Day 243 - Fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus


Definitely a more interesting title than "mushroom" right...well at least according to Wikipedia. I've seen some incredible mushroom photos on blogs lately like Ashley's for instance. Unfortunately our mushrooms are pretty ugly though.

And the winner is....

...according to Random.org #15 - Rachelle from Mommy Rachelle! You have won an 8x12 print of the photo below. Please send me an e-mail to capturedbymistydawn(at)yahoo(dot)com with your address so I can get this in the mail to you. Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone that entered the giveaway. I'm sure there will be more giveaways in the future as I do enjoy giving things away. :)

Day 242 - Alone



Well I actually saw this awesome woodpecker that I was trying to get a picture of but it scurried up the tree too fast and the branches got in my way but I am on the lookout to get a picture of him one of these days. Instead I leave you with this lone pine cone. Almost every time I walk by this one grassy area there is one lone pine cone there. It's been months now. Kind of sounds like the beginnings of a children's story book, huh. lol

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to all my new followers! I appreciate your support and encouragement.

Day 241 - Ammo


In a last ditch effort to get a photo before I totally lost all daylight, I grabbed some of the hubs' ammo and snapped a few pictures. Probably not the most interesting subject but this is what happens when I wait till the last minute. I wanted to add some cool texture to it but am still learning PE and right now I need to get the kiddo bathed and put to bed. I will have to try to learn how some other time.

i heart faces - White

I just posted this picture yesterday, but wanted to submit it to the i heart faces challenge for white. So, you get to see my cutie once more.


While I'm at it, I am also linking up this photo with:


{A Photo} Challenge The Paper Mama

This Week's Featured Linkup - 'Thankful Thursdays'

It's time for my 11th Linkup Feature...

Becky over at Three Girls and a Guy hosts the weekly linkup called 'Thankful Thursdays' on her blog. She has included the details of her linkup below:

Thankful Thursdays starts on Wednesday evening and closes on Friday at midnight.  The idea is to post the things you are thankful for from the past week - it can be a list, a picture, a song, a link, etc.  Participants are encouraged to visit the other blogs for encouragement and also to encourage.



Three Girls and A Guy


'Thankful Thursdays' will now be included on my list of  linkups under the tab 'Other Linkups' found at the top of my page. Beacky, please be sure to include my button below on your blog so others can find their way to this helpful list of linkups.

If you would like your linkup featured on my blog, please click on the tab at the top of the page entitled 'Get Your Link Up Featured' for details. The next linkup will be featured next Monday.

Day 240 - My Sunshine / Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Sun
I don't include too many pictures of my little girl on here because that's what my family blog is for but since she looked so stinking cute in my sunglasses I thought this would make a great photo of the day as well as be the prompt for "Sun" in today's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

Old and New
I have to credit the hubs for this genius idea. I was wondering around trying to find something old and new and asking for suggestions when the hubs came up with this! Can't get any more old and new than the Old and New Testaments of the Bible!

Night Photography
   I tried really hard to take a whole new photo for this one. I actually drove around for half an hour trying to get a good view of the runway lights on the airstrip but they didn't have it lit up as much as they normally do so since I didn't get to accomplish that, all the other creative juices left me. This photo is the very first picture I took when I started this 365 project.

Music
 We spend Sunday afternoons at my mom's house. My SIL's sister lives with my mom and she had some of her sheet music laying around so I grabbed it for this prompt.

Cheesy
I was hoping for some Gouda cheese for this shot but mom didn't have anymore so I went with the good old Laughing Cow cheese instead. Have you guys tried this stuff? It's really yummy!

Haven't participated in Scavenger Hunt Sunday for a couple of weeks so this was fun to jump back in again. Hope you all have a great week ahead. Don't forget to enter for my giveaway! It closes on Tuesday.



Day 239 - Flying By

There's a small airport close to where we live that a lot of small private planes and helicopters fly in and out of. I knew with the sky looking so beautiful, it would make a great backdrop for one of these planes.



and then, she {snapped}

Day 238 - My view this evening...

Went for a walk tonight to get my picture of the . Took a few shots here and there but as I was walking back to the house, this site caught my eye. Yep, I live in a beautiful city.

Linking up with The Creative Exchange and




Favorite Photo of the Week Contest - Week 14

I'm changing up how I do this contest. Instead of  keeping the linky open till Monday night, the linky will be open through Wednesday night and the winners will be announced each Friday when I put up the new contest for the week. That way I will only have to do one post per week instead of two for this contest.



