Golden Days

November 1, 2016 | Allison

The other day I went out to take some photos at “the golden hour” as we photographers call it. Heh heh. Maggie came along to protect me from sunburn or vicious groundhogs or something… or perhaps she was just bored. XD

We have a grand old maple in our front yard that’s usually the first to turn colors.

Even though the year is going down in flames, you could say, there were still some bright, spring-like greens around.

Maggie trotted faithfully along beside me and guarded me while I sat and took pictures. ♥ She was on the lookout for those vicious groundhogs, I suppose. XD

The sun turned my hair really a bright red. It’s a little bit reddish-goldish like this in real life, but not this bright! (Yes, I know, rather random pictures. But it was fun!)

2016-10-12-allisonfallcalvesbuildings-106-1280x960 — Please excuse the photobombers (Maggie and my toes).

It’s kind of awkward when you’re trying to photograph your hair (for some reason) so you hold a strand in front of your face and then your dog comes over to make sure you’re not paralyzed or something since you haven’t gotten up for the past 30 seconds or so… *Sigh* XD

You can see the gorgeous sky peeking through the grass in this one. That was probably one of the prettiest skies I’ve seen not counting sunsets!

I love this picture because 1.) look at the bokeh and 2.) look at the cute wittle spiderweb garland hung on the grass! The spiders must have been having a welcome party for autumn.

And lastly but not leastly, I shall leave you with an extremely hilarious picture of Maggie trying to chase down an itch. XD XD XD

BWAHAHAHAHA! Sooo funny!

So there you go. Photos from the golden hour on a golden day in the golden season. Gold is nice, don’t you think?

***Allison***

P. S. Sometimes I don’t like fall because it’s too beautiful. 😛 But seriously, do you ever have that feeling when something’s so beautiful you can’t stand it so you whip out your camera in a frantic attempt to save some of the beauty and capture it forever and that helps a little bit but it’s still just too much? Or is that just me…

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***

Random Photography Part 2

October 9, 2016October 9, 2016 | Allison

I have a bunch more stray pictures for you today! (23 to be precise. XD ) You’d better warm up your scrolling finger…

First we have some flower pictures:

allisonbaby-bunnies-flowers-090-1280x960 — Sunflowers are such sunny things!

allisonbaby-bunnies-flowers-061-1280x960 — I love looking closer at things, like this zinnia. The centers are so pretty!

allisonbaby-bunnies-flowers-060-1280x960 — A little crab spider (I think) came in with our bouquet. But he was tiny, so it was okay. XD

allisonbaby-bunnies-flowers-058 — Does anyone see any evidence that maybe the crab spider was here? I do!

And then a bunch of Nature pictures:

006-1280x960 — This is a gourd tendril. Aren’t they so pretty? They look like curly green hair. 😀

010-1280x960 — Such a picture-perfect tomato. 🙂 It had a lovely cross in the middle.

allisonpuppies-creaming-corn-028-1280x960 — I took this picture on Corn-Creaming Day when we harvested our sweet corn.

allisonbaby-bunnies-004-1280x960 — I love this shot! After I took it I noticed the fly. XD Can you find it?

allisonbaby-bunnies-007 — I was trying to get a picture of the bird taking off, but it didn’t work so well, so I finally stooped to taking a still out of a video. XD

allisoncoloring-baby-bunnies-034-1280x960 — ♥

allisonbaby-bunnies-038-1280x960 — Does anyone know what this beetle is called? It was on the side of our car.

allisoncoloring-baby-bunnies-044-1280x960 — Ohhh I love dew drops!

allisonpets-walk-skidloader-015-1280x960 — Butterflies’ eyes are weird.

allisonpets-walk-skidloader-021-1280x960 — Look at all the teensy-weensy baby spiders! They were way tinier than this in real life, but my camera has good zoom. I don’t know if they’re cute exactly, but I think it’s the closest spiders can get. XD

allisonpets-walk-skidloader-025-1280x960 — This guy is NOT so cute. But he is beautiful! Isn’t it amazing how God creates even the tiniest creatures with such beauty and intricate detail? I mean just look at all the different markings!

Are you still with me? Oh good. 😀 Then which picture was your favorite?

***Allison***

P. S. Ahh, it’s so beautiful outside today! It’s really starting to feel like fall, even though not many leaves have turned color yet. How’s the weather where you live?

