Dandelion Seeds

It was my turn to mow the yard.  As I was pulling everything out of the garage, I noticed a dandelion seed head popping up above the grass, then another and another…  So I went around the yard picking dandelions.  I wasn’t thinking about removing the seeds so weeds wouldn’t grow.  No, I wanted to take pictures of them.  I put them in a bottle with water to save for later. 

Have you ever looked really close at a dandelion seed?  They are perfect weed making machines.  Their fluff carries them far and wide, and the seed is actually barbed to stick where it wants to be planted.  They are little miracles - or perfect disasters, depending how you look at it.  

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds.  My Find this week is dandelion seeds.  My photos were textured with Kim’s texture waterfront 18.

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!

Michelle

 

Smile!

‘Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.’  -  Mother Teresa

‘A laugh is a smile that bursts.’  -  Mary H. Waldrip

‘Everyone smiles in the same language.’  -  Author Unknown

‘A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.’  -  Phyllis Diller

‘A smile is happiness you’ll find right under your nose.’  -  Tom Wilson

‘Happiness is an inside job.’  -  William Arthur Ward

I took these photographs at a garden near my house a few weeks ago, just getting to look at them now…  

I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer with a smile on your face.  In my neck of the woods it has been hotter this week than it has been all summer!   I will enjoy it while it lasts.  

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.  I played with my images in Lightroom and textured them with Kim’s texture savor in PS Elements.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Have a great week!!

Michelle

 

Balance

“Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.”  -  Rumi

I love rocks, especially round ocean, or river, tumbled stones.  I like how they feel in my hand.  They remind me how powerful nature can be, and at the same time how peaceful it is at the edge of calm water.   

St. John, US Virgin Islands

Several places I've visited have piles of stones stacked on top of one another called cairns.  Sometimes cairns are made to mark trials.  Other times people balance the stones just to see how high they can stack the pile, or how impossible they can make it.

Sedona, Arizona

Balancing stones can be tricky.  It takes patience, practice and a little luck, just like balancing life...  

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds.  My finds are a cutting off my Japanese Lace Leaf Maple Tree (who is enjoying our cool summer by growing to the ground), a Ziplock baggie of vacation stones and a one dollar bottle.   My top image was textured with Kim’s textures touch of 1 and may, and I also used her Lightroom preset light and airy.

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Michelle

 

The World's Longest Yard Sale

We set out last Friday to shop a portion of The World’s Longest Yard Sale.   About 2 hours into our shopping it started lightly raining, not much, but enough to make blue plastic tarps the most visible item from the road.  
 

 

There is lot of farmland on this stretch of 127, great photo opportunities if it wasn’t raining.  I took some pictures with my iphone, but the sky was so gray I had to do a lot of ‘fixing’ with apps.

Despite the rain, we continued to shop for hours and hours.  

We didn’t find much to brag about.  My husband found tools, my daughter found jewelry to wear or to create into something new, and I bought my first jug.  It is a small jug.  I have always been intrigued by jugs and crocks I’ve seen, but didn’t know much about them.  At one of our many stops, I found a table full of crocks and a man who knew a lot about them.  If only I had written it all down…  What I remember is that these particular crocks were made in a Kentucky factory that closed in the 1940’s and some of the crocks can be over 100 years old.  Many have cracks and chips, but that adds character.  I decided to start small and picked out my first jug.

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds, my finds are my jug, a pretty daisy and some yard sale fun.  My daisy images are textured with Kim’s texture quiet, on the top image I also added a photo veil from Love that Shot called frosted dew. 

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Have a great weekend!

Michelle

 

Time Flies...

Wow!

I really can’t believe school starts tomorrow.  Where did the summer go?  I guess it is true that time flies when you are having fun.  

We have been squeezing in some fun these last days of summer.  We ate pizza and macaroons on a picnic.  We took a little yard sale trip (more on that Friday).  We spent some time playing on the lake.  My daughter and I have also been doing some back to school shopping.  Busy, busy, busy…

I did find time to take some pictures of an old silver tray I found a couple of weeks ago at a flea market for $3.  After a little toothpaste and elbow grease it shined up nicely, perfect for a few bottles and a cute little flower who’s name I didn't catch.  

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday, my images are all textured with Kim’s Texture waterfront 18.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Have a great week!!

Michelle

 

Carriage Hill

My daughter and I took a daytrip to Carriage Hill Metro Park.  Carriage Hill is a historical farm dating back to the 1880’s.  They have livestock and wonderfully restored buildings.  On the weekends there are demonstrations about life on the farm in the 1880’s.  

We enjoyed wandering around the farm making discoveries around every corner.  

The chickens were not in the chicken coop.  My daughter was chasing the chickens in the field to get a good picture of them with her phone.  Later she used few apps to finish up the photo.  Hmm… I wonder where she got that from?

I love doors and windows.   When I see an old, beautiful in it’s own way, window or door, I have to take it’s picture.  I may have gone overboard...  No, I don’t think there is such a thing as too many pictures, is there?

School starts on August 13^th. That is next week.  I can’t believe it!  The summer has flown by…  

We are going on one last little summer adventure Friday, the 127 Corridor Sale also known as the World’s Largest Yard Sale.  The sale stretches from Michigan to Alabama.  We are not shopping the entire route, just a portion.   Next week I hope to have a few Friday Finds to tell you about.

Today I am joining Kim Klassen’s Texture Tuesday.  My images today are all textured with Kim’s texture ‘teatime’.  

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great week!

Michelle

 

St. John, US Virgin Islands

 

My idea of paradise…

Driving on the left and sharing the road with donkeys, goats, iguanas, and an occasional bull.  

Reading on a balcony with roosters crowing below.

Admiring tropical flowers.

Relaxing in the shade of a sea grape tree with the ocean breeze in my face, captivated by the ocean’s beauty.

Snorkeling, lots of snorkeling.

Watching sea turtles eat and purple sea fans sway with the ocean currents.

Searching for colorful sea glass and the perfect round stone.

Hiking to beautiful places.

 

Exploring sugar plantation ruins.

Spending time with my family.

Coming home after a safe and fun trip.

I have missed being here in my little creative space.  I forgot how much I love playing with photographs on my computer, although iphone apps are a great substitute when I don’t have a computer close by. 

Today I am sharing some of my vacation finds with Kim Klassen’s Friday Finds, my first image is textured with kk_0603 and the boat image is textured with kk_totalgrunge.

I hope you are savoring the last days of summer.  Summer always ends too soon…  

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Michelle