Nature – Page 36 – This is Another Story

A pretty tree on my way to the park

Someone is taking great care of the park

Apples from the tree at one of the rental property (the house by the park)

Beautiful white rose poking out of someone’s yard

Morning Glory

A look into the neighborhood

Dandelion – close-up

Two Miles Walk

Published on July 30, 2015August 9, 2015 by Yinglan28 Comments

My mom has this horrible habit that really pick on my nerve. She picks the worst time to do anything, which it’s whenever I’m busy doing my stuff (studying, blogging, writing etc). I tell her “not right now.” She would reply, “Yes, right now.”

This past week, she had been picking my TV time to make me go for a walk with her. Hello, I’m in the middle of something! Besides, I hate going out right before nightfall. That’s when all the bugs come out and I always end up getting bit by something. I asked why we can’t go earlier, her answer was “because it’s too hot.”

There is nothing hot about this summer. The temperatures of most days have been in the 80’s which is cool for the summer.

Another thing I don’t like about these walks is that she walks fast. Her pace is always too fast for walking yet too slow for jogging. She also likes to talk while walking. I can barely catch my breath with that pace. If I walked just a tad slower, she’d immediately assume I can’t keep up. She wouldn’t slow down but instead she would begin blaring me with mean words.

If you don’t start exercising, you’d be dead at 33. I don’t care. I’ll just get the insurance money and you can go join your dad and step-dad.
If you don’t start exercising, how do you expect to face your relatives when you go back to China?
If you don’t start exercising, your legs will be thick like an elephant leg.
Look at your legs, they are paler than that of a pig.

Why would anyone say such terrible, offensive, and hurtful things?

Tonight, I really want to watch TV, my favorite show’s on and I’ve been waiting an entire week to watch it. So to satisfy her, I went for a two mile walk this morning and because my mom doesn’t really trust anyone these days, I took some pictures for proof but I know it won’t matter. She will just say, “I don’t care. Your death is your problem.” Ouch! 😦

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Close Up

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Inspiration

Fruits

Published on July 25, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan13 Comments

This is a close up on the Asian Pears so far. Hopefully, it will survive until harvest because we had quite a few broken branches lately due to high wind. I watched the weather report a few days and the weatherman said it’s supposed to rain in the upcoming week. Hopefully, that’s true. The weatherman hasn’t been very accurate lately.

It’s not even harvest yet and we’ve already had a loss of apples, branches snapping off due to wind and the weight. These are fairly recent but they grow fast, don’t they. I realize I’ve mostly just showing pictures of the berry bushes and not much of the apples or Asian Pear trees, so here it is.

Finally, here is a plate of blackberries from a few days ago. There have been two other batches since then. If the berry harvest continues, I think I will be super tired of berries by the end of the summer.

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Close Up

Summer Harvest

Published on July 15, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan12 Comments

So here are some pictures from the recent harvest of blackberries. I have a suspicion there is a lot to come.

My mom picked these. I told her to only pick the ones that are black as coal but she didn’t believe me. After all, what do I know? I’ve only been the sole harvester of blackberries for last three years or so.

“Whatever,” she said and popped a red one into her mouth.

“I told you,” I sighed as I watched her squeeze her eyes shut like she had just drunk a spoonful of apple cider vinegar. “The red ones are extremely sour.” I told her afterwards.

That’s why it’s called blackberries and not red berries because they are only sweet when it’s black. I think she had learned her lesson though, just like I learned mine back in 2012. I guess there’s always a first time for everything.

Here is a close-up on the blackberries bushes. It’s just a matter of time before these ripen and are ready to be picked.

There is! One ripened blackberry. They are sweet as sugar.

Just to give you a perspective of the amount of berries in the backyard. This is just a fraction. I thought after my aunt botched the pruning last fall, we would have less berries or none at all this year but instead, we have more. It is incredible.

