Fishing Fun ~ July 26 2008

Fishing Fun ~ July 26 2009

(click on layout to read journaling)

~

I really need to get my photos into scrap layouts from 2008 and tonight on facebook I saw where Kristin with Kristin's Scrapdesigns has a challenge over at Pickleberrypop and is giving away a free template. I'm not to hip on forums, but I did like the template. I probably won't enter if for the challenge, but I had fun playing!

Credits:

Template designed by Kristin's Scrapdesign @ pickleberrypop
Papers & embellishments (organic artistry) designed by Fruit Loop Sally @ pickleberrypop

Fishing rod and reel designed by Angela Blanchard @ scrapgirls

Slurp...

I couldn't NOT make a layout of our walk yesterday!! It's a memory that needed preserving...click on the layout to read the journaling.

Credits:

Template (Contemporary College Templates) designed by Misty Cato @ Sweet Shoppe Designs

Great Outdoors kit designers Sandra Edwards (aka: FruitLoopSally) and Kaye Winiecki @ catscraps.com

Paper (Green with Envy) Jen Maddocks @ JMdesigns

Embellishments (Presslines#16) designed by PaisleePress @ O'scraps

A little walk and Lots of birds...

After I picked Michael up from school I decided to go check the mailbox at the property. I had the Rebel Xti and the Sigma 70-300mm Telephoto lens with me in case I saw something interesting. After we checked the mail I noticed a bunch of birds on the electric wires and told Michael come on lets go for a walk...

First off we spotted this Eastern Phoebe. He flew to a branch right in front of us...I told Michael hold still and be quiet and started snapping away...


After I had snapped a few photos I heard someone slurping their frozen drink loudly and bye bye bird...sigh! Okay I got a few photos time to move on...

He thinks he's hot stuff because he's climbing the dry creek bed, ekkk!

Then we came upon several White wing doves in the trees. I once again asked Michael to stay still and quiet and moved in for a closer photo...I figure sooner or later Michael will learn to be quiet...and I managed a few photos before I heard the frozen drink being slurped again, ekkk...."Mom I'm thirsty"...The doves heard it too and took off in a flurry of wings...grrrrrrrrr

So we move on and head over to the electric wires...This time I leave Michael back a ways and walk in slowly....

I managed to snap a photo of the Eastern Bluebirds on the wire when once again I hear Sllluuurp, Sllluuurppppp....My patience was running low, real low...lol....

I told Michael come on up here with me and at about that time the bluebird above flew in for a closer look...I gave Michael "the look" and told him quiet!!! I think Michael gave up at this point and just started playing with the dirt at his feet and a stick. The bluebird didn't seem to mind and sat and watched us and I managed a few good shots of him before he flew off...Yea!! I have tried so many times to get a decent shot of a bluebird and I finally managed it...

Then I spotted this Blue-Gray Gnat Catcher. It was doing a great job of staying hid in the brush.

Michael with his frozen drink and Slurping away....

Then "Oh Boy" he found an itty bitty toad...Oh what FUN!! It beats birds!! He managed to catch it several times but every time I tried to get a photo the little guy would jump out of Michael's hands...If you look closely you can see the toad's foot just below Michael's wrist...We finally gave up and let him go on his way.

Michael spotted this Mockingbird in the brush and I attempted a photo! I sure could have used the tripod or even the monopod would have helped!


I know the above photo is awful but I had to show you that I spotted a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler too!! The birds were out in full force.

Then Michael spotted a bunch of Pipe-vine Butterfly caterpillars...too cool. He went back to the truck and got our collection jar. We brought two home to raise. We've raised them before and it was pretty neat. The only problem is finding the food/greens they eat. Hopefully I can find the items and we can get them to live and go into a Chrysalis.

We were on our way back to the truck when I spotted this bit of red...See we do have some fall colors down here, lol...

Then we finally spotted the bird I was looking for! I had seen an American Robin yesterday and wanted to get a photo. But I never saw that one again. This time we spotted a whole flock drinking out of a puddle in our driveway. All of them except this one flew away when we walked up...and I managed a few photos before he flew too...So the Robins are here and headed South for the winter...It wasn't a bad walk after all...I did manage to see quiet a few birds and get photos...Michael finally drank all his frozen drink and was quiet, well as quiet as he can be, lol...He was excited about his caterpillars!

