A Farm Tour

In all of my spare time, I manage a small farm over in Madison, NH on the weekends. It is really just a small family farm with a variety of animals, but it keeps me outside and on my toes.

I thought I would give you a little photo tour of the place so you can check it out for yourself.

First of all, the view is absolutely gorgeous,





This is the barn that is currently under construction:



There are several sheep and several goats to keep the sheep company. The sheep are pretty skiddish because they haven't been handled much, but the goats are very friendly and are always talking to me! Now, kids, pay attention! This is what happens when you don't use your napkin!



This is my little friend, my back pocket goat. She follows me everywhere. She delivered a baby two weeks ago, but sadly we lost it. I think the whole experience has made her more attached to the people who care for her, which is a good thing.



This is the current love of my life. She is a gorgeous jersey. Jerseys are slow growers, but produce some of the richest milk. She is pregnant and due to calf later this winter.



This is Paraday. He is the bull of the farm and very much in charge. He and the two other heifers are part of the Dexter breed. Sometimes they are also called miniature cattle. They will never grow to be very big. Paraday has been a bit of a pain lately, and he certainly was not going to be pushed out of this photo shoot!



And last, but certainly not least....the alpacas! They are just funny to look at!



Check out these choppers!



This little guy is the baby...isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?


That's about all from the homestead. When the heifers start calving in a couple weeks, then we'll really have something to talk about!

My Unsung Heroes

I may get into a wee bit of trouble for this post, as this really isn't my news to break, but I'm not sure they would tell you, and certainly no one is prouder than I am! So here goes,

My parents both received letters in the mail today. Well, actually they received nominations. February happens to be Parent Recognition Month and my parents were selected to each receive a Parent Recognition Award. This particular award honors 28 New Hampshire parents, one for each of the 28 days of February and my parents happen to be 2 of the 28. This award is in congratulations on the admirable job parents are doing in their local schools and communities.

If anyone has modeled parenting for me, it has been my own parents. Over the last nine years, my parents have provided a loving and stable home to over 18 children, including seven sibling groups. They will be the first to tell you that is wasn't easy all of the time, but they will also be the first to stand up and say that is was all worth it. Every minute.

My parents made me who I am. There is no doubt about that. Together they form an undeniable alliance that even 8 children can't break (believe me, we've tried it!). They have lived their lives fully with strength certainly greater than their own.

I cannot think of any two people more deserving of this honor.

The Best Smelling Place on Earth

My kitchen is by far the best smelling place on earth right now and here is why:



Yup. Cinnamon rolls.

These are not just any cinnamon rolls.

These are Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls.

Yum.

Thoughts of Africa

I've been thinking about Africa quite a bit lately. A few of my friends have been there this month running medical clinics in remote bush villages. The photos they have been sending back serve to remind me of the five weeks I spend there two years ago. How can two short years feel like an eternity?

My trip to Africa was a turning point for me in my photography. It was during those five weeks that I made it my goal to capture as much of the day to day reality as possible. I know I was successful, because when I look at those images, even after two years have passed, those eyes still tell the same story of sickness and poverty mixed with a small glimmer of hope.



Someday I will go back. I have no doubt.

Just Playin' Around

I've been playing around in Photoshop a little bit more lately, trying to start editing more of my images in Photoshop rather than the photo software that came with my camera and computer. Here are a couple of note...

Micah-do. Love that smile. Love that hair.

Love the texture in this one. He is just too dang cute for his own good.

First Print of the Semester

Drum roll please! First print of the semester and the first print for Photo II!

Two rolls of film. 72 images. 2 1/2 hours in the darkroom. And this is all I got:





It is a love/hate relationship.

The Things You Hear in Walmart!

Oh, the things you overhear in Walmart!

I was in Wally World two nights ago looking for a black oval mirror to compliment our freshly painted and newly re-done kitchen/family room. I did find the mirror. Photo proof:


It fits perfectly. Y'all will just have to come over to check it out, but I digress...

