Midsummer Macros

Just a few little somethings I happened to find in my yard this evening. 

It's really amazing what you can see when you look close, isn't it?

Day 3 of the SITS Girls Summer Photography Challenge.

On a fun note: Each day the challenge sponsors choose their five favorite photos from the previous day's challenge to feature in the morning email. And guess what? They chose my picture from yesterday for today's list. They said: "We love how she captured the story of her summer day. The photo feels casual, but it is really set up well." How cool is that?

Happy Independence Day!

Styling our stars and stripes shirts. Enjoying grilled hamburgers in the backyard with our kids. We are blessed.

"Long may our land be bright

With freedom's holy light.

Protect us by Thy might

Great God our king."

The Saga of the Lilacs

 Of all the places I've ever lived, I think the Denver area has the wackiest weather. Last year the lilacs were just beginning to bloom the week before Mother's Day. We have a lovely stand of tall lilac bushes along the back of our deck and I was so looking forward to enjoying the delicate color and delightful fragrance of lilacs in full bloom, when we got hit with a late spring snow storm.

Spring snow is wet and heavy. The leaves and blossoms hold the snow and weight the branches down. So that was the end of the lilacs last year. I was hopeful that this year would be different. The weather was milder and the lilacs budded out earlier.

They weren't quite in full-bloom when we, again, got another spring snow storm. Again, the branches were weighted down with the heavy snow. I was so disappointed, just sure that was the end of lilacs for another year.

However, the temperature hovered just above freezing, so the lilac blossoms were tenaciously hanging on. I thought it still might freeze during the  night last night...

...but it didn't. This morning, when the sun came out, I was happy to see the branches beginning to spring back up as the snow was melting away.

One large branch had snapped off, so before the flowers had a chance to wilt and die I went out and "harvested" them...

...and arranged them in a lovely bouquet to enjoy indoors.

I'm so glad the lilacs survived this year!

(High drama in my backyard, right?)

Instagram Update

I find I'm chronicling some of the tiny moments of my life with the Instagram app. Like I mentioned before, I'm not one for selfies, but it is kinda fun to snap a quick shot of some little thing that caught my eye. Later, I enjoy looking back through the moments I captured. From the last few weeks...

Still #playingwithinstagram

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 21, 2015 at 7:43pm PST

January 21. Light snow caught on the bark of a tree outside the office... I thought the textured filter added a neat effect, too.

So... does the lettuce wrap and the sweet potato fries cancel out the carbs in the milk shake? #workinglate #Sonlight25

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 22, 2015 at 3:31pm PST

January 22. A quick supper with co-workers before the Inspire25 event that evening. All four of us had lettuce-wrapped hamburgers... and milk-shakes!

Taking the light rail downtown. Mid-morning is definitely the best time to ride! #introvert #publictransportation

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 23, 2015 at 9:17am PST

January 23. I met a friend in downtown Denver for lunch and didn't want to try to find a parking spot, so I took the train.

Saturday morning breakfast date at the Golden Diner. #coffee #Colorado

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Jan 24, 2015 at 7:04am PST

January 24. For our breakfast date that Saturday we drove to Golden and ate at an old-timey diner. I like taking pictures of a cup of coffee, apparently.

#breakfastdate #brainstorming #chickfila #lovemyman

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Feb 21, 2015 at 7:33am PST

February 21. My daily snapshots didn't last long. A few weeks later our breakfast date was at Chick-fil-A. We were trying to work through some details for our family budget that morning.

Cute new mug for my Monday morning #coffee. #Sonlight #goodmorning

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 2, 2015 at 5:40am PST

March 2. And another coffee picture with a new mug from my Secret Sis.

Love the blue sky and sun! #Colorado #spring

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 9, 2015 at 4:14pm PDT

March 9. I actually didn't know about this picture until I started getting comments on it. Turns out I had left my phone at home one afternoon, and "someone" decided it would be fun to post a picture for me. Could be worse!

#lookingfortulips, #earlyspring

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 15, 2015 at 3:16pm PDT

March 15. I noticed tulips coming up in the backyard. I hope they bloom this year. Last year a spring snowstorm ruined them.

#sunsetinthecity #denver

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 16, 2015 at 6:05pm PDT

16 March. Mountain sunsets are spectacular, even in city traffic.

#firstdayofspring #crocus

A photo posted by @karlacinid on Mar 20, 2015 at 8:09am PDT

20 March. I was delighted to discover crocuses emerging on the first day of spring. Not my yard, but close enough.

Happy spring!

