# Random Photo Thread:  The Sequel



## vyapti

We had a photo thread that I really enjoyed.  I'm certainly not the photographer that some other members are, but I do want to see some more great pics.  So, I'll try to revive the thread here.  In the spirit of randomness, I offer my feet.

Random Photos:


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## Vanilla Bean

Hello there! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Here was our Christmas tree topper! 





A picture from my Uncle Bob's back yard.... snow country in NY.





Steaks on my mom's grill (NY state)





A ferry and a far shot of Seattle, WA.





Those are some random photos!


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## qmax

That's not a ferry.  That's a cruise ship.


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## vyapti

My wife posted this one on her blog a while back.  It's one of my favorite pictures of my middle girl.  She a little bit into drama right now.


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## Vanilla Bean

qmax said:


> That's not a ferry. That's a cruise ship.


  Sorry, I'm absent a mind today... too many things  going on... BUT, I will say that the picture was taken on a ferry, looking at  the CRUISE ship.


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## qmax

Vanilla Bean said:


> Sorry, I'm absent a mind today... too many things  going on... BUT, I will say that the picture was taken on a ferry, looking at  the CRUISE ship.


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## lifesaver

Nice photos


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## getoutamykitchen

I recently purchased a new computer and have been scanning almost 12 years of pictures of my son. I'll try not to overwhelm you guys too much. The first is my favorite of my son and DH.


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## getoutamykitchen

This was our christmas card when our son was 13 months old.





His favorite TV show of course was Sesame Street





And last a relaxing moment with the man himself, Elmo


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## Vanilla Bean

ADORABLE pictures, getoutamykitchen! Love those eyes!  I imagine they steal a heart every time!  

Here are a few more random pics....





our fireplace and my BF's feet 





My Mom's cat, Jack. Some habits seem to run in the family! 





Chips-n-Dip, anyone?


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## lifesaver

getoutamykitchen, I love those baby photos, especially the first photo. It's beautiful.


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## cara

some pictures from the Baroque garden at Herrenhausen...


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## lifesaver

getoutamykitchen, Beautiful photos. The first photo is my favorite but all are nice.


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## lifesaver

cara, cool photos


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## getoutamykitchen

Cara, what beautiful photographs.


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## vyapti

I like the long row of trees =)


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## lifesaver

Any more beautiful Photos???????????


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## vyapti




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## lifesaver

vyapti, That is a beautiful Photo. thanks for sharing.


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## lifesaver

I really love the autumn leaves in the background.


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## getoutamykitchen

O.K. Lifesaver, here is one I'm not sure would be considered beautiful. This was about 7 years ago. My DH and I were going to a halloween party and snapped this while he was embarrassing my son. How convienent that there were no pictures of me as him/her husband. Also if anyone asks, we have no idea how this photo got here on DC.


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## lifesaver

That is a really cool shot.


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## vyapti

There's nothing more fun than embarrassing your kids.


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## getoutamykitchen

lifesaver said:


> That is a really cool shot.





vyapti said:


> There's nothing more fun than embarrassing your kids.



Is that not the ugliest woman you have ever seen? It was so funny, he wore my black & brown top with matching skirt, but he refused to wear a bra, so he rolled up a bath towel and put it under the top and the whole evening he was adjusting himself because they kept sagging.


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## lifesaver

that little boy in the pic is extremely handsome


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## getoutamykitchen

Thank you Lifesaver and still is today!


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## lifesaver

how old is he?


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## cara

cute boy ;o))

Have some more from last year.... autumn in the forest..


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## getoutamykitchen

lifesaver said:


> how old is he?



He turned 12 back in November (and he's not available).


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## getoutamykitchen

cara said:


> cute boy ;o))
> 
> Have some more from last year.... autumn in the forest..



Thank you cara, your photographs are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.


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## lifesaver

Nice pics cara, i like the one with the vine growing up the tree.


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## lifesaver

getoutamykitchen,  too funny!

i was thinking that he is about 10 to 12 but wasn't really sure.


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## getoutamykitchen

That photograph was done about 6 months ago. As soon as spring arrives and Florida starts turning green again I want to do another photo shoot with him again. He had an upper resp. infection about 2 weeks prior and still looks a little pale in the picture.


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## Scotch

Pienza, Italy:






Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy:






A small street in Lucca, Italy:






Rome:






Rome:







Outside the Parthenon in Rome (titled "Oh, oh!"):






After the Storm, Florence:






A Quiet Canal, Venice, Italy:


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## lifesaver

Scotch, Those are beautiful.


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## fireweaver

Cara, i don't know *what* you're doing with your camera, but the lighting in those shots is all just incredible.

jellyfish at the Monterrey Bay aquarium:




chinese noodle soup, aka, monster from the deep:




and of course the cutest pooch anywhere:


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## lifesaver

Nice Pics.


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## getoutamykitchen

Oh, Scotch, fireweaver you both took some awesome pictures. Thank you for sharing.


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## radhuni

View attachment 7023

I drew this one with sketch pen.


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## lifesaver

radhuni, that's really nice. i have a son whom is in the military and he is in to dragons. he has a large red dragon tattooed on his back and it looks really cool.


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## cara

fireweaver said:


> Cara, i don't know *what* you're doing with your camera, but the lighting in those shots is all just incredible.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> just take pictures ;o))
> I really like your Jellyfish
> 
> Scotch,
> your Italy-Pics - amazing
> 
> today I have some animals for you:
> 
> my lovely Limousin
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> a seagull
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> a peacock in Prague
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> an Admiral-Butterfly


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## vyapti

I'm always amazed by your pics, Cara.


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## getoutamykitchen

Oh cara, absolutely beautiful photographs. The Limouisin is stunning.
Isn't the world of digital photography wonderful?


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## getoutamykitchen

Here are a few oldies but goodies. The color and clarity aren't perfect, but the subject is A #1 in my book. All of my son of course. I have been scanning and retouching some old 35mm shots I took of him as a baby and wanted to share.
I should have bought stock in Windex at this age, look at that window.




When I found out I was pregnant I started painting a.s.a.p.. His room was done in Winnie the Pooh & the Blustery Day.




About a month before Halloween I started asking him to wear is clown wig so he would get use to it.




My DH & I were making a story book for his sister as a graduation present. She had just finished nursing school.


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## lifesaver

Awww! cute baby, great pics.


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## radhuni

cara said:


> fireweaver said:
> 
> 
> 
> a seagull
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I like seagulls, in my student life I always used to draw a picture of a seagull on the cover of my books. It symbolizes freedom and abundance for me.
Click to expand...


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## radhuni

I set this picture as my desktop background.


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## cara

radhuni, 
I've got some more.. ;o))






and a sequel of a starting gull..


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## lifesaver

Beautiful pics, cara


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## radhuni

cara said:


> radhuni,
> I've got some more.. ;o))
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and a sequel of a starting gull..



Thank you, I have saved all of them.


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## Cooksie

Mr. Macro Kitty
He does not like to cooperate during the shooting session .


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## lifesaver

Beautiful Kitty


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## Cooksie

lifesaver said:


> Beautiful Kitty


 
 thank you


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## lifesaver

can i have him/her?


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## radhuni

Sunset after a thunder storm

View attachment 7180

View attachment 7181

I took both pics today, from the terrace of our building


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## lifesaver




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## Scotch

Wanna play?


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## Cooksie




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## lifesaver




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## radhuni

View attachment 7332


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## lifesaver




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## radhuni

A real blue rose?


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## lifesaver




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## GrillingFool

That's a crispy clear picture! Very nice!


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## texasgirl

I think the meaning to this thread are random pics that we took ourselves, right? confused.


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## cara

our swimming Fintail ;o))


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## bourbon

A mouse in the yard one day







A small box turtle my daughter found


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## qmax

This was taken in April.  Beautiful spring morning in Paris.  Just a little bit crisp.  The street musicians were fabulous.  A few block from the Louvre.  All the colors and shadows were right.


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## luvs

*me & my kitty, tigs*


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## lifesaver

Great pic luvs!


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## Chile Chef

Can I play, huh, huh?


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## lifesaver

A full moon... Pic taken outside my front door.


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## luvs

lifesaver said:


> Great pic luvs!


 
thank you!


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## pacanis

I couldn't find the original thread either, but part deux will do 

I was going to post these last night, but couldn't find the one. It was on my work pc.
Some pics from my trail camera out back.


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## Rocklobster

Here are a couple I took at 5:45 in the morning on my way to work


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## GB

Here are a few I took this weekend.


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## pacanis

That whale is very cool.


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## GB

My buddies girlfriend is the one who ran the whale watch so we got great treatment and the best spot for photographs. She thinks we saw about 40 different whales that day.


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## TomatoMustard

What an awesome thread. I love looking at other people's photos in small servings.. when someone hands you a whole album and tells you to look it tends to lose its novelty after a few but this thread is nice and refreshing.


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## Andy M.

Here are a few from here and there.  The flower is from SO's garden, the sunset is in Aruba and the turkey was in the backyard about 30 feet from the deck.


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## pacanis

Hey, is that a day lilly? I think I have some of those. Close to the same color, too.


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## Andy M.

I think so.  We have a variety of them in the garden.  We got them in a bundle of 200+ bulbs for $10 or so.  We order from them in the early Spring for summer flowers.


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## pacanis

No maintenance. Comes back every year. Just the way I like it.


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## Andy M.

Right.  SO has been working on making the garden are less labor intensive so perennials get the nod.  That's augmented with annuals every year for color in shade areas.


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## Andy M.

SO has gotten creative with the area behind our townhouse.  When we moved in this rock was just a rock with a depression in the middle that was filled with stagnant water.  Now it's a little easier on the eyes.


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## pacanis

Now that's cool, Andy.


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## kadesma

Andy M. said:


> SO has gotten creative with the area behind our townhouse.  When we moved in this rock was just a rock with a depression in the middle that was filled with stagnant water.  Now it's a little easier on the eyes.


Andy that's beautiful. Are those impatients? Someone worked magic!!!! 
kades


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## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Now that's cool, Andy.





kadesma said:


> Andy that's beautiful. Are those impatients? Someone worked magic!!!!
> kades




Thanks, guys.  Yes they are impatiens.  She uses them a lot as the annual to fill in among the perennials.  They do well in partial sun which we are faced with in most of the garden.


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## joesfolk

Beautiful and useful too.  A rock with a depression that holds water will breed mosquitos. A rock with flowers growing out of it will breed smiles.


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## cara

GB said:


> Here are a few I took this weekend.



GB, I can't stop to tell you, these whales are great..
"Der Hammer" I would say in german... I'm really jealous....


