Not in front of . . .

. . . but behind, very behind.

I've had a really hard time keeping up these past few weeks,

so today,  I am surrendering to it.

"The key is not to prioritize what's on the schedule, 

but to schedule your priorities."  - Stephen Covey

SO, instead of the intended post of part 2 in my monarch series, (which will resume next week),

I have a whole lotta random to share.

1. I'm so very sad that Nancy over at A Rural Journal has decided that she has come to the end of the blogging road. I so understand and admire the difficult decision, but she will be missed.

2. I finished my last bible study class yesterday...best bible study EVER, Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. Her bible studies are very powerful and this was NO exception. We conclude each study day with a video from Beth and let's just say this last one brought us to our knees, literally to our knees - it was a sight, and overwhelming heart experience.

3. I have just four more classes left to finish this piece I've been working on . . . there has been a lot of sawing going on. All of the small flowers are actually charms and just being used to help design here. The hardest part of finishing this piece will be choosing and coordinating colors for all the flowers. I see a gardener's color wheel in my future. The flowers will be cold connected with bolts to a back plate, which they are temporarily on now, and the back plate will have an aged patina of some kind. I think I would really like to etch some words into the back as well and I still need to decide what design I'm going to pierce out of the back plate as well. . . . and then there is the decision of what kind of chain to use. If I can't find one that feels right, I may have to make my own. 

4. As I'm sitting here typing I have my black swallowtail chrysalis sitting next to me, I can't decide if it's going to emerge today or tomorrow? So I'm ready just in case!! ;)

5. And speaking of caterpillars . . . .I have very sad news. The almost 100 monarch eggs I started with had equated to just 14 that made it to a chrysalis. I kept checking on them right after they hatched and was finding day and two day old cats dead, hanging by just a thread from the leaves. As days went by, I was seeing less and less cats, but no clue why. When they are small they can play hide and seek like no ones business, so I didn't panic . . . until last week when I came home to a caterpillar apocalypse. Big, beautiful, chunky caterpillars days away from pupating found hanging limp, some from a thread and some inverted in a "v" shape and most dripping green liquid like they were melting. It. Was. Horrible!! There were many tears shed at my house last week. Upon hours of research I think I know why they died. There are so many diseases that these cats can get...but there is a very deadly virus called NPV that can wipe out the entire lot of them on the plants. When one gets it (and it's something found naturally in the wild) it can contaminate the leaves with it's frass (poo) or any of the green liquid that leaves crystals behind. Another caterpillar walks though it or eats a crystal containing the virus and it just keeps on going like the energizer bunny. So not only did I lose most all of those caterpillars, but I also had to throw away all contaminated plants - $100 worth! I also made the very tough decision, although I have drug my feet, to euthanize all remaining chrysalis to be on the safe side. My heart is broken . . . 

6. Our church does a Good Friday experience where they invite artists to submit work with a small blurb about what inspired the piece. This year I did a series from seed to butterfly in photos (8 in all) and all framed together in one frame. But this year of all years they gave us a 120 word maximum, rofl! Can you imagine me, trying to reduce what I wrote (before I realized) down to 120 words. Last night was the artist's reception before they open it to the church members and public on Friday and as I had second guessed myself on what I shared and wrote, I was very pleased that it was well received. Since I have never entered a juried competition before, this might have given me a little confidence to try. 

7. Oh, and one more . . . it's pretty safe to say that I take more photographs than I could probably share here if I posted everyday. The hubby and I went to the beach a few weeks back, after we ate in Galveston, for a sunset walk. Just as it was getting too dark to see anything on the beach, we got in the car to leave. The sky was just starting to turn these beautiful colors, but it wasn't until we got past the houses that I saw this. It was one of those, "honey I have to find a spot to to photograph this." So racing against the clock of time we found this perfect spot to pull over so that I could get out. But word of advice, remember to put your camera back to auto focus after taking (purposeful) blurry shots because even though you keep snapping and they look good on the back of your screen, you will be very disappointed when a bunch of them just weren't in sharp focus.

Well, if I haven't already lost you with the length of this post, I wish you and your family and very blessed Easter. Our girl is coming home today and I can't believe in a matter of weeks we will be going to get her and all her things to bring her back for the summer. Where has this school year gone?

Love, Kim

sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Friday Finds 

A short sunset walk . . .

"Know where to find the sunrise and sunset times

and note how the sky looks at those times, at least once."

- Marilyn vos Savant

We are lucky enough to live 30 minutes from an hour vacation . . . 

