Winner Announcement: Celebrating Spring with Shutterfly {Giveaway}

 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the “Celebrating Spring Shutterfly Giveaway”. Many of you shared how you plan to celebrate spring and I hope that you've been doing just that! The weather here in the High Country has been up and down, but overall it's been wonderful.

Well, I know you've been patient enough, so without further ado, the randomly selected winner of the Shutterfly giveaway is...

Katrina from Wakeboarding Mama who said, “I will be spending spring by the pool and the beach on the weekends with my daughter and husband!”. Well, Katrina, that sounds like a lot of fun. I hope that this news helps to brighten your day too! Again, thank you all for participating in the “Celebrating Spring Shutterfly Giveaway”!

The next big giveaway will offer foodie photographers a chance to WIN a Sony Cybershot WX9 point & shoot camera courtesy of Sony Electronics. The official announcement and giveaway details will be posted on June 9^th, so mark you calendar! Until then, you should practice taking food photos...hint...hint! 

Interested in finding out more about the WX9? 

Check out this post: 10 Reason Why you Want to WIN a Sony WX9

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Celebrating Spring with Shutterfly {Giveaway}

While it has most definitely warmed up here in the High Country, the weather still likes to yo-yo. Some days it's nice enough to keep the doors open, which the kitties really like, while other days, it's downright icy. Although not cold enough to warrant our monitor heater being turned back on. It's been at least a month or more since we shut it down, and I'm determined not to turn it back on at all to save oil. So far, our temperatures here in Boone, NC haven't dipped back down that far (knock on wood). Who knows, though, maybe we'll get one last snow?! I would be perfectly fine with that so long as it didn't kill all the precious plants people have begun growing, seeing them freeze is a crying shame.

After enduring frigid temperatures and snowfall during the harsh months of winter, spring is a highly welcomed and anticipated season for many folks across the country. A number of us are sometimes left aching for an inkling of days with warmer weather because those at lower elevations get to experience spring sooner than we do. It's torturous, and I find myself getting a little jealous of those enjoying warmer temperatures earlier in the season. What makes the transition even more difficult is seeing all the beautiful photographs of the blossoms blooming, because I am eagerly awaiting my turn to take some flower photos, too. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting a glimpse of what we will soon have coming our way, but it's such a tease! (I'm not the most patient individual)

As far as I'm concerned, we have officially crossed over into spring! The flowering trees, flip flops, and festivals are all sure signs that we are finished with the frosty days of winter. Whether or not it does decide to come back and pester us one last time, I'm over it. It's that simple. I'll stay focused on all the wonderful things I want to plan for the months ahead instead of worrying about what may or may not happen. Boone's weather has always had a mind of its own anyway, so being flexible (and prepared) is a must if you live up here in the mountains.

That's part of what makes being in Boone so awesome, though. This town is unpredictable and full of surprises! It's beautiful up here no matter what season it happens be. However, spring is so much sweeter since it follows the wintry weather most of us are desperately seeking a break from. I love spring and I'm celebrating it the best way that I know how; it involves a lot of time in the sun and being on the lookout for flowers!

Flowers are my favorite. I could take photographs of flowers for hours on end. Seriously, you let me loose in a garden, and you might be waiting days before I return. Some of the usual flowering trees that I like to revisit were just too quick for me to capture this year, but I'm keeping a close eye out now. One thing I keep reminding myself of is to enjoy spring while it lasts because it'll be gone before you know it!

The coming of spring brings many things (not just flowers), there are occasions to celebrate, new beginnings (and endings) to commemorate, along with other thrilling announcements to share with family and friends. Reasons to celebrate are all around!

How will you celebrate spring this year? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

This post is sponsored by Shutterfly for their Spring Announcements promotion. They will be providing a special giveaway that I am giddy about awarding. One winner will receive a Shutterfly promo code that is good for 50 5x7 flat or folded announcements/cards OR one 8x8 20-page photobook! You could use it for Mother's Day Cards, Birth Announcements, or any other occasion they have to offer. I'm excited about making a photobook, personally, because I have yet to do this with the plethora of images I'm hoarding on my hard drives. 

To ENTER the Shutterfly giveaway, all you have to do is leave your answer to this question in the comment section, “How will you celebrate spring this year?”. Extra entries (1 each) can be received by following Wayfaring Wanderer on Facebook or Twitter. Another entry can be gained from sharing a spring related photo (anything you choose) on the Wayfaring Wanderer FB wall. To let me know you have completed any of these steps for extra entries, just leave a message in the comment section of this post. Please be sure to include the pertinent information that I will need to contact you in case you are the winner. Thank you & Good luck! This giveaway is now CLOSED, the winner is announced HERE.