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## PrincessFiona60

From Oregon trip.  I love the second one, I had never given a thought we might need an Evac Route for a Tsunami, at least not in Montana


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## pacanis

Wow, that rock even has a name.
Looks like a big dorsal fin.


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## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Wow, that rock even has a name.
> Looks like a big dorsal fin.



It does!  Haystack Rock...it was in "The Goonies" and several other movies.  I still haven't gotten around to resizing and titling all the photos from the vacation.


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## PrincessFiona60

I was really there:


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## pacanis

Nice sweathshirt! See spot run.... lolol  Good one.


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## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Nice sweathshirt! See spot run.... lolol  Good one.



I got it from the National Geographic catalog...they have several fun t-shirts and sweatshirts.

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/...-logo-gear/animal-themed?categoryLevelId=A028


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## pacanis

Oh, BTW, I meant *sweat*shirt.
I don't lisp when I type... that I know of.


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## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Oh, BTW, I meant *sweat*shirt.
> I don't lisp when I type... that I know of.



I didn't notith a lithp.


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## Dawgluver

It'th ok, Pacanith.


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## Vanilla Bean

This picture is of a Safeway grocery store and Mt. Rainier in the background. I thought it was so cool the way the mountain stood out. Gives you and idea of how high up it is.


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## Bolas De Fraile

Some pic of the Roman City of Chester taken from the wall that encircles it.
Chester is 8 miles from our house and is always full of tourists mainly from the USView attachment 11527

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## GB

My daughter and her friends having fun at the beach this weekend.


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## TomatoMustard

Vanilla Bean said:


> This picture is of a Safeway grocery store and Mt. Rainier in the background. I thought it was so cool the way the mountain stood out. Gives you and idea of how high up it is.


 
That Safeway looks crooked. Love the mountain, though.


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## Vanilla Bean

TomatoMustard said:


> *That Safeway looks crooked*. Love the mountain, though.


  Yeah, it does.  The parking lot is very uneven, though.  There is a huge slope from the from the front to the back of the building.  Maybe that is why it looks crooked.  I took the pic straight on though, but it was a quick snap.  That's the reason for the white ford in the way.  I don't think I could have done anything to correct the way the building sits with the parking lot.


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## PrincessFiona60

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Some pic of the Roman City of Chester taken from the wall that encircles it.
> Chester is 8 miles from our house and is always full of tourists mainly from the US



Those photos are great, Bolas.  I love seeing the Roman ruins in England.  My favorite part of history!


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## Andy M.

At the end of May we went for a Sunday brunch to celebrate my daughter's birthday.  This is SO and Steven mugging through a decorative ice sculpture on the buffet.


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## babetoo

GB said:


> My daughter and her friends having fun at the beach this weekend.


 

i really love this picture. no question they are having a great time. innocent days. thanks


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## GB

Thanks babe. I just found out they are going to publish that photo in the town paper. DD will be thrilled.


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## pacanis

I had my picture in the papper a few times as a kid, sledding or something with friends. She will be thrilled.


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## TATTRAT

Never post in here, well, haven't in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. . . 

Obscured






From the "Middle section" of Skyline Drive






An Angry Great Falls


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## pacanis

Turkey out for a stroll.
Just a couple more months until Thanksgiving


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## Aunt Bea

Very nice!

It is amazing how they have made a comeback in the Northeast.


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## DaveSoMD

Random photo of winter....


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## pacanis

Alright Dave. That'll be enough of that. Winter will be here soon enough


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## PrincessFiona60

Wishing for winter...

Great turkey pics, Pacanis!


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## Kayelle

What a cool thread!  I just went back to page one, and the pictures are wonderful.

Here's a picture of my favorite local beach.  I love sitting here with a good book especially in the winter when most of the people are gone.  It's wonderful watching the boats come and go at the mouth our harbor, with a view of our city in the background.


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## pacanis

Thanks Princess. It's almost like the one was posing.

That is one busy beach.


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## Uncle Bob




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## pacanis

Birthplace of America's music?
That would be Elvis, right Bob?


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## PrincessFiona60

El Capitan on Lake Cour d'Lane for the weekend.  He is having a better holiday weekend than I am.


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## pacanis

PrincessFiona60 said:


> El Capitan on Lake Cour d'Lane for the weekend. He is have a better holiday weekend than I am.


 
Does his head bob up and down when you hit a wave?


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## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Does his head bob up and down when you hit a wave?


  I'm not there, I'm just getting the pictures.  But I do call him "Bobblehead" when he gets tired.


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## Uncle Bob

pacanis said:


> Birthplace of America's music?
> That would be Elvis, right Bob?



That would be correct.....along with 

"Honey Boy" Edwards
Charlie Booker
Eddie Floyd
Sam Cooke.......
James Cotton......
Son House.....
B. B. King......
Jimmy Reed......
Muddy Waters.....
and a dozen or so more.... blues men from the Mississippi Delta....
The Blues drifted up the river to Memphis, and Down the River to New Orleans...


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef

I finally got all my boys together in one place at the same time. My little girl won't sit there unless everyone else is gone because the boys play too rough.


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## Zhizara

Nice kitties.  I love the names, Slob (Oh! Now I get it).


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## Vanilla Bean

This is Lucy.


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## PrincessFiona60

*Patron and Big Brother Kona*

Oh Yeah, I got another picture today in e-mail:


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## purple.alien.giraffe

Lol. "Hi, I'm bite size. Wanna play?" "What the heck are you?" Seriously, he looks so happy in that picture and the other dog looks like he/she is at a loss for what to do with him.


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## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Lol. "Hi, I'm bite size. Wanna play?" "What the heck are you?" Seriously, he looks so happy in that picture and the other dog looks like he/she is at a loss for what to do with him.



Kona just lets Patron do whatever, usually Patron is sleeping on him.


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## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Kona just lets Patron do whatever, usually Patron is sleeping on him.



Patron is obviously born to be an Alpha!  What a cutie!  And what a good Kona!


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## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Patron is obviously born to be an Alpha!  What a cutie!



LOL!  Kona rolls his eyes at Patron.


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## Uncle Bob

Vanilla Bean said:


> This is Lucy.



Do you have a "Charlie Brown" ??


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## Zhizara

Or a Desi?  Cute Kitty.

Princess, that's precious.  Kona looks fascinated and Patron is so confident!


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## Vanilla Bean

Nope, I don't have a Charlie or a Desi..but, my owner comes from the hometown of Lucy... the one that knows Desi.


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## DaveSoMD

This is the "Don't bother me I'm sunning myself" glare.....


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## PrincessFiona60

DaveSoMD said:


> This is the "Don't bother me I'm sunning myself" glare.....



She's such a pretty dog!


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## purple.alien.giraffe

Tahquamenon Falls near Paradise, MI in the U.P. One of my favorite places to be. I feel at peace whenever I'm there.

View attachment 11995

View attachment 11996

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## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful PAG!


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## Dawgluver

How gorgeous!


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## DaveSoMD

Ahh.... calm and relaxing....oooohmmmmmmm ......

thanks pag.....just what I needed!


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## Zhizara

Very relaxing to look at.  Thanks, PAG!


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## Vanilla Bean

a picture of bird in NY state.


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## Somebunny

Today at Mt. Rushmore

View attachment 12002

Wild Burrows at Custer State Park

View attachment 12003


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## buckytom

Vanilla Bean said:


> a picture of bird in NY state.



you live in washington state?

my god, that's some telephoto lens you've got!!!!


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## pacanis

buckytom said:


> you live in washington state?
> 
> my god, that's some telephoto lens you've got!!!!


 
Maybe she meant to say New York state of mind 

Cool pic of Mt Rushmore. It's nice to see one that's not a file photo. Especially at that distance. I think it gives more presence than the closeups.


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## chopper

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> Tahquamenon Falls near Paradise, MI in the U.P. One of my favorite places to be. I feel at peace whenever I'm there.
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11995"/>
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11996"/>
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11997"/>
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11998"/>
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=11999"/>



When I was a child we would go camping locally, but one time we actually went on a family vacation. This is where we went. I was only about seven years, but will never forget how beautiful the falls were, or the sound of the rushing water. Thanks for bringing back the memories for me. It was nice to be able to show DH and DS what it looks like there.


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## purple.alien.giraffe

It really is a beautiful area. It's the kind of place where it takes more effort to take a bad photo than it does to take a good one. I recommend it as the place to visit for anyone heading to the EUP.


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## JoshuaNY

Random for many. Daily ritual for me. Traditional Wetshaving.


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## PrincessFiona60

time for sleep


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## GB

JoshuaNY said:


> Random for many. Daily ritual for me. Traditional Wetshaving.


Before I grew my beard this is how I was shaving myself. I used Proraso cream as well.


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## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> time for sleep



Awwwwwwwww.  Squeeee!

And with his green gorilla!

I keep going back through all Patron's baby pictures.  Keep 'em coming, Princess!


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## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Awwwwwwwww.  Squeeee!
> 
> And with his green gorilla!
> 
> I keep going back through all Patron's baby pictures.  Keep 'em coming, Princess!



I got him a whole winter wardrobe...Barn coat, Camo hoodie, sweater and a life jacket if they keep going out on the boat.  now I'm looking for boots  The Muttluks are a little expensive for my nephew...I'm hoping I can adapt some infant socks and shoes for him.


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## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I got him a whole winter wardrobe...Barn coat, Camo hoodie, sweater and a life jacket if they keep going out on the boat.  now I'm looking for boots  The Muttluks are a little expensive for my nephew...I'm hoping I can adapt some infant socks and shoes for him.



It's such fun to be able to spoil a niece or nephew!  Were you able to find him a harness?


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## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> It's such fun to be able to spoil a niece or nephew!  Were you able to find him a harness?



I need to have him for the afternoon so I can try them on him.  I may go swipe him tomorrow, for an outing.  His Mom is already going to shoot me over the other clothes...I'll convince her to wait until I get him his harness.  He's really good about following and he responds well to squeekers.  I have a few of them for my pockets and he always comes bouncing back.


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## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> I need to have him for the afternoon so I can try them on him.  I may go swipe him tomorrow, for an outing.  His Mom is already going to shoot me over the other clothes...I'll convince her to wait until I get him his harness.  He's really good about following and he responds well to squeekers.  I have a few of them for my pockets and he always comes bouncing back.



I use the squeakers for DH.  Highly recommend them.


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## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I use the squeakers for DH.  Highly recommend them.



I just threaten to have his name called over the PA system.


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## Andy M.

I'm curious about the history of this house.  How may additions have been added over the years and where, exactly, is the original part of the building?


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## pacanis

What is that, Andy?
Was that posted earlier here?


