Winter Weekend

Just spent an extended weekend at this beautiful cabin in Winter, WI.



Isn't it beautiful? It's on it's own little island in the middle of a lake. I loved it! More pictures soon....

Rainbows

Hello there...! I haven't been around too much on this blog lately, and I'm sorry! My photo blog has taken a bit of a backseat for the moment while I work on some big changes in my life (all really, really good ones, don't worry!). Will definitely be back soon with some super-good stuff.

Did you guys happen to see this rainbow last Thursday night?



Don't tell, but I was totally driving on Highway 53 going about 72mph when this rainbow (and a faint one behind it) appeared... I reached over, grabbed my camera out of it's bag, got my settings all set, and did a few things I won't say because it probably wasn't too safe and got this photo. What can I say... Rainbows like this just don't happen very often!!

May Flowers

I got a new camera last week (sooooooo excited!). I was dying to try it out, so I drove to this little place in Chippewa with pretty flowers on a quick lunch break.

Reruns

Was looking through some older pictures tonight and thought I'd post some reruns... all of these have been on my blog before, but I don't mind posting them again, just because.













Have a nice weekend!

Deer

Our house is right by the Wissota State Park, and we see deer all the time when we're driving by it or going for walks, etc. Yesterday when I was almost home, I saw a deer cross the road, so I took the opporunity to grab my new zoom lens and I tried to get a picture before the deer ran off. The lens is really heavy and it's hard for me to hold it up and focus without shaking, so it's hard to get a steady, clear picture... I've decided I'm going to start lifting weights and try to get stronger so I can hold it better!

Still a pretty deer, though.

Fall Collection, Part Two

It is the middle of winter, I know... BUT, I never posted the rest of my "Fall Collection" (Remember this post in October?).

So, since it's a pretty slow time of year for pictures~ and sorry, the dirty snow, mud, and cold weather don't really "inspire" me much~ I've decided it's the perfect time to post my "Fall Collection, Part Two."



















{and PS- this last one really DOES look just like this, straight out of camera with no post-processing... it was just before dusk and what was left of the sun made everything just.... GLOW!}

Fall Collection, Part One

Do you follow the fashion world? I definitely do not... not even close. But, I do watch Project Runway and they're always talking about "so-and-so's collection", and it makes me laugh.

I spent an entire day driving around a few weeks ago, taking pictures of the gorgeous colors. I have well over 100 pictures that are soooo pretty-- seriously 100. I would like to share some of them, and I'm having such a hard time deciding between them that I have a feeling I might end up posting all of them at some point... So, feeling inspired by Project Runway, here is my "Fall Collection, Part One."



















So pretty...

Pumpkin Patch

There is a really cool pumpkin patch between Eau Claire and Menomonie... we went there a few Sundays ago- the whole bunch of us.

Not many things remind you more of the fall season than pumpkins, right?





Places like this are all about kids... look how excited the babies are!





Now, here's miss Jayden... isn't she such a big girl on the huge stack of hay bales?



Yep, not ten seconds after this picture was taken she took a sideways roll right off the hay-- not such a good thing and a few tears were shed, but she recovered quickly.

However, she wasn't all that excited to pose by the pumpkin...



But at least there were several playgrounds and slides!



And some animals to feed (reminder for next time, bring quarters to buy food for the animals!).



And here is my favorite shot of the day:



Honestly-- the cute little girl, the diaper hanging out of the pants, the sweet red hair, the cute polka dot shirt, the big strong daddy, the cute little hands on dad's face, the daddy's hands holding on tight to her ankles...

It all gets me.

Fall

I absolutely love this time of year.



I love cool weather and wearing jeans and long-sleeve t-shirts, the smell of wood-burning stoves (we don't have one, but some of our neighbors must!), and nothing beats the gorgeous colors...!!

Blurry Pictures

I've been doing this blog for six weeks now, and for that entire six weeks, I've been irritated that my pictures tend to be blurry when I post them, even though they aren't when I look at them in my editing program.

I've kind of ignored the problem until today, and I am now *extremely happy* to report that I have figured out what I was doing wrong (with help!), and from this point forward I shouldn't have any blurry photos on my blog! (Unless I'm purposefully posting a blurry picture to be artistic or as part of a blog challenge, etc).

So, I've fixed all of the postings that were posted in September, and I plan to fix all of them eventually--- I just can't stand having blurry pictures on here when I know they were never blurry to begin with! Now that I know how to fix it, I just can't leave the old ones the way they are... It's incredible how much better the photos look now! And this is how they've always looked in my editing program, so I'm happy to finally be able to really show you guys what they really do look like (and not just show you a slightly blurry version). That makes me really happy.

Here's a picture I took in Hawaii (since I can't post without a picture!!)

Holy Rainbow!

As I was walking one of my piano students out tonight, she said to me, "It's raining and it's sunny-- I'll bet there's a rainbow!"

And boy was she right!



Can you see the second rainbow in this picture?



It was absolutely beautiful- the pictures don't even remotely do it justice! It honestly went from one end of the world to the other without breaking, and there was a second, more faded one just outside of it. It was so big, I couldn't fit the whole thing in my camera's viewfinder no matter where I moved--- I was wishing more than ever that I had a wide-angle lens (it's a lens that would have gotten more into the scene than this one did-- I probably could have gotten the entire rainbow in from end to end). Oh well, add that to the never-ending wish list!!

Without a doubt, this was the best rainbow I've ever seen...

PS-- Still thinking about my second blog challenge? Stay tuned for the answer... I'm not giving it away yet!

Happy Weekend!

Wishing you a happy weekend!



I took this picture in Hawaii at the Paradise Cove Luau (which was FANTASTIC!). About 10 minutes before sunset I knew I was going to try to get a good picture as the sun was almost down-- we were sitting in the big circle watching the luau hosts do a demonstration about how the pig is prepared, and it was so hard to sit and relax as I waited for the sun to get in just the right spot-- I was worried I was going to miss it, and I knew it was going to be totally beautiful...! I think it was worth the anxiety.

Weeds

My sister-in-law Katie was laughing with me about all the weeds in her yard... If I had these in my yard, I totally wouldn't complain!