Allyson is 15!

Allyson proves that with age comes beauty...she is 15 tomorrow, but we are celebrating today. She wanted clothes for her birthday present, so I took her shopping yesterday. This is a photo of her in one of her new outfits. And of course, she is wearing jewelry made by me...a special set I made for her just for her birthday to match her new outfit. :)

#66 Secret to a Happy Life

I never would have thought I'd have found the secret to a happy life in a photo of a water buffalo...but I did. It's very simple. :)

InJoy,
Jai

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#66 Secret to a Happy Life Greeting Cards (Pk of 1

#65 Halloween Spider....Creepy!

I guess it's not so creepy UNTIL you realize this is an actual photo of a REAL spider hanging down on my porch last night. Allyson spotted it and of course I had to get a photo! If you click on the image to see it larger, you can see the threads of her web. I did colorize the photo to give it the Halloween coloring.

The original shot shows even more GLORIOUS (cough...cough) detail. LOL

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#65 Halloween Spider Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

I just realized I'm on photo #65...just 300 days to go! PHEW!

#64 Hairstyle

I knew when I got this photo of this bird, the wind gusting through her feathers, that I'd use a verse or quote about hair. She was a sweet bird - loved to cuddle...or maybe she was just trying to protect herself from the wind! :)

This is a Salmon Crested Cockatoo. I've done a painting of this breed of bird before, but never had seen one in person. Beautiful....just beautiful!

InJoy,
Jai

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#64 Hairstyle Greeting Cards (Pk of 20)

A Trip to the Safari Park in Alamo, TN

For years on our trips from Jackson over to Dyersburg, TN, I would gaze longingly at the buffalo grazing in the fields of the Conley farm as we passed by. Often in the midst of what seemed to be nowhere, you'd see spectators pull off of the side of the road and get out of their cars to look at these massive creatures. Occasionally, you'd also get a glimpse of zebras, peacocks, llamas, and other wildlife. I remember saying to my husband "Someone who lives there is raising wildlife! I wish we could go there!"

It was just last week when I heard a commercial on the radio - the Conley farm in Alamo, TN is open to the public. So of course, we had to head out there this weekend so I could take a gazillion photographs. And I got some beauties!

You can drive through the park in your own vehicle - it's about two miles along a gravel road, circling through fields where buffalo, various types of deer, llamas, ostriches, and peacocks run wild. In the distance, you can see camels grazing. Occasionally you'll spot an ostrich egg lying around.

You end up at a gift shop and petting area, with people to talk with you about the animals, their traits, how they are raised, where they came from, etc. It's southern hospitality at it's best on a wonderful farm smack in the middle of West TN. If you haven't visited the Safari Park in Alamo, you need to. Get the details on their website here.














Here's some candid shots of Allyson with a couple of different Cockatoos. These birds are quite a bit heavier than our cockatiel and parakeet! Check out Allyson feeding Jerry the giraffe too...I think that's the closest I'd ever been to a giraffe. I'm a short person, so I've always felt small, but I felt invisible next to Jerry! And check out the cute pup - a pomeranian/chihuahua mix, this little fellow herds the goats if they escape their fenced area - which is frequently. :)

At the bottom of this post you'll find a link to a calendar and a poster, which feature a variety of some of my photos from the trip. All net proceeds from the sales of these two items will be forwarded to the Conley farm to feed and care for the wildlife. You can see close ups of the various pictures on the calendar by clicking on the image to go to the page in my shop.

InJoy,
Jai

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Tennessee Safari Park Wall Calendar

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Tennessee Safari Park Large Poster

#63 Lookin' Good

You know, it should be illegal to be this cute. Oreo is SUCH a little doll! Allyson dressed her up yesterday in a pretty pink and orange scarf for a photo shoot, and captured this adorable picture of her.

Today the kittens aren't here...I guess Momma Boots took them somewhere last night and none of them have been here all day. Go figure...it's the perfect day for a photo shoot since it is overcast.