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## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> What is that, Andy?
> Was that posted earlier here?




It's a house on the water in Kennebunkport, ME.  I took it a couple of weeks ago.  Nothing special about it that I'm aware of.  I was just fascinated by the hodgepodge of additions to the building.  

If it was posted earlier, It was by someone else.


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## pacanis

Interesting. Quite sprawling.


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## DaveSoMD

We have mushrooms growing all over the neighborhood after all the rain...these are just a few of them..


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## chopper

View attachment 12025


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## Somebunny

chopper said:
			
		

> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12025"/>



Nice car Chopper! Yours?


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## Somebunny

Devils Tower 

View attachment 12030



View attachment 12031


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## PrincessFiona60

Yep, that's Devil's Tower all right!  Did you walk all the way around it? 

Did you see any spaceships...


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## buckytom

did you sculpt a model of it in mashed potatoes?


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## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> did you sculpt a model of it in mashed potatoes?



Yeah, I have one in my living room...


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## buckytom

g, a, f, f, c...


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## Bolas De Fraile

our first date
View attachment 12032


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## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> g, a, f, f, c...



Shrek is playing it on his Guitarlele...which has morphed into obscene Hawaiian music.


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## chopper

Somebunny said:
			
		

> Nice car Chopper! Yours?



No...the pick-up behind it is ours. Still in white primer, but finally on the road after 6 years!  Here is a better picture of the truck!


View attachment 12033


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## pacanis

*WOOT!*

Don't bother the cook


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## chopper

The answer is AR15. Right?


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## pacanis

Yeah. Slightly different configuration than the woot shirt, but close enough.


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## buckytom

wow, that is so much better than running around the yard with a branch for a rifle, pac!

i just have 1 question. how can you shoot women or children like that? (famous movie line)


----------



## pacanis

I had to look that one up, Bucky. 

It's not a Barrett, but it'll do.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Squirrel!!!!


----------



## chopper

View attachment 12039

Can you name this place, and the movie that goes with it?


----------



## DaveSoMD

chopper said:


> View attachment 12039
> 
> Can you name this place, and the movie that goes with it?




Movie - The Shining

Hotel - The Overlook Hotel (in the movie) 

Hotel - Timberline or Timberlake?


----------



## chopper

You got the movie right.  Still waiting for the correct name of this actual Hotel. Bonus; name the town it is in too!


----------



## buckytom

the exteriors in the shining were shot at timberline lodge on mt. hood in oregon.

i've skiied there. but i'm not sure if that's the same as in the picture. it was covered in snow when i was there.


----------



## GB

My Daughter.


----------



## buckytom

she's beautiful, geebs.


----------



## GB

Thanks BT.


----------



## chopper

buckytom said:
			
		

> the exteriors in the shining were shot at timberline lodge on mt. hood in oregon.
> 
> i've skiied there. but i'm not sure if that's the same as in the picture. it was covered in snow when i was there.



Yes...but the hotel that inspired the movie is in Colorado. It is said to be haunted. I am not sure if any of the filming was done inside the actual hotel or not.


----------



## chopper

chopper said:
			
		

> Yes...but the hotel that inspired the movie is in Colorado. It is said to be haunted. I am not sure if any of the filming was done inside the actual hotel or not.



Stephan King stayed in this Hotel and then wrote the book. So I guess it actually inspired the book that came before the movie. Here is a hint:  don't get all steamed over this.


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> View attachment 12039
> 
> Can you name this place, and the movie that goes with it?


 


I think I posted that exact same photo a few years ago here in the what's this picture game.

Nice find, or did you take it?


----------



## chopper

Pacanis, I took this picture this summer.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

My cat, sprawled out on hubby's legs. Hubby has a 36" inseem. This is and the fact that he's a little heat machine is probably why he can comandeer the greater part of the bed.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Grr, photo didn't attach. Try this again.


----------



## Dawgluver

purple.alien.giraffe said:
			
		

> My cat, sprawled out on hubby's legs. Hubby has a 36" inseem. This is and the fact that he's a little heat machine is probably why he can comandeer the greater part of the bed.



DH and I have a king size bed.  23 pound beagle takes up 3/4 of it.   How does that happen?  She hasn't expanded when I last checked.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> My Daughter.



Shrek wants to know if you need to borrow the shotgun...


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> Pacanis, I took this picture this summer.


 
That's pretty cool. The pic is a dead ringer for one of the hotel's file photos. Nice job!


----------



## GB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek wants to know if you need to borrow the shotgun...


And a shovel. Thanks Shrek!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> And a shovel. Thanks Shrek!



Have to have the proper tools when you raise beautiful girl childrens...


----------



## GB

LOL


----------



## lifesaver




----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> And a shovel. Thanks Shrek!



Shrek says he has your alibi, too!


----------



## GB

Shrek, you are a good ogre! Next round is on me!


----------



## chopper

View attachment 12044

Here is another picture of the same Hotel I posted before ( a little farther away)  It is The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Stephan King stayed in this hotel and was inspired to write The Shining. It is said that this place is haunted. We didn't stay there, but stayed in a cabin near by. Rocky Mountain National Park is very close to here too.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Lights in the dark.

View attachment 12046

View attachment 12047

View attachment 12048

View attachment 12049

View attachment 12050


----------



## GB

Very cool pag! I especially like the first and third shots.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Very nice, Jess!  Thanks!


----------



## DaveSoMD

Okay, how about a random photo of dogs staring at nothing. All four of them do this all time, staring and following something in the rooms the we can't see.  It gets really freaky sometimes, especially at night.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The cats do that, too!  Freaky!


----------



## DaveSoMD

Yeah..i hate when they do it in bed, that's when it really bothers me... they sit up and stare at the wall and slowly move their head. 

I was downloading some pics off the camera tonight and they were just watching me and wanting attention..that "okay get off the lap top and send some time with US" look..and then they looked up and were just staring...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

DaveSoMD said:


> Yeah..i hate when they do it in bed, that's when it really bothers me... they sit up and stare at the wall and slowly move their head.
> 
> I was downloading some pics off the camera tonight and they were just watching me and wanting attention..that "okay get off the lap top and send some time with US" look..and then they looked up and were just staring...



LOL!  Once I turn the lights off I never look behind me, then I get to the bedroom and look at the nightlight as I turn off the last light and the cats are staring out the door into the dark...I don't care if Chuthulu is back there, I'm not looking.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dogs see dead people...

I think animals are endowed with senses we mere mortals could not imagine.

Great pic, Dave!


----------



## pacanis

lol, had to Google that one PF.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> lol, had to Google that one PF.



Now you know more than you wanted to...


----------



## DaveSoMD

Dawgluver said:


> Dogs see dead people...
> 
> I think animals are endowed with senses we mere mortals could not imagine.
> 
> Great pic, Dave!



Thanks.  And I believe that.  We are positive that the spirits of our 3 previous dogs are still in the house.


----------



## pacanis

That's what it looked like, too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> That's what it looked like, too!



He guards the Death Star Cookie Jar


----------



## pacanis

Now THAT'S too much information, lol.


----------



## Dawgluver

Patron called, he wants his toy back.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Patron called, he wants his toy back.



He has the two Jellicats and a pig to play with, he's not getting Chuthulu.


----------



## pacanis

Dawgluver said:


> Patron called, he wants his toy back.


 
Good one


----------



## GB

Here are a few I took from my sons 4th birthday party this weekend.


----------



## lifesaver

Beautiful girls!


----------



## GB

Thanks Lifesaver


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You taught him to blow on the golf ball?  Oh, I see he's checking the angle!!!


----------



## GB

He is actually trying to use the force to move the ball


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh a young Padawan!  Great!!!


----------



## Andy M.

GB said:


> He is actually trying to use the force to move the ball




Can he start a car with the Force?


----------



## GB

Yes. The force of his hand turning the key.


----------



## chopper

Then and now...

My brother found this old milk bottle in MI and sent it to because I live in CO. What he didn't realize was that we have been getting milk from this company for 20 years. Just had to send him this picture with the old and the new. 

View attachment 12054


----------



## GB

That's really cool chopper.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

chopper said:
			
		

> Then and now...
> 
> My brother found this old milk bottle in MI and sent it to because I live in CO. What he didn't realize was that we have been getting milk from this company for 20 years. Just had to send him this picture with the old and the new.
> 
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12054"/>



Nice little bit of history. That's cool.


----------



## pacanis

Yeah, that's pretty cool. Old and new.


----------



## chopper

My brother also sent an old milk box to attach to the running board of the 48 ford pick up. My FIL had a truck like ours when DH was a boy, and it had a milk box on the running board.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

A portrait I drew of my mom. I love that she looks so peaceful in it.


----------



## buckytom

wow, you drew that, pag??  with the shadow?

that's awesome!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks BT


----------



## kadesma

It's a beautiful pic of your mom. Oh if I could sketch like that it's wonderful.
kades


----------



## Dawgluver

Wonderful, PAG.  If you have an ipad, it has some very nice sketch options, and you just use your finger to draw.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I don't but I do have a drawing tablet for my desktop. Haven't quite gotten used to it yet, there's a bit of an adjustment in hand/eye coordination. I like it so far though.


----------



## TATTRAT

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> I don't but I do have a drawing tablet for my desktop. Haven't quite gotten used to it yet, there's a bit of an adjustment in hand/eye coordination. I like it so far though.



What model do you have? I like them for digital media, but some can be really a p.i.t.a. to get use to.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

I have the Bamboo. It doesn't have the touch capability, I have to use the pen with it, but I like the pressure sensitivity and speed detection. It works really well with The Gimp. I just have issues with hand eye coordination and spacial recognition so getting used to it and getting a feel for it is taking some time. It's a vision thing. Darned physiological deffects. I admit, I envy the people who can pick up a tablet for the first time and draw with it as well as, or better than, they can with traditional drawing utensils.


----------



## babetoo

pag this is been nagging me. did you mean to spell buffalo herd as heard? just curious!


----------



## buckytom

i'm picturing a group of buffalo all saying "what'd she say?"...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

babetoo said:
			
		

> pag this is been nagging me. did you mean to spell buffalo herd as heard? just curious!



Uhm, no, that would be a typo. Lol.


----------



## babetoo

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Uhm, no, that would be a typo. Lol.


 
i thought so. we all make em.


----------



## Brigledoo

*hmmm??*

I found these on Tumblr....totally bizarre....but that bird is cute


----------



## jusnikki

Brigledoo said:


> I found these on Tumblr....totally bizarre....but that bird is cute


 

I saw this bird sitting outside my window the other day..... He wanted a shot of my tequila.......


