Lunch From The Employees

While the family was away on vacation, the employees had to cook for themselves. It was a great time, seeing everyone bringing in their favorite and best dish.








The first Day was Chili.

Next was Bibimbop, containing a fried egg, rice, then the optional toppings of ground beef, carrots, hot sauce and mushrooms.










I brought Tater Tot Casserole.

Gimbop, rice, carrots, cream cheese, bacon, sliced hot dogs, spinach, and cooked eggs all wrapped in sea weed, resembling sushi.







It was fun, but I think we were all happy to see the chef return. Especially after the day I was gone, and everyone else had to figure out how to preheat the "Darth Oven," as they now all put it. I am now considered one of the masters of the oven. Never again shall they question my experiences with the dark forces that lurk inside that oven.

Lying In The Grass

This a picture of one of my best friends, Laura. We go on walks with another friend each day we work, after lunch. Yesterday I brought my camera.
Half way around our trail, I was exhausted from trying to walk in step with both of them, so I sat down in the grass while they made fun of me. I laid my head down, and notice the dry grass against the clouded sky.
I then exclaimed to them, "Look at the this! The grass against the sky!" Laura lay down next to me, and agreed that it was rather cool.
As I looked around, at her laying beside me, I noticed something I had never considered before. I pulled out my camera, hoping that I would have two seconds to catch it, and I did.
I tried to continue, when she moved her knees, thinking that I was trying to look past her. I cried out in frustration. Laura looked at me as if I had lost my mind, wondering what went wrong.
Byron, who was laying beside her, said, "You moved. Lily doesn't like it when you move." How true this was, I get so set on taking a picture, I do not appreciate when life moves out of focus.
In fact, there are times when I am taking pictures, I do not see what's happening in the photo until it has been taken. As odd as it may seem, those are probably the best moments for me. Because I was too busy to notice then, I get to look back and see their face again, seeing what I didn't before. This has happened numerous times with children.

Forest Floor

My sister and I took our cameras out before the snow hit, these are some of the photos that I captured.

  

 I went for a lot of contrast in this photo, to bring out the magical, fantasy look. At any given moment a young unicorn may come out from behind the tree...

A hollow tree leaves space for small dragon. They must hide somewhere, just until the day the human race is ready, once again, to bask in the awe of such amazing creatures. They share many of the same traits as house cats that way.

This photo reminds me of a recent dream. A monster, created to look like the trees, and the ground. Skin of bark, wood grain showing where it had been scarred, and leaves as well as morel mushrooms protruding from it's biceps.

I love the soft sparkling light behind the dog wood branches in this picture, and the branches look so much like antlers.

I did not realize until getting this photo back from the woods, that I was photographing a small creature resting it's wings on the barbed wire fence. Just think, how often this must happen to us.

My Flock

 This is my flock of chickens. I have grown up with chickens my whole life.
After receiving a 55 to 250mm zoom lens, taking pictures of uninterested chickens from behind the nectarine tree while they scratched at bird seed in the drive way was much easier.
Getting them to face the way of the camera, was an entirely different challenge.





James Durbin (who is really a hen...) however, preferred the lone wolf tactic. Scratching alone below the shelter of the dormant lilac bush.

 The Bennet sisters always catch my eye. They're so loyal to one another, even now that they are all grown up. The closer one is just known as Mrs. Bennet, the one further away is Doily. They are both White Laced Wyandotte hens. They lost a brother a few years ago, by the name of White Lace.

 

  This is Biscuit. A Buff Orpington. She has always been a good listener, and a special friend to me. The name, curiously enough, came from a dream that I had.
Buff Orptingtons are one of the breeds I remember most from when I was a kid. They were so sweet and tame. I used to play with them for hours in a big cedar tree behind the house. They would be princesses, I would be a maiden in waiting and the Top Hat roosters would be the three evil kings from another land.






Here is Colonel Mustard, the rooster, showing Lucky the Black Orpington hen exactly where to scratch for something tasty. While also keeping watch for hawks, dogs, cats, or anything that could cause harm to his lovely hens.

The thing I love about chickens is that they never worry about the future, they live for the present and react when something comes.

Ice Covered Hills

 There was an ice storm just a few days from now. The morning after, everything was covered in a sheet of ice. The fences were what drew me. It flows along the wire, dips, drops, but never moves. It's one of the most amazing sights that I have ever seen. Then, I tend to find interest in the things that others might pass as nothing.

This is not a sturdy fence, but it made for a beautiful picture with last Spring's morning glory vines, still holding their seeds as they wait for warmer weather to bring back the pink, purple and white trumpet shaped flowers.








I found that the neighbor's barbed wire fence was most intriguing. The dark against the shimmering clear, the sharp emerging from the slick as well as the twisted wire, stretching across the field.

The oak leaves appear as a frozen waterfall, while the glass cover the leaves and drip down the tips. Just imagine a creature so small as a sprite sliding down the leaves, jumping from one to the other, until reaching the ground.

 Even the elderberry bush behind the chicken coop was dripping with glass.

 Find beauty, interest, amusement and even hope, in places that others walk away from.. Suddenly, reading this in black and white, I realize this is as much for people as objects. I stand by my statement.

Snow Has Fallen

 Snow has fallen in the elderberry forest! The fairies have blessed us with pure white flakes spread out through the trees. Eight to nine inches. There was an epic snow ball war, then sledding the day after the snow fell. During the war, one of my nieces hit me with a snow ball, then as I lay dramatically in the snow, started grabbing handfuls of snow and throwing it on top of me.
Luckily, I got plenty of pictures before it was trampled on by tiny foot prints.
This picture was taken from the inside of a tomato cage, that appears as a portal to the imaginative eye.









The snow fairies must have a sense of humor, to pack the snow so tightly against the bark of the trees. Like dark patches on a leopard.

 This picture is my favorite. The wind was blowing excess snow off the tops of the trees just as the photo was taken. I would like more than anything to step between those two trees, to see a glimpse of Narnia.

 The snow packed itself well on the branches of dormant trees, as well as the dried sumac berries.

Here is the trail through the woods, before anyone has taken that special first step.

May the snow fairies bring purity to your forest as well!

Fajitas For A Crowd

Work lunch for November 29th was a fajita bar.
I started off by slicing chicken breast, peppers, and onions with desired seasonings the morning of.
When I got to work, I let them bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, while I cooked tortillas in butter in a frying pan.
The only other thing needed were the toppings of choice. Salsa, cheese, sour cream and such. 
It was a nice touch to have warm tortillas, but did not give me the chance to eat for a while, because I wanted to make sure there were enough for everyone before I turned off the burner.
I'm still learning how to use the "cursed alien oven", but luckily I have good help from the full time chef.
This worked great as an easy after Thanksgiving lunch, seeing as everyone was sick of turkey the day I cooked!