While I was mirror hunting, (Now, it is important to remember that this was about 9 p.m. at night) I overheard a mother trying to convince her young daughter (probably 3 or 4) to get into her shopping cart and the daughter was having nothing to do with it. All of the sudden, I heard the exasperated mother say, "You had better get in this cart right now young lady. Don't you know we're in Walmart? Someone could steal you!"

No way.

Are you kidding me???

The funniest part was the girl's response. "I don't care."

Note to self #1,739: Never take my children with me to Walmart. Someone could steal them...and they might not even care!

Confessions

Confession #1: It has been over a week since my last post. I would love to be able to come up with a million and one reasons as to why I haven't been able to post this week, but alas, I got nothin'. Sorry guys!

Confession #2: Okay. I'll admit it. I had fun. I took my five younger siblings tubing over at King Pine while Mom and Dad had a date night (complete with hired babysitter for the babies, oh la la!). We trekked over to the big town of Madison last Friday night and had a really awesome time just being together.

Some of my favorite highlights of the evening were:

Watching Erik have fun with his buddies who we met there.

Watching Kloey spin run after run. They funny thing was that when she got to the bottom, she had no trouble jumping right up and running back to the tow rope. Oy vey!

Watching Cora wrap the young guy (who was working the tubing hill and not any more than 17 or 18) around her finger. Out of the three of them who were working she found the one who gave the best pushes and milked it for all it was worth...priceless!

When we went in for a hot chocolate break, the girls asked if they could leave their hot chocolate to cool so that they could go back out to the hill. They didn't want to wait for it to cool!

In the end, we had a blast of an evening. Sadly, I didn't bring my camera, but that was on purpose. I told the kids I wouldn't hound them with my camera, but no one said anything about a camera phone!


Now, it is said that the parents also had fun on their evening out, but come on! I clearly got the better end of the deal!

In Honor of Haiti

With everything going on in Haiti right now, I thought it would be fitting to post a few of my favorite images from when I was there a year ago. It is hard to look through all of my hundreds of images and think that those very same landmarks and even those very same people may be no longer.

Ratios

This semester I am taking a introduction to photoshop cs4 class to be able to use photoshop for a little more than basic editing. It is such a huge program, and I only know what I have taught myself from fooling around with it. I decided I wanted to get serious so I enrolled in the class for the spring semester.

Last night was my first class. It is being taught by my photo professor who also happens to be my capstone mentor. If I'm not sick of him by the end of the semester, it may be a minor miracle (sorry, Scott!). The first class only ever consists of listening to the professor read you the syllabus, (the same syllabus you have on paper in front of you, but hey, everyone has the right to question the college student's ability to read...) and then they usually let you out after only a half an hour of used class.

Well, last night was no exception. Now, you may be wondering why I need to regale you with what seems to be very unimportant information...bear with me, there is a point!

What I found a tad bit funny last night is associated with mathematics, ratios to be exact. In all of my past classes the girl to boy student ratio has usually been around the neighborhood of 3 to 1. Well, apparently photoshop is a little different as I am only one of two girls in the class. For all of you mathematically minded people out there, that would be a 1 to 9 girl to boy ratio. And the other girl was a no show last night which brought my ratio up to 1 to 16.

Not bad 'eh?

Wordless

Today is Wednesday. Wednesday I have my friend December all day. This Wednesday is also wordless...check out my drama queen's antics of the day:





She thinks she is oh-so funny! Can't wait until she is a teenager! Oh boy, er, uh, um...girl!

You Know You are From New Hampshire When...

This was just too good to pass up! Ready for a laugh or two? Come on, all you New Englanders, you know it is true!!!

You Know You are from New Hampshire When:

Your idea of a traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway. -I'll admit that I have been the one on the tractor!

You measure distance in hours. -See my previous post...

You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.

You drive at 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.

You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events or church.

You think of the major food groups as venison, cider, fish, and berries.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them. -Uh-huh...I carry jumper cables AND know how to use them!

You know all four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction. (and maybe a 5th -- mud!) (Or -- tourist, foliage, skiing and mud) -Why does tourist season always seem to last twice as long as any of the others???

