New Baby in the House

 I had the absolute pleasure of spending some time with the Anguses (the daddy happens to be my youngest brother) and their adorable newly expanded family, days after bringing their new baby boy home. With two dogs and a three year old already in the house I'm sure they'll look back at these photos and much of it will be a blur; sleepless nights will do that to you. We captured lovely unposed memories as I just watched and snapped.

They are doing such a great job of including big sister and giving her lots of attention. Mummy even took time out to do some one-on-one baking.

Lovely family and such precious times :)

Rain

It's such a stereotype, the Brits and their obsession with the weather. But honestly, it is so ridiculously changeable. A couple of weeks ago it was low 90s(F)/30s(C) and then we reverted, again, to rain. Temperatures are back to low 60s(F)/high teens (C). Oh well, I do like to sneak out after a shower and photograph raindrops to console myself. Sun you are welcome to return again now.....

Hair be gone!

So this happened this week. Hair was buzzed! It has been a long time coming. She is only twelve, so I was apprehensive to say the least; worried she would immediately regret it, worried what other people would say (especially other kids at school), worried about how it would turn out. But at the end of the day it is just hair and it will grow back...and she's rocking it!

When my kids were just toddlers (and I didn't even have three of them yet) some wise older parent, years ahead of me, advised me to 'choose your battles'. There are so many things that can be frustrating, especially with little kids and in different ways as they get older. That has always stuck with me though.

So I decided back them to let them choose their outfits (I still had control over what was in the cupboard and drawers to start with) but if socks didn't match, or things clashed? So what! They were having some independence, it was one less thing for me to have to worry about and we weren't going to have a fight about how they looked. Outside of the lines of being appropriate, they were then, and are now, figuring out what they like, who they are, how they want to look and present themselves.

This was absolutely not done on a whim. Any time they have come to me about haircuts, we don't cut their hair the next day, it's normally a few weeks to really make sure they are set on their decision. In this case the requests started many months ago. In the end (unsurprisingly once daddy was on board it came around much quicker) my final procrastination bargaining chip was to ascertain how on top of all of her schoolwork she was, as it has been over three months of 'distance learning' thanks to our covid/coronavirus pandemic.

In the end I was the one to chop of her locks and buzz her whole head. I went gradually and started with an undercut, in case maybe that would suffice; long on top with the option to put it up and show off what was underneath....but no, that was not the look she was going for. So I kept going. It was a family affair and even involved a friend watching on Facetime for part of it.

She really does love it and people (friends mainly) have been supportive and complimentary about it. I'm sure there are those who may question it, but they haven't spoken up yet. They are entitled to their opinion of course, but that doesn't need to influence her. I am proud of her for wanting to be a little different, to be herself and be comfortable and be free. I have no idea how quickly she will decide to grow it out, if she will be happy to have tried it but be ready for a change again, or if she will keep it trimmed and short for a while? We shall see.

By the next morning, she walked in and I had the initial 'oh yeah, that happened' thought which quickly moved on to 'it really suits her' and now, a few days later, I look back at the photos in the poppy field and they don't even look fully like her anymore. She is stunning and confident and loving it. The first thing I see is her amazing eyes and I wonder why I was so hesitant? She can carry this off no problem and if at some point she is bombarded with criticism or abuse, I will be the first to remind her and encourage her to be strong in her decision and to continue to believe in herself.

Father's Day 2020

So many of our traditions seem to have fallen by the wayside, between all our moves, or the kids getting older. But I am so glad that they are still up (just about) for posing together to make our yearly Father's Day card. I love that we have been able to keep it going through the years and they tell such a sweet story. Of course hubby knows to expect it by now, but we make sure to take the photo when he's not around so it's always a little bit of a surprise.

They sure love their daddy, he's the one who has a crazy side and makes us all laugh. He's not always as strict as I am and they have sneakily learned that sometimes it's best to ask him first, or just bypass me all together. Thankfully we're all in it as a team and there's nobody I'd rather parent with, or be a parent to than these.

All the love, and wishing life would slow down a little. Happy Father's Day!

And just for fun and all the feels....the photo that started the tradition all those years ago, they were so little...waaaaaaah!!!

