Johnny Jump Up

Jump it! (Louder)

West Grove, Pennsylvania, USA

Tiger Lily

Lillies are my favourite kind of flower.  I spied this one in a garden next to my voice teacher's house and had to photograph it.  I didn't notice until I downloaded it onto my computer, that a small ant is crawling out of the flower!

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Roll the Dice

On our last night in Austin, a bunch of us got together and played a late night game of Illuminati in the gazebo by the pool.  Danny and I had gone for a late night swim in the pool a few nights before, but were rudely interrupted by the sounds of a pack of coyotes killing a deer about twenty feet away, in the woods.  When that happened, we prompty ran away.  Coyotes don't generally attack people, especially in groups... but I am pretty little, and it was much safer to just leave.  This night, we had six people, and lots of lights on, so we weren't particularly concerned.  That's Danny, with the dive and the instructions, in the very dim light of a single 60w lamp.

Austin, Texas, USA

Baby Branch

A small branch with fresh, green leaves on a tree in Danny's dad's neighborhood.  

New beginnings, happy days.

Austin, Texas, USA

Photographer Feature: Erica Norman

I am Erica Norman, and I have lived lots of places and gone to many different parts of the US and have even traveled to Europe multiple times. Regardless of that, the best place I have ever lived or been to is the Delaware/Pennsylvania area. It is filled with hills and forgotten buildings and a wide variety of things to look at. It's no wonder that I've taken up photography recently.

This collection of photos depicts Hagley Museum and Library's grounds during the summer of 2010. Hagley was a gunpowder mill founded by E.I. DuPont over 200 years ago, and today is one of the gorgeous parks around Wilmington, Delaware. It is worth taking a stroll around during any time of the year, but beware the geese in the spring; they will attack you.

Powder House 1: 

This may or may not be a powder house, I can't remember. What I do remember is that it is, in fact, a very old building. Old buildings are fascinating and photo-worthy, especially if they have fines climbing up them, as this one does. I do not have a clue of what kind of vine this is.

Vine:

This is a close-up of one of the vines that is on the picture of the powder house. I decided I wanted to take a picture of it because of its tiny little delicate flowers and shapely leaves.  I still have no idea what the vine is called.

Portal:

This is a picture of a storehouse, I believe. I took a picture of this because it looked as if it was a portal to another world. Doorways and arches are wonderful subjects for pictures and imaginations to focus on.

Green:

The sun was coming through the canopy of leaves above in such a vibrant way that I was almost forced to take a picture, because my conscience told me I would regret it if I didn't.

Two Paths:

This is a picture of the beginning of the main path/road of the Hagley grounds. The viewpoint is a little skewed, but I think that was because I was on a hill. I am on the less traveled path that goes up the hill and into a more woodsy part of the grounds.

You can find more of my art here: http://glassflower7.deviantart.com/
My blog is here: http://elvenrantpage.blogspot.com/

Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Howl it Away

While I was in Austin, I got to go to Barton Springs on a full moon.  It was the most hippie-ish thing that I have ever done- and I lived in the East Village for a little over two years, so that's saying something.  Whether the East Village is still hippie or totally hipster is something else I could say, but I'll save that for another time.  Anywho, this full moon thing was so.  cool.  There was a drum circle, a cold natural spring turned into a swimming pool, diving, howling at the moon, and toplessness.  Apparently it's legal to be topless in Austin.  Nifty.  (No worries.  No entire boobs will be shown on this page.)

The above photograph shows David Garrison and Denise Caveness. 

And here's more of Alex Stevens, Daniel Garrison, and Samantha Leigh.

WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW.

Austin, Texas, USA

As the Seasons Change

Here's my personal modeling contribution to the photographs taken in that little clearing in Austin that cloudy August day.  

My feet.

I don't normally take pictures of my feet... that's a total lie.  I take photographs of my own feet all of the time.  I take pictures of myself in mirrors by holding out the camera too.  But, usually, these pictures suck and are nowhere near being considered to be put on this blog.  Yeah.  Bad.  And oddly egotistical.  

Yet, here I go posting some pics of my own feet.  

It's because it's themed, kiddos...

