Good Fences, Good Art

Howdy! - Before I get started with today's post I'd like to thank everyone who sent get well wishes.  I've been battling a case of Bronchitis this past week along with taking care of my mom who also had Bronchitis and nursing my Granddaughter, Coleen who ended up with the flu and was home all last week.  Let's just say it was not an easy week but things are slowly returning to normal.  It meant a lot to know you cared.

So now let's join in on some fun with Good Fences and a new photo art Meme called, Photo Art Thursday.  I've combined the two of them today with my photos.

GOOD FENCES is hosted by Theresa from (The Run-a-round Ranch Report)   and PHOTO ART THURSDAY is hosted by Cherie from (The Froelich Diaries).

First up I spotted this stone wall/fence and trees while out driving one day.  I just liked the way the trees looked that day and decided to snap a photo.  The next 2 shots show the same scene jazzed up a little and then turned into some photo art.

Click to enlarge photos.

I played around using 3 different photo editing sites to come up with the final photo. Pic Monkey, Pixlr-o-Matic and BeFunky were all used here to create the final scene.

Now one more before we go because it's just so much fun to create photo art .

Another Fence scene that I spotted on this same drive around town.

I found the stump of the tree inside the fence to be interesting and of course the weathered look of the fence as well.  So here is the "artistic" version of this scene.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the fences in real life and in photo art.  Do stop by both Theresa and Cherie's blogs to check out the other participants.
Cherie's is a new meme so be sure to spread the word so more people will join in on the fun.

Book Review - Like a Flower in Bloom

Please note that I received a copy of this book from Bethany House publishing for an honest review.








He Stole the Work She Loved.
Will She Let Him Steal Her Heart as Well?

It's all her uncle's fault. For years Charlotte Withersby has been free to pursue her love of plants and flowers by assisting her botanist father. But now that she's reached the old age of twenty-two, an intrusive uncle has convinced her father that Charlotte's future--the only proper future for a woman--is to be a wife and mother, not a scholar.

Her father is so dependent on her assistance that Charlotte believes he'll soon change his mind...and then Edward Trimble shows up. A long-time botany correspondent in the South Pacific, Trimble arrives ready to step in as assistant so that Charlotte can step out into proper society--a world that baffles her with its unwritten rules, inexplicable expectations, and confounding fashion.

Things aren't perfectly smooth between Trimble and her father, so Charlotte hatches a last gasp plan. She'll pretend such an interest in marriage that the thought of losing her will make her father welcome her back. Only things go quickly awry, and she realizes that the one man who recognizes her intelligence is also the person she's most angry with: Edward Trimble, her supposed rival. Suddenly juggling more suitors than she knows what to do with, Charlotte is caught in a trap of her own making. Will she have no choice but to leave her beloved flowers behind.

Excerpt from Amazon.com


First up I have to admit that I have not yet finished reading this book.  It's been a bit of a rough month here with family illnesses so I've not had much time for reading.


The book is set in 1852 in England.  -  I generally am not a fan of "period" novels as I tend to gravitate more towards modern stories.  However that does not mean this is not a good book.

I started the book and so far it appears to be interesting.  The main Character, Charlotte has been working with her father doing botanical research for a number of years.  Suddenly her Uncle proposes the idea that she is of marrying age and should find a husband and start a family as that is what is expected of a woman her age at this time.   This idea is something that Charlotte does not at all agree to.

A fellow researcher appears and it looks as if he is going to take over Charlotte's place working beside her father or will he.....

I think that as I go along in the story I will become more involved in it.

I plan to do a full review once I finish but so far I think the author has done a fine job with developing her story-line and characters.

To be continued.....

Taking a break.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm taking a blogging break.  I've been sick (Flu) along with my mom and my granddaughter Coleen this past week.  -  Have just not had the energy or the desire to do much of anything.
I'll be back when I can. - I miss you all.

Willy Nilly Friday Five - January 16, 2015

It's Friday and time for some Willy-Nilly fun.

Let's join Tanya (Around Roanoke) for
WILLY-NILLY FRIDAY FIVE.


1.  January seems to drag on & on for some reason.  It's been relatively nice here as far as the weather but still it's so gloomy looking outside with gray skies and quite frankly I'm ready for sunshine, flowers & blue skies with fluffy white clouds.

