Mike's Tangents

Okay,  Fair Warning:
This personal post has a ton of pictures, but quality ones. I’m sure you’ll love them.
Please note that not all posts include this many images & that this is rare.
There… You’ve been warned.

Is it just me or is time really flying by? I mean, February already?? I have several more wedding related posts coming soon and can’t wait to share them with you all. But first, a personal post…

I knew that 2010 was going to be an awesome year full of good change, stellar clients, business booming, personal growth, living by faith and more. One thing that I forgot to even think about including in the mix turns out to be one of the major changes! It turns out that this country livin’ guy & his family will be moving homes. The land owner has family moving back, and now we’ll be soaking up the joys of finding a new house. At least I’ll be moving just before the wedding season really kicks off. I appreciate all your prayers for us to find the right place. I love being in God’s hands & am excited about what He’s doing in our lives. I’m looking forward to moving closer to town, but sure am going to miss the freedom of being on 15 acres. The picture above I took one night in late December when I got home late. The stars were out in their grand display as they often are. The orange/yellow light is being cast from our skylight in the kitchen, with the little solar powered lights casting the blue. I pulled out a tiny flashlight and popped it on and off on the tree and to the side of the bushes, combined with a 30 second exposure and the camera propped on a pretzel bag on top of my car for stability. Turned out pretty cool I think!

Many of you have had to make a move at some point, and I’m sure you can relate to the inner feelings of the whole process. My friend said it so eloquently when he said: “Moving bites.” I think there’s some truth to that. I fall back on a couple verses that come to mind:
“Cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 and
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Although I’m excited about what lies ahead and know that it’s going to rock our socks off, I can’t help but reflect a little. This house was more than a house. It’s been a home, a getaway, a place full of love and experiences. I only hope that there’s a special place like that for you. Just the times watching my oldest son run around the ranch are such incredible memories already! Him riding his first bike on the dirt road, sitting in the bucket of the backhoe, throwing rocks, climbing the stacks of hay, having a jungle mural painted in the kids room, wrestling the dog on the grass, saying goodnight to the sun, catching frogs & lizards, and so on.

All of this and having the beach just a few minutes away…to capture shots like this. (Still grateful every day that my downtown studio is only 3 blocks from the ocean…)

As I type this post I realize that I am more sad to be leaving the ranch than I want to admit, but grateful that we have almost 2 more months here.

In my reflection, I can’t help but think of:

The BBQ’s & birthday parties with 30 people over,
reading Grace Ormonde’s Wedding Style on the patio while listening to the birds & nothing else,
shooting my shotgun when I wanted & always being stuck in the movie cadyshack trying to get that one gopher,
being greeted by 9 deer at the window each morning,
the 33 wild turkeys that pass through my front yard,
hiking in the mountains to get away for a little while,
the occasional photo session in my “backyard” country,
the crisp & clean country air,
the stillness of a quiet night & the tender moments shared alone with God,
the stinking yard-work that never ends,
dealing with ticks,
a leaky roof,
the ever present rodent that thought he was a Steelman family member and had the right to sleep in my house,
the ever present rodent’s cousin who decided that he wanted to be buried in my attic,
spiders,
spiders,
and more spiders,
the bird nests always popping up in the bushes & trees around the house,
the exploration of a world through the eyes of my 3 year old while walking the ranch discovering tractors and trees,
coyotes doing their thing at the river & making late night noise,
trying to answer the ever present perpetual question of “why?”,
the 1/4 mile dirt road to help me reflect on my life every time I pulled in my drive,
neighbors that aren’t even close enough to be seen,
the funky electricity problems with random plugs not working,
the thought that’s always running in the background to be aware of mountain lions,
the amazing miracle of having just swept the kitchen floor to look down and see that you need to do it again due to the fact that you’re on 15 acres of dirt,
not having high speed internet (ok, I won’t miss that one!),
still being close enough to town to get that gallon of milk or Starbucks yet far enough away,
enjoying a fire in the fire-pit with my beautiful wife,
fighting the cold indoors when its warmer outside than inside the house,
the amazing talent to jump 7 feet in the air when a sudden snake slithers by (wifey!),
no dishwasher,
the 5lbs of water pressure during a shower,
learning how to be a plumber in addition to being a photographer,
eating my bowl of cereal outside in the crisp morning & sunshine,
the smells of country (ahh the smells of country),
the amazing 5 foot wide fires in the hand-built river rock fireplace,
being stunned as a huge owl streaks silently by in the night sky,
editing wedding images & emailing on my back porch in the middle of the night because that’s where I got the best internet coverage wirelessly,
finding a healthy balance between working in the rat race,
keeping up with the wedding & photography industry and shutting it down when I could,
having to be a skilled rag-roller painter,
ditch digger,
repairer of leech lines,
weed cutter,
chopper of firewood,
and professional spider killer.

The list goes on and on and on.

But what’s exciting at the same time is thinking of all of the wonderful and beautiful memories that are to be made from here on out at a different location!
I’m seriously stoked about it.
I am grateful to know that a family & home is so much more than just your environment.

This, again, is a personal post so I’d love to share a few favorite personal images from the time spent here.
In fact, as I continue making this post, I think it’s evolving into a bit of a showcase on my adorable little monster too.

I wonder what kind of pictures our next home will yield?

My hot wifey some 8 1/2 months ago…

Below is a mural that our friend KD Schwartz (831-595-6959) painted for us in the boy’s room… It’s so cool and wraps around the room, definitely gonna be tough to leave.

Another iphone pic of Judah Kai’s first real bike. Zooooooom!

Up against the house… Okay, honestly, i may be a little bias, but is he not so freakin adorable?

My little friend Charlotte… (Ok, not really).

check out this pic I took with the iphone of the canyon…

Just chillin…

Learning how to drive…

How far can YOU throw rocks?

From up top the hill, another iphone pic. Crazy that over my left shoulder and over the mountains is roughly the area of Holman Ranch and Carmel Valley. Probably a good 2 day hike though.

Counting the straws…

An afternoon hike…

He’s a natural, totally posing himself. “How about this way daddy?”

Continuing with a bunch of images, here are some more. If you’re still looking, all I can say is wow! Thanks.
The next 5 are from Monday morning, and then the rest continue out of order.

Uh uh!

Again, the iphone…

It’s a trip looking back through these photos and how fast time goes by!

On the flipside, although we won’t be living here anymore, I will still have full access to come back and photograph pretty much anytime, which is sweet!

Anyway, thanks for letting me share! I look forward to the stories & images that are yet to be discovered…

Oh that ‘ol cliche, “Home is where the heart is…”