My guardian, my teacher, my playmate, my brother…

In a family of four children, Richard and I were the middle two.  He’s two years older than me and led me on some grand adventures throughout my lifetime.  We were always very close and spent many hours playing together.  First we’d build elaborate cities for his Match Box cars – making mud bridges strong enough we could walk across them.  Then he’d agree to play house with me and because I couldn’t sew, he’d patch my doll’s dresses and sew on missing buttons.  I still have my favorite baby doll with a dress he performed his magic on.  There are far too many memories to list here – from him digging a hole deeper than I was tall and  putting me in it while he took off for parts unknown to him leading me out in the swamps of South Carolina, telling me the moss grows on the north side of the trees and leaving me to find my own way home.  (Years later he confessed he stayed not far away to be sure I was safe.)  From  the time he went into the spider-infested crawl space under our house to get my Siamese cat that wouldn’t come out to the day he buried the same cat for me when she died….he has always been my hero.  We have been through so many things in our lives – truly the good, the bad, and the ugly, but have supported one another every step of the way.  I love all my brothers dearly, but Richard and I share a closeness that came from being stuck in the middle – not the oldest or the baby.

His smile can truly light up a room and his sense of humor is infamous; he’s generous and giving; he’s smart and accomplished; he’s an excellent teacher and today he’s turning another year older.  Happy Birthday, Richard!!! 

I love you Bubba….

A Finer Day, I Can’t Remember….

Today Tracy came to visit and we had such a wonderful time.  The weather couldn’t have been better – especially for the 10th of May.  We took some shots in my backyard and then headed out a wandering.  Today I’m going to stick with pictures from the backyard and I’ll share the other two stops we made later.

These are roses from the bouquet my Sweetie gave me for Mother’s Day. We had them outside in the bright sun trying out Tracy’s Diana lens.  You’ll have to see how her shots turned out at her blog. :)

Can you guess what these are?

 

  Tracy has some of the best advice and is always such a great teacher.  She told me some really good tips today for using the zoom on my point and shoot Nikon.  I’m very pleased with the results.

Palo Verde blossoms up close and personal….even with a couple bugs thrown in for good measure.

The white blossoms earlier are from our Yucca.  Did you guess correctly?

Quotes:

“… if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard.”   Dorothy – Wizard of Oz

“Nature poets can't walk across the backyard without tripping over an epiphany”  Christian Wiman  -  I could say the same of nature photographers. :)

There once was a man….

My daughter, Nicole, has been working on poetry in her Honors English class.  She’s been doing limericks and I thought this one was especially good.  I asked her if I could share it  and she agreed.  I thought she did a wonderful job.

 

The Frog?

This is a tale of a frog

Who jumped from log to log

But one day he found

He was really a hound

So he took up the life of a dog.

Guest Photographer…

I’m blessed to have many wonderful friends and family members who love to take pictures also.  So I’ve decided to occasionally share with you some of their  photos. These pictures were taken by my brother, Glen, who lives in Tucson.  He’s been interested in photography since he was a little guy with his first Brownie.

Lightning from his driveway….

 

Javelina in his yard….

 

Bobcat cub in his backyard…

 

Lightning at the golf course in Tubac, AZ….

 

Sunset from his back porch…

 

T This is the Piet Alv River.  It’s in Sweden…

 

These are the Storforsen Falls along the above river where Glen sometimes stays when  in Sweden. Storforsen means “The Great” so it’s The Great Falls. He traveled to Sweden for his job.

 

Sunset from his back porch again.  It amazes me the difference in color in the two sunset shots…

 

This is the Storforsen Falls again…obviously during winter…

 

Snow on the Catalina Mountains near Tucson…

 

Bartlett Lake – Spring fishing trip 2010….

Now this is by no means all the pictures I have of his, but these are some of my favorites.  I feel certain that my love of photography comes from Glen and my Pop.

I hope you enjoy seeing them, and soon I’ll host another guest photographer. Who will it be???

Stealing my heart once again….

Spent the day with Justin and he is such an angel.  I don’t know.  Can a baby have charisma?? 

 

 

We had a wonderful time and my back held up better than I expected.  He is so strong!  He’s not walking alone yet, but this boy can climb.

In this shot, he’s trying to decide it he can make it to the top of my head before the flash goes off….

I am so blessed to have him in my life.  Thank you Luke and Ashley for sharing him with me.

The End…  :)

Nod to the Blues Brothers….

Here is my newly-inducted little Thespian off to school.

