see why.

This photo was the original one I thought I'd share.  I just love all the different colors in and around our sunflowers.  (Just a note - capturing bees in mid-flight is HARD!  I took lots and lots of pictures and still didn't get what I wanted.)

But then this one happened ...

and I just couldn't decide.  I mean, how often do I get such a defined rainbow in my sun flare?!  Not exactly ROY G. BIV but close enough.

Then I had a few other random photos I wanted to share.  So often I share my photo of the day, which I sometimes have to pick between a few, and the others never get shown.  Here are a few that didn't make the cut this past week ...

I got to help this pretty lady out of some wet grass/weeds.  I was checking milkweed for Monarch caterpillars and she was nearby - perhaps laying some eggs?  I get excited when I can capture a photo of a Monarch butterfly that I didn't raise.  I guess because it is more challenging when they could fly away at any moment as opposed to the ones whose wings are still wet.  :)

Often I try to capture a good photo of our dog, Honey.  But she refuses to look at the camera when it is in front of my face.  Perhaps since she can't see my face?  Anyway, she was looking at something just beyond me and was almost looking at me this time.  Not a spectacular photo, but she's such a pretty dog, don't you think?

I told you before that Keira is taking an online photography class for kids this month.  This is how we see her much of the time now.  We were practicing bird's eye view vs. worm's eye view this particular day.  She's really enjoying the class and I am actually starting to appear in a photo every once in a while.  :)

      

We have one more week before school starts on August 29.  So expect to see some back to school photos soon.  :)

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