Thunder Storm Tonight!!

Click on the title "Thunder Storm Tonight" to view the video!!

A Year Ago...

Just about a year ago, Ashlee and her family moved to Arizona. The photos following are Lacee and Ashlee saying good-bye, just before Ashlee and the kids pulled out to get on the road.

"Ah, Mom!! Do I have to hug her?? Little sisters bug me!!!"


"Mom! MOM!! She's touching me! MOM!!!"

"Okay you asked for it!! HUG!!!"

Photography Road-trip!!

This is my friend, Cherie...Cherie is a nut for photography. That girl never goes anywhere without her camera. I just know one day I will get an emergency call telling me that Cherie will have to be rushed to surgery to have her camera strap and camera removed from her neck and hands. It's that bad, people. I''m not kidding! Well...maybe just a smiggin. But really, you can trust my judgement on that, because I happen to be a photography spazz nut case too! I think that is why Cherie and I get along so well...

Above you will see that Cherie is carrying her 50 pound Nikon with a spazzed out lens that has a dual purpose, if we happen to be attacked by 100 wet noodles! Oh, and I'm not jealous of her spazzed out lens that has a dual purpose either! It's saved us many a time from attackers!!

One other thing that Cherie and I share is the love of horses. Whenever we go on photography road trips, we spazz out together and find every way possible to pull the big ol honkin' 4X4, jacked up, piece of hummin' smoothness up a rutted mountain and down a deep gorge, just so we can stop and stroke a horse or two! I have to tell a secret, though...Cherie doesn't wash her hands for weeks after petting a horse!!


Sometimes after we pet those beautiful creatures, we take photos of them too! I think if our husbands would let us, we would bring all those beauties home with us, but they won't fit on our laps (we don't own a horse trailer)! So, we moved onto our next destination, over the foothills and up the mountains to Bass Lake. When we arrived, we saw horse trailers, but no horses. We followed the hoof prints all the way to the water's edge of the lake, and I said while point to the lake, "They went that way!" I wasn't born yesterday, you know! As I was looking at the water, Cherie calls out "The horses, Gayle!" I told you she gets spazzed out when she sees horses, but I didn't really believe her at first until something moved near the Manzanita trees, the opposite direction of the lake. Well, I'll be hogtied! It was a horse...and his owner!


It was nice to have more horses to take photos of and we even asked this man and his wife (we assumed...it could have been a man and his girlfriend, or a man and his sister, or a man and his secretary...but, I'm goin' with a man and his wife), if we could take their photos and they didn't have a problem with that. Oh, do you understand the total satisfaction of those words "yes, you may take our picture" when it comes to spazzed out photography nuts like Cherie and yours truly???


The woman's horse was a bit of a show off. When he got to the water, all he wanted to do was play in it, or cool off in it, or play in it again...the horses were a bit lathered up...but still a show off none the less!!


He even would look back to see if anyone was watching. "Show off!" I hollered!!


Then it was time to leave Bass Lake...Oh, and I promised Cherie I wouldn't go into any detail of how we kind of got lost and then found our way back, and onto home again, home again, jiggity, jig!

One last stop on our way home...we were actually trying to find horses again and we knew just where they were, but we found these bovine instead, that happened to be right by the fence and in perfect position for photos. That was, until we got out of the vehicle and then there was all kinds of mooing and grunting and scampering. I told Cherie to stop it or she was going to scare the bovine!! (The photo below shows what our foothills look like in the winter with the gnarly scrub oak trees without their leaves. They are made of scary, nightmarish, story book tales.)

I told you that Cherie scared the bovine and they tried to venture off, with their ankle bitters latched to their mammary glands, as they lumbered along. "Cherie, would you stop grunting!" I called out.

It was back to the gloomy, foggy, Central Valley...and, that pretty much done tells how yet another photography road-trip found it's way on these pages. Thank you spazzed out photography nut, Cherie, for sharing yet another spazzed out photography road-trip with me!!

THE END!

Reflecting...

Stepping out of my comfort zone a bit (since you will be reading this)...being real...reflecting...We need reminders in our life of the things that we should be grateful for...like good health. I'm sitting here with a bit of pain shooting from my lower back, down through my knees and into my feet. It's not constant, but enough to say "ouch" in my mind, but not enough to say it out loud. What kind of strength would it take to take on a giant...like cancer??? I have seen so many family and friends suffer with it. And every single person was so heroic through it all. Some have conquered and some have gone to be with the Lord. I'm sure they cried out from time to time and suffered in silence, but they faced it with great strength, great courage and great faith!!! Never forget the faith. "I will listen and believe the voice of truth, because Jesus, you are the voice of truth!" Even in our suffering it's never about us...NEVER!!!! So, with that, I'm grateful for good health. How many times have I missed you, though...time after time, I'm sure I have been left behind because I didn't take the time to notice. To be grateful...thankful...and you never give up on me even though I'm weak, and so self centered. Thank you for prayers you have answered...thank you for holding out your hand! The sunsets, the crystal blue waters, the wildlife that crosses my path. You speak to me very clearly in those places...you never give up on me when I don't notice otherwise...when I'm not connected to you...you never give up on me. Thank you for your grace!

Lacee's 22nd!!

Lupe & Lacee

It was a great 22nd birthday for Lacee today...enjoying it with friends (Lupe, Ryan, Stephanie, Paul & Lori)!!

Finalist Photo!!!

I entered a photography contest with The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond www.thepioneerwoman.com/photography/ and was one of the top 10 finalists! I was so surprised and honored...screamed when I read it...and Lacee was there to give me a high five (a sweet moment for me). I was not the grand prize winner. However, Ree gave all the finalists $100 gift cards for B&H Photo & Video. The photo below is the one I submitted for the Bokeh (blurred out background & foreground) contest.

New Years Day Drive

Cliff and I went on a New Years Day drive west to the coastal foothills (Mercy Hot Springs), and then stopped back by the Merced National Wildlife Refuge just as the sun was going down. It was a perfect day for a drive and a great way to start the new year!! (You can click on any photo to enlarge it)

Lacee and Brutus

Lacee and Lupe came home New Years Eve Night with Brutus. He was wondering around and they were sure he was lost. Brutus became our pup (well, full grown Boxer) until this morning about 11 a.m. Of course the animal control and animal shelter were both on holiday. Brutus had a name tag with phone number, but no license. We called the number from the time we got him, but no answer, no answering machine or voice mail. So we had to keep him until the shelter opened this morning at 10 a.m. Lacee gave Brutus one more walk before we were going to leave and we both hated the thought of leaving him there...he was well mannered, trained and definitely a house dog! So, Lacee called the number on his name tag one more time and someone answered and they were missing Brutus! We delivered him home, and found out he had 2 Yorkshire sisters, and a loving family waiting for him!! We found out that they had moved their phone and forgot to plug it in until today!! A very happy ending to this story!

My First Horse Portrait Shoot!!!

I was excited and scared at the same time...never had been to the ranch before and didn't know what I'd have for a background. I was fortunate that the owners had an old almond orchard and the horse would stay without his halter. Meet Chocolate Chip...Chip for short!

Dog Walkers

These are our neighbor girls walking Bailey and their dog, Ponsone. I love how Bailey is wrapped around Kylee's leg!! Of course I gave them each a tip although they were a "free" service! :o)

Our Christmas Pooch, Bailey

Christmas 2009

The Yokley Christmas was great, but of course it would have been even more fabulous if all the kids could have come home. Here are a few of my favorite photos.