Birthday Hike

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 | Allison

Hey guys! I took gobs of pictures on the hike I went on for my birthday. Lots. Of. Pictures. I’m going to be showing you only some, but still a ginormous amount. 😀 Are you ready for this? Okay. Blastoff in 3… 2… 1… 1/2… 1/4… 1/187,990… okay, okay. XD Now!

When we went on the first trail, it was really foggy and rainy. We decided to come back to it later when it was sunny, but I got some neat pictures before we left.

hike (2) (1024x768) — Ooh, spooky. Just kidding! 😀

Doesn’t the next one seem sort of like a writing prompt? (I edited it.)

Next we went on a hike that was lovely and beautiful on the way down, but exhausting on the way up.

Flower pictures. 🙂

I love this dewdrop picture:

I have no idea what these weird corncobby fungi things are, but they’re neat looking!

One tree had all kinds of different fungi on it.

Millipede!

The next trail was really rocky and mossy. I love rocks and moss! 😀

hike (53) (1024x768) — This looks like an action shot even though it isn’t.

Sometimes you had to climb over boulders like this:

I made collages of the many pictures of moss and fungus I took, because otherwise you would be here all day. XD

Aren’t they so pretty? (And sometimes weird?)

Views from an overlook beside the path:

I really like the rocky ones.

At the top it was kind of scary because there were drop-offs on every side of you, and the path was really narrow. You had to climb over boulders that were less than two feet away from the edge to get to the top! *Shiver* 😛 But the view was amazing!

On the way down we made a little fairy house, or rather fairy bedroom.

My friend spotted these perfect, tiny spiderwebs. She got way better pictures than me. 😉

Are you photo-weary yet? XD Did you have a favorite picture?

***Allison***

Photography Prompt #1

May 22, 2016 | Allison

Hello again, dear readers! 😀 Today I give you a little photography prompt I made up to get your photo-creativity up and running! It’s super simple, but very rewarding and relaxing.

Here are the photos I took using the prompt. I just laid down in the grass and snapped away! It was really fun.

The whole reason I went out there in the first place was to take pictures of this beautiful tiger swallowtail.

Then of course I took pictures of the cute wittle pink flowers,

And a few creepy-crawlies,

-Allison(Casey) 011 (1024x768) — Pill bugs (or roly-polies) look like armadillo bugs up close!

And boring ol’ lawn which is actually interesting.

-Allison(Casey) 018 (1280x960) — I messed with the exposure on my camera to get this really neat evening light look.

Guys, mulch and old walnuts can look interesting too.

And lastly but not leastly… this! XD Yes, you can use your zoom as long as you don’t move your legs. 😀

I used this idea several months ago too. It was winter, and I just sat down in a plain patch of bare field, but I think some of the photos turned out pretty well. Have a look!

This is the boring patch of ground I took pictures on. Blah, right?

Well…

-Allison(cookies, island) 027 (1280x960) — I really like this picture for some reason

-Allison(cookies, island) 026 (1280x960) — Even dirt can look pretty!

Not so boring after all, right? That’s why this is fun. You get to look at all the little details you normally miss. And you don’t have to just take pictures – you could take your sketchbook or just look.

Do you think you’ll use this prompt? Would you like to see more photography prompts?

***Allison***

P. S. I’m working on my birthday stuff post, but it may take me a while because of all the reviews I’m doing!

Lady-Slipper Hike

May 15, 2016 | Allison

The title sounds rather strange, but don’t worry: the hike wasn’t actually littered with lady’s shoes, it just had some lady’s slippers flowers along it. Okay good, we got that cleared up. 🙂

Of course I took many pictures when we went on the aforementioned trail with my aunt, who kindly offered to show us the lady slippers.

When we first got to the path, there were about twenty butterflies – mostly tiger swallowtails – sitting all in a clump, maybe eating or drinking something. We didn’t even notice them until we walked right up to them and they exploded and flew away. It was AMAZING to see! Since I didn’t know they were there the first time, I didn’t get pictures then, but later we waited for the butterflies to come back and a few did. But only a few – not nearly as many as we had scared off before. Oh well, at least I got pictures of those few!

This is a bee on a lupine flower. In the second picture you can sort of see the bee’s proboscis… I think.

Pretty lupine leaf…

And the stars of the hike – I present the lovely ladies’ slippers. 🙂 (Click on any picture in the collage to enlarge it.)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 060 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 061 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 062 (960x1280)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 065 (960x1280)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 066 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 067 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 068 (960x1280)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 071 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 072 (1280x960)

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 073 (1280x960)

Spring + Hike + Camera = Flower Pictures

I like the shape of these leaves.

