This is Bullshit

Yeah, that's right.  Bullshit.  We've barely gotten rid of the first Kentucky Snowmageddon before...

BOOM!  Here's 15 more inches of snow!  Gee thanks Mother Nature.  I hate you.

These are just cell phone photos.  I want to go out with the DSLR.  It's just...  so much freaking snow! And it's cold and wwwaahhhh!!

When I stepped off the back steps, this happened.  Up to my knees.  MY KNEES PEOPLE.

This is more snow than I have ever seen in my lifetime.  I fear that this is also going to become our new normal.  Global warming isn't going to go away.  Summers will get hotter, Winters will get colder, snowier.  We better start getting prepared now.

Escape from Housecatraz

I escaped from my house today. It took me four tries to get out of my driveway, but I made it!  The kids were out of school for their sixth snow day in a row.  I'm not excited about the idea of when they will make up these days, but I also am not too excited about them being in a bus on these roads. Many of the main roads are fine and clear, but we are a fairly rural county and many of the back roads are still hazardous.

Having a little "nail surgery" done...

We had plenty of supplies, but our #firstworldproblem was that Kaia and I needed to get our nails re-did!  She's a chronic nail biter.  She got it from her mama (and a little from her dad too) and she's asked for a while to get fake nails.  I put it off for many reasons, mainly because she was too young (in my opinion) and that they aren't the best things in the world.  However, since she's finally starting to like things like dresses and make-up and is nearly in high school, I said we'd go get our nails done together.

First time there and she chose pink polish.  What?!?!  They were stupid cute, but since it was her first time having fingernails of any kind, she was pretty rough on them.  I'm still not sure what she did to a few of them, but I know her little sister broke one.  I teased her and picked at her for abusing the sacred nails.  All in good fun.  This time around she got black polish.  *facepalm*

Then...  this happened.

Why?!?!

Waiting for them to dry AT THE SALON, I accidentally bumped my thumb.  Kaia laughed at me.  Said it was pay back.  Then....

Oh. My. Gawd.

I did it again to the other thumb!  Before I even left the nail place.  *double facepalm*  Kaia then teased me and picked on me for abusing the sacred nails.

Kaia - 1, Me - 0.

Apparently I'm a Dumbass

I complained that I had one snowflake in my yard whilst Boston had snow that would cover my entire house.

Mother Nature thought she be all cute and shit and decided to dump a foot of snow on the majority of Kentucky.  I apologize to my fellow Kentuckians.  I will never again complain about my singular snowflake.

The far left and far right of this panorama is supposed to be the roadway.

Residents of more northerly areas sit back and laugh at the sheer panic that has ensued, but let me tell you a little sumpin' sumpin'...  WE DON'T GET THIS MUCH SNOW HERE.  In fact, the last time Kentucky got this much snow at one time?  1968.  That's right... almost 50 years ago.

And it's not even the "good" snow.  It's powdery so not good for snowmen or fort making and so deep we can't get a good sled path.  Poor little Rowan wanted nothing but to go outside and play in the snow.  All she did was stand at the door or window watching it snow.  We finally bundled her up and let her go.


Once she finally figured out how to walk in snow up to her butt, off she went!

After missing work on Monday and Tuesday,  Chris decided to try to get out on Wednesday morning. He, my dad, and son spent several hours on Tuesday trying to dig out as much of the driveway as they could.  But still...

Stuck.  Half in the road too.  One of our neighbors came buy with his farm truck and pulled him out then came back later with a front loader and shoveled the big hump of snow left from the snow plow out of the way of the end of the driveway.  But during the day, the fiercely intense winds started and caused a snow drift a foot deep across the middle of the drive.  So he's had to park the car at the far end of the driveway every day and trudge through this mess at night.

I solemnly swear that I will not ask for any more snow.  Ever.

Spur of the Moment | Natural Bridge State Park | Kentucky

Or more aptly titled... What the Hell Was I Thinking.  Also TONS of photos...

Friday afternoon both my girls went to spend the weekend with their grandparents.  The house was strangely quiet with only one child in it.  We rented Oculus.  We were confused.  We give it a "meh" rating.

Saturday morning I sat drinking my coffee and I said to myself...