You buy your Christmas presents at the feed and grain store. -Hey, it makes me happy!

You know what cow-tipping is.

"Down South" to you means Boston. -so true.

You can actually pronounce "Kancamagus" and know what it is. -oh, yeah.

You know what a bubbler is. -Who doesn't?

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new machine shed.

You can recognize someone from Massachusetts from their driving. My 16 year-old brother has an affectionate name for these kind of drivers... the two year old now repeats the same word. Good thing he has absolutely no idea what it means....I hope.

You only know three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup. -So very true.

Your snow blower gets stuck on the roof. -Come on, we know you've all done it!

You find 0 degrees a little chilly. -Just a little bit, but not much.

Silly, I know. But good for a laugh!

Freeedooommm!

Last night was my last and final night of freedom over winter break. So, what better thing to do than celebrate? My mom and I decided at 6:15 that we wanted to go out and catch a movie. Great idea right? Well, not exactly if the only show time was 7 p.m. and the theater is a 40 minute drive from your house. What can I say, we live in the boonies....

Nevertheless, we made good time; even dropped off a friend and put gas in the car...good thing too or we never would have made it all the way up there, never mind back. We pulled into the parking lot at exactly 7 p.m. and were in the theater by 7:05 p.m. Remember that part I told you about us living in the boonies??? That also equals the fact that we do not wait in line for much except maybe when you try to grab a cup of coffee at the only coffee shop in town, then you may have a problem, but hey, we take what we can get. And because we live in the boonies there were only two other people in the theater and the movie started 10 minutes late. Just a few of the perks folks, thought you might want to know what you are missing out on! Anyhow, I digress...

This was the movie we saw:


Leap Year. It was quite good. Granted it was something my 16 year-old brother will never want to see...never as in never ever, but my mom and I thought it was quite good. We laughed through the entire movie (well, us and the two other people in the entire theater, but that is certainly beside the point...) The plot was well written, the twists were slightly more unpredictable than I imagined, and the humor was funny and surprisingly appropriate.

So, if you're looking for something to eat up a couple hours of your time, (oh, wait, better tack on a couple hours for travel time if you live in the boonies like me!) then go check it out.

Farewell to my days of lying on the couch with nothing better to do and the days of having time to drive forever and a decade just to see a movie that was good, but not that good! Farewell my love. I do not know when I will see you again....

The Prince and the Pea(s)

Here is a funny New England snow day story for you all! We have been blanketed in about 8 inches of snow between last night and this morning with more falling throughout the day. What better thing to do than tackle those projects that are always put off because there is something better to do. Well, today there was nothing better to do and the refrigerator has needed cleaning for weeks, er, um, maybe months, but shhh, don't tell anyone. It will be our little secret....

I was cleaning out the fridge of all of our leftover food from the last week and came across a Tupperware container with a few scant pieces of pineapple left, so naturally I asked Trey (the ever-hungry two year old) if he wanted a snack. He said he did and sat up to the table to enjoy a before lunch snack.

Now, Trey's outfit is important to discuss before we go any farther in this retold fairytale. This morning Trey picked out a pair of jeans and a Red Sox shirt to wear today. No problem. Perfect. Well, it was until he found his bathing suit and decided to dress himself in that OVER his clothes. This is no regular bathing suit, wait....a photo is worth a thousand words, is it not?


Not only does he have his flotation bathing suit on over his clothes, but he also put it on backwards. Gotta love good old Yankee ingenuity.

I turned my back for a few minutes. Just to finish washing out the produce drawer and when I turned around...well, let's just say that Trey made me laugh, yet again. He had completely discarded the pineapple for the Tupperware full of peas from our dinner two nights ago. He was eating them by the fistful....in his bathing suit...which was over his clothes. It was just too much.



I asked Trey what he was doing...this was the response I got:



After we finished laughing, I noticed that Trey had accidentally spilled some of his snack of peas on the floor and I asked him to pick them up. I turned around the dry the before mentioned produce drawer and when I turned back around:



Yup. He was licking them off of the floor. One at a time. Oh boy. Well, I guess it was a healthy snack!

