Sunday, January 31, 2016

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - January 31, 2016

Hip, Hip Hooray - I am "finally" joining the fun of:
SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY hosted by Ashley Sisk (Ramblings and Photos)

The prompts this week were:

Favorite, Angled, Curved, Cropped and Texture.



Click to Enlarge Photos

My first photo also serves as the last of the 3 Day Quote Challenge I was nominated to participate in.


I'm foregoing nominating people today. If you feel you'd like to give this a try go ahead and post to your blog and let me know you took up the challenge.




 
FAVORITE:

 I took this shot of Coleen at Bennington lake recently and just loved the way it turned out.  It's one of my "favorite" photos of her.

ANGLED:


I did an "angled" shot of Bandit sleeping on the couch.  You will also notice the odd angle that he's sleeping at.  I don't know how cats manage to be comfortable in such weird positions.
 
CURVED:
 
 

I loved the "curved" roof/porch on this house.  It's so different.

CROPPED:
I took this picture of a crow in some tree branches and then "cropped" it to show the details of the crow better.

TEXTURE:

I'm loving the  "texture"of the moss, grass and Ivy in this shot.

It was fun finally finding all the prompts for the week and joining in. I hope to do so more often this year.

For those who might want to participate next week here are the prompts:
  • 1. Frosty
  • 2. Folded
  • 3. Rocky
  • 4. Soft
  • 5. Dual or Two

  • Have a wonderful start to your week.

    Saturday, January 30, 2016

    Saturday's Critters and 3 Day Quote Challenge





    Joining Eileen today for SATURDAY'S CRITTERS and participating in Day 2 of the Quote Challenge

     
    
    Meet....Gwen.  She belongs to the same people who owned Eric the cat that sadly we lost last year when he was hit by a car.  He was featured many times on my blog.  -  Gwen is very "shy" so it's hard to get good pictures of her.  I caught this one of her from across the street.  As soon as I tried to get closer she took off and headed back around the corner of the house.

    I followed her around the house though and very caustiously snapped a couple of close-up photos of her.



    Isn't she a beautiful cat.  Those eyes are so pretty.

    So today I am not going to nominate the following people for the quote challenge.  Remember you do not have to take up the challenge if you don't want to.

    Cathy:  Grandma's Little Corner
    Tete:  Beyond The Garden Gate
    Felicia: Fotography by Felicia

    The rules of the challenge are simple. They are as follows:
    1. Post for three consecutive days.
    2. Choose and share one or three quotes each day.
    3. Challenge three additional bloggers each day.
     
    Have a great day & thanks for stopping by.
     


    Friday, January 29, 2016

    Willy Nilly Friday Five - January 29, 2016



    Happy Friday! - Wow it's the last weekend of January already.  Time keeps marching on for sure.

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

    1.  Have you ever noticed how cats seem to enjoy cramming themselves into cardboard boxes.  This one was on the floor the other night and several of the cats decided to get inside.  This is Harley one of the "larger" cats we have.  I love how his paw is draped outside the box.



    Did you know "Big Cats" like boxes too?  - Check out this video
     
     

     
     
     
    
    So I'll also be using this photo for FELINE ART - Altered to this version:


    2.  We haven't had a lot of snow here this winter (I'm so thankful for that) but we have had some and lots of rain lately.  A couple of weeks ago I showed photos of Bennington Lake and the mountains but I did share this shot I took.  It's part of the lake itself.

    I don't think many people are going to head out onto the lake with thin ice but hey the warnings signs are a good thing.

    3. During one of the better weather days last week Coleen, her mom & I took a little walk around the neighborhood.  We spotted these bushes in someones yard.  The white things looked a lot like blooms from a distance but actually turned out to be white berries.  Reminds me of popcorn.  It could also remind one of snow I suppose.  Sort of "artsy" I think.
     

    If you like snow and art check out this LINK - You'll be amazed for sure.
    
