Do the Things I Love to Do....

Well it's been over 2 months since I have posted. No excuses, probably not much to report, but in the last month I have had some very sad news that has put me in a melancholy mood. And again realizing that life is short and each day should have some beauty, a little joy, and a lot of gratitude. So many that I love have lost their beloved pet, their mother, their father, their husband, a friend gone way too soon. So much sadness that I just wanted to crawl into a ball and bury my head in my pillow. And again realizing that there is a way to relieve this sadness, to do the things I love to do.

This blog was my "get out of jail" card when my life was surrounded by my husband's illness, my mother's needs, and the daily gradations as both were failing in front of my eyes. In the evening, after settling my sweetie into bed, I would grab my laptop and write a blog post. I began this journey in May of 2011 and have written 960 posts since that time. Writing a post was part of my daily routine, what the heck happened that I got so far off of that path?? I still have a passion for photography, altho I must admit in the winter that passion goes pretty barren much like the landscape. This winter in particular with no snow and mild temps has produced nothing desirable to photograph. You can only photograph bare branches so many times.

Just as Spring was making it's first appearance with warm temps, blue skies, and sunshine and a chance to get out and photograph the emerging of early flowers, the temps plummeted and we are back to "same ol, same ol".  It sure was enjoyable while it lasted. This time last week I was at a photo conference, listening to speakers and having fun photographing indoors and relishing in the sunshine as we ate lunch outdoors, without coats.

I played around with the Lensbaby Velvet 56 during the conference and did get some fairly decent images, but I had just purchased the new Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro lens and felt that I could probably duplicate the same look with the 90mm and not spend any more money on another lens.

The 2 wood-pecker images above were taken right from my front window with a 150-600mm lens. I finally filled the bird feeder after being empty for almost a week, and purchased a Wild Berry Suet square and the woodpeckers LOVE it.  It's like candy to a kid. Today alone, I saw juncos, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, red-bellied woodpeckers, chickadees, white breasted nut hatch, and ofcourse, sparrows, all right in my front yard. Now that brings me a lotta joy.

Tomorrow night the Oscars will light up TV's all over the world as we wait and watch to see who the big winners are this year. I have seen many of the movies that are nominated this year and I have my favorites. We'll see who walks away with that golden statue this year, but honestly come this time next year I probably won't remember who won what. But it's still a tradition in my house to watch, wait and cheer the winners. (and also see what the stars are wearing on the red carpet)

Take care, have a good week and spread a little joy.

Until next time....

Time of the Year...

I do believe this is day 118 and counting for decorating the house for Christmas. It just seems to go on forever, but then I am not the speediest, taking time out for that 3rd cup of coffee, checking emails, writing blogposts (2 egads), playing a game or two on my IPad.  My mother used to call that piddling. I piddle the day away sometimes, accomplishing absolutely nothing.

Yesterday was devoted to eating, no really, I ate brunch at our last Bible study gathering for this year and then immediately after went to a lunch for our Christmas luncheon at our 1st Wednesday Bookclub. Both quite yummy and especially the cinnamon rolls with cream cheese in the middle. Everything tastes better with cream cheese and avocados. Not necessarily together, obviously, but added to veggies, dessert, meats, chicken etc etc etc. You would think after two feasts I would not have been hungry, but you know that ain't gonna happen.

Tonight is Book Club #2 Christmas dinner at a local restaurant. I think I mentioned something in my last blog post about my middle spreading...well these luncheons and dinners are contributing to that spread. But oh what fun it is...!!

Now, you are probably wondering why after sharing Christmas decor with you, I now have a picture of a duck.  Last week I had a meeting with my money man (name I give my Edward Jones investment advisor) and as I was leaving the parking lot I noticed a stream running right next to the parking lot. I have been going to this office for several years and never noticed the stream, but that day there was a paddling of ducks. FYI, I just googled "what do you call a bunch of ducks?. If they are in flight they are called a flock, but swimming or on the ground they are called paddling, raft or team. Still in my car, but inching very slowly toward the paddling, curious Mr. Mallard looked straight at the camera and just waited for his picture to be taken. Love the deep green on his head, golden yellow on his beak and those brilliant orange webbed feet. If you look close you can see water droplets all over his face and body. I have a feeling it was more food he was searching than wanting his picture taken.

Again, Deanna, a chickadee in this Christmas post?  I can't help it. These are the cutest little birds with their dark cap head, black & white body and golden belly. He blended right in with what was left of the fall colors.

Well, back to the decorating. Maybe by Christmas I will be complete and then it will be time to take it all down. Such is life. "Let go of the idea of winning or losing. In the game of life, the most important thing is just showing up and doing your best."  -- Domonique Bertolucci

Until next time....