Here are the watermelons my mom planted about two weeks back. Look at how much they’ve grown. Apparently, watermelons like heat and water. That’s probably why people love it so much in the summer. I am so looking forward to this harvest.

Finally, while the roses are taking a break, the dahlias are blooming in the front yard. Not a lot though, after all, we have just planted them last Summer. It’ll take a little time to grow. This flower has been around for about a week or two and that is already longer than the roses.

Symbol of Friendship

…black and white spots

Summer 2008

Symbol of Nature

A Mix Reflection and Symbols

Published on July 11, 2015November 22, 2015 by Yinglan2 Comments

So I have been busy all day and didn’t get to write at all. What about the story I posted this morning? That was just a little something I put together yesterday. Continue reading “A Mix Reflection and Symbols” →

Photo101: Glass

Published on July 2, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan2 Comments

When I was looking at these pictures for the first time, they looked like what an astronaut would see if they looked out the window of their space capsule. Except for the rose bush, it looked sort of like that to me.

Tell me, do you see it too?

Photo101: Landscape

Published on June 28, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan2 Comments

I take a lot of landscape shots but I rarely take panoramic picture. It’s just too time-consuming and having shaking hands do not help. However, when I can’t resist, I would spend however long to take a perfect panorama.

For some of you, you may remember this picture from last Christmas. This picture is about as perfect as I can make a panorama turn out. It took me five tries and about 30 minutes to take this single shot. It’s worth it though because I’m pretty sure they only decorate this area at Christmas. It is the scene when everyone gather to witness the birth of Jesus Christ.

I did not and am not going to crop this picture because then, it would destroy the purpose of a panoramic picture.

I have also prepare the following pictures to show but I don’t have anything to say about them. They are just some picture I took during one of my walks in the park.

Photo101: Architecture and Monochrome

Published on June 28, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan1 Comment

I was actually dreading this assignment because there are really not much architecture around here that’s worth showing in color let alone in black and white. Now that the project at my other job complete, I just have to go to work once a week to update the inventory and I never bring my camera for that. Then this morning, as I was digging around in search of some landscape pictures, I came across these. They aren’t much but I’m sure they belong in the category of some sort of architecture. Continue reading “Photo101: Architecture and Monochrome” →

Withered English Tea Rose

Fresh + Withered English Tea Roses

My Muse

Published on June 27, 2015August 9, 2015 by Yinglan16 Comments

I am definitely obsessed with taking pictures of flowers, plants, and landscapes. What can I say? Those are the only things here.

At the moment, though, I don’t really have any landscapes pictures worthy of showing. So I will just stick with flowers. I took these just three days ago and since then, I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of them. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Before I go, can someone please tell me the name of those pink flowers? I honestly don’t know. Thank you. 🙂

Response to Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Muse

Observation From My Walks

Published on June 26, 2015August 9, 2015 by Yinglan8 Comments

Originally, this was published under Photo101. The original title was: Photo101: Observation. Therefore, below are the original texts:

Since I don’t know what scale means, at least in terms of photography, I’ll just do observation.

From what I understand, observation is something we see and typically, the camera captures more or less than what we see. For example, in the picture above, my eyes are paying attention on the path several feet ahead while the camera captures the entire scene, no matter how I adjust it. I’m not sure if this is making sense to anybody. Ugh, I suck at explaining things. Anyway, the same goes for the picture below.

Did I achieve the goal of the assignment? Yes? No? Maybe?

Anyway, now, looking back, I think these pictures are great for the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Beneath Your Feet.

Photo101: Play with Light

Published on June 26, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan2 Comments

I wish I had shown this picture for yesterday’s prompt because it was taken a little more than a hour after the sun had risen. At the time (April), the sun didn’t rise until a little after seven. Continue reading “Photo101: Play with Light” →

Photo101: Moment and Motion

Published on June 24, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan4 Comments

This is a picture of the University of Utah fountain. Continue reading “Photo101: Moment and Motion” →

Photo101: A Pop of Color

Published on June 23, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan14 Comments

So I haven’t really had the opportunity to go out and take some new photographs since mom has decided to only work one day a week now that she’s getting closer to being laid-off. It affect me going outside and taking pictures because she doesn’t believe in taking pictures without people in it. Continue reading “Photo101: A Pop of Color” →

Red Roses

Orange Pumpkin Pie

Yellow Tulip

Green leaves with pink elephant ear roses

Yellowstone Lake

I guess this can be classify as violet, right?

