Northern Living

The north seemed to be having a party the other night. The colors were stunning. Made even better with the long exposure and mad camera skills of my Darling Adventure Man. 

The streaks of light would shoot up like spotlights. And the fade to green then red was ever in motion. Truly a sight worth staying up for! 

A Big Sky Sunset

I know I've said it before, but there's a reason we call it Big Sky Country. 

Photo credit to Darling Adventure Man. 

Autumn Splendor and Some Family Time

We like to walk the Aspen Loop Trail that is right by our house each autumn when the colors have changed.

It's just a short little walk, hardly a hike, but it always takes us forever because we have to take hundreds of pictures. 

I actually only used my iPhone this time, because I had just added some great new camera apps that I wanted to try out. 

Adventure Man used the Nikon and the Olympus, which is the one I usually use. I'll share the new apps later this week.

We found lots of ladybuds and had to catch them and chase them through the wild rose bushes that were covered in red rose hips and thorns. 

The kids loved it. 

We got to see everyone having fun in the fresh air and enjoy the warmth of the day before winter is a permanent fixture in our little Montana valley. 

We got to have some together time without too much griping or arguing. 

We love to take in the view and climb the rocks at the end of the loop. 

One of my favorite blogs is written by Emily at The Anderson Crew Blog. She is the creator of Embrace The Camera and is sharing all week long. As someone who would rather take pictures than be taken in pictures, I have tried to make sure I was embracing the camera more often. So I'm sharing these shots with you today.  Her theme for today is memories. I hope my kids will have happy memories of our seasonal adventures!

Head over to Emily's place to find out more. 

Meet The Girl - A Formal Introduction

I found our first dog. My husband picked the name. I had called the dog a not-so-nice word in Japanese and my husband thought it was the perfect name. 

I picked this pup from the litter. So I made the mistake of telling my Darling Adventure Man (DAM) that he could name her. 

I will NEVER do that again. From now on, if we ever get another animal. HE can PICK it. I will name it. 

So. With no furthure ado. 

Meet Jessica... 

Jessica Rabbit, that is. 

Oh yes. My husband named our sweet puppy after a cartoon pinup. (Can you hear my eyes rolling!?)

Luckily (for him) we call her Jessy. 

Much more appropriate for life on a ranch. 

Still, they are both cartoon caricatures. But both are redheads. As is the dog. But I digress. 

We've had Jessy 10 weeks now. My mother-in-law asked for an updated picture and this is what I shared.  

The first two were the day we brought her home at 7 weeks. She was so sad. The other two were yesterday at 17 weeks! 

Now another fun comparison is what I went through to get these four shots:

VS. this:

So now you know. She isn't really bad, she's just drawn this was. 

**wink!**

Photo credit to funpop.com for the two redheads, and to DAM for the other ones. 

The Big Chill

We've been getting colder and colder weather. Waking up at 5 am to get my basketball player down to early morning practice isn't fun.

Realizing that I've got to scrape the ice off the car before we leave isn't fun either. Then finding that both rear tires are reading as low? 

What the? 

They just needed air, but that didn't mean we would make it to practice. Oh well. At least the sunrise is nice... 

In the rear view window.... 

The First Snowfall of the Season

It rained a lot last week. When we woke on Friday morning we could see the effect it had on the mountain. 

There isn't any snow at my house. Yet. It won't be long. The aspens in the grove by the house haven't even changed yet! Well, they are starting. They're that lime green that is the precursor to fall. The trees along the road by the river have been yellow for weeks though. 

I took this a few weeks ago. It was the last hot day we've had. *sigh* 

Yes, there is no denying it, winter is coming. 

Plus, our last guests left today. By the end of the week our summer staff will be gone. We're having a party on Wednesday to say good bye. 

 

Monsters in the Field

I pass this field quite often, on my way to and from kids sporting events. This time I had to snap a picture.

The oil pumps make me think of monsters sucking from the earth. I wonder what a field mouse would think.