(And by that I mean I felt like posting some self-portraits)

Summer

Fall

The second photograph was taken at Barton Springs.  More on that to come :)

Austin, Texas, USA

The Fight

Boom... Headshot!!

 

Here are some fun shots from the fighting I mentioned in the last post.  My boyfriend, Daniel Garrison, and his friend, Alex Stevens love to spar with one another when they hang out.  The results are pretty fun.

  

Austin, Texas, USA

Daydreamer

This is Sam, a friend of Danny's who I met the first time I went to Austin.   She's a pretty girl with a bit of edge, and she's really photogenic.  We were watching our boyfriends fight- both of them do martial arts.  They live in Austin, and Danny and I live in New York, so he and Alex (Sam's boyfriend) don't see one another very often.  Every time they do get to hang out, basically every time Danny goes back to Austin, they spar with one another, and teach each other moves that they have acquired or perfected since the last time they got together. 

 

The sky was getting cloudy, hinting that it was going to rain, and we all kept looking up, trying to catch the first glimpse of a rain drop.  These are some candids I took of Sam looking at the sky, but she definitely looks like she's daydreaming.

Austin, Texas, USA

Welcome to the Duck Side

There are no words... 

*Insert heavy breathing noises here*

Austin, Texas, USA

Tofu

This is my friend Rob's dog Tofu.  Isn't she cute?   I think that's such a funny name for a dog, but it kind of fits her.  Little, white... but not bland at all.  As a matter of fact, she seemed full of personality.  A frisky dog.  We were having a picnic on Rob's porch, and she kept hopping up, begging for food.  I actually got the above shot by tempting her with some barbeque rib... maybe that was mean of me but I got a great shot, that showed her personality.  Sooo.... I don't feel that bad.  I gave it to her eventually!

Here she is a scratchin'.

D'awwwww.

And if it wasn't all cute enough:

Austin, Texas, USA

Toybox

Actually, this was a shelf full of toys, not a toy box.  But toy box sounds nicer, so title it is.  Toy Joy, in Austin, is one of the coolest stores that I have ever been to.  I mentioned it in a very early post on this blog- but it is worth mentioning  a million times.  Their selection of nifty things is kind of unparallelled.  And since I have determined that Austin is the capital of kitsch, this store completely makes sense.

I am a sucker for everything Asian at this point.  I don't know why, but asian toys, asian tv shows, asian food... they all make me really happy. All of these toys have a very asian feel to them, the art work is what I think of when I think of slightly vintage asian toys.  I think that's the idea though.  In any case, I am visually attracted to basically everything in this photograph.

Austin, Texas, USA

Armadillo Ambush

I have never actually seen an armadillo.  I've laughed about armadillos before- at pictures, at stuffed animals, at cartoons.  But I have not actually experienced one.  I feel like it's going to be very similar to when I saw my first possum.  It ran in front of the family car when we were stopped at an intersection.  For a couple minutes, I was completely convinced that the ROUSes from The Princess Bride were out to get me.  Yeek.  Possums are ugly mothas.  I have a feeling that armadillos are too, which kills my cartoon cuteness that lives in my brain, associated with armadillos.

Something like this:

See?  Look how cute that is!  Precious, right?  Like the ones on the statue above.  They are so adorable... little furry, shelled mammals coming out of the outer wall of an Austin restaurant just like the unicorns came out of the ocean in The Last Unicorn.  Like this:

 Alas.  I have a feeling that they will gross me out.

Austin, Texas, USA

Dippin Dots

Ice cream seems to have died in New York City.  Has anyone else noticed that?  You can buy froyo at hundreds of little stores (Sixteen Handles decidedly being the best), and soft serve ice cream on every street corner from Mister Softee.  Or Captain Softee.  Or Whatever.  Gelato is becoming more popular- it's places other than Little Italy, though Little Italy is the most fun place to get it!  

But hard ice cream? pssht. So last season.

NOOOO.  I disagree.  I love ice cream in a cone, or a dish.  And Dippin Dots?  Genius.  Ice cream of the future kids, it's here.  I've never understood why this stuff hasn't caught on more.  It's so great.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Cowboy Hats

I have never really been a cowboy hat kind of a girl.  I grew up in rural Pennsylvania, where cowboy hats weren't really a thing.  John Deere baseball caps maybe, Amish buggies, absolutely.  But I always had a yearning to be more of a metropolitan kid.  I wore dresses when other people wore sweatpants, always winged my eyeliner, sported heels in high school while most of my peers wore flip flops.  You get my drift.

