Tag: nature

Summer Lovin’ – Be Back Soon…

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As much as I love to participate in Six Sentence Sunday and share snippets of my latest and greatest, this week I must pass. Summer days will soon be a distant memory so we’re making the most of them while we still can. Imagine me in this moment sitting around a campfire, maybe enjoying a pizza mountain pie, and looking out at all the trees around me. Hopefully I’m having fun and hopefully the family isn’t making me too crazy. I’ll be back to regular posting soon, including those fun six sentence snippets on Sundays. After all, the start of school is just around the corner.

Until then… Happy Summer!

 

Tuesday Photos – Camping Fun

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Camping has always been one of my favorite summer activities. There are so many beautiful state parks in Pennsylvania to choose from that it’s impossible to pinpoint a favorite. This year we haven’t made our way out on a family adventure just yet but in light of the upcoming holiday, I have been reminiscing about the fun we had last year in July. I decided to share a few photos from that camping trip with you today.

We didn’t escape the heat and humidity but we found that taking walks during the evening was ideal. I love the way the sunshine filters through the trees as we walk along the path in a fairly empty campground. Most others had packed up to go back to work and life during the week.

The following morning we hiked along a more secluded trail through the woods. Along the stream, we found these pretty red flowers.

A little bridge takes us over the stream where we continue to explore.

Beautiful sunset on the drive home.

Hope everyone has a happy, fun, safe Fourth of July holiday!

 

Holy caterpillar, Batman!

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So, I had some rough ideas about what I might post in my blog today, most of which didn’t seem particularly interesting, even to me. Then, as I finished filling the little plastic toddler pool for my guys to splash around in on this hot day, I saw this from across the yard…

Now first of all, let me explain that (1) I’m not normally skittish around bugs and (2) the photo does not do this thing justice.

It’s a caterpillar of some description and I’m sure with a little Google effort, I’ll be able to find out exactly what kind and (gulp) what it might later turn into. Right now, I’m a little too freaked to find out. I didn’t let the kids touch it, explaining that not every caterpillar is okay to touch – some are poisonous. I didn’t say it to them, but in the case of this one, I suspect it might be sizing us up for lunch. I did the only sensible thing a person in my situation would do – I ran and grabbed the camera.

The more I look at it, the more curious I become. I’m trying to imagine a gigantic butterfly landing on my flowers. What if it’s a monster and it’s going to come after me while I’m sleeping? This could be the creepy thing lurking in the closet when I was a kid for all I know and now here it is crawling nonchalantly through my backyard. I might not sleep tonight knowing this is out there … somewhere … waiting for me…

The caterpillar isn’t moving very quickly. I’m half tempted to catch it and put it in the butterfly enclosure that the boys got when we watched our tiny little monarch caterpillars change into cocoons and eventually to butterflies. Now, those things were cool. I loved watching them grow and I had just as much fun as the kids did when we took the butterflies outside to let them go. We each got to hold one before we said goodbye.

But this monstrosity in my yard? Eeeeeekkks…. I’m fairly well convinced now that it’s all true. The end of the world is near. There are portals open to parallel universes, alien life forms are invading our planet, whatever. This is my proof.

I couldn’t help but to share it with the world. Your thoughts?

Tuesday Photos – Living Treasures

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Hello! I’m happy to see you. Can’t you tell by my big, cheesy grin?

No matter how many times we visit Living Treasures Animal Park, I always bring the camera and I always take a lot of photos of the animals. The same goes for the zoo. I guess I like taking photos of animals, even when I’ve seen it all before. You never know when you’re going to get a particularly close view or capture something unusual. Our visit in May was no exception and so I’m sharing a couple of my favorites from that visit with you today.

This guy displayed his feathers just for my camera, I think! How beautiful … and impressive.

I like the way the light filters down on this guy. He’s beautiful in his own right, of course, but more so because of the time of day and the light through the trees.

This is simply too cute for words. Can I get an “Awwwwwwwwwwwwww….”

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

That’s it for today but I hope you stop by next time. You never know what I’ll share next from our weird and wonderful world…

 

 

Tuesday Photos – Kennywood Park

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If this isn’t your first time visiting my blog, then you may already know that last week we spent the day at our local amusement park and if you aren’t familiar with Pittsburgh, then I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if you’ve never even heard of Kennywood Park. Looking through my recent photos of Southwestern Pennsylvania in the summer, I decided that it would be fun to share a couple of the area via our local amusement park.

First stop: The train. This is a one-size fits all ride. If you are a native to the area, then you grew up riding the train and even if you think it’s a little silly as you get older, you still ride it for nostalgia. As a matter of fact, Kennywood has cashed in on the nostalgia factor, using it now to take riders on a tour of Kennywood over the years. I like it. I took this photo of the view over the river with one of the old mills. I love the trees and rolling hills that surround it.

Late afternoon as the sun sinks lower on the horizon. You are still surrounded by the sounds of roller coasters, rides, and people enjoying them, but there is also a new feeling of calmness. Maybe it’s simply because PA is so pretty? I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the roller coaster beyond the trees with the backdrop of late sun.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and share the fun.