"Self, we don't get out of the house enough.  We should do something today because we have only one child to forcibly remove from his cozy bed and make spend time with us.  Let's explore Kentucky on a little road trip."

No one else was really on board with this idea.  My son didn't want to get out of bed and told me that instead of pretending we were a family with one kid, "go pretend you are a family with no kids."  Got to love teenagers, right?  The husband was very serious about not driving 3 or 4 hours, but I convinced him.  And by "convince" I mean, I didn't tell him.  Away we went to view the beauty of Kentucky via the Appalachian region and the Natural Bridge State Park.

Small panorama while sitting under the Natural Bridge.

The shortest (supposedly easiest) route to the bridge was stated as being only a half mile long on the sign at the trailhead, but several other places said it was 3/4 of a mile.  Longest half mile hike I have ever taken (probably closer to that 3/4 mile mark).  Thank goodness there are several small little huts with benches along the way.  I would never have made it to the top without several breaks.

Yes, I totally selfie'd when I got there.  But not before I was like... I claim this rock for my old, tired ass.  Get outta my way!  You can't tell from this picture, but I was completely drenched in sweat and my face was as red at a beet.

There was a tiny staircase carved out of the rock (just out of the shot in the panorama photo).  The husband and son decided they were going to continue climbing.  I decided to let them do that all by themselves.  The prospect of climbing up anything else was not on the menu.  Then this...

My view.  My husband leaning over the edge telling me that I needed to get up there.  I was terrified.  But not terrified enough that I didn't tell him to hold on, let me take a picture!

His view.  That's a wee little me.  So up the tiny little staircase I went.  The tiny little staircase that turns into the scary, equally as tiny, squeeze between huge, millions of years old, walls of rock.

When I got to the top... it was breathtaking.

Suddenly, that exhausting hike was forgotten.

He graced me with a photo op.  How gracious of him.

Yep.  Did it again.

I wish I would have made a photo sphere while I was there, but new phone.  I haven't downloaded the Google Camera yet.  *kicks self in ass*  Instead I did a full 360 degree panorama.  It looks a bit strange so I cropped it a couple of times to split it up.

Not far from the bridge was the skylift.  We had nearly convinced ourselves that we were going to take the skylift down because... exhausted.  But then we saw the skylift and my heart fell into my stomach.

It really was humid and hazy though the distant hills didn't look quite so blue in reality.  Whatcha gonna do?  It was my husband's cell phone.  I was too busy rocking in a corner while crying.  NO WAY in hell was I getting on that thing.  I'm scared of heights as it is, but DO YOU SEE THAT?!  Nope.  So I sucked it up, took a little breather, and began the journey back down the trail.  Going down wasn't as hard as going up, but it sure wasn't easy either.

After a quick stop for gas and snacks, the Nada Tunnel, a one-lane, 900 ft. long tunnel that is 12 ft. wide and 13 ft. high.

Not ominous at all, right?

They built this tunnel for the logging trains to move timber.  They drove TRAINS THROUGH HERE!  There must have been no room on any sides of the locomotives.

I feel like we barely scratched the surface.  For a spur of the moment idea, I think it actually went well.  My husband and I both agreed that we need to return.  With more planning and a hotel room.

ACHOO! *sniff* *cough* *wheeze*

We have been doggy sitting my in-laws three dogs for a few days.  My father-in-law had to have surgery to remove a spot of cancer from one of his lungs last week.  Not to worry, the docs say that it was found early, fully removed, and no chemo/radiation!  Dodged a bullet there.

Luckily they live only a hop, skip, and a jump from us.  Really it's only across the church next door's back yard and over a road.  We've been walking back and forth to let the dogs out to do their business, eat, drink, and be merry.  On Friday, I brought the schnauzer over to our house to spend a little time socializing. All was well.

On Sunday we were expecting a bad ice/snow storm.  News reports were urging everyone to have back up heat and supplies because it was nearly certain that we would lose power due to ice on the lines and fallen trees.  The National Weather Service released a briefing that upped our snow/sleet total to 7-10".  Nearly an unheard of number for this part of Kentucky.  We decided that it would be best to pack up the dogs, their crates, food, etc. and bring them all to our house.  We didn't want to have to trudge through snow and ice to do all this IF we did lose power.  Which the news outlets were saying was a near certain probability.

