And now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.. .or something like that...

I neglect my blog for six monthsish and I have more followers! Hello to all you new people, my apologies for not being more interesting. I hope you have enjoyed perusing the archives.

I have a new camera and I love it. It's a nice mid-range, user-friendly little guy and best of all... it zooooooooooooooms... It's a Canon SX-30, with a 30x optical zoom. Did I mention it zooms?

Here are a couple of my favorite photos so far:


This a burrowing owl that lives near my parents house in Nevada. The little family lives in an empty lot across the street and for awhile we were worried that some construction in one of the houses that bordered it had scared them away, but nope, there's the proof.

If you have never met a burrowing owl, I recommend it. They are fun to watch; I especially enjoy watching the flying dust when it's time to clean out the den. Or, if you aren't paying attention and happen upon one by accident, the fluffed feathers and hissing are rather spectacular.

Then, there's this next photo. It's one of my favorites ever right now.


I saw this little guy, the momma was circling the truck after we stopped in Death Valley while on a day trip with my family. We first saw the momma and stopped to snap a pic or two from the truck, when we looked over and standing as still as possible, but seemingly calm (I suspect he was trying to pretend he was a rock) was this little guy. Did I mention that I can zoooooooooooom with my new camera?

Finally, this is one of the first outings I had with my new camera.


I happened upon this. The swans were hanging out in a field and while I was snapping some pictures there was a drill of some kind going on nearby. This resulted in all their heads up at the same time; cool right?!?

So, that's some of what's new with me. What's new with all of you?

Five Senses Friday #6

It's that time again! Five Senses Friday! I haven't done one for a really long time and you know... I've missed it! I really am able to see my blessings when I do.

This week's image comes from a walk I had awhile back. I love the way the drops of water hang on the flower.

I found Five Senses Friday at a lovely blog - Abby Try Again... find her blog HERE...

Smelling:

The dirt in my garden as I dug up some beets.

Tasting:

Fresh baby beets from my garden, oh such a yummy earthy flavor.

Feeling:

Nervous - I am going to another singles dance this week. Ugh, I am fine when I get there, but dread it until I am enroute.

Hearing:

The sound of a Bald Eagle call while I was waiting for a friend to pick me up. It was far away, but I love the sound of that call - it never gets old. Thank you Washington.

Play along if you like (comment and let me know if you do, I want to see what you come up with!). Hope you are all having a lovely week!

So about that art journaling thing...

I have tons and tons of things to put in the journal, but haven't been able to bring myself to add the first thing to page. I am such a chicken. I need to just get over it and do it. There's no trying in art journaling, just do it!

So, I will do this. I think it will be good for me. I collect all these pamphlets and clippings and things from my adventures. I can't help it - they call to me. So, now it's time I put them to use.

Keep checking back - an post with an actual photo of a journaled page will appear.

In other news, I have been having an amazing summer. My parents came to visit and we played alot. I have a garden, which struggles because I am a horrible gardener and the bed wasn't deep enough for anything to really grow. It is also possible that in my enjoyment of the rest of the summer I may have forgotten to water things very regularly.

However, I have been getting peas, swiss chard, a cherry tomato or two, strawberries and rhubarb. And beans that are growing on plants that are so short I didn't realize beans could grow on them. This fall I am going to build some boxes and will make sure that everyone has enough water and dirt next year.

Oh, and I have a pumpkin that is taking over the entire garden. I might also need to plan a bit better next year. Oh and lettuce - the lettuce is getting ready to eat also. Not the best harvest, but I learned something valuable, do not grown from seeds directly in the ground here, start them yourself or buy them. The growing season is pretty short, though we do get really lovely sun and nice long days.

So, I leave you with this photo of one of my harvests.


Hope the summer is going well for the rest of you! =)

Art Journaling - I swoon for thee!

This photo has nothing to do with my post, but I came across it today and I hadn't shared it before, so here ya go.

I have heard alot of buzz about art journaling. My art professor in college had one, it was so cool. I have always been a bit intimidated by all the artsy people out there; like I mean hello, how cool are the things on this site?

But, I am going to try it, for 30 days beginning on August 1st. On Google plus, I have a small circle that I am involved with and I am doing a sketch a day for 30 days based off this awesome video idea. Here is the LINK to the video.

It's a super simple idea. Try something you have always wanted to do for 30 days. Simple and super cool. I have been having a BALL making a sketch a day, and having the accountability to check in with my google plus group is great. I take a photo of my sketch (and believe when I say I have alot of room for improvement) and then post them to the circle. Sometimes people comment, sometimes they don't, but its great for me.

So, have you watched the video? Are you going to try something for 30 days? If so, what?

Beginning August 1, I will be posting photos of my art journal pages on my flickr stream. You can follow it HERE if you want. I will also continue to add resources to my Art Journaling Page on this blog.

Hope you are all having a lovely summer and keep an eye out for my first attempt at art journaling!

Happy Summer!

Enjoying my Summer!

So much in fact that I have not been around the web much, but I think that its okay to take a break once in awhile.

In my humble opinion, nothing beats a Northwest summer; though it would be nice if ours arrived. We have had some truly gorgeous warm, sunny days, but my garden says that it would like a few more please. I have a little garden again this year. Its amazing how much stuff has come out of there considering the atrocious FROST and crazy weather that we had in May when the poor little thing was getting started. But the flowers have been blooming all over the place on the trail. Lovely yes?



I did my first 20 mile bike ride in a long time a couple of weeks ago. Ouch. Ouch and Ouch is all I can say, but remarkably I was able to walk the next day, if a little slower than normal. It did encourage me to get on out and bike some more and that is fabulous.

And did some some sightseeing. And will be off to do some more this weekend. There is an art studio opening and garden tour on Camano Island that I cannot wait for. And in August - a Pirate Festival! Pirates! With ships and everything. So over the moon excited to see some tall ships. And the pirates are a total bonus.

And hello to my new followers! Its nice to see a few more people drop on by. Hope you stay awhile and engage a bit. I released the comment moderation, so post away and have some fun. But, be nice. This is a nice blog. I like coming here and being silly; its a nice escape from all the non-silly crazy that is out there.

So, how is your summer? Have you been doing fun things? I hope so.