touches of summer

We are already SO FAR INTO SUMMER! Definitely over the halfway point, and I have been HORRIBLE about at taking photos. Last year when I was doing my 365 I was unhappy because I felt like I got a lot of less than amazing shots just to fulfill the quota, but at least I was taking a LOT of pictures and bringing my camera everywhere. This summer has been a whirlwind, I feel. We lost a boss, gained a new one who is changing everything up, it's been incredibly hot (as per usual in south Texas) which has been draining, and I live in a household with a lot of roommates so I have been hanging out with them a lot verses going out. I have always struggled with my visions of having "ideal" summers, holiday seasons, etc., so I've definitely had to soothe my inner demons by realizing it's totally fine to relax at the end of a hard work day where I've been outside in the 103 degree heat index with 100% humidity, when the air conditioning is broken and you're yelled at and your animals are also panting because they're so warm but they won't crate why won't you crate damn it??? In the end, sometimes it's fine to let yourself watch Millionaire Matchmaker and drink beer on a summer night.

Here are a couple of photos I HAVE taken so far this summer




































♥ Our keel-billed toucan, Lola. She is beautiful

♥ Before Kelsey left us, I demanded we take "family photos" of us with our birds. I brought in bagels on my day off with washed hair and determination and not only did we take normal photos of us all together, but we also took "summer days at Wildflight" photos. GEMS!

♥ We had an INSANE 4th of July party called "Star Spangled Hammered", so I decorated the path outside our house for the event

♥ I wanted to take photos of bubbles at sunset, so THAT'S WHAT WE DID

♥ This spiny soft-shell was found in the middle of the road with a serious case of scraped scutes on his plastron from the asphalt, so Laura brought him home and he was in our bathtub for two days. We made up a song for him (sung to the tune of "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake) - got that sunshine in my pocket, spiny soft-shell in my tub

♥ Kazoo, while annoying, is cute. The dogs love running amok at the park across the street

♥ We got a GRILL (one of Lauren's birthday presents from her parents), so we have been grilling out quite a bit. BURGERS AND SAUSAGES AND MAHI MAHI, OH MY!

♥ Vestiges of fireworks

♥ I love tiny frogs. My hands are classic animal hands, but they definitely make for interesting texture

♥ Diana, our HA, made this AMAZING flag piñata for Gracie. It hung in her exhibit for 4th of July and is now gracing Kitty's enclosure

♥ I like this one because it kind of looks like a heart. I worked our 4th of July event we hold at the aquarium every year and watched the fireworks behind the Wildflight theater with my legs dangling over the ocean

♥ Dani, our red-footed tortoise, on a little walk. I got burrs in my ass while taking this photo

♥ Some of Andie's beautiful chickens. I really love chickens now

♥ We made some maraschino cherry bombs for our Star Spangled Hammered party; it involves soaking them overnight in vanilla vodka, then dipping them in melted white chocolate and blue sprinkles. They were STRONG

♥ More bubble-blowin'

♥ Quintessential summer night

♥ Reading on the beach is one of my favorite things to do. That and taking jumping photos

I miss summer.

I miss the colors, the air, the scent, the sunshine, the water, the sounds, and only needing to wear a sundress.

Here are some remnants of last summer that I forgot to share here. It was the day I went to my dear friend's cabin and took 700 pictures in a 24 hour period, which is why I never got around to sharing my foray into the woods on here. It was a time where we visited our old haunts, such as Hyrule Field (pictured in my blog banner), explored streams, photographed butterflies, found fully decorated Christmas Trees in the forest, drank apple cider by the fire while waiting for a rainstorm to pass, watched stars and raindrops on the deck, played card games, fried thick bacon, and swung beneath the summer sun.

























I successfully whistled on this blade of grass











If I had access to a Gamecube, I would play Super Mario Sunshine to pretend like I'm the one swimming in the lagoons and running across sandy beaches, but instead I'll just watch Bring It On with the rest of the MN fam and daydream about summer.