Natural Light & Fast Toddlers

Over the past oh, say 'bout a month - I have been learning how to use a *real* camera - which, if you haven't tried it yet, is quite the learning curve if you've been screwin' around with a craptastic point & shoot. Which, I have been doing since our family crawled out of film and into the digital era - which, wasn't that long ago.
Already, my older boy is asking why I have a bazillion pics of David, and so few (comparitively) of him. He still doesn't totally understand that when he was born, we didn't have a digital, and mom was farkin' around with her Daddy's old 35mm SLR - with mixed results. I did get some great shots, but the tension of waiting for the lab to print them is torture. But, I digress.
As a result of the new camera - I have been searching for subjects. My kids are getting tired of it FAST. So, I have taken to shooting friends' kids. This is one of my favorite to snap shots of....


Lets just say she doesn't seem to enjoy having her picture taken nearly as much as I like taking it. Oh well - I'll still try to get her. She's too cute to NOT shoot.....

Then there's this guy right here.

He's adorable. And, well, he's mine - but that's not the point. Its a major chore to get a good shot of this little handsome booger, like I can't even describe. He is a MAJOR goofball. He seems to think when I say 'Honey, come over here, I want to take some pictures' it somehow translates to 'Honey, grab all of your current favorite toys, and stack them around your head in gravity defying formations, oh, and make the goofiest, cheesiest grin you can manage'.

I do get lucky from time to time, and get to take shots of the field. Of course, I can't take too many because I haven't gotten the chance to do the whole 'spring farm cleaning' routine. It's crazy. High water table = has to dry up before it greens up, and has to dry up before you can even pull out all the crap that needs to be chucked/burned. OY.



Then there's the semi-macro on my single all purpose lens. You can't see it when it's so small, but when the pic is full sized/full screen - you can see the trees upside down in the dew drop. WOW.



So, I desperately want to become a child's photographer/horse photographer. All with natural light, so unless it's a family birthday, or I'm really screwing around, that fancy flash that pops up on top of the camera is more or less a gadget that goes unused.

Who couldn't have a good time, for instance, taking pics like this of Little Miss Sassbox?



That girls' eyes are so pretty, they should be illegal.

And moments at pasture like this one.

Really. You can't pose that kind of thing. And the silly camera needs to be fast, so I am happy that I finally have one that seems to keep up with what I want to do!

Then this little boog likes to do such silly things that make you laugh so hard you can't hardly keep the camera still. Oh, it's a range I like to play with. Yep. Kids. Horses. Kids & horses. WOW.


If that wasn't enough - I go to snap a shot of Ma's horse she wants to sell, and I end up with this gem.

Really, Rose? Why don't you tell me how you REALLY feel?

Just felt I should share what I've been up to over the past oh, week.

Shipshe trip to see the .... baby cows???

I love to go to Shipshewana. You can spot me there on random Friday mornings throughout the year. I have yet to go for their famous flea markets - never have been. No, what I go for is what I think the auction house started with. Livestock auctions. Not just any livestock - horses. Yep. I LOVE the infamous Shipshe horse auction. The action of it, the fast pace, the strangely wide variety of different ages, skills, and temprements of horses, both registered and grade, trained, and wild. It can be such a craps shoot there. But it's fun. Today, for the first time this year, a friend and I went to Shipshe to eyeball the horses slated to go through the ring, and do a little shopping. So, in short, country girl fun day.
Now, usually, you will see the amish, the carriage horses, the drafts, saddle horses & ponies - and the tack. There is ALWAYS tack. LOADS of it. It's crazy the tack that goes through that place! Usually there are puppies too :) But, today, the horse load wasn't too heavy. There was precious few going through the ring. There were no puppies, I didn't even really see much in the draft horse section. Instead, over where the ponies usually are we found 4 of these:


4. Newborn. Baby.Bulls. Oh, my, God.

They were so precious. And, so very very little. Their umbilical cords were dried, but still hanging like dried up critter cords tend to do. And, they were hungry. Poor little buggers. We were in love with some baby cows. For a minute, I considered learning how to rope so I could justify showing up with baby cows. But, I did not have much money on me, thank goodness. And, we didn't come with a trailer. Pity. Because, had I cash & a trailer this morning, I would have in all likelihood come home with one of these:



They looked like they were little beef cows. One looked like it might be part holstein, as he had a lot of white, but mostly they were black, or dark brown.
I could have gotten them little halters. No, really - look.....


One of them looked just like that! They were so sweet, and mooing, and lonely & precious & cute & alone & they needed someone who would FEED them. And pet them. And put a halter on them, and give them carrots when they got big. But, what am I going to do with a full grown BULL after all? Butcher him? oh, right. I could not butcher a little orphan that I had rescued and bottle fed. That just don't jive with me. My husband would have had a fit, but he would have snuggled him too - DAD. Now, Dad would have had a coronary infarction and need to be airlifted to Kalamazoo whilst on life support. No, that little black bull was not worth upsetting Daddy.

But. I can't help but wonder. Had it been a little Jersey cow .... could I have turned away so easy? Oh, I don't know....




Norman? Is that you, Norman? Oh boy.

A Word about Pippi

THIS ... is Pippi Longstocking. Or, at least, it's the actress who played Pippi in one of the productions of Astrid Lindgren's books. If you are not familiar with her, brace yourself. She is NOT a politically correct character. She lives in a house, with no adult supervision. Her father is a sea captain, who is never home, and I don't remember what the story is with her mother.
She skips school, causes trouble in general, has a monkey - Mr.Nillson, and a horse that is MISIDENTIFIED as an appaloosa named Old Man.

