photography – Rural Ris

Chasen Matthis| Senior Session

Meet Chasen Matthis, a senior at New Life Christian Academy. We took his senior pictures at his family’s farm, which was the perfect backdrop not just because of its beauty, but because it is Chasen’s passion. On the whole, Chasen is a pretty stoic young man, but his entire demeanor changes when he starts talking about tractors, cattle, or anything on the farm. He truly lights up! The knowledge and passion he possesses for the family farm is amazing.

After graduating, Chasen plans to attend Sampson Community College to take trade classes like welding and electric. His plans also include buying some cattle of his very own. One day he hopes to take over the family’s farm that his great grandfather started.

Perhaps, though, pictures can tell you Chasen’s love of farm and hope for agriculture better than any amount of words could. This is Chasen’s story:

January 8, 2019 by ruralris Categories: photographyTags: cattle, family, farm, farming, John Deere, North Carolina, photography, pig farm, senior, tractors, turkey farm 2 Comments

Mason & Taylor: Engagement Session

Mason and Garrett were fraternity brothers and through various fraternity events, Taylor and I met as well. I’m so thankful that the fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho, brought us all together. Mason and Taylor are such a joy to be around, and I love watching the two of them together. I couldn’t be more thrilled for their engagement.

Just as the sun was rising on a Sunday morning, I met with Taylor and Mason for a sunrise session. This was my first sunrise photo shoot, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it went. The lighting was perfect, and Mason and Taylor were total pros in front of the camera. They chose to have their photos taken at Mason’s parents’ house. What’s really special about this location is this is where Mason proposed! How awesome is that?

We spent our time at the pier, had a photo bomber of the feline variety, and took more pictures at the neighborhood church. They wanted to make sure to get some photos at the cross, and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate photo on a glorious Sunday morning.

Mason and Taylor are such a wonderful couple, and I am so excited to share their engagement session with you!

November 1, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, photographyTags: couples, diamonds, engaged, engagement, love, nc photographer, photography, veragio 2 Comments

Passion of the Percherons: Getting Ready with Young Living Horses & Team

Cyclone, Bode, Huey, Tuff, Ice, Jag, Elk, and Rocket.

These are the names of the 8 wonderful gentlemen I had the pleasure of meeting recently at the Nebraska State Fair. They all had dark hair and were well over 6 feet tall. It isn’t often I feel as if I’m in the presence of giants since I’m fairly tall myself. However, these guys have a way of making you look up and feel small.

Now, you are probably wondering who these guys are. With names like those, you may think I met some sort of band. They aren’t a part of a band, but they are all stars. These 8 gentlemen are the Percheron horses of the Young Living Exhibition Team.

Young Living is a company (you may have heard of it) that produces essential oils. Their founder, Gary Young, loved horses. It only made sense to combine his passion for essential oils and horses together. At their Whispering Springs Farm in Mona, Utah, they have over 120 horses and focuses on draft and Fresian horses.

A handful of those horses are able to travel to various fairs and shows to compete and represent the Young Living brand and products. The 8 horses I met do not compete in shows, but do show off at fairs as the exhibition team.

Each horse is filled with personality. They may look very similar, but they are each unique. Those who get to handle and care for them can tell you all about each one.

Here enters my friend Bradley Glover. Bradley and I grew up in the same county and showed livestock together. Bradley loves draft horses. He has interned with the large Clydesdales at Budweiser and helped drive wagons in Yellowstone National Park. Now he is living in Utah with the Young Living Percheron horses.

I got a text from Bradley asking how close I was to Grand Island, Nebraska. Garrett and I then made plans to drive up to see Bradley (Garrett and Bradley worked together at NCSU) and meet the horses at the Nebraska State Fair.

Bradley not only helps feed and care for each of the horses with four others on the exhibition team, but he also helps prepare each horse for their performance.

It takes about 2 hours to braid and comb the horses manes and tails. In addition, they add boots, paint their hooves and make sure they are clean. They also tack all the horses up in harnesses and gear that weighs about 100 pounds per horse. This sounds heavy, but each horse weighs around 2,000 pounds. Huey may weigh a tick more…he likes his food.

After they are decked in their purple splendor, they are practically itching to go. It was so funny to see the horses nodding their heads and straining to get into their harness. They love their job and love to perform. They were ready!

