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falling in love with summer

by Kaylah Stroup June 28, 2016

urban waterfall, ohio, waterfall, bedford reservation

I feel like I’ve shared my frustrations with summer many time before, or maybe I’ve just typed and deleted one million times. Basically it boils down to the fact that there is so much to do, and just not enough time… so I get stressed and end up doing nothing. Or maybe I plan to do something but realize, dang, it’s just way too hot for me. Both Jeff and I are complete weaklings in the heat. We wilt like flowers so most plans have to be taken care of early in the morning or in the late evening. I really do love summer, but it definitely stresses me out.

A week or so ago Jeff and I ended up stumbling across a waterfall while on a day trip to Columbus. It was a nice little hike and splashing around in the water was super refreshing! When we got back in the car it hit me, we should spend our summer checking out all the local waterfalls. Ohio probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think of waterfalls but surprisingly, we have A LOT of them.

Sunday morning I woke up to my phone vibrating. It was Jeff asking if I wanted to go check out a some falls at Bedford Reservation. Less than an hour later we were on our way! There were a handful to choose from but I thought Great Falls of Tinker’s Creek looked the most promising… and I was totally right! A very short hike from the parking lot is this gorgeous waterfall.

I wasn’t too interested in shooting the falls until I finally listened to Jeff and tried a long exposure. Part of me feels like long exposures of waterfalls are kind of played out, and result in the same exact shot that just about everyone else has ever taken but I always have to remind myself that just because someone else has probably taken a similar shot doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take my own. We actually sat in bed and talked about that subject for a great deal of time later that night.

Anyway, once I got started with the long exposures of the falls I didn’t want to stop! I only got a few shots before we left. Part of me considered just filing them away since I didn’t have enough for a full post on our falls adventure but I am really excited to share these and be able to look back on them at the end of summer to see how much my waterfall photography has hopefully improved. So I tossed in some photos from later in the day at my brother’s house. I think they all flow together pretty well. They’re not all waterfall shots but they do sum up a pretty perfect summer day.

Did you spot the tiny worm in the photo above?

Three waterfalls down for us so far this summer; Indian Run Falls, Paine Falls, and Great Falls of Tinkers Creek. (photographed above) Here’s to finding many more!
xoxo

on my deck – summer 2016 update

by Kaylah Stroup June 27, 2016

I’m going to be real with you here, since my last post about all the things growing on my deck, I’ve kind of been ignoring my plants. I barely watered them, didn’t really check on them, and basically tried to forget about them. This started after a few things didn’t go quite as planned. I had picked up two or three plants specifically because they were great candidates to tear apart and make more plants from. They were leggy which meant I could steal the leaves to propagate, leave the stem planted to grow some babies from there, and chop off the top to plant as is. Basically the whole plant failed. Stem died, leaves burnt, and the top rosette absorbed too much water. It broke my poor little spirit. I didn’t feel like putting any effort into them anymore.

Over the weekend I decided to get back outside, get everything cleaned up, and quit being a baby. Failing a few plants doesn’t mean I have a black thumb! I got rid of anything that was dead or dying (basically just some leaves I wanted to propagate) and I’m trying to nurture the things that were still growing despite my brief abandonment. I also rearranged my whole deck. I’m back at square one – obsessed!

I took all the leaves that were still growing and arranged them neatly.
Sometimes, when I have a huge number of them at once, I get bored with
laying them all out. It takes a great deal of time, and after a while
your hands start to feel big, dumb, and clumsy. But I’ve found that when
they are at least somewhat neatly organized I want to take better care
of them so taking the time is actually worth it.

It’s really encouraging to look back at the post from early June, and see how much everything has already started to fill in. It’s hard to notice that stuff in person when you see the plants all the time. I actually wasn’t sure anything had grown at all but I see definite changes which is very exciting. I honestly don’t think I’d be half as interested in my plants if I wasn’t able to compare before and after photos. Seriously – photograph your plants! It changes your mindset!

