January was a month of blah or simply: ‘Here is my February 10 on 10’

February 10, 2019February 8, 2019 / Lisa R. Howeler / 12 Comments

Cold, clouds and more cold and clouds. That was what our January in Pennsylvania was all about and that meant we spent most of it inside, wishing it was sunny and warm and we were outside. We did break out of the house a couple of times, bundled up, to try our best to be lovers of all things cold. We usually lasted about twenty minutes each excursion before we were back inside, huddled under blankets, sipping tea, reading books and watching our new addiction, the Canadian sitcom “Corner Gas”, which we found on Amazon. During the week-long artic freeze we didn’t leave the house at all, other than my husband who had to go to work, which luckily isn’t too far from our house.

Our cabin fever was so bad I was a little concerned my daughter might never change out of the footed pajamas her grandparents gave her for Christmas.

Our cold adventures included playing outside (20 minutes at a time), attending science classes for the local homeschooling group (learning about trees), a trip to Ithaca, NY, (cold, so not much exploring, I’m afraid) and a hike with my dad to his pond to see if it was frozen enough for us to walk on it (spoiler alert: it wasn’t).

How about you? What did you do in January and so far in February? Let me know in the comments or link to your post where you shared.

If you want to see the rest of the blogs in this 10 on 10 blog circle, find the link at the conclusion of this post.

Follow our circle around by clicking over to Anna Hurley’s blog.

10 on 10 for January or the one where I barely had any photos to share

January 10, 2019January 10, 2019 / Lisa R. Howeler / 13 Comments

I’m not going to lie. I’ve barely touched my camera since the weather grew cold and the sun left us for what seems like for good. I am not a fan of dreary winter weather so trying to be creative in the midst of it is a true struggle. When the ladies in my group were talking about sharing 10 on 10 posts for this month I was excited until I realized I have very little to share. The idea is to share ten photos from the same day but I don’t even know if I have taken ten photos from the same day in a couple of months or even longer. So today I thought I’d share ten photos that represented our December. Mainly we prepared for Christmas by preparing my dad’s star to hang up on the hill behind his house, going to cut down a “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” from Dad’s other property (where I grew up), and hiking in the woods behind the home to cut princess pine.

Hopefully the next few months will inspire me to pick my camera up more than the last couple have but since we are in the midst of a very dreary and sunless winter, I am not sure how that will unfold.

Since this is part of a blog circle project, I hope you will continue on to the next blog by finding the link at the bottom of the post and then find another link in that post and so on until you come back to me. Take a journey with our photographers and you might just take a virtual and visual journey around the world.

To continue the circle please visit Penelope’s blog.

Finally some fall colors: 10 on 10 for November

November 10, 2018November 12, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 12 Comments

We waited for it patiently and that patience finally paid off this past week when the leaves on our trees finally changed from dreary brown to bright yellow and then scattered the ground, creating a blanket of bright for us to walk in and inspect.

My daughter and I spent part of a day picking up leaves and tucking them away in her bicycle pouch if we (or rather she) deemed them pretty enough.

We still have one tree that hasn’t changed yet, but always changes late. The tree blesses us with amazingly beautiful and uniquely patterned leaves even as the cold weather sets in and the snow starts to fall.

This post is part of the monthly 10 on 10 blog circle where a group of photographers share ten photographs from the previous month on the tenth day of the month. Find the link to the next blog at the bottom of this post.

To continue the blog circle, please visit Erika Kao.

What I’ve been shooting (10 on 10 for October)

October 10, 2018November 20, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 13 Comments

The month of September was the proverbial bad word that I won’t say here because I’m a good Christian girl. I tossed a lot of things I usually care about aside simply to survive the month and all the bizarre little things that kept going wrong. One of the things I gave up was worrying about whether or not I could make money with my photography. Another thing I had to let go of was trying to create images that would get me hired in my area. I just want to create images I like and if other people don’t want them hanging on their walls, that’s fine with me. I think sometimes we have to create to set our own souls free and if we set some others free at the same time that’s simply an added bonus.