After they are harnessed up, they are hitched to the wagon. In a 6-horse hitch, there are three positions: lead, swing, and wheel. Typically the largest and most trustworthy horses are placed in the wheel position. These are Tuff and Jag. The swing horses must stay in their spots and help round corners. Elk and Cyclone are swingers. Finally, the lead horses are often the flashiest horses who really like to prance. Bode and Huey are the guys for the job.

And what about the man behind the reins? That would be Jason Goodman. He has been around draft horses about all of his life. His wife Rose, who is also on the team, has a long history with draft horses as well.

No matter what your position on the team, everyone pitches in to get the job done. That job is making those 8 gentleman looking spectacular, and that job involves shoveling manure, cleaning equipment, braiding hair, feeding, washing, and so much more.

Thanks to the hard work of all the team members, the horses do indeed look spectacular in the ring. With Jason Goodman guiding the team, they trot, make figure eights, dock, and full on run. Their time in the ring seems like a blur, and I do believe the horses wouldn’t mind one bit if they could go around the ring once or 3 times more.

They will soon do it all over again, though, showing crowds that big doesn’t mean they can’t be agile or graceful. They proved to me that, although lovable and goofy in the barns, they are all business and style when it is show time.

Cyclone, Elk, Bode, Huey, Rocket, Jag, Ice, and Tuff, you guys are amazing!

Bradley, Jason, Rose, Cole, and Henry, thank you for letting me capture your normal. I so enjoyed soaking up your knowledge and witnessing the passion you have for draft horses.

Garrett, thanks for carrying my camera bag and reaching up high for a couple of photos. I think we found your size of animal.

Young Living, kudos to you for what you do with these horses and sharing them with the public.

August 28, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, livestock, photographyTags: draft horse, essential oils, horseman, nebraska, percheron, photography, State Fair, young living 2 Comments

Honeymooning in Scotland–Day 6

I was really excited to start this day out. It was going to be all about exploring and hiking. Disclaimer: Garrett and I took charge of planning different parts of the trip. Today was one of the days I had planned. I may have overestimated my abilities. You’ll find out what I mean in a bit.

Our first stop of the morning was Fairy Glenn.

We weren’t sure if we were in the right place at first. It was also a bit sketchy considering it was a one lane road. By one lane road, I mean that it is a two-way but there’s only room for one car so you have to pull over onto special passes. We’d get really used to these type of the roads as our adventures in Skye continued.

Needless to say, we ended up in the right place and it was truly magical. You could really imagine fairies in the glen.

After a quick jaunt, we headed to Quiraing. Wow! The scenery was gorgeous!

We were amazed at the amount of traffic. You have to park on the side of a single car road. There aren’t large parking lots or car parks as they are called, so the side of the road it is. We would learn that sometimes that mean parking on the edge of a cliff or half a mile from your destination, and that’s not in peak tourist season.

The Quiraing was a wonderful hike. While we didn’t go to the very end, we hiked for over an hour on a trail that was just cut into the cliff.

Garrett teased me a lot because I would often get distracted by all the sheep that were able to just graze anywhere it seemed. They often shared our path.

I wanted to take one home. This pic is the closest I got to taking a sheep home.

We made the quick stop to Kilt Rock and the falls before eating burgers at a cafe.

The next point of interest was Brother’s Point, also called Rubha nam Brathairean. We almost skipped this stop, but I had read on the Earth Trekkers blog that it was worth it and not as touristy. They were right! There was a small car park just past the Glenview Hotel. We had to cross the street and walk down the road just a bit to get to the trail head. We went down what looks like someone’s driveway, entered two gates into a sheep pasture.

Don’t forget to close the gate behind you. Sheep are inside.

We certainly were doubting if we were in the right place, but noticed a few people down towards the bottom. We also saw signs directing our path.

We found ruins, lots of sheep, barnacles, and the most gorgeous of views. What’s better is it is secluded and not crowded. The hike is not too strenuous either. From here, you can also see Kilt Rock in the distance. We didn’t walk all the way down the point, but even still it would become my favorite place of the entire Scotland trip! I cannot recommend it enough!!