But you can leave Oreo your comments...I'll share them with her when she returns! :)

InJoy,
Jai

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#63 Lookin' Good Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

#62 Women & Cats (featuring Niko)

Niko posed so elegantly for Allyson in the first photo here. And it looked like she (yes we've determined Niko is a "she") had something very important to say. So here she is with a little life lesson. :)

Below, you'll see Niko after she returned from a rainstorm. Hard to believe it's the same kitten! She looked like a little wet rat...all skinnied up. LOL She is shown below in her rainstorm glory, cleaning her little toes. (and yes, I dried her off with a towel after taking this photo!)

InJoy,
Jai

P.S. We should have some really cool photos after this weekend - I have discovered a safari park nearby that we're going to go to on Sunday if it doesn't rain. Allyson and I plan to take lots of photos!

#61 A Wedding (featuring Oreo...of course!)

I think she's still too young for marriage, but doesn't she look adorable dressed up for a wedding? She had fun playing with the little pearls and ribbons. I think this was her favorite "outfit" during that photo shoot. :)

InJoy,
Jai

By the way, on this design, customization *is* available. I can put the names and wedding date on the back of many of the shirts, or in place of the verse. Pricing will remain the same as what you see on the site. I've just had someone order the magnets to put on the wedding tables as a cute "take home gift" for guests with their name and wedding date in place of the verse. Good idea for those who might have a wedding coming up!

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#61 A Wedding Greeting Card

#60 Kitten Prayer (Oreo is feeling prayerful...:))

Oreo is feeling prayerful. :)

Jai

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#60 Kitten Prayer Small Framed Print

#58 Peace & #59 A Morning Prayer

Feeling peaceful and prayerful this morning...(click on images to see the larger ones - go here to read the morning prayer)

#56 & 57, Rowdy for Halloween

I guess today is Rowdy's "feature day". Here he is in his Halloween photos. Isn't he just precious? I love the one with the black cat and how he's posed with his foot propped up...that was right before he took off running! LOL

#55 You Make Me Smile!

A silly photo of Rowdy "smiling" that I just couldn't resist using for a card...

InJoy,
Jai

Lady

Lady has been feeling left out because we've been taking so many photos of the kittens...so here she is in her own feature!


She's so sweet!


Very attentive.


I even made up a greeting card design featuring her. :)

Here she is laying in her favorite spot on the driveway. I've been trying to think of a good theme for her and I figured getting older is appropriate. She used to be solid black and each year, she gets more white on her face, feet and belly. The inside of the card featuring this image reads: Happy Birthday (from one old dog to another). :)

InJoy,
Jai

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#54 Getting Older Greeting Card

#53 Boss (otherwise known as a nightmare photo shoot with Max!)

So Allyson had this bright idea to put a tie on Max for a photograph. Michael gave up his money tie for the event. First of all, Max does NOT sit still - EVER. If you are standing, he is moving. Second of all, we discovered Max does not like wearing ties! He was not happy about this ordeal at ALL, but I managed to get two decent photos to work from - to the left is the image I designed for German Shepherd fans like myself.

The second photo hasn't been touched yet, as I am waiting for a good work or business-related saying/verse to come into my brain...and it's not here yet. Yes, Max not only physically exhausts me, but mentally as well!

The other two images here - while blurred (remember the dog is ALWAYS moving) - represent a couple of different expressions I got from Max while trying to do this shoot. I thought you'd find them amusing. :)

InJoy,
Jai

P.S...how do you like my fancy photo "studio"? Yes, that's where I shoot all those kitten photos too!

#52 Heart Treasures

Here's another unique design by Allyson. I still haven't figured out how she gets things in silhouette like this, but my question on this one is how in the world did she shoot the photo with her hands up there like that? Hmmmm...maybe she had one of the kittens push the button? :)

InJoy,
Jai

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#52 Heart Treasures Note Cards (Pk of 10)