A Collection of Sunsets

September 15, 2016 | Allison

Lately I’ve been taking a bunch of pictures of sunsets. You may know this already but I l♥ve sunsets – they’re one of my favorite things to photograph!

Sunset #1: This first sunset had a gorgeous fiery sky with one of the biggest spreads I have ever seen!

sunset-1-1280x960 — I edited this one – maybe a bit too much. But I love the composition with the silos to one side!

Sunset #2: I was swinging in the hammock and saw this sunset which was really more of a glow. It’s much more subtle and soft, but still bee-you-ti-ful.

Look at all the power lines in the next photo! Argh! In the photo after that I erased the power lines. It took me forever, but it worth it, don’t you think?!

sunset-3-1280x960 — I took out the power lines here too.

Sunset #3: I noticed this sunset because it made a building look red, it was so bright!

sunset-4-1280x960 — Again, I removed the power lines. Doesn’t this almost look like a sunrise? (Not that I would know since I practically *never* get up early enough to watch one. XD

Which sunset was your favorite?

P. S. CrazyGirl is hosting a challenge kind of like WordCrafters on her blog! Check out the rules and fun characters here.

The View from the Roof

August 1, 2016December 17, 2016 | Allison

I’m back! 😀 We just got back from our vacation and it feels so good to be home. (And now I can blog again, hehe.) We had many fun times and some rather not so fun times, but I haven’t sorted all my pictures yet, so a vacation post will have to wait.

Until then, this Life on the Farm post should hold you over. 😛

Before our vacation our friends came over and we traipsed around on a big barn roof with them. It was lots of fun! The view was great from up there. There’s also this one shiny part of the roof that’s good for sliding on, so we did that a lot, then for some reason everyone started yodeling at the cows (don’t ask me why!). We played some board games on the roof as the sun set, then made the slightly scary descent down and went back home. *Happy sigh* Fun times.

The view from the roof:

allisonon-the-roof-reunion-cats-and-bunnies-027-1024x768 — The clouds were really neat that day.

allisonon-the-roof-reunion-cats-and-bunnies-028-768x1024 — Isn’t that beautiful? The corn is so lush – it’s way taller now than when I took this picture.

allisonon-the-roof-reunion-cats-and-bunnies-034-1024x768 — Ahem. Sorry about the intruding manure pit on the right. XD

allisonon-the-roof-reunion-cats-and-bunnies-033-1024x768 — Roof sliding:

allisonon-the-roof-reunion-cats-and-bunnies-051-1024x768 — Yodeling at the cows…

And now for the silhouettes, which I edited with PicMonkey for maximum silhouette-ness.

silhouette-1-1024x768

I love these next two of my sister!

silhouette-2-1024x768 silhouette-7-1024x768

I love this one too!

silhouette-6-1024x768

And this next one has to be my absolute favorite. Thank you, friends and siblings for cooperating with me on this one. 😉 I might even enter it in the fair! What do you think?

really-silhouetted-1024x768

Which picture was your favorite? Does climbing on barn roofs sound fun to you or not?

***Allison***

P. S. Oh. My. Goodness. I HAVE 626 FOLLOWERS. SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! I’m so happpppyyyyyyyy! That is like… impossible. Right? Yes it is… no it isn’t! Oh my goodness I can’t even believe it! I wouldn’t have nearly this many if my fairy house post hadn’t been featured on Discover, but it was, and I am so thankful. I’m SUPER astounded that this even happened! I mean, why choose me out of so many wonderful bloggers? Thank you, Lord, for giving me this wonderful, exciting opportunity, and help me to use it to your glory. ♥

P. P. S. Okay, this may be a little anti-climatic after all that, but Loren, it’s your turn for WordCrafters. I simply cannot wait to read the chapter you cook up – I know it’s gonna be great!