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Pearly White Posies

Posted in: My World Tuesday

    I'm sad that the Bradford Pears have pretty much passed their prime here in the high country. At least this spring I was motivated enough to get out and shoot some photos of the pearly white blossoms before they faded.

     Right now, I'm seeing more of the Japanese cherry trees, redbuds, and dogwoods. It seems like I can find something new every day if I look hard enough, so I'm always on the lookout for what will pop up next! How about you? Any spring beauties to share?

Spring has Sprung!

I get a little too happy when the flowers begin to bloom. And I am especially loving the bursts of bright yellow frequently seen while out and about. This forsythia bush (pictured above) was just a street over from the house, I couldn't resist popping over to steal a few shots. Okay, maybe more than a few :D I'm looking forward to going back out to take pictures of the other spring beauties blooming. Say, what are you finding in your neck of the woods?

Posted in: My World Tuesday

Reminder {4}

Be Inspired. Stay Inspired.


How are you doing this right now? Do tell....

Posted in Wordful Wednesday

Reminder {1}

Be Light.

Posted in Wordful Wednesday

Dancing with the Daffodils

Posted in Today's Flowers

~Daffodils Brings the Spring~

We all love the daffodils,
We place upon our window sills.
We like how their pretty faces,
Brighten up our living spaces.

Is it Spring or Winter still?
Look upon the nearby hill.
Spring is here with tweet and trill,
If there blooms the daffodil.

If you do not find it there,
You have no need to despair.
Try as gloomy Winter will,
It can’t hold back the daffodil.

Dark green blades and bright faces,
It will bloom in all places.
You might as well give it room
The daffodil intends to bloom.

By: Linda Burns

I spent very little time "Dancing with the Daffodils" this weekend. I did, however, spent much of my time working on PACT's monthly newsletter. I was also attempting to learn how to do an html email, but after a few hours, I gave that up. Deciding that a pdf file would be just as good, I was able to finally get somewhere with the design. So far, I am pretty happy with what I have come up with. Once finished, I will share it with you--one more page to do. This is my very first newsletter, I hope that with time, I get better at laying them out. A few weeks ago, I signed up to be PACT's communication and media chair, so I will have more chances to streamline the process.

Surely, you had a more exciting weekend than I did. What did you get into?

~Shine On~

A promise of spring
stirs clouded passion
RENEWAL AWAITS


An impromptu jaunt on Wednesday led me to some fanciful discoveries.
After a stressful day at work all I wanted to do was decompress.
I concluded that a photowalk would do the trick.

I was pleasantly surprised to find some early blossoms!
This unexpected fortune instantly washed away what I had brought home with me.

I hope to find more of these moments this weekend, and I hope you do, too :o)

Posted in Photostory Friday, & Hooked On & Haiku Friday

Spring in your Step {A Mini Giveaway}

In lieu of the snowy pictures I shared earlier this week, I thought a mini giveaway might cheer you up a bit. We are all eagerly anticipating spring right now, and with spring comes what?! FLOWERS. Yay! My most favorite thing to take pictures of! I can't wait to be traipsing about my yard and nearby meadow in search of wildflowers.

You may have already seen the latest addition to my growing Etsy shop,
the Spring Fever mini print trio.



Well, I added another one called, Yellow Frenzy. In the Yellow Frenzy collection you will find nothing but, you guessed it, photos with a specific color theme.



What I want to offer today is a chance for you to win your own mini print trio.
You may select between the Spring Fever & the Yellow Frenzy collections.

All you have to do is visit the Etsy listings and pick out which prints you
would like to receive, then come back to WW and leave a comment with
the numbers of the three mini prints you would like to win along with which
collection you selected from (so we don't get the numbers mixed up).

On Friday evening, I will select 3 winners and have plans to prepare your
special little package over the weekend.

• Spring Fever Mini Print Trio - Etsy Listing
  
• Yellow Frenzy Mini Print Trio - Etsy Listing

Have fun trying to narrow your choices :o)

Posted in Wordful Wednesday

Bee Involved {A Campaign}

Did you know that pollinators are necessary for the reproduction of 90% of our flowering plants and that nearly one third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants?

The US department of Agriculture states that the honeybee is responsible for nearly 80% of that pollination. A common misconception is that honeybees only produce honey when in fact they pollinate more than 90 different varieties of the most flavorful flowering crops we have. To name a few, blueberries, broccoli, apples, almonds, avocados, soybeans, celery, cucumbers, peaches, cherries, cranberries, and strawberries. Without the "busy bees" these crops and many others are not able to grow.

A congressional study estimates that honeybees add almost $15 billion dollars a year in value to our food supply.