I can’t tell, violet or indigo

Rainbow and More…

Published on June 20, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan9 Comments

Last night, I sat in my new basement bedroom and looked around. I see a variety of things that fit the criteria of Roy G. Biv. But under this bright florescent lighting, the photos do not turn out so good. Therefore, I have decided to again, go to my archive and dig. I’ll show more later, if I have time. Enjoy. Continue reading “Rainbow and More…” →

Photo101: Warmth

Published on June 18, 2015November 24, 2015 by YinglanLeave a comment

It’s quite hard to capture something using the sun as the source of light, I think. I’ve tried in the past as you can see in the picture below. It is a picture of the sun on a cloudy day. I was pulling the camera to its maximum zoom (3-times). That’s why everything else look like it’s taken with a cheap phone camera. Continue reading “Photo101: Warmth” →

Photo101: Natural Worlds

Published on June 17, 2015August 13, 2015 by Yinglan15 Comments

Talk about an easy task. Even though I don’t interact with nature much especially these days, when I step out of the house and something immediately bites me all over but that doesn’t mean I have to be stuck in the house all day long. Therefore, early morning yesterday, while my mom ran to the post office, I took the opportunity and went out to the garden to take some close-up pictures, hoping I can use them for the POV assignment but this is better.

I tweaked this picture just a little bit with Pixlr, a photo-editing app I use but it is a macro picture. Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to what you’re looking at? Hint: it’s a vegetable you eat almost every day, that is, if you eat vegetable.

It looks like the apples from the combination apple tree is coming in nicely. We are going to have lots of apples this year. This is just the Golden Delicious branch. We’ve got Granny Smith, Fuji, and Honeycrisp. All in one tree!

Lastly, blackberries! Last summer, I remember I was harvesting them like I had just harvested snow peas. I think this year will be more or less the same.

Of the three pictures, I am most in love with the blackberry picture. I think the effect I’ve chosen really suits the picture well. Without this effect, the color would look way too bright and the picture would be missing that, oh I can describe it, element.

480 Gallons of Weeds Enveloping the Yard

Published on May 15, 2015February 25, 2023 by Yinglan20 Comments

I should be studying at the moment but I can’t concentrate, not with mom babbling on the phone downstairs. Even if my door’s closed, I can still hear her.

The other thing is, my legs are itching like crazy and no matter what I put on it, it wouldn’t help. Last night, I put some Tiger Balm on it and this morning, it looked slightly better. I sat up in bed and brushed my finger against it and uh oh, I reactivated the itchiness.

This week, as I complained enough, I spent the afternoons on Monday and Tuesday at the rental property cleaning the backyard. Our tenant didn’t care that the grass in the backyard was a foot high or the fact that weeds had taken over the vegetable patch.

It took me two days just to clean up the vegetable patch. We accumulated sixteen 30-gallon bags of garbage. I got the pictures as well as the marks on my arms and legs to prove it.

These are the before and after pictures of the vegetable patch. I should’ve taken pictures on the first day but I forgot the camera. You can see three of the sixteen bag of weeds in the after-photo. It was madness. Vines, weeds, and dandelions enveloped the area.

My mom’s kicking the tenant out next month. Why? He’s unappreciative, that’s why.

She complained that after all the hard work we did, not only did the tenant not say thank you but he wants to modify his lease from one-year to month-to-month. All because of what? All because he’s still pissed because mom didn’t notify him first before helping him to mow the lawn that’s why. He said we invaded his privacy and threatened to sue.