Poppies

Yesterday someone posted on a local Facebook group asking about a poppy field. Another person responded with some co-ordinates and realising it was about 20 minutes from us I knew immediately I wanted to check it out for photos.

We have had amazing weather the last few weeks, but starting today we were due wind and rain for the next week or so. I had no idea if the poppies would be in bloom currently, but I knew if they were, they might not last past last night. So after dinner I yelled at everyone to get shoes and socks on (or in some cases get dressed, because you know, coronavirus means we don't leave the house often and so not everybody even bothers getting dressed every day). It all took FAR too long and my heart sank, realising how quickly we were losing light, but we had committed and at the very least the dog needed to be able to have a run somewhere.

We seemed to pass the co-ordinates and couldn't see a field with red flowers anywhere and then as we were about to turn round, there it was. Hubby and the boy took off with the dog while I got a photos mainly with my middle, who's always up for putting on a dress and working with me.

Youngest isn't so keen on dresses or photos, but brought a book and her being her turned out pretty cute too.

I love poppies, they're just so striking. They are not to be confused with California poppies which are orange and beautiful in their own right but not what I ever thought of as 'real poppies'. What a beautiful backdrop.

Even managed a couple with all of us!

Thanks to my sweet family for humouring me when I get an idea and we all have to run with it. They're the best :)

Macro May 2020 - Day 31

I did it, the whole month with a new macro photo every day. Today's final offering is a little feather I found outside, it's fluffiness drew my eye but I didn't even notice until I started shooting, the faint blue tip...again, details can so easily be missed. I'll confess, with all that is going on, I wasn't prepared to commit to Macro May this year, but I'm glad to have had a project to focus on.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week and we still face seven more weeks of school from home, work from home and even though I have just had a week off I feel exhausted at the prospect of going back for seven more weeks of this. But it's one day at a time, one step before the next and hopefully we will eventually end up where we need to be. Stay safe friends.

Macro May 2020 - Day 30

Second to last day of the month and this is the same plant I photographed on day 19 (Buddleia Globosa) but now in bloom and attracting all of the bees. Managed to capture one eventually but it really is a challenge. I may have to revisit some bee photos without the macro lens after this month is over.

Macro May 2020 - Day 29

I know I have already posted a fern photo during this macro May, but this is the photo that spoke to me today, so here it is. We had a couple of shorter walks today, and discovered a flat tyre when it was time to head home, so that was fun. Happy weekend everyone.

Macro May 2020 - Day 28

We took a lovely walk out at Chew Stoke today, to the little waterfall. It wasn't a long or strenuous walk, it was really pleasant, with all the green and shade, plus waterfalls, no matter how big or small are always lovely. Pink flower growing from a wall close to where we parked.

I even managed to get a long overdue photo of my three - gasp.

Macro May 2020 - Day 27

Well I couldn't go a whole macro May and not include a rose. I have just two in my garden, in pots. They were miniature roses from last year that started indoors and then I repotted them and they have continued to do quite well. Both have new flowers this year and are providing a tiny bit of colour for me with their lovely velvety petals.

Macro May 2020 - Day 26

A good rhododendron provides so much colour. Honestly I didn't have a great photo I loved for today, but I was home from our walk before I realised I didn't have a 'winner' and it was too late to do anything about it. Five days to go and I've managed to get a photo each day so I wasn't about to let ideals stop me. I can do this....I will not be defeated.

Macro May 2020 - Day 25

Ok, so this isn't a pretty frame-it-and-put-it-up-in-your-house kind of photo. Ha! But it's still a good example of macro, with the close up and extremely shallow depth of field; nose perfectly in focus with everything else fading away in the background. Our cute Scout, part of the family and much loved, underbite and all.

Macro May 2020 - Day 24

The simple, iconic, cheerful daisy. The stuff of little girls' flower-crown dreams. This was one of the larger, planted on purpose ones, not a little one growing in the lawn. I think one could argue that they are as lovely as roses, in their own way.