Our final stop was Oldman Storr. It was completely opposite experience than Brother’s Point. I straight died. Don’t believe me? Garrett documented:

The trail to Oldmann Storr is all uphill, no shade, and a long way. In fact, we didn’t make it. I looked up at Garrett and said I can’t. In my defense, my foot ankle was not happy, I had a slight cold, and poorly planned a long hike at the end of a full day of hiking. I absolutely hated to call it quits, but I know my limits. I think Garrett was a bit relieved too. Moral of the story, rethink planning all major hiking on one day. That was my bad. I also suggest bringing sunscreen. You wouldn’t think that would be needed in Scotland, but we were blessed with warmer than normal weather and full sun.

This is where we were supposed to go, but never reached.

After calling it quits, we went back to Portree to shop where I got some things for the boys. In my journal my exact words to end the day were, “we ate at Isles and called it early for bed. We wrote postcards and planned tomorrow. We are pretty dead.”

And that is the end of day 6 on Scotland. It was my favorite, but also the most taxing physically.

Tips:

In order to plan different parts of the trip, but still collaborate, we used the website Inspirock. It was fabulous. It not only allowed us a venue to plug in our plans and information, but also gave suggestions. This is a great tool for any trip anywhere!
Bring lots of water hiking.
Visit Fairy Glenn in the morning before crowds hit. It makes for a more intimate experience that adds to the magic.
Don’t hold out for a parking spot in a parking lot. Just go ahead and park on the side of the road.
Kilt Rock was cool, but will only take you 10 minutes to see it. Plan for that as you travel.
Make the time for Brother’s Point. You can also find dinosaur footprints.
Beauty lies everywhere. Even on the side of the road. Stop to see it.

July 7, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, Life, Personal, photographyTags: brother's point, Fairy Glenn, hiking, honeymoon, isle of skye, Kilt Rock, quiraing, Scotland, sheep, skye, technology, travel Leave a comment

Honeymooning in Scotland–Day 5

The next morning on our honeymoon was early. We ate breakfast in our hotel’s sunroom and headed out to Loch Ness.

On a whim we decided to by tickets for a boat tour of Loch Ness that we had learned about through a pamphlet. It was a fabulous decision! We chose the tour that would take us through the canal, loch, and to see the outside of Urquhart Castle. We were almost late thanks to the GPS, but made it! The tour took a total of 2 hours and was filled with great facts and lovely views! It even had a Loch Ness detector.

We used the camera as binoculars at times. This time, Garrett was actually taking pictures, though!

Our next stop was to explore the grounds of Urquhart Castle after seeing the outside by boat. We drove along the loch. Before touring the grounds, we stopped at the Nessie Cafe and had yummy sandwiches.

Urquhart Castle may seem like a bunch of ruins, and you may be tempted to skip it completely while in Scotland. DON’T! It ended up being Garrett’s favorite part of the whole trip and both of our’s favorite castle.

The castle is rich with history and has just enough standing to be able to imagine it in it’s glory days. Besides age, the castle is mostly in ruins because it’s last resident blew it up. You see, Urquhart was prone to raids by the McDonald clan and others. So, on the last of the raids, the owner fled, and blew the castle up as he left. Pretty crazy, right?

The great thing about this castle, is you can go everywhere. Nothing is off limits, and fabulous views surround you. Plus you can walk down to the loch and dip your toes in. After dipping his hand in the loch, Garrett claimed he had Nessie pee on him which was pretty cool. I married a goober!

While we would have stayed at Urquhart longer, we had to get to the next castle of the day–Eilean Donan. After purchasing a souvenir painting, we headed on. We did stop along the way at some cool scenery. It was different than other places we’d seen.

We also came across feral goats! I saw a sign that said look out for them, and just got out of my mouth, “I hope we see one!” Then, their they were! I was so excited I failed to get a quality photo, but as you can tell, they are hairy and have huge horns!

The best way to describe Eilean Donan was beautiful on the outside and weird inside. Eilean Donan is the most photographed castle in Scotland, and rightly so. Just look at it:

Inside, though, is a bit difference. Part of the oddity is that the castle was almost completely rebuilt in 1912 by the family who owned it. Inside was therefore, an odd mix of the 20’s, medieval, and a family home. While certainly not what I expected, it was still neat. They didn’t allow photography inside, so I don’t have any photos to show you of that.

It was now time to finally be on our way to the Isle of Skye. Wow, is all I have to say. We knew that Skye was supposed to be beautiful. It did not disappoint. These photos were taken just on the drive in! Wait until you see the next day.