Marshmallow World

On Friday the weather forecast for the weekend was 8-16 inches of snow by Sunday evening.

Since the weather has been mostly sunny and snowless this winter, I thought it would be interesting to do a series of "time lapse" photos of our back yard over the course of the weekend. Obviously, the weekend isn't over yet, but the results are dramatic enough that I decided to go ahead and post while I have time. (Otherwise I might not get around to it. Iz bad, I know.)

The little dab of snow lurking in the shady areas on Friday afternoon was left over from a few days earlier. The clouds were beginning to gather, but the flurries didn't start until after dark that day.

 Saturday morning the ground was lightly covered with a very wet snow. It had already melted off the stone walkway and mostly just stuck to the grass. But more was still in the forecast.

Midday Saturday it started snowing lightly... 

 just kinda spitting snow off and on...

 By early evening the snow finally decided to start getting serious.

 The "snow" setting on the camera shows it coming down better than the "auto" setting above, though I have to say the "auto" setting makes a prettier picture. I love the warm lights shining from the back fence neighbors' houses.

 And so finally, this morning, we did wake up to a Marshmallow World.

Church was cancelled due to the bad roads, so we are enjoying a quiet morning sitting by the fire, watching the snow. We love that our family room has both a fireplace and French doors overlooking the backyard.

We will enjoy the snow while it lasts because it could very well be all gone by midweek. Denver weather is funny that way.

Talkin' to the Squirrels

 All of us... especially Cookie... have enjoyed our shady backyard this summer. Cookie likes to chase rabbits and talk to squirrels, both of whom are frequent visitors.

The three snakes who have shown up at different times, however, are not welcome. I guess I ought to put up a sign:

NO SNAKES ALLOWED

They'd probably pay about as much attention to that as the door-to-door salesman pay to this one:

(Photo courtesy of Laura.)

But I digress. 

Our backyard is fenced all around and lined with trees and shrubbery, so though we have close neighbors we also enjoy a sense of privacy. It's lovely.

 As the leaves fall, it won't be quite so private, but I have to say, fall is just gorgeous in Colorado. Not just the aspens in the mountains, but also the city streets and brilliant blue skies.

The kids raked the leaves into a big pile. Doesn't it make you want to just go jump in it?

Maybe we'll build a fire in our little patio fireplace this evening and toast marshmallows.

A Cuddle of Bunnies

"Mom, can you step outside for a moment?" she asked.

"Why? What do you need?" I wondered.

"I just want to show you something real quick. It's so cute!"

So I followed her out the door and to the end of the porch.

"Be real quiet," she cautioned. "See? Two babies and a mama!"

They were cuddled up against the house next door.

"How darling!" I whispered. "Let me go get my camera. I bet I can get pictures with the zoom lens."

Even from 6 or 8 feet away, the whir of the camera frightened the first little bunny back into the hole under the porch.

I'm not sure that the larger bunny is the mama. 

I think maybe he's the brother bunny with two little sister bunnies.

But who am I to judge? 

Bunnies don't put pink and blue booties on their babies so we can tell the girls from the boys!

And then there was one!

Mama or big brother... whichever it was... anyway, it was the bravest one.

Fragmented Thoughts for November

I have a love-hate relationship with the month of November. 

It's the month I was born, 

as well as the month I was married, 

so double reasons to celebrate, 

in addition to Thanksgiving.

My children presented me with this lovely bouquet of mums 

in honor of our anniversary last week.

They bought their dad candy.

The other part of their gift was a series of pictures

they had a friend take of them at a local park.

I was so pleased!

I told them they could do that as a gift for us for any occasion.

 Speaking of mums, the ones in my flower bed 

have been blooming since early September.

Some of the blossoms are beginning to fade, 

but the plant is still putting out buds, too.

That's two months and counting of bloom time.

This is the fourth year I've had them.

Isn't that wonderful?

 With the ever-shortening daylight hours and the drizzly gray skies

(which is what I hate about November),

I appreciate the bright spot in my front flower bed...

 ...and the still-fresh Jack-o-lanterns on the front step

which I plan to leave up until after Thanksgiving,

or until they start to soften, whichever comes first.

