~Etcetera~

November 21, 2017November 21, 2017 | Allison

Guys, I have SO many extra photos. And that happens pretty much all the time. So I decided to make a new little series: these “Etcetera” posts will have random photography as well as recent life, thoughts… etc. XD (kind of like monthly wrap-ups, but different). I hope you enjoy reading them!

Now, where to begin? I have SO much to cover. Aha, Maggie is a good subject to start with.

Maggie

I was trying to take a picture of Maggie’s eye but she kept MOVING. XD I did get this one good one, though:

I also got some other, less close-up shots of her. I just love all of Maggie’s expressions, hee hee. It looks like she’s saying, “Aww, you shouldn’t have,” don’t you think?

Such a pretty pup. ♥

It looks like she’s praying. 😛

Dad just finished combining (harvesting corn) for the year. WOOHOO! Now maybe we can jump in the grain bins…

Mini Sister’s Photoshoot

Speaking of fields, Megan and I (and Maggie) did a little mini photoshoot in the soybean field while it was golden green and brown. Isn’t the lighting AMAZING?

If you guys like my photography/lifestyle posts, you should totally check out Emmaline Figura’s blogs, Lucillian Photography and Crystal Ice Studio! Her photography is AMAZING – she deserves so many more followers!

I love this picture, but it sure took a while to clone out the soybean that so rudely butted in front of Megan’s chin. XD Humph, I shouldn’t have said that. Now you’re all probably inspecting Megan’s chin…

Megan got a few pictures of me but most of them didn’t turn out or I had a weird expression, heh heh. This is probably the best one. Still have a weird expression. XD

Guess what? My younger brother and I were driving to piano lessons today, and when we got there we found that one of my car’s tires was completely flat. O.o But guess what again? My brother changed it himself, while I was having my lesson! I really want to learn stuff like that – I’m much better at art than mechanics. XD

Sunset Bokeh

The sunset did capture well on my camera, but it did make for some neat silhouettes and bokeh!

Singing hymns is one of my favorite things at our church. The congregation sings beautifully, and it’s glorious when we do an a capella verse. ♥ I like singing for things like that, but not enough to take voice lessons or anything. I usually just hum and whistle at home. 🙂

Do you guys have any special plans for Thanksgiving? We’re having three different celebrations because we have a rather large extended family. 😉 Are you traveling? We aren’t – most of our family lives quite close by. But if you are, here’s a tip: salty snacks like chips really take carsickness away. Well, I mean they help if you eat them. They won’t do much good just sitting there by your seat.

Flowers

Dad and the kids always pick out a hanging flower basket for Mom for Mother’s Day, and it lasted all the way into late fall this year! Isn’t it pretty?

Ugh, I have to write a 15-30 page research paper for school. *Long sigh* At least we’re taking this week off for Thanksgiving!

We also have a rose bush (well more like a rose vine) by our door, and it’s a weird mix of knockout-type roses and “real” roses, as we like to call them. There are usually only a few “real” roses a year and this was one of them. ♥

To find the rose you must first get past the thorns. To find the rainbow you must first walk through the storm. Bad things make the good more beautiful. And always remember, my dear, there is beauty even in brokenness.

GUYS. LOOK AT THIS PHOTO! I just pressed the button and the moth behind just happened to fly in at the right moment. I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS.

Pretty butterflies + pretty zinnias – my photobombing car = a mildly pretty picture.

The Big Apple

We have one very old apple tree that usually produces nothing but food for worms. XD However, this year it actually grew real apples and they were DELICIOUS! I don’t know what kind they were, but they were stupendous. And I found this one extremely large apple – see? (The one on the right is a more normal-size one.)

It weighed 15 OUNCES. ALMOST A POUND.

Golden Garden

These might be some of my favorite pictures ever! I just love the golden lighting so, so much, especially with the golden tones of the flowers. ♥

Sometimes I feel wise and knowledgeable, and then I wonder if that simply means I still have so much to learn. I guess that happens when you’re a teenager, huh? 😛

(Side note: I rather dislike the word “teenager” for some reason. Don’t exactly know why.)

And would you look at all that bokeh? AHHHHH.

This picture seems relaxing, like you can feel the sun and hear the breeze through the willow branches. 🙂 I can sort of remember planting this willow tree, even though it’s quite a good sized tree now – it’s a curly willow so it grew SUPER fast.

This isn’t really a garden, but it’s golden. Even dust is beautiful when the sun shines through it.

I think cameras can make anything beautiful. In fact, here’s a challenge: find three things you think are ugly and try to take a beautiful picture of them.