Sunday at about 4:30 in the afternoon, we got the bug . . . to just drive to Galveston and walk on the beach at sunset. Happy sigh . . . 

We weren't the only ones . . . and this cute little guy had a different agenda than his human. I was eagerly greeted with some love. 

So many little gifts I found scattered the beach, 

 and I filled my pockets until the sun no longer provided enough light.

 There were little pieces of artwork drawn in the sand . . . can you see it, the "hang loose" hand sign?

And warm enough to go barefoot, hand in hand.

If I haven't snoozed my alarm too many times this morning, I will at approximately 7:19 be greeting the morning with the seagulls and my camera. I might even splurge and get some donut holes.

The house is a little quieter once again as we took our girl back to college after a nice month long visit. There was an epic two layer, two cake mixes, homemade butter cream frosting, chocolate in the middle with vanilla on top, cake made while she was here....just sayin'! :) 

I have one monarch chrysalis left to emerge and I hope its story is better than the last one (insert sad face).

On a happy note, I'm getting a LOT of seeds bursting forth from the seed pods.

Monday I started back to my metals class...and OH my arms are out of shape. I know this because after sawing for two days the muscles in my sawing arm are sore. Not exactly sure what I'm making, but I do know that there will be some butterfly shapes involved, and flowers.

And that's a random wrap . . . 

Until next time,

Love Kim

Sharing with Little Things Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Random Five Friday, Friday Finds,

                   Friday Photo Journal

Let the sunshine . . .

When the moon is in the seventh house,

and Jupiter aligns with Mars. . .


I definitely feel like there are times like these when everything is aligned
just right, when I'm at the place at the moment I'm supposed to be.

And . . .

then there are the times when I'm in the car driving someone to school or on
my way to a game when all I can do is look in my rear view mirror and dream of the missed shot.
And, listen to my daughter tell me we're going to crash because I can't seem to divert my
eyes from the beauty! Okay, just for the record we have never crashed! ; )

 So as I promised, here are some more of the shots from what was for us a spur of the moment
sunset. We were on our way home from the reenactment in Galveston and just as the sun was
slipping ever so quickly below the horizon we drove past an open area where you could
actually see it setting, and being on the wrong side of the highway we had to turn around.

This was one of the first shots I took, although I didn't quite get the sun burst I was after.

And another one similar to a shot a shared earlier.

After I got some shots in this spot the sun was barely visible and the light fading fast.

So I got back in the car and we started to drive off when a few hundred feet further I look out

the window and yell WOW, which really means stop!

There was this stretch of water in the marsh and it was sooo still and reflecting the sky perfectly,

and out of the blue up pops this Cormorant. These guys are Houdini-like in their swimming abilities.

And right on cue - he was the perfect touch!

 And just when I thought I was finished snapping, we drove yet another hundred feet . . .

"At sunset nature is painting for us . . . day after day . . . pictures of infinite beauty."

- John Ruskiin

Now if I could only figure out how to time perfectly a train that goes across this marshland.

A train silhouette and a sunset . . . . ahhhhh!

But I'm afraid that might require a few more planets other than just Jupiter and Mars to be aligned?

Hope your Monday has been a good one!

Love, Kim

XO



 

Foto Friday - Battle of Galveston, a reenactment

So, as I shared earlier this week, we had a little adventure last weekend.

And I DO love a little adventure, don't you?

It just so happens that there was a reenactment of the Battle of Galveston, its 149th.

Now, I have also shared that I've never been much of a history person, but that seems to be changing as it's not as much fun to watch these things if you don't know what's going on. And, to be honest
I had no recollection that there was even a battle in Galveston during the Civil War.
So, I'm going to try and give you as condensed a version as I can. And if you're not really into the history

of it then by all means skip this and proceed straight to the photos.
*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Okay, in October of 1862 the Union sailed some of their ships into the Galveston harbor and demanded

its surrender. And I guess I should note that at the time this was the most important port in Texas.

The Federal ships were fired on and they fired back.  A truce was arranged so the island commander could move his troops to the mainland, and the Union ships continued to hold the harbor while they waited for back up to occupy the wharf and patrol the town.

In the meanwhile, the district commander of the island was replaced and he began to organize

the recapture of Galveston. He used two river steamers for the naval attack and gathered infantry and cavalry accompanied by artillery to cross the railroad bridge back to the island to capture the federals that were ashore.