I edited this picture to make it look more like a fairy hotel. Isn’t it magical-ish? XD

We found this weird but pretty metallic green beetle.

And last, a simple picture of forest floor.

I hope you enjoyed the virtual walk! It was quite fun, and it was easy hiking compared to the trails I went on for my birthday, but… that’s a post for another day. 😀 Which was your favorite picture?

***Allison***

P. S. You know that riddle that I asked you a long time ago about what word has all five vowels in it? Lots of you actually came up with answers that fit the riddle, but none of you thought of the word I was thinking of! (I guess it wasn’t a very good riddle if it had so many answers. Oh well, it was fun!) The word I was thinking of was… sequoia! In case you don’t know, a sequoia is a type of tree that grows to be ginormously tall – kind of like a redwood. And with that, I leave you. 🙂

BIBPC #2: Praying Mantis’ Feast (and Other Critters)

April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 | Allison

Hi, guys! I’m participating in my sister Megan’s fun photo contest, BIBPC. (Read about it here.) The second prompt was “critters,” meaning animals like insects, frogs, etc. I collected several fun critter photos, but I can only enter one. 😦 😉 So I decided to show you the one I’m entering, and the other ones I wish I could enter too! 😀

I’m entering the first of these pictures, and the second one is just a bonus. 🙂

Isn’t it neat? And super gross?! XD

Story behind the picture: I took this photo a couple of years ago in September 2014. These particular pictures are actually still photos from a video I took. (You can see it here on my YouTube channel. I’m afraid the video is a bit jerky. Hold on tight! 😛 ) One day right outside our porch I saw this amazing and gross scene on one of our chrysanthemum bushes: a praying mantis was sitting there, calmly eating a bumblebee! I was so excited to get to see that! It seems like the bee would have killed the praying mantis first by stinging it, but apparently not.

So, Megan, since I have two critters in the picture I get double the points, right? No? Aww, shucks. XD

Now here are the ‘reject’ pictures. Poor lil’ guys. Don’t worry, I like you too! 😀

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Spring peeper: so cute and tiny!

Cicada (from this post)

Honeybees (from this post)

And I believe this is a bullfrog. I was almost going to enter him in, but I thought maybe a frog was too normal. (More normal than a praying mantis eating a bumblebee anyway. 🙂 )

His eyes were so pretty!

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Which picture was your favorite?

***Allison***

2015, Award, News + Lots of Photos!

December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 | Allison

Happy New Year! Okay, get ready for a long post, because today I will be reviewing my 2015 bloggy year, doing an award, and telling you one of my New Year’s resolutions. Ready? First up, my blog year – it was a great year, and a HUGE year, at least compared to last year. Taking into account the fact that I only blogged 7 months last year instead of 12 this year, still, the stats increased A LOT. And thanks to all of you, I now have almost 60 followers! SQUEEEE! 😀 😀 Here are the yearly stats for this year and last year:

Last year (in orange)

This year (in orange)

And here is the little WordPress year in review thingy they sent me:

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,500 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 58 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Now for the award. I don’t usually do awards, but I decided to do this one because it wasn’t just random questions, and I thought it was interesting to see when other people did this. So… I was nominated by Genna and Mercer Creative. Thank you so much!

1. Thank the person that nominated you
2. Start a blog post and answer the questions below
3. Add 1-3 of your Favorite\Best blog photos
4. Nominate up to ten people

1. How long have you had a blog?
I started this blog in May of 2014, so I’ve had it for about a year and a half.

2. Why did you start blogging?
I kind of forget, but I think it was probably because my sister started with her school program, and it made me want to start a blog too.

3. Do you like photography?
I love photography! 😀

4. Did you start your blog on your own?
Yep. Well, my sister and mom helped me.

5. Why do you like these photos so much?
It was kind of hard to choose just 3 of my favorites, so since it’s a review of 2015 anyway, I’m just going to do some of my favorite photo pictures and posts from 2015. XD

I think one of my all time favorite posts was this dandelion post. Here’s a picture from it:

I just love how crystal clear and beautiful the pictures turned out. I also love this Lily (The Flower) post – I love dewdrops!

A few of my favorite bunny posts are this funny bunny post, these two Lily (the rabbit) posts here and here,

and this Christmas post from the bunnies. Because they are just so CUTE!

My favorite other pet post might be this Joy the kitten post. I like the angle of this photo, and Joy was just adorable!

