That Post Apocalypse Feeling

 I actually left the house today and took some photos of weeds, twigs and leaves... shocker. I never leave the house in time to catch the sunset, but it wouldn't have mattered much today because it's cloudy AF. And in my defense I don't take Max for walks until after he eats dinner. 

I think for the first time since I was in school I'm actually looking forward to summer. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love gardening season. I love to plant seeds and buy plants, but since we have a pool now I have a major reason to anticipate the summer months. I always look forward to spring, it allows for better photos, warmer weather and longer days. 

Since I got a new tripod for Christmas, I'm STOKED for Milky Way season. I'm not sure how easily I'll be able to photograph the Milky Way early in the season, I really only started in June. I'm just anxiously waiting for my first Milky Way shot of the year!

Okay, this blog is boring AF, so I'm going to end it here.

Dried up twigs.

Fall leaves.

This is an old log down the road.

More leaves, would've been better edited in lightroom.

Weeds.

More weeds.

These little dried up flowers.

I think they're wildflowers of some kind... maybe.

Weekly iPhone Roundup {12.24 - 12.30}

 I know I haven't blogged all week, but there's honestly been nothing to blog about. I've spent a lot of time with family this week - when I'm not doing that I'm playing games... shocker. I'm so very thankful for our new internet provider, but it's still not fiber fast, but it gets the job done. I've been downloading God of War: Ragnarok since Sunday and it's still not done. Mind you, I don't let it download 24/7, but roughly 12 hours a day maybe. It's like 86gb, but I was able to play it when it hit like 28gb, so there's that.

Let me just say that this game is a blast! I mean, it's as GOW as any other, but the combat in this game is what makes it's so much fun.

In between downloading that, I've been playing the remastered version of The Last Of Us. Literally been one of y favorite games of all time since December of 2014, which is when I got it for the first time on PS4. Plus I'm wanting to play while I impatiently wait on HBO's The Last Of Us to come out. I've been counting down the days for months now.

Anyways, here are the random ass photos from my week. Hope everyone has a save and Happy New Year!

Snowy view from upstairs, just before we went home Christmas Eve.

The most random Christmas Eve shopping items.

Our beautiful snow covered road.

Homemade rice crispie treats.

Homemade sugar cookies.

The one present I'll share with you, my awesome new tripod that my aunt and uncle got me. SO thankful to have a new one, I can't wait for Milky Way season!

Homemade pumpkin bars with homemade icing.

Kool-Aid pie and cream cheese pie with toffee topping. 

My beautiful boxador.

This is one of my favorite purchases this year. It's a palm tree light for camping, which my uncle mentioned he wanted late summer. He loved it.

More snow Christmas night.

This was like 3:30am Monday.

Still snowing at 3pm Monday.

God of War Ragnarok was 89% away from being able to play. There was still like 60gb to go.

Seriously obsessed with this spinach and artichoke dip right now. I took this pic because I asked my aunt to pick some up for me.

The Last Of Us Remastered. Seriously the best game ever.

And lastly, a wet leaf on concrete.

Last Milky Way Attempt of 2022!

 Since the Milky Way likes to take time off from November until February (not really, but kinda), I thought I would try and snap a few last minute pictures a couple weeks ago. The gorgeous celestial masterpiece was nowhere to be seen - at least from where I was. The Milky Way is much harder to capture this time of the year due to all the hills and trees near me.

I'm hoping to perfect my astrophotography next year. I want to branch out and try to capture the Milky Way in new locations with a better view of the night sky. Until then, here are a couple decent shots of the night sky from the 20th of last month. Enjoy!

View of the night sky from our mailbox.

This was taken at the end of our road. There's a church directly behind where I took this, so that's why the surrounding area is so illuminated.

One more shot of the night sky at the end of the road. Kinda crappy, but still decent astrophotography I think. I could be wrong, lol.

A Summer of Stargazing & Astrophotography {2022}

 I feel like I've really mastered the skill of astrophotography... not really, but I am miles better than I was at the start of the year. I actually managed one of my bucket list items - capturing the Milky Way! I've been capturing it since June, but the pictures I got on the night of August 23rd really take the cake!

That was actually the last day I took any astro-pics because my tripod broke and I never bought a new one. I'm hoping to do that within the next couple months, especially before the start of Milky Way season in February! I would love to go to a local state park and get some astro-pics, but there are so many crack heads and creeps around here at night, it's just not worth the risk to me.

I did venture to the graveyard twice this year because there's such a nice view of the night sky, but it's hella creepy. Not because of the graves, because of the locals! The first time I went by myself and got SO creeped out! The next time I begged LaVaughn to go with me, but she was rushing me the entire time and I wasn't able to get any good shots, lol. Maybe next time will be better.

Well I guess that's all for now. I hope you enjoy looking at these astrophotography pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them. I think like 85% are of the Milky Way, but there are some pictures of just the sky as well. Some have the trees in the foreground, I think they look awesome!

May 30th:

You can see a faint shooting star in this one.

June 20th:

Very first Milky Way picture I ever captured!

I was elated!

This shot of the Milky Way was taken right next to our mailbox.

You can also see a bunch of fireflies due to the long exposure.

This was my cell phone background for months.

June 21st:

This was literally taken right outside the door. It was amazing to look up and see the Milky Way right above me!

This is probably one of my favorite nighttime landscape/astrophotography pics. You can also see how large our garden had gotten in the bottom right corner.

June 22nd:

This was the night I went to the graveyard myself to attempt some cemetery astrophotography shots. As you can see if blurry and there was only one decent one. This is due to my paranoia. 

June 29th:

Second night at the graveyard and a fairly decent Milky Way shot.

Could've been better, but I still love them.

August 23rd:

This was a shot of the Milky way right above the driveway.

It was immaculate and beautiful.

The beauty of the night sky is a godsend.

Seeing the Milky Way with your own eyes is like nothing else.

I wish I had better locations for pictures.

This is probably my favorite Milky Way picture to date! I'll have to get the edited version off my tablet and post it because it's insane!

There were a lot of pretty Milky Way pictures from this night.

And they were literally taken down the road by our mailbox!

The Milky Way in the fall is my favorite because it's vertical and easier to photograph when there are so many trees around you.

Kind creepy, but still pretty.

And lastly, my favorite portrait shot of the Milky Way. This is my current background on my phone.