Blending….

 

 

                                             the old with the new.

Why can’t I just count sheep….

 

Last night as I lay in bed trying to turn the day off and fall into a restful sleep, bizarre thoughts were racing through my mind.  It first started with me wondering about sayings we use all the time and what do they really mean.

Like “Be good for goodness sake”….what does that really mean?  Are we to be good for the sake of good? Or does it mean goodness sake like “Oh, for goodness sake, Gloria. Everyone knows you shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day!”  Sometimes it depends on who’s singing the carol and where they’re putting the emphasis.

And then there’s “A friend in need, is a friend indeed.”  Again, are we saying if a friend’s in trouble we’re bound to see a lot of them?  Or are we saying if your friend sticks with you during your trouble, he’s really a friend?  See, I heard a lot of these things over the years, but am still confused by what they really mean.

I was pretty sure I knew what my Pop was saying when he told me “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”, but now someone sends me an email saying that all had to do with the order of bath taking in the small amount of water allotted for these things during days gone by. 

I was so conflicted I almost got out of bed and wrote this post last night.  Thank goodness the cold night and warm bed persuaded me to stay where I was.  Why can’t I just count sheep??

 

PS: Living in the rural area I do, I didn’t think it would be too hard to find some sheep to take a picture of for this post. These sheep are normally in the field by the bee keeper’s hives, but NO, not when I need a picture.  I finally found a couple in the yard around the barn and pulled to a stop on the rutted, washboard(ed?), single lane dirt road to get my shot. As I’m rolling down my window, I glance  in the rear view mirror and right behind me is a truck stopped and waiting on me.  This world is TOO crowded!  He was kind and patient and waited quietly (no honking) while I took my picture.  Kathy, do you deal with this kind of thing in Texas?

Poet’s Park….

 

Annie, Nicole and I went out Saturday in search of a place Annie had heard about named Poet’s Park.  We found it!

It was a gorgeous park.  Beautifully landscaped and covered with plaques with quotes from poets and such.

 

There was a light breeze and the air was warm and gentle.  The light and shadow played across the quotes in a game of tag.

 

 

Annie took the following plaque to heart….

 

This stairway was beautiful…

The words are a quote by James Madison Bell.

I couldn’t resist playing with a shot or two…

 

 

It was a wonderful time.  Can’t wait to show it to Tracy. She’s been working a lot lately.  She needs a little time out and about with her camera.

Lemon Tree very pretty….

 

Tracy’s lemons are finally turning a beautiful yellow and starting to look like lemons instead of limes.

Well, one of them looks more like a grapefruit.  It’s huge….like the elephant lemon or something.

I have a lovely basket full of them and plan on making a lemon pie today. 

Black & White again…

 

 

 

 

 

These are some shots from my recent trip with Annie.  I thought they lent themselves nicely to black and white photography.   

Just checkin’…..

 

This is a “clothing optional” beach isn’t it?

Bevy of Bassets….

 

Saturday I went to Annie’s house to take updated photos of the Basset Hound puppies that she and her daughter, Sara, are fostering.

The cast of characters….

Baldwin, the Basset that Sara adopted. I always want to call him Chuck. Don’t know why.

He can be a bit “flighty” at times.

 

This is Petunia named after Petunia Pig because she gets her share of the food and then some.  She’s the biggest of the three.

 

This is Henri.  He is the only male of the three puppies and is said to be quite the baby…he whimpers and cries quite a bit. He already has a Forever Family waiting for him.

 

 

This is Minnie Belle and she has the sweetest temperament of them all.  She is the smallest, but has won over Annie’s heart.

 

“Which one of these things is not like the others?  One of these things doesn’t belong.”  (Sesame Street)

Miss Trixie was right in the thick of things, but she is obviously not a Basset Hound.

 

  

They love soaking up the sun and are pretty laid back when they’re not tearing everything up.

Basset parts….

 

 

   Ear puddle….

 

 

 

                                                            

   Legs?……                        

 

 

 

 

 

   Foot…..

 

 

 

And this Grand Dame is Wrangler.  She is the matriarch of this family and is a saintly, long-suffering soul.

We had a wonderful day.  I took over 70 pictures and took Nicole and Kayla with me so they could play with the puppies.  But, I have it on good authority  that everyone will be happy and thankful when the new additions have found their ways to their Forever Families.