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

jusnikki said:
			
		

> I saw this bird sitting outside my window the other day..... He wanted a shot of my tequila.......



Did you tell him you were sorry but he'd have to go get his own?


----------



## jusnikki

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Did you tell him you were sorry but he'd have to go get his own?


 

Yep, told him I ain't sharing!! lol


----------



## GB

Here is one I took this weekend at the Life Is Good festival. It is not the best shot I have ever taken, but I love it anyway. The blur on the left is my son. It is very reperesentative of what our lives are really like as he never sits still for a moment.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> Here is one I took this weekend at the Life Is Good festival. It is not the best shot I have ever taken, but I love it anyway. The blur on the left is my son. It is very reperesentative of what our lives are really like as he never sits still for a moment.



ROFL!!!  Perfect picture!  Priceless!


----------



## Dawgluver

GB said:
			
		

> Here is one I took this weekend at the Life Is Good festival. It is not the best shot I have ever taken, but I love it anyway. The blur on the left is my son. It is very reperesentative of what our lives are really like as he never sits still for a moment.



 "  Let me introduce my son, the blur on the left!". Super cute, GB!


----------



## pacanis

I was looking through some pics and came across this one from last year.
View attachment 12089
I had taken a bike ride to visit my favorite bike shop, and not one mile from the shop, on my way home, I noticed I was getting a flat. They did not have my tire in stock and I really needed to get back home, so they handed me the keys to this. Not to gawdy, huh? 
I had to give them major props on the bike forum and took this pic to post along with my compliments. I didn't even buy my bike there! Definitely above and beyond...


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:
			
		

> I was looking through some pics and came across this one from last year.
> <img src="http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=12089"/>
> I had taken a bike ride to visit my favorite bike shop, and not one mile from the shop, on my way home, I noticed I was getting a flat. They did not have my tire in stock and I really needed to get back home, so they handed me the keys to this. Not to gawdy, huh?
> I had to give them major props on the bike forum and took this pic to post along with my compliments. I didn't even buy my bike there! Definitely above and beyond...



I want one.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 12091

Hiking in Palmer Lake, Colorado.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 12092

Another one from the same area. Ice caves!


----------



## chopper

View attachment 12093

Last one. Another one exploring the ice caves.


----------



## Dawgluver

Breathtaking, Chopper!


----------



## chopper

Thanks. It sure was fun.  90 degree weather, and still ice in the caves!


----------



## TATTRAT

chopper said:


> Thanks. It sure was fun.  90 degree weather, and still ice in the caves!



That is awesome!!


----------



## Andy M.

From SO's garden.


----------



## chopper

Beautiful flowers!  Nothing that pretty grows at my house. I do have lots of cactus in the yard.


----------



## chopper

Cacti I mean...and yucca too!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> View attachment 12091
> 
> Hiking in Palmer Lake, Colorado.



Beautiful!  Love the mountains.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:
			
		

> From SO's garden.



Gorgeous.  As summer slips away...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> From SO's garden.



Love the salmon pink lily's (?)...and the Iris below.  

Someone brought in a wealth of dahlias at work today, they were on every flat surface.  Beauty!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

A little fall color. These are from the maples at my parents' house.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

This is an arrangment done from leaves and grass found around the house the hubby and I are moving out of.


----------



## babetoo

pag, you are such a talented girl. lovely!!


----------



## Dawgluver

Purty stuff, Pag!  I love maples in the fall.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Tganks Babe and Dawg.


----------



## chopper

Pag...your leaves remind me of fall growing up in Michigan. I still love the fall, but in Colorado there are not as many colors. Most of the trees turn yellow. Not as many reds. Beautiful pictures, and I love that you took them inside too!!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

The fall colors are definitely a highlight of living in MI. I love the colors the maples turn.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> Pag...your leaves remind me of fall growing up in Michigan. I still love the fall, but in Colorado there are not as many colors. Most of the trees turn yellow. Not as many reds. Beautiful pictures, and I love that you took them inside too!!



We get good color in Montana, too.  Something I never saw growing up in Wyoming.  So I really enjoy the colors.

Thanks for sharing Jess!


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

Cheers, View attachment 12111


----------



## lifesaver




----------



## lifesaver




----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Duckies!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

It's morning!


----------



## GB

A picture of my beautiful niece from yesterday.


----------



## pacanis

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> It's morning!


 
What's that bright light? It looks vaguely familiar.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

pacanis said:
			
		

> What's that bright light? It looks vaguely familiar.



That would be the evil day star. Shhh, let's not draw it's attention.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> That would be the evil day star. Shhh, let's not draw it's attention.



Big yellow thing in sky...scares me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> A picture of my beautiful niece from yesterday.



So you are pretty much surrounded by cute, sweet girls.  Lucky!


----------



## GB

I am one lucky guy PF!


----------



## pacanis

Not mine, but cute anyway


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Not mine, but cute anyway




Can't be sure without a paternity test.


----------



## pacanis

A-hah...

lol


----------



## Dawgluver

Dunno, Pac, pretty close resemblance...

So cute!  What breed?


----------



## pacanis

Boston Terriers. Born 9/11.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's what I thought.  Nice breed!


----------



## pacanis

Dawgluver said:


> That's what I thought. Nice breed!


 
Very nice, but ugly! 
Those and Frenchies... I can't get around the ears. It's like they belong on fruit bats


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:
			
		

> Very nice, but ugly!
> Those and Frenchies... I can't get around the ears. It's like they belong on fruit bats



Awww, I think both breeds are adorable!

Fruit bats are kinda cute too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Not mine, but cute anyway



Do they have little sweaters on?  So cute.


----------



## pacanis

The little girl is wearing a sweater.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

The thread about your favorite hobbies caused me to look up some old photos, but I thought I would put them in a more appropriate thread. Here are some pictures at random.






My Christmas tree topper





My Mom's cat, Jack





a blueberry pie I made once





Our fireplace and my BF's feet





Veggie pizza I made on a Friday night.


----------



## Hammster

What a fun looking thread. Lots of great pictures. Vanilla Bean, it appears you have reposted some pics from page one. Pics are so nice, you've posted them twice. 
Anyway, a few of mine.
We'll start with a food related one of wild chives growing in Glacier National Park along a trail.





These trees had a starring role in Jurassic Park. At Allerton gardens on Kauai.





Closer to home. Mountain Mahogany seeds in the Laguna Mountains of San Diego, Ca.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Hammster said:


> What a fun looking thread. Lots of great pictures. Vanilla Bean, it appears you have reposted some pics from page one. Pics are so nice, you've posted them twice.
> Anyway, a few of mine.
> We'll start with a food related one of wild chives growing in Glacier National Park along a trail.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> These trees had a starring role in Jurassic Park. At Allerton gardens on Kauai.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Closer to home. Mountain Mahogany seeds in the Laguna Mountains of San Diego, Ca.


 Great pictures, Hammster!  I posted the tree angel and fireplace twice, but do you know how old this thread is?  It's over two years old, going on three.  I forgot what I posted.  I'm absent-minded, just like when I called the cruise ship a ferry.   Boy, did I feel stupid.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

buckytom said:


> you live in washington state?
> 
> my god, that's some telephoto lens you've got!!!!


Sorry I'm a bit late in replying.  I was in NY visiting family, and I really do live in WA state.  Would you believe that picture was taken through a window?  The camera I had a Fuji FinePix.  My new camera is the same.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Here are some old/new photos.

This is Seattle (bad picture, but normal for the winter months). In the background, you can see a vague Mt. Rainier. That is Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, just below the mountain.





This is a wolf spider that was on my wall one day.





This was a hot chocolate/coffee drink I made one night.


----------



## Hammster

Vanilla Bean said:


> ...but do you know how old this thread is? It's over two years old, going on three. I forgot what I posted...


 
Yeah, I realized how old the thread is and I figured you had forgotten. It happens. No reason to feel stupid. Heck, I make those kinds of mental errors all the time. I call it CRS.


----------



## chopper

Vanilla Bean said:
			
		

> Great pictures, Hammster!  I posted the tree angel and fireplace twice, but do you know how old this thread is?  It's over two years old, going on three.  I forgot what I posted.  I'm absent-minded, just like when I called the cruise ship a ferry.   Boy, did I feel stupid.



The tree angel and fireplace put me in a holiday mood. I know we aren't past Thanksgiving yet, but it is fun to think of Christmas. Thanks VB.


----------



## chopper

Hey Vanilla Bean. I would love some of that hot cocoa. It looks great, and it is a bit cold here this evening. Only 5:00 and already down to 30 degrees. It is going to be a cold one. 
Turning on the tea kettle for a hot drink...


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Here are some more photos

This is a chorizo sausage gravy I made with biscuits.






an old Christmas tree topper from a few years back.





Mark and I went walking one day, and I snapped this picture





my BF's aunt at Christmas-time





an old Christmas tree


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Just looked through this thread again and there are so many wonderful photos posted. I'm glad I looked through it again. Made me smile.

Here are a few pictures I took earlier this year.


Crab apples at my parents house.
View attachment 12367


My parent's cat, Moe.
View attachment 12370


In the parking lot outside my workplace. It had rained all night and I was greated with this amazing image at the end of my shift. As I drove home a light rain fell, each droplet illuminated in sunlight. It was like droplets of gold falling from the sky. When i got home I sat and watched crystal clear droplets fall from the tree leaves, then shatter like glass when they hit the pavement. It was an incredibly beautiful morning.
View attachment 12371


The view from the window at the top of the stairs in my parent's house.
View attachment 12374


Toadie!
View attachment 12376


----------



## Rocklobster

My daughter in the canoe last summer out back of our place and my brother and I in a high school production of Calamity Jane. He is on the far left playing Lieutenant Dann Gilmartin and I am on the far right playing Francis Fryer. I think it was in '78


----------



## Rocklobster

'77 photo of a band I was in during a high school assembly. We were called the Basement Boogie Band. Fast forward 30 years and the same four guys reformed in '07 to play in a band for a few years......


----------



## babetoo

beautiful angel


----------



## chopper

PAG, I just love the way you described the rain in your picture. The picture is great, but the picture in my mind after reading your post is even better!


----------



## chopper

Rocklobster said:
			
		

> My daughter in the canoe last summer out back of our place and my brother and I in a high school production of Calamity Jane. He is on the far left playing Lieutenant Dann Gilmartin and I am on the far right playing Francis Fryer. I think it was in '78



I wish I had a lake "back behind" my place. How beautiful!  My Dad lives on a lake in Michigan. That is about as close as I can get to that.


----------



## Rocklobster

chopper said:


> I wish I had a lake "back behind" my place. How beautiful!  My Dad lives on a lake in Michigan. That is about as close as I can get to that.