My Crazy Weekend

I am in charge this weekend. In charge of the dogs. I am dog-sitting for some good friends of mine while they are out of town for the weekend. Wanna meet 'em? Um, the dogs, that is!

This is Max. He wears me out. He is a black lab. 'Nuf said.




This is Dozer. A real sweetheart. I think he thought that it would be too much work to open his eyes for me to take his picture.



And last, but certainly not least...This is Foster. He sleeps under the covers with me. Come on, how you say "no" to that face? :)



There are also two birds that are photographically unaccounted for. They talk to me all the time. One calls me "pretty girl;" flattering and bizarre all at the same time!

I'm hoping for a fairly quiet weekend with no blips in the radar, but as always I'm sure it will be an adventure! Stay tuned....one never knows what may happen in New England in the middle of winter with three dogs and two talking birds!

The Red Tent

Being a college student does not leave a lot of wiggle room for pleasure reading; this I have come to understand. After reading for classes, assignments, and homework, the last thing you want to do is pick up another piece of reading material, pleasurable or not. So, over winter break I endeavored to read some books just for myself and the one I just finished was phenomenal.



It is entitled The Red Tent and it was written by Anita Diamant. A good friend of mine recommended it to me and suggested I read it over winter break and I am so glad I did.

It is a first-person narrative which tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph, and a talented midwife. The book's title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob's tribe must, according to the ancient law, take refuge while menstruating or giving birth, and in which they find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts.

This fictional interpretation of history was very well written and provided a good story. I just might read for fun a little more often.

A Milestone

So, it is official. Micah has had his first haircut. He is a baby no more. He was really good about it and now looks like quite the little man. Enjoy the photos, our baby is growing up!

The "before" shot:



The first snip:



The work in progress shot:



The "I'm really not very sure about this" shot:



The finished product, "I'm a big boy now" shot:



Poor kid, he looks like he was shakin' in his boots. It really was not that traumatic! I guess there has to be a first time for everything, right?

Uh, I Think I Would Pick the Cow

I watched a PBS special the other night titled, "The Standard of Perfection: Show Cattle." It was all about Maine beef and dairy farmers, so naturally my curiosity was peaked. The documentary explored the world of the farmers who show their cattle, concentrating on the Fryeburg Fair. There was one man who has a dairy farm over in Shapleigh, Maine who made a comment that just has to be shared:

"There's pretty women and there's pretty cows, but which one would you rather take home?"

Hmm... Interesting. I may need to think about that one.

Oh, for the record, the farmer was insinuating that every respectable New England farmer would pick the pretty cow over the pretty woman. Interesting. 'Nuf said.

Terrific Two's

Everyone says that 2's are supposed to be oh-so-terrible, but I tend to disagree. Yes, they have their moments, but the two 2-year olds in my life are pretty stinkin' cute:

December comes on Mondays and Wednesdays to play with Trey all day. Micah tries to keep up too, but alas his legs are much shorter, and, uh, chubbier.

A Real Woman's Creed

I believe that within me lies an extraordinary radiance, and I commit to letting my light loose in the world.

I believe that the source of my power and wisdom is in the center of my being, and I commit to acting from this place of strength.

I believe that I possess an abundance of passion and creative potential and I commit to the expression of these gifts.

I believe that the time has come to let go of old notions and unhealthy attitudes, and I commit to re-examine what I have been told about beauty and dismiss what insults my soul.

I believe that negative thoughts and words compromise my well-being, and I commit to thinking and speaking positively about myself and others.

I believe that young women are in need of positive role models, and I commit to being an example of authencity and self love.

I believe in the relationship between my well-being and the well-being of the planet, and I commit to a life of mindfulness that regards all living things as holy and worthy of my love.

I believe it is my spiritual responsibility to care for my body with respect, kindness, and compassion. I commit to balancing my life in such a way that my physical being is fully expressed and nurtured.

I believe that joy is an essential part of wellness, and I commit to removing obstacles to joy and creating a life that is full of exuberance.

