Random Photography

March 3, 2017 | Allison

I absolutely love Clara’s random photography posts, so I thought I would try to do a similar kind since I have plenty of random photos anyway. 🙂 I hope you enjoy!

Random Topic #1: Spring

I was about to say that spring is on the way, but then again, it’s 29 degrees outside, so… XD But the daffodils are blooming and the grass is getting green, so you at least THINK spring is here until you go outside.

dsc_0424-1280x853 — Ohhhh pictures like this make me happy with the golden sunshine on the green, green grass. So pretty!

Random Topic #2: Bonfire Days

I already wrote a post about a huge bonfire we had recently, but there were a few extra bonfire-related photos I didn’t show.

The fire was so hot that we couldn’t get close enough to roast hot dogs, so my grandaddy though of an ingenious solution! He hauled out some long, hollow metal poles and stuck the roasting sticks in the end. That way you could move them around from a safe distance. XD My uncle and brother, not to be outdone, just got up close to the fire and shielded themselves by putting their jackets over their heads. It was quite the hilarious scene, but it worked!

Oh, and we also cooked potatoes, but the photo of that was terrible, so I decided to leave it out. 😉 But that’s a really fun thing to do at a bonfire: wrap a few potatoes in aluminum foil, poke some holes in them with a fork, and bury them in hot coals from the fire. Apparently we left ours in a bit too long, because they had a nice thick shell of blackened potato around the edges ( XD XD ), but they were quite tasty in the middle! Hee hee!

random-6-1280x853 — Isn’t this picture so funny? XD

Megan and I took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other. That was confusing. XD

Aww, Maggie dear!

Another fun thing we did was play with glow sticks. We started by tossing them around out in the field, and discovered that if the person carrying the glow stick ran far enough into the darkness, the glow stick really looked like it was floating when they waved it around. It was so weird. After that, we cracked some of them open and drew on our hands. XD Probably NOT the wisest idea, because there is actually a tube of glass inside glow sticks that cracks too when you break it. So yeah, maybe not a good thing to “try at home”… but it was fun while it lasted! XD And it looked really weird – like you were glowing from the inside out.

Random Topic #3: Eyes

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I really like photographing and drawing eyes. I think they’re fascinating, and extra beautiful up close! I had fun editing these photos.

random-2-1280x1023 — Ohhh my goodness I love this photo so much! This is my friend’s eye, which I edited to look bluer than it really is. (But it is still so beautiful in real life!)

Eh, the pictures of my eye aren’t nearly as pretty, but I like all the different rings of color. 🙂 My eyes are definitely brown from a distance, but colorful up close.

random-4-1280x955 — This is a fun angle! It makes my eyelashes look super long, hehe. O.o XD

Random Topic #4: A Beauteous Sunset

Even if you haven’t been following my blog for very long, you might know that I also have a weakness for sunsets. XD I love how they’re all different, but all glorious (well, most of them)! I took these pictures at my grandparent’s house. The sunset was quite unique that night – the clouds looked like a washboard or something!

random-5-1280x853 — I edited this one (as you can tell).

Random Topic #5: Yummy Lemon Pies

Mom found this delicious recipe in the latest edition of “The Magnolia Journal” magazine. I tried it out, and it was pretty yummy and VERY rich. 🙂 One thing that we noticed is it could use a little bit more lemon juice next time. I didn’t fill the 2/3 cups super full since I was squeezing real lemons and I wanted to have an extra lemon for garnish.

I am quite happy with how the editing turned out on these photos. They still aren’t anything extraordinary, but they sure are better than this: *shudder* I did lots of different things, but some of the main ones were cooling the temperature of the photo, boosting highlights, and using the fancy focus and miniature effects.

Random Topic #6: Party Food

While we’re on the topic of food… XD

This has been a while – my little sister’s birthday was the middle of January, heh heh. XD But anyway, better late than never, right? My mom always makes us a custom cake, and my sister chose a fox. Mom saw this great idea for a coconut fox cake on Pinterest, and it turned out adorable! She also made fox cupcakes, but I didn’t get pictures of those.