It was New Year's night, 1863, and the confederates entered Galveston and opened fire. They weren't able to seize the wharf, because of all things their ladders were too short -oops - and the naval guns drove them back. In comes the river steamers that attack from behind, one sinks and the other one is able to seize one of the federal ships. One of the other federal ships runs aground and rather than surrender the union commander dies trying to blow up his own ship! That didn't work out so well for him and the other union ships decided
to sail back out to sea.

And so there you have it - Galveston was retaken but with the loss of 26 killed and 117 wounded as
well as 150 losses on the Union ships. . . The end.

It was a bit challenging to get good photos of the battle itself with all the bystanders as many of them
thought they were the only ones there with their cameras. And let's just say being short didn't help. 

What I loved was that there were two encampments, one Union and one Confederate. The camps were set up as close as possible to how they would have been back in the Civil War.

For two days and nights they lived as authentically as they would have back in 1862,

sleeping in tents on straw beds . . .

and cooking their meals over an open fire.

Everywhere you turned within a few blocks you were transported back in time..... 

The Union soldiers make their entrance into town,

and get ready for battle . . .

Here come the Confederates . . .

and a battle ensues . . . and it was LOUD!

I had lucky timing on this one - I sure never noticed the orange when they fired!

And there were a few casualties, not real of course!

We had the opportunity to talk with many of the men who participated and they even tried to recruit

my husband. In fact, one of them suggested that I should dress up and make a wooden box for my camera and follow them onto the battlefield so I could take pictures. Hmmm, now that might be kinda fun! ; )

{Shoot, edit, submit)

And as we were driving home, the timing was perfect to stop and capture a little sunset action. A few minutes

later and we would have missed it. But the real action is either right before a sunrise or right after the sunsets.

I still have more to share, stay tuned . . .

Hopefully, I will get back on track with Foto Friday's - I've been feeling a little under the weather lately.

I hope that you are all enjoying your weekend!

Love, Kim

XO

 

 
 

Wordless Wednesday . . .

Wordless, really?

Okay, biting my lip. Oh, but..............okay.

I'm just going to say ONE thing - this was just the beginning to a most incredible sunset!

And....I will share more later in the week!

Love, Kim

XO

My P52 project

I like love taking photographs, it makes my heart happy! To be able to seal a moment in time feels magical, and to share it with others is just plain exciting . When I first got my Nikon D80 camera a little over 3 years ago, I just thought it would take awesome pictures all by itself! What I didn't realize is that owning a Nikon camera does not make you a photographer, it just makes you an owner of a Nikon. A camera is only as good as it's operator and it seemed that this operator had no idea how to take a photograph in anything other than auto mode. I was frustrated. My husband gave me a book the following Christmas that was a field guide for my camera. It might as well have been in another language. Talk like aperture, ISO and white balance was well, confusing to say the least. One morning we went for our first sunrise on the water and I had no real idea of what I was doing or how to set my camera to capture the moment as I saw it. I was very fortunate to run into another hobbyist photographer, one much more seasoned than myself. He pushed buttons and turned dials and then the sun began to rise. I had my first sunrise picture, but with no way of knowing how to repeat it the next time. It has taken many sunrises and thousands of pictures to only start to understand how to correctly expose a moment. My journey has only just begun . . . 

This brings me to the purpose of this post, Foto photo Friday. Every week on Friday I will be posting my picture of the week. It's my P52 project of a photo a week for 52 weeks and one I am doing along with others on a flickr group. I hope to meet a few friends along the way, to learn from others and become a better photographer.

"Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts." 

                    ~Minor White


This quote would pretty much sum up my Thursday night! As I left the house at sunset to drive to my son's basketball game, the sky was more beautiful than words can describe. I didn't have even a minute to stop and get the camera, take a picture and still get to his game on time. I wouldn't have been late, I would have missed it entirely. I wouldn't have been able to help myself as I would have wanted to stay and take in every delicious moment until I was satisfied I wouldn't miss one second more. So last night at sunset, I went to the pond in the neighborhood by mine with my fingers crossed and I was not disappointed. I had to take a family vote on the favorite since I could not decide. This was the one that got 3 out of 4 votes:

This one was second . . .

And this one got honorable mention . . .

I'm probably gonna have to cheat here just a little. I can only participate one photo a week to the flickr group, but I take so many pictures that I can't pick just one to share with everyone else. I will have a few of my favorites for the week here. And I may even occasionally need your help picking "the" picture to submit.

I also have some other projects that involve photos and jewelry . . . stay tuned as I figure those out.

Have a wonderful day! 

Kim