A Gentle Kiss...

Well, it’s not official or anything, but when I looked out the window this morning, I realized that autumn is over.  There was a dusting of snow on the ground.  I know I am in a very slim minority who finds this change thrilling.  I love the way the cold air hits my cheeks when I walk outside on a day like this.  The air feels clean and refreshing…the snow, even a little one like today, a new adventure.

I’m not a Pollyanna though.  I know what is coming.  Snow and ice can be dangerous, inconvenient and disturbing.  Just as extreme heat and summer storms can be dangerous, inconvenient and disturbing.  But it is the way things progress here in the northeast United States and this weather is as it should be.  We can rail against it, for all the good that does, or we can accept it as the natural order of things.

  Before we know it, it will pass as all things pass.

October love...

As it's winding down, I guess I'm already getting nostalgic.  I love fall and October is my favorite month.  Oh, well...if all goes well, I'll see a few more.

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

Keeping a sharp edge…

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.
  That doesn’t happen much though.

~J. D. Salinger, A Catcher in the Rye

J. D. Salinger said it much better than I could although it seems to happen to me more often than it did to Holden Caulfield.  Because I sure wish I could call George R. R. Martin, Haruki Murakami, J. K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Henning Mankell, Kate Atkinson and the list goes on and on and on and on…although I would be too tongue-tied to say anything that made sense.

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S 

TUESDAY MUSE!

The Prime of Life...

I'm not sure what this sumac branch would think, but I think it is really beautiful.  With that gorgeous color, I think it's in the prime of its life.  It may feel like its days are numbered, however.  But, you know, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it in its green youth.

LINKING UP WITH A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

My Friend's Dog (and a little shameless begging)...

“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ” 

~ Roger A. Caras

Last week I got the opportunity to go to my friend Kristen's house and photograph her dog Rorie.  What a great time I had!  Unlike my pug dog Olive, Rorie posed quite nicely and never complained.  I guess I stick the camera in Olive's face a little too frequently and she's tired of it.  I am posting some of the fruit of my "labor."  You will see that Rorie is absolutely adorable.  

Now for the shameless begging part.  Olive, the pug, and I have entered a photo contest on TripAdvisor's Facebook page.  Here's the link:  https://www.facebook.com/TripAdvisor/app_448952861833126  It's a contest about taking your pet on vacation.  Here's the picture we entered:

We are currently in third place, but with a little help from my blogger friends, maybe we can move up.  You can vote once a day and there don't seem to be any ulterior motives by TripAdvisor.  Thanks in advance!

I just realized that the link I posted takes you to the home page for this contest.  If you click on "View Entries" and then click on the drop down menu "Sort by," you'll see "total votes."   Once you go there, you will see the running pug in all her glory.

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

Gathering fire...

I know I’m jumping the gun and we have three or four more days of summer left, but it feels like fall here today so…

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

Thanks, Nancy!  I used your Sakura texture when I process this photo. 

Is revelry enough?

I worry a lot about bees and the bee kills that are happening these days.

Lucky for Emily that she didn't have to worry about such things.

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

Thanks, Nancy.  I used your Chris texture when I processed this photo.

Oh, the humidity…

After three days of rain, Olive and I were happy to wake up to sunshine this morning.  It would be a good day for picture taking for a change.  Off we went and here’s what we saw.

There is a great abundance of Jewelweed around.  Here’s what I can tell you about it.  It’s also called Spotted Touch-me-not.  Hummingbirds love it.  The juice from the stem is said to relieve poison ivy and athlete’s foot.  How about that?

It’s obvious that the bees love it.  Here’s a bee going about his morning business among the Jewelweed blossoms.

Here’s an interesting plant called Lady’s Thumb.  It’s not the flower that gives it its name.  There is a dark green splotch in the middle of the leaf that supposedly resembles a lady’s thumbprint.

This little beauty is a plant that for many years I thought was a common dandelion.  Seems I am wrong about that.  This is either a Rattlesnake Weed or a Two-flowered Cynthia.  I really want it to be a Two-flowered Cynthia because I think that is a very nice name, but I fear it is a Rattlesnake Weed.  I have to take a better look at its leaves the next time I spy one.

And of course, the woods are full of White Wood Asters now.  I read that the young leaves of this species can be cooked and eaten as greens.  Problem is, how do you know when they are young?

There are signs of fall in the woods these days, but I’m not complaining.

Within an hour of returning to the house, the sky clouded up again and the sun was gone.

  Olive and I got lucky.

LINKING WITH A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

Thanks, Nancy, for the textures I used in a few of these pics and for hosting Tuesday Muse.