Below you can see one of my favorite plants, to the left of the tall cactus. That is THE perfect example of how the stem of a plant will product new babies after you remove the top. I can’t believe how much it’s grown since the beginning of the month. If I could just have a collection of things growing just like that I’d be all set! The leaves in the pot with it? Also growing stupendously! I recently shared a photo of them on instagram, check it out here.

So, have I convinced you to be a crazy succulent person yet too? Don’t worry, I probably will by the end of summer. 😉
xoxo

See here for tips on propagating succulents.
To see more photos of my plant collection browse the “plants” tag or follow me on instagram. I recently started using the hashtag #kaylahheartsplants.
See my tips for house plants here, and tips for healthy succulents here.

#flockCLE

by Kaylah Stroup June 23, 2016

crackingart, land studio, state bicycle co

I’m not sure how closely any of you out there follow politics, especially American politics (I am always blown away by how many international readers I have!) but the Republican National Convention is coming to Cleveland this summer. That doesn’t mean much to me personally, but I do realize this is a HUGE deal for the city. It’ll bring in tons of people, as well of lots and lots of revenue. Everyone is hustling to get ready for the influx of business. Bars have petitioned to stay open much later, businesses are hiring extra help, and the city itself is doing everything possible to get cleaned up. Most recently, and most exciting to me, has been the addition of public art!

CrackingArt, an Italian art collective, has done large installations all around the world and this summer, with the help of Land Studio, they brought some color to Cleveland! I’m passionate about a whole slew of random things including Cleveland,
and giant animal statutes. Well, this clearly combines them both! I could not be more excited to have these things in my city. I only wish they were permanent.

land studio, public art, cleveland ohio, crackingart

Earlier this week I took a quick ride down to the Great Lake Science Center, where one of the largest groups of the statues is located. When I first heard about the project, before seeing any photos, I was on the fence about whether or not I would like how it looked. It sounded a little crazy. After seeing them in person, and seeing how people interacted with them I’m smitten! I really enjoyed watching people take funny photos with them, and smiling at the sight of these colorful critters. They’re definitely bringing joy! I, of course, loved getting cool photos of my bike with them. They’re really neat, and I bet they look even more amazing at sunset since they’re right near the lake!

This is a little off track but it blows my mind how close I am to the science center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I remember visiting them before living here and it just taking foreverrrr to get there. Now it’s like “Hmmm, I guess I could take a quick ride down there.” It’s less than 3.5 miles! SO cool! I really, really love living in the city.

Prior to these last few months, Cleveland didn’t have too much in the way of public art. We do have little nooks with graffiti which the city I’m sure will do it’s best to eliminate before the RNC actually happens but seeing cities like Toronto makes me ache for more. Even if right now the big push is only to make our city look more approachable to a bunch of out-of-towners, I’m excited! Land Studio also recently helped organize another project where they brought in a bunch of amazing artists to line one of our train routes with huge murals. I have yet to go grab photos but when I do I will definitely share.

Thank you to Land Studio for doing great things for Cleveland. They’re just giant colorful animals but they add so much to the city.
xoxo

Lagoon Deer Park

by Kaylah Stroup June 21, 2016

Last week I took my annual trip to Lagoon Deer Park. It’s a deer petting zoo located in Sandusky, OH – and if you’ve never been to one please make it a priority! The set up is basically one massive pen that you’re allowed to walk in. Along the edges of that pen are a bunch of other pens with deer, llamas, goats, emu, etc. In the large part that you walk in there are usually twenty to thirty deer, maybe even more, that are free to roam. They’ll approach you, and you can feed them peanuts. It is magical. You feel like Snow White, just absolutely surrounded by deer who are so very interested in what you have for them! One of my favorite parts of this park is that it’s almost always empty. There has never been more than one other group of people there at the same time is me. Since 2013, I’ve been visiting this place and it’s still not losing it’s appeal… I mean, how could it?!

