Get your blog on . . .

. . . cause it's a party!

Last year Vicki from (2 Bags Full) had a wonderful Grow Your Blog Party hop, and I definitely wanted to do again as I met some great bloggers and I'm always up for meeting new friends. A big huge thank you goes out to Vicki for putting together this epic event, double last year's party.

This is me, Kim, a 51 year old mom of two (half an empty nest) with one in college and one still in high school, and a wife of 21 years.

A learner of life, a seeker of light, and a finder of all things beautiful . . . and I document it here in my little space. I've been blogging here for a little over 3 years now.

I love nature, I tend to be a deep thinker, and share my thoughts and my view of the world through my pen and my camera.

I have a love affair with the beach, and shells, and the ocean . . . 

And sunrises . . . definitely one of my favorite things. I am fortunate enough to live on the gulf coast of Texas near Galveston Bay, and 25 miles north of the island. You'll see a lot of sunrises here because I live 30 minutes away from an hour vacation . . . gosh I love that!

And, last March a friend gave me some cuttings of milkweed that ended up having 2 monarch caterpillars which turned into a nursery in my dining room and the nickname of 'The Monarch Farmer' from my son. Since March I've raised and released over 400 Monarch butterflies. I am still working on getting through all my photos from last summer and putting together my journey in a series from egg to butterfly. They are amazing creatures!!

I also raised queen butterflies, black swallowtail butterflies, a few pipevine butterflies, and tersa sphinx moths (aka hummingbird moths).

I love flowers, and photographing them especially in my garden, when I have visitors.

And I love sharing the beauty in the ordinary I find through my lens. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I look forward to making the rounds today, although truthfully it will probably take a week with this many blogs!

You can follow along with me here: Flickr (I'm attempting a 365 day project), instagram (kimatpickingpoppies), and you can like me on my Picking Poppies facebook page. I am also part of a collaborative blog, Focusing on Life (my recent post), with 9 other women of all ages building a community for people passionate about photography and life. You'll find me musing there every other Tuesday.

Until next time,

Love, Kim

Picking Poppies . . . what's behind the name

"Picking Poppies", it has absolutely nothing to do with flowers,

and everything to do with picking . . .  weeds that is.

You see,

I knew someone who was very generous, and

not just because he gave often, but because he gave so much of what he had.

Who grew rhubarb in his garden,

 which was that one thing he would always want to show you when you came to visit.

 Yes, he was proud of that rhubarb.

And speaking of visits,

for as long as I can remember he had one every afternoon from a duck

and when he was tired, he would put his head in his pocket and fall asleep.

It was not unusual to find this someone in a white tank top, with his pants rolled up,
some leather driving slippers and his sailor hat.

Oh yes, I can't forget his white socks of course!
And you would, while you were visiting, most often find him in his yard
with a bucket and his dibble
and that is where we had some of our best conversations . . . picking weeds.
This someone loved me,
and I loved him back.
He was my grandfather . . . I called him Poppy.

I'm pretty sure he would be tickled to know that I named my blog after him, and even more so

at the technology of digital photography. I'm not sure how old he is in this photo, but isn't

he a handsome guy!  I miss you to the moon and back!!

Love, Kim

XO