Macro May 2020 - Day 23

Man, it was windy today. As I've mentioned before, any movement will ruin a macro photo, but we took a walk along the river and as it was kind of wooded, we were somewhat protected. It meant I was back to not much choice or variety of plants though as it was all the usual wildflowers. However, a little patch of blue caught my eye and ended up providing the only real potential for today's photo as the rest were definitely duds.

Macro May 2020 - Day 22

Bubbles are the best. Happy weekend everyone....finally!

Macro May 2020 - Day 21

These guys are fast! I really wanted a nice fat bumble bee, but it was probably thirty of these to every one of those and I just couldn't get the right angle.

Macro May 2020 - Day 20

I'm just going to let this one speak for itself.

Macro May 2020 - Day 19

This curious plant grows on top of the wall along the main park we walk our dog at. It has caught my eye on a couple of occasions over the last week, so today was time for it to have a photoshoot of it's very own. I like the simple boldness and I'll be watching over the weeks to see how it changes.

Macro May 2020 - Day 18

Today I spied our first blackberry flower. There have been buds for a while, but the sun has finally prompted one to burst open. We only get a handful each year as it's just a bush growing through other bushes, but still a nice treat.

Macro May 2020 - Day 17

Quite often during Macro May I have to remind myself to 'step away from the florals!' Sure they look nice, but variety is important too. This little cutie is a kalimba; a really simple, beautiful sounding instrument that our son requested for his birthday last year. I think I've also heard it referred to as a thumb piano. It's small, extremely portable and easy to learn and I thought it would make for an interesting subject today. Hope you have all had a good weekend, I'm off to finish my glass of prosecco and pretend it's not Monday tomorrow.

Macro May 2020 - Day 16

Social distancing was hard today. We drove out to a nature reserve and it was PACKED!!! There were no sounds of nature, just lots and lots of people, we walked for about five minutes before turning around to go and find somewhere a little less crowded. We do a lot of walks, we have a dog, but all these people just don't know what to do with themselves, I think they'd normally be shopping or eating out or taking their kids to a playground and those places are all still closed, so they're being forced into nature. Anyway, we drove deeper into the country and did much better; although there wasn't too much to photograph, mainly wild flowers I've already captured, so here is today's offering.

Macro May 2020 - Day 15

Phew another week over. This one has felt especially busy (work-wise) and I'm glad to put it behind me and have a weekend break. The days may seem to blur together but I still look forward to weekends. This delightful blue flower is a Nigella also known as love-in-a-mist.

Macro May 2020 - Day 14

A little bit of sunshine in a shady spot...almost at the halfway mark.

Macro May 2020 - Day 13

There's something magical and captivating about ferns.

Macro May 2020 - Day 12

I will need plant gurus to chime in and tell me what this plant is. We have a big bush at the back of our poor attempt of a garden and although I'd noticed the weird hanging leafy purple flowers before, I have never in the couple of years we lived here noticed the little white flowers in there too. It was a little surprise for me today :)

Macro May 2020 - Day 11

Well I did say I wasn't guaranteeing a photo every day and today was touch and go. After I'd finished my work day I had a pretty bad headache I couldn't shift for the next few hours. It was too windy to get anything outside (the barest movement is hugely amplified with macro lenses, meaning massive blur) so I once again had to hunt around indoors. Our youngest has a few mini cacti, so here is my best attempt for today rather than give up on my productivity streak.

Macro May 2020 - Day 10

Well the weather has most definitely taken a turn; for my US friends we had a drop of 20+ degrees, so after the glorious temperatures we have been enjoying, it is quite a shock to the system. All to say I decided to opt for another non-floral and instead decided to look around at home to see what I could find. I don't wear them often, but I do love pearls, they're just so classic and simple.

Macro May 2020 - Day 9

I have a long-lived fascination with lichens and moss: the colours and textures are numerous and intriguing and add so much interest to any scene. Whether on the ground, or rocks, or trees they seem to survive everywhere.

Anyway, I had some other prettier photos as possibilities for today, but they are ones I've taken again and again over the years for Macro May, so thought I'd throw in something a little different.

Also, highlight of our day was friendly cows! We went for a longer walk today and some of the public footpaths took us through various fields where we encountered these guys. Needless to say, my family was in heaven.