We checked into the Portree Hotel. Super cute place in the middle of town.

The room was itty bitty, but beyond quaint and cozy. We walked across the road to the Cafe where we enjoyed a great meal of pork meatloaf with tomato spicy cream and fish and chips. It was one of my favorite meals of the trip.

We finished it all off with ice cream and a walk around town and the harbor.

We retired for the night to dream of castles and Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

Tips:

We would highly recommend the Portree Hotel, but know that they don’t have a lift up to your room. It wasn’t an issue for us, but it may be for others.
Personally, I would choose to pay to see Urquhart and not Eilean Donan, but that’s just my opinion.
If you decide to go on a Jacobite Cruise, look up the docks before the morning of. They are not always recognized by the GPS. Refer to a good old fashioned map.
Highland Cows are pronounced Coos. We had fun saying that.

July 1, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, family and fun, Life, Personal, photography, UncategorizedTags: eilean donan castle, honeymoon, isle of skye, jacobite cruise, portree, Scotland, urquhart castle 2 Comments

Honeymooning in Scotland–Day 4

You know, at the completion of this day, I was convinced it was my favorite. I would later say this about every day after.

The only thing that we had planned for the day was a fancy dinner in Inverness. I didn’t even know about it because Garrett had secretly planned for it. However, the night before, we had done a quick search and found a few options of things to do.

We drove to Beauly to see the Beauly Priory, an old abandoned monastic community established in the 13th and 14th century. Before exploring the Priory, we ate at the Priory Hotel that was right beside the monastery.

Garrett and I ordered a pot of tea. He ate meat pie and the most delicious mandarin orange cheesecake. I was totally kicking myself for not ordering that for myself. He was gracious enough to let me eat a bite or two. I ate a bowl of soup and pork burger. We also had a lovely conversation with our waitress who was from New Zealand (she called herself a Kiwi) about places to go and the best routes to get there. I just love nice people!

The monastery was in a bit of ruin. However, it was understandable considering its age and that most of its stone had been seized by Cromwell to build Inverness Castle. There wasn’t a roof and parts of the once expansive building were missing. Oh, but the history that was there was incredible. There were tombs, holy water vessel, wall cupboards, and more.

After our exploration of the priory, we made the decision to head to Fort George. Boy, am I glad we did! The fort was built in the 1700’s but is still a working military fort to this day. There is plenty of history in this fort to explore, but there are also many building you cannot enter, because it is in current use by the military.

Fort George is on the North Sea. When we arrived to the fort, the mist was rolling in like clouds giving the whole thing a mystical feel. I hope you can see the mist in the photos I took.

It didn’t stay too long which was good, because little did we know that Fort George is a premier place to dolphin watch. We didn’t really think we’d see any, but we hadn’t been looking for more than 2 minutes when one popped up. We ended up seeing a dolphin about a dozen times!

While Fort George almost didn’t make it on our itinerary, I’m so glad we went. It was not only interesting, but very beautiful, and a great place to take a stroll. They also offer free audio tours.

Getting to write your name in a guest book is way more exciting when you are newly married

The slashes in the stone are from when soldiers would sharpen their bayonets

We made our way back to Inverness to get ready for our fancy dinner. Garrett had made reservations to Rocpool, and we took a taxi to the restaurant. The restaurant was sold out. We were escorted to a corner table by the window with a view of Inverness Castle!!!

We couldn’t have had better seats. For our starters, I had fried gnocchi with duck ragu and Garrett had pork belly. For our main course, I chose lamb on couscous with pomegranate, asparagus, and goat cheese. Garrett selected loin of veal with black pudding, haggis, and potatoes. Creme brulle was the final dish. It was all amazing. Garrett did good…real good.

We decided to walk back to our hotel rather than grab a taxi. That was also a wonderful decision. We walked along the river as the sunset, and it was all simply perfect.

Tips:

Go to Fort George. It’s worth it.
Stop along the road. If you see something cool, don’t be afraid to take a photo shoot. That’s what we did, and I love them! This was on the way to Fort George. You can actually see a shadow of it in the right side of the first photo below.

