Category: Travels

I spent Valentine’s Day alone this year. Now, before you start feeling too sorry for me, I should disclose that Justin and I spent the day last year at the glorious Hotel del Coronado on the Pacific coast in southern California. But since he would be out of the country this year on Valentine’s Day, Justin promised that I would receive a special delivery to make up for his absence. And as the sun set that day, a FedEx truck pulled up with a beautiful bouquet of tulips for me. I waited a few days for the flowers to open up a bit, then took them outside and snapped some shots. They’re very sweet, don’t you think!

Anyone who lives in the Midwest knows that the TV forecasters had been glued to their Doppler and were almost giddy predicting this one – a monster blizzard that would go down in history as one of the most severe storms of all time. Ever. I was skeptical, but prepared, with my bottled water and cans of soup stocked up, just in case. The snow started falling around midnight, just like they said it would. And when I woke up on Groundhog Day, I first looked outside to assess the snowfall before turning on the TV to see if Punxsutawney Phil had seen his shadow.

We had only eight inches, not the 12 to 14 that had been predicted, but it was more than enough to prevent my Mini Cooper and me from leaving the driveway. I spent the day shoveling and took a break around sunset to capture some shots of how this historic storm hit the farm in South Lyon.

My nephew Kaden is an absolute monster. A lovable monster, but, a monster nonetheless. So when my sister and I were brainstorming concepts for his birthday party, monsters were the obvious choice for the theme. Monsters make you scream, and at a party, you would scream for ice cream naturally! And with a little help from some Ugly Dolls, the Monster Ice Cream Party was what we decided to hold in honor of the birthday boy.

Here’s my adorable nephew, Kaden, on his third birthday. This kid loves cake – I mean REALLY loves cake – more than any kid I’ve ever seen. He’s been known to blow out other people’s candles, just to speed things up and get closer to the actual eating of cake. So every year on his birthday – all three of them so far – he gets a cupcake and I get behind the camera to capture the messiness that ensues. His cute frosting face is sure to make you smile!

Justin tells me that South Lyon was once the horse capital of the world – home to more horses than humans. His family even contributed to the statistic, they raised and raced standardbreds throughout his teenage years. The equine days are over now on the family farm and nature has reclaimed the pastures. And even during the dullest days of winter, the landscape is just stunning and inspiring. So for the first week of January, I took a few minutes to brave the elements each day and capture the scenes outside. It was cold, but it was worth it. I got a good sample of weather and lighting, some sunny and overcast skies and before and after the some snowfall. Here’s what the acres had to offer:

The wooden fence divides the side yard from the marsh which borders the woods on the back of the property, and the clothesline still sees use on warm summer days.

The shed has fallen into a state of disrepair, but that only gives it character.

The neighbors’ horses always heard me roaming about. They would wander over to the fence to see if the clicking box I was carrying might contain any food for them. They seemed to enjoy being the center of attention and showing off. The final shot is of a spectacular sunset.