Here are some other pictures I really like that I took in 2015, and a few from 2014, which are captioned “2014.”

Whew! That was a lot of pictures! I nominate Hayley from Flourishing By Restful Falls for the award.

OK. Now for one of my New Years’ Resolution (the news part of the title). I want to start an Etsy shop! I’m going to be selling things I make online there, including polymer clay animals and other polymer clay things, and maybe stuffed animals like this one. But I need more ideas! I would greatly appreciate any suggestions with what you would like me to make that you would buy. If you need some ideas from what I’ve already made, click on the category “My Creations” on my category cloud on my blog sidebar. Thank you!

So, that’s it! Thanks so much for a great bloggy year, readers!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

***Allison***

P. S. See you next year!

An… Interesting… Necklace

November 18, 2015 | Allison

This is the rather interesting necklace I made recently.

It is made out of a gall. – Wait, please don’t be grossed out!

Oh. It might be a good idea to tell you what a gall is first. A gall is like a fungus made by an insect as a sort of cocoon for itself. But that doesn’t mean an insect is actually in the gall now.

Now are you grossed out? Yep, I thought so. *Sigh.* Oh well, I started this post so I might as well finish it.

This is how I made the necklace: First, I started with a gall I had found on a hike. It is actually a huge gall, at least from what I’ve seen. I just had to do something with it, because it was so beautiful! It looked like a big wooden bead.

Then I carefully made two holes in it and threaded a string through the holes and knotted it securely. I tied that little string to a bigger, braided one. I then covered the gall in a coat of ModPodge to make it a little stronger.

And ta-daa! I had myself a one-of-a-kind, natural, super lightweight (not to mention strange) necklace!

Are you still grossed out or not?

***Allison***

Crystal Pond, and Treasures Found There

November 13, 2015February 14, 2016 | Allison

Somewhere on a farm, hidden away in its own little secret world of trees and brush, there is a pond whose shores are littered with millions of sparkling quartz crystals… Well, OK, Crystal Pond isn’t quite as romantic and fairy-tale-like as all that, but it is still one of my favorite places on our farm.

Don’t get confused by the name – the water in the pond isn’t crystal clear, but rather the land around the pond has pretty quartz crystals scattered on it. Sometimes there are a bunch of crystals, sometimes… not so much, especially when the pond is high. The bad thing is, the pond is kind of surrounded by a defense wall of thorns, prickly evergreens, and brush. Yeah, it’s just a tad hard to get to. But once you get inside, it’s nice and quiet and peaceful. There is always some treasure waiting to be found along the shores or in the scrubby woods beside the pond. Crystal Pond has several of my favorite things around it: water, moss, rocks, and mushrooms!

Here are, um… a LOT of photos.

Moss:

A beautiful quartz crystal!

This rock looks like it has a heart in it.

And… lots of mushrooms!

Aren’t these such cute little mushrooms? They look like they are made of playdough or something.

And some close-ups:

I also found a strange, lonely, frilly mushroom with no identity tag. Does anyone know what it is?

And some other things:

A pill bug going busily about his day (I edited this picture),

An interesting plant (I think maybe a Chinese lantern?),

Some bright red berries,

An ivy vine with berries,

And a beautiful pine tree.

And that’s it! Are you still awake? 😛 If so, what was one of your favorite pictures from this post?

Bye ’til later!

***Allison***

Fall Hiking: Part 2

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 | Allison

Next up! A hike in the mountains. This is a spider we saw at the very beginning of the hike, but he was scared of my camera so he ran away and hid under his favorite leaf. 🙂

Below is a rock that looked like someone cut a heart on it, but I’m pretty sure it was natural.

Does anyone know what this weird red clump-of-berries-on-a-stem is called?↓

Here’s a strange fuzzy-looking fungus – isn’t he so cute? 😛

Now for some gorgeous fall trees!

There was an overlook at the top of the trail where you could crane your neck (and camera) to see a small but very steep falls. I edited this picture because it wasn’t very good to begin with.

For some reason there were also a lot of ladybugs at the overlook. I took a few close-ups of this pretty lil’ gal resting on my jeans.

And that’s it! I hoped you enjoyed the virtual hike – and trust me, you got off easy – that trail was TIRING!

***Allison***

A New Video of… a Fly?

October 1, 2015June 5, 2016 | Allison

Yep, my new video is of a fly. But flies are more interesting than you might think. It’s fascinating to watch when them clean themselves. When this little guy cleans his head it looks like he’s about to pop it off, and just take a look at his proboscis!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG1Paw-F_Y0

Here’s a bonus picture. 🙂