December Sunset

Because we live in a woods we only get to enjoy sunsets from our windows after all the leaves are off the trees in late fall & winter. It was a gorgeous day today...followed by a gorgeous sunset!

What happened to September?

Wow! The last time I posted here was in August! September turned out to be a very busy month indeed! And October is shaping up about the same! No boredom here! And here is the main reason:

My Craftroom

Between spending time on the computer and time making cards in my craftroom I must admit that I did not spend near as much time outdoors this summer and fall. Of course, it was an awfully HOT summer!

But now that I've looked through my photos to try to find something "outdoorsy" to post on this blog...I didn't find much! The leaves are changing color fast theses days so I will get out there this week and take some pictures. Really!

Lilly's Butterfly

A few days ago while babysitting my 2 1/2 year old grandaughter, Lilly, we had an unexpected visitor! We had gone out the front door for a short walk and when we came back in Lilly spotted it immediately. "Butterfly!" I thought it was outside because we often have lots of butterflies in our woods and around our house. But this huge Tiger Swallowtail was inside! Not sure how it got in but it was fluttering madly on the sreen door by the deck. Grabbed the camera and got several blurry pictures...this one is the clearest. Lilly insisted on being lifted up so she could see it up close, squealing with delight! I agree with her...butterflies are delightful, and so beautiful! I kind of like the screen in the background...gives the photo some texture.

And here is Lilly, our own pretty little butterfly!

Lily Pads and Lotus Flowers

Recently we visited some friends who are staying at a little cottage on Brooks Lake, near Newaygo, Michigan. Its kind of a shallow lake, especially on the little cove where the cottage is. So we floated around on inflated rafts and stayed nice and cool! I really wanted to get some close-up photos of the lily pads and flowers so I put my camera in a zip-lock bag and floated out to them. I took a ton of pictures after very carefully taking the camera out of the bag and putting the strap around my arm! The flat leaves that are right on the water's surface are the real lily pads but the ones that grow "up" out of the water are actually lotus plants. I just read that online this past week!

The yellow flowers remind me of something from Star Wars, like one of those mechanical eyeballs that would pop out of the sand and spy on everyone! But these bright flowers are so pretty! The dragonflies and bees liked them too!

Happy 4th of July! Thank You, Veterans!!

May all of you have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Remembering our veterans this holiday with MUCH gratitude for their service to our country!

May God bless each one of you!

And may God bless America! Please pray for our nation, that the values we hold dear and the wonderful freedoms we enjoy...which others faught and died for(!)...may be preserved for generations to come.

Another Rose

Another of my roses, this one a bit past its prime but still quite pretty...even with its brown edges and extreme "openness".  The bright sunlight made it look a little faded but it really is a lovely yellow.

Its very hot and dry here in Michigan now. My roses get watered often enough but are not as happy as they were this spring!

Enjoy!

My Crazy Roses

 A few weeks ago I glanced out of my launry room window and saw my rose bush............ going crazy!

I hadn't noticed it for a while, had actually completely forgotten about it and neglected to trim it this year. It must have liked the freedom I allowed it! It had so many buds on it I couldn't even count them! I am NOT good with roses! Last year it had only a handful of blossoms and the whole plant had "bugs". So as soon as I saw the abundance of buds I sprayed the whole thing with some organic bug killer stuff and ...Wow! Its beautiful! I don't even know what kind of rose bush it is! Any one have an idea, let me know!

I am really enjoying it...it just keeps blooming! And no bug problem so far.

These last 2 pictures were taken more than a week after the first 2. Most of the buds are open now. But there are still more coming! The color seemed odd on my camera that day, like it couldn't quite handle the real color?? They appear to be kind of neon pink and they aren't. Just a lovely bright pink (hot pink). Not sure why my camera did that...something to do with the lighting...or my settings??

I wish this rose bush was somewhere I could see it more! Behind my garage and visible only from the laundry room window is such a waste. That's why I HAD to take some pictures! Enjoy!