Au Contraire...

If you happen to stumble across this blog you are probably wondering who in the heck is this, whoever she is she hasn't posted anything since August 28th....hmmm. If this is a photo-journey of my life as the title of this blog suggests, it doesn't seem like I have a life at all. Au contraire (had to look up the spelling of that) my life is full, sometimes too full, since I like my alone times to not be crowded out by the busy times. I'll even admit right here that sometimes I skip an event just because I need that alone time. But admitedlly, there are times when I really miss my sweetie. Holidays do that to me.

We had, in my opinion, a horrid summer, too hot and way too humid. If I was a kid, I would have spent my days in our local pool, but since my bathing suit body left several years ago I choose not to be seen without sleeves or partially covered legs. Since I did absolutely nothing except sit on my back porch, and take some very nice trips my body is spreading. And unless I get busy and begin some kind of activity there will be no beach wear again next summer.

But in all fairness, the heat and humidity did produce some exquisite blooms.

Autumn was absolutely spectacular this year. It was probably the most beautiful and longest lasting Fall I can remember. I made many trips to the Arboretum capturing the colors and was sorry to see it come to an abrupt end with our first snowfall of the season this past weekend.  There were colors still glowing.

Thanksgiving was spent with a partial family. Brie (youngest grand) has moved to Denver where she is happy as a lark working at a vet's animal hospital so she was not able to join us and my son Lane and his wife Nelly opted to stay in California this year to spend Thanksgiving with her family. But guess who came to Thanksgiving dinner....Matilda Mae with a new bow wrapped around her pretty little head.

Time marches on with or without a blog post and now we are in the midst of the holiday season. I have boxes piled in the entryway, a half decorated tree and a need to move a little quicker with finishing adorning the house. I'm hoping that I will be a bit more deligent in the posting of  "the photo journal of my days"  Maybe next time I'll talk about TV, Movies and good books that I have enjoyed these past days, weeks, months.

I wish for you a season filled with joy and gladness.

Sharing with

Until next time.....

Thank You for Letting Me Share....

Yesterday I felt like a celebrity with all the congrats and well wishes here on the blog as well as on Facebook. I so appreciate the kindness and it was fun to share with all of you. With Bailey gone (I know I keep saying that, but I truly miss her) and with neither son or daughter or my sweetie here, there was nobody to share that momentous moment when I opened that package with the magazine inside. Thank you again for letting me share that joy with you.

It was quiet around here yesterday afternoon. We really have no little children left in the neighborhood except at the other end of the street so the only sounds I usually hear are the birds chirping (which is mighty pleasant), or the squirrels of which we have at least 5 running up and down the tree limbs or along the back fences, a car or two, and motorcycles.  We have two households that have a motorcycle. One is an exceptionally loud rumble, rumble, the kind that likes to announce his comings and goings and the other is an older gentleman that takes his out for pleasure, ambling slowly down the street, as discreet as possible. Occasionally, depending on the way the wind blows I can hear the happy sounds from the kids at our communal pool.  And ofcourse, my kids (the dogs) bark at anyone or anything that dares to walk by our house. so protective of their kingdom. Now you know why I am keeping my fingers crossed that whoever buys the house for sale next door falls into that quiet category.

With all that quiet I grabbed my camera with the BIG lens and walked across the street where there is a large retention area with lots of tall grasses and wild-flowers. It's a good place to spot a bird or two which is the real reason I purchased that big lens.  As soon as I raised my lens to my eye, I saw this......

And then right next to her was obviously her mate.....

The lens performs like binoculars, bringing into sight objects that I might miss with just my eye. Altho, admittedly it's a lot heavier than binoculars. It's difficult to keep it steady, I might have to break down and use a tripod. UGH!  Birds don't stop and pose for you so I'm not sure how that is going to work.

Spotted this in the grasses....she is a female Red Winged Blackbird

And he is the male Red Winged Blackbird

Walked over by the pond and found at least 25 male Mallards and 2 females (why only 2??) snoozing on the grassy banks. Obviously I interrupted their nap and the Mister wasn't too happy.

Today my newly planted daylily bloomed for the first time....her name is Entrapment. Pretty snazzy name, but I think she is right snazzy with her deep pink ruffled petals. There are lots of blooms so Entrapment will keep me dazzled for quite awhile.

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice."  ~  John Calvin

Until next time......

Whose Winning the Population Battle??