Like I said, they have three dogs.  A schnauzer, a pug, and a German shepard.

Within a few hours, I had developed a scratchy throat with cough.  By the end of the night, it felt like I had a wad of hairy mucus stuck in the back of my throat and our son began coughing as well.

That's when it hit me.  I remember feeling like this before.  I had thought it was just seasonal allergies.

*light bulb*

It was our dog.  And in this case, it was the pug and German shepard.  I was fine with the schnauzer, who are hypoallergenic dogs, but as soon as we introduced the other two dogs into the house, the itchy, scratchy throat began.

We kept them overnight.  We didn't receive nearly the snowfall or ice that was expected so we didn't lose power.  Monday afternoon after the plow trucks and sunshine had done it's thing, my husband packed the dogs, their crates, food, etc. all back up and took them back to their rightful home.

A few hours later, I was fine.

It's taken me 35 years to realize that I'm allergic to dogs.

Lions? No. Tigers? No. BEARS? Yes!

Several years ago, around 1999, the Black Bear was reintroduced in Eastern Kentucky.  Black bears used to be abundant in this area, but logging and humans wiped them completely out in the early 1900's.  Here is a good little article about the reintroduction from Kentucky Woodlands Magazine.  Also a PDF from the Kentucky Dept. of Fish and Wildlife about the Black Bear in Kentucky.

Now they are being spotted in our area.  A family just happen to capture a small male with a motion sensor wildlife camera in Ohio County, which is the county just North of where I live.  They have also been seen in Mammoth Cave National Park as well as several sightings in Daviess County.

I live somewhere in that blue circle.  I've vaguely placed some of the bear sightings and how far (as the crow flies!) from our house.  Except for the Owensboro one because it just said in Daviess County so it could possibly be closer and most likely is.  I doubt a bear would be in a more populated area.

Supposedly, these bears are scared of people and are mainly vegetarians.  However, this person is scared of them!!  I'm already trying to find ways to hide the outdoor cats food and bear proof our trashcan!  I might actually have a heart attack if I see a bear.

Right after I snatch up my camera and take a picture!

Road Trip!!!!

Sunday was actually Rowan's birthday.  My husband was supposed to work all weekend so we planned for her party to be the next weekend.  Then it turned out that he had the weekend off.  I didn't feel it was right to not do something on her special day so we decided to go for a little spur of the moment road trip!

I've mentioned before that we live TOO FAR away from the beach.  We do have lakes!  It has rained too much recently for any lake beach fun though.  We usually do our camping at Barren River Lake.  I've heard good things about Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky -Tennessee border, but we've never been.  The drive there and back was some of the most beautiful landscape.


Dale Hollow Dam was the largest dam I've ever seen.  The Hoover is on my bucket list.  The first dam I've seen made of concrete and not earth.  It was very impressive.  According to the plaque, this dam cost $29.1 million dollars to build.  I found out that a least one town, Willow Grove, is submerged under this vast lake. You can read more about it on the Army Corps of Engineers website here.



On the other side of the dam, the road was very curvy, very wooded. Very beautiful. Roll down the windows and cruise beautiful.

Just twenty minutes south of Dale Hollow Dam is Standing Stone State Park.  I'll be honest, I went because I thought there was a big ol' standing stone.  There wasn't, but I am so glad that we went!


When we drove up to this lake area, I thought it was just a bridge. A scenic, quiet lake with a beautiful stone bridge.


As quiet as the lake had been I was completely surprised to see that the "bridge" was actually a dam. And a loud one too!




I love these hills.

Nurture Photography - Ivory/Dream

It always seems that when I'm looking for something specific, I can't find it.  Spring took it's time getting here this year, but when it finally did arrive, it showed up with a bang.  It seemed that once the trees started to bud they wasted no time in finishing the process of forming full grow leaves.

We have one dogwood tree that is being a bit sluggish though.  It still has tons of beautiful ivory blooms.  The bees are so happy.

I'm still not sure what type of bush has these tiny little blooms in great abundance, but they are usually the earliest to bloom in our yard.

I'll really have to search for something pink next week!  I may have to just go with the home prompt instead. Thank goodness there are two!

