I've turned into a bird watcher

Since we found eggs in a nest last week, we've been watching and waiting for the eggs to hatch.  We see mama bird sitting on them quite a lot.  Yesterday we had a family dinner picnic outside and my son said, "Look, the mama bird has a worm in her mouth." To which I excitedly said, "the eggs must have hatched!"

Mama left for a few minutes, so we investigated and sure enough...4 little baby birds.

 We watched off an on the rest of the evening as mama came and went, then we saw daddy Cardinal coming to check on his babies as well. 

He got them a snack and waited for us to quiet down.

They seemed to switch off, taking turns visiting them.

Mama sat on them through the night, and this morning when she was gone, I snipped a few of the branches that were in my way through my bedroom window.  I had a much clearer view, she brought some food.

To my excitement, I was able to capture mom and dad visiting their babies together and sharing in a family meal together.  Now that's what I call bonding.  It's been so fun to watch the process!  First, dad brought the food...

Then he passed it off to mama...

and she placed it into their little mouths.  It doesn't look like a worm to me, but what do I know?

It's been lots of fun.  I took some video, but I'm not a fan of video on blogs, so I won't post it.

I have a week break from shoots before 3 this coming weekend and our big move next week.  Our home is full of boxes!  I made a little button for my blog, so if you want to grab it and post it on your blog, I'm gonna do a little somethin' fun next week for those of you that do so. 

Birds nest in our tree

My husband discovered this nest with beautiful eggs in our backyard. It was tough to get a good angle, so I just held out my camera and snapped a few til I got this shot.
It is right next to our Master Bedroom window and the trampoline outside. The momma bird gets scared when we come out, and flee's the scene. But she is pretty. We figured after looking online that she is a Northern Cardinal.

I wonder how long til her eggs hatch....

Bluebonnets, Longhorns, and Quintuplets--what could be better?

Wow, what an uber crazy week I've had!  With 5 sessions in one week (my record), this full time mom-part time photographer has pulled way too many late nights.  Besides that, I am MOVING in two weeks (and supposed to be packing) AND painting a dresser and armoire in my once parked in garage AND posting on at the IDEA ROOM tomorrow and my baby turns ONE this weekend and I've been strategizing what fun cake I will make her (along with deciding last minute to make a blurb book of her first year of life), AND my son is begging me to come see the baby chicks that hatched in his first grade class.  Now that was a major run-on sentence.  As if all that isn't enough, I find myself getting wrapped up in the home decor blogs as I dream of my fresh new home palette I am embarking upon.  Too much?  Well, maybe, but I love to be busy....makes me happy...and maybe a little crazy.

Here is a teaser pic...

How about a little story?  Since someone is waiting ever so patiently (and leaving blog comments on other posts to remind me that she is waiting) for me to post some pics, I will now grant her wish.  She probably skipped past the story and went straight to the pics like some others of you might do. Maybe I'll quiz her on the story part.
Another teaser...

My dear friend, Rachelle, is the happy mother of 7.  Five of those children happen to be the cutest, funnest, most adorable quintuplets I know (and have been honored to photograph since they were newborns).  I love their family, their older 2 get along great with my older 3, and who doesn't love the 5 babies (that's what we call them at our house--even though they are almost 3).  We try to get together just for fun about once a month.  We live about 25 minutes away from each other, so its an effort worth making.

She told me a while back about a friend who has 25 acres with longhorns and fields of bluebonnets in the springtime. I said to let me know and we could all go together (and take pictures, of course).  Last Saturday we went, and an hours drive later, we arrived, and it was QUITE the adventure!

This shot is through the window, you can see the car at the bottom.  We were told to follow Bob (the ranch owner) through the herd, but he got through too quickly and the longhorns started gathering into their group again.  They didn't want to move, and stared us down. It was pretty funny.  Eventually we got out of there (3 cars of us).

My boys were really excited about this adventure because the LOVE longhorns.  They are all about the UT pride, living in Austin.  They are excited that their new school mascot is actually a longhorn, and I have plans to decorate their new room around this theme.  So I had to capture some longhorns with plans to splatter their walls.

Not sure which ones I love yet....thoughts?

A few of them got annoyed with us and started making noise...

