Four Girls, Two Ukuleles, One Lake

I had an amazing girls weekend in Pollock Pines. And despite the fact that it was hard for [most of] us to go without proper phone reception or internet, it was for the best. Considering how much time I spend on my computer and phone for work and blog surfing, the break from constant distraction was necessary.

Plus: Nature!




And we found butterflies! They were friendly, like puppies, minus the barking and licking and caring about our feelings.

But they were cooperative.



Getting out in the beautiful weather and exploring the trail around Jenkinson Lake was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. The sun was just the right amount of hot, with the shade providing the ideal amount of relief. The trail was clear, albeit a little rocky, and it was certainly not crowded. I was even a bit sad that we'd decided to stay in a cabin rather than a campsite.

Either way, being silly and enjoying the outdoors after spending quite a bit of girly time cloistered away with food and booze and movies and gossip was refreshing. This was certainly aided by our decision to bring along refreshments.

Don't worry. We were totally not at all obnoxious.



What started out as a little outdoor excursion to explore the local park eventually turned into a mini ukulele concert/rehearsal session for Cassie and Lindsey, and photography practice for me.

Back in April, Jon got me a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II camera lens, which is a great starter lens for taking portraits. I've been wanting to upgrade beyond my basic EOS Rebel T3 camera body and lens for some time, so this seemed like a good place to start.

It does a lot of the work for me.



I'm still getting used to discovering what works best for me with taking pictures. I have no interest in being a photographer, but I enjoy the way great photos look and I like having beautiful ones of my friends, family, pets, environment, and life to share with you here.

One of my favorite blogging photographers, Ashley Ann of Under the Sycamore, makes me yearn to take naturally stunning pictures of my life the way she does. Eventually, I'll probably take one of her photography classes to learn how. How to capture details and know intuitively when something will look good on camera.

For now, though...



Shooting on Auto in great light and with willing victims will have to do.

Cassie was a good model to practice on.

And with some coaxing from the rest of us, Lindsey agreed to let me snap pictures of her and her ukulele too.




I was just getting into my groove when we noticed that a flock of geese were swimming right for us.

There's something horrifying about geese. I mean, aside from the fact that they're notoriously mean and aggressive, they really just look like they know something you don't.



Amirite??

It's OK though. Marisa taunted them with a little dance and a bag of Stacy's Pita Chips.



Maybe they liked the sound of the ukuleles or are fans of "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. Or, you know, the smell of pita chips.

Ah well.

The rest of our weekend was very relaxed with loads more refreshments and silliness, and we managed not to bother any other living creatures. A swarm of butterflies and a flock of geese were enough.

Oh, I guess there were those people out on the lake the next day who had to endure our escapades when we decided to rent a paddle boat, station ourselves in the middle of said lake, and film Cassie and Lindsey singing "Screw You" by Kate Micucci.

You're welcome, World.



And have a pleasant evening.


* images property of The Sleepy Peach