     
     
    4. Last week Coleen turned 11 years old.  Hard to believe she's almost a teenager. -  With part of her birthday money she bought a watch.  On the way home she suddendly says:  "Well that was rather insulting!"  - I'm think what are you talking about so I ask her.
     
    She replies:  "The box says,  This is NOT a toy.  Not intended for children under the age of 12!"  Yep, I'd say they goofed on that warning for sure.
     
     
    This is her and her mom laughing before she blew out the birthday candles.


    5.  Finally I was nominated yesterday (McGuffy's Reader) for a Quote Challenge - I love adding quotes to my photos so I had to participate in this one.
     
    I've always liked that quote by Anne Frank every since Junior High (now known as Middle School) when I read the book,  The Diary of Anne Frank.
    It amazes me that even with all she went through and dying at such a young age she was so wise beyond her years.
     
    The rules of the challenge are simple. They are as follows:
    1. Post for three consecutive days.
    2. Choose and share one or three quotes each day.
    3. Challenge three additional bloggers each day.
     
    My nominies are:
     
    Sandra:  The Mad Snapper
     
     
     
     
    
    
    

    Thursday, January 28, 2016

    Good Fences #97 - He ain't Heavy

    Welcome!
    It's time for GOOD FENCES hosted by Theresa from,
    The Run-a-round Ranch Report.

    Gosh it's seems like lately I'm only managing to post once a week (hope to remedy that soon) but it's always a pleasure to be able to participate in this fun meme.

    Early last summer I happened to spot this fence and I took some pictures of it.  Today you'll be seeing the fence and the burden it had to bear.




    Apparently that bush/tree became too much for the fence to hold up and as you can see a section broke out. - This tree is called a Mountain Ash (Rowan)

    Here is a close-up of the blooms (no fence in sight though)

    See the dried up berries.....they were from the previous fall but hadn't fallen off the tree.  Normally they are much prettier.  In fact in this next shot you'll see what they look like in the summer. 

    They are such a bright orange.  This photo is from my archives (2011) but the berries were off the same tree/bush as the ones above. - Apparently you can eat these berries.  See this link:

    A few days after the picture of the white blooms was taken I drove by and saw that (sadly) they had cut down the tree and removed it from the property.  - I will miss seeing those lovely white flowers and pretty orange blooms. - Here the fence still had not been repaired.

    I planned to get a picture of the fence once it was back up again but never did......until I decided to drive down this morning and take a picture to share.

    It's raining here today so I braved the elements to bring you the following two shots.

     Here you can see where the fence was repaired and restained and where the tree once was.

    Just for fun a shot of the entire fence going down the alley to show the comparison of the old stained part with the new stained part.




    Hope you've enjoyed seeing this fence and what caused it's breakdown.
     
    Don't forget to check out the other great fences by visiting Theresa's blog and clicking on the links. - It's great fun.

    Thursday, January 21, 2016

    Good Fences #96 - New or Used

    Welcome! - It's been a "busy" week here with back-to-back birthday celebrations so I haven't been on the computer much.  - I'm joining GOOD FENCES today hosted by Theresa from The Run-a-round Ranch Report.

    Today you are just getting 1 (I know shocking) photo.


    I spotted this fence while walking down an alley one day.  -  What's your take,  do you think it's a "New" or a "Used" fence?

    I'm going for (used) myself.



    Don't forget to stop by and check out the other particpants fences.

    Friday, January 15, 2016

    Willy Nilly Friday Five & Feline Art - January 15, 2016

    Happy Friday!

    It's time for some random fun with WILLY-NILLY FRIDAY FIVE hosted by Tanya (Around Roanoke).



    1.  Something funny (at least I thought it was) that my friend sent me.


    2. 
    We drove up to Bennington Lake last week and I snapped a couple of shots of the surrounding farm land and the Blue Mountains.  These are my favorite shots from the drive up there.
     


    3.  Signs of spring already?.....


    Robins! - Photo also taken at Bennington Lake.
     