Large Flowerpot: Pinks and Reds

This is one of two matching pots that are out in front of our garage every summer.

This picture is from last year or the year before fairly early in the season when the flowers still looked nice, before thay got overgrown and spindly. I'm not very good at "pinching back" plants to keep them full and shaped correctly. I either forget or just can't make myself destroy new growth and/or blooms.

I usually wait until about Mother's Day to fill these pots each year. I decided on my color theme this year: brights including pinks, yellows, purples and reds. I have on order two hanging plants with the same color scheme. A few more weeks and I should be able to post pictures of them!

Bottles in the Window + Tree

I guess I have a "thing" about clear glass bottles and vases...always have! The green bottle in the middle I got during my college days somewhere in Wisconsin. That would be back in the early seventies. Yes, almost a lifetime ago! I don't know what it was used for and would be interested in knowing about it but so far haven't taken the time to research it at all. The little vase on the left is just that and only a few years old. The bottle on the right is very old but, again, I'm not sure what it was used for. Probably medicine, I'm thinking or maybe flavoring (like vanilla) for cooking/baking. I wish the screw-on lid was still with it but that rusted and disintegrated long ago.

Interesting note: the scene outside this window changed dramatically yesterday. We had a huge tree (3 1/2 foot diameter) come down in the wind. It looked very healthy, even had lots of new leaves coming but it broke off at ground level and we could see it was rotten on the inside and the root base was almost gone. It landed just a few feet from my son's fishing boat which is the gray thing in the picture above (its covered with a gray tarp). It completely demolished our satelite dish and part of the neighbor's fence. We live in a woods so after we saw this we started looking suspiciously at the trees directly west of our house that are at least 70 to 80 feet tall. Yikes!

After I posted this my husband went out and measured the length (used to be height!) of this tree and it was about 90 feet. Fortunately our nephew has a tree removal business and has saws big enough to handle this huge tree trunk. It will have to be cut into disks and lifted by a Bobcat or loader onto a log-splitter. But my husband, Jerry, is a seasonal worker...works for an agricultural company...and this is their busy time so he won't be cutting this up very soon. I guess it needs to dry anyway if its going to be firewood eventually.

After the Shower

This is a photo from last summer, 2011.

Right after a light rain. The water always beads up on this plant...looks amazing!

This is one of the few palnts in my flower garden that I don't know the name of.

I didn't buy this one, I gleaned it from an old forgotten garden.

Its tiny flowers are bright lime green, clustered on tall stems.

And it multiplies easily! I now have 4 or 5 of these this spring.

Anyone know the name?

Palm Plants

Palm plants, photo taken from above. I liked the nice circular pattern of the leaves as well as the variety of shades of greens and tans. The palm in the lower right appears to be dieing but the colors are still interesting.

Gulf Shores, AL...a few hundred feet from the ocean.

Wave Power

On the Shore...Sea Shells Galore

A pile of sea shells just as the waves deposited them on the shore...such a variety and

everyone unique and beautiful...only God could do that!

By the Sea Shore

We're back! We took a quick trip to Gulf Shores. Enjoyed visiting some relatives and some warm weather and the sea shore. It was a little chilly and gray the first couple days but warmed up nicely by the time we had to head north again! I took many close-ups of pretty things I saw. I'll be posting some of these pictures in the next week or so. Here's the first:

Curly Dune Grass & White Sand

Old Forgotten Fencing

This roll of dircarded fencing is in the woods between us and our neighbor...

not sure who it belongs to! In the summer it is almost completely hidden by vines and weeds.

From My Holly Bush

Red, green & white...would make a great Christmas card!

I took this one last week right after that nice snowfall we got.

I have holly bushes in front of my house; I love their glossy, dark green leaves.

AND the beautiful red berries!

A Snow Bird

Around here a "snow bird" usually means a retiree who heads to Florida for the winter! But this is a picture of another kind of snow bird...a junco. They are such a pretty little bird with a bright white tummy and the rest a dark charcoal grey. This could almost be a black & white picture again. I was so hoping for a cardinal but now that I see this I do like it. Hope everyone is having a love-filled Valentine's Day! For those of you alone today, here's a big (((hug))) from me!