June 23, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, Personal, photographyTags: beauly, dolphins, fort george, honeymoon, inverness, priory, Scotland, travel Leave a comment

Honeymooning in Scotland–Day 3

Day 3 started with an early morning to hit some last minute Edinburgh sights before heading to Inverness.

Our first stop was the Scott Monument built to memorialize author Sir Walter Scott. It was built during 1841-1844. While you can climb inside it, we chose not to due to time constraints and for the want of saving our money.

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Scott Monument is in Princes Street Gardens, so of course we had to walk along the paths. You can even see Edinburgh Castle from some of the paths. It was a fabulous last morning in Edinburgh.

We made our way back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and hop in the car. I wasn’t looking forward to driving the streets of Edinburgh again, but we had gotten the bugs out of the GPS this time.

I’m happy to report, it was much less death like and minimal wrong turns were made. We did accidentally end up at Forth Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1890 and has been voted Scotland’s greatest man-made wonder. The only reason we saw it was due to a wrong turn. We were perhaps a little too excited about the whole deal.

Another happy accident was our lunch stop. We were trying to find something quick to eat, and typed in McDonalds in the GPS. I know, I know…who eats at McDonalds when in a foreign country? My only defense is we were travelling. We followed the GPS and arrived in the town of Pitlochery. The GPS lied. There was no McDonalds, but there was the cutest town where we had the best fish and chips at McKay’s. We walked around the little town, got some ice cream, and went on our way. Best stop ever!

As we drove out of the cities, the landscape began to change to rolling hills and farms. I snapped pictures through the window left, right, and center. Little did I know that this was nothing compared to what we were about to see.

The driving was much easier in the country, but the roads were quite narrow (I would later consider these roads wide).

We stopped at Dalwhinnie Distillery for a tour. The process of making Scotch whiskey is fascinating. Dalwhinnie was the highest (in altitude) scotch distillery in the world. It is normally quite cold, but we were there on a rare warm day, however, the mountains were still snow-capped.

We continued to wind our way through the Scottish roads until we reached Inverness. I fell in love with this little town. We had the most adorable hotel.

For dinner we walked to the city center and ate at Bella Italia. While we got turned around walking there and didn’t get the river views going, we certainly got them coming back. Wow! Those walks with my new husband were some of my favorites of the trip.

Along the walks are several pedestrian bridges to pass from the two sides of the rivers.

One of the bridges led to a magical little island with a wooded area and river views.

To top it all off, Inverness has a castle! It was all truly fairy tale feeling.

Tips:

It is ok to take wrong turns. Don’t freak out, but explore and have fun!
While long, take the walk to the City Centre in Inverness, especially at sunset!
Try Irn Bru soda. It is a Scottish drink and is similar to cream soda. Garrett loved it!

June 18, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, family and fun, Life, Personal, photographyTags: Edinburgh, highlands, inverness, princes street, scotch, Scotland, scotts monument, whiskey 1 Comment

Honeymooning in Scotland: Day 2

Our second day in Scotland was all about experiencing the city and our very first castle!

The first stop of the day was a quick one to Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby was a Skye Terrier who guarded his owner’s grave in the Greyfriars Kirkland for 14 years until he died himself.

After visiting Bobby, we headed to St. Giles Cathedral. It is as pretty inside as it is outside.

We continued make our way down to Edinburgh Castle, our main attraction for the day. We had time to kill as we had pre-purchased tickets to the castle at a certain time the night before. We went in the Hub which ended up being a convention center of sorts. You’d have never thought that from the outside.

I saw a sign for Tartan Weaving Mill and just had to go in.

Here, we explored 5 floors of tartan, wool, weaving, shops, and the history of tartan. I purchased a scarf in my clan’s tartan. I’m a part of the Gunn Clan from my grandmother’s side. We then grabbed lunch at the cafe at the top of the mill where we ate the most delicious club sandwich! So good!

Scottish dress and tartan throughout the years.

By now, it was time to enter the castle. Garrett and I were both pretty pumped to visit. Never did I realize there were so many nooks and crannies in a castle. It was huge and took the whole day to explore. We made sure to pay extra for the audio tour so we could hear additional information and stories.

In the castle, we were able to see the crown jewels which were lost for a few hundred years. How do you misplace such a thing? They were found and later buried again during World War II to safeguard against the potential of Nazi invasion. They are now back in the castle and on display.

