Tiptoeing Tulip

The Halloween activities have already begun and this Saturday Illusia got to visit the 'Night of the Living Zoo.' it was cold and way overcrowded but she still seemed to have fun, for the most part.

More @ Night of the Living Zoo

Then on Sunday we wanted to go to a haunted house but could not find one for the little kiddies in the area (but are looking to try again next week, which is a full schedule for sure!) Instead we went to the park. :)

More @ Tulip Faery

Wild Weekend

Ugh, it has been so hard to get back into the swing of regular updating, even when I want to. I was excited about sharing our adventures last weekend, but every-time I started to make a post, I felt like there was nothing to say. I think it has a lot to do with STRESS. Mostly over the fact that next month our 6 month lease is up and though we have managed to pay every month and are not behind it was not always on time and there is a chance the landlord might want to find a 'better' tenant.  Add to that the fact Illusia is just starting to teethe in her canines and is so cranky I basically cannot say or do anything without her exploding in tears and screams...so much stress!

I did not get much sleep last night, so this might come across nonsensical but I want to share something not so gloomy: Last Sunday we had some definite fauna fun. It was an 105 degree high and normally I would elect to stay home and not go anywhere. But summer is fleeting and everyone was sick of being cooped up by the weather... so we battled the heat and went to the Hutchinson Zoo on Sunday morning. Even though we got there at 10:30 am, it was already 94 degrees, by the time we left, 45 minutes later it was already 100!

 
Still manged to enjoy ourselves a bit, mostly in the shade. It was a quaint little place with only a few animals and most of them were in their caves/houses trying to stay cool (and why was I not again..?) I liked the fact that the zoo had a strong rehabilition program and a lot of their animals young may leave the zoo and some of the animals in the zoo actually came from those that were not able to be returned to the wild (and not captive breeding programs, at least according to their website.

As a huge animal lover, I still have mixed feelings on zoos though. Some things I noticed that I wish they would improve on is the size of some of the animals exbibits and the fact that some jerk had thrown trash into the deer's water and it was all green and slimy. Which made me feel very sad for the majestic, obviously very friendly deer

We took a lot of breaks and Illusia enjoyed a home-made-water-bottle sprinkler, she really loved to get cooled off and play around! We took one last break in the grass to have a snack and take some photos. Speaking of photos, my camera got overheated and it really effected the quality of a lot of the photos. Some were dark, grainy and blotchy, mostly the ones I had Grandma A. take of me and Illusia, which proves I never should have my picture taken as I will break the camera!

Cataclysms Silent

♥

Just waiting for my camera batteries to charge up so I have plenty of 'ammo' to get some images later this evening (when it cools off a bit.) Have a fun little trip planned this weekend, but I will keep the details secret to avoid spoiling the suprise.

Here are some random pictures from earlier today of my dear running around and being her crazy little self. I made it into a collage and it now resides as my new desktop. :)

clickie for bigger.

And here is a poem from the poetry section of this blog. I have not shared it on a blog post yet, so I thought I might today :).

D u l c e t 

So soft.
The waves, the expression on your face
I hear you calling
you are the dulcet to my ears.

So far.
I wander, oblivious to the shadows
you light reflects on to me
you are the starlight to my eyes.

A kiss.
by sunshine, genteel and honeyed
your sweetness is contagious
you are the the love of my life.

You turn,
cataclysms silent, sirens into whispers
I hear you breathing
you are the dulcet to my ears.

♥

Something Old, Something New

  More from this shoot here.
 

This is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. It features a 3 month Illusia and a 3 week kitten I was fostering at the time, Rainart. I just adore it. And you know what? It has very little to do with photography techniques, composition, color or tune. Those things play a small part, but the main thing that grabs me personally is the emotion that it encompasses.

I love to take photos. I have always loved to take photos. There are of course many people with better cameras, props, more skill than I have and may ever have and to be honest... sometimes that does bother me, make me feel inferior. I have to remind myself that I take pictures because I enjoy it. My life does not have less meaning nor are my memories less important because they are not taken with a $800.00+ DSLR and a custom lens.

I have to remember that I cherish the process of capturing a moment. Like a slip of perfection in a single second, now eternal. I love taking my photos and editing them, bringing out the hues and colors, the hidden loveliness. With luck and a little patience, the more I take the more I will improve. But improvement in and of itself along with the chase for perfection is not necessarily needed to find joy behind the lens.

As for that picture; right now, at this moment I am SO happy with the shot. It captures the beautiful delicacy of infants, the softness of sharing a sleepy-eyed moment and the heart-fluttering reverence of being alive and I can not think of a single thing to add to that.

Words + Wednesday + Linkies:

5 Minutes for Mom, Hobo Mama, Seven Clown Circus, A Lot of Loves + MUCH more.

Bath of Glitter

I took this for I Heart Faces (IHF) - Barefoot Week.

I pretty much fail with textures, but this turned out decent, simple and soft.

Texture itself is from night-fate-stock @ dA

________________

In other exciting news Illusia is still teething but being a real champ about it IMO. I would probably be laying on the bed all day crying 'why me' with my head under a pillow if I had 5 teeth coming in. She mostly just wants to be held more and is extra sensitive/cranky... Also, we are getting new internet service today! BYE BYE CRICKET!! I will not miss your extreme slowness and frequent disconnections. Nor will I miss your bill as I am now paying half the price for 6 times the speed.

One more thing, I found out that my layout is causing the problems with FF comments and it is driving me nuts so expect a brand new look coming in the next couple days (or so)!