We're Back...

Were you wondering where the heck I went?  The music man and I went on a little adventure. With flip flops on and passports in hand we boarded an airplane headed to Cabo San Lucas for a few days.  We had a such a great time! We met up with family and friends to celebrate my BIL birthday and were treated like super stars, all of us were beyond spoiled and my gosh was it fantastic!

This was our home away from home, so luxurious and wonderful!

 There were eight couples and a few of us enjoyed walking down the beach.

Another poolside view.

Shadow play with some of the girls, I'm on the left, my sisters sil, my sister and on the right edge a dear friend.

The classic beach shot...

 but with a twist.. I bet you don't see this everyday? Cows roam all over the place here and I was told they do belong to ranchers.  They were so curious and literally walked over the paddle boards, sniffed and licked the chairs and then of course, because they're cows pooped, thankfully it was off to the side.

What a sweet treat to be part of such a wonderful celebration and to have had several days with my sister in her element.  We got home last night and I was up most of it with a sick brown dog, most likely due to eating two dozen raw eggs just before we got home, ugh.   Hello reality I'm back and ready for you, chores are waiting so I best get going.

Happy Monday Peeps!

More From Joshua Tree NP

If you're a seeker of hearts, with a little imagination you might see one in this rock.

I love the craziness and texture in this image in both color

and the feeling it gives in monochrome. Which do you prefer?

Spending time exploring nature and soaking in all of God's incredible creations is such a gift, let's do our best to preserve it.

Happy Earth Day Peeps!

Linking up with
                                            

Happy Easter

Sending wishes for a wonderful Easter to those whose celebrate from us here at the ranch.

Blessings
Jen

Sharing Some Love, Light And Beauty

Finally Friday and I'm all but caught up on my images for the last week, phew. I thought I'd share a few more from my trip to Joshua Tree NP if that's okay. I went looking for gallery shots and am really happy with all the images I got that day.

This is one of a few entrances into the Cholla Garden. I loved this view and if you view in full screen I promise you'll feel like you are on the trail with me.

In bloom these cacti are so beautiful but be careful not to get to close. Their needles are very fine and ball like pieces fall off which are then carried by the wind. If you get stuck I've been told they actually go all the way into your skin so it's incredibly difficult to get them out. Ouch.

While waiting for night to fall so I could shoot the Arch (you can see it here) my photog buddy and I enjoyed an incredible sunset where I tried to capture some love, light and God's beauty to share with you all.

Linking up with T over

and

Sky Watch Friday.

Happy Weekending Peeps!
Jen

Reality Rally, A Race For Others...

Last weekend in Temecula's Old Town and throughout wine country  Reality Stars visited and participated in an annual race known as Reality Rally. They came in droves and with a purpose. They raced all over the area to raise money for low cost treatments and awareness for Breast Cancer for Michelle's Place.

Though I don't watch reality TV I had a blast covering parts of this event. Everyone I encountered was gracious, friendly and played up to my camera. It was really fun seeing all the different personalities.

The race in town is an obstacle course with challenge stops, kind of like the show amazing race. They ran in teams and competed for the best time. These folks just finished running their race and I sure love those glasses!

I was blown away and grateful to see so much generosity and kindness for others. Humanity at it's finest. You see this incredible event, all of it from A to Z is done by volunteers. Isn't that awesome?! In a world where sometimes we get stuck in our own little bubble it was great to see hundreds of people coming together to donate their time to help others.

The brainchild and incredible woman behind this project is Gillian Larson. If you're a Survivor fan you might recognize her.  She is such an inspiring and gracious person and I was honored to work with her on this project.

I love all the artist, music, wine and kind heart'ed people who live in my town. A place where people come together to not only get artsy but to help others, is rad!

Happy Hump Day Peeps
Jen

Monday

I have been on the run shooting lots of projects since last Wednesday and phew I'm tired. No complaints I love my life! Today I did take a break from editing and spend my morning with Chancie on a nice relaxing trail ride and

the afternoon with Ms. Punkin Pie. She is so stinking cute and I love her new pink socks, hoping they will help keep the flies off her legs.

Happy Monday Peeps!
Jen

Day Tripping Pics...

My day trip to Joshua Tree NP Wednesday was a blast! Mother Nature blessed us with wonderful weather, by the time my buddy and I got there temp had dropped into the 80's.

This image is my first click of the day and I love it. I think it encapsulates the Iconic Joshua Tree and desert perfectly. Check out the balancing rock in the background.  The wild flowers were beginning to bloom as well as the trees.

The clouds were perfect too and gave just enough to add texture and depth to our shots. This park is so incredibly vast and there is so much to take it. It was great to be here in the day light hours. December when I visited it was dark, you can see those pics here.

The evening was warm, quiet and awesome. The only light in this photo was from the moon and the yellow glow is from the town 30 miles away.

This is Arch Rock. It's just a short hike in from one of their campgrounds and super neat. It is a really popular photography spot visited by tons of people. We were lucky though as there were only a few people there with us. It's not the scale of the arches at Arches NP but for being a couple hours drive away it is pretty rad. The arch itself is 30' across I believe and we light painted it with pink and yellow gels. God's beauty is everywhere but for me there is something very magical about the desert, perhaps the hugeness of it that puts my life into perspective. A gentle reminder that we are part of a much bigger picture.

If you live local or find yourself in So Cal I hope you'll check out this place it really is beautiful. Just don't go in the middle of summer because you might melt...

Linking up with Sky Watch Friday

Happy Weekending Peeps
Jen

Gearing Up For Fun...

Well Winter is definitely gone and I think we've skipped Spring. It flipping HOT here today and I may be or may not be melting... I'm not sure yet as my body has overheated during morning chores. 90's it's in the 90's today! Okay enough complaining I'll move on now.

My gear is clean, bag packed and I'm super excited! I'll be heading out shortly for a day trip with a photog friend. If all goes well and the heat doesn't kill me, I'll have some great images to share with you guys soon.

Happy Hump Day
Jen

Let Your Ponies Run...

I thought I would share something a little different here today. This is an original song by the music man.  I hope you like. 

Happy Monday Peeps!

These views...

Though this weeks storms didn't produce much moisture for us it did give us dramatic and textured skies. I drove into town the other day and right past one of our favorite wineries. I love the movement in the sky over their vineyard. So beautiful.

The other morning between a few rain drops and on my way to clean the coop I saw more drama in the sky. I'm looking forward to warmer mornings where I can sit and enjoy my coffee here for I know soon enough it will be very warm here. No matter what the weather I'm thankful I can enjoy this view from indoors too.

This is my neighbors driveway, isn't it awesome! I love my hood. I know... I just can't help myself I say it all the time. Since I was a little girl I wished and waited for a life in the country and though we've been out in this area for several years now I just can't get over how every single day is a photo op. Though it's hard work living here and sacrifices were made, the reward and joy is huge and beautiful. Spending my days serving animals, my camera nearby and the love of my husband who works so hard to make all this a reality... I feel like the luckiest person on planet earth.

Linking up with T over at  
Sky Watch Friday

Happy Weekending peeps!
Jen

In Between Storm Systems...

Storm #1 rolled in Monday night and it's been blustery here since. Not much rainfall but the wind is gusting and it's cold.  This is last nights sunset over the ranch, it was so pretty and you can see storm #2 rolling in. By Thursday the weatherman says we'll be dry and warming up again...

As for this morning it's still dark and very quiet out. The wind must be taking a break.

Linking up with Madge today over at