But over the past couple years, I've become a bit more relaxed. Which is hilarious, because I've been living in New York City.  Heels are broken out only for special occassions (which may have something to do with my ankle problems, which may exist in part because of the heels, but what does it matter), dresses are still my every day staple, but are worn more casually, and the winged eyeliner is not as thick as it once was.  Nor is it any longer paired with red lipstick.

Still, though, a cowboy hat?  Blame it on my Texan boyfriend.  I now own one... and I like it.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Hippity Hoppity

The exhibit of tree frogs in the aquarium at Sea World was a stunner.  At first, I barely noticed the cleverly camoflauged amphibians.  These frisky, frolicking frogs blended into their surroundings so well, that the first time one moved, I jumped a little bit.  Not to mention that their perfectly poised, paused positions made them appear plastic.  They didn't seem like they could possibly be real.  From my perspective, this was kind of nice.  Their lack of movement made them significantly easier to photograph- I didn't have to worry about anticipating their movements.  So that was pleasant.  

However, I did happen to get the frog in the foreground in mid-jump.  Which I find fun.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Coy

Another adorable sea lion.  So cute.  This one looks coy- like it's flirting with the camera.  Eyes looking down, head leaning to the side... who wants to take me out for some fresh fish?


San Antonio, Texas, USA

Puffin Power

Power to the Puffins!!!!

Who knew that they were so cute?

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Flipper

Whereas the big orca whale at Sea World really is considered to be Shamu, none of the dolphins are known as Flipper... except for in my imagination.  Every one of them is called Flipper there.  It's a happy land full of jumping dolphins... Okay, not really, but that would be a pretty happy imagination, wouldn't it?

Moving on.  This is a dolphin from the dolphin tank at Sea World.  You could actually pay to feed the dolphins( $6), but Danny and I did not (we're poor because we work in theatre).  The people who weren't cheapskates and did feed the dolphins looked like they were having a marvelous time.  Some of the dolphins were too rad for the people with food, however, and entertained us starving artists (and anyone else who was really a cheapskate, not poor).  This one played with a bucket.  Who knew a bucket could be so cool?

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Otter Frolic

Remember how I said that I was utterly fascinted by the sea lions at Sea World?  And how I thought that I would be fascinated  by the otters, not the sea lions?  Well, let me clarify that this does not mean that I wasn't fascinated by the otters.  They were delightfully charming!  So little, cute and furry.  We were watching one play in the pool of water, and I took this photograph without realizing that the other one was even there- it was just a quick shot with the camera reflecting so much sunlight that I couldn't see the screen, and was too lazy to actually use the viewfinder.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to stare at them, and watch them frolic too long, because their habitat was being cleaned, and they were moved.  But, they were fun while it lasted!

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Sorry!

For the lack of consistent posting the past few days.  Where I am right now, my internet connection is reaallly sketchy... it freezes up and works very slowly.  Particularly for Blogger, I'm afraid.  As of tonight, I am going to have a much better connection, and the posting times should be back to normal.  

Thank you all!  And a big thanks for stickin' with me.

Have an awesome day everyone!

Curious and Clever

I've never really thought that much about sea lions.  Most people probably haven't- I just realized how ridiculous that first statement sounds.  Sea lions are one of those animals that I feel most people are basically familiar with.  They know what they look like (not a lion) and that, well, they kive in the sea.  Cool.  Sea lions.  I have seen them before, at zoos and stuff, but I was never particularly fascinated by them.  They were playful, but not as little and cuddly as the otters, or as vocal as the dolphins, so they slid into the back of my mind as just another animal.  

But... at Sea World... I was just fascinated.  Danny actually had to pull me away at one point, because if I stayed and just watched them, jaw-on-floor, any longer, we wouldn't get to see everything we wanted to see before the park closed.  These sea lions were so.  cute.  Some were massive, like a giant male with a brand in his back, probably from another zoo, seeing as he was the only one.  Then there were babies too!  I was just impressed in every possible way.  They were friendly as well!  They came right up to the edge of the pool as we walked up, and were making eyes at us.  