I normally head out in there in the fall but this year I wanted to visit a little bit earlier in the season in hopes of seeing some babies. As I walked around I was joined by a man who worked there. He gave me some grass to feed whatever animal wanted it (no one wanted it except a donkey who bit my finger!) and walked around with me for a bit pointing out different highlights. Normally I enjoy just being alone with my thoughts, and of course the deer here but it was like getting my own personal tour which was rad. He directed my attention to two barely one day old fawns that had been born the previous night. In the rocks they were easily looked over since with their spots they basically blended in. If you aren’t looking for them, you aren’t going to see them. I was disappointed they were in the cage where I couldn’t get close but excited to just be able to see them. I watched for a while as one little guy stood and took a few shaky steps and eventually laid back down. Those loooong legs are just too cute.

As as I walked out of the pen and back into the building to leave a man who works there, who I’ve seen every year, started up a conversation. “You’re back! Did you see the newborns?” I responded that I had been shown the ones in the back pen and that they were soooo cute. He said “Yeah, and the one right out there?” Whaaat? We walked back outside together and he pointed out a tiny fawn that I had apparently looked right over. I bolted over to it’s side and took a handful of photos that I’m just smitten with.

The babies were very very cute, obviously, but the little guy on the right hand side of the photo below was my absolute favorite of the day. He was apparently born last fall…and I think he might be one of the silliest looking little critters I have ever seen. I like that he’s really furry. He didn’t look like any of the other deer there. He had these scrawny little legs with knobby knees and oversized feet. I was reminded of Dr. Seuss. Don’t you just want to eat him up!?

Lagoon Deer Park, Ohio, Sandusky, Petting Zoo

The photo below was originally hanging out in the middle of this post but it definitely seemed a little out of place but I couldn’t not share it…because emu are terrifying. I guess I’ve never really paid all that much attention to them but I stood there and stared at these beasts for so long just trying to take them all in. They’re like dinosaurs but they also look like handpuppets? I don’t know! Definitely one of those animals that you’re like of like “how is it real? kinda of seems made up…” Giraffes also fall into that category.

As always, if you live ANYWHERE near Sandusky, Ohio – you have to visit Lagoon Deer Park.
xoxo

Orange Hogsback Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup June 16, 2016

Summer is supposed to be the most fun time of the year but it’s almost always the busiest which kind of makes it not so fun. Finding time to hang out with everyone lately has been hard. I’ve been that friend that is like “we HAVE to do something. I don’t care what it is, just something! It’s imperative!” So last week along with getting ice cream twice (seriously, my favorite way to meet up with friends) we did some long overdue geocaching.

We had plans to head to a cute little town not too far away that has a waterfall, hoping there would be lots of caches there but on the way I was browsing the app and found a cache in a cemetery. Geocaches in cemeteries combine two of my favorite things – cemeteries + finding treasure so I suggested we stop in and look for it.

The cache turned out to be a quick fairly easy find but the cemetery itself was a real treat. Nestled in the woods, you’d never know it was there if you weren’t out looking for it. We actually drove right by it and had to turn around. Orange Hogsback Cemetery has a total of sixty two permanent residents. The oldest we found dated back to 1813. That’s ninety nine years before the Titanic sunk!!!*

While someone else signed the log for everyone, I darted around taking photos. I had no intention of taking any photos when we got there, let alone enough for a post but it was such a wonderful location. Not to mention, it was a beautiful evening- not too hot, not too cool. I feel like the photos captured that. Clovers always feel like summer to me. The grass just looks so soft I want to crawl into the photos with a blanket and a book and spend all day relaxing.

If you haven’t tried out geocaching yet, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s such a fun hobby and a most excellent way to discover hidden gems. If I had never started I wouldn’t have found my new favorite beach or this wonderful cemetery! Plus it’s an awesome excuse to get your friends together.
xoxo

*When I was in grade school I was really into learning about the Titanic. While I was a hair too young to watch the movie without my mom covering my eyes when it came out, I still pored over every book I could find on that big boat. I don’t really remember much of what I learned about it but the year it sunk is still clearly ingrained in my head so it’s often how I compare history dates.