For my sister’s birthday supper she chose bananas as one of her sides. 😀 I had fun playing around with banana “tattoos” to make them more special 😛 It’s actually really simple: just poke holes in the peel with a toothpick, and soon the holes will darken by themselves. So fun!

random-4-1280x853 — Ugh, sorry about the bad lighting.

Random Topic #7: Uh… I’m Not Sure What to Call This…

Heh heh. I just had two lonely pictures leftover, which I took on the day of the rabbit photoshoot. So here they are!

random-3-1280x853 — Well that was rather anti-climatic. XD

Well, that’s about it, folks! So what do you think? Do you like this kind of post? What was your favorite random topic?

Thanks for reading!

***Allison***

Signs of Spring

February 25, 2017 | Allison

Ahh, it is SO nice outside. 🙂 I can’t believe how warm February has been! Today I went outside and snapped a few pictures of some spring things, including some gorgeous daffodils that have popped up lately.

I looove daffodils, don’t you?!

dsc_0377-1280x853 — This looks like it might be a double daffodil.

dsc_0381-1280x853 — AHH I absolutely love how my new camera makes the background blurry like this!

The sunshine feels (and looks) wonderful.

Pussywillows are such adorable plants. (If plants can be adorable… XD ) They’re so fuzzy! My grandma gave us a bouquet with pussy willow twigs awhile ago, and we left the twigs in the vase until it grew roots. Then we planted them, and, well, you can see that the experiment was successful. 🙂

Okay so maybe Maggie isn’t really a sign of spring, but she’s still a cute model. 😀

dsc_0400-1280x853 — BWAHAHAHAHA! This picture cracks me up. XD XD XD Maggie always makes this weird grimace when she scratches her ear. 😀

And on that hilarious note, I shall end this post. 🙂 I hope you enjoyed it! Which was your favorite picture?

Does it feel like spring where you live?

***Allison***

P. S. Bleh, my whole family (except Megan) either was sick, is sick, or is getting sick. 😦 I was sick already, but I think I’m getting over it now. Phew! It seems like practically everyone is getting sick all of a sudden, despite the spring-like weather.

A Few Flurries {Snowy Photoshoot}

January 10, 2017January 17, 2017 | Allison

It snowed! I’ve heard that some of you guys got tons of snow, but sadly we didn’t get very much – only an inch or two. 😦 Never fear, though, I managed to get several snowy pictures for you guys. 😀

dsc_1062-1280x853 — Snow always makes things so bright and cheerful in its own way. 😀

dsc_1082-1280x853 — I noticed this forlorn little nest “tied” to the branch. It wasn’t actually tied, but there was some baler twine pieces tangled around it, so it looked that way. 🙂

dsc_1098-1280x960 — Mini mystery picture challenge: What is this? It’s probably pretty easy…

Maggie found a fallen branch that was apparently quite delicious, because she proceeded to devour it… well, chew on it, anyway. XD

dsc_1090-1280x853 — Ha ha, I love this picture! XD

dsc_1091-1280x853 — She looks perplexed. XD

Strangely, that felt like a short post… I guess my normal posts are fairly long or something. Remember back in the days when I would post one picture and say like, two words about it? Heh heh. I’m glad I “outgrew” that. XD

Ahem, as I was SAYING. Um… what was I saying? Hmm.

Well then. Have a lovely day, dear readers! ♥

OH WAIT. The questions. Which picture was your favorite? How much snow did you get (if any)?

Okay, I’m really leaving now. Farewell!

***Allison***

Last Drops of Gold

November 18, 2016 | Allison

*Sniff* Fall is almost over. 😦 All our trees have lost their leaves except for a few brave maples. My favorite of those is almost a neon yellow! So pretty! Of course I couldn’t resist taking pictures – and then showing them to you. 😉

allisonfall-001-1280x960 — This is the tree! We have a bunch of really nice, big maple trees in our yard.

allisonfall-088-1280x960 — The bright gold against the blue is sooo pretty, don’t you agree?