This one, in particular seemed to like me, he followed me as I walked around the tank, looking up at me with his big brown eyes.  He had that appearance of being very wise, knowing, intelligent.  Yet though he had intelligence, still optimistic, and wanting to be my friend.  I'm in love (sorry Danny).

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Upsy Daisy

Yet another photograph from Sea World!  The place was just so nifty that my camera kept snapping.  So, you can expect a few more after this one as well.  This was from a show called "Azul".  The set looked like a weird cross between what I stereotypically think of as Sea World and Cirque de Soleil.  Basically, that's what the show was.  Daring acrobats, parrots, water ballet, dolphins... yeah.  It was pretty sweet.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Flamingo Al Fresco

No, Flamingo al Fresco isn't some kind of dish.  The flamingos at Sea World were outside- they weren't even in a cage!  There was a shallow pool filled with flamingos, ibises, and many kinds of ducks.  It was really ovely.  The pink of the flamingos, the red of the ibises, the orange of the water, the green of the plants, and the reddish brown of the surrounding buildings all blended together to create a rather striking visual.  Most of the flamingos were gathered together at one end of their habitat, but this one was all off by itself.  This was just a little after noon, and the sun was extremely high in the sky, making it pretty hot.  But, that sun shone down almost directly on the top of this flamingo, making it basically glow.  

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Splash

This logflume, which is called The Atlantis, or something like that, was so pretty.  It was kind of Arabian themed with an Aquatic Twist, like Princess Jasmine as a mermaid.  Or at least, I could have definitely seen her hanging out in that kind of architecture.  The ride actually seemed kind of lame, it was one not particularly large drop.  We didn't ride it.  But, the overall look?  Rad.  

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Scraggles

Some scraggly trees at Sea World.  Desert plants of some kind- Danny is from Austin and didn't even know what these were!  They looked pretty spiffy, but they were so windy and curvy.  Together they look like some kind of twisted Tim Burton fairy land.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

The Crowd

 

When we first arrived at Sea World, we were shocked by how few people were in the park.  Granted, it was a thursday, not a weekend, and many of the schools in the area had just started, but it was a lovely day outside, and well, we just expected it to be really crowded.  Oh, and we had initially planned to show up around ten when it opened, but didn't end up making it there til more like eleven thirty, because I was a little bit slow getting ready and then, we missed our exit.  Anywho, it looked like there was pretty much no one there.  One of the first things we did was go and get some lunch in one of the restaurants.  As we were digging into our massive and totally delicious taco salad bowl (one of those ones with the shell and everything) a huge group of people started coming our way.  What I mean by huge, is the size of the town where I grew up.  Turns out that everyone had been in the Shamu show since we had arrived at  the park.  Here they are!

San Antonio, Texas, USA

Pastel Playground

As I said in the last post, I went to Sea World on my birthday with Danny.  Everything was so happy, the people, the decorations, the playful sea lions (more to come on that).  The main atraction was obviously the aquatic life, but the overall decoration of the place was rather lovely.  Since it's in San Antonio, a lot of the plants are more desert standards.  Being from the Northeastern United States, that looks pretty foreign.  Add onto that Florida pastel buildings and statues... and the whole place looks  kitchy and fun.  This playground is a pretty decent indication of the feel of the place.

San Antonio, Texas, USA

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Thank you!!

Shamu

I turned 21 a little over a week ago.  For my birthday, Danny took me to SeaWorld in San Antonio.  This was an experience unlike any I had ever had before.  Though most of the eager viewers surrounding me at Believe, the Shamu killer whale show, were about a quarter of my age, I was beaming with excitement

And boy, was it merited.  The killer whales/ orcas were incredible!  They were doing flips, beaching themselves on the side and smiling at the audience.  I was floored.  Unfortunately, some of them had a little bit of a floppy fin, meaning that they were depressed.  In this photograph, however, you can't tell.  This guy looks like he's having a whale of a time.  Get it?  A whale... uh, yeah...

San Antonio, Texas, USA