Beating boredom with peaches...

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE!

I used Nancy's texture 0332 in processing this pic.  Thanks, Nancy!

Thinking about the earth today…

Wishing we would treat her with more respect...

Linking to A Rural Journal’s Tuesday Muse.

I used Nancy’s Beth texture when I processed this photo.  Thanks, Nancy!

Life is like a bowl of onions…

“Onions can make people cry, but there’s never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.”

~Will Rogers

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S 

TUESDAY MUSE

Weeds are flowers too...

I took a ride to another town near here where I often stop to take pictures of the pond -- Quaboag Pond.  Because I am doing my 365 Project on Flickr, I felt the need for a change of scenery today.  While I was wandering around there, I came across this pinkish, purple plant growing between the rocks of the jetty.  It just grows there on its own, so I guess it would be considered  a weed.  But isn't it jaunty and beautiful?  I took a few pictures  just to get to know it a little better.

Today I am linking up with A Rural Journal's Tuesday Muse.

And thank you, Nancy! I used your Coffee Break texture when I processed this photo.

Ahead of the game...

I didn't think I would have time to mess with any photos today but I have to say that I am actually ahead of the game as far as packing is concerned.  I even have all my camera gear in order with clean lenses and about 100 gigs of SD cards at the ready.

I know what this means ultimately...that I am going to forget something major since I think I am ready.  But I am hoping that in reality I actually finally have the hang of this packing to go on a two-ish week vacation.  

Anyhow, I have a friend, who yesterday on Facebook, posted a photo of her hummingbird feeder, or what was left thereof, after the squirrels got to it.  Basically, what was left was the hook it was hanging on.  Squirrels are relentless, obnoxious, frustrating, destructive, clever and about the cutest little devils on this earth.  I had to sympathize, even though we personally have out-squirreled the squirrels and they can't get to our feeders anymore.

So I am looking out the window this morning and see this guy staring in at me.  He even waited until I got out my camera, put the long lens on it and snapped a few photos before he decided to get back to his scrounging around for dropped bird seed.  I'm not sure what he had in mind, but this is what I decided to do with him.  So what if it hurts his squirrely dignity.  I don't really give a hoot. 

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S TUESDAY MUSE

My little Olive...

Here's one of the pictures I took of Olive after we bathed her last week.  Most dogs don't really like baths and Olive is no exception to that.  But I don't think she minded it last week too much because it was so hot out.  In any case, here she is a little more fluffy than usual.  She didn't hold her momentary humiliation of being bathed against us.  Such is unconditional love...

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S 

TUESDAY MUSE

Thinking of Moore, Oklahoma…

…and hoping that the people there can find something to be thankful for.  My heart goes out to them.

Thanks, Nancy.  I used your "scripted_4" texture when I processed this photo.

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S

TUESDAY MUSE

Thinking large and melodious thoughts…

This is a photo of a piece of the large red maple that stands in our back yard. I love this tree.

  I love looking at its red leaves, its strong shadow and its powerful bearing.

  It is a giver of “large and melodious thoughts.”

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL:  TUESDAY MUSE

Thanks, Nancy!  I used your Scripted_3 texture in processing this photo.

The Mind is Everything...

I believe this.

  So as much as I can, I try to think positive and grateful thoughts.

  It’s not always easy.

  Life is not always easy.

  But, to me, it is always best to look for the good in situations and in people.

  Namaste!

Thanks again, Nancy.  I used your Sakura texture when I processed this photo.

Worth waiting for…

I think I can say it out loud.  Spring is finally here in central Massachusetts.  I knew it when I saw that my tulips had pushed their heads up through the ground.  You just can’t trust the daffodils to tell the truth about spring.  But I trust tulips.

Thank you, Nancy, I used texture nc_0416-1 when I processed this pic.

  Having your textures on hand is wonderful!

LINKING TO A RURAL JOURNAL'S 

TUESDAY MUSE.

Making lemonade together…

“I believe when life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade…

and try to find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party.”

~Ron White

While I chuckled when I read that quote, I also thought that it took the Dale Carnegie quote to a higher level.  After all, it’s great when you make the most out of what life gives you whether good or bad, but it’s even better if you can find someone to help you along the way.  With love and thanks to Greg, my husband of nearly 33 years…

Linking to Tuesday Muse.

Thanks, Nancy!  I used your Sandie Texture in processing this pic.

Archive dipping...

I dipped into my archives today and messed around with a photo I had no intention of leaving on my hard drive.  It is a challenge that I like....trying to turn something mediocre into something that I actually like.  Here it is for Tuesday Muse.