Previous:

April 5th - Yellow/Easter

April 12th - Turquoise/Splash
April 19th - Green/Nature
April 26th - Lilac/Flowers

You can find out more by visiting the Nurture Photography Facebook page. They are also on Instagram (hashtag #nurturephoto) and there is even a inspirational Pinterest board! Also check out Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Rebecca of Bumbles & Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia.

Nurture Photography - Green/Nature

Green or nature?  This week I can do!  I love, love, love taking photos of plants and animals.  It's muh favorite.  

Last weekend we kind of pooped out on our hike through the woods.  We vowed on our way back to the car that we would return soon and complete the trek.  And that's just what we intended to do!  Except then we didn't and here we are at Friday again!  Where did this week go?!

So I'm going to cheat a little bit, cheating in my mind at least.  Here are a couple of photos from our trek last week.


This is some variation of Trillium.  I've consulted Dr. Google on this and it matches a couple of different variations.  I like them.  Variegated leaves, little pop of color.  Great Spring harbinger.


Looking up at the trees along the trail.  There were buds of leaves everywhere!  I bet when we return, the will look completely full of bright green leaves!

Previous:

April 5th - Yellow/Easter

April 12th - Turquoise/Splash

You can find out more by visiting the Nurture Photography Facebook page. They are also on Instagram (hashtag #nurturephoto) and there is even a inspirational Pinterest board! Also check out Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Rebecca of Bumbles & Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia.

Peach Tree Blossoms

The peach tree in our yard has sprouted what seems like thousands of blooms this year!  The bees are buzzing!

In years past, we've not had much luck with it.  It always starts out very well, but when the fruits begin to develop they have always ended up having a clear, jelly-like substance ooze from them.  Normally we aren't able to eat any of them.  Last year, we grabbed a very few early and they were edible, but small.

We thought the tree must have been diseased in some way.  We decided to cut off some sections that were obviously dead or half way there already.  It had one main trunk coming from the ground, but about a foot above that it branched out into two separate trunks.  We cut one whole side off and discovered that it was nearly hollow!  As we were leaning over the hole checking it out, a zillion ants came running out!

It's just the beginning of Spring, but already the tree looks healthier this year.  If all of the blossoms are any indication of the amount of peaches then we are going to be overflowing with them!

Nurture Photography - Turquoise/Splash

This week's Nurture Photography prompt is Turquoise/Splash.  Doesn't that sound like an awesome band name?!  Last week I was not only lost on ideas, I was also mere minutes away from missing the time to add my post to the linky list.

We got a bit of Spring rain earlier this week with that massive system that swept across the country.  I'm sure pretty much everyone got some form of precipitation from it.  I feel bad for anyone living West of the Mississippi River because I think they got the worst of it.  Fifty degree temperature drops in 24 hours does not sound fun to me.  We were getting a nice steady rain so I decided to go lay down on my front porch and try my hand at trying to catch a raindrop splash.


I used my 50-200mm lens so I wasn't having to worry about getting The Precious wet.  I'm not as happy as I wanted to be.  I zoomed too much and still have tons of work on learning proper settings.  BUT... I am excited that I actually caught a drop!  I'm looking forward to the next time it rains now.

I wasn't satisfied enough with that one photo and today was beautiful.  We've been spending entirely too much time indoors since the weather became distinctly more Spring-like.  My oldest daughter is gone to the in-laws for the weekend, my youngest daughter went to my mom's house for a little visit so we decided to get out of the house and go for a hike.

Dragging my 67 year old dad to the 2 mile hiking path about 30 miles from our house that has a beautiful waterfall at the end.  Since we've had several inches of rain recently, I thought the water would be flowing down the fall well.  Perfect for a splash photo!

Except we were so out of shape that we didn't make it all the way to the end!!  Definite motivation to get moving more!  Instead I settled for the peaceful splash-less view of the quiet lake.

Previous:

April 5th - Yellow/Easter

You can find out more by visiting the Nurture Photography Facebook page. They are also on Instagram (hashtag #nurturephoto) and there is even a inspirational Pinterest board! Also check out Kristi of Live and Love Out Loud, Rebecca of Bumbles & Light, and Alicia of Project Alicia.