And this was the baby of the bunch (he actually head bumped one of the quints to the ground--scared her)

So we started to take some pictures....here are the Wilkinson's 7 cute kids.

Then the whole fam with the longhorns in the background....they were very curious as to what we were doing in their territory.  It was a bit chaotic (about 20 people behind me) and slightly nerve wracking, so this was about the best shot we got of the group. 

Here is a pull back shot of more of the field.

Jayson had a video camera and Rachelle was snapping some of her own shots. 

Just the Quints on the fence....

Little helpers....

Then I took some of my kids.  I dressed the girls in yellow and when the boys groaned a bit about having to wear a shirt I picked out, I just asked for a navy blue one.  They actually turned the graphic on the shirt to the back while I snapped a few. Trying to show happy smiles.

A little later, we got the beautiful evening light behind the tree. 

I tried to get my daughter to hold the bluebonnet out in front of her, and she didn't like that plan (face #1--love that).  I took one of her cuddling the flower as she wished (#2) and she then complied with my wishes (#3). 

And since my baby is about to turn 1, I thought I'd get some of her alone...plus she doesn't complain much.

 

She waves now, which is so much fun. Hi or bye, we get an excited flip of her hand.

I don't know....I just thought this looked cool dangling in the air.

and Here I am, trying to get her to wave...

Ok, so she didn't wave in that one, but she did in this one.....

Thanks, to you readers for your enthusiasm and support:)  I love to hear from you.

Family in the Beautiful Texas Springtime and a WINNER! {Austin, TX Photographer}

Just LOVE this gorgeous sky and the colors of the flowers.  Though the family had to suffer a little looking into the sun, they didn't complain:)  I met this family at church several years ago (was it 4?) but they moved to another town 2 years ago.  Facebook kept us in touch and she told me a few months ago that when the bluebonnets came out, she wanted to have family portraits taken.  We found ourselves a great field! 

and a fun silhouette...more to come, just wanted to post 2 really quick.

Oh, how I wish I could grant everyone a winner!  It was fun to hear your favorites on my landscape images.  From your beach bathroom decor, to your similar travels to PR, to a love of license plates (me, too!), and wanting to share gifts with your families (brother in Texas, hubby wants to be a cowboy).   Big smiles over here--BIG!  But, the (random.org) chosen winner is Carolyn Jae.

Carolyn Jae said...


Wow! I LOVE your landscapes! They are so beautiful! I just become a follower of your blog and, like another commenter here, I am a wannabee photographer. With 7 kids, I sure have alot of subjects! Okay - if I had to choose one of your landscapes for a print - I would choose the one of the Salt Lake Temple - BEAUTIFUL!

{email me your address, please}

  If you want to purchase a landscape print for a followers discount, keep reading. Now through Saturday night, I will give 25% off my print prices (10% off canvas).  All prints come mounted on hard board which can be easily placed on an easel, framed, or stuck with industrial velcro and offers a nice different look on any wall space.  Just email me the image you'd like, the size you want, and I will send you a paypal link. 

Inquire for unique sizes.

Puerto Rico

I keep forgetting to post images from a trip I took to Puerto Rico a while back. I had family there and we went to visit.

The pier above is printed as a 24x36 canvas in my home. 

The city scene below is also a 24x36 print in my home.

I love them.

Contact me for landscape print or canvas pricing.  See other landscape images here.

My kinda heaven

1. I took a trip last weekend with my husband. It was a photographers dream. Especially the dream of a photographer who ADORES the splendor of fall, but living in a place that just doesn't get as colorful. Color, color everywhere! Before we went, just thinking of it brought a little sting to my eyes--I was SO excited. The beauty did not disappoint. Thank you to my friends who have been anxiously refreshing my blog for pictures (and then asking why I haven't posted yet) for getting me to put some up. Here is a little sampling for you:) Hopefully I'll post more soon.

2.
3. I kept my camera on my lap in the car and shot through the window at times. Just to capture the essence of what we saw and how people lived.
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5. Shot through a crack in the wood of the covered bridge...looking below.
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9.I was quite excited about the RED covered bridge. 10. Loved this blue sky and speckled clouds above the trees.
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Just call me a leaf peeper.
Which is your favorite?