Natural Disasters-ish

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016 | Allison

Okay, the title is kind of strange. This post is going to be about a thunderstorm and wildfire, which are sort of natural disasters, but… not really (at least thunderstorms aren’t exactly natural disasters). XD Does that clear things up? Good. 🙂

Yep, there was recently a really big wildfire on the mountains near where I live.We could see the glow at night from one of our fields. I think the fire grew to over 9,000 acres! (Which is really big for around here, but not nearly as big as the Canadian wildfire raging right now. I hope that wildfire is put out soon! 😦 )

This picture is about how our wildfire looked like:

Yeah, pretty boring. But I also got some more dramatic (and unrealistic) photos:

-Allison(arboretum, forest fire) 007 (1024x768)

-Allison(arboretum, forest fire) 003 (1024x768)

-Allison(arboretum, forest fire) 009 (1024x768)

-Allison(arboretum, forest fire) 008 (1024x768)

Much more interesting. 😛

And now for the thunderstorm…

***Allison***

P. S. Thank you all so much for your sweet Happy Birthday wishes! And yes, I did have a great birthday. 😀 I don’t normally do this, but would you like to see a post with pictures of some of the lovely presents I got with reviews on a few of the things?

Photos from of Old: Entry 3

March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 | Allison

About time for another one of these, eh? These photos were taken in the summer of 2013.

First some snail pictures… (I remember I was pretty proud of these when I took them. XD And I still like them!)

Now some flowers…

2013-06-09-Allison 007 (1280x960) — Coreopsis

2013-07-04 Allison 027 (1280x960) — Tiger Lily

I took this picture one night when after a family walk. Isn’t it adorable? (All of these next few pictures are edits of the original.)

edited carmen in the middle 1.jpg — My dad, my littlest sister Carmen, and my mom. 😀

carmen in the middle (1280x960) — It looks cute in B&W too. 🙂

edited carmen in the middle 2 — Carmen is a rainbow!

I requested my siblings to pose for this one; I think I meant it to look similar to the last photo. They look so cute and tiny (well, younger at least XD) in this photo!

2013-07-04 Allison 107 (1280x960) — Megan, Carmen, and Jeff. Just look at Carmen’s little curly head!

An edited clouds-over-field photo…

And lastly, two miscellaneous nature photos: a mushroom and bedewed leaf.

Thanks for time-traveling with me!

***Allison***

P. S. Recently my littlest sister Carmen has been determined to learn how to fly. XD XD XD She asks Mom if it’s possible for people to fly, and Mom explains that God just didn’t make humans to able to fly. But she thinks that maybe she’ll be the first person ever to do it! XD XD XD It cracks me up! But it’s adorable too. 😀 Hey, we all wish we could fly, right? One can always dream…

P. P. S. I have 111 followers! Besides the fact that that’s amazing, and “Thank you so much guys,” (but seriously – THANK YOU!), isn’t 111 such a fun number?! XD

Sunset Skyline

March 21, 2016March 21, 2016 | Allison

Hello, hello! Today I’m back with some pretty pictures of a sunset and some birdies. I took these when we were at my grandparents’ house recently.

For once, the pictures I took of a sunset actually might have been prettier than the real thing! The ‘sunset’ setting on my camera made the colors more deep and fiery than they were in real life. First, this is a picture of the whole

And now for the others…

It looks like the sky’s on fire and the mountains are blue waves rushing to put it out… Which of those pictures was your favorite? I can’t decide!

This is a branch silhouetted against a glorious sunset background.

I think I took these next pictures toward the beginning of the sunset. I especially like the second one.

Ahh… I love sunsets. Thanks for taking a peep!

***Allison***

P. S. I have even MORE photos from my grandparents’ house of several different kinds of birds we saw there. (I already made this post with pictures of our farm as seen from my grandparents’ house.) Be looking for the bird post soon!

Sunny with a Chance of Fog

February 22, 2016February 23, 2016 | Allison

It was a beautiful foggy evening yesternight (I know that isn’t a word, but it should be. XD), and when the sun set, it was even more gorgeous! The fog reflected the sunlight and made the sky all bright and glowing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as pretty or as foggy in pictures as it did in real life, but oh well… I’m still going to show you the pictures. 😀

These first pictures are more about the sun than the fog. I especially like this picture↓. (But don’t stare at it too hard or you might see sun-spots everywhere. 😀 ) It’s like the sun is a glowing bead threaded on the branches, and the twigs touching it are rimmed with white fire.

A few more similar pictures…

Now we get to the fog.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it and the rest of the photos in the collages below.)

Whew! That was a bunch of pictures.

Thanks for reading!

***Allison***

P. S. I’m learning Spanish for school on Duolingo, and I somewhat recently I learned that “smile” is “sonrisa” in Spanish. I think that’s beautiful. It sounds like “sunrise,” as if a sunrise comes over your face every time you smile. I hope your day is full of “sonrisas!”