~

As I was resizing the photos for the web I was pretty disappointed in the photos. Not sure if it's because I need to use a tripod or my Sigma lens is just not working like I want it too...Might be time for a good cleaning! I'm hoping to have some time tomorrow to head back down there and see if I can do a better job :o)

Hope Y'all have a GREAT weekend!!

Greg Lasleys Texas Wildlife Portraits

I checked this book out of the Library and OH MY!! It's FANTASTIC! If you can find it in your local library I highly recommend checking it out! I've looked through and read it once and now I'm going through it again...This guy is good! His photos are beautiful and he also tells why and where he took the photo. I love reading the stories behind the photos. At the end of the book he has written the equipment and settings he used for each of the photos, which is nice to know too!

~

Thanks Mr. Lasley for a wonderful book on Texas wildlife! I love it!

I've also added it to my wish list at Amazon. I'm thinking this would be a great book for Michael's classroom too...

Texas A&M University Press book site

Shows some of the photos in the book.

Greg Lasley's Website

After viewing the photos on his website I'm completely discouraged with my bird photos...another words I suck at it! Sheesh this guy has some awesome photos. Of course I know he also has thousands of dollars worth of equipment too and doesn't have a 6 yr old for a shadow either, lol...I suppose I'll just keep practicing and being patient maybe someday I will have the time and money to take awesome photos too!!

This evening in Photos...

This evening as I meandered over to take photos of the deer I snapped a few photos on my way...

Burt and his girls looking for bugs!

A Monarch butterfly eating his or her supper.

Grasshopper with beetle.

Those are grasshoppers on the board of the corral...They were soaking up the last rays of the sun before it set for the evening...There were hundreds of them all over...

See my yard fence? Neither do I, lol...Maybe because I let the Wild mums grow and grow...I love it! I love coming up the driveway and seeing the house surrounded by yellow blooms, it's gorgeous! I'm in a battle to keep them there as long as possible but it's 2 to 1 and I'm losing, Ekk...Fred and our landlord are in agreement that they are weeds and need to come down...Noooooooooo!! I don't wanna!! Soon enough they'll be gone but I'd like to enjoy them just a wee bit longer...I almost won my landlord over to my side tonight after I showed him my butterfly photos, lol...Fred says I'm playing dirty but hey you have to admit the butterflies are gorgeous and they wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the mums!!

And to end the evening a Beautiful South Texas Sunset!!

Oh Deer!

I've been watching these deer almost every evening. Tonight I went out early and sat and took photos. That is with my Landlords permission as he is the one who feeds them. He went out with his can of corn and I sat on his front porch waiting. There were no deer in sight but as soon as he rattled the can of corn about 10 deer came running out of the brush. It was so cute...They ran right up to him and started feeding. He loves it and sits and watches them. He knows each individual deer.

A few of the does and fawns.
The deer here are pretty small from what I'm used to in the North.
Here comes the little 6 point buck or as Michael says "Duck!"

One of the fawns.

He's beautiful, actually they're all beautiful.

I was laughing as you can see a round spot of dirt, from where they were eating on the ground, on her nose and mouth.

This was my Landlords favorite photo of the evening...I liked the doe above.

Uh Oh! Spooked!

Trying to decide which way to go...

I had fun but was disappointed with the photos. I used the Sigma telephoto lens and the photos weren't very clear or crisp. It was getting dark and I had to up the ISO to 800 and I hate doing that...I'm hoping to try again next week, practice makes perfect!

Daddys Little Princess

Isn't she sweet? Back in October I took some photos of Trey with his daughter, Raquel. She's not very old and already has her Daddy wrapped around her finger :o)

~

I have once again used the template designed by Fruit Loop Sally but just rearranged and adjusted it a bit different from the first layout I did with it. I think I did a better job on this one but then look at that sweet little one, she's a little cuter than Michael and his legos, lol.

Credits:

Templated designed by Fruit Loop Sally

Heaven sent kit designed by Fruit Loop Sally

Sincerely me kit designed by Fruit Loop Sally

Sanded Overlay designed by House of 3

Happy Veterans Day!

To all the People that have served in the U.S. Military or are Serving in the Military THANK YOU!!

Thank you for fighting for my Freedom!

I love you and may God Bless!

We have two nephews and one niece in the Marines!! Semper Fi!

We also have a cousin in the Army.

This day means a lot to us remember all the Men and Woman who have given a part of themselves for our Freedom!!

