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We spent a lot of time this summer watching the clouds overhead, trying to pick out objects as they floated by.
Imagine my surprise as I looked out the window at breakfast and spied this Moose In The Tree!
Now I can't NOT see it.
Ddd
The other day my hubby called me to come look at the HUGE fungus growing off the side of some cement steps at the side of the house. Holy Smokes! This thing was at least 10 inches across.
Those perfectly round holes in it are a mystery but it kinda makes this look like a big face.
It's a little disconcerting - am I right?
Went out after a couple of days to see if it had grown bigger and it was completely shriveled up.
A true mystery.
Ddd
For a day that started out with an extremely foggy sunrise...
...yesterday turned into a stunningly sunny and warm day. In fact, the weather is so unseasonably warm that one local station coined the term June-uary for it. Clever!
We took advantage of it for some outdoor recreation. First we went to a local park to feed the ducks...
...and the geese
and then took a stroll down by the river where we watched some band fishermen pull three large fish out. Good Job!
Some river views were too good to let pass without recording them
Now, this was the strangest thing we saw all day...
At this shelter in the park there must have been over a dozen individuals in cobbled together 'medevial' costumes: shields, wooden swords, a lance, a bow carrying arrowl that looked more like plungers, robes, capes, a variety of headdresses, and one guy with a beard down past his waist made out of bright pink yarn! When we first spotted them they were just assembling here but later, as we were leaving the park we spotted them out in the open area of the park having a battle. We laughed till our sides hurt!
On the way back to the car we stopped at the skate park and watched the youngsters doing tricks on razor skooters, skateboards, and bikes. Quite impressive, really.
After a trip to the library we trundled on home and finished the day with a barbeque of hamburgers on the grill.
Yep, it's January!
Ddd
We live in an area where the birds don't migrate away for the winter so we see a wide variety year-round. In fact, last year, during the ice storms and freezing temperatures of January and February we had hummingbirds trying to peck through the ice on frozen feeders. We started bringing the feeders in at night to thaw, warming the nectar in the microwave in the morning and putting it back in the feeder for the day.
In any case, this little bird was hanging out on the garden fence just after the rain the other afternoon. I love how the light is caught by the netting and spills across his back.
What a sweet little visitor.
Ddd
Just walking along the sidewalk outside the library and my eye is caught by a little 'manhole' cover. It is probably 10 inches across and has these two holes side by side. There is a little dimple right in the center and by some strange chance a seed pod off a tree has settled across the bottom. That one random thing has instantly turned it into a little face!
It made me smile. Do I have a camera? No. Is there anyone around I can show it to? No. But it is so cute.... Oh, yeah, my phone takes pictures.
So I got out my flip phone and took a shot of it and hit the SAVE so I could show it when I got home. I even thought I might be able to get it off to my computer. Turns out I have the perfect combination of 'dumb phone, dumb plan' and I can't transfer, email, post, anything. I can JUST make calls.
So I ponder my little picture and there is a button for OPTIONS. One of them is to make the picture the wallpaper. Tah Dah! Now I see this cute little face every time I look at my phone screen (all 1.25 inches square of it) and every time - it makes me smile.
So how did I get this to show you? I had to use my regular camera to take a picture of the screen of my phone! Lame technology.
Ddd
We went on a 'nature walk' the other day to the local 'environmental center' on a college campus. It is, disappointingly, getting overgrown and looks pretty scrungy. But we did happen upon the observatory that is next to it and I took a few photos of that.
It's sad when the man-made is more photogenic than the natural elements.
Ddd
I so enjoy the fall colors! Every year we make a special trip in to town to view 'THE TREE'. Anyone who has lived here through the season knows about the one enormous maple tree that has the best color ever. But it's a challenge to see it at its peak because one day it is green, then yellow, then WHAM it is flaming orange and a couple of days later every single leaf is on the ground. It's like little elves go out in the night and pick them all of and throw them down.
So, when I can see it at that peak time it is quite a treat:
The other spectacular tree is right in our front yard. We actually have THREE maple trees in the yard. One turns yellow, one turns brown, and this one on the end goes nuts with color. It is so close to the house that the side that turns color is over the roof so it is hard to photograph.
You can see it's not quite 'there' yet, but it will be soon. FALL IS HERE, can winter be far behind?
Ddd
I looked out the window at dusk the other day and spied this tree full of creepy birds. I wish the tree had more bare branches as it would make a great Halloween picture. I did play with the color and contrast in my photo editing software, too.
Creepy, huh?
Ddd
....because it is MY mother's Easter basket! It's been a while since I did any photography just for the artistic sake of it and this made such a great subject. I thought if I had some good photos from this session I could print them out for use on cards.
The basket contained fresh flowers and a butterfly on a pick. I added the little nest and bird that I had on the window sill.
I took these in the natural light of the garden window.
Ddd
After our travel in the tropics we awoke our first morning home to a regular foggy daybreak. Here are a few views from the deck:
Awesome!
Ddd
City view from the ship:
Love the architecture here:
Ddd
View of the island from the ship:
You'd think this paint would be so loud it would keep you up at night!
Again - lots of beautiful foliage and flowers:
Ddd
The water views were spectacular. I found nothing in town to recommend it.
The flowers are beautiful wherever you go, though:
Ddd
The most remarkable thing about Dominica is the lush greenery and the mist covered mountains.
The architecture ranges from grand to squalid - side by side.
Ddd
The port of St Thomas is old and very crowded. It is also quite colorful.
These are some random photos taken while we were in Puerto Rico:
I didn't realize until I reviewed my photos that I had taken pictures of churches in every port. I just love the architecture down there.
Ddd
There's nothing quite as beautiful as a sunset at sea! I took some photos on a recent cruise and here they are to share with you.
I like this one for the watercolor gradation in the sky:
This one is awesome because of the streaks the sun makes over the tops of the clouds:
And this one is my first successful photo of the green flash. We've seen this phenomenon 3-4 times over the years. It happens just at the point when the sun disappears below the horizon. There is suddenly a bright green flash right at the edge of the water. My timing on this was perfect:
More photos of ports of call in a few days.
Ddd
We have had a squirrel feeder in the front yard for several years and it is quite a popular spot in the neighborhood. We will it with blackoil sunflower seeds. Not only do the squirrels feed there but a variety of birds. We've even had raccoons up there scooping out seeds by the handful and stuffing their mouths. Occasionally a deer will stand up on hind legs and manage to get their tongues inside to lick out seeds.
Lately, we've had a lone squirrel come to peek in the back door (where the raccoon comes in the evening looking for handouts). He comes in the morning after the birds have all taken away the bread scraps left out for them. He knows that if he can get out attention we will throw out a handful of treats for him. So far he is the only one that has caught on to this.
We toss him a few nuts from the kitchen. This day he got slivered almonds.
Here he is waiting for the treats to arrive:
As my family can attest, I usually walk around looking at the ground (my mother probably told me too many times to 'watch where you're going.) But, over the years this habit has come in handy many times - finding money, searching for agates on the beach, and spying great shots like this:
Just wanted you to see what you were missing.
Ddd
A little outing the other day to attend a concert at a winery. What a beautiful setting it was.
This was the view from the tasting room:
Then we had a stunning sunset right behind the performers:
Loved the cloud formations:
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