 An early snow this week reminded us that, ready-or-not, winter is upon us.

We've winterized the trailer and put away the bikes and lawn furniture,

and are turning our attention to more indoor pursuits.

Happy November!

Sunday Afternoon Drive

When the most-thoughtful-husband-ever surprises his wife with a new camera...

.

...(which she "needs" for blogging purposes, of course)...

... he should just naturally expect to be asked to take her for a scenic drive...

 ...on a sunny Sunday afternoon in September...

...just to try it out.

 Don't you think?

Then when he cooks supper on the backyard grill just as the sun is setting...

...that's what I call a pretty good day!

{For those of you to whom the technical details matter: 

My new camera is a Nikon Coolpix L820 with a 30x optical zoom. 

I am very happy to have it!}

Around the Place

My mums are in bloom. 

It seems a little early, but I'm not complaining. 

They are beautiful.

 The Girls are looking more matronly all the time. 

Peony is the prettiest, in my opinion. 

More importantly, we appreciate their diligent egg production.

The sunflowers are beginning to fade. 

It will be interesting to see how many make seeds that we can roast. 

We have several varieties, and they don't all make edible seeds.

The leaves on the Japanese Maple tree in our front yard are getting darker. 

They'll soon begin to fall.

It's definitely September!

Late Summer Fragments

Lately I've been so busy living and taking care of other business that I haven't taken time to blog.

 And that's too bad, because I really do miss it. It seems the longer I go without blogging the more out-of-the-habit I become, and I think it's time to fix that right now!

It's been a lovely summer... and now that Labor Day has passed and the weather has begun to feel more like fall, I am looking forward to shifting gears and enjoying my very last year of homeschooling. This is year #16 for me. It has gone by so fast.

Becky said the other day, "Mom, I can't believe I'm going to be a senior. Can you?"

No, honey, I really can't.

[sniff]

It's all good, though. It really is.

***

This past Saturday we got to go to Silverwood for the second time this summer. Amusement parks have never been our thing, but since Laura worked there this year we've had the opportunity to go for free. That has been a new adventure for us.

This time we wanted to try out some of the rides we didn't get to when we went earlier. Our first ride of the day was the ferris wheel which is where I took this picture. The ferris wheel is a good ride. I like it.

What I do not like is roller coasters. I had ridden one a few times years ago and never really just loved it, but I was persuaded to try it again. See the big, long one to the left? The high part of it is all the way to the back. It's a really long one. That's the one I was talked into trying. I thought it might be a little bit fun. But it wasn't. At least not for me. 

I squinched my eyes shut and buried my face against the strong, steady shoulder next to me, and I didn't open 'em again until the car came to a complete stop at the end. At one point my backside actually lost contact with the seat of the "car" and I thought I would surely fall out and go crashing to my death. But the seat belt and safety bar... plus that strong, steady hand I was hanging onto for dear life... kept me securely in place. 

Lyle actually loved it, but then you probably figured that out. He's always all about speed. 

"Never-ever again," I told him as we disembarked.

"Never?" he asked in disbelief.

"Nope," I said confidently. "Was not fun."

Laura's with me on that, so she and I visited one of the shops and then sat and people-watched while Lyle and Becky tried another roller coaster.

Anyway, the people-watching is great fun!

***

Other August activities have included:

• Early morning quiet times on the back deck. I've enjoyed our crop of volunteer sunflowers. We had 3 or 4 plants last year. We didn't plant any this year, but they kinda took over the garden spot anyway. 
• A camping trip up the river, just the four of us. It was a very laid-back, low-key kind of camping trip, but it was good to get away and catch up as a family.
• Berry picking. This summer I've picked strawberries, huckleberries, and blueberries. Just wish I knew where to find a blackberry patch. They're my favorite!
• Riding lessons for Becky. It's been so neat for her to finally get some hands-on experience with a real horse after years and years of being passionately interested in them.
• Cook-outs in the back yard with family and friends. We enjoy outdoor living during this time of year.
• Sunday afternoon drives with my sweetheart.
• Crocheting. I've been re-stocking my Etsy shop for the Christmas shopping season. It will be interesting to see what sells.
• Lesson planning. Not only for my own homeschool but also for the homeschool co-op we participate in. I'll be teaching two literature classes. I'm looking forward to it.

And so... that brings you up-to-date on what's been going on here. 

Talk to you again soon!