Contest Date Parameters: Sunday, August 21 - Saturday, August 27
Welcome to week 14 of the Favorite Photo of the Week Contest. If you are not yet a follower please become one so you will know when the contests and winners are posted. If this is your first time posting, please be sure to read the details below so your picture will count for the contest.
Details:
1. Linky opens Friday at 12:01am and closes Monday at 11:59pm. 
2. Winners will be announced the following Wednesday.
3. Photo must be taken this week.(Sun - Sat)
4. Only one entry per person.
5. "Favorite Photo of the Week" button must be on your post in order for it to qualify.
6. Link only to your blog post not your main blog url.
7. If you have more than one photo on a posting please specify which photo you are submitting.
8. If you submit a photo you are granting me permission to copy and paste it onto my blog if you win.
9. It's not mandatory but do try to visit other participant's blogs and give them some comment love.
10. I will choose the top 5 photos and the overall winner from your entries.



Here is my personal favorite photo of the week:

Day 237 - Meeting a Blogging Buddy

When I started this 365 project I never thought I would meet so many cool people and best of all actually meet these people in person!  A couple of weeks ago, Melissa contacted me asking me what part of CA I lived in because she was coming with her family to San Diego. Well...guess what! I live in San Diego!

We were both so excited to be able to meet a blogging buddy in person. I think this was her first and my second. Of course I got asked the usual "What if she is a mass murder or something?!" lol Well, it sure would be a lot of effort to bring her baby girl and hubs all the way out here just to kill me. :) We met up at a  local spray ground where the girls would be able to play. Our girls are only 2 months apart. How cool is that!

At first neither of them wanted much to do with it so we took them down to a regular playground where they played and had a blast and then we later went back to the spray grounds for them to cool off. We had such a great time chatting about mommy stuff, photog stuff and blogging stuff. Our hubs are both fisherman and hunters so they had plenty to chat about too. They did get a little bored when Melissa and I started chatting about RAW vs. JPEG and Manual vs. Auto. Only true photogs actually enjoy talking about that. :)  As we were wrapping it up to leave, Melissa said, "There is one thing we have to do first." to which I automatically finished her sentence "Take a picture of us!" You can't meet up with a blogging buddy and not take a picture! That would be very un-photographer-like!

Melissa, it was awesome to meet you, girl! We must do it again!

....and an outtake just cause I like it. :)

Day 236 - Mountain Lion



There's a place in Big Bear that takes care of rescued animals that can no longer live in the wild due to some injury or another. I actually took this photo through glass and was quite pleased with the outcome.

Favorite Photo of the Week Winners - Week 13

Great job again this week, all! I so appreciate your participation. I have included my top 5 fave pics below. Be sure to grab your button!


Be still my heart. What an endearing precious capture! Love the B&W.

Nothing like a brand new precious baby. Isn't she absolutely perfectly adorable! Gorgeous lighting.
This picture made me laugh. I love the expression! Great composition too.


Creative processing on this one. Looks like an oil painting. Gorgeous colors!


My #1 Favorite Photo of the Week is:
Ramblings and Photos
I just love everything about this photo. The perspective, the lighting, the textures. Overall an amazing photo!

Congratulations, Ashley on being this week's Favorite Photo of the Week. Your photo will be featured on my side panel the entire week linking people to your blog. Feel free to grab your button below.


Look for the next contest on Friday...

Day 235 - Spotted Sandpiper



Another bird today but a pretty cool looking one. It may not be colorful like yesterday's but I'm loving all the spots and the rippling of the water. These little guys move fast. I was trying to slyly sneak up on him but he kept running away from me. lol

Ok, so I am making it a goal to spend at least 20 minutes each night after the kiddo is in bed to just comment on blogs. It's a goal anyway. :)

Be sure to check out my giveaway and get your entries in, peeps!

Day 234 - Common Yellowthroat


Such a boring name for such a pretty bird, right? That's precisely what I said to the hubs when I asked him for the bird ID so I could properly title this post. Well his beauty makes up for his dull name and yep, I love me some reflections! :)

Bad Blogging Buddy = Cityscape Giveaway!

Because I have been such a bad blogging buddy the past couple of weeks, I have decided to offer a peace offering to you all and host a giveaway of an 8x12 print of one of my favorite photos from this past year.

Downtown, San Diego, CA

Here is what you have to do to be qualified for the giveaway: (Leave separate comments for each entry)
Mandatory Entry:
Follow my blog (Cause how else are you going to know if you win?) :)
Optional entries:
1. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
1. Tweet about this giveaway mentioning @Misty_Dawn09 and include a link back to this post. (One comment per daily tweet)
2. Do a facebook post about this giveaway with a link back to this post. 
3. Visit my Etsy shop and pick one photo you would love to give away as a Christmas present and tell me to whom you would want to give it.
4. Blog about this giveaway and get 5 extra entries – Leave 5 comments saying "I blogged it."

