A little fun in the woods

Around Christmas last year, my Grandaughter Ariel and I thought it would be fun to each take some toys and photograph them.  We'd set them up and take the photo, then send it to each other with an explanation of what was happening in the picture.

See Making Up Stories from March of this year.  Of course I began to add little toys to the My Little Ponies we both had started to use.

The one character we've had the most fun with is Doe.  Doe is always trying to find a good place to live and she is always making terrible decisions.
Like the time that Stinky was 'horrified' to find out that Doe had decided she would live in a parking lot.

Well things happened this year and I sort of dropped the ball on hiking in the woods with a pocket full of toys.
I just didn't have time.

The other day I went to get groceries in town and I decided to check out the resale shop.  I wandered around their 'new' store front  and thought to myself, boy it stinks in here and everything is crammed in.
I was looking for jeans, I like finding them for $2.  For farm work, they are just fine.

Anyway I turned around and a display amongst the clutter caught my eye. Trolls.
I hadn't had trolls since I was in Jr. High.  I'd gotten my first troll in 1965 and it had coal black hair.  They provided endless hours of play.

Well that brings me back to this display.  Everything flashed through my mind and suddenly I found myself carefully looking at the trolls.  I wanted the old ones, not the newer soft mushy ones.  I ended up... with two.   At $1.00 per troll, I was pretty tickled.

And this afternoon I thought I'd take Morris for a short walk and look for Indian Pipes.  I grabbed my camera bag and the trolls off from the table.

I paused when I put the trolls into the bag, sitting in the extra space was Doe One and Doe Two.  Doe Two filled in when I temporarily misplace Doe One for a couple of months....

Picture me carefully crouching on the forest floor and trying to figure out if the canopy of leaves will make the scene too dark, or will the breeze blow the leaves and brighten things up?
I set everything up and then....
PHOTO BOMB!

Morris who is never interested in anything I am doing in the past 11 years, decides to smell the trolls and then push them over with his nose.

I take Doe One and Doe Two and set them back up with the trolls and chastise Morris.  He blinks at me and then marks a plant to tell me what he thinks of me.

We achieve success and the lighting cooperates just fine.

I'm finally happy to say that Doe has found a home with the Wood Troll and the Wild Troll.  I don't know...does the look on the rainbow haired troll just look a bit crazier to you? Wild Troll looks like he is trippin'.  Just saying.

Wood Troll seems more sane and subdued.

I put the Trolls and the Does in my camera bag and stood up, brushing my pants off.
I smiled and zipped them up safely and began to think of what sort of adventures they may all have together.

The sun was low in the sky and it was time to go home.  I smiled to myself, half expecting to hear my mom call me in for supper.

No, I was all grown up.  Well let's think about that, who is all grown up that plays with toys in the woods?

I whistled for Morris and we started down the trail that would lead us back to the farm.  Both of us were happy.

I'd also found what I'd originally came out to find.  Indian Pipes....

It was a good afternoon after all.