A surprise

On Sunday, while walking in the backyard, I came across several violets that were blooming. What a nice surprise!

And even better, when I came inside and headed to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, there was a tiny bouquet of violets in a little shot glass. Who is my secret gift-giver, do you ask? Well, it would have to be my husband. George can't reach into the cupboards!

Told you it was a nice surprise.

Yellow Mosaic

I am having so much fun with the mosaic maker over at Big Huge Labs. So much fun that I hardly had time to come up with clever post titles.
If you haven't tried this nifty little free program yet, head on over there. The only thing I don't like about it is the inability to maniuplate which section of your original photo fills the space provided. But I can live with that.
Quiet here in Maryland today.

Lonely leaf

Did you know that Greta Garbo never said, "I vont to be alone"? She merely said she wanted to be let alone, which is all the difference.

Sometimes I vont to be alone. Like this leaf. Don't you?

Whiter shade of pale

Thanks to my friend, Mary at In A Soft Light, whose beautiful photography mosaic inspired me the other day. She had posted it here on her Little Red House blog, and if you enjoy fooling around with your digital images, then do try this free program.
It's a Mosaic Maker at Big Huge Labs and although I found it a tad bit lacking in some aspects, it's free and fun. So thank you, Mary. And apologies to those, like me, who tend to get songs stuck in their heads. I just thought it was a Moody Blues kinda day, is all.
Update: I stand corrected. It's a Procol Harum kinda day after all. Thanks, MP Mama!!

On the ground

The reason why it's squirrel heaven around here is well, it's this. There are so many nut trees and there are treats aplenty, if you're a squirrel. Plus, there's only one crazy dog that will chase you back up that tree, which only adds to the excitement.

Want to enter a contest? I'm holding one right now on my Chronicles site. It involves coming up with a caption for some very old wallpaper. C'mon, YOU CAN DO IT!!

An Irish Wake

Four of my nieces and two of my sisters at the memorial service for my father. It was a lovely mass in the Catholic church near my sister Char's home. Afterwards, we all returned to Char & Dave's to relax and reminesce about dad. Note the shirts worn by the three nieces in the center. My mother had a penchant for purchasing clothes for dad. When she found something he liked, or rather she liked, she bought one in every color. He had about ten of these shirts and he looked handsome in every one of them. So ten of us wore them back at the house. Also note the eyepatches. My father wore one for years, due to a macular condition he had. He told all the grandchildren he was a retired pirate.
Pictured above, left to right, are Melanie, my sister Char, Samantha, Danielle, Emily and my sister Ginny.
Pictured below, left to right, are me, Judy, Char and Ginny. I would have loved to stay late and have lemondrop martini's with them but needed to get home to my husband. I know he missed me terribly.


I love my family.

Sunny morning

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."

~ Martha Washington

Cheerful

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.

~ Chinese Proverb

The breakfast nook in this home is perfect for viewing bird life. Our plan is to put up all our feeders so we can watch them from the window. On the wall leading to the kitchen area was a clock that elicits a bird call on the hour. Our friends removed it for us when they moved us in, probably thinking that we wouldn't like it. But we found it and are using it. My husband likes this clock and I think it cheers him to hear the little calls. And on the hour, every hour, we get to see George's response to the sounds of the clock which is always fun!

Through the kitchen window

This is what I see through one of my kitchen windows. It faces the back side of the house and gets the western sun. I've been working on cleaning windows this afternoon and it took me hours to get two of them done and the ones all around the front door, which I've posted on my Chronicles site.
I love it here.

Full Moon

My husband took this picture last week before our move back to Maryland. Sometimes when I see the moon, I think of one of my all-time favorite movies. It's the one where Cher told Nicolas Cage to "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Now, can you name that movie?

George hears squirrels

By the time you read this, George will already be acclimating to living in our new home. The property isn't as extensive as where we'd been living, but really long walks are just a short drive away. The one thing that I hear our new property has is an abundance of wildlife like deer, fox, squirrel and bird.

Here is a photo I took of George on the last weekend at our old place. He was about to go on a Big Walk and he's heard some squirrels up in the trees.

They do taunt him so.

Just breathe

I loved reading your comments in my other honeysuckle post about scents that take you back to your childhood, or that make you feel that all is well again. Loved them!

Honeysuckle is mine. And here's another ding dang diddly photograph of one that I'd like to share with you.