Have you seen a more ungrateful person in your life?

The least you can do is say thank you but instead, you used the law against us. Mom said, “At least I’m a tolerable woman, otherwise, I would kicked kicked him out this second.”

Uh, I don’t think constantly complaining to me is consider really tolerable. Anyway, I just want to show you the before and after pictures. You can click on each one to enlarge. This is before.

After…

So much better, right? And here’s the garbage.

Now if you’ll excuse me, have to go study. 🙂

The Impact of a Mountain Range

Published on May 11, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan11 Comments

I took Utah Geography a few years ago, it was filled with hard work (typically university level classes). Continue reading “The Impact of a Mountain Range” →

Forces of Nature

Published on May 8, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan4 Comments

For this week’s photo challenge: Forces of Nature. Continue reading “Forces of Nature” →

#AtoZChallenge – Y For Yellow

Published on April 30, 2015November 23, 2015 by Yinglan2 Comments

An obvious choice, isn’t it?

I went out into the garden yesterday. The storm from two weeks ago and last week had managed to kill all the blossoms. Though the trees grew tremendously, there was nothing but leaves. I doubt there’ll be fruit this year. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – Y For Yellow” →

#AtoZChallenge – S/T For San Francisco/Turtles

Published on April 23, 2015November 25, 2015 by Yinglan16 Comments

I’m combining S and T so I don’t have to write another post. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – S/T For San Francisco/Turtles” →

Rainbow

Published on April 20, 2015November 24, 2015 by Yinglan6 Comments

This photograph was taken right outside my home on May 15, 2013 at approximately 8 pm.

I know, it’s a bit weird that it’s still quite bright outside but that’s what time on the photo said.

A storm had just ended that day and a rainbow appeared. Where I live, a rainbow isn’t a rare event. I’ve seen a rainbow maybe five or six times in the eight years since I’ve moved here. I think I saw a little bit of the rainbow after a summer storm last year but it was too small for me to capture it on camera.

I didn’t exactly want to go outside with the humidity and all but my mom insisted I go and snap a picture of the rainbow. It was one of the few times the rainbow was right outside my home. Some of the rainbows I’ve seen was when we were driving home and I didn’t have a camera with me. I have to say I’m glad I did manage to capture this one. Otherwise, I would have nothing to write for today’s prompt.

#AtoZChallenge – P For Park City

Published on April 18, 2015November 25, 2015 by Yinglan4 Comments

At times, I really wish my mom would go on more of those training where she’s not allow to call home. Like when she went to basic training, the only thing I got during that period was a long hand-written letter, the first I’ve gotten since coming to the U.S which was nice. Continue reading “#AtoZChallenge – P For Park City” →

#AtoZChallenge – N For Natural Wonders

Published on April 16, 2015November 25, 2015 by Yinglan7 Comments

The state of Utah has a lot of natural wonders. It was once the breeding grounds for dinosaurs (no kidding). Archaeologists are still finding dinosaurs fossils out in the desert. Three years ago, when my family came to visit, I had the pleasure to go and see the brand new exhibits at the recently re-opened Natural History Museum.

One of the many completed fossils on display

Just look at the length of the dinosaur’s neck!

Beside dinosaurs, Utah also has five National Parks, all with characteristics of its own. My favorites would have to be Canyonland and Arches National Park. I’ve been Zion National Park but I didn’t get to see much due to the my family’s whining. So I didn’t get to see much. Oh well, next time.

Arches National Park is made of a lot of arches and every one is different from the next. What’s so cool about them is they are all made from hundreds and maybe thousands of years of wind erosion. Just the thought that these arches were made by nature made them even more amazing to look at.

Delicate Arch

Canyonland National Park, on the other hand, used to be an ocean before the Pacific receded to California coastline. Just think, this is what the bottom of the ocean look like.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini-tour of the natural wonders I’ve seen in the past few years and thanks for reading. 🙂