Etcetera

We also have two black and two English walnut trees in our yard. I strongly dislike the bitter taste of black walnuts, but English walnuts taste great! (They’re the kind you get in stores.) We don’t usually shell these though, because it’s a lot of work for not much result. Have you tried black walnuts?

This is rather random, but I wanted to take a picture of a begonia blossom from my grandmother’s hanging flower pot because I noticed the beautiful, intricate curlicues in the center of the blossoms. I love the little things like this. 🙂

I got a picture of my youngest brother pressure-washing one of the wagons. 🙂 His birthday was today, actually! The frame was supposed to be transparent but it’s showing up black here…? I hope it works once I publish the post, but I’m doubtful.

I like the way shadows look on this barn. 🙂

And now we have come to the end of this post. Wow, Allison, what a moving conclusion. *clap, clap*

ANYWAY, I hope you enjoyed reading this gathering of orphaned thoughts and photos. 😛 I know it was an enormous post, but I’m only half-sorry because phew, I now have a large chunk of my random photos squared away. XD I don’t think Etcetera posts will usually be this long, though, if I do them in the future. Which category/picture/random thingy was your favorite? Do you think Etcetera posts would make a good series or are they too random and scattered (because I would kind of agree with you on that XD)?

Have a wonderful day, dears, and thanks so much for reading. ♥

***Allison***

Summer 2017 {Memories + Photos}

September 12, 2017November 12, 2018 | Allison

Heh heh, I know this is rather late for a summer post, but hey, we haven’t fallen too far into autumn yet, right? (See what I did there?) Anyway, I loved Clara’s summer recap post, so I decided to do one of my own!

Here’s a recap of this summer’s happenings in pictures.

Raising and selling a litter of darling baby bunnies. ♥

Taking a lovely trip to Assateague and Chincoteague Island.

Writing and illustrating letters.

Playing piano at the nursing home and filling in for the pianist at church. O.o

Finding barn kittens.

All the flowers.

Watching a cardboard boat race. XD

Working on a project I will hopefully reveal soon… (Here’s a sneak peek:)

Hayley’s ATC Trade.

Playing Gaga Ball on the trampoline with my siblings.

Swimming at our neighbor’s pool.

Re-designing a board game I created. (Sneak peek:)

Playing games with family and friends.

Saying goodbye to Clementine. 😦

Making lots and lots of art.

Taking lots and lots of pictures.

Pizza and movie nights.

Watching sunsets.

Helping out at a wedding.

Celebrating fourth of July with family. (Photo credit to my aunt.)

Going camping in tents with cousins and grandparents.

Meeting new people and making new friends.

Hatching swallowtail butterflies.

Cutting and creaming 150 quarts of corn from our sweet corn patch. O.o

Books.

Blogging.

Watching the eclipse (even though I got rather poor photos XD).

Having simply splendid time at Amelia Island with friends.

Finally watching Star Wars. 😛

The County Fair.

Starting WordCrafters 3.

Gardening and canning produce.

Consuming many 50 cent Frosties at Wendy’s.

Sewing class.

Video-chatting with a blogger friend.

Making decorations for our monthly church meals.

Emailing, writing to, and debating with blogger friends. 😀 ♥

CWWC (see my entries here) and BIBPC, (this my latest entry).

Nature Study with friends.

Bonfires, big and small.

Gathering eggs.

Megan’s birthday (which included a water balloon fight).

Family reunions.

Labor Day adventures.

Making memories. ♥

It was a lovely summer. 🙂 I had a lot of fun but I also learned a lot, I think more in practical knowledge than book knowledge. It’s been good.

How was your summer?

***Allison***

The Sky’s On Fire

July 14, 2017July 15, 2017 | Allison

The other day I asked my mom and youngest sister Carmen if they wanted to go up the hill and see the sunset with me, and they did. It was GLORIOUS! Not quite the best sunset I’ve ever seen (I still think this sunset is the winner), but it was indeed beautiful. See? The pictures speak for themselves.

Ahhh, now isn’t that breathtaking? I just loved sitting up there on the hill and soaking it all in. ♥ I pieced together a couple of pictures for this panorama. What do you think? It’s not perfect, but I think it turned out pretty well for piecework. 😛

I hope this brought a little sunshine to your day, my friends. (Pun intended. XD )

Have a great one!

***Allison***

Assateague Island {Photo Dump}

June 23, 2017June 26, 2017 | Allison

On Monday we left for a vacation at Assateague Island, and so far it’s been a ton of fun! If you know me, you’re probably guessing that I took, like, hundreds of pictures. And you’d be right. XD This is going to be one serious photo dump, guys.