Happy Veterans Day!

Rolling Hills and Oak trees...

Here in Goliad county we have so many different terrains...Rolling Hills and Oak trees (my favorite), Coastal plains, River flood plains, Brush country leaning towards desert vegetation, quiet a diverse selection...and in each one there is a beauty all it's own.

This past weekend we spent some time near the San Antonio river but far enough away we were leaning towards rolling hills and Oak trees...it was gorgeous!

This is us in November...still Green, sunshine and beautiful blue skys!

I captured this photo of a hairstreak butterfly on a wildflower

And this duskywing butterfly on another wildflower bloom.

Lots of Oaks, wildflowers and butterflies!

Duskywing on another wildflower, butterflies are in abundance!

And of course where would we be without our Prickly Pear cactus! I now know what chaps were invented for :o)

You Rock!

Sandra Edwards aka Fruit Loop Sally had a challenge up on her blog today with a free template. I thought I'd give it a go...I used most of her kits and blended a lot of papers and loved the outcome...If you can't read the journaling you can click on the layout for a closer view...My son is rocking when it comes to his lego kits!

Credits:

All items designed by Fruit Loop Sally

Heaven Sent Kit
Organic Artistry Kit
Mason Kit
The Great Outdoors Kit
Lizzy Kit
Brighten My Day Kit

What I've been doing...

Having had a blast on Digital scrapbooking weekend and possibly going a bit over-board (NOT) I've been playing around...

~

Jen at Jencropable had a free template last week and I love her stuff and wanted to incorporate it with some of the new items I bought...

It's whimsical and a bit busy but I like it...Reminds me of what I used to do to my papers in highschool...The journaling reads:

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about not being such a realist. About letting go and using your imagination. I used to love to doodle in high school. My paperwork was always covered with doodles and I am not sure where I lost my love for doodles? It is a form of art. It is not simplistic, it is not minimalism but you know what it is ME and I forgot how much fun it is to just let go and have fun.

- - -

I think we all have our own way of doing things and it's important we enjoy ourselves along the way! With me whether it be digital scrapbooking or photos I need to lighten up and live life to the fullest.

Credits:

Template designed by Jen Maddock @ jencropable.com

Paper (Blewsky) by Jen Maddock @ jencropable.com

Paper (revive papers) by Taylormade @ O'scraps

Wild Adventure kit by Dawn Inskip designs @ Catscrap.com

Wordart (Expressions Life) designed by Dawn Inskip designs @ catscrap.com

Happy Birthday to Us!
Criste (My Mother in law) and I celebrate our birthdays on April 25th and 26th. This year the family surprised us with a birthday celebration at a local restaurant and as always Criste and I were enjoying ourselves!
April 26, 2009

Credits:
Rest and Relax kit designed by Nina @ O'scraps
Blending papers designed by Nina @ O'scraps
Wordart designed by Nina @ O'scraps
Grungy overlay designed by Jen Maddocks @ jencropable.com
~
Over at Nina's Rocking girls blog Selena put up a challenge today. Something about how we scrap layouts of everyones birthday but our own...Nina designed some free wordart and Selena challenged us to do a scrap layout of one of our birthdays...Above is the layout I did...I love sharing my Birthday (well the day after mine) with my Mother in Law...she's so much fun!!

Deer Season in South Texas

Saturday morning we headed over to Mom and Dad's ranch. After breakfast the boys decided to go fill the deer feeders and help a neighbor set up his blind...Deer hunting is big in Texas!

Finishing up a few details before they set up the blind.

Cousin Zekey and Peter heading out to fill feeders. "Take our Picture!"

The 3 stooges filling a feeder...

And then filling another feeder!

My little Man watching from a safe distance :o)

Michael hanging out with Grandpa!

We found out recently that Dad is in Stage 4 with his cancer so please say a prayer for him :o(

Getting ready to hoist the blind.

And this was the last photo I shot before my camera battery died, ugh!! The other battery had fallen out of my camera bag at the house, grrr! They managed to get the blind up with out any problems.
~
We were all laughing at Michael...He was attempting to go through the barbed wire fence when we heard him yell "The fence has me by the balls!"...Oh goodness we were all laughing!! I was closest to him but had to get a photo before I came to the rescue and no the fence only had him by his britches...sheesh!! LOL...

He's so darn entertaining!!

~

I did manage to get some nature photos before the camera died but that will be in a later post...