I told her when she got ready this morning, that she reminded me of the Blues Brothers….

She said she would go around school all day singing “Soul Man” and since this is my final day of 30 Days of Music, that will be my song for the day!! 

It’s been a little crazy lately….

This has been a busy week. It’s Induction Week for my freshman daughter who is being inducted into the Thespian Society. Each day has a special theme and her sponsor has been so nice.  She received a “bouquet” of origami flowers with Starburst candies as the centers on “Star” day along with a beautiful blue star balloon. Then yesterday was “Troupe Pride” day and she was to wear her drama club or school colors. Last night she went to the Foothills Follies which was a fund raiser put on by the teachers for an employee with health issues.  It was a teacher’s talent show and I guess they all had a good laugh and lots of fun. Today is “Induction” day and she’s to wear royal blue and gold – the Thespian Society’s colors and tonight is her induction ceremony.  There will be a reception and refreshments to follow.  Then tomorrow, all thespians, old and NEW are to dress up and wear their Thespian pin proudly.

I love that her school is not just about the athletes….they do a wonderful job of supporting and cheering everyone on to success in whatever area their talents might lie.  I love that she has had a wonderful freshman year and has special memories of this time in her life and I love that she wants to share them with me.

 

30 Days of Music:  Day 29 - “Pie Jesu”  Charlotte Church  -  such a beautiful voice.

Medusa all dressed up….

You were right, Brian.  She does look much better when she’s all “fixed” up.

All but one of the blossoms opened overnight. I love the flower on this cactus.  It’s so pretty. It’s so delicate and only lasts one day, but at the same time it’s strong and brings rebirth each time it blooms.

30 Days of Music:  Day 28 - “Paper Angels”  Jimmy Wayne…Brian, when I heard this one while walking this morning it  made me think of your job.  We owe so much to people like yourself who care for the “Paper Angels” everyday. Thank you.

Medusa…

This is a cactus that a good friend of ours gave us about 12 years ago. Well this is one of that cactus’ babies.  I guess the spring rains gave it an extra boost because as you can see, there are going to be lots of blooms on it pretty soon.

 

You can see two blooms that have already gone by. I picked another bloom up from the ground where it had fallen off the plant. If you look closely at the bottom of each bloom, there is a baby cactus.  I currently have four of these in my garden.

I have given away several of them and I am sure  I let everyone know they came from our dear friend, Marty.  She has since moved away and we’ve lost touch with her, but she is thought of often and fondly. I don’t know the name of this particular cactus…anyone out there know?

30 Days of Music:  Day 27 - “Tears in Heaven”  Eric Clapton

Chased by the wind….

I’ve been staying inside the last couple of days.  Not even getting out for my walks. That’s not good.  It has been so windy – just awful.  I don’t like walking in the wind and I don’t like the mess it leaves behind in the yard.  I’m off to walk early this morning before the wind gets started. 

But here are a couple of the hats from the Derby party I went to on Saturday.  Greg and I had a great time.  All the ladies looked so elegant in their hats.

There were whimsical hats…

And tres chic hats….

And even “shoes” that matched hats!!!

30 Days of Music:  Day 26 - “In the Shape of a Heart”  Jackson Browne

I’ve been tagged…

This morning I found a message from Chris at Enchanted Oak.  I’ve been tagged with a task to complete…..the fun is afoot!!  Here’s how the game goes:

1) Go to your photo files, select the 8th photo folder.

2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.

3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.

4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same.

Okay, here is my photo…and of course, it’s not one of my better shots. :)

But it does come with fond memories.  I took this the day my Pop and I went on our road trip to Congress.  This shot was actually taken in Yarnell at the Shrine of St. Joseph.  Amid all the newly emerging greenery, there were these beautiful trees with a golden cast to them.  The day was very bright and I didn’t compensate for the light very well and I’m overexposed (well, not me personally).  My dad wandered over to the tree to see what kind it was.  It’s an oak of some sort.  Although the golden appearance came from the old leaves that were being blown away by the wind, they were what gave the tree it’s wonderful glow….kinda like people and life, don’t you think?

Okay, now I’m supposed to tag 8 more photo bloggers, so here goes.

Brattleboro; Kathy Goes A Ramblin; Life is a Road Trip; Phoenix Daily Photo; Prescott Area Daily Photo; Small City Scenes; This Will Hurt Me; Bellingham Daily Photo

If you guys don’t want to do the second part about tagging others, that’s okay. But let’s take a look at that random photo and it’s story. 

