Autumn! Here and Gone

Welcome again, dear readers! It's been officially fall for a little while, but just recently the trees started turning around here. And it seems one day they're beautifully colorful and then - in a flash - they're gone. Never to be seen until next year. But, I did get some pictures of trees around us! Yes, you've probably seen trees like this before...but do you really think, and I mean THINK about their beauty?

Anyway, here are the pictures.

This is one of the trees on our property. (you probably guessed that!)

Here is another one. The leaves are all gone now!

This is the view from our backyard. Looks like something out of a story, doesn't it? Gray sky, falling leaves, cold wind, you know, a good start to a story.

"Breathlessly, she ran through the bushes, dodging the trees and fallen logs. She tightly gripped the letter in her numb hands. Although she was tired, she knew that there wasn't a moment to lose, and she ran as fast as possible making zig zags in case they saw her. Gasping for air, Audrey finally found the log cabin she was looking for, and pounding mercilessly on the door, she waited for an answer. Every second was precious..."

(excerpt from the short story "Haze Across the Border" by Amara--that's me!)

See? It's the perfect setting for a story. :) In fact, this picture inspired me to write "Haze Across the Border" in the first place! 

This a close up of a leaf. Can you guess what kind?

It's a maple.

Again, more trees.

See that orange thing on the dead flower? It's a bug. I don't know what kind, though. 

An orange kind!

And, while I was trying to take pictures, my little sister was petting the neighbor's cat that came to visit.

Do you like writing short stories, too? I love doing it, and have several in the works, as well as a long, book-sized one I'm in the middle of, and too many ideas for other ones!

Thanks for wading through yet another of my posts! ;)

In Christ,

Amara

Summer in Color!

You might be thinking - "but summer is already in color!" You're right. ;)

As I did in April, I'm writing a nature post. One of my favorite subjects to photograph! Not only plants, but we have some reptiles too!

Lots of daisies are in bloom right next to our porch.

They keep spreading!

This is a magenta Snap Dragon. I thought we'd pulled them all out last fall, but I guess we didn't!

I took this one in the late afternoon, so the sun was at the perfect spot for this shot.

Part of the view from our backyard.

Guess what? We have two garter snakes around our yard! This is the smaller of the two.

We found this little toad on the railing of our deck. He was difficult to get off, but I did manage. 

Off the railing, but not off the deck yet.

So I tried to catch him.

It worked!

Or, maybe not.

This little toad was so jumpy! I finally got him into a jar so I could take him off the deck and on solid ground. My little sister came running over to me when I brought the toad down in the jar, and said that she wanted to hold him. I told her she could, and as soon as I took my hand off the top of the jar, the toad wouldn't come out! I gently picked him up and out, and he jumped from my hand onto my little sister's arm! She laughed and laughed and the toad kept jumping higher and higher up her arm! Finally he jumped off and away.

Being inspired by the toad we'd found, my little sister decided to take some time to try to find another one, but unfortunately, she didn't find any.

We usually find at least one toad every summer, sometimes more than one. Fun, isn't it?

In Christ,

Amara Jachim

Tirzah's 6th Birthday: A Photo Shoot

First off, I have to tell you that I really enjoy taking pictures. I've done nature, mostly. But I wanted to photograph people as well, so, since my little sister's birthday is coming up on the 10th of this month (that makes a good excuse), I asked her to be my model. Of course, she said yes.

Here are the pictures of the birthday girl, Tirzah:

She's getting to be such a lady! 

Happy birthday, Tirzah!

In Christ,

Amara Jachim

Spring in Color!

It's finally spring here in Michigan, and the robins and geese are back!

Something (I'm not sure what) inspired me to take some photographs of the greenery outside. Maybe it is because I love tulips, green grass, and trees. Maybe it is because I wanted photography practice, or maybe, just because I love spring! Call it whatever you want, but I had a blast taking pictures of nature! Anyway, here are my pictures (and commentary) of the growth around me:

This was the first tulip to bloom this spring...I was so excited! 

I thought this one was going to be white until I got a closer look! 

I was surprised at how the colors blended together perfectly.

This is probably my favorite tree on our property.

I was going to lie on the ground to get this shot, but since I didn't want my hair and clothes covered in dirt, grass, and leaves, I decided to stand insead.

I can't believe how green (some) of the grass has gotten already! 

I love golden-yellow tulips! They remind me a little of daffodils, the "springiest" flower I think there is!

Last fall we planted a lot of tulips lining our walkway to the porch.

This picture was hard to take because my camara wouldn't focus! 

But once I did take the picture, I think it turned out great!

Just think when this tree will bloom with flowers!

This tulip hasn't fully opened yet, but I took this picture because I liked the leaves... I haven't seen any like it before!

Here is the final picture of a plant we planted a while ago. It's a pretty burgundy, especially in summer!

That's the summary I have of growing things this spring for now, but I'm sure there is a lot I didn't cover! I like that the weather is warming up, but summer seems nearly on us! Spring goes by fast...don't miss the beauty of it!

In Christ,

Amara Jachim