We also saw the dungeons (my personal favorite) where you could see messages carved into the doors and learn about prisoners there.

Garrett appreciated the many cannons…

And we both appreciated the gorgeous views.

The castle also features a pet cemetery…

Museum…

Grand hall…

And a more modern prison.

We were warned that Scottish weather is typically cold and wet, but our second day in Scotland would prove to be the only cold day, and never once did it rain! We were quite fortunate.

Windy and a bit cold, but completely happy!

We ended our day with a stroll in the city, tour of the world’s largest collection of single malt whiskey, more views of the castle, and dinner at Biblo’s. We delighted in a meal of soup, chicken, and potatoes with chorizo sausage in it. Delicious!

Tips:

Give yourself several hours to do the Edinburgh Castle. You don’t want to rush it.
Enjoy the shops on the Royal Mile on the way back from the castle.
Beware of doorways. For tall people at least, castle doorways are rather low.

June 12, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, photographyTags: castle, Edinburgh, honeymoon, Scotland 1 Comment

Honeymooning in Scotland: Day 1

I am officially a married woman! I am so excited to be married to the man of my dreams and my best friend. Our wedding day, while rainy, was the perfect day. I’m excited to share about that perfect day, but will wait until the photos are in. However, here is a quick sneak peek from the talented April Teceno Photography…

wedding pic

I would like to share our fabulous honeymoon to Scotland with you, though! Garrett and I had a rather large list of potential destinations to honeymoon, but ultimately decided to explore Scotland. I was extra excited as my grandma immigrated from Scotland in the 60’s. I couldn’t wait to see where she had grown up.

Garrett and I worked for weeks to plan the perfect itinerary, but left room to be flexible and change up the schedule too. I love doing trips this way! It makes life less stressful, and you can enjoy the moment more. We would fly into Edinburgh, stay there a few days, make our way to the Isle of Skye, and then drive back to Edinburgh for a total of 2 days of flights and 7 days of exploring.

The day after our wedding we headed to RDU airport to catch a flight to JFK then to Edinburgh. As we watched the flight updates, we became increasingly nervous. The flight to JFK kept getting delayed. It soon became clear we would miss our flight to Edinburgh if we waited for the JFK flight. Garrett talked to the airline folks, and we ended up rebooking our flights completely. We flew to Heathrow in London and then to Edinburgh. It wasn’t what we planned, but it would only put us 2 hours later than our original plan rather than a whole day! Sadly, this meant Garrett lost his extra leg room seats (tall people problems), and we wouldn’t be able to be seated together on the flight from London to Edinburgh. We took it anyway!

Our flights were without incident (minus me balling in the middle of the flight due to watching a movie). I started to get way excited when we flew over Scotland, and I saw the scenery. I was so excited to be there!

We waited in line for our rental car for more than an hour and made our way to the lot. Garrett was really dubious when he stopped in front of a tiny smart car. I told him it was the next car over which was a much better fit for G.

We climbed in the car and prepared to drive on the wrong side of the road. I was to navigate. The trip from the airport to our hotel in Edinburgh was the scariest one of my life. We ended up going downtown Edinburgh! Bad idea to new European drivers. I was sucking at navigating. To Garrett’s credit he kept his cool and made several u-turns thanks to my navigation. When we got to the hotel, we parked and didn’t get back in the car for two days. My feet were much safer.

While we were pretty exhausted from the flight and time change, we decided to explore the city after a quick shower. We grabbed lunch at Starbucks (risky right?) and headed to Calton Hill. Edinburgh streets are gorgeous and filled with history. We could actually appreciate them now that we were on foot.

Calton Hill views were a fabulous place to start in Edinburgh.

We climbed on the National Monument and climbed to the top of Nelson Monument. I would definitely recommend spending the money to do that. The views are stunning!

While we saw Arthur’s Seat, we voted to not climb it. We were pretty dead on our feet.

We then walked to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Sadly, we weren’t allowed in as it was occupied. It was still cool to see the guards and area, though.

We ended our day with dinner at Tollbooth Tavern. We happened upon it and thought it looked good. The neat part was it had a long and interesting history. It once collected tolls for a bridge, was a prison, courthouse, and even a site for an exorcism. It now serves yummy fish and chips and bangers and mash with other menu items.