That is the Ottawa River. It separates Ontario from Quebec for a stretch. The land you see on the horizon is in the Province of Quebec.


----------



## chopper

Rocklobster said:
			
		

> That is the Ottawa River. It separates Ontario from Quebec for a stretch. The land you see on the horizon is in the Province of Quebec.



Beautiful Rocklobster!  I would love to go to Canada some day.


----------



## Rocklobster

chopper said:


> Beautiful Rocklobster!  I would love to go to Canada some day.


  I feel the same way about the US. Been to a few places, but not too far south.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

chopper said:
			
		

> PAG, I just love the way you described the rain in your picture. The picture is great, but the picture in my mind after reading your post is even better!



Thank you.


----------



## spork

Rocklobster said:


> '77 photo of a band I was in during a high school assembly. We were called the Basement Boogie Band. Fast forward 30 years and the same four guys reformed in '07 to play in a band for a few years......


High School partners in crime regroup to wreck havoc again 30 years later.  That is way cool, Rocklobster.  Did you keep the same funky 70s name?


----------



## NAchef

Here are a couple that my kids have been helping me with.


----------



## Hammster

NAchef, one of these days I want to play around with light painting. Looks like so much fun. Do you recall the shutter speed on these?


----------



## NAchef

30 sec. f 4.0  ISO 100 on both shots


----------



## spork

Harley cruisers at Many Glacier Hotel, Montana


----------



## pacanis

spork said:


> Harley cruisers at Many Glacier Hotel, Montana


 
hmmmm... are you sure that one in the back there is a Harley? You would know I guess 

My Harley, Mooreheadville Airport 
View attachment 12387
View attachment 12388

First ride a few years ago. Where the first woman to swim Lake Erie ended up.
View attachment 12389


----------



## Rocklobster

spork said:


> High School partners in crime regroup to wreck havoc again 30 years later.  That is way cool, Rocklobster.  Did you keep the same funky 70s name?



No. We called ourselves http://www.thesawchucks.com/


----------



## Vanilla Bean

NAchef said:


> Here are a couple that my kids have been helping me with.


What cool photos!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Here are a few more.

some grape muffins I made. They were surprisingly good. I had never heard of grapes being in muffins, but I thought I would try out the recipe.





My mom's cat, Jack





This was an italian sausage and peppers pocket sandwich I made once.


----------



## chopper

Vanilla Bean,
That pocket sammy has me drooling all over the office desk!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

chopper said:


> Vanilla Bean,
> That pocket sammy has me drooling all over the office desk!


 
Thanks, it was good!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Snow!

View attachment 12393


A snowflake landed on the lense just as I took the picture.

View attachment 12394


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Snow!
> 
> View attachment 12393
> 
> 
> A snowflake landed on the lense just as I took the picture.
> 
> View attachment 12394



That is an amazing photo PAG!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thanks PF. The people in the parking lot looked at me like I was crazy for standing by my car snapping pictures with my phone.


----------



## spork

That's wild!
You have a great eye for photos, Jess, a lot of personality in them.


----------



## cara

snow.... *brrr*


----------



## NAchef

One I took a few years ago out by the Great Salt Lake.


----------



## Sprout

Vanilla Bean said:


> Here are some old/new photos.
> 
> This is Seattle (bad picture, but normal for the winter months). In the background, you can see a vague Mt. Rainier. That is Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, just below the mountain.



I just looked through this thread and I've gotta say, VB you've got me missing Washington somethin' fierce!


----------



## Sprout

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Just looked through this thread again and there are so many wonderful photos posted. I'm glad I looked through it again. Made me smile.
> 
> Here are a few pictures I took earlier this year.
> 
> 
> Crab apples at my parents house.
> View attachment 12367



I love all the pics you've posted, Jess, but especially this one. I can't wait to get back there in person next summer!


----------



## Sprout

Gettysburg

View attachment 12413


----------



## pacanis

My new acquisition. Or maybe it should go in the hobbies thread


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> My new acquisition. Or maybe it should go in the hobbies thread



Do you carry that in a guitar case?


----------



## pacanis

Walk softly and carry a guitar case.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Walk softly and carry a guitar case.



Shrek would like to know if it's fully automatic and where did you get it???  I would love to go out for target practice with that!


----------



## pacanis

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek would like to know if it's fully automatic and where did you get it??? I would love to go out for target practice with that!


 
Noooo, it's not selective fire. I don't have a license for that. It still "makes a distinctive sound when fired" though 
I bought it at a local gunshop. And if you hurry, you can shoot a few rounds through it when I'm sighting it in


----------



## TATTRAT

Is that an SKS?


----------



## pacanis

TATTRAT said:


> Is that an SKS?


 
No. It's an AK-47. Same caliber though.


----------



## TATTRAT

pacanis said:


> No. It's an AK-47. Same caliber though.



Ahhh. Soviet Built?


----------



## GB

Here are a few from this past weekend.


----------



## pacanis

TATTRAT said:


> Ahhh. Soviet Built?


 
It's Romanian built. It's the cheapest one you can buy, which is just what I wanted. IMO too many guys try to turn AKs into ARs, but to each his own.


----------



## TATTRAT

pacanis said:


> It's Romanian built. It's the cheapest one you can buy, which is just what I wanted. IMO too many guys try to turn AKs into ARs, but to each his own.


Yeah, I heard that. I have been thinking of getting a rifle, but ended up with just the opposite, got a SIG P226.

How are the ammo costs with the AK? Not too bad, right? Do you do any re-loading of your own?


----------



## pacanis

TATTRAT said:


> Yeah, I heard that. I have been thinking of getting a rifle, but ended up with just the opposite, got a SIG P226.
> 
> How are the ammo costs with the AK? Not too bad, right? Do you do any re-loading of your own?


 
Ammo is dirt cheap because it's all imported from "the motherland" 
Generally speaking, realizing there are lots of different grades of ammo out there, 7.62 x 39 is about half the cost of 5.56 (your typical AR/M4 round). Some guys put 7.62 uppers on their ARs just to shoot cheaper. Plus a lot think it's a better round anyway. There's ongoing debate on that.

I sold all my reloading stuff years ago, when I left the gun hobby for other endeavors for a while. And with the internet and price shopping for ammo, I have no intention of getting back into it.

Sigs are nice 
What caliber are you shooting out of it?


----------



## TATTRAT

pacanis said:


> Ammo is dirt cheap because it's all imported from "the motherland"
> Generally speaking, realizing there are lots of different grades of ammo out there, 7.62 x 39 is about half the cost of 5.56 (your typical AR/M4 round). Some guys put 7.62 uppers on their ARs just to shoot cheaper. Plus a lot think it's a better round anyway. There's ongoing debate on that.
> 
> I sold all my reloading stuff years ago, when I left the gun hobby for other endeavors for a while. And with the internet and price shopping for ammo, I have no intention of getting back into it.
> 
> Sigs are nice
> What caliber are you shooting out of it?



Ahhh, I see.

I am just putting 9mm through it, but the cost is getting up there for range time/fun time. Have been thinking of getting a Mosquito for plinking, and fun on the cheap.


----------



## pacanis

Yeah, I need a .22 pistol, too...


----------



## cara

GB said:


> Here are a few from this past weekend.



GB, great, as always


----------



## Andy M.

Making notes.

People you don't want to pick a fight with:

pacanis
TATTRAT


----------



## TATTRAT

Andy M. said:


> Making notes.
> 
> People you don't want to pick a fight with:
> 
> pacanis
> TATTRAT



lol, nothing to worry about here.


----------



## GB

Thanks Cara.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> Making notes.
> 
> People you don't want to pick a fight with:
> 
> pacanis
> TATTRAT


 


TATTRAT said:


> lol, nothing to worry about here.


 
Nor here.
As lonig as you approach from upwind and are carrying something that smells delicious


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> Here are a few from this past weekend.



The pics of the Eyes is Fan-Tabulous!  Thanks for Sharing GB!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Yeah, I need a .22 pistol, too...



I have a Ruger Bearcat .22, it's my first pistol and it's 44 years old.


----------



## GB

Thanks PF. Glad you liked it.


----------



## cara

does everybody have a pistol or something like that?


----------



## Dawgluver

Pair of Lord Deringer Colt commemorative dualing pistols and a Daisy pellet gun here.  So am guessing yes.

Love the pics!

View attachment 12459


----------



## cara

dualing pistols... I guess I could need that today...


----------



## Barbara L

cara said:


> does everybody have a pistol or something like that?


This is America, of course we all have guns!   No, of course we don't all have guns, but I talked to a guy in the Netherlands who said he wouldn't want to come to America because he thought we all walked around like Rambo.


----------



## Soma

My frontyard, at 7 this morning...first snowfall. Beavers are keeping a path open from their lodge to our yummy poplar trees (their favorite).


----------



## Barbara L

Soma said:


> My frontyard, at 7 this morning...first snowfall. Beavers are keeping a path open from their lodge to our yummy poplar trees (their favorite).


Beautiful!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Soma said:


> My frontyard, at 7 this morning...first snowfall. Beavers are keeping a path open from their lodge to our yummy poplar trees (their favorite).



I could get very hungry if I had a frontyard like that.  I'd have a hard time coming inside!  Wonderful!


----------



## Soma

No guns here! I entice these beauties to our property to shoot them with a camera only!
Getting up close and personal to wildlife is a dream-come-true for me. We retired out to the country to do just this, and my heart is bigger for it all.

This young buck showed up late October, with his Mom nearby keeping an eye on him. He was brave enough to come close to the house.







and this little Momma ( I adore her face, wee hands) comes every summer to show off her babies to me:






My computer is FULL of wildlife pics like these. One lone wolf on the winter ice (they are so shy, difficult to capture in pics); herons, beavers, one red fox who was hunting squirrels to impress his mate, etc etc etc.


----------



## GB

Those are great Soma!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Great photos!  We get deer in town and there is a fox den out on the golf course by the hospital, they come out at night.  One thing I miss by switching to dayshift.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Lovely photos, soma!


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Here are more random pictures...

My Mom's house in NY state





Seattle, picture taken on a ferry





And, the best place to have breakfast located in Auburn, WA


----------



## luckytrim

Tree is Up !


----------



## luckytrim

Take Pride in Your Ride..................

'79 Camaro Z-28






'65/66 Mustang (parts from both years)


----------



## luckytrim

IMHO- The best Mustard in the WORLD !


----------



## pacanis

Vanilla, where abouts does your mother live? I know there are lots of brick roads in the Chautauqua Institute area.


----------



## luckytrim

Times Square famous "Naked" Cowboy...


