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***

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)

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-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. 🙂

BIPBC #6: Epic Puddle Splashing + Random Pics

May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 | Allison

Howdy, and welcome to Allison’s BIBPC entry #6! XD The theme this time was “Action”! Behold, action! (I’m entering the first picture.)

Ha ha, isn’t that great!

Story behind the picture: I took this a couple of years ago after there was a flash flood which resulted in ginormous puddles near our creek! (Another time, I don’t know if it was that time, we floated down the flash-flood-swollen creek in an inner tube. Which proceeded to pop. XD XD XD ) My siblings thought it would be neat if I could take pictures of them splooshing through the water, and they were right! In the picture I’m entering, Megan and Jefferson are glorying in mud-puddle bliss. Look at the expression on Jeff’s face! (If you can see it.) Pure joy. 😀 Oh, and I think it was this same flash-flood when the boys drove our three-wheeler through the water. XD Ahh, good times.

Since this is a pretty short post, I thought I’d add a few more random photos I took recently.

003 (1280x960) — Maggie rolling her cares away. XD She looks like a headless dog. O.o

-Allison(cardboard roll shelf, Willow) 032 (1280x960) — A random picture of gone-to-seed asparagus. XD

-Allison(cardboard roll shelf, Willow) 016 (1280x960) — Willow my adorable fluffy rabbit! ♥

009 (1280x960) — Dandelion in the golden sun

005 (1280x960) — Gorgeous spring-green leaves!

Which picture was your favorite?

Have a ~~good~~ ~~great~~ ~~amazing~~ STUPENDOUS day! 😀 ♥

***Allison***

Flower Overload, Part 2

May 2, 2016May 4, 2016 | Allison

(See part 1 here.) I’m ready to unload some more of my gazillions of flower pictures! (And I took even more today. *Sniff* Oh wait! That’s not sad, that’s good! XD )

First I’ll show you a photo I took today. We went hiking with my aunt who kindly offered to show us where some lady’s slippers were growing. (No, we didn’t take pictures of shoes growing out of the ground. XD Lady’s slippers are unusual, pretty, and rare flowers that grow in the woods. 😉 😀 ) We had lots of fun! I’ll devote a whole post to it later, but for now…

-Allison(lady slippers, doll, thunderstorm) 061 (1024x768) — Lady’s slipper – or maybe a fairy slipper! 🙂

And an edited version:

One day I just sat down and took lots of dandelion pictures. I just love the petal-design of the mature dandelion when all of the seeds have flown away.

Which one of those was your favorite?

For some reason a few of our tulips bloomed like this. Weird, but neat!

The next several pictures aren’t exactly flowers I suppose… But they’re so pretty I couldn’t leave them out!

flowers (29) (1024x768) — Willow tree. I love this picture! It’s so sunny and springy!

flowers (30) (1024x768) — Willow tree at a strange angle XD

flowers (26) (1024x768) — Soft, new little pinecones on evergreen tree

flowers (27) (1024x768) — New needle growth on evergreen tree. Okay guys, I REALLY LOVE this picture! I just think the spiraling pattern is so neat. God made even such small things beautiful!

flowers (28) (1024x768) — New growth on evergreen tree – from the side.

And all the rest of these pictures were taken at the Arboretum.

flowers (36) (1024x768) — Beautiful tree blossom of unknown name

flowers (45) (1024x768) — Albino grape hyacinth?? XD

flowers (44) (1024x768) — I have no clue

flowers (42) (1024x768) — Snowdrops I think?

flowers (41) (1024x768) — Snowdrops again

flowers (40) (1024x768) — I don’t know what this flower is, but I like the picture!

flowers (37) (1024x768) — Dutchman’s Breeches. They really look like upside-down pants, don’t they? XD They’re so unique and pretty.

And that’s about it! Whew, I hope you’re not flowered out. XD What is your favorite kind of flower? Which of these pictures was your favorite?

Have a gorgeous spring day!

***Allison***

P. S. I made up a riddle: What word contains all five vowels? Hints: This isn’t a trick-riddle, it’s just a knowledge-riddle. It’s not even a long word or anything. But I’ll bet it will take a while for you to figure out! (Unless, like my sister, I’ve already told you. No telling, Megan! XD ) I shall tell you the answer… eh, sometime in the future. XD

Cherry Blossoms

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016 | Allison

A few days ago we walked to my grandma and grandpa’s house to take pictures of their beautiful blooming cherry tree. The blooms are so gorgeous and fluffy! Of course I took bunches of pictures. 😀 Your scrolling finger had better do its warm-ups, because this is gonna be a LOT of pictures! XD

008 (1280x960) — Cherry blossoms illuminated with light. Don’t they look like tissue paper flowers?