Winners will be chosen via Random. org. Giveaway is open for 1 week (closes on 8/30)

Hugs to all of you my faithful blog followers!

This Week's Featured Linkup - 'Scavenger Hunt Sunday'

It's time for my 10th Linkup Feature...

Ashley over at Ramblings and Photos hosts the weekly linkup called 'Scavenger Hunt Sunday' on her blog. She has included the details of her linkup below:

The rules are simple: 

  1. Anyone can participate. 
  2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. 
  3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots). 
  4. Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) - you can use the button above.  
  5. Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (we have so many new participants each week, this is the only way I know to be inclusive).
  6. Have fun!



'Scavenger Hunt Sunday' will now be included on my list of  linkups under the tab 'Other Linkups' found at the top of my page. Ashley, please be sure to include my button below on your blog so others can find their way to this helpful list of linkups.

If you would like your linkup featured on my blog, please click on the tab at the top of the page entitled 'Get Your Link Up Featured' for details. The next linkup will be featured next Monday.

Day 233 - Mountain Creek

Another oldie but goodie. I feel like I have really been neglecting the blogging world lately being so consumed with my art show. Other than throwing up a quick post for the day, I haven't been on here. Hopefully after I get my home back into some kind of order I will be back on track again. Thanks so much for your comments despite my lack of commenting on your blogs. You all are awesome.

Day 232 - Crashing Waves



Thank you all for your encouraging support as I hosted my very first art show today. It was a good experience for me and I was quite pleased with the finished product I had ready to display. Not as many people showed up as I had hoped but I am trying to dwell on the positive and appreciate those who did come to support me. I now know how much work goes into something like this especially when you want it to really look professional. I'm glad I did it but now I am completely exhausted an am heading to bed. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Day 231 - Delicate Beauty

Another butterfly shot today. Hopefully after this art show, my creativity and photographic drive will return. I've been so consumed with this art show. Tomorrow is the big day!

Favorite Photo of the Week Contest - Week 13

Contest Date Parameters: Sunday, August 14 - Saturday, August 20
Welcome to week 13 of the Favorite Photo of the Week Contest. If you are not yet a follower please become one so you will know when the contests and winners are posted. If this is your first time posting, please be sure to read the details below so your picture will count for the contest.
Details:
1. Linky opens Friday at 12:01am and closes Monday at 11:59pm. 
2. Winners will be announced the following Wednesday.
3. Photo must be taken this week.(Sun - Sat)
4. Only one entry per person.
5. "Favorite Photo of the Week" button must be on your post in order for it to qualify.
6. Link only to your blog post not your main blog url.
7. If you have more than one photo on a posting please specify which photo you are submitting.
8. If you submit a photo you are granting me permission to copy and paste it onto my blog if you win.
9. It's not mandatory but do try to visit other participant's blogs and give them some comment love.
10. I will choose the top 5 photos and the overall winner from your entries.

Sorry about the problems with the button last week. I have fixed it so it should work fine now.


Here is my personal favorite photo of the week:

Day 230 - Harley Davidson



No, I'm not a Harley Davidson fan. I just think they look cool and gave me something to take a picture of today.

I also found a couple more bizarre beholdings today. Since I am not witty with the titles, maybe you guys would like to pop on over and give it a shot on the first two photos. I'm sure some of you could come up with some funny stuff.

Day 229 - Sierra Landscape


I dug pretty deep into the archives for this one. I was running around non-stop all day long trying to get things done for my art show this weekend that I didn't even have a chance to take a photo. I'm actually hurrying to get this posted so I can get back to the things I need to get done for this art show. I have so many things running through my head at once. I need an assistant. :) This shot is from a camping trip a few years ago up in the Sierras. I actually took it with a P&S camera. Pretty huh!

Favorite Photo of the Week Winners - Week 12

Awesome participation this week! So many different styles of photography and so many unique pictures this week. Alas though, I had to narrow it down to my top 5 and here they are. Don't forget to grab your button!


Love the colors and the story being told in this picture. A million different scenarios play out in my mind of what this picture portrays.


I just fell in love with this picture! I love the colors, the placement of the hot air balloons and the overall mood of the photo. So beautiful. I could easily see this framed on a wall somewhere.

Incredible vibrant colors and insane details!


Gorgeous detail and clarity. These little guys are fast too so I am doubly impressed with how close and detailed it is.

My #1 Favorite Photo of the Week is:
Wow. Wow. WOW! Would you check out the clarity! The colors! The details! Absolutely stunningly gorgeous. These are the kinds of photos that knock my socks off! Impressive!

Congratulations, Maryvel on being this week's Favorite Photo of the Week. Your photo will be featured on my side panel the entire week linking people to your blog. Feel free to grab your button below.


Look for the next contest on Friday...