I belive that a woman who loves herself is a powerful, passionate, attractive force, and I commit, from this day forward, to loving myself deeply and extravagantly.

Spring (and final) Semester Classes!

It is Wednesday. Not just any Wednesday, but the last Wednesday of my winter break, boo-hoo...not really. I am really looking forward to my spring semester at NHTI for a couple of really good reasons!
#1: It will be my FINAL semester at NHTI... yee-haw!
#2: I am taking some pretty sweet classes that I am really looking forward to, like:

Intro to Photoshop. I am looking forward to this class. I have had CS3 on my MacBook since I bought it, but I never took a class or took the time to site down and figure it out, so this class will be a nice breath of fresh air something I can through myself and my creativity into.

Intro to Cultural Anthropology. I have done a bit of traveling, which I think will make this class really interesting. I have always had a fascination of other cultures and am actually looking forward to all of the reading that this class will entail. (I also scored the textbook off of Amazon at a severely reduced price from what the bookstore was offering, what could be better???)

Chemistry I. Okay, so maybe not the most exciting for easiest class, but I'm up for a good challenge. Chemistry is a needed class for the UNH Dairy Management program, so the more credits I can get out of the way at NHTI, the better, right? This will, without a doubt, be my most challenging class this semester, but I am ready for it. I loved high school chemistry and did pretty well, so I'm actually looking forward to it.

And the icing on the cake....Photography II. I. Can't. Wait. I have been waiting for this class since I took Photography I last spring. I could not get it to fit into my schedule this fall, so spring semester it is. I will have the same professor who taught my Photo I course, which is awesome. I am looking forward to making some new friends, spending countless hours in the darkroom, being up to my elbows in the black film bags and cursing the metal film frames, and producing some fabulous prints. *sigh* Wednesday (my first class) cannot come soon enough!

Oh, and the icing for the icing would be my capstone exhibit! Upon their graduation from NHTI, each Visual Arts major has the opportunity to participate in a Senior Capstone Art Exhibition where each student works with a professor adviser to independently produce a body of work outside of class time which will be exhibited to the public in an art show.

Nevertheless, this should prove to be nothing short of an exciting semester! Stay tuned for all of the fabulous details.

Scratch, scratch, itch, itch.

I have an itch. A travel itch. It happens about every year. If I do not get on a plane to go somewhere I start to go a little stir crazy...so watch out!

Last time I went somewhere was Haiti last March, so the itch has been beginning to fester and I decided to do something about it! In March, over my spring break from school I will be visiting my good friends Scott and Hannah Kratzer in their home state of Iowa. I was fortunate enough to travel out to IA last January for their wedding, and I'm excited to be seeing them again, because I'll get to meet their gorgeous daughter, Ava who was born at the end of September! She is too cute:







I will be trekking to IA in the middle of March (avoiding a small sliver of my NH winter) and into the middle of cornfields, except it will be March, so no corn, but one's imagination is a powerful thing:



Ahh...

A bit unrealistic I know, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she???

Blanchet Kiddos!

I thought that you all might like to meet my other family. For the last year I have been a nanny for a family over in Parsonsfield, Maine. Richard and Verna have four children who range in age from 2-17. Wanna meet 'em?


These are the three youngest! Left to right: Cartwright, Reagan, and December. I know that I am a little biased, but come on...how cute are they?



Ricky is the oldest at 17. He is a junior in high school and football captain. I don't have a photo of him because he wasn't around the night that we did our little photo shoot, but he is a big part of the family none the less.


This is Cartwright. He is seven years old and in the second grade. Let's see...Cartwright is all boy. He loves Legos, playing outside, and hot cocoa. He also loves to help out and is awesome at taking care of his younger sisters.




This is Reagan. She is five years old and in kindergarten this year. She loves Wii Princess, Pretty Ponies, and playing with her younger sister.





This is December. She is the baby of the family who just turned two in (shocker!) December. She loves her older siblings, especially her big brother Ricky. She isn't in any kind of school, which is great because that means she gets to hang out with me! She is Trey and Micah's best little friend.




A few more of the three:






And my personal favorite: