A Huge Change...well, at least a very big one

Greetings, once again! It's been a considerable amount of time since I last posted anything here. And trust me...the pictures have been PILING up! It's a daunting prospect to weed through them all, but I'm attempting the nearly impossible.

Since I last posted here, my family has up-and-left the Bluegrass State, and headed for the South Carolina Lowcountry—my DH's job being the reason. Now, we find ourselves in the city formerly known as Charles Towne, steeped in culture, history, and OODLES of photographic inspiration. I'm itching to take off one evening during the golden hour to capture some of the beautiful sites.

But, it was definitely a sad goodbye to our friends (who really are family now) in Lexington. They are a part of us. One of my dear friends posted a quote from C.S. Lewis on her Facebook page, and it got me all choked up. For those of you who know and follow Christ, this will be very meaningful to you:

“In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.'― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

As we cleaned up our home in Lexington, making it ready for the new owners, I kept hoping our poppies would pop open. I just wanted to see them bloom before we left. And sure enough...our last couple of days there, they opened up to display their magnificent, trademark "poppy red" beauty.

Diet...schmiet

Bourbon balls...yeah, not typically part of a New Year's diet. I have been going through my photographs lately, adding product to my new store (of course), and came across this one. I know I've posted it before, but I wanted to post it again. Every time I look at it, I remember how these delectable treats melt and flood your mouth with intense flavor! They are just so dang yummy!

The Pioneer Woman (yes...the lovely Ree Drummond) called this photo, "So pretty. So rich!" I just love her. I know we would be good friends. Call me, Ree! :)

And they're off!

Where we live, spring means many things. But, one of the unique and really fun things about this area is the amazing horses that are everywhere! Keeneland is just around the corner from our house, and every spring (usually April, I believe), the races begin. Big, fancy hats, and beautiful spring dresses dot the grounds, along with seersucker suits.

We're actually just around the corner from the fall racing season at Keeneland, but this past spring we decided to hit the track for breakfast, and enjoy the morning warmups. We loaded up the kiddos, along with grandma and grandpa, and headed out of the house around 7:00 AM. And it was so much fun! Here's a little glimpse of our morning...

One-day Winter

Hello again! I'm still here...are you?! I sincerely apologize for my long absence from this blog. I picked up some freelance work, on top of staying home with the kiddos, and working my regular job, so blogging (unfortunately) took a back seat. :(

But, I'm still here, and I'm still taking pictures! So, I'll attempt to catch up a bit over the next several weeks, and show you a bit of what I've been photographing these days. Because of my two little ones, I haven't had a lot of photography adventures in the past several months. So, I've found myself trying to find the "adventure" in the everyday. I think that's a great thing to do, by the way. No day is ordinary. There's a spark of mystery and adventure in each and every moment. You just have to see it...or for me, capture it!

Here in Kentucky, we really didn't have that much a winter this past year. That's a huge bummer for someone like me who LOVES winter and snow. But, we did have one bright and GORGEOUS snowy day on March 5, 2012. The drifts were huge, and the sun was bright and beautiful. The sky couldn't have been bluer. It was amazing.

We have an old pin oak in the back yard. It's sick, and probably needs to come down soon. That makes me really sad. I hate to see older trees come down--especially when they are as big as this one. But, with the bright white snow covering it's branches, it was in all its glory.

Dandelion Wine

Dandelions...the bain of so many land owners, and yard lovers...and yet, they hold a special place in my heart. I remember rubbing them on our chins when I was little and then laughing because of the funny-looking yellow residue they would leave behind. I remember blowing the seeds and watching them dance on the wind. But, I LOVE watching my daughter do these things now. It's all come full-circle.

We had so many in our yard this year--probably not helped by my daughter grabbing each "blow flower" she saw and scattering the seeds with her breath. But, I joked that we had enough to gather and make dandelion wine. Shoulda, coulda...

New blooms

One of my favorite things about Spring is the new life that begins to show itself after a long, dead winter. Things that appear to be dead suddenly spring to life again--all things become new!

We planted!

I hate to say it, but I think the green thumb in my family skipped me. My grandmother is a phenomenal gardener, my mom is a phenomenal gardener, but me . . . not so much. It's so sad! I really want to be a green thumb, but I'm not. I'm stuck following instructions and advice from others. I have no gardening instinct.

But, when we (my husband and I) bought our first house last year (I won't tell you that I almost spelled "house" like "h-o-w-s-e"—thank you, Winnie the Pooh), the landscaping was/is in dire need of help. We've been caught up in a kitchen remodel, so the landscaping has taken a back seat. But, with the kitchen almost completely done, we decided to put a little bit of time into the yard recently. So, we headed up to good ol' Home Depot (our home away from home), and another local garden center, and stocked up on potting soil, mulch, a sprinkler, some various plants (including a gorgeous hydrangea), and our first tree for the front yard—a Kentucky Black Gum. Our front yard is sadly lacking for trees. And while the projects are NEVER done, here's a little preview of some of the flowers we planted. I will post more when the grass gets cut, after the mower gets fixed, and my husband has a chance to take on the jungle in our yard. :) Let's just pray that everything stays alive, despite what I may throw at them.

My new friends...

One of the things I've been longing to do since moving to Kentucky is visit a horse farm so that I can photograph the horses! I was able to see that dream realized a couple of weeks ago when Click-ish Photographers (the local photo group I belong to) visited Bachelors Barter Farm in Harrodsburg, KY, home of April's Andalusians. Here's a sampling of what I was able to capture...

Jadira DD

Jadira & her half-sister Indira

Katie gets a good shot of the sisters kissing each other.

Tia was a sweetie!

Abby saying hello to Dia & Nobleza

My husband & daughter meet Tia.

Well, hello there!

Katie's son was a natural. 

Getting a bit of a shave... how embarrassing for this girl! :)

This is their stallion Campero. He wasn't allowed to come out and say hi, but we enjoyed him from a distance.

The Click-ish girls getting up-close shots of the new blooming daffodils. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Campero strutting his stuff near the barn.

Inside the house... was built in the late 1700's, by a friend of Daniel Boone's!

The huge fireplace in the original kitchen, which was in the basement.

My studly husband enjoying the pasture view.

I love all these beautiful old stone walls that are littered throughout Kentucky's horse country.

Katie's son felt a little adventurous, and wandered into the pasture. Thankfully, the owners were quick at jumping fences. :)

Thank you to all who made this fun day possible!!