----------



## Vanilla Bean

luckytrim said:


> Tree is Up !


 I see a Charlie Brown episode coming to mind. My dad had the same kind of tree (though, it was bigger) when I was a kid.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

luckytrim said:


> Take Pride in Your Ride..................
> 
> '79 Camaro Z-28
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> '65/66 Mustang (parts from both years)


My aunt Debbie had a Camaro like that.  My dad restored it.

Guy Fieri has a car similar to that Mustang!


----------



## luckytrim

Guy's is a convertible, I think......


----------



## Hammster

One from today's hike. A down tree along the trail held a cache of acorns.


----------



## slett

*Cristmas Cottage*

All set


----------



## Vanilla Bean

luckytrim said:


> Guy's is a convertible, I think......


Yes, it is, but that picture reminded me of his.


Here are a couple more pictures.


This is my BF's motorcycle (Kawasaki Nomad 1300). In the background, is Mt. St. Helens.





This is a picture my BF took from a plane, and that is Mt. Rainier





This is from a Seattle Mariners game






And pac... my mother lives in Chautauqua County, and that is where I'm from.


----------



## pacanis

Aha! I new I'd seen those bricks before! lol
That's a nice area. I ride my bike up there all the time.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

pacanis said:


> Aha! I new I'd seen those bricks before! lol
> That's a nice area. I ride my bike up there all the time.


Yeah, most of the streets from my hometown are brick. They sure add to the ambiance, but they're not so fun to drive on in the winter.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

slett said:


> All set


My living room is kinda set up like that.  It's not decorated yet, though.  Your couch looks like mine, but I have burgundy and tan pillows on it.  

What a lovely place you have!


----------



## slett

The best part is we are not even there for Christmas this year, but my 6 year old said we have to put up decorations anyway.  for any other visits before and after Christmas.


----------



## GB

Here are a few I took tonight at our towns tree lighting.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Those pictures sure put me in the spirit!

I can't wait 'til we find a tree, but it's  going to have to be this coming weekend.  We just dug out the ornaments and tinsel today.  I still have some stuff in my trunk to get out.

We might have to buy new lights.  I bought them really cheap at Big Lots, so I don't know if they're going to work.  I like to use the little twinkly white lights and the big multi-colored lights.


----------



## Hammster

Fun with ornaments.


----------



## Rocklobster

Think Summer...


----------



## Soma

Ah, we can dream of summer, but the truth is that we are now thick in the grip of winter. I try to stay present, with what is....not wishing it were different. 

Eyes seeing this out dining-room window:





Mind  wants to agree.

Body and mind in harmony....works for me


----------



## Hammster

Fun with Christmas tree lights.


----------



## GB

Hammster, I love that one. I hope you have it hanging on your wall somewhere.

My local paper just published this one that I took a few weeks ago.


----------



## luckytrim

Waiting for Santa


----------



## luckytrim

Stocking Stuffers


----------



## GB

luckytrim said:


> Waiting for Santa


Awesome shot!


----------



## Hammster

GB said:


> Hammster, I love that one. I hope you have it hanging on your wall somewhere.


 
Thank you. I just took the shot, so I don't have it printed or hanging yet. Could be a fun one to print and hang in the guest room. Been using the guest room as my personal gallery.


----------



## DaveSoMD

Just for fun.......


----------



## GB

Here are two I took today.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Those are amazing GB!


----------



## GB

Thanks PF.


----------



## DaveSoMD

WOW GB  those are great!!!!!


----------



## GB

Thanks Dave.


----------



## taxlady

Very cool GB. What the heck is it? How did you do it?


----------



## Vanilla Bean

taxlady said:


> Very cool GB. What the heck is it? How did you do it?


 It looks like peanut m&ms under a clear surface that has water droplets.  The light could have been just right to get the neat effect, or he played around.


----------



## GB

You got it Vanilla Bean. Here is a picture of my setup.


----------



## taxlady

GB said:


> You got it Vanilla Bean. Here is a picture of my setup.



Neat-o


----------



## pacanis

Amazing what you can do with a cardboard box and a little time.


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Amazing what you can do with a cardboard box and a little time.



I'd bet the M&Ms are gone now.  So this is a truly unique event.


----------



## GB

I used a mix of almond M&M's and pretzel M&M's (for the different shapes they each had). You can tell which ones we enjoyed more in my house. There is a half a bowl of the pretzels left and no more almonds.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> I'd bet the M&Ms are gone now. So this is a truly unique event.


 

Just like Halley's Comet.


----------



## GB

Halley's comet does not taste as good.


----------



## Zhizara

Very clever!  Thanks for the neat pic.  That one should definitely be added to the scrolling pictures!


----------



## GB

Thanks Zhizara.


----------



## Skittle68

View attachment 12689


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> View attachment 12689



Oh that is so cute!

Why is the cob that dark red/brown colour?


----------



## chopper

That is a great picture. It looks like he had a great Christmas meal and is ready to relax.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> Halley's comet does not taste as good.



I thought comets were like hot fudge sundae's.


----------



## GB

You are thinking of shooting stars.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

GB said:


> You got it Vanilla Bean. Here is a picture of my setup.


 That's cool!  It's amazing what we can create with the camera lens.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> You are thinking of shooting stars.



Start about 2/3rds down page 85.  Lucifer's hammer - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle - Google Books


----------



## GB




----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


>



For me, non-mathematical, it is one of the best descriptions I have ever read to understand what a comet is composed of.  And I can see the scientists in their lab coats scribbling on the board.  I've witnessed discussions like this.


----------



## Hammster

Flowering tea. Came in a box of several flowering teas with the little tea pot. A Christmas gift from DS's GF. This one was pretty tasty.


----------



## chopper

Hammster said:


> Flowering tea. Came in a box of several flowering teas with the little tea pot. A Christmas gift from DS's GF. This one was pretty tasty.


...and beautiful too.  Thanks for sharing with us!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:
			
		

> Start about 2/3rds down page 85.  Lucifer's hammer - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle - Google Books



Ok, I think I need to add that to my list of books to read. Curse you Larry Niven for being able to hook me with a short passage about comets as sundaes. I don't have time to read much right now


----------



## Vanilla Bean

Hammster said:


> Flowering tea. Came in a box of several flowering teas with the little tea pot. A Christmas gift from DS's GF. This one was pretty tasty.


 That is neat.  I have never seen anything like that.


----------



## Hammster

Vanilla Bean said:


> That is neat. I have never seen anything like that.


Vanilla Bean, check out Numi flowering teas. That's what this is.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Ok, I think I need to add that to my list of books to read. Curse you Larry Niven for being able to hook me with a short passage about comets as sundaes. I don't have time to read much right now



You will love the book, check out the used bookstore, if you have one, first.


----------



## Hammster

A couple from today's hike around Poway Lake.
This is an osprey. The lake was recently stocked with trout, so I imagine it was keeping an eye on the lake for its next meal.





And, it was really foggy down on the lake, but it didn't stop the fishermen from trying to catch all those trout.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hammster said:
			
		

> A couple from today's hike around Poway Lake.
> This is an osprey. The lake was recently stocked with trout, so I imagine it was keeping an eye on the lake for its next meal.
> 
> And, it was really foggy down on the lake, but it didn't stop the fishermen from trying to catch all those trout.



Too cool, Hammster!

And film noir as well!


----------



## vitauta

blues mixing with slate grey hues, hanging in the air like that, so moodily delicious....


----------



## luckytrim

PrincessFiona60 said:


> You will love the book, check out the used bookstore, if you have one, first.




Really Great Book !

Another good one in the apocalyptic fiction sub-genre is _The H.A.B. Theory_


----------



## PrincessFiona60

luckytrim said:


> Really Great Book !
> 
> Another good one in the apocalyptic fiction sub-genre is _The H.A.B. Theory_



At $58 for a used paperback...I'm going to have to pass, but if I ever find it at a reasonable price, I will get it.


----------



## Skittle68

View attachment 12779

This is from last year. No snow this year :/


----------



## taxlady

Skittle68 said:


> View attachment 12779
> 
> This is from last year. No snow this year :/



Very pretty.


----------



## Hammster

Yesterday's sunrise. 6 image panorama.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Hammster said:


> Yesterday's sunrise. 6 image panorama.



That is stunning!


----------



## Zhizara

That's a beautiful picture.  Well done!


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, pretty, and really nice job of lining up those six pix.


----------



## Hammster

Thanks all.


----------



## Vanilla Bean

very pretty!

I had to make a fire last night. All the freezing rain we have had went right to the bone.


----------



## pacanis

HEY! I found the random pics thread again 

I have semi-recently gotten into vintage 22's and these are two of my target rifles with vintage scopes.
A 1965 Remington 40XB





And a 1941 Winchester 52B





And today I shot my best group ever with the 52B. First time shooting it, too 
Five shots at 50 yards 





The older I get the more relaxing stuff I like to do. And there's nothing like plinking with a .22


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> HEY! I found the random pics thread again
> 
> I have semi-recently gotten into vintage 22's and these are two of my target rifles with vintage scopes.
> A 1965 Remington 40XB
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And a 1941 Winchester 52B
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And today I shot my best group ever with the 52B. First time shooting it, too
> Five shots at 50 yards
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The older I get the more relaxing stuff I like to do. And there's nothing like plinking with a .22


Wow! I'm impressed.


----------



## vitauta

the rifles are a sleek and beautiful combination of wood and metal, so caringly finished, oiled and polished. they appeal to me aesthetically, and remind me of the simplicity and graceful form of quaker made furniture.


----------



## MrsLMB

Wow .. cool thread !

Here are 2 random photos .. my 2 dogs.

This is Zipper smiling because he heard there was a cookie to be had








And this is Taffy wondering why she can't have 3 cookies !


----------



## chopper

Love the 22's and live the two dogs!


----------



## vitauta

lovely dog, mrslmb.  that's one fierce-looking smile there, zipper--i'd give up the cookie quick...


----------



## Addie

Vanilla Bean said:


> This picture is of a Safeway grocery store and Mt. Rainier in the background. I thought it was so cool the way the mountain stood out. Gives you and idea of how high up it is.


 
I lived in Tacoma and Spanaway Washington. I would look out my window every morning as I opened the curtains and there woud be Mt. Ranier. Providing it was raining. At the end of the road where I lived was a prarie, so there were no houses in the way of the view. Absolutly breathtaking. Looking out my back door I would see the Olympics snow capped. So I had a view of the mountains all year long.


----------



## pacanis

What a cutie Taffy is with those ears.


----------



## vitauta

wait, where's the second pic, the second dog?  i only see one.


