Catch-Up and FMTSO!

     Okay, now that you're all "awww!" and "Look at the puppies!" I will say I'm so sorry I haven't been posting for a while. School started up some weeks ago and I've been trying to get into a routine for my last year of high school.
     I haven't taken many new pictures so I'll put up some I took earlier this year!
  In the spirit of fall time here are some of the lovely colors outside my house this year:

All glowing and fuzzy gold!
 I tried out a "soft" filter on my camera and
I quite like the effect:) 

Earlier in the summer (it seems so long ago!) my brothers and sister and I went GeoCaching with our grandparents. We had to find one in our town square and these interesting murals caught my eye. I had been seeing them all around our town and other towns around us and I finally had the chance to take a picture (or two:)!

I have no idea who painted them but they're really cool! I love the contrasting colors and the details!

My big puppies! Oh you're so cute! I could eat you up!
(Not literally, of course, but I do love my dogs:)
Notice the muddy paws: not coming inside!

                                                         Now for some textures:

I tried to get the moss and the rotting wood of the old out-house in contrast to the blue sky and living trees. I really love the mood of this shot though:P

This is also from summer:) I'm not quite happy with the bokeh (the points of light blurred out in the background) but the picture on a whole turned out well!

This next photo is for FMTSO: "Yummy." 

I love fresh cherries and blueberries! I originally snapped this last year for a photo contest in my county fair, but I touched up the contrast/hue/saturation today.

That's all eFlashed for today folks!

Walk Through the Field (FMTSO)

 This is my weather! Fall in Minnesota is VERY nice, not too hot, not too cool; perfect for me!

Went for a walk with my Labs and my camera this week; I am not disappointed with my photos!

The sun was setting and the fountain grass in the field was beautiful! I practiced my manual focusing techniques:) 

I love this picture so much, it has three different types of seeding grass
and it has just the right amount out of focus:)

My best bud: Bear!

My town's weather is BEAUTIFUL right now; hope it stays a while longer!

Thanks for following y'all!

Space (The Milky Way Galaxy From My Backyard)

Last night was a spectacularly clear night; I could see tons of stars and even the Milky Way Galaxy! I got my camera and tripod and set it on the lowest aperture and about 10-15 seconds of shutter time so I could capture the brightness of the star. I am extremely happy with my shots; remember this is my first time shooting low-light/outdoors!

The white-ish streak in the middle is the Milky Way. My camera picked up many more stars than I could see!
I also did some long-exposure shots:)

For this one I took a flashlight, pointed it at my feet, and walked in a zig-zag with the shutter speed on 30 seconds!

This was taken with a shutter speed of 2 minutes! See that line of light in the middle? It's an airplane:) There were quite a few last night, and the next two pictures you can see the airplanes better:

IT'S A SNAKE UFO!!! Just kidding, it's time-lapse airplane travel! 

Trekking across the Milky Way! So neat!
Oh boy, I need to go to bed, I've church tomorrow! 

       See y'all later!

Tagged and Awarded!

Well just today I was "tagged" and awarded by The Kids to say 11 random things about me and answer 11 questions about myself as well as tag 11 other people to do the survey as well:)  Liebster is a German word that means well done, kind, beloved, or valued:)

RANDOM stuff:
1. I like rock climbing and climbing trees:)
2. I love to sleep in!
3. I don't like to get up early but when I do I'm glad I did!
4. I'm an outdoors girl.
5. I love music and chocolate and fruits together! :P
6. I do not eat anything that looks alive (shrimp, sushi, worms, lobster... Yuck)
7. I have a hobby of collecting coins and rocks.
8. I like hats (especially fedoras!)
9. I am a promise, I am a possibility!
10. Not allergic to anything except maybe schoolwork, but Mom says that doesn't count:(
11. I live for the glory of God!

1. How many pets do you have? Right now? 3: Two English Labradors and one kitten named Cali.

2. Are you homeschooled? Yes, all my life:)

3. Are you a Christian? 

Defiantly!!

4. How often do you blog? Whenever I have pictures to show! (Around twice a week at least:)

5. What is your favorite seasons? FALL!

6. What is your favorite food? Mashed potatoes and 

broccoli. (What?! Your fav food is BROCCOLI?!! Yes. Yes it is:)

7. Favorite book? Aww man! I have too many! The Bible, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, "Anne of Green Gables" by 

Lucy Maud Montgomery, Chronicles of Narnia series, and "Soon" by Jerry Jenkins are my top 5 right now!

8. Favorite color? That is confidential! (But I like the sky;)

9. How many siblings do you have? Three

10. How old are they? Younger than me:)

11. What do you like us to write about most? Your pets and animals! 

Okay now to think of my own questions. Hmm... 

Alright, here they are:

1. When and Why did you start blogging?

2. Do you have a hobby that you don't blog about?

3. Have you ever attended a play?

4. What is your favorite place in the world?

5. Do you have a favorite animal?

6. Do you have a big family?

7. City or Country?

8. Have you ever left the state of your birth?

9. Are you quiet or outgoing?

10. What is your passion in life?

11. Do you like neon colors?

   So, the deal is, if I tag you then you answer these 11 questions on your blog as well as 11 random facts about YOU, and then you can tag and award 11 other people if you want to! Just copy/paste the Liebster award to your blog page!

   I'm awarding these bloggers because I enjoy reading their blogs:

John at John's Island

Mona at Montanagirl

Jill at jillgoes
Sarah at This Is My Father's World Photography

Amelia at Between the Pages

Mike at NXTGeek

Haley at Chapter Thirteen

Lucia at Lucia, Et Cetera

Jess at Scribblings of a Dreamer

P.S.

 I saw this grasshopper by the shed while walking the dogs, so I took like ten photos of it and this was the only good one! :)
     Later y'all!