Orange Colored Sunshine

There's a Willie Nelson song with the words that say "that's my favorite part....rewind my life on." I love that line. And if I could choose a few days to rewind my life on.... it would be warm fall days,  Indian summer if you will, where my feet were covered in leaves and my face was covered in orange colored sunshine. There are too many to count through the years, too many times that I've stopped to just look around me this time of year. In elementary school, in college, after I had a baby... too many times that I stay out until the last ray of sun goes to sleep....I'm packing it away like the squirrels do for the winter, because I know it will be a long time before I get to do this again.

Song: Maria, Willie Nelson

Socks

Sometimes I can be a very persuasive person. I know this about myself and sometimes I use that persuasiveness to get people to do things they wouldn't normally do. Like wear very very long athletic socks with shorts from 1982.... for a family photo.

There was a method behind my madness though. This little guy has a thing about only wanting to wear athletic clothing. So we went with it. Had fun. We ALL had a ton of fun!!!

And just for fun and mainly because we were walking the back alleys of Cheyenne with a New Yorker, we decided to wrap him in caution tape.

Song: I've Got No Time, Them Socks

Blue Eyed Babies

A while ago I talked about a problem I had....backing away. These are a prime example of that. But there is a reason. My favorite favorite part of these little girls are their eyes. They both have the most amazing color of blue bright eyes that just glimmer when photographed. It's hard to back up from that. Of course, they have blue eyes, but I almost always like their pictures in black and white. I know. I don't understand me either.

 And.....they even look good covered up!

Song: Blue Eyes Blue, Eric Clapton

Bark

I have an area in the house where I wanted some close ups of birch bark. (It's not my area, but I still deem it my job to decorate in such areas) so while we were out this summer in the mountains, I grabbed a few of these. I was in an area where a lot of the bark had fallen off the trees... so, I picked it up and brought it home with hopes I would find something to do with it. 

So I finally did this week. During the fall, I've gotten away from decorating with all the cutsie figurines, knicknacks etc and such for the holidays....I bring the outside in, I like to use as much from nature as I can. It seems more real. More modern. More...me. The grown up me.  This is what I did with the bark and I filled it with pine cones from the front yard that I little one likes to go and collect for me.  And since I normally have those filled with candles, I surrounded it by candles to show it off.

Sometimes

Sometimes....it's more fun to watch them from afar. Give them a little direction, but let them be themselves. Sometimes, those photos are my favorites

But...I also like to engage...

And get these!

A Cold One

We woke up on Saturday morning to weather that was 40 degrees colder than the day before. Of course no one was ready for that.....and I think this is how we all felt.

But then it got better...because we found the first tree of the season to throw leaves in our hair!

Appleness

For a couple weeks I've had a kitchen full of apples, and I have been wanting to make apple butter for a while now, so yesterday I took the time to get it done. Surprisingly, it was very very simple and I should have made it much sooner. It was one of those things that you think it is going to be a big long drawn out process (which I just haven't had the spare time for) but it wasn't.

4 c. sugar (I only  used 2 cups)

8 c. cooked apples (didn't have eight cups after the apples had cooked)
1/2 c. white vinegar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Wash. peel and slice apples thin. Pack into crock pot until full. Add only enough water to keep from sticking to the bottom. Cook all day, covered on low; that night, add 4 cups of sugar to 8 cups of cooked apples (adjust sugar is less than 8 cups). Add 1/2 cup white vinegar; stir well and cook all night, covered on low. The next morning, add spices. Cook, uncovered, on high for 3 hours, then fill jars and seal.


The process does take a long time, but you just have to let it sit in a crock pot..AND your house smells amazing for two days. TWO days of yummy appleness.


Song: Right Down the Line, Gerry Rafferty.
(I have a playlist of songs that I only listen to in the fall, I'm not really sure why, but this is on it. One of my favorites .......I say that about a lot of music don't I?)

Traveling

There is a little girl that I've been wanting my little boy to meet for a few years now. Ever since the first time I photographed her, I have found it quite amazing.... she's the girl version of my son. Last week I took him with me on a little road trip south to take some pictures at her new home. Just as I suspected, they hit it off right away. They chatted like they were old friends. They both are very very verbal and speak and use words that aren't typical of 4 year olds. I'm sooooo happy they got to play!

Just Us

It's been just he and I this week, and it's been uneventful. But we love just being together. It's been good. He even told me I was the bestest cook in all of Cheyenne...he said this as he was slurping Ramen Noodles. (not much cooking this week either!)

Song: Happy Together, The Turtles

Ghost Town

My travels this past weekend led me to have a couple of adventurous shoots. This one was in a little ghost town outside of Thermopolis, a mining town, Geebo (not sure if I'm spelling that right, couldn't find info on it) When we pulled up there were others there that did NOT want us there. Paintballers. They stood just feet from us while I shot... I felt like a target and the thing that I shoot was no match for them.  So we stayed for just a little bit, and then moved on, though I think I could have stayed there for hours.

Song: Ghost Town, Cheap Trick

The Hike

Most of the time I'm the one getting the looks from people about where I'm hauling them to and making them walk through and wondering what in the world is going on in my mind. This time...it was me doing that. I stood there in my flip flops staring up a mountain of shale rock that we were going to climb with a two year old and a dog and camera gear.  We made it though. It was hot!! We were all sweating profusely. (This was the same day that I froze my booty off at the river in the morning, love Wyoming weather!) I think we managed to get a few good ones!!

Song: Don't Fence Me In, David Byrne