Photography

Photography is one of my new hobbies.


First Snow
The first snow of Winter came with the first of the year.  It was a thick snow, the kind that sticks to trees, bushes, everything, in big puffs.  
So pretty! 
More here.

Winter Colors
I'm really behind on my January photos post.  Retirement has kept me happily busy but I was able to stick to my photography goal of taking a picture most everyday last month.  Not all of my photos turned out but I believe the ultimate goal was to improve and sometimes we need to learn from our mistakes.

Here are some of my favorites.
Read more here.



New Goals

Happy 2015!  We've been enjoying the holidays, although a cold and tummy bug were among the visitors to our home.  :/

We hosted my family's Christmas Day festivities with 26 in attendance!!  After a dreary and cloudy month, Christmas Day was sunny and dry!  Perfect weather to drive out to the country.  We had a wonderful day visiting, eating and sharing!

Wonderful Hubby's side was hosted by my sweet MIL.  Santa was even able to stop by for awhile! 

Now that the New Year is here, I've joined a photo group called Project 365.  (See the link posted on the sidebar.)  The goal is to take at least one photo each day this year.  Hopefully, my photography will improve and I'll have some great photos to journal.  Although I'm not going to post photos each day, I'll try to share my weekly favorites.  Wish me luck!!  (Just in case this project is too difficult, I've also joined the companion project that encourages us to take a photo just once a week!  :)  )

Another new focus I'm giving a try is choosing a word for the year.  Wonderful Hubby is planning on retiring this year and he said his theme will be "Embracing Change."  We are both excited about what our retirement years will bring and have talked about more travel, home improvements and just generally doing all those little things we didn't have the time to do before. 

I've chosen another word:  GROW.  Last year was my first year of retirement and I've enjoyed being in my gardens so much!  (and am enjoying the frozen and canned 'fruits' of my labor this winter!)   I'd like to continue learning about gardening but there are other aspects of my life I'd like to nurture.

  • My faith and service to my Savior, Jesus Christ
  • My relationships with my beautiful family
  • My volunteerism in our community
  • My creativity

Thank you for visiting now and then and leaving your kind, encouraging comments!  It really lightens my day!!

I hope you'll check in to see how I'm growing this year.  I'll leave you with the first photo of the new year. 

Happy 2015!!



Fall Colors in New England

I'm slowly getting caught up on the many chores since returning from our vacation to New England.  This post is just for fun.  It's a collection of some of the gorgeous fall foliage we enjoyed.



More Fall Colors



Remembering Summer

We've had such fun this summer, it's almost sad to see it end! Gardening, visiting with friends and family, tablescaping, and starting this blog-writing adventure - so many special memories! Here's a recap of summer.










Feeding the Fish Wonderful Hubby loves to spend time on some of the acreage our family owns.  His uncle purchased the property many years ago.  There is a wealth of wildlife including deer, turkey and rabbits.  We've also seen a few quail and foxes. 



















This acreage hasn't been farmed for a number of years so it's a bit overgrown with wild flowers and various grasses.  What a perfect place for me to practice some photography!































































It's a peaceful, quiet place....































































This time of year, he visits this acreage several times a week feeding the fish in one of the ponds.  It holds bluegill, trout and catfish.

Sometimes, we see the fish just barely break the surface to grab a tasty morsel.




























I think I'm beginning to understand why he loves this place so much!

















Thanks for joining us!






Yesterday I retired from teaching!  I've had many special hugs, parties, emails, even a flash mob(!).  One card contained a poem bookmark that summed up how I hope to live the next part of my life. 

Advice from a Waterfall



Go with the flow
Roar with excitement
Let your cares fall away



Create your own music
Immerse yourself in nature
Stay active
Make a splash!
YourTrueNature.com                             

I intend to follow this advice, to the letter!



Here are a few more photos taken the same day I took the ones near our creek.  We call these flowers "Missouri Bluebells" but I'm not sure if that's their real name.  If you know what they're really called, let me know! 


 


1 comment:

Creations By Cindy said...

Love all your pictures! They are beautiful! Hugs and blessings, Cindy