Contrasts

A nice pile of fire wood

I like the color of the wood and the "curvey" lines some of the woodgrain produced.

It snowed several inches the other day...the contrast of the dark wood and the white snow

appeals to me. Rugged and soft, cold and warm...well, the wood will be used for heating!

I think the wood is apple wood so it will even smell nice burning too!

Shades of Green

Yes, this is a picture of poison ivy!

I love the huge variety of greens in this one picture!

Last summer we had a Bouma Family Reunion at our home and most of the time was spent outdoors. We knew there would be kids coming and wanting to play in our woods but we have lots of poison ivy inn our woods. So rather than walk around with a megaphone warning people I just took a few pictures of the poison ivy...so everyone could identify it...labeled it and printed it on several small posters. These I placed on wooden sticks and put them near large clumps of poison ivy along the driveway. I figured the parents would see them and decide if they wanted to allow children to roam around ...or not.

The reunion was a success, good attendance, beautiful weather, lots of yummy food...and no one got poison ivy!

Looking Up!

Taken in the summer of 2011 in the woods near Hungry Horse Campground, Wayland, MI

Newest Grandbaby: Calvin

Meet Calvin, the latest addition to the Lobbezoo family!

(and his mom, Emily)

Calvin was born February 2, 2012

Special Sunday

Hungry Birds

This picture was taken a week ago. Last Sunday we had an amazing snow storm! The snow came down like crazy all morning. Usually I would stay off the roads when it gets that snowy but this time I HAD to drive in it. We were on our way home from Emergency at about 11:30 AM and the driving conditions were the worst I have driven in in 20+ years! The evening before, my husband took a bad fall in his pole building while checking the woodstove. He landed on his back on the corner of a large tool box and broke a couple ribs. We had to wait until morning to go to Emergency because he wanted to be sure he was really hurt. Is that a guy thing or what? No disrespect intended! But, good grief...he could hardly move!

Anyway we made it home with a huge sigh of relief and I spent the afternoon enjoying the snowfall and watching the birds go crazy at our bird feeders. There were so many birds coming and going it looked like a busy airport! Some of the birds had to be in a "holding pattern" and sit on branches out a little ways waiting their turn. And if you can see them, you'll notice there are only female cardinals...no males (red)...because the males were absolute gentlemen and waited until later in the afternoon to come. There were also yellow finches, juncos, chickadees, and a woodpecker...a "Hairy", I think.

I love to watch the snow falling in our woods behind our house. When its a really heavy snowfall I ALWAYS think of the Robert Frost poem (one of my favorites!) "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".

Today was a normal, nice, quiet Sunday...church, dinner and relaxing. And my husband is feeling better but the healing process is going to be a long one...6 weeks + if he doesn't over-do. Over-do? Whatever do you mean?

Nothin' but blue sky...and a beautiful tree

Just a tree, but so fascinating! It looks both rugged and fragile.

And the Journal Journey Begins!

Today is the first time I am posting on this, my brand new blog! I wanted to call this blog "Everyday Beauty" but someone else already has that title so I added "Picture this:" which I felt was quite appropriate for a photo blog. I am so often struck by the awesome beauty I see in simple, ordinary things. For years I have been taking pictures of these "beauties" but never thought to share them until I stumbled across someone else's photo-a-day blog. I have Larry in Iowa to thank for this wonderful idea! So Thank you, Larry! I'm not sure I will be able to limit my ramblings as successfully as you...but I'll try! I too want people to just see the beauty in the photos for themselves and enjoy! And to God be the glory!

This is not  an exceptionally "good" photo, just a scene I really like. It includes several of my favorite things to photograph: trees, unusual lighting, trees, pretty sky colors, and trees! Yes, I love trees and you will often see pictures of trees (and leaves) in all their glorious variety if you keep checking back here this year!