     
    4. I ordered a new CD the other day The Traveling Kind by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell.  Thought you might enjoy a selection off the album.
     
     
    5.  I haven't done any cat art for FELINE ART  here in a while so how about this one of Pepper lounging in the laundry basket:
     
     
    She is a really hard cat to photograph.  Her jet black fur and those odd golden colored eyes make it difficult to get a picture of her face.  Thank goodness she has that little white streak on her nose.
     
    Original Photo SOOC

    Well that's it for me today.  - Nothing real exciting going on around here, just day to day stuff but that's okay as I'd rather have it calm then chaotic.
     

     

    Thursday, January 14, 2016

    Good Fences #95 - A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss ...

    Hello & Welcome! - Well sadly I am NOT one of the 3 winners from the big huge Power Ball Jackpot.  Oh well. There's always the next one. 

    So let's have some fun by joining GOOD FENCES hosted by Theresa (The Run-a-round Ranch Report).

    There's a quote that states that a "Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" but here today an old wooden fence certainly does.  -  I spotted this fence while I was heading to get my allergy shot the other day and stopped to take some photos of it.

    All that green moss just caught my eye and I knew I had to share this fence with everyone.

    Be sure to enlarge these to see the "details" like the nails sticking up from the posts.

    Here's a better view of them and some of the moss and lichen growing on the fence.




    This fence bordered a small creek that was running through the property.  You could see through some of the boards because a few were missing and some were warped as you can see in this next shot.


    One last photo of the nails in the fence.


    I hope you've enjoyed this mossy fence as much as I did.  - Don't forget to check out all the other great fences.

    Have a super great day.

    Friday, January 8, 2016

    Willy Nilly Friday Five - January 8, 2016

    Happy Friday! - It's time to join Tanya (Around Roanoke) for WILLY-NILLY FRIDAY FIVE - I missed last week because let's face it after celebrating New Years Eve and getting to bed after 1:00 am I was pretty much out of it on Friday.

    This week I thought I would share bits & pieces of my week so far.

    1.  As is our tradition around here all the Christmas lights and decorations outside come down the day after New Years.  Hubby piled up all the chords on the floor and the cats seemed fascinated by them so I snapped their picture.
     Although in this picture they seem to be looking off in another direction but they really were into sniffing all those cords.

    2.  Sunday it snowed here.  We haven't had a lot of snow this winter but more than we've had the past couple of winters.  I'm so not a fan of winter but those big fluffy flakes coming down were pretty and made for a nice photo opportunity. 

    3.  Monday was the anniversary of my dad's passing.  My mom & I took flowers out to his grave in remembrance.  When we got there the flowers we had taken out for Christmas were frozen solid (yes I put water in the vase) so I had to take the vase (wilted frozen flowers) home and thaw it out then drive back to place the new flowers on the grave.


    4.  This photo has nothing to do with the story I am about to tell but I enjoy watching the crows outside so I snapped this shot of them on the wires.


    So now for the story...Tuesday morning I arrived at the bowling alley and got out of the car along with my mom.  I opened the side door on the van and said,  "Get back in mom, we have to go back home." - She's like..."Why?" - Well guess what?  I forgot my bowling ball!!! - Needless to say I barely made it back to the alley in time to throw a few practice balls before the league started.  Still I did halfway decent...146-190 and 134.  That last game I lost concentration when the lanes kept breaking down.

    5.  At Christmas I found a great jello salad recipe that called for jellied Cranberry sauce.  I had some problems opening the can and discovered something funny.  Well at that time I didn't take pictures of the can but I made the same salad again this week and discovered the same thing with the can.  See if you can figure it out from the pictures below.



    Have an idea yet?.....Scroll down for the next photo.









     
     
    Did you figure out what was wrong? -  I wonder how many of these cans went through the assembly line like that.  I thought something was wrong with our can opener at first but it was just the label on the can is "upside down!"
     
    That's it for my week.  Don't forget to stop in and check out the other particpants. - Have a great weekend.