Perservere

I am following the advice of the goddesses of blogging, and continuing to blog.  My photography is amateurish (at best) but I am hoping with practice it will get better.  I am still struggling to find my voice, what I want to say sounds interesting in my head, and looks downright insignificant in paragraph form.  I am dissatisfied with the name I have given this blog, it really doesn't serve to offer any insight into what may be in store for anyone who ventures to read it, nor does it sum up nicely what I want to say about myself (other than I like bees!).  I believe a name change may be in order in the near future.  I am certain at this point I do not risk losing legions of followers by confusing anyone.  All this being said, I am going to push onward and publish a few photos of my Halloween decorations.  Bear with me, my few readers......

The number 13 cards were a prize from a contest held by a blog I follow, Oodles and Oodles! LUCKY 13!!!

Gramma turns into a vampire when viewed from a different angle.

You can never have too many owls at Halloween (or any other time, for that matter)

Silly pumpkin faces and black cats!

My lack of photography skills is very apparent here, the wrong lighting, etc.  Oh well, I am trying.....

I love vintage Halloween, reproductions are okay (as in the Witch tea light holder).  The noisemaker  pictured earlier is actual lucky vintage find.   

Fabulous Halloween Bunnies by the Bay, a fond reminder of my days working at Hallmark.

I bought the clear vintage bottles last year at a garage sale and added some scary looking labels.

I love the sugar skull, I'm thinking my next collection may be Dios de los Muertos themed. 

Whomever is reading, thanks for visiting!   

......beecreature...... 

Beautiful Leaves and Bucket Lists

I love fall and I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend in Saranac Lake enjoying the beautiful colors of the Adirondack forest.   This trip also marked an accomplishment of a "bucket list" item for me:  climbing one of the 46 High Peaks.  We chose to attempt Cascade Mountain, not one of the highest or most difficult peaks by any means, but enough of a challenge for a couch potato like me.   A quick trip to one of the local outdoor stores for some equipment for me (and thank goodness we followed the owners excellent advice and bought winter hats and gloves) and we set off for the trail head.

Pictures do not do justice to the steepness or rocky-ness of the path.....   This boulder-strewn mess is the actual TRAIL!!!!

Yep, this is pretty typical of what I was facing.  Climbing up up and up....

Beautiful but seemingly endless.

The last push to the top - bare rock that makes for a great view but not so great footing for a scaredy-cat like me!   See the teeny tiny people already on the summit?  All I could say is "oh no......"

But I made it!!!!  Hooray for me!!!  I must admit I was proud of myself for finishing (even though I had a mini nervous breakdown during the last 100 feet) - I kept going!  It was quite misty and cold *hence the need for winter hat and gloves*  at the summit, but I took some photos of the beautiful colors and surrounding mountains before setting off back down the trail.  Thanks also to my husband who talked me through my panic attack and guided me over the big scary slippery parts of the trail.  Five and a half hours of "hiking" (translates as climbing, scrambling, sliding, crawling) and we were back at the bottom!

I'm glad I challenged myself and went WAY OUT of my comfort zone.  I'm not sure if I'll ever climb another of the High Peaks, but it's a great accomplishment for me to say I made it to the top of one of them!

                                                       ......beecreature.....