17-year cicadas – Brood V

by Kaylah Stroup June 14, 2016

More cicadas today! Woo! A few weeks back I shared photos of my first encounter with the 17-year cicadas that recently emerged in my little corner of Ohio. See here. I hadn’t seen any more since but really wanted to find some. Mickey pointed out on instagram a few days ago that the next time these guys will be around she’d be in her forties. At first I was like “Nuh-uhhhh!” (Our birthdays are only a few days apart.) Then I realized, yep, in seventeen years we’ll both be forty two. While it may not be entirely accurate that we won’t see them again until then since sometimes there are stragglers that will appear up to four years early, I definitely won’t be seeing these guys with this great of numbers again for a long time… even then, will I still be living in this part of US at forty two!? Either way, this is a seriously awesome event to experience.

Last week Jeff and I went on a hike with his sister, and her son. She mentioned that she wanted to see some cicadas and had seen a post on instagram by the Nature Realm that were were a lot of them emerging along their trails. So after lunch (and making the baby cry in the photobooth) we headed over to the trails to get our sweat on. My love / hate relationship with summer is going strong!

As soon as we got out of the car you could hear the cicadas! We followed the trail in a direction where the sound seemed to get louder with every step. There was a girl taking photos with iPhone of something on a leaf but as soon as we got close she scurried away and that was when we started noticing them…everywhere!

When I found all the cidadas at the cemetery there were a lot, definitely more than I’ve ever seen with any annual emergence, but this was different. At the cemetery it was kind of like I showed up late to the party. There weren’t many adults remaining. They’d already flown off to find mates or had been eaten by predators. At the park there were just tons and tons of adults. I guess there was no sense in leaving since the area was ripe with potential mates and trees perfect for laying their eggs in.

I found myself wanting to photograph individuals because they’re just sooo cool looking but really wanted to capture photos that showed how many there were! I don’t know how well I’m really portraying with my words how many cicadas there are out right now but hope that my photos can help emphasize the sheer madness of it all. They were everywhere. It was so noisy. It’s something similar to sirens off in the distance, except lots and lots of sirens, and very close. They were flying around every which way you looked, landing on any and every thing. I highly doubt there was a person in the park that day that didn’t at some point have at least one on them.

If you’re in the area, I can’t recommend getting out to one of our beautiful metroparks enough. Even if you don’t particularly like bugs, you have to admit their life cycle is pretty neat. If you’re interested in reading more about these guys, Cicada Mania
is a great resource! There is a ton of information. Finally, if you’re curious
when the periodical cicadas will be emerging in your area, this site has an easy to read chart.
xoxo

Lomo’Instant review

by Kaylah Stroup June 9, 2016

lomography, instant photo, instant photography

My passion for instant photography runs deeeeep. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love it! There really is nothing that beats the thrill of an immediate physical photo you can pass around to all your friends. So when Lomography reached out to ask if I’d like to review their Lomo’Instant Honolulu Edition, a camera I had been admiring for a while, I was more than excited. On top of that, they offered to host a giveaway for y’all but more on that in a bit. First, lets talk about this nifty camera!

What is it? The Lomo’Instant was designed by the fine folks over at Lomography and brought to life by kickstarter backers in 2014. They wanted to build the ultimate instant camera! The Lomo’Instant uses Fujifilm Instax Mini film, which is readily available not only online but in lots of stores, including Target! With this camera you can shoot long exposures, unlimited multiple exposures, or add color gels to the flash. There is even a front mirror for selfies! Basically, the possibilities for what you can do with the Lomo’Instant are endless!

There are three extra lenses available for this beauty including fisheye, portrait, and close-up. The kit includes directions for not only the camera but each of the three lens, as well as sample photos. The sample photos are true to the size your actual photos will be. On the back of each photo there are some tips on how to replicate a similar shot as well as the settings used. I found this to be super handy, especially considering the fact this camera has a bit of a learning curve.