Unfortunately, the number of bee populations are on the decline. They are severly being threatened by a multitude of factors including, habitat loss, disease, and the excessive and inappropriate use of pestisides. Scienctist have yet to pinpoint a singular culprit in this myterious, bee disappearing phenomenon, but rest assured that many theories are currently being explored. In the interim, this complex combination of elements have been given a name, Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD.



Because bees play a pivotal role in providing us with a wide array of foods, they have become essential to producing most of what ends up on our plates. Without the bees, our favorite fruits and veggies, chock full o' vitamins, may become scarce and almost impossible to obtain.

"If bees continue to disappear at the current rate the honeybee population in the United States will cease to exist by the year 2035"

Protecting our honeybees is crucial and you can "bee involved".
By taking steps to help the pollinator populations flourish we can support their need for habitat while supporting our own needs for food and at the same time diversity in natural ecosystems. Making a difference to both pollinators and the people that rely upon them can be as easy as adding local and native plants to your landscape that offer food and shelter for pollinators throughout their active seasons. To help you get started, Pollinator.org offers some very in depth planting guides according to your region. It's as easy a punching in your zip code!



Learning about bees and other pollinators can teach us more about the important role they play in our environment. And I strongly encourage you to take some time to do so, especially if this is the first you are hearing about Colony Collapse Disorder. Recently, Cody and I watched a PBS documentary called, "Silence of the Bees" and it really opened my eyes to the potential devastation that this can cause. If you also want to be fully informed I recommend taking some time to watch that fascinating episode--you won't be sorry.

Here is a clip. Follow the above link to see the full episode.


Increasing awareness about this unexplained reality is hugely important to me and I thought that there was no better time to do it than before spring hits. It gives you plenty of time to do a little independent research in helping to create and maintain pollinator friendly landscapes in and around your own homes. Cody and I are really lucky in the sense that our yard and surrounding valley is already a lush landscape of biodiversity. Throughout the year, flowers and fruits thrive in ways that continue to amaze and captivate me. I know not everyone is as blessed to live in such an environment, but it is possible to establish pollinator friendly plants in pots given you have some sort of outdoor space available. You're all creative individuals, I'm betting that you can come up with something!

Since this has been in the forefront of my mind for quite some time, I have decided to donate 10% of every mini print trio ordered to NAPPC to help fund research for Colony Collapse Disorder. Living without honeybees is not something I want to imagine, and I hope that you will feel the same.


click on photo to go to my etsy shop.

Posted in Photostory Friday & Hooked On

Springtimes Sunny Weather

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in.
~Robert Orben



As you can see, Time's Up!! We're getting ready to pack up the car, take the kitties to the sitters house, and then head on our merry way........It's so nice to have everything done and we can take our time this morning. I still don't think that the "I'm on vacation & going to California feeling" has really set in yet! Although, I do sort of feel some butterflies right now :o)

I don't know when I'll post or what I'll post, but you'll hear a peep out of me soon enough. I will most likely do single photo uploads with tiny descriptions on the {366} Photographic Journal blog (link on right) so be sure to check in there!

I hope everyone has some lazy Springtime Sunny Days ahead of them!

WW

Behind the Bloom

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.

~Rainer Maria Rilke



I just can't seem to stop taking photos of these splendid little blooms I'm seeing all over the place. As spring wears on you'll notice how big of a flower freak I really am. Taking photos isn't the only thing I find fun about the becoming blooms. For the ones I can't name, I take great pleasure in finding out what their names are. I'll come home after taking photos to scour the internet until I know for sure what it is I have captured. We moved into the new house during the late summer of last year, so I don't know what other wildflowers will pop up until spring blossoms even further. So far I've spotted crocus', daffodil's, and grape hyacinths. Last year we had all sorts of wildflowers sprout unexpectedly between summer and fall, so I'm hoping that spring will offer a bounty just as delightful.

One person who knows how deep my love of flowers goes is dear ol' Cody. He even brought me a bouquet of Alstros home the other day as a piece offering. He called them, "be nice to me again flowers", as I'm sure some of you will understand; it's that chocolate craving, I hate the way I look, time of the month! At least it won't be going on while I'm on vacation in Big Sur!!

I've been in my own little world somewhere on the west coast today, making plans for all the places I/we intend to go and stay at while in Big Sur. Cody's in charge of camp food, while I take care of the other details! I have read through the entire guidebook, and the locations that I marked in the book with little red sticky arrows have now been added to the google map I created. I sound obsessed, don't I? Well, it's sort of a deal for me, I can't help it. The time off is what I am most looking forward to, especially since this week has been extra difficult for me in the pain management department, but today I get the deep tissue massage, and tomorrow I have my Acupuncture, hopefully relief is in sight. Alright, enough complaining!
Back to my dream world until it's time for my massage!!