I was trying to figure out how to organize the pictures, but I ended up pretty much just keeping them in the order they uploaded, and hoping that it’s not too jumbled. XD

I’ll start with some flowers. We’re staying in a cozy little Air B&B house with a moss lawn and gorgeous periwinkle hydrangeas in the front yard. I love how these photos turned out!

Some of our funniest adventures happened while driving. One time my littlest sister Carmen came up with… um, rather creative “Would You Rather” questions like, “Would you rather have all your hair pulled out or all your teeth?” and “Would you rather pour honey or glue over your head?” and lots more that were too gross to tell. We nearly died laughing but it was so GROSS. XD XD XD

I don’t pictures marshes as being exactly beautiful, but the marsh at the entrance to Assateague was really pretty.

If you’ve ever read Misty of Chincoteague, you probably already know that there are wild ponies roaming all over Assateague and Chincoteague Islands. It’s so funny because they walk right up to you and wander around the beaches and parking lots where people are, but they can still bite and kick like wild animals, so you’re not supposed to pet them.

I love this next picture! I spent a long time trying to get this to turn out. XD

When I was taking these footprint pictures I remembered a little poem/story thingy that I love. You can read it here.

My sister Megan took these pictures of me with my camera. The next one looks like my elbow is lighting up. XD

As you can see, the waves make me happy. 😛 🙂

Heh heh, I forgot to put sunscreen on my back that day and now it’s bright pink. YOUCH.

My parents taking a walk on the beach…

We barely found any shells the first day, but the second and third days we found a bunch!

I took sooooo many pictures of waves, but I just couldn’t help it – they’re so beautiful! We hardly ever take beach vacations so I have to take what I can get. XD

My brothers built a sandcastle every time we went to the beach, and the last one was QUITE impressive. But we’ll get to that in a moment… This is just the beginning of a moat or something.

Aww, isn’t that picture sweet? My little sister, Carmen, loved the waves too. 🙂

I don’t know what Megan is looking for… shells, maybe?

I got some pretty funny pictures of my brothers’ expressions while they were jumping waves. XD

This is one of my favorite pictures out of all of the beach photos! Just look at their smiles! 😀 Logan is the one with the black shirt and Jeff has the white shirt.

Hee hee, look at Megan’s hair!

I got some neat silhouette pictures of my parents on the beach.

I like the seagull silhouettes in this one.

Isn’t this so CUTE?!

HA HA!

Hoof prints…

And footprints.

I got some really neat pictures of two wild ponies meandering over the beach.

Oh my goodness, isn’t this hilarious? The horses were investigating these peoples’ bags. XD

Going down the boardwalk…

More flower pictures. ♥

Ahhh, I LOVE the next one!

Here’s the first sandcastle my brothers made. Neat, but nothing compared to their later ones. 🙂

This is the second sandcastle. (I took this picture quick with Megan’s camera, so of course it won’t be as good of quality as my wonderful camera would be. Heh heh. 😛 )

And this is their last one! It looks pretty similar to the second one, but it’s more impressive in real life. (Megan took these pictures.)

And back to the ocean… It looks like Carmen is Moana. XD

More wave action pictures!

His expression… XD XD XD

I like this one because the wave looks huge! (Actually they were pretty big.)

Seagulls!

I got some more neat (but blurry) action photos of the wild ponies galloping.

And lastly we shall end with a sunset. These are the last beach pictures I got before my camera stopped working. *Sniff* I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong with it. It might be that the battery isn’t good anymore, or maybe it’s something else. It still takes pictures but the screen doesn’t work. We might be able to fix it when we get home, but for now… 😦 Any advice?

PHEW! You made it through almost 100 pictures! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. 😀 Have you been to Assateague or Chincoteague? Do I even dare ask what your favorite picture was? Nah, there were too many. XD

Thank you so much for reading, my friends!

***Allison***

P. S. AHHH YAY! Hayley is doing another ATC trade! For all the details, check out her post here. You should totally go see – the past two ATC trades were SO much fun!

Chasing Sunsets

December 17, 2016December 20, 2016 | Allison

Yep, yet another sunset post. XD Heh heh, I seem to have a slight obsession with sunset pictures… but that’s all good, right? Most of you don’t seem to mind my habit, which is quite good of you. Thanks. I couldn’t show you pictures of sunsets without you. XD 😉

Ahem. Let’s proceed.