The bottom of the camera even has what each symbol on the camera means and when you should use that setting! It’s incredibly useful when you’re on the go and seem to have forgotten everything you just read up on in the instruction booklet. *Ahem*

So far I’ve shot through two packs of film with my Lomo’Instant. I’ve found the camera to be a bit of a challenge – a fun challenge though! You definitely have to plan your shot (against the rules of Lomography!) Even then, despite all the different controls, the photos do remain fairly unpredictable. I don’t think I would recommend this camera for people who are impatient, who aren’t interested in experimenting or who expect to get the perfect shot every single time. You definitely need a bit of patience here.

If you’re open to playing around, and possibly shooting some things that aren’t exactly what you imagined when you composed the shot then by all means, get yourself a Lomo’Instant! While not everything that I shot turned out very nicely, the ones that did came out even better than expected. You can’t use this camera expecting to take photos that will rival your DSLR, or even your iPhone for that matter. What you can expect are lots of happy accidents! The bottom line is that it’s a super cute camera that is a blast to experiment with.

Below are some examples of what I shot. The one of Klaus (my puppy dog, if you’re new here) and the abandoned building ended up being my absolute favorite despite the fact I did not even plan that shot. Just turned the camera on and released the shutter without looking through the viewfinder.

lomography, lomo instant, instax mini film

lomography, photography, camera review, instant photo

xoxo

on my deck – summer 2016

by Kaylah Stroup June 6, 2016

Last year was my first year in this apartment with it’s cozy little second floor porch. When the weather warmed up, I moved my plants that weren’t looking so hot outside since my office was getting crowded. Much to my surprise, they thrived. After that I ended up moving the rest of my plants outside as well. Everything flourished! On top of that I learned to propagate. It’s safe to say, last year was a good year for me as a gardener. I grew a lot of plants, and I learned a lot about those plants.

Ohio winters are cold, duh!, so all my plants had to come in for the year when the temperatures started to drop again. Almost everything survived the season but they were definitely suffering the consequences of less light. A lot of them had grown dull and leggy. I was anxiously awaiting the day I could trim everything back, pluck off leaves for propagation, and get my plants their color back.

Well, summer weather has officially hit here in Cleveland. With temperatures in the 80’s, this is the perfect weather for my plants. I finally kinda sorta organized my little collection and thought it’d be fun to share some photos of them at the beginning of the season. Plants change so drastically over a season but it happens so slowly that if you’re checking them every single day you might not notice. That’s the number one reason I take so many photos of my plants. I mean, other than the fact that they’re gorgeous. It’s encouraging to be able to compare two photos and see how big they’re getting. So here’s what they’re starting off June looking like…

Right after I took everything outside we got a few big rains which I’m pretty sure killed a handful of the leaves I had laid out to propagate. It’s a bummer but not all that big of a deal considering how many others I have growing. I seriously have more leaves than I can shake a stick at. If you’re in the CLE area and would like to trade some babies, by all means holler! We can get coffee and swap succulents!

Other than that, in the short amount of time they’ve been outside everything seems to be really perking up. They LOVE the sunshine and I sure love the variety of colors I’ve got going on out there. I kind of wish I had a better way to display everything other than on my only table and a side table but since I’m hoping *fingers crossed so hard* to move before summer’s end I don’t really want to invest in anything I might not be able to use in another apartment. Things will get even more out of hand once some of my babies get a little larger too. Oh well, it’s not going to stop me from growing even more plants, and purchasing interesting ones I stumble upon.

Last year I shared a similarly title post, on the deck, with photos of what I had growing at the time. You can spot a lot of the same plants from that post in this one, although many of the succulents are unrecognizable due to me stealing their leaves to grow more plants. One in particular I find interesting is the big cactus. I didn’t realize just how much that thing had grown! I’m considering transplanting it to it’s own pot since it’s doing SO well.

