amish country and beyond, my week in pictures.

This past week I got to steal away several times to capture pictures of Amish Country and surrounding areas. I hope you enjoy as much as I did shooting them. (I got some muddy shoes in the process, but I came home and saw I had a few I was totally in love with and had some keepers.)

When I shot this photo it conjured up feelings of a murder mystery movie. Doesn't it look spooky in  a sense?

Rolling clouds, another shot at the "murder mystery movie location".

I was shooting the clouds that night, they were so big and stormy and I got this horse and wagon in the picture.

Love this scene, looking at the farm through the weeds.

Another shot, a little further away.

I always try to take several shots of a scene I really like and when I came home, I noticed the horse in this picture. I loved it. Almost looks ghostly.

I was traveling along some secluded highway and there were hundreds of blackbirds  flying around. I stopped my car, put the four-ways on and snapped away. With my window down I could hear them and they were tremendously noisy.

Very Cold Mountain...if you've watched the movie, you will understand.

A shot of the trees and how tangled they looked.

My very most favorite shot. How "Little House on the Prairie" is this? I can't even tell you what it did to me when I saw this little home. Well, I can, When I crawled back in my car, my car was still in "drive". I got hot all over when I noticed and I paused right there and thanked God for protecting me and my car! I'm blessed to drive a very patient car! and I learned a big lesson, if the car doors aren't unlocked, and I have to unlock the doors before exiting, then your car isn't in park!

The front door of the little home. I like.

I met some more animals I had to shoot, this is where I got my muddy shoes.

It was so quiet and serene down here in the valley.

When I saw how this one turned out, it felt more like a painting to me.

The farm for the animals. It has certainly seen its better days, but the animals don't know. They are blissfully happy and content. I really liked this shot, the pickup, the house high up on the hill. I really pulled the house into the picture, it was sitting up and away from everything.

Pretty pony.

This horse seemed to like that I was there. I liked his unique marking on his nostril.

An Amish home having a public auction. I parked up in a field and shot some photos, I didn't want to get too close because the Amish really don't like to be photographed.

More auction scenes.

Horse and buggies parked in a field with trees surrounding the pasture they are parked in.

More buggy parking at the auction.

How beautiful this is in real life.

My favorite shot of the two ponds.

I liked this barn, it looks old and comfortable.

A "winterized" tree against a very blue sky.

A windmill against the same very blue sky.

This driveway was fun to shoot. This is my favorite shot.

It was so windy.

Love the various shades of green dancing in the wind together.

This fellow was selling birdhouses. His very patient horse is watching the traffic and resting for the long trek home.

Beside birdhouse man were these two little girls and they were "helping" their mother, who was sitting in the buggy, sell baskets.

I imagine grandpa walks with a stick, why else would two little ones walk around with sticks as they did?

Mother's baskets.

Birdhouse man is making a sale, I shot him up close and personal. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. He had a certain jolly "character" which drew me in. I like.

The two scenes finally come together, basket lady's babies are watching birdhouse man make a sale. So CUTE!

Lastly, I didn't shoot this sunrise, unfortunately, I didn't even witness it, but my coworker, Bob, shot it and sent it to me. He knows I like this kind of stuff. Can't you just see God's paintbrush all over this one?

I hope you enjoyed my pictures as much as I enjoyed shooting them.

Blessings!

Lue

of coloring books, "ga ga", and the whims of a little boy

 My grandmother "hat" is the one I wear tallest and feel most blessed wearing. That God would ever see fit to insert such a bundle of delight into my life renders me without words at times. Each time I'm with Little Guy, I feel more love, more blessing, more joy than the time before. He has been such a gift in my life and I could only hope he would be able to feel how much I love him.

My love for him is.

INTENSE!

This summer, we baked a couple batches of cookies and bars and several homemade pizzas. I always set a chair up by the counter so he can help. His mother reports that when she is working in the kitchen and he is helping her he looks at her and says, "grandma?".

He knows me.

I treasure that.

He had a blast picking out the chocolate chips before we ever got the bars in the oven.

Earlier this year we had gotten together with my family and Little Guy always poses for pictures by holding both of his little hands to his face. Everyone in the background was posing as well. :) He brings us a lot of entertainment.

Can you tell?

We recently introduced Little Guy to a coloring book and crayons. He loves Curious George, whom he has dubbed, "Ga Ga". The coloring book is one of my finds when I visited a local Goodwill Store. I paid one dollar and believe to this date it is the best dollar I've ever spent.

I placed his big, fat crayons in a mug so they would be within his reach without rolling all over. The "chair" he is using is actually a "shaker style" step stool that my handy brother made for me years back. It is the just the right size for Little Guy right now, it is large enough to be a table if he sits in it backwards, like you see. I think someone should make these to sell. Grandparents would love them! I know I do. This one was caught up in a room/rooms we were painting and it got all splattered with paint which totally annoys me now, but all I can do now is sand it down and repaint it, but in the meanwhile, Little Guy doesn't mind the splatters and is having a good time using it.

Coloring his first masterpiece. So intent on what he is doing.

Love the hand holding the crayon.

Like I said, I just love his little hands, all pudgy and soft and busy.

Look at those eyelashes.

And.

Hands!

You couldn't distract him if you had to.

So happy with his masterpiece!

More cheers! And little hands in the air.

Crayons.

Selecting a new crayon.

He found a new way to use the crayons.

One, two, buckle my shoe.

Three, four, shut the door.

Five, six,

pick up sticks.

Tossed to the side and off to bigger and better things.

Watching Ga Ga

in various

positions.

Potato Chips? They are a vegetable, right?

(He was eating a ton of them this night.)

 Little Guy has brought so much joy, so much love, so much fun into my life. My prayer is that he would grow up feeling loved and cherished by his grandpa and I.

Always.

Lue