There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 2).

There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 1).

There is a little section of the Southern Gulf Coast that is like another home to me. My heart yearns to return there every year, and when I do, I feel like I have returned to a piece of home. My family made the trip earlier this Spring, and it was delightful.

Flowers getting ready to bloom at the local zoo.

There was a lot of fog when we first arrived, but after it cleared away, we were left with a gorgeous sunset and beautiful surf.

Aahhhhhhh!

That's just a sampling. I'll share more later. Enjoy!

April showers bring May flowers

Hyacinths just capture Spring, don't they? I took this shot on a recent visit to a local horse farm. This is no credit to my photography, but these flowers look like a painting! The petals are just gorgeous, and so detailed. I love the various tones of purple, and all the curves and curls of the petals. Happy Spring!

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!!

Atop the Bluffs

Hello, Sleeping Bear Dunes. I miss you.

Tobacco

Ever since we moved to Kentucky, I've had a dream—a dream of getting out into the tobacco fields just before they're harvested for some pictures, while they're bright yellow. It hasn't happened yet. I'm really hoping for that this year, though!

But, I did make it out (inadvertently) to a local farm last Fall, and stumbled onto an old tobacco barn on the property. And the tobacco was still hanging! Jackpot! It was definitely cool.

The leaves were so crisp, and made the neatest rustling noise when the breeze hit them. It was eerily quiet when you walked deep into the barn. The hanging tobacco just sucked up all the sound.

So, now that I've captured dead tobacco with my camera, maybe this year I'll be able to capture it while it's still alive . . . and gorgeously bright yellow, under the perfect lighting conditions. :)