30 Days of Music:  Day 25 - “I am a Rock”  Simon and Garfunkel

Quotes:

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.”  Charles R. Swindoll

“Do as little harm to others as you can; make any sacrifice for your true friends; be responsible for yourself and ask nothing of others; and grab all the fun you can. Don't give much thought to yesterday, don't worry about tomorrow, live in the moment, and trust that your existence has meaning even when the world seems to be all blind chance and chaos. When life lands a hammer blow in your face, do your best to respond to the hammer as if it had been a cream pie. Sometimes black humor is the only kind we can summon, but even dark laughter can sustain.”  Dean Koontz

Bounty of the Backyard….

Yesterday and today, I just took quick strolls around the yard to see what I could see.  Here are a few shots.

In case you didn’t spot the surprise hiding in the middle, here he is….

These red roses in the sunshine are always so challenging to get what I consider a good shot of….there’s something about the red. It glows almost…neon like.

  This is today’s shot….and here is yesterday’s….not really happy with either one.

The garden is yielding up carrots, green onions and the radishes are coming along nicely….

  

Well, I need to get up from this chair and get out and take my daily walk.  The sunshine feels  great this morning…it’s a cool 56 degrees out there.

30 Days of Music: Day 24 - “Heaven”  Los Lonely Boys  (There’s no way to sit still while listening to this one!)

Jimmy Durante came to visit me today….

Check out the beak on this guy!!!  He’s the male that has been hanging out in the yard.  There are two females that seem to be building two nests which must mean…he has a harem!!  This is a Curved Bill Thrasher and he has the biggest curve I’ve ever seen.

 

He’s kinda skittish (who wouldn’t be with two wives?) and I don’t want to scare them off from their nest building, so  my shots aren’t the best.  I’ll keep an eye on them and let you know if there are any little Jimmy’s who show up in the future.

30 Days of Music:  Day 23 - “Unforgettable”  Nat King Cole

Quotes:

“My wife has a slight impediment in her speech. Every now and then she stops to breathe.”  Jimmy Durante

“All of us have schnozzles . . . if not in our faces, then in our character, minds or habits. When we admit our schnozzles, instead of defending them, we begin to laugh, and the world laughs with us.”  Jimmy Durante

Good night,  Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are!”  Jimmy Durante

Got the Blues….

Some days are good days and some days are bad…today was a bad day. 

No real reason…just a build up of small things, I suppose.  This too shall pass and as Scarlett tells us, “Tomorrow is another day”.

30 Days of Music: Day 22 - “Blue Eyes”  Elton John

Not-So-Distant Past and Past Meet….

Here are a few more shots taken on my trip to Congress with my dad.  This gem of the New Age, has a common problem….flat tire.  I’m not really sure how good the suspension is on this tractor or how smooth the ride, but compare it to this jewel.

 

 

 

 

This must have been fine living at it’s best. I didn’t get a shot of the complete carriage because I didn’t want the fence it was behind in the picture. But you can see by the lovely fringe and “bling” that this was for only the cream of the crop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And there does appear to be some suspension under there….not sure how effective it would have been.  But no flat tires here…maybe broken, but not flat.  I wonder at the craftsmanship that built these coaches at a time when things were done by hand. Man’s ingenuity always amazes and astounds me.  Now if we could just learn to all get along.

30 Days of Music:  Day 21 - “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”  Eric Clapton

Quotes:

“Ingenuity, plus courage, plus work, equals miracles.”  Bob Richards

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”  George S. Patton

“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”  Douglas Adams

Macro or Cropped….That is the Question…

Now I’m going to show that I’m really a novice photographer.  I have heard conversations in the past and seen postings that lead me to believe that there is some kind of dispute between the superiority of shooting in macro or simply cropping a portion of a photo.  Maybe I’ve misunderstood something, but I’m not sure I get what the debate is all about.  If someone out there knows, please enlighten me.

Here are some shots.  Can you tell me which ones (if any) were shot in macro or which ones are simply cropped from a larger photo?

Photo 1 – Hearts and Flowers

 

Photo 2 – Lady Banks Yellow Rose

Photo 3 – African Daisy

Photo 4 – Nasturtium

Photo 5 – Cactus Flower

Photo 6 – Aloe Vera Blossom

Okay, which ones (if any) are cropped or macro shots….there will be no prizes awarded in the contest.  :)  Except maybe bragging rights.

30 Days of Music:  Day 20 - “Fire and Rain”  James Taylor