Our Sylvie, the tuxedo cat without a tail (due to trauma)

Our Sylvie, the tuxedo cat without a tail (due to trauma), a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

I have been learning a lot about photography lately and making collages is something I am finding to be a lot of fun!

Instagram and More

I have an obsession with photography and especially using Instagram - and now there is a profile page that you can visit that shows my photos Arty_Kat on Instagram!  Now anyone with Internet access can see my photos there. Hope you'll visit!

Now here are some of my newer photos:

Overlooking the valley from the top of one of our mountains. You can see more mountains in the distance, which are actually much further away than they look.  The trees you see at the top and just under the top of the gate? those are full grown trees and you are seeing the tops, as the mountainside goes over the crest

Another one from a mountain top , taken from the shoulder of the road

An early bit of color as autumn began near our home

The feet of our younger cat, Milo. Their pinkness just insisted I document them!

This is a beautiful plant with bright red berries that I found at a friend/neighbor's house. If anyone knows what it is, please let me know! I'd like one for our own garden.

This was taken just before Superstorm Sandy hit our area with heavy, wet snow - and a lot of it. We actually measured over a foot of snow here, and nearby my friend got over 2 feet!m

Early at the start of what Sandy brought us... over a foot of snow!

While the snow swirled, we were cozy and warm inside

I'll end with a closer view of the photo I started with.

I hope you have been well, and will return to see photos as I post more and more as the days move on. Blessings to you and yours!

Kat

GIVEAWAY - Turn your Instagram Photos into a book with Artifact Uprising!

GIVEAWAY - Turn your Instagram Photos into a book with Artifact Uprising!

My wheels this is the way I usually get to medical appointments and other fun events.

My wheels this is the way I usually get to medical appointments and other fun events., a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

I am limited I what I can do so this mode of transportation has become my norm. Yes, we have a lift for my chair on the back if the car (it weighs about 265 lbs!) and I can still drive myself if I have help getting it on/off the lift, BUT... With gas prices as high as they are, I tend to utilize this resource. It's not the most comfy I've ever experienced, but it IS made available to me.

Rainy autumn day in Appalachia. I love the lone tree in the far off distance slightly to the right

Rainy autumn day in Appalachia. I love the lone tree in the far off distance slightly to the right, a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

Magic Hour in Appalachia

Magic Hour in Appalachia, a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

This was a spectacular sunset but we have them frequently here. I daresay that unless it is raining, we have at least one minute I absolute glory in the sky and of course, usually it is much longer. It must have something to do with the mountains here (just guessing) but the sunsets are beautiful,

Magic Hour in Appalachia

Magic Hour in Appalachia, a photo by Quilter Bear on Flickr.

This was a spectacular sunset but we have them frequently here. I daresay that unless it is raining, we have at least one minute I absolute glory in the sky and of course, usually it is much longer. It must have something to do with the mountains here (just guessing) but the sunsets are beautiful,

Autumn Makes My Heart Sing

Autumn has come to the Appalachian Mountains of  southwestern Virginia, and it is glorious. So far, we have had brilliant oranges and yellows - I've not seen a really good red, yet, but that may just be because I've not been at the right place to see it.

The photo at the left was created on my camera (that happens to have a phone!)  by using an application called Mirrorgram. The top half is the top  half of a photo of trees near my home, and the bottom is a reflection of it. If the sky had been blue rather than cloudy white, it might have looked like a reflection in water.

Where I live, we have four very distinct, equal seasons and I really enjoy it. Our winter is a real winter, with snow and icicles. Our spring is a glorious riot of flowers and birdsong. Our summer is rarely over 90 degrees with wildflowers growing along every road and highway. Our autumns, however, are truly spectacular. Our mountains are covered with hardwood trees that turn brilliantly rich with color. i have taken hundreds of photos lately, but I haven't yet got them edited and cropped to look their best. That's the problem I have - I have such a vast area of beauty to choose from that I have a hard time choosing the best pictures to share. Perfectionism is the biggest block for me, as I want them to be perfect so I put off editing them until I have the perfect block of time.

Crazy.

My photos are so important to me as I have MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) which may or may not go into full blown Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia. I have lost neurons in my brain to the point that my brain has visibly shrunk as seen on an MRI that I had a few years back. I have diabetes as well as other serious chronic illnesses, and my eyes are at risk. I have cataracts that will have to be corrected sometime in the future, according to my ophthalmologist (thought I'd have had surgery this month, but they didn't grow as quickly as he had predicted, thank God).

I tell you all of this simply to explain why this blog and photo project is so important to me - it isn't just to provide others with the opportunity to see our area (something that is important to me) but it is a way to make a mark on the world, saying "this is what I saw. I was here."

Here's a photo I took this afternoon

It was raining hard and hailing when I took this photo. If you can see it enlarged, you can see the rain as it pummeled everything.

Hope you are having a beautiful fall so far, wherever you are!
Kat  =^,^=