I’m going to save the best for last, but that doesn’t mean this one isn’t beautiful! I loved how crystal clear this sunset was.

sunset-7-1280x960 — Ooh, can you spot the lone star? This is practically the only time a star has shown up on one of my photos. 😉

Okay, now for the other one. I probably say this in every sunset post, but this truly was one of the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve ever seen! It was certainly one of the most vibrant – maybe THE most vibrant I’ve ever seen. I wish you could have seen it too… It was way more beautiful than this, but these pictures should give you some idea.

sunset-4-1280x853 — Ugh, I haven’t figured out quite how to take good sunset pictures with my new dSLR yet, and thus a bunch of these pictures were taken with my old camera. (Although this one *was* taken with my dSLR and edited to help the graininess – at least a tad.) Any tips would be welcome! 😀

dscn9388-1280x960 — I love this one so much! If you’re wondering what that blurry reflection is, it’s actually the roof of my car! I think it turned out pretty neat. 🙂

Wasn’t that altogether wonderful? *Happy sigh* When I saw the edge of the sunset from the kitchen window, I was out the door in about 10 seconds flat. XD It was truly breathtaking. Megan and I like to go up to a certain spot over the hill to photograph sunsets without the distracting powerlines, so we hopped in my little car and raced the sunset. It’s pretty exciting, sunset chasing is, because you have just a few short minutes to capture that beautiful, glorious bit of sky with your camera before it fades forever. Invariably the sunset vanishes all too soon, the way a rainbow does, but I just smile because I can see it again whenever I want to. ♥

That’s what I love about photography: it allows you to save one scene, one little piece of life, and to keep it as long as you want. It allows you to capture joy and sadness and thousands of memories and hold them forever.

What’s your favorite thing about photography? Do you like sunsets? (If you don’t, you have a problem. XD )

***Allison***

Random Photography + Some Sad News :(

November 20, 2016 | Allison

Hey, guys. I was going to post about that mysterious thing I’ve been hinting at, but unfortunately I can’t really anymore. You see, what I was going to post was that Willow had baby bunnies! But… *SNIIIIIFFF* they aren’t alive anymore. 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 They were doing just fine even though it was quite chilly, but I think the really windy day we had today was just too much for them. *Cries* Here is one picture to remember them by:

004 — This is a picture of one the day it was born (I think). There were five all black babies.

*Sigh*

Okay, now that’s over with. 😦 Let’s move on to happier subjects, right? I’ve collected several random photographs from my extensive collection.

Let’s start with some cuteness to cheer us up, shall we?

allisonsunset-schoolroom-012-1280x960 — Aww! Look at these two wittle cuties!

allisonsunset-schoolroom-013-1280x960 — It’s always fun to find a litter of barn kittens. 🙂 (You can tell this was a while ago by Megan’s shortsleeves. XD )

allisonfall-034-1280x960 — Why hello there, Lily! XD She cracks me up.

casey-2-1280x960 — Casey looks kind of… I don’t know what… startled? XD

And some miscellaneous pictures…

allisonart-bunnies-002-1280x960 — Watercolor is so fun. ♥

allisonart-bunnies-091-1280x960 — Ahh, a lovely sunset.

And last but not least, a few pictures from our uncle’s pond.

pond-2-1280x960 — Reflections are so pretty!

pond-4-1280x960 — This is Buster. He loves to swim in the pond, as you can tell from his muddy fur. 😉

pond-5-1280x960 — Megan was fishing (she didn’t catch anything), and Buster was chasing her hook. XD

pond-6-1280x960 — Isn’t this gorgeous? The reflection is almost perfect!

pond-8-1280x960 — Ripples are a fun abstract photo opportunity. It kinda reminds me of a Van Gogh painting, ya know?

I’m sorry about the sad news… but I hope you enjoyed the rest of the post. 🙂 Thank you, my loyal readers! ♥

***Allison***

Another Sunset Post?!

November 3, 2016November 3, 2016 | Allison

Yes, yes, I know, another sunset post. “Will they ever end,” you ask me? “Well of course not!” I reply indignantly. XD Why would I give up sunset photography – sunsets are one of my favorite things everrrr! 😀

Therefore and thusly, onwards we go!

allisonsunset-schoolroom-047 — Isn’t it so neat how the clouds look almost like they’re painted?

I hope you enjoyed yet another sunset post. 😀 Have a lovely day, lovely people!

***Allison***

P. S. Random fact of the day: my littlest sister tried to “polish” the furniture and now everything is greasy. XD One of our desks was literally oozing furniture polish. :’) Oh well…

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?!