I hope these leaves brought some sunshine into your day! 😀 Which picture was your favorite?

***Allison***

P. S. I have some very exciting news I think you guys will like, but I have to collect a few more pictures of it before posting. 😀 Hee hee, aren’t I mysterious? Do you have any guesses? (But if you already know what it is (ahem, Megan, Clara, and Grace), don’t give it away por favor. 😉 )

Bunny Swap

November 15, 2016November 15, 2016 | Allison

I have some adorable news for you…

We got a new bunny! 😀 And we sold another bunny, which I realized I had never even posted about. O.o First, the “old” bunny. We got Pippin on the day we found Willow’s babies, so I guess he was kind of overshadowed in all the excitement, poor thing. He is a New Zealand/Silver Fox mix, and we got him to breed with Diamond, Lily, and Olaf (yes, Olaf is a girl XD ).

Sorry Pippin, I didn’t take many pictures of you.

I love this picture of his eye! You can see the reflection so clearly!

He loves to poke his nose into Snickers’ cage. XD

So why did we sell him? Well I didn’t think we needed him in the first place because we couldn’t sell his babies for as much money as we could with Snickers and Willow. But Megan and my brother Jeff both really wanted to get him, so we did. 😉 Once we got Snickers, we decided to sell him to help pay for Snickers – and also because that would be too many bunnies to keep at once!

Why did we get Snickers? Some of you know that he used to be my friend Mallory’s bunny, but she decided to sell him since she didn’t play with him much anymore. 😦 We bought him to breed with Willow because that was quite a success last time, and also possibly to breed with Clemmie. And also because he is ADORABLE! See what I mean?

SUCH CHUBBY CHEEKS! 😀

So squishy! 😀 Is your cuteness meter filled yet?

*Happy sigh* I love bunnies. ♥

***Allison***

P. S. Speaking of bunnies, did you know that Clemmie hurt her eye? One of the bunnies (we don’t know which one) bit her close to her eye, and now she probably won’t be able to see out of it anymore. *SNIFF* Poor Clemmie. 😦

P. P. S. On a happier note, Rebekah wrote an amazing chapter for WordCrafters! You can read it on the WordCrafters 2 page here. The story is getting so exciting!

Autumn Photoshoot: “Undeniable”

October 26, 2016October 26, 2016 | Allison

Bonjour! (Or hola, since I’ve been studying Spanish…)

I’ve wanted to do a lyric photoshoot for a long time, and I finally got around to it! I love the song “Undeniable” by TobyMac because it’s so uplifting, and so true. Especially on these gorgeous autumn days it’s easy to see God’s “evidence piling up” in the beautiful world he created for us. Click the play button on the video below, then enjoy the rest of the post while listening!

*********************

There are moments that I doubt You.
Blind to the beauty that surrounds me,
I try to push away the need that I’m needin’ proof.
And this struggle that I have, it ain’t nothing new.

But the evidence is piling up, yup.
You change my heart isn’t that enough?

You give me life that I can’t take credit for;
Call me to walk through an open door.

Undeniable, You are, You are, You are;
Unmistakable, You are, You are.

You’re the bright and morning star,
But still You speak to my heart.
Undeniable, You are, You are.

Your work doesn’t stop with me –
Your signature’s on everything we see.

From the hills of Negril, Jamaica,
To the kid that the doctor said would never make it.
Which is harder to believe: that You don’t exist,
Or that You orchestrated all of this?

Living in the world that is so confusing,
You’re the argument I’m never losing.
‘Cause I believe.

Undeniable, You are, You are, You are;
Unmistakable, You are, You are.

You’re the bright and morning star,
But still You speak to my heart.
Undeniable, You are, You are.

From the hymns that my Daddy sang,
I know I was made to glorify Your name.