Road Trip….

 

Recently my BFF, Annie, and I went on a road trip in search of some paintings on the side of a high cliff her father  told her about.

 

Not even 10:30am and we’re already knee deep in adventure.  We found someone’s ass roaming along the roadway.  We pulled over  to try and alert this fellow’s owner, but  no one was home. Neighbors, we first mistook for gun runners, did stop to round this guy up. We were glad to be on our way again…believe me.

 

We stopped at this “hot” spot in Tonopah.  It has quite a history and has been visited by movie stars, gangsters, and even presidents in the long ago past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie is pretty sharp-eyed and spotted this coyote when I pulled over to take a picture of the mountains. He didn’t stay around long.

 

We stopped at a watering hole for some range cattle and climbed around on the loading shoot.

  

 

We finally found the painting on the cliff.  These shots don’t do it justice.  I don’t know if it had anything to do with the fact that I was wearing my sunglasses or not.  The cactus I estimate to be 10 to 12 feet tall so you can guess how tall the painting is.  It is of the Madonna with an outline of an unfinished painting of Jesus below it.

This is a smaller painting that is lower on the cliff and to the left of the tall Madonna.  These were both quite a hike up the hillside and we didn’t get up close to them.  But from what Annie could find out they’re said to be painted by a man who lives in Oatman.

After we spent an hour or so there, we headed on into Aguila.  We made a quick stop in the small cemetery just outside of town.

 

It was very interesting and peaceful.  There was an area near the grave of a young boy that looked like he must have liked to go camping.  There were lanterns hanging the the tree, with a campfire built, and a table set up.  It was eerie in a sad way.

 

   

But only Annie and I could be checked out by the cops when we were spending time walking around a cemetery.

 

We made our way to Wickenburg to have lunch at Anita’s (our favorite Mexican food restaurant there).  We also went looking for a diner we had spotted in a really low, low budget horror film entitled, The Graves, that was shot in Wickenburg.  We found the diner, but not anyone that was proud of the fact that the movie had been filmed in Wickenburg.  Please, oh please, don’t bother renting the movie…you will be disappointed.

 

 

So, there you have it….our road trip.  Only Annie and I could experience an ass, hot springs, coyotes, cattle, painted Madonna’s, cemeteries, policemen, and diners named Screamers on our road trip. 

A Paler shade of light….

 

This was the sunrise a couple of days ago…

 

This is the sunrise this morning….

 

As I watched the day slowly grow lighter (as in full of more light),  it made me think of the line “a lighter shade of pale” from a wonderful song.  Which in turn made me think of several things,, but the last was something I wrote in English class in the eighth grade.  Why do I remember this?  Because I had a great teacher and she was always pushing my buttons. 

The final sentence of an essay entitled, “Morning’s Light”, was       

“And away over there was the mist of the lake, and away and away the retiring night that was not as yet full of light, sliding gray over the dark black horizon.”

I got a B+ on that essay…I still have the graded copy….don’t ask.  But the only thing she had to ding me on was the fact that she felt  “But once it’s full of light, it isn’t night.”

I would like some input from my writing friends on how they feel about this grave miscarriage of justice.  I’m strong and can take criticism.  I mean I’m not the kind that will remember what you say forty years later or anything. ;)   

Frost on the….

 

Spalding???  Yes, it’s still pretty chilly around here in the morning.  I was on my out the door to take Mom to a doctor’s appointment and I spotted what looked like a pumpkin in the yard.  Okay…it really doesn’t look like a pumpkin, but that is the first thought that popped into my head….frost on the pumpkin.

 

Although the sunshine is weak, it’s warm enough to melt the frost on the east side of the ball.  I must admit, I’m ready for some warmer days.

Breaking in the New Year right….

 

We had a fun-filled family celebration to ring in the New Year. Hope you did too!!  Welcome, 2011!!!

It’s been so cold….

 

 

frozen, locked in time

and space

waiting for your warmth

to set me free

I’m a Pepper, You’re a Pepper….

 

This little guy has been hanging around my yard the last few days. After much research, Lisa and I think it’s an immature Vermilion Flycatcher.  We’re not 100% sure whether it’s a male or female. I’m leaning toward male.