Miscellaneous Monday

So many photos, so few memes.
{...wait...that's not right.}


But I do have a handful of extra shots from last week that never made it into the rotation.
Most are from Thursday's trip to the farmstead.



This little guy was sooooo cute!!!
{if someone had told me I could take them all home, I'd have done so in a heartbeat!}





...one if by land, two if by sea...
This was one of several lanterns in the dairy barn.
and I liked it, so I took a picture.





They also have these gorgeously green well-style hand pumps with cobalt blue basins beneath as their wash station near the goats.
{beauty is in the details...except you can't really see them here.}




and who could ignore the giant red barn?!
{well, no one, because that's where you enter. ;)}
Check out that weather vane, too!




And this one....there's a story here...

My husband and I had gone out to stake up our tomato plants in our backyard one evening when we caught two bunnies nibbling away at the new growth.
{stinkin' bunnies}
But instead of running away as fast as they could, they ran a little bit and stopped.
So I ran to get my camera!
When I came back I apparently made "ridiculous clopping noises" with my flip flops {so says my husband} and scared them away. They ran under our wooden gate and I had to go see if they stopped again.
Which they did! One was about 6 feet from me, so I carefully crouched to the ground to get some shots.
I managed to take a few super blurry ones and then the bunny started hopping toward me!
Closer and closer...
{why oh why did I grab my 70-300 when the 50 is what I needed?!?}
And then as if that wasn't crazy enough, this gutsy bunny starts running at me!

What do I do?
I flinch.
A bunny made me flinch.
And he ran away for real this time.

Not long after all this, his buddy figured out that his friend was gone and came out for the shot above.

PS - If you have an interest in handmade items, then Celeste at French Onion Finds has you covered! At her brand spankin' new blog she showcases beautiful items from Etsy. And it just so happens that her first post includes one of my photographs. ;)

At the Farmstead

Yesterday I took the kids to a local children's farmstead. 

We go multiple times per year. {because it's free!}

But this time we fished. 

I hope my children know how much I love them, because slimy wiggly worms and my bare hands is not my idea of a good time. Let alone putting them on a hook. But I manned-up and did it!

{When we were all done, I set up the shot above. I absolutely love it.
...the old pole, the pale of worms, the ducks, the wooden bench, the weeping willow...
I couldn't have asked for better props!}

{for this shot I ran PTM's Heart and Soul action x2}

    

However, I must not know how to put a worm on a hook properly, because the fish would eat the worms right off the hook with ease.

This is the closest we came to a catch.

They also have little goats that can be bottle fed.

So we did that too.

This guy was a bit ornery...but you probably already knew that by the look in his eye.

You can't tell from this shot, but he was standing on a tree stump...which made it much easier to nibble at people's shirts!

     

Scavenger Hunt - Thanks

A super big thanks to Ashley for using not one, but all of my suggestions for Scavenger Hunt Sunday last week!!! That girl has been pimping my blog and Etsy shop with links all over the place!

A big, big thanks for that Ashley...you're a doll! :)
...she's so cute and pretty that she really could have her own doll...just maybe not this face. ;)

1. Pop of Color
In this shot Grandpa was teaching the kids the fine art of playing with fireworks! ;) 

2. Crossing Thresholds
Taking this shot totally creeped me out!!!
I kept having that "Watcher in the Woods" meets "Black Swan" feeling...like the back of one of my heads would turn around and stare at me.
(enter shuttering noise here)

The alternative shot to this was of our bedroom door at night, which looked like something out of "Ghostbusters".
Our house is not normally this creepy. I promise.

3. X-Ray
This is actually a photo I took a little while back, but I gave it a new look, which I LOVE.

4. Toy
I was having a hard time narrowing down which toy to take a picture of for this prompt.
But my husband came to the rescue when he brought home all of his little toy soldiers.
My son and I set them up - and this shot was one to mainly get my focus, but I loved it even though my focus isn't spot on....when is it ever, eh?!

This shot really struck a chord with me and I thought it a fitting one for the 4th of July.
I often feel that this is how I - and many other Americans without a direct tie to the armed services - see our military...as faceless pawns with whom our government plays soldier. But there are faces: some are very worn and empty from trauma, too many are cold from death, and others are scarred from battles.
The cost of our freedom is amazingly high and I thank all the brave men and women who pay that price for us!

5. Hidden
Do you see him??

Scripture & a Snapshot {Week 41}

Note: This week's linky will remain up until Friday night!
I hope all of you have a fun and very safe 4th of July weekend!!




The idea that God is the creator of all things is one of the most basic building blocks to a Christian's beliefs. Sadly, many people dismiss this train of thought as delusional and inconceivable....they prefer to believe that we are here by mere chance, by an intricate web of coincidences.

I believe, as the Bible states, that God is the Creator of all things: animals, plants, people, and even the science that makes up everything in our universe. But this topic is one that we could talk about for years.

What I want to talk about today is the relationship between God and man.
Because there most definitely is one.

In this verse God makes all the animals of the land and sky.
...but notice what He does after He makes them...
He brings them to Adam, the first man, and Adam names them!
That sounds like a pretty cool relationship to me!

And God wants a relationship with all of us, just as He had with Adam!
He wants to interact with us!
He's not a "Because I said so" kind of God - He gives us a choice: to love Him or not; to be in relationship with Him or not; to give Him glory or to give it to ourselves.

These are not always easy choices to make...
For me, loving God is something I was raised to do, so it's not difficult or something I have to make a conscious effort to do.
My relationship with Him changes and grows from day to day...some days He is the loving father I rarely had growing up, other days He's my best friend whom I can just chat with about anything, but most days He is my Lord and I praise Him for loving me as I am and giving me an eternal future with Him that I could never earn or buy.

He always loves you right where you are...
"not for what you have done or what you will become"
and He "will give you the love that you never knew!"





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<center><a href="http://katielloydphotography.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20and%20a%20Snapshot"><img border="0" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5005740786_2337690f81_m.jpg" width="196" /></a></center>

Want to join in this challenge?

Here's how to participate:

1. Select a scripture.

My hope is that each week you will search your Bible and select a verse that has meaning for you.

Here's a link to a good Bible verse search engine.

2. Add a photo to it.

I hope that you will chose a photo that goes with your chosen scripture, and not just throw these two elements together. The photo can be from your archives or a new shot. Please only use your own photos. You can have the scripture on your photo, below it, make a collage - however you want, as long as the two elements are together!

3. Put the Scripture & a Snapshot button in your post.

You won't be deleted or banned if you don't. It just helps spread the word...and the Word. ;) 

It also helps visitors from the blog hop quickly identify your Scripture & a Snapshot post.

4. Come back here and link up your post. 

Please link directly to your Scripture & A Snapshot post, not the home page of your blog.

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Click here to get the blog hop code!

The Ants Go Marching One by One

The other day I was sitting on our deck while the kids played in the pool and noticed a lone ant coming toward me. He was on a mission and determined to cross my path.

...and here's the before...

All I did to this was crop and run PW's Heartland action.
Bada-bing!






PS - That first sentence sounds much better than it really is...the pool is a blow up one, slightly bigger than a bathtub. And those tiny specks of blue are paint that was meant to be only on the house. But I think it adds a little somethin' to the shot. Don't you?