This post is part of a blog circle where a group of photographers, artists and creators share ten images from the previous month, taken either on one day or throughout the month. You can find the link to the next person in the circle at the end of the post. This month I decided to share some of the images I’ve been creating just for me. I’d love to see the images, art, or words you’ve been creating. Feel free to add a link to them in the comment section even if you’re not part of the 10 on 10 Lifestyle Group (on Facebook)

To continue to find other artists sharing today in the 10 on 10 blog circle, click over to see the beautiful images of Shea Kundler.

To follow my work you can catch me on Instagram at www.instagram.com/lisahoweler or at my photography site at www.lisahowelerphotography.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/lisahoweler.

She’s quite fond of the slimy creatures. 10 on 10 for June

June 10, 2018June 11, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 13 Comments

My 3-year old daughter is a caretaker.

She takes care of her stuffed animals and our pets and other people’s pets. Sometimes she takes care of me and once in awhile her brother (though she’s usually bossing him around). What she really enjoys taking care of, though, are worms and bugs. I don’t get it, but she likes rolly pollies and worms and wants to put them in containers to keep them safe whenever she finds them. I try to explain that they are safe outside because that’s their home, but it doesn’t always work.

We had filled the pool in our backyard one night this week and for some reason the water on the grass drew a huge worm, one we country folk call a “nightcrawler” right out of the mud. My toddler was delighted. She was delighted to show it to her brother and make a video for her dad, who was at work, and she was delighted when I said she could keep the worm in a plastic container from the kitchen if we added some wet soil to it for it to live in for awhile.

She most likely wouldn’t be delighted that yesterday she couldn’t find the worm so I took it all outside to look myself and discovered the worm was indeed gone. My closest guess is that our very large, moody cat ate it.

I think we’ll have to be a little more careful about taking care of our worms in the future.

This post is part of a monthly blog circle that publishes the 10th day of the month and features 10 photos from the previous month on either one day or throughout the month. To continue the circle please click over to Shea Kleundler’s blog

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Are you a blogger, advertiser, or have you been put in charge of advertising at your church or another organization? Maybe you are in need of some faith-focused images for your project, whatever that project is. If so, you can find some great images at Lightstock.com. I’m a photographer contributor and simply a supporter of the site. While I am a contributing photographer I wouldn’t expect you to feel obligated to use my photos from the site because there are some amazing artists who you support when you purchase from Lightstock. *disclaimer: by clicking on the link you are supporting me as an affiliate and I will receive a small payment for that referral.

You want to dig a hole in the back yard instead of playing on digital devices? OK.

May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 19 Comments

This is part of a monthly blog circle where we post 10 photos on the 10th day of the month. To continue the circle click on the link at the bottom of the post.

She had a spade and she wanted to dig for worms in the space where our garden is going to go, at some point, though it will probably be late again like it was last year. I was a little relieved she seemed interested in finding something to do without us needing to take a trip somewhere that might involve money. It was a tight week financially and I was feeling guilty I couldn’t take the kids to a local arts festival.

A few moments later my oldest pulled a shovel out of the garage and was shoveling too. He didn’t know why, he just wanted to dig a hole and see what was there, he said.

I had to think about this for a moment. Did I want them to really dig a hole in our side yard? It was where I want to put a garden this year again. Plus it was space where the children and new puppy could run. But then, here they were on a sunny day, outside in the fresh air. They weren’t inside on digital devices or starring at what my mom had called “the boob tube” when I was growing up. I decided I’d let them do almost anything if they were outside enjoying themselves.

I let go of what some might consider conventional parenting thoughts of “we shouldn’t get dirty” and the logical questions of “why are you digging a hole?” and “what will you do with this hole once it is dug?” Instead, I stood and watched them dig their hole. The dug all day until it was so dark they couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces.