I am not sure who is winning the population battle in my backyard between the robins and the sparrows. The sparrows are like little piggies at the bird-feeder and the robins love splashing in the bird baths which in turn drives me to continually fill the feeder with birdseed and add the water for bathing.  There was a time when I didn't feed the birds in the summertime, I felt that there was plenty of rations in nature that it wasn't necessary. I still believe that, but now I do it for purely selfish reasons, I enjoy watching the birds.  If it wasn't for the feeders my porch sitting entertainment would totally diminish. Between the regular feeder, the finch sock, and the hummingbird feeder I have continuous delight throughout the day.

Today was B&N day and we had quite a group, counting from memory (which varies from time to time) I think we had nine today. I love it when so many come to visit. The only down-side is that when there are that many, there will be different conversations at different ends of the table. I want to hear it all, but it's just not possible. It's our connection time which now that Bailey is gone, I really need.

After B&N, I decided to grab a bite to eat and take a stroll down by the Riverwalk, with camera in hand.

I honestly don't know if this is a grass of some sort or a weed, but I love the feather like branching.

The orange day-lilies were in bloom.  I do love day-lilies, they have hyberdized them so that you can plant just about any color you want from the traditional orange, to yellows, to pinks, purples, reds and whites. I planted a new one this year, right now it is full of buds. I am anxiously awaiting that first one to pop to actually see the true color.

And these sweet little daisy-like flowers that I honestly think are some type of weedy wildflower. No matter weed or wildflower, it's a charmer.

The front gate arbor is covered with this lovely Etoile Violette clemantis. I planted this many years ago when the trees were just saplings. Now they are covered in shade for most of the day, but they still manage to bloom their little hearts out for a short while.

It's been hot, but we had a good rain yesterday and last night so the grass and garden are happy, which makes me happy.  Toby, on the other hand, was not happy. He does NOT like rain, nor thunder, nor lightening. I guess Mother Nature can't please everyone.

Tomorrow I will share a sweet surprise!

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."  ~  Dr. Seuss

Until next time......

A Good Full Day

Last week was our first week to meet at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday mornings now that Bible Study takes a vacation during the 100 days of summer.  We will be back with a new study in the Fall, but in the meantime, we ladies that can, sit around a table at our local B&N drink our coffee or tea and just chat.  We share our good times, good books, good TV, good movies, and also our not so good happenings that enter our life. We are there for each other with love and support. I feel truly blessed to have this group of women in my life.

Sue shared her latest artistry with us this morning. Every day, she sits with her husband, who has been quite ill for several years and colors "adult coloring books" with gel pens. And then she goes a step further by making origami cranes with her pages of beautiful colors. The Japanese Origami Cranes (according to Google) symbolize the hope for peace. We could all use more peace in our lives. Thanks, Sue for sharing your talents with us.

Our eldest member (93) of our "group" fell and broke her hip over the weekend, she has had surgery and already has been transferred to a re-hab center. In ICU one day, and the next out. Wow, it's frightening how quickly "they" get you out of the hospital these days.  Bonnie had a get-well card (Bonnie is always prepared with a card for whatever the occasion may be), so all signed with our messages of prayers and get well quickly.

After B&N 4 of us headed to our last book-club gathering until Fall.  This is the book group that "no reading required" except once a year. We choose one book to read over the summer months, this year we chose "Miller's Valley" by Anna Quindlen.  I do so enjoy her writing from her earlier days at Newsweek , with her bi-weekly back page to her novels of today. I was fortunate to hear her speak a couple of years ago and yes, she speaks as well as she writes.

Today's review (always presented by a member of our group) was a lovely little book entitled "Slowing Time" by Barbara Mahany.  Very short musings on life and how we need to slow down, observe, delight, and relish our time.  Our reviewer read several of the stories all tied to the different seasons of the year.  I am planning on buying this book, it touched me.

After a busy morning and afternoon, I returned home to find two hummingbirds drinking from the feeder....excitement!!  I grabbed LARGE lens and slowly walked into the back yard. Ofcourse, they would not return, but I did capture a couple of goodies.....a chipmunk with his mouth full of nest-making supplies and a new bird I have never seen before, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

I identified this bird thru a really cool app for my I-Phone, the Merlin Bird ID.  It asks you a few short questions and then brings up a series of pictures of bird possibilities.  If you enjoy birds, I would definitely recommend the app. I can't remember if there is a charge, but if there is, it is minimal.

I will leave you with this from Flow Daily Moments (another app)

Tiny Pleasures List

*Learn Something New

*Listen to something beautiful

*Give away something that you're not using anymore

*Finish something successfully

*Have a tea break (or coffee, or wine... I added that)

Until next time.....

