Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights

Thanksgiving was a lovely day. After eating dinner, McHubby and I took our youngest son and his girlfriend to Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights. Meadowlark is a botanical garden and the light show winds through the trails. Even thought the night was a chilly one, we enjoyed the show. A huge fire pit greeted us at the end.

Here are some of our highlights (photographing lights at night is challenging):

 

What are you doing to experience some holiday magic?

Amy

 

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Follow up to Stop Nesting Tips

McHubby sent me pictures of the nest that was in our asparagus fern last year.

Amy

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Chincoteague vacation and blog award

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I was just so excited to be home from a vacation to the Virginia coast. Don’t you just love it…we go on vacation to relax from our normal everyday life. Then, we need a three day weekend to recuperate from the vacation.

McHubby and I rented a cottage on Chincoteague Island. Chincoteague and its sister, Assateague, were brought to America’s attention through the book, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. Assateague is a barrier island, the home of Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge and a National Seashore. These areas appeal to people more interested in natural settings and small towns rather than large, overcrowded, over-commercialized beaches.

The Wildlife Refuge has several paved walking/biking trails which we used every day. (Tip: wear bug spray and cover your arms and legs.) We had several nights of delicious fresh seafood. Apparently, the oysters are wonderful because they get fresh ocean water every 12 hours due to the geography and the tide. I’m not an oyster eater though. I’ll take Captain Charlie’s word for it. Our favorite treat for the week was ice cream from Island Creamery. All the flavors that we tried were rich and creamy.

The pier from our rental cottage

Sun setting over the Wallops Island

Captain Charlie explains oyster farming

Captain Charlie’s Oyster Farm

Osprey Nesting next to Chincoteague

Building in water due to beach erosion

Tom’s Cove on Chincoteague Island

Still in operation, the lighthouse on Assateague

Captain Stanley with cooler of flounder

Butterfly

Goose and goslings

Waterfowl sitting on nest

Raccoon

Wild Chincoteague pony

Chincoteague pony

To wrap up my vacation, I received a nomination for the One Lovely Blog Award from Thea at Organized Living Essentials. Thank you so much, Thea, for all your lovely compliments and for nominating me for this award. As a new blogger, I enjoy just having someone read what I’ve written. Being liked and hearing such kind words is icing on the cake.

Seven Things about Myself

1. Summer is my favorite season. I love being warm, even if it means sweating.
2. I could probably eat pizza every day.
3. During my first pregnancy, the smell of pizza made me nauseous. I didn’t eat pizza until a few weeks before labor and delivery.
4. I love watching the sky.
5. I enjoy learning about other cultures, religions and languages.
6. I’m not a big fan of heights.
7. I am a big fan of texture. I have to touch things before I decide to buy them which doesn’t work very well for internet shopping.

What vacations and projects do you have planned for the summer?

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A Photo Shoot Surprise

Yesterday, I had a wonderful time being out in the sun snapping pictures in the backyard. Our weeping Japanese Cherry tree provided the backdrop. Intently focused on getting the best picture angles and the least shadows, I lost track of my environment. To my great surprise I heard a scratchy sound almost like paper being torn. When the sound fully developed, I realized that our friendly neighborhood frog was saying , “Hello.”

He could have been hiding under the tree, in the tall grass or in our small pond. After a few moments, I found him just hanging in the pond among the water lily leaves. I think he wanted his picture taken and I obliged him.

Here he is:

Frog takes over photo shoot

Frog up close and personal

Shall I call him Frogbert? I kind of like that name.

Amy

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New Beginnings and Intentions

On our photography hike yesterday, McHubby noticed this raspberry bramble growing out of a dead tree.  At the very least, I thought, this scene is worth a picture.  I snapped several trying to capture the juxtaposition of a new plant growing out of the carcass of an old tree.

For me starting this blog is very much like the raspberry plant.  I quit my job last June because the time was right.  My youngest was graduating from high school, going away to college and only needing me minimally.  I could now focus on finally finding a job/career/past time that I could truly love and call my own. Plus, I wanted to explore my creativity.

Very quickly I fell in love with Pinterest and craft/decor blogs, especially Miss Mustard Seed.  Untold hours were spent soaking up all the interesting crafts, design tips and tutorials that I could find.  Fast forward to this spring, I am ready to jump into the blogosphere myself.

Over the coming weeks, I plan on posting my own projects and room makeovers.  My youngest needs a room makeover. (Do I get it done before he comes home for the summer? Or do I wait until he is home and get him to help?) I want to start an Etsy store, make a facebook page for the blog, start some Linky parties and take lots of pictures.

Here is a sneak peak of one project from my family room update:

For those of you who know me personally, I’m a pretty quiet person.  The following picture symbolizes the challenges that I’ll face opening up and letting other people know what is going on in my head.

Have a great Wednesday and thanks for visiting.

Amy

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In the Woods near Skyline Drive

This afternoon McHubby and I went for a walk in the woods so that I could take pictures for the blog header.  We had a wonderful hour looking for interesting trees, cool flowers and animals willing to pose for a picture.

McHubby has a much better eye for possible shots than I do.  I’m so lucky that he was willing to go along.  He isn’t just my extra lens carrier.

Overall, I am looking forward to seeing how the woods change from week to week and season to season.  Take a look at some of the flora that we found.

Once we started really looking closely, we realized that we had walked past a lot of spring flowers, like this violet…

May apples…

and tons of Jack in the Pulpit.

We managed to startle a water snake, a frog, a mallard duck couple and countless other birds.  I guess they didn’t get the casting call for models au naturel. Perhaps we just need to work on walking more silently in the woods.  For those of you who’ve read The Hunger Games series, we aren’t a danger to any animals or tributes. ; )

Hope you have chance to explore your environment and find some overlooked treasures.

A

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