It reminded me of my childhood – playing and pretending and creating outside until well after the glow of dusk had faded and we could hear the peepers and the crickets in the woods behind the house. My shins would be bruised and my knees dirty and Mom would send me straight to the tub where I often turned it brown with the dirt I’d been playing in.

They took the digging so seriously it was almost like being on a work site. My 11-year old (the boy) did most of the digging while my 3-year old (the girl) sifted through the dirt to collect rocks, putting them off to the side, along with pieces of glass and some old bones. We were a bit alarmed by the old bones, hoping we weren’t digging up a former homeowner’s old pets, but then remembered this area was where our old dog used to burry the various bones and treats we’d give him.

At the end of the day we ran a bath and the kids filled it with bubbles and had a bubble war.

“This has been the best day ever, hasn’t it?” My 11-year old asked as they dried off.

And here I thought it was going to be one of the worst.

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To continue the circle click over to Erika Kao’s blog.

Waiting for Spring: April 10 on 10

April 10, 2018May 1, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 16 Comments

When I walked out of my room and into my son’s , which has more accessible windows than mine, and saw the snow on the ground I’ll admit I wanted to cry. This year it’s seemed that spring will never come. The days have been cold and gloomy and wet. I honestly thought that by now I’d be writing about bright, sunny, warm days filled with fun with my children. Luckily, despite the lack of warmth and sun, the children and I have been able to squeeze in some fun and even a few beams of sunlight.

Since we started homeschooling my son a couple of weeks ago we’ve had more time for family outings and excursions and have done a couple in between school work. We visited the farm of some friends of mine as part of my farm awareness project and not only did it give us some much needed fresh air, but it also opened our eyes even more to the hard work of local farmers and the current challenges facing them.

The other day we thought we’d venture out to a baseball game, despite cold weather being forecast, and try to catch Tim Tebow who is playing with our local Double AA team, about an hour from our house. It literally snowed during the game. That’s how cold it was. And to top it off, Tebow never even took the field, but I did manage to grab a shot of him “slapping five” or whatever players do at the end of the game.

This week we are supposed to have warmer weather but I will believe it when I feel it.

This post is part of a 10 on 10 blog circle with a group of other photographers. Each month we post 10 photos from our previous month, from either one day, or throughout the month, to share in a blog post on the tenth day of the month. To continue the circle, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Be sure to continue the blog circle by visiting Erika’s blog.

10 on 10 for March. Also known as my favorite photos from February and March so far

March 10, 2018March 21, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 11 Comments

I am so ready for spring that my brain has literally gone into a sort of hibernation that involves denial that it is still winter and we will still be getting snow and ice and cold days that require large, puffy winter coats and knitted hats. If someone says “did you know we are getting snow tomorrow?” I look at them like a deer standing in the middle of the road, entranced by headlights.

I’ve fallen deep into researching my family on ancestry.com so that has helped to distract me from the fact it’s still winter, but it’s put a bit of a halt in my photography, which is why this month is simply a collection of some of my favorite photos from February and the beginning of March. Included is a couple of shots from my farm project.

This post is part of a monthly blog circle where we feature ten photos from a day or simply the previous month. ]To follow the circle scroll to the end of the post for the next link.

To continue the circle visit Anna Hurley and check out her beautiful photos!

10 on 10 February: Pennsylvania Winters

February 10, 2018May 3, 2018 / Lisa R. Howeler / 7 Comments

This is part of a monthly blog circle where we feature ten of our favorite photos from either one day or simply ten recent images we have taken. Find the link to the next person in the circle at the bottom of this post.

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Well, winter continues in Pennsylvania. The cold. The snow. The slush. The cold. Did I mention the cold?

Yeah, so it’s been cold and this week we were hit with a “snow storm” that actually turned out to be only about 5 inches of snow.

Well, combined with the two inches we got a couple days before it was about 7 inches total this week.

My family and I are definitely looking forward to warmer weather, but the kids had some fun in the snow while we wait.