Willy Nilly Friday Five - July 31, 2020

Hello everyone.  Thank you so much for all the nice comments about my being back blogging again.  Still not up to speed yet but doing better at posting a little more often.

Time for WILLY NILLY FRIDAY FIVE hosted by Tom the Backroads Traveller. - Apparently not many have been participating lately so let's hope you all get in and join the fun.

Today it's Birds, Blooms & a Butterfly for me.
 1. Earlier this spring I spotted a few duck sitting on top of the neighbors fence across the street.  She sat there for quite awhile.  I snapped a bunch of shots of her.

 Shortly after this shot some people were walking past and a little girl stopped to look at the duck.

 She stayed right there and then after they past by she finally flew off.
 2.  Missed sharing these from earlier in spring when the dogwoods were in bloom here.  These were taken the night after my mom passed away.  I went for a walk around the block and the sunset was so pretty so I snapped a couple of shots of the white dogwoods with the sunset in the background.

3.  Also from earlier in the spring a lovely Norther Flicker Woodpecker visited our driveway to eat ants.

4. This rose bush use to be in my flower bed but it had problems and wasn't blooming very well so I was going to dig it up and throw it away.  A lady renting the house next door at the time wanted to plant it on her side of the fence.  Wouldn't you know it the darn thing took off and blooms like crazy now.  Thank goodness I still get to enjoy it.

5.  Remember last weeks Pelican shot (Yakety Yak) - Well here are some more of a group of 2 Pelicans that I spotted another day in June. - Be sure to click on them to enlarge.

Lastly a bloom and a butterfly (for you mom).

For your musical selection I leave you with this Eagles song which I think should be played over loud speakers every day, every where.

Have a great weekend.  

Willy Nilly Friday Five - July 24, 2020

Thank you everyone who commented on yesterday's post. - I appreciated all the nice comments and condolences about losing my mom.  - While it's been a rough year it's also had some good moments and I know she would want me celebrating those more then focusing on the not so good moments.

So today I am joining Tom (The backroads Traveller) for:
WILLY NILLY FRIDAY FIVE

1.  PURPLE RAIN
Earlier this year after a rain our driveway was loaded with the purple blossoms from my mom's Lilac Tree.  It looked as if the sky had dropped, purple rain down from heaven.

 Sharing the song, Purple Rain as well.

I'm not a huge fan of Prince but I thought it would be fun to make all my photos song titles today & include some version of the song in my post.

2. YAKETY YAK
Took this photo of some pelicans earlier this summer.  Thought the one with it's beak open was comical.

3. POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

Like so many graduates this year our daughter did not have a regular graduation ceremony.  Instead it was done virtually.  She still wanted to wear her cap and gown and we had a little ceremony at home while we watched her graduation on the television screen.
She graduated with a degree in Cosmetology from the local Community College.  We are proud of her for seeing this through. 

4. ANTS MARCHING
One thing around here this year that's been (not so good) are ants, ants & more ants. - A neat little way to get rid of them,  Borax, Powdered Sugar & Maple Syrup with a little water.  Mix it up well and put it inside pop bottles, cans, anything that a pet wouldn't get into.(When ants eat the borax bait, it interferes with their digestive system and eventually kills them. ... That's because, for effective ant control, you need to eliminate the queen and the rest of the colony. Worker ants will consume the borax bait and bring it back to the colony for the other ants to eat. )  Here's the can I had on my office floor yesterday.  Within minutes there were loads of those nasty little critters.  Today only a few are feeding. 

 Looked up songs about ants,  Found this one by Dave Mathews Band (never heard it before) It doesn't really have much to do with ants but hey, it fits my idea so who cares.

5. CHERRY RED - Around here summer is filled with loads of fresh local fruit,  Cherries being one of them.  I've been enjoying these lucious Bing Cherries all week.

 Again the song has nothing to do with cherries but I needed one to keep the theme going.  So here it is:

Plus I actually like ZZ Top.

Hope you have enjoyed the photos and the music.  Have a great weekend.

Elusive Butterfly

It's time to try and get back to blogging again.  So today I'm sharing my photo that I submitted for 52 Frames this week for the theme:
"Details"  - If you click on the link you'll be taken to the entire album. - Well worth checking out.

Here was my submission:

“ Elusive Butterfly ”

My inspiration for this weeks theme was a little garden stake that belonged to my mom. She loved butterflies and flowers. Butterflies now serve as a memory reminder to me of my mom. I love all the pretty details of the garden stake and how the sun was shining on it and how the muted flowers in the background help to bring out the details of the garden stake. I used a feature on my camera, HDR Backlight that takes 3 consecutive pictures at once and combines them to create light and shadow. Did a smattering of Editing on PicMonkey as well.

I'm doing okay.  It's been a busy few months since she passed away.  We've had to clear out her house and get it ready to be rented.  We are in the process of doing a remodel on it right now.  Lots of time was spent remembering her through the various items
as we decided which to sell and which to keep. There have been moments of tears and moments of sadness but also moments where I am so grateful that she is no longer suffering and I cherish all the wonderful memories I have of her.  This is one of those memories.