My sister Megan taking pictures… 😀

Aren’t the leaves so neat? The design of their veins is so intricate and delicate!

The sky was perfectly blue, which was a stunning background for the cherry blossoms.

Green grass also turned out to be a pretty background. I really like how these pictures turned out!

That last picture looks like the perfect fairy tutu. Can you just picture a little barefoot fairy with long black hair twirling through the grass with a cherry blossom skirt? 🙂

Ahh… cherry blossoms are exquisite! (I need more synonyms for beautiful here, guys. XD )

***Allison***

P. S. If you haven’t seen them yet, go take a gander at my Mystery Pictures. You only have until Tuesday before I reveal the mysteries! Thank you SO much for entering, guys! I think I have the most guesses I ever had before now!

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!

Farm Landscapes + PFA #3

March 17, 2016March 17, 2016 | Allison

When I was up at my grandparents’ not too long ago, I took some neat landscape pictures of our farm. (My grandparents live just up the lane – we are super blessed that way!) It was a beautiful spring evening and the farm just looked so pretty…

DSCN1657 (1280x245) — Isn’t this neat? I took it on the “panorama” setting of my camera.

(Click on any photo in a collage to enlarge.)

I love these photos – this one especially.

Can you spot the bird?

DSCN1713 (1280x960) — Geese at the pond – my camera zooms really well!

DSCN1688 (1280x960) — Sun through a tree at my grandparents’ woods

I hope you enjoyed looking at these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them! Which picture was your favorite?

Oh, and I think a PFA (Post from the Forgotten Abyss) might be due. Check out this post I made in September 2014 (!!) with pictures of lots of different animals found around our farm.

***Allison***

Path-Breakers (and Other Woodsy Stuff)

March 13, 2016March 13, 2016 | Allison

We were recently at my grandparents’ house for three days while my parents when on an anniversary trip, and during that time we made ourselves a path through their woods. It was so fun! (But, heh heh, I had to pay for it – my face is half covered in poison ivy rash now. Yeah. But it’s not so bad, actually. It doesn’t itch that much right now, although when I woke up today my face was all puffy. XD )

Oh, and sorry, but I didn’t take any pictures of the path. 😦

*Bursts into laughter* I’m just kidding – of COURSE I took pictures. XD XD

We made the path by clearing away the leaves, rocks, nuts, and sticks; and pulling out and trimming the many roots, saplings, and maybe the occasional unbeknownst poison ivy vine. 😉 It was hard work, my friends. But it was FUN!

DSCN1854 (1280x960) — The beginning of the path (and my brother with a wheelbarrow).

But the our pride and joy was a nice-sized clearing we made in the woods. We even cut down a smallish tree with a handsaw that was in the way. (Uh-huh, yep! XD ) For the clearing, we made sure the ground was especially clear and free of stumps and other poky things because we wanted to be able to walk there barefoot. After we got it all cleared we rimmed the whole thing with rocks which we brought to the clearing via wheelbarrow. Then we added a fire ring (made from rocks), chairs (from stumps), a bench (from stumps and a board), and little table (also from a stump), and hung up a hammock (which we didn’t make. 😀 ).

Ta-daa!

You can see the size of the clearing best in the third picture.

Now for some more detailed views.

You can see in the picture above that we made a little fire, but we had to put it out because sparks were kind of flying about, and we weren’t hankering after a forest fire. We might try again when it’s wetter outside. We specifically made the fire ring around the stump of the tree we cut down so that we could burn it off.

Stump-chairs and the bench:

We dragged this stump to the clearing for a little table/chair. (The white thing is a quartz rock)

The day we made the clearing, Megan found a snail and a salamander. We made them our “mascots” and put them on the stump in a little container. And the next day they had disappeared. 😦 XD

I only have pictures of the snail, but you can go to my sister’s post about this here to see a picture of (the back of) the salamander.

DSCN1863 (1280x960) — Aren’t snail shells beautiful? I love the way God designed them.

And the hammock… ahh!

Looking up at the sky from the hammock…

I can’t wait to see the path in spring! All the new leaves and blooming forsythia bushes will make it beautiful.

So far the path is about 400 feet (we added some past the clearing too), and we’re going to keep making it longer!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour. 🙂

***Allison***

P. S. Before you leave I wanted to show you some neat pictures I took of my sister puffing a puffball. I LOVE puffballs, don’t you?! 😀 (Click on a pictures to enlarge.)

P. P. S. I took gobs more pictures of things like sunsets and farm landscapes while I was at my grandparents’ house, so look for those soon. (By the way, my grandparents live just up the road – we are so blessed!)

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!”