And while I'm at it, I'd like to share something else with you, about what has really been happening in my life. I'd like to, but right now, it's another story for another day. So, until then, let's all just breathe. And relax. And let all the bad wash over us. It's all in God's hands now, anyway.

Favorite things

This is a little stone that I bought years ago on Ocracoke Island, NC. It fills a small gap between two bricks along the edge of my patio. It's missing a small piece of glass, but that's ok with me. Every time I see it, I'm reminded of that vacation we took, so long ago when our children were small and our dreams were big.

Happy face

I caught this little Nuthatch in my camera lens this weekend.

Nuthatches belong to the bird family "Sittidae" which is a Greek word and used by Aristotle for a bird that pecks at the bark of trees. Just so's you know, ok?

Somebody s-s-stop me, please

The mushrooms find me, I am telling you. There I was, innocently sitting on the outdoor steps by my bedroom's sliding glass door, when suddenly {{gasp}}, what do I see when I look down at the earth, but another mushroom. They are everywhere around here!


After I took this photo, I chopped it up and sauteed it with some onion and garlic and then I made a chip dip out of it, using some sour cream. Suddenly, the world looks beautiful and there are pixies flying in the air. Oh, life is good again!


Reminder to all: sometimes, you need to read the labels for my posts.

Favorite things: rocking chair

I have an antique rocking chair that has inlaid mother-of-pearl scrollwork along the top. Some of the little pieces are missing, but I think it just adds character.

I bought it when I was in my very early 20's, somehow stuffing it into my little Fiat 124 Sport Coupe for the ride home. God, I loved driving that car . . .

But back to the subject. I rocked my babies to sleep in this chair, singing my favorite lullabies. Now, that's a happy thought. I feel much better now, thank you.

Rear window

Gerbera daisy from a different perspective, Photoshopped using PW's Vintage effect, coupled with Fresh & Colorful. Also used Totally Rad's Dirt Rag and then put a burnt edge onthe whole thing. The original was boring, so I went full throttle on it. Don't be hatin', please. I just don't think I could take it right now.

Tenderness

Honeysuckle on the vine. Its scent takes me back to my childhood; and all is well again.

Is there a particular scent that does the same for you?

My husband took this

Do real men take pictures of flowers? I should think so. But not at our house.
Can you tell what this is?
This is what you would see looking down into a glass of beer. The words you see are the reflection through the glass. It's etched with the name of the farm on which we used to live. I think it's quite artistic.

Orange you glad it's autumn?

I loved knock knock jokes as a child and one of my favorites was the banana one. Yes, you remember that one, don't you?

Here's to autumn and crisp nights and soft warm sunshine. Here's to the earth changing colors. Here's to something different.

Soft

This was one of the first pictures I took with my macro lens when I bought it last Christmas. I went to the florist and bought some white roses that were a good price because they were just slightly off their prime. I guess you could say they'd gone soft.

Old-fashioned elegance

Hydrangeas begin to dry on the stalk as Autumn settles in.

Golden glow

Some dear friends who heard that my father had passed away sent me flowers today. Kathy and her husband, Bruce, sent a bouquet of beautiful gerber daisies, along with some kind words. I just wanted to share this gift with you.

In the pink

The gentle swaying of pink-tipped grasses is a soothing sight after a long day. These grow along the fenceline between the farm property and a neighbor's home.

Last hurrah

Taken last month with my macro lens, lariope blooms sway in the warm breeze. I just love the hue of these little spikes.

Yellow caterpillar

Another visitor on our screen door is this little fella. I turned the shot on the side and didn't do much else at all to the SOOC picture.

Faerie umbrella

I was thinking of promising that this would be my last mushroom post for a while. But then I changed my mind. I am not a crazy person who's in love with mushrooms.
I simly have a penchant for photographing them. They are such willing subjects, you know.

Quiet thoughts

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you up there, God?

I've decided not to do a Skywatch Friday post this week and this is the photo I would have used for it. I captured it yesterday with the macro lens, just before I took the picture of the yellow mushroom.
When I was a little girl and would see the sky like this, I'd always think that it looked as if God was peeking down on us. It just looks so beautiful, like I imagine heaven would look.

I am curious yellow

Go ahead and call me crazy. I don't really care! I have an admitted fascination with fungi. I find them fascinating, and if anyone had ever told me years ago that I would be on the ground taking close-up pictures of mushrooms, I would have told them to 'shoot me now'.
I'm glad now that no one ever told me that.