----------



## pacanis

Addie said:


> I lived in Tacoma and Spanaway Washington. I would look out my window every morning as I opened the curtains and there woud be Mt. Ranier. Providing it was raining. At the end of the road where I lived was a prarie, so there were no houses in the way of the view. Absolutly breathtaking. Looking out my back door I would see the Olympics snow capped. So I had a view of the mountains all year long.


 
I drank Ranier's beer before. Just sayin' 

What is that older car there? A '67 Tempest or something?


----------



## Andy M.

Beautiful old rifles.  I've never seen scopes like those.  

That's a nice tight grouping.


----------



## vitauta

Addie said:


> I lived in Tacoma and Spanaway Washington. I would look out my window every morning as I opened the curtains and there woud be Mt. Ranier. Providing it was raining. At the end of the road where I lived was a prarie, so there were no houses in the way of the view. Absolutly breathtaking. Looking out my back door I would see the Olympics snow capped. So I had a view of the mountains all year long.




i sure do miss vb.  on my way to the breakfast thread, i see one of her yummy food pics quite often, and that feels good, makes me smile.  her pictures and comments on this thread are truly memorable, as is she....


----------



## vitauta

well, there you are, taffy!  such a cutie.  with that face and those ears, taffy doesn't need to smile in order to get my cookies....

mrslmb, what breed dogs are they?  are they good buddies?


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> Beautiful old rifles. I've never seen scopes like those.
> 
> That's a nice tight grouping.


 
Thanks Andy. I love old scopes. They are quite a novelty in the way they were built and you adjusted them (externally).

A buddy of mine is a "bench rest" shooter. Those guys shoot centerfire rifles at 100 yds and have a piece of paper behind their targets moving side to side. That's so the judges can count that they fired the required five shots. Five shots literally make one hole in the actual target they are aiming at. You should hear him talk about how the bullets fly differently when the sun goes in, wind let-off and about the ground mirage when it's hot. I try to retain some of it


----------



## MrsLMB

vitauta said:


> well, there you are, taffy! such a cutie. with that face and those ears, taffy doesn't need to smile in order to get my cookies....
> 
> mrslmb, what breed dogs are they? are they good buddies?


 
Zipper is a red mini doxie and he is 13 years old.  Taffy is a maniac Jack Russell Terrier and she is 9 years old.  Yes they are buddies but Zippy rules the roost.  Even though Taffy is at least 9" taller than Zippy, what he says goes and she totally respects him.


----------



## Dawgluver

MrsLMB said:


> Wow .. cool thread !
> 
> Here are 2 random photos .. my 2 dogs.
> 
> This is Zipper smiling because he heard there was a cookie to be had
> 
> And this is Taffy wondering why she can't have 3 cookies !



They're adorable!  And you're sure Zipper is smiling?  Nice teeth!    I can see why he's in charge!


----------



## Addie

How come DC doesn't upload bmp photos?


----------



## Somebunny

vitauta said:


> i sure do miss vb.  on my way to the breakfast thread, i see one of her yummy food pics quite often, and that feels good, makes me smile.  her pictures and comments on this thread are truly memorable, as is she....



I miss Vanilla Bean too Vit!  I always felt close to her, since she was here in Washington.  You know, looking closely at that pic she posted of Mt. Rainier I am 99% sure that, that Safeway is the one around the corner from my daughter's house.  Incredible.....I wish I would have known while she was still with us.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 16554


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> Wow .. cool thread !
> 
> Here are 2 random photos .. my 2 dogs.
> 
> This is Zipper smiling because he heard there was a cookie to be had
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And this is Taffy wondering why she can't have 3 cookies !




Smile big!!!

and a Jack Russell Terror!  Run amok, run amok!


----------



## 4meandthem

Happy Holidays! A few lightpaints.


----------



## Addie

*Junior Doctor*

This is my favorite pic of my grandson following in his father's steps. the tubes on the toy steth lets you actually hear the heart beat. That is his maternal grandmother.


----------



## MrsLMB

This is a Cooper's Hawk. It lives somewhere close here and it hates me !

When we first moved here, during the summer months when I would go out on my back deck he would dive bomb me.

We finally figured that he must think I am trying to get "his" prey - the
multitude of small birds that live in the shrubs next door.

So now we have an understanding. That tennis racket I have in my hand means stay away from me LOL


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> This is a Cooper's Hawk. It lives somewhere close here and it hates me !
> 
> When we first moved here, during the summer months when I would go out on my back deck he would dive bomb me.
> 
> We finally figured that he must think I am trying to get "his" prey - the
> multitude of small birds that live in the shrubs next door.
> 
> So now we have an understanding. That tennis racket I have in my hand means stay away from me LOL



Wouldn't a Badminton racket be more appropriate?


----------



## vitauta

a handsome, imposing-looking bird.  like rodney king once said, "couldn't (we) just get along?"


----------



## MrsLMB

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wouldn't a Badminton racket be more appropriate?


 
ROFL  yeppers ... gotta get one of those for that 'birdie'  


Here's one I took last winter .. kind of cool.


----------



## taxlady

Very pretty. How big would you say it is/was?



MrsLMB said:


> ... Here's one I took last winter .. kind of cool.


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> Very pretty. How big would you say it is/was?


 

Wee tiny ... maybe 1/8 inch.  That day we had a dry snow .. just blew the pile around .. fired up the macro .. looked for cool shapes and there you have it!


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> Wee tiny ... maybe 1/8 inch.  That day we had a dry snow .. just blew the pile around .. fired up the macro .. looked for cool shapes and there you have it!


Thank you. Next question was going to be how you took it.


----------



## pacanis

MrsLMB said:


> ROFL yeppers ... gotta get one of those for that 'birdie'
> 
> 
> Here's one I took last winter .. kind of cool.


 
Hey, I saw one last winter that looked JUST LIKE THAT!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

MrsLMB said:


> ROFL  yeppers ... gotta get one of those for that 'birdie'
> 
> 
> Here's one I took last winter .. kind of cool.



Kind of Cool?!?  How about AWESOME!!!


----------



## Chef Maloney

*Incredible Picture!*



MrsLMB said:


> ROFL yeppers ... gotta get one of those for that 'birdie'
> 
> 
> Here's one I took last winter .. kind of cool.


 
WOW! Mrs.LMB that is an amazing picture. Looks like a Christmas ornament. Thanks for that. Just beautiful!


----------



## Chef Maloney

Here are a few I took several years ago at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. This park is about 40 miles N. of Las Vegas.


----------



## MrsLMB

Wow .. didn't expect such a great response to my snowflake ! Glad you all enjoyed it. I have others but you know how it is .. so many pics and not well organized 

Anyway .. here's a picture of a mommy cardinal feeding her baby. We have a nesting pair that live in one of our trees. We feed them daily .. all year long. If they are hungry and we haven't gone out to feed them they peck on the patio door glass LOL

If you are not familiar with Cardinals, the female is the one with the orange beak.


----------



## Chef Maloney

MrsLMB said:


> Wow .. didn't expect such a great response to my snowflake ! Glad you all enjoyed it. I have others but you know how it is .. so many pics and not well organized
> 
> Anyway .. here's a picture of a mommy cardinal feeding her baby. We have a nesting pair that live in one of our trees. We feed them daily .. all year long. If they are hungry and we haven't gone out to feed them they peck on the patio door glass LOL
> 
> If you are not familiar with Cardinals, the female is the one with the orange beak.


 
AWESOME... inspiring; impressive; awestricken (Webster's)


----------



## MrsLMB

Chef Maloney said:


> Here are a few I took several years ago at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. This park is about 40 miles N. of Las Vegas.


 
Love the cacti flowers.  Deserts have a beauty of a different kind.


----------



## pacanis

Pretty neat. I didn't know they would continue to feed them once they are out of the nest.


----------



## vitauta

Chef Maloney said:


> Here are a few I took several years ago at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. This park is about 40 miles N. of Las Vegas.




sure is beautiful, cm. it's a real clean, rugged kind of beauty.  are the pink flowers related to portculakis by any chance, do you know?


----------



## Chef Maloney

vitauta said:


> sure is beautiful, cm. it's a real clean, rugged kind of beauty. are the pink flowers related to portculakis by any chance, do you know?


 
No Vitauta. I don't know. I am always amazed at the vastness of fauna & changing beauty of the desert. It really does have a beauty all it's own. This particular park is noted for it's ancient indian hyroglyphics, heiroglyphics, (ancient indian writing)(spelling?) There are caves and indian writings on the rocks everywhere. The sandstone is simply RED. The earth is fine red like talcum powder in places where it has been worn down by nature. A campground with a view of Lake Mead. Endless Hiking.
A beautiful place if you ever get the opportunity


----------



## Skittle68

MrsLMB said:


> Wow .. didn't expect such a great response to my snowflake ! Glad you all enjoyed it. I have others but you know how it is .. so many pics and not well organized
> 
> Anyway .. here's a picture of a mommy cardinal feeding her baby. We have a nesting pair that live in one of our trees. We feed them daily .. all year long. If they are hungry and we haven't gone out to feed them they peck on the patio door glass LOL
> 
> If you are not familiar with Cardinals, the female is the one with the orange beak.



I was just so amazed it was a real snowflake! It's so perfect! I almost posted it on Facebook. If it were my picture I would have, but I am not a huge fan of all the random crap people post on there, so I try not to do it myself. But great job with the snowflake. I absolutely love it!


----------



## MrsLMB

Here is one of our Hibiscus plants. This one is called Mandarin Wind.  The flowers on it are huge .. about 7" across.

I miss them so much during the winter months.


----------



## Chef Maloney

Chef Maloney said:


> No Vitauta. I don't know. I am always amazed at the vastness of fauna & changing beauty of the desert. It really does have a beauty all it's own. This particular park is noted for it's ancient indian hyroglyphics, heiroglyphics, (ancient indian writing)(spelling?) There are caves and indian writings on the rocks everywhere. The sandstone is simply RED. The earth is fine red like talcum powder in places where it has been worn down by nature. A campground with a view of Lake Mead. Endless Hiking.
> A beautiful place if you ever get the opportunity


 
Setting the record straight:
I am here to correct myself after educating myself. I was confusing 'hieroglyphics' (spelling corrected) with 'petroglyphs' (been a while since I was at the park) Hieroglyphics are a formal writing system used by ancient egyptians. What is found in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada are 'petroglyphs' which are actually rock engravings used by the Anasazi Indian Pueblo Farmers who lived in the area.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 16614

My Christmas place mats
.


----------



## pacanis

Frosty!


----------



## MrsLMB

chopper said:


> View attachment 16614
> 
> My Christmas place mats
> .