Other than all these crazy plants, I’m also growing some herbs which are gosh darn life changing. Fresh basil is the bomb dot com. I’m basically putting it on everything I cook. It’s so delicious and I swear food tastes twice as good when you know that something you grew yourself is in it. What are you guys growing this year?

I’m sure I’ll be back next month, or sooner, with an update on these guys. Hope you’re prepared for a summer of succulent photos!
xoxo

17-year cicadas – Brood V

by Kaylah Stroup May 31, 2016

Pssst. If you’re not a fan of bugs, you might want to skip this one. I’d rather you scrolled on by than left a comment saying how “gross” this is! 😉

You guys know I like cicadas, right? I have a giant one tattooed on my leg! This obsession started a few years ago when I found a bunch of them in the quiet little cemetery where I often took outfit photos. Look at this lil baby Kaylah! I was / am just enthralled by what neat critters they are.

It’s actually been a few years since I spotted any despite always keeping my eyes peeled. So when the news that the 17-year cicadas would be emerging this year I was stoked! All the news stations around here are covering it, which piqued my interest even more. Of course, there was the chance that the new stations were doing what they do best, exaggerating stories to make them more appealing, but after a little bit of research I figured I better get my butt out there to look or else I’d have to wait another seventeen years for this grand event to happen again!

I wasn’t quite sure where to look but randomly happened to check the Cleveland Metroparks website. They had a whole page on cicadas and just my luck, they were hosting a few cicada walks where you could go, meet up with a group, and look for them together. That’s not really my style but they did list the locations of where they’d be meeting so I figured that was probably the best place to start looking, right?

I drove to a park a half hour away, and huffed and puffed my way around the trail. I found nothing. Hot, sweaty, and annoyed, I called my mom – “Have you seen any cicadas yet?!” I figured since they live in a heavily wooded area my parents would have spotted some if they were out but there were none there yet either.

I hopped back in my car and decided since I was already out and about I’d see if there were any garden centers near by. Google told me my local favorite garden center chain had a location about ten minutes away so I started to head that direction. On my way there I happened upon a cemetery. It looked sufficiently old and I thought if I couldn’t shoot what I came out to shoot I could at least take some photos of a new cemetery. I pulled in and immediately noticed something on the tree. I let out a victorious “hell yeah!”, threw my car in park, grabbed my camera bag, and darted over to the tree. Cicadas everywhere. The tree was covered. They were on headstones. You could barely walk without stepping on them.

white cicada, cicada, ohio, brood v, 2016, 17 year

It’s so incredible to me that these little guys hang out underground for 17 years then when the conditions are right (ground temperatures have reached 64 degrees Fahrenheit) they emerge to molt. Nature is too cool!

Something you may notice from these photos is that a lot of the cicadas had shriveled up wings. If they aren’t able hang downward after emerging they won’t form properly. There are a couple photos in this post, third from top, and second from bottom, that show how the wings are crinkled when they first emerge. This can also be caused by cicadas trampling each other. You can see in the photo above there one decided that directly on top of another was a good place to molt. It seemed like the majority of the adults who had finished drying after molting and stuck around had damaged wings. Judging by the number of abandoned exoskeletons laying around quite a few had already left the immediate area and presumably had fully formed wings.

Super awesome, right?! I’m really stoked about my photos but a little disappointed I didn’t think to take a couple shots that show the just how many there were. I mainly shot individuals as opposed to the whole scene. Hopefully this won’t be the last big group of them I see this year though. I’m planning out going out to look for them in a few other areas where and I’ve got my fingers crossed!

If you’re interested in reading more about these guys, Cicada Mania is a great resource! There is a ton of information. If you’re curious when the periodical cicadas will be emerging in your area, this site has an easy to read chart.
xoxo

Weird fact : I’ve only found cicadas in cemeteries. I’ve literally never seen a single outside of a cemetery. I tried to research this and see if I could find any information on why this might be but I came up empty handed. Is it the kind of tree which happens to be popular in cemeteries? Softer ground? They’re actually performing witchcraft underground for seventeen years?! I have no idea but it’s pretty interesting.

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