While it wasn’t late, but we called it a night at 8:30pm. I had already fallen asleep standing up at Calton Hill and walked 5 miles around the city. We managed much the first day in Scotland, and I was very pleased. We would sleep for 12 hours. Day two of Scotland awaited…

Tips:

Make sure you know how to operate the GPS before leaving the parking lot.
Rent a special GPS that does European roads.
Push through the time change and tiredness. You can sleep later.

June 10, 2018November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: blog, Family, Personal, photographyTags: calton hill, Edinburgh, honeymoon, newlywed, Scotland 2 Comments

Best of 2017

As 2017 comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on all the many moments that have happened. It is hard to believe all of it fits into one year. Busy is an understatement, but I am so grateful for every moment…

Along with teaching at two colleges and holding communication contracts for several companies, I’ve been able to photograph more than ever before this year.

A spur of the moment photo shoot turned into some of my proudest pictures to date. These sheep in fog pictures went on to win three contests and are going to hang in my future office.

It wasn’t all animal and farm pictures, though. I was able to take pictures of some very dear people. From the engagement of Brooks and Jennifer…

To Jennifer’s bridal portraits a few months later…

I was so excited to photograph some amazing college seniors like Alec who graduated from UMO with a agri-business degree. He is now in the middle of an MBA at Methodist and will start a new job in the beginning of the year! Where did my little brother go?

There were also several NCSU graduates like Cary…

And Bradley…

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Garrett also graduated with his master’s degree after spending countless hours crunching numbers and writing a thesis. He didn’t walk the stage, but that’s alright… 18156656_1861747867172347_6783422891837931030_o

I’m still just as proud and was able to go back to campus to take engagement pictures of his roommate Colin and his fiance Mallory.

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I also was able to capture some real cuties…

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And real beauties…

As well as some amazing people…

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A new favorite subject to photograph has been bling…

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My favorite bling of all, though, is my own…

One of the biggest moments of 2017 was when Garrett asked me to be his wife at Bear Island after a kayak trip…

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Oh what an adventure that kayaking trip turned out to be (read the full story here). Wedding planning has been in full-force and we can’t wait for our next adventure after May 19, 2018 when we are married! 2017 held more adventures then a sparkly kayaking trip.

An adventure to Vegas and the Grand Canyon with Garrett’s family was, well, grand…

A less desert adventure came when the Linton clan visited Virginia Beach. Views, lighthouses, and waves made for an amazing vacation…

Of course, there was also the annual Kerr Lake trip too. It was paradise.

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An adventure to South Carolina to visit Kayla turned into a weekend of sweet surprises from my maid of honor…

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Adventures in Atlanta with friends to celebrate Kena and William’s wedding was ever so much fun…

I went to a total of 8 weddings this year. It is that season in life, and it is so wonderful to see those I love find forever love.

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It wasn’t all warm weather and blissful weddings, though. There were some bitterly cold days this winter. My caption on Instagram of this pic said “I’m not made for the cold” Little did I know, I’d be moving to Nebraska a little over a year later where the temperature is currently -17 at night. Be careful what you say.

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Feeding livestock was an everyday affair–snow, rain, or shine. It was certainly worth it to see my boys rewarded for their hard work, well and fun…

Isaac won Reserve Champion Market Hog at the Wayne County Show and Sale…

Another big win came at the NC State Fair when our sheep Georgette won Grand Champion Supreme Ewe, NC Born and Bred Champion, and Champion Fleece. Georgette was born and raised on our farm.

Each of the boys won grand or reserve champion sheep showman too, and Isaac bought Astrid, his prized sheep…

Speaking of new animals, Callie Cat was rescued and has become my joy. She may be spoiled–complete with 9 collars.

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Hellos are always much more enjoyable than good-byes. After traveling over half the country, I dropped Garrett off in Nebraska to attend PhD school at UNL. Distance hasn’t been easy, but so worth it…

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I feel as if there are a thousand and one moments I should include here. However, this post is already long, and I can’t justify 365 days worth of reports. I will leave you with two final photos that show the love that I have been surrounded with this year, and the love that will forever surround me in future years.

December 31, 2017November 30, 2018 by ruralris Categories: agriculture, blog, Daily Farm Life, Family, Livestock Shows, Personal, photographyTags: 2017, best of 2017, fair, family, Life, livestock, photography, recap 2 Comments