A Good Start

The first snips from the garden....Catmint and a new rose bush I planted right by the front door.  Well, technically I didn't plant it, my landscaper/grass taker-care of guy did, but I picked it out and paid for it.  I have been working in the garden over this past week and nothing beats the "hands in the dirt" feeling.  I still have some work to do in my back gardens, but it will happen, eventually.  Something happened to my huge area of monarda (bee balm), only the seedlings came up this year which is quite puzzling since monarda is a staple around here. So I have this rather large, rather empty space that I need to figure out what to plant in that empty spot.  Visiting the nurseries around here I'm finding, unfortunately, something in common....sadly prices keep going up up up.  Am I surprised, no. Do I like it, no.

I have two very distinct obsessions....books and flowers.  I guess if you are going to have an obsession, books and flowers are not by any means dreadful.  (Dreadful would probably fall into another category).   Perhaps dreadful on the pocketbook, but certainly not dreadful for the deep satisfaction I receive from both.  Sitting on the back porch, looking out at the garden and reading a good book is one of my life's greatest pleasures, along with vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate.

OK, switching to a totally different subject, this past Friday Bailey (granddaughter who is living with me) and I road-tripped up to the Milwaukee Zoo to meet up with Hilary and my great grand, Matilda Mae.  She is 20 months old (I know, how did that happen??) and is just a total delight. She had been to the zoo about a week prior with Hilary's Mom (aka grandmother) and loved it. It is a beautiful zoo, such a lovely setting, filled with just the right amount of animals but way too many peacocks.  I have no idea how many there are, but the males were definitely in the "mating mood".  Their mating call is definitely a turn-off, screechingly unacceptable. But I gotta admit they are stunning birds.

The animals were exceptionally active that day. Instead of the usual trying to spot them sleeping inside a cave we saw this....

A couple of "different" friends....

Matilda, did you enjoy the zoo??  And look, she has wisps of hair over her ears, won't be long until she has a pony tail.

Definitely a great start to the 100 days of summer.

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."
                                                                                                                      ~John Steinbeck

Until next time.....

A Couple of Reasons...

Surprise, I'm still here, altho you wouldn't know it by this blog.  A couple of reasons I'm back.  My friend, Kelly, who is part of our collaborative team of women who write Focusing On Life, said something profound on her personal blog, to me, "although i have been somewhat hit or miss lately, I am so grateful for this space…my tiny little corner of the inter webs.  For a million reasons, but mostly because it helps me to focus on the good in my ordinary life.  the beautiful.  the magical.  the little things that bring me so much happiness.  and as always, i am profoundly and eternally grateful for letting me share it with you."   In reading that passage I thought to myself, wow, I have really wasted my tiny corner of the inter webs by not sharing my joys, my everyday ordinary life, even sometimes my sorrows.  This is my space so consider this my new focus. I know, you are probably saying, I think she's said that before.  Yes, I probably have said it more than once, you know the saying, try and try again.  Well, this is that "try again".  The 2nd reason is I seem to be motivated by a plan.  The last time I blogged on a regular basis was the countdown to my 73rd birthday, listing 73 things that made me happy.  So with that in mind, I think today is a good day for plan #2. There are 100 days to celebrate this amazing season of summer, It is my desire to blog during these 100 days, sharing my thoughts and to focus on all the good in my everyday life. 

So here goes....I treated myself to a new lens this past week, the Tamron 150-600mm. And oh baby, this is a dream for photographing critters and birds. I bought a "used" one, saving myself a scant $100 on Amazon's Bargain Shop. And yes, it is heavy, but it does have Vibration Compensation, aka shaky hand help.  I have only tried it in my backyard, but I am tickled pink with the results. Above I captured this image standing on my back porch (door open) with the birdbath at the back of the yard. (granted I don't have a huge backyard, but still....)  Mrs. Cora Cardinal comes daily to bathe. 

And then....this is a teeny tiny wren that lives around my backyard every summer.  She may be small, but she can belt out those tweets.... (couldn't help adding the verbage).  The texture is by Jai Johnson, she is amazing, check her out on YouTube, The Daily Texture. 

The Spring flowers have pretty much sprung....

The Bleeding Hearts are wilting.

My Weigelia Bush has lost all of it's blossoms.  I have had this bush for darn near 40 years, when Lisa was a teenager I took her prom pictures by this bush.  If I would dig deep in the bowels of the basement I could probably find one, but not today.

And how about those alums...they are so regal standing tall with their royal purple flowers.

I will miss you Spring, but we have 100 days of summer ahead. Hallelujah!!!

Until next time....