And from the prayers that my Momma prayed,
I know I was made to glorify Your name. [x3]

So undeniable, You are, You are, You are;
Unmistakable, You are, You are.

You’re the bright and morning star,
But still You speak to my heart.
Undeniable, You are, You are. [x2]

Which is harder to believe: that You don’t exist,

Or that you orchestrated all of this?

Living in the world that is so confusing,

You’re the passion that I’m never losing.

*********************

I love that line: Which is harder to believe: that You don’t exist/ Or that you orchestrated all of this? Seriously! Which makes more sense: that a Creator God designed our incredibly complex and beautiful world, or that God doesn’t exist and everything just happened to evolve this way?

Living in the world that is so confusing,/ You’re the passion that I’m never losing.

‘Cause I believe.

***Allison***

Beautiful Blossoms

August 8, 2016August 11, 2016 | Allison

Hey, it’s an alliterative title!

Wohoo.

Great. XD

Annnyway, I took pictures of these pretty flowers on our trip. The lighting and everything was perfect, so these turned out really well!

-Allison(Vacation) 162 (1280x960) — I really like the composition of this one.

-Allison(Vacation) 167 (1280x960) — I LOVE THIS ONE!

These aren’t exactly flowers, but I wanted to include them too. 🙂

I’m so glad God made flowers. 😀

***Allison***

County Fair Photo Entries 2016

August 4, 2016June 8, 2017 | Allison

Greetings and salutations! XD

Our county fair opens in about two weeks, and I’m so excited! These are my entries for the photography section of the fair. (The fair categories are in bold). The links will take you to the post where the photo was first featured on my blog. Enjoy!

Abstract: {Flower Overload, Part 2}

Action: {The View from the Roof}

Artistic (which means creative photo editing): {CWWC}

Close Up: {More Snow Pictures!}

Humorous: {Bunny Therapy}

Landscape: {Vacation, Part 1: Niagara Falls}

Patriotic: {Boom, Crackle, Bang!}

People: {The View from the Roof}

Pets: {Meet Casey the Kitten}

Pictorial: {Mystery Revealed! #8}

Rural (Um, I’ll take out the county name): {Gone Fishing}

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

There we go – a few photography highlights from 2016. 🙂

Which photo was your favorite? Do you have an annual fair where you live? Do you enter things in it?

**Allison**

P. S. Hayley and I are renovating Art Lab! We’re adding a few more artists to the group and starting it up again. We’re also going to collect and repost all of the Art Lab posts onto the official Art Lab blog, so you can scroll through the posts with ease. 🙂 You can follow it if you like! Hopefully there will be an Art Lab post up tomorrow. 😀

Life on the Farm: The Cotton Pile

July 15, 2016 | Allison

I haven’t posted about farm life for a while, so I’m going to start a series about places on our farm! Today we will be touring the lovely cotton pile. XD We don’t play there much anymore (maybe we wore it out when we were little), but when company or visitors come over, they love it!

So what exactly is this cotton pile? It’s (sadly) not a heap of fluzzy cotton wool, it’s just the cotton seeds. But they are still quite soft with leftover cotton fuzz. Why do we have a huge pile of cotton seeds in our barn, you ask? Actually, it’s for cow feed. Blech! I don’t think they would taste especially good, but the cows seem to think so. XD

Here are some pictures I took when our friend Mallory came over:

-Allison(dew drops, hat, nature walk, bunnies, cottonpile) 088 (1280x960) (1024x768) — Cotton seed is good for digging holes or covering people up. 😀

In the olden days the cotton filled most of two big barn rooms! But sadly, there isn’t that much any more. *Sniff* 😛

I hope you enjoyed this rather short post! We had a super fun time tonight which you will hear about later – do not fear. XD

***Allison***

P. S. My friend Mallory has two blogs you should really check out! The first is a cute one where her bunny “writes” the posts, and the second is a pretty lifestyle/photography blog. Click away, my friends!