Instead this is what the landscape looks like right now.  I took this shot about a week ago on our little trip up to Bennington Lake.

2.  Looking for something to do with your time.  You might check out what this guy does with Toothpicks.  And you thought they were just to pick your teeth.

These guys aren't made out of tooth picks but rather very large logs.  We spotted them back in 2013 while getting gas down in Lincoln City, OR.

3.

Okay if the toothpicks aren't your thing what about "rocks" - Coleen and I spotted this little grouping of rocks on a log walking at Rooks Park last year.  - My friend sent me this You Tube Video to watch this week.  Check out what this guy does with rocks, it's amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vswc7xB0V6c#t=15

4.  This giraffe is displayed outside a local restaurant here in town.  I snapped this shot about a year ago when I was having lunch there with my mom.  Giraffe's are funny looking cretures in my book with their long necks and spindly legs.  Don't know much about Giraffe's.  Here are some fun facts that you may not know.

5.  It's birthday weekend here.  My mom's birthday is Sunday and Coleen's is Monday.  There will of course be cake, ice cream and presents.  I need to do some shopping today.

Leaving you know with a cat photo (I know it's not related to birthdays at all) but I can't resist sharing a cat photo on Friday.  This one is Harley.

Besides I just noticed that all the photos seem to have the same tones in them so this one matches the color scheme.

Have a great weekend.

Good Fences - January 15, 2015

Hello and Welcome  - Today I'm sharing in the fun of GOOD FENCES hosted by Theresa from (The Run-a-round Ranch Report).





I've been saving a few of the fences that I found while out and about last fall so I would have fences to share until the weather was nicer and I could get out and look for new fences.

This one caught my eye as I was driving by one day so I had to go back and snap a couple of shots of it.

Isn't this design "weird" looking?

Here is another view:

Does this remind you of anything? - It did me and so my imagination played around with this shot by cropping it and adding some special effects on Pic Monkey.  I now give you.......

                                                Aliens have landed.

I'm not feeling well today so I may not get around to your blogs to visit right away. -  Have a great weekend. 

Saturday's Critters

Hello Everyone.  It's good to have you stop in for a visit.  Today I'm sharing with Eileen (Viewing Nature With Eileen) for her Meme, Saturday's Critters.


I've had these pictures since last September and for some reason just never remembered to post them.  I thought today would be a good day to do that finally.

On one of our drive's up to Scenic Loop we spotted this little fawn in the yard of one of the people who live up that way. I pulled over and quickly snapped a few shots.  We never did see the mother around but I'm sure she had to be there someplace.

It was a bit "wary" of us as you can see it this picture but finally settled back into grazing and after taking this last shot I decided to leave it to eat in peace and quiet.

I thought it was unusual to spot a fawn that late in the summer but it sure was cute.

Willy-Nilly Friday 5

Happy Friday!

Let's join Tanya (Around Roanoke) for some fun with,
WILLY-NILLY FRIDAY FIVE.

1.  We've had some amazing sunsets lately.  I took this first shot out our back door one evening.  The one following it Coleen took on her phone at the grocery store the other night.  It was super cool looking and naturally I didn't have my own camera with me.  I think she got a great shot though.

 

 

 

 



 2.  Coleen and I went up to Bennington Lake this past weekend.  We were just going to look at the lake for a few minutes since it was so cold outside.  Instead we got out of the car and went for a hike.  I snapped a couple of shots along the way that I thought were interesting.

What does this remind you of?  I'll see if you thought it looked like what I thought of.  I'll tell you at the end of the post what it reminded me of.

 

 



I liked the curves of these branches at the top of a hill.  Notice there are several little birds in the branches at the left of the shot.

3.  Sharing a "random" photo not posted in 2014 that we also took at Bennington Lake.  I was told these are "wild plums." - We went back about 2 days after I had taken this photo to see if we could get another photo and all of the plums were gone.  Either someone picked them or a lot of hungry animals ate them.

4.  I've been walking again this week.  I take my mom's dog, Pixie along and have been doing about 2 miles each day on the walk.  I'm hoping to drop a few pounds and walking is good exercise.  Perhaps one of these days when it warms up I'll take the camera along too.  The scenery is still a bit drab looking for picture taking.

5.  This week has had it's (moments) and right now I feel a bit like our cat, Callie-Jo looks here:

There are changes in the air regarding church and family that have me wondering just how 2015 is going to play out.  Can't say more then this right now but I hate (change.)


