Birthdays and Barns

It was that annual

WILD WEEKEND

our family enjoys at the end of

August every year.

Today is daughter Lindsay's 22nd birthday,

but we celebrated yesterday...

with Grandma and lots of hugs.

We are a HUGGY family.

After presents...

And, cake

We actually got a family photo...

this RARELY happens.

I set up the camera on the tripod and

ran into the shot.

This morning, we hauled Sonny

and all his stuff back to college.

This year he's a sophomore,

so it wasn't as stressful.

In fact, I looked back at my blog from the

wild weekend last year

and the temps were in the 90s for move-in.

This year...73-degrees!!!

YAHOOOOOOO!

So much easier on the old mom.

Sonny's happy, too because most of

his classes are right across the street

from his dorm in this building.

It was fun to snoop around

and see his labs and lecture halls.

Now I can picture him there.

Speaking of pictures...we have to drive

through the country to get to

Michigan State University and lots of

barns dot the landscape.  

Oddly, I have never seen this one...

well, it WAS a barn.

I think I noticed it because one of the

Barn Charm 

members shared a "skeleton" barn

last week and I loved it.

Up the path from the skeleton

was this little barn-like shed...

I LOVE that country look.

Hubby was a sweetie to

stop the car and let me take

photos.

There are so many more...

but I'll have to wait until I'm alone

in the car.

Lindsay leaves for grad school

next week...

then it will be back to

EMPTY NEST!

Boo hoo...

and Yahoo!

Country Stroll

As I said many times, my home state of

MICHIGAN

is one of the prettiest states in the country!

It's filled with endless photo ops.

My daughter Lindsay and I rediscovered this

heavenly oasis just two minutes from our house.

It's not a barn...but thought the

Barn Charmers

would enjoy it.

Tucked back in the woods...

yep, we had to hike through heavy brush

to get here...

someone was trying to create a

little old-fashioned village

hoping to attract tourists.

They moved this old covered bridge...

And, created a pond.

Down a dirt path they set

this tiny historic church.

I loved the rustic white.

Down the path a bit farther

is this old General Store.

The weeds and wildflowers

are growing through the

front porch!

A perfect place

to capture some photos

of my precious daughter.

I only have her for a few more weeks

before she heads off to grad school.

I've been trying some new photo techniques.

Some I like and some I don't.

The old buildings were neat, but

the utter nature and tranquility...

is what really enchanted me.

I can remember bringing the kids here

a long, long time ago.

It never became a tourist attraction,

so it's still

ALONE...

in the woods.

The perfect

QUIET

place to

DREAM...

Summer Laughter

Summer is for laughing and relaxing

as much as possible...especially swinging with

the one you love!

I recently told you I am

RARELY

in any of my photos since I'm the one

behind the camera.

Plus, most people can't work my

camera, so even if they do take a photo

of me, it's usually not in focus or

centered properly.

This summer, my daughter Lindsay

took the above photo of my husband and

me in the swing at my sister's house.

I love that she captured a "moment".

Not a typical canned pose...

a real laugh and smile.

This is my favorite photo of the summer,

so I shared it on a wonderful

photo-sharing website called

                                                        Paper Heart Camera

If you enjoy photography, check out

Chelsey's fun and helpful tips and tutorials

and share your favorite summer photos!

It's all Happening at the Zoo

When my kids were little, I loved

to take them to our local children's zoo

where they got to pet the animals...

Ride the  ponies...

And, hop on this neat train that

snaked through the zoo.

(More about snakes later...)

I haven't been to the zoo in years,

so imagine my excitement when my daughter

Lindsay told me she was going to the zoo

with her friend Molly.

Our zoo has been spiffed up in recent years

and I had seen zoo photos where skilled

photographers made it look like the animals

were shot while on safari in Africa.

I wanted to try my own skills,

so the girls let me tag along.

The first animal I saw was a prairie dog.

Hmmm...I wonder if Denver is

missing this guy.  They have prairie dog overload.

I was certain the elephants and giraffes

were just around the corner.

Next, I saw this kangaroo,

who instantly hopped over by this wire fence

so he would look caged rather

than wild in the Outback.

This poor fellow looked very sad jailed behind bars.

I was not getting the wildness I wanted.

I WAS excited to photograph a real live bald eagle.

Does the fence in the background look

like a tree in the forest??

"Where are the tigers and zebras?" I asked my daughter.

"Mom! This is a children's zoo. Our town can't

afford to feed rhinos or hippos."

"Okay, I'll just take another photo of this eagle," I sigh.

Then I spotted it...

a real monarch butterfly NOT in captivity!!!

I followed it around until it

landed and gleefully photographed it.

This is real nature, people!

No bars or fences.

Then I saw a dragonfly..something I have

never photographed.

Looks like the monkey took a chomp

out of its wing.

I skipped the donkey exhibit

to photograph this unusual flower.

"Good grief, Mom! We're at the zoo, not the botanical gardens."

Lindsay said.

I HAD to shoot something interesting...

'cuz, this zoo really is perfect for children.

Itching to take more pics, I urged the

girls to let me photograph them in our

friend's meadow.

He is lacking colorful flowers,

so I asked if I could plant some

perennials there for future photo shoots

and he was thrilled.

Here's pretty Molly:

As I was taking this photo

a SNAKE slithered across my

sandaled foot!!!

AHHHHH!!!!! 

I screamed like a banshee.

(What's a banshee??)

Molly is such a lovely young lady.

Not sure about the perennial planting though.

I don't want to be photo snapping among snakes!

See ya, later....

                                                                               Alligator...