 

Those are so cute !!!!


----------



## Kylie1969

Chef Maloney said:


> AWESOME... inspiring; impressive; awestricken (Webster's)



Awwww....I love them


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> View attachment 16614
> 
> My Christmas place mats
> .



Chops, they are great


----------



## chopper

View attachment 16629

My kindergarten picture I have hanging on the fridge.


----------



## pacanis

That's cute. I wish I had pictures of myself coming up through the grades.


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:
			
		

> That's cute. I wish I had pictures of myself coming up through the grades.



I wish you did too. It's nice to have as I get older. Reminds me of my innocent youth. I really like PF's avatar from when she was a little girl too.


----------



## vitauta

chopper said:


> View attachment 16629
> 
> My kindergarten picture I have hanging on the fridge.




very adorable, chopper! you can see the extra care your mom(?) took in dressing you 'special' for picture day, and the time she took to fix your hair 'just so'.... 
there is something very sweet and dear about the clothes we wore as kids, back then, too.  we didn't represent giant brands of clothing, as today.  that pretty little dress you had on in the picture, chopper, was YOURS. all of your friends and schoolmates knew chopper's dress, its color, the white collar and bib lace, the neatly tied bow, cinched at the back. and they could easily recognize you at a distance by your dress, the dress that you, and only you,  wore to school every week....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> View attachment 16629
> 
> My kindergarten picture I have hanging on the fridge.



A cutie!  Thanks for sharing!  I love kid pics!


----------



## MrsLMB

chopper .. you look just like my little sister in that picture .. made me do a triple take !!!!


----------



## chopper

Vit, the dress in the picture was (as all of my dresses were) hand-me-downs from my sisters. When you are the youngest of four there were not many things I wore that were new. But, that being said, you are right, and at that time it was mine and mine alone. I really was my mom's baby, and kindergarten was a very special time for she and I. I only went to school for the morning, so our afternoons were special.  And...she did love to fix my hair just ever so. I should look for my first grade picture! In that one she used her finger to curl my hair into ringlets. Ah...I love thinking of the simpler times!


----------



## chopper

MrsLMB said:
			
		

> chopper .. you look just like my little sister in that picture .. made me do a triple take !!!!



MrsLMB, everyone is said to have a twin!  Is my twin your sister???  Was she that cute too?  LOL.


----------



## chopper

You are welcome PF. I have heard that it is healthy to look at a picture from your youth often. I love your avatar pic. How old are you in that one?


----------



## Skittle68

I didn't know that was PF in her avatar! I assumed it was a daughter/granddaughter


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> You are welcome PF. I have heard that it is healthy to look at a picture from your youth often. I love your avatar pic. How old are you in that one?



Let's see that pic was taken in Great Falls, MT and my baby sister had just been born...hence the spaghetti covered face. Dad was in charge...  I was 2 almost 3 years old.

Yes, Skittle that is me and I still look like that when I eat spaghetti.


----------



## vitauta

could we see a pic of that, pf?  for spaghetti-face comparisons?


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> View attachment 16629
> 
> My kindergarten picture I have hanging on the fridge.



Awww you look so sweet


----------



## PrincessFiona60

vitauta said:


> could we see a pic of that, pf?  for spaghetti-face comparisons?



Oh, No!  I've been told to never post material on the Internet that can be used as blackmail...


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

The snow last night was really pretty.


View attachment 17274



View attachment 17275


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

And two more.


View attachment 17277



View attachment 17278

The light post with the tree branches behind it is my favorite.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I like that one, too!  Nice pics, PAG.


----------



## Dawgluver

So pretty, PAG!


----------



## Rocklobster

Here is a before and after. 25 years after to be exact. Me and my son with my two brothers. Second one was taken this past xmas.


----------



## Dawgluver

Rocklobster said:


> Here is a before and after. 25 years after to be exact. Me and my son with my two brothers. Second one was taken this past xmas.



Great pics, Rock!  Love it!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rocklobster said:


> Here is a before and after. 25 years after to be exact. Me and my son with my two brothers. Second one was taken this past xmas.



Very cool. Always like seeing pics recreated with the same people years later.


----------



## taxlady

Love it Roch.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek and I have to wait until we get a wide lens for the camera.


----------



## MrsLMB

Rocklobster said:


> Here is a before and after. 25 years after to be exact. Me and my son with my two brothers. Second one was taken this past xmas.


 
LOL  I love those pics ... nice share !!


----------



## chopper

Love the snow pictures PAG,  and love the then and now pictures Rock!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## pacanis

That's pretty cool how you duplicated the poses, Rock.
And your son's expression as a baby is priceless.


----------



## buckytom

oh, those are great, rock!!


----------



## buckytom

here's 2 of my son, the little pucker, from a recent devils' game:


----------



## Snip 13

Great pics Bucky!  Too cute


----------



## Rocklobster

Bucky, I don't know why you are abusing that young lad and making him be a Devils fan. He should cheer for the Habs. It's the right thing to do....


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rocklobster said:


> Bucky, I don't know why you are abusing that young lad and making him be a Devils fan. He should cheer for the Habs. It's the right thing to do....



Who are these Devil's and Hab's you speak of? The only hockey team I know of is The Wings.

Great pics Bucky.


----------



## Kylie1969

Love the photos Tom and Rock


----------



## PrincessFiona60

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Who are these Devil's and Hab's you speak of? The only hockey team I know of is The Wings.
> 
> Great pics Bucky.



Wimpy teams...You must see the Missoula Maulers


----------



## buckytom

lol, the maulers is a great name for a hockey team.

thanks kylie, pag, and snip.

rock, my brother is a habs fan. he was a kid in tbe 50's and 60's, montreal's golden years. 

i kind of have a soft spot in my heart for them per marty brodeur. 

just a small spot though. maybe non-hatred is better said, unlike the broad street bullies and the suit and tie rangers.


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> lol, the maulers is a great name for a hockey team.
> 
> thanks kylie, pag, and snip.
> 
> rock, my brother is a habs fan. he was a kid in tbe 50's and 60's, montreal's golden years.
> 
> i kind of have a soft spot in my heart for them per marty brodeur.
> 
> just a small spot though. maybe non-hatred is better said, unlike the broad street bullies and the suit and tie rangers.


I think the Habs' golden years lasted nearly to the '80s, with 6 Stanley Cup Championships in the '70s.


----------



## buckytom

it got boring by the 70's. lol.

and who wants to see hockey players in polyester leisure suits, anyway.

btw, ron duguay still wears them for rangers (ptooey) broadcasts.


----------



## pacanis

buckytom said:


> it got boring by the 70's. lol.
> 
> *and who wants to see hockey players in polyester leisure suits, anyway*.
> 
> btw, ron duguay still wears them for rangers (ptooey) broadcasts.


 
Reggie Dunlop


----------



## Andy M.

BT, nice photo of your son.  I'll have to send some guys down to paint a Bruins sweater on that statue.

Have you ever rented BBQ from that place in the picture?


----------



## Rocklobster

buckytom said:


> rock, my brother is a habs fan. he was a kid in tbe 50's and 60's, montreal's golden years.
> 
> i kind of have a soft spot in my heart for them per marty brodeur.
> 
> just a small spot though. maybe non-hatred is better said, unlike the broad street bullies and the suit and tie rangers.



I like Marty too. Who doesn't?  I was just kidding about the Devils. They have been a better team over the last 20 years than my beloved Canadians. But, it's hockey. And ya gotta chirp!!


----------



## GotGarlic

I thought some might like a vision of warm weather. This was taken last summer on the Chesapeake Bay.

View attachment 17291


----------



## Rocklobster

[No message]


----------



## MrsLMB

When we lived on the North Oregon Coast a couple years ago we did a lot of crabbing and clamming. Thought you might like to see what we were catching.

These are Dungeness Crab and that is Zippy .. always checking them out but way too fast to get pinched!








These are razor clams. It was a ton of fun to dig these guys .. they are really quick. Again .. Zippy loved going with us .. he could sniff them out .. he would start digging in the sand and there was always a clam there.






We had awesome wildlife there .. we had a nesting pair of Bald Eagles about 3 blocks from our place.


----------



## pacanis

Really cool pics, LMB.
I've never dug clams so have no idea what that thing is hanging out... looks like they are both eating grubs, lol.


----------



## buckytom

those are their siphons, or mouth parts for lack of a better term.

mrslmb, they look like young geoducks rather than razor clams.

eta: i stand corrected. seems that pacific razor clams have that big siphon.

i've been looking for a place here that sells either. for less than like $150 each, that is.


----------



## buckytom

pacanis said:


> Reggie Dunlop



lol, pac.

did you know that when paul newman passed away, there were news write ups and funeral "parties" about the passing of reg.


----------



## pacanis

I didn't know that. That movie was a classic. 
There will probably be stoned kids watching it 20 years from now at midnight with tin foil wrapped on their hands and tossing ice cubes in the air.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> BT, nice photo of your son. I'll have to send some guys down to paint a* Bruins sweater* on that statue.
> 
> Have you ever rented BBQ from that place in the picture?


 
Now you are talking CHAMPIONS!


----------



## MrsLMB

buckytom said:


> those are their siphons, or mouth parts for lack of a better term.
> 
> mrslmb, they look like young geoducks rather than razor clams.
> 
> eta: i stand corrected. seems that pacific razor clams have that big siphon.
> 
> i've been looking for a place here that sells either. for less than like $150 each, that is.


 

Right you are bucky .. they are razors and they are delicious.  Geoducks are also good .. never took a photo of those 

We paid $5 for the license to dig for a year .. needed the clam gun, net bags and lanterns for after dark digging.  Pretty cheap for such a wonderful food.  And now that we are out here landlocked we almost never find them for sale and when we do on that rare occasion it almost takes a mortgage to get them !  And to think we had a freezer full of those clams and crab.


----------



## Addie

We get razor clams on the East Coast also. But they aren't anywhere near that size. The shells are really thin, and the animal is not worth going after. They make great food for the seagulls. They take them up in the air and drop them on the rocks to break open. Then you are left with very sharp shards of shells on and in the sands to cut open bare feet.


----------



## buckytom

oh, i love both eastern razor clams and ipswich clams.

the razor clams here are more long and straight without a noticeable siphon, and the ones that look like pacific razors or geoducks are called piss or ipswich clams.

i've had razors steamed open and simply dressed with persillade, and the ipswich are steamed and served with ghee and some of the salty water they were steamed in.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> oh, i love both eastern razor clams and ipswich clams.
> 
> the razor clams here are more long and straight without a noticeable siphon, and the ones that look like pacific razors or geoducks are called piss or ipswich clams.
> 
> i