Okay as promised about photo #3 - I thought this reminded me of a Dinosaur's head.  - Did you think that too?

Good Fences - January 8, 2015

Welcome! - It's time to join Theresa (The Run-a-round Ranch Report) for GOOD FENCES.

Coleen and I went to Taco Bell (her mom works there) for lunch last week.  As we drove past Mill Creek Coleen was excited about the ice that was on the water and said we had to go back after lunch to take some pictures.  Which is exactly what we did.  So these first few photos have nothing to do with a fence but eventually you'll see where my mind was going.

                               Ice build up on the side of the bank. 

Coleen was surprised to see duck swimming in the icy water.

Here they are walking on some of the ice on the partially frozen creek.

So what do ducks have to do with fences you ask....well nothing really except that I happened to notice that this particular bridge while being made of concrete happened to resemble a fence.

A closer look at some of the "railings"

The view from across the street.

The year the bridge/fence was built.

Well there you have it, a fence that really isn't a fence but actually a bridge built to look like a fence.

Don't forget to stop in a check out all the other great fences. -  Why not join in on the fun and start looking for your own fences to share!

Have a great day.

Grow Your Blog

Last year I participated in a great blogging event,  Grow Your Blog. 
It's hosted by Vicki from (2 Bags Full) and is just a great way to meet new people and find some awesome new blogs.

You can find the post about how to participate HERE
I am looking forward to meeting some new bloggers again this year.

Leaving you with a picture today of Eric (the cat) that I took in Black and White the other day.

Willy Nilly Friday 5

Welcome! - It's a New Year and time to join Tanya from Around Roanoke for Willy-Nilly Friday Five.





1.  It's a New Year (Yes, I've already said that above) just wanted to see if you were paying attention.  Anyway....it's also time to pick a new word to focus on for this year.  Last year I chose (Love) for my word this year I am going with....

I want to go in search of new things to photograph, new ideas to write about,  new truths to learn, new things to discover....well I think you get the idea.

2.  Somethings remain the same though.  Yesterday I started the New Year out with the old tradition of watching the Rose Bowl Parade on TV.  I chose HGTV because it was commerical free but let me just say those (Property Brothers and the other gal with them talked "way to much")  I think commercials might actually have been more fun.  The floats though were great and it always amazes me on how much work goes into those things.
Here's a link to see some of the floats from the parade.

3.  It's still COLD here.  Yesterday they were talking about how it was only 39 degrees in Pasadena for the parade and I thought man are they lucky.  It was only 15 here in the morning and I don't think we got up to 25 for the entire day.  I posted a similar photo like this the other day.  Coleen went for a walk yesterday with Pixie (my mom's dog) and came back all excited about what she'd seen.  She told me about this and I showed her my photo then gave her my camera so she snapped her own shots of the waterfall and the ice. 

4.  Today the new season of Professional Bull Riding (or the PBR) starts.  I'm so looking forward to watching those cowboys and the bulls.  This year I can see all of the event rounds because Carbon TV is live streaming the events.

                                          Random Photo from 2014

5.  I'm also set for Monday night when the new season of The Bachelor starts.  Yes I will admit I watch silly stuff like this and I like it.

                           Eric the cat yesterday enjoying the sunshine.

                 "I think he went that way."  -  Another (random 2014) shot that didn't get posted. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Good Fences - The 1st for the New Year

Happy New Year - My 2nd post of the new year.

My 1st this year for Theresa's Meme:  Good Fences.
Today I'm sharing a trio of different fences that I've spotted around town.

Caught this view of our neighbors yard on Monday durring the brief snow storm that passed through.  I realized upon uploading the photo that they have a fence in view.  I thought it looked pretty and wintery. 

Saw this one sometime in November when I was out and about.  The main focus of the photo was of course the red plant in front but when I looked at the photo I noticed the odd sort of mismatched patchwork like fence in the background so I save the photo for this meme.

Finally a wrought iron gate that we spotted one day.  I just like the design of this gate.

Do stop in and check out the many great fences that are shared on Theresa's awesome blog, (The Run-a-round Ranch Report) every Thursday for Good Fences.

Happy New Year!

From our house to yours we wish you all a very Happy New Year - 2015 has arrived!