That's right. You heard me. Old Man is NOT an Appaloosa. He's a Knabstrupper. What's that? You don't believe me? Well, too bad - it's true! When Pippi was made into a movie, they took the description of the horse, and assigned the breed to it - however, Appaloosas are in greatest population in the western U.S. Pippi is from Sweden, where there is a rare breed that looks, in color, like an appaloosa. Here is one ....



Not an appy. Not even by a longshot. Still don't believe me? Well, read up on them - http://www.knabstruppers.com/index.htm#knabs it's where I got the above picture from, and I wouldn't lie to ya. I'm here to inform. ;)

I've been wanting to get that off my chest for a while. Everytime I see anything with Pippi it gets me thinking about these fellas. That is all for now! Sweet Dreams!

WOW! How cool is THAT??

So, I am feeling like a better version of myself. I don't know how else to put it. I just feel like a better, happier, better adjusted version of ME. As a result, my positive, cheery side has been irritating people in new and exciting ways!!! Yay!! I've also made a new friend - woo hoo! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see...

I am a member of this killer hunting forum. I may or may not have mentioned it before ... it's http://www.thunderbucks.com and it's a very family friendly place. Well, anyhoo, over the past oh, year or so, I have not been really active. I check the site, sure - but I have hardly ever signed in unless it was to leave a snarky comment. Then, my interest was piqued. There was a new member - with a fabulous name :) The Swede. I am, of course, Qtswede, so this was a matter that needed my immediate attention! Another Swede??? NO. FREAKIN. WAY.
I LOVE SWEDES! WE'RE THE BESTEST!!
So I made a 'weclome' thread, and whaddaya know, it's not too long, and I get a PM askin' about my handle. We have been chatting now for a couple weeks, and it's absolutley facinating how hunting works in Sweden. Some of the game is .. similar, but not alike. He is more of a deer & bird fella, with some wild russian boar thrown in, whereas I love me my bear hunting :)
It's fun! AND, I have yet another Swede to check my horrid attempt at learning Swedish. I am workin' on it, and I will get it. It's just too much fun to say. I love the way it sing songs off my tongue. My oldest son will answer my questions in english *sometimes* and my husband just looks at me like I am some odd ball brunette version of Pippi Longstocking. It's great. But, I will cover the pippi thing next time. That is a post all it's own. ;)

Anyhow, good on me for being internationally friendly! SEE!!! My self medicating thyroid/adrenal uppers are making me in such a good mood that not only am I easier for my family and friends to deal with, but I can take it to international levels!!! TAKE THAT DR.SMARTYPANTS!! WOO HOO!!!

Now, I must go pull out my saddle. I have things to do tomorrow with a friend, and I cannot be sidetracked.

Pippi tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Hell-O Eastern Medicine!!!

I gotta say - I have had luck in the past with most eastern medicine - i.e. herbal supplements, vitamins, etc. I have had little to NO luck in the past with relying on doctors to help me with the things that docs consider -- insignificant.
I don't know where you stand, but, for me, being in a depressive state for nearly all of the time between 15 and 31 is NOT an insignificant problem. I am not talking about just bein' a little blue here. I'm talking about deeply depressed, borderline dangerous - for me- frame of mind. Docs don't care. They would not care, unless I had a kitchen knife stickin' out of my forehead.
That don't sound to comfy to me, or realistically a proper solution to my bad frame of mind.
When it started, it was pawned off on 'oh, just a teenager'. Then, I always felt like it was something that should not be talked about - like there was a shame that went with being miserable. Just what I needed - shame on top of self loathing.
After the kids came along - even though there was a gap between kiddo no. 1 and losing baby no.2, docs chalked it up to postpartum depression. OK, so, what about during the pregnancy? I'll buy postpartum for some of the after, but 5 years of postpartum? Come on. Get real, docs.
Of course I was upset when I miscarried. And depressed & nervous the whole pregnancy for kiddo no.2, but really? where's the happy? Few moments. Moments.
Now, long story short, over the past 5 years or so, I have been had my thyroid levels tested 3 times - as ordered by a doc, because apparently, low thyroid levels can be to blame for depression - amongst other problems I have as well. I had some hope that this last test would yield some results that could help me - BUT, for some reason, the complete panel that was ordered --- was NOT done. They only did a general scan, which, I 'passed' by less than a tenth of a point. The lab refused to finish the test. So, this was my third borderline test result.
I am so discouraged by doctors at this point, I don't think I will ever go again, unless it's totally necessary. I could understand if ONE of 3 tests was borderline, to ignore it. But all 3? WOW.
I was angry. I was hurt (don't ask me why but I took it quite personally) and I was so very very discouraged. Then I said screw them. I KNOW there's a problem. It may not be major, but it must be enough to screw me up - at least a little!!!
So, I have taken matters into my own hands.
I'm goin' Eastern Medicine. Herbals. Aromatherapy. Sun Worshipping. All that sillly hippie shit.
And you know what? Not even a week, and I am .... happy. I haven't cried in days. I smile all the time. I am thankful for all that is going on in our little family, and for the first time in years, I am not filled with total self loathing. I am relaxed, calm, and I can feel my energy levels rising.
All this on a week when, well, without getting to personal, I should be feeling more like crap, not better.
Just wanted to share. And, remind everyone that if you aren't getting satisfaction from your docs, it's not always bad to take matters into your own hands. After all, they don't care. They don't. It's not a big critique, it's just the truth. If it's not an emergency - they couldn't give a rat's ass. That's all. Thanks for listening :)