thentherestwo.com Landscapes, LIFE, Photography

Fall in the Midwest

This past fall was some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve had here in Indiana for a few years. I did a lot more driving up through southern Indianapolis, Danville, Mooresville, and Plainfield due to the sad fact my mom had a stroke in October. She is fairly young and went in for a rather routine heart cath and stroked. (The odds were less than 1/2 percent.) All our lives changed that day.

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it completely. When you see someone go from totally functional, driving, etc.. to needing help with everything and their mind just not all there…well, I still think I’m in shock. It all happened within an hour. It wasn’t a slow degredation, nor something we saw coming and could attempt to prepare ourselves for as we did with my husband’s father. He dealt with Parkinsons. It has just been a lot in such a short time with sudden adjustments.

Not only is mom dealing with a severe stroke, but they also found her heart to only be working at 25%. (According to her doctors, this heart thing could’ve been going on for years.) She had already been dealing with severe, undetermined pain for decades, along with pain from fibromyalgia. So, my poor mom has been through A LOT, and having entered that arena of severe pain, especially these last ten years myself, I am realizing just how REALLY TOUGH my mom truly is!!

Mom was over an hour away from us; first in the hospital, ICU, then went on to a rehab facility. So, I had a lot of time to drive and think. As I drove (and prayed), I thought of how much my mom would’ve loved these vibrant colors. She LOVES fall. She used to paint, and I thought she would’ve loved painting all this beautiful color!

While on the road, I positioned my camera to catch some of the fall foilage. (You may have already seen some of my IG photos.)

But here’s some of my video links: Driving through the Indiana countryside.

Driving the new I69 from Bloomington, IN up through Martinsville.

AND my YouTube channel: thentherestwo

I’m not a professional by any means but someday maybe my grandkids will see the clips along with everything the grandparents were up to. 😉

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thentherestwo.com flowers, Landscapes, Photography, Reflections on Life

The Newness of Spring

Spring is my FAVORITE time of year.

New.

Everything is new!

After experiencing cold, bleak days with no sunshine nor sign of color.

There’s now visible life!

Spring signals Easter is around the corner…bright colors, cute rabbits, and chicks.

Bringing a resurrection story detailing the ultimate sacrifice for a dark world.

It, too, brings change.

phlox flowers springing up in April

Newness.
HOPE.

Warmth is on its way!

I love how it feels on my face.

Oh, I don’t usually go out to enjoy spring as my allergies and asthma have kept me indoors, since childhood, but I still enjoy it from inside unless I get a rare day where the pollen count drops drastically. (That’s usually if a storm has rolled through like today.)

Thunderstorm in April in Indiana

Some years, I miss catching the bluebells in the woods, but here they are!

Bluebells growing in the woods in Indiana.

Bluebell flowers in the woods of Indiana

And I just got an early birthday present from my sweet hubby.  A larger iPhone…the 7! (I think he was surprised at how poorly I saw things, too…like his messages to me. 😉 )

So, I just had to test it out!

Physically it’s been a really rough couple of weeks, so I bolted out the door like a puppy that had been cooped up all day!
Enjoy the pictures.

Look! Even the weeds look pretty.

 

15clover and wild violets in Indiana

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4buds on a plum treebluebells of Indiana

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thentherestwo.com Landscapes, Photography

Nature Photography: Lone Pinecone

This is Indiana’s weather pattern right now:

Freezing weather, overcast days, turning sunny and finally seeing clear days, but too cold to go outside at length because it’s in the thirties, then warm and in the sixties but overcast, rainy or super windy.

Indiana weather=never predictable

purple tulips in spring

Recently we had several trees bud and flowers pop up only for it to turn cold again.

Not sure all the flowers survived. We shall see. I personally don’t plant ANYTHING till after Mother’s Day to be safe.

Last week it was in the 30s and SO COLD and WINDY, that we bundled up under three layers of clothing just to take a walk. I haven’t been able to walk or bike much the entire year due to some horrible, 24/7, back pain, but I got a little relief recently (may write a blog about my theory as to why), so we immediately headed outdoors… frigid temps and hurricane-like winds, or not!

We quickly noticed we were the only ones walking the trail as we pushed against the wind. We looked like bears coming out of hibernation that desperately NEEDED a walk, with all those layers of clothing!

As for shooting pictures along our walks, it’s now too painful to carry much gear with me, so I’ve been shooting more with my iPhone, a 5 at that! I know, I know, you DSLR owners are shrieking right now. But, it is what it is.

A single pine cone along a walking path this spring in the park.

Along one of the paths, I came upon some pines and captured this lone pinecone. I noticed hundreds of tiny pinecones littering the ground and quickly began to stuff my pockets with them. They were so cute. My husband was patient with me as I  discussed how great it’d be to make another poster with them.

When I first got my DSLR as a gift from my parents, I shot my first ever poster with acorns I gathered from another trip where I tagged along with my hubby as he had business up in northern Indiana. But, not too long after enjoying my new camera, my tripod fell over and my lens jammed. So, now I only have a telephoto (kit lens) and I have to back up to Timbuktu to capture most shots.

nut poster

So here’s to consistently warm days (with low pollen counts for me) AND talking my husband into buying me a larger, iPhone 7.

OKAY, I’ll settle for a 6+ 😉

since I also can’t see very well….

do I sound very convincing yet?

I mean, my birthday is coming up, after all! 😀

Tell me below what you like to shoot with and what are your favorite things to try and capture?

thentherestwo.com Landscapes, LIFE, Photography

My Backyard

My backyard in Indiana facing the woods and a quarry hill during winter.

This is a picture right outside my bedroom, looking into my backyard.

I saw the sun, opened the slider, and took an iPhone pic. (5 that is..not the greatest camera, but I try.) I have a Canon Rebel, but I dropped it and messed up my wide lens, so I only have the telephoto to use now and sometimes that can be tricky as I have to back up to Michigan to capture anything, ha.

But, these clouds, right? Seeing two layers, just behind and higher above the trees, caught my eye right as the SUN CAME OUT! Yes, the SUN! Did I say the SUN?!!!

Yes, we get occasional sun, but when it’s 30 degrees it’s kind of hard to go OUTSIDE and stay OUTSIDE to enjoy it like you want to enjoy sun.

Although, I did go back to the creek (just behind those trees) to capture some photos as the snow was falling, and waded the creek, and stayed out till the sun went down and my fingers were red and reaching a hypothermic state.

I will have those pics next time. They need editing and this darned eye disease is giving me fits since returning home from Florida. UGH!

But, I captured some cool shots. Many times they hit Instagram first, so if you want to follow my IG there is a link here on my sidebar and below.

ENJOY!

*PS Hubby made it to his hotel and before the snow hit Maryland real hard. YAY!

thentherestwo.com Holidays & Celebrations, Posters/Quotes, Reflections on Life

Tis the Season!

Sharing a little bit of my photography here in Indiana. Feel free to PIN.

silent-night-poster

1-img_3219JR. R. Tolkien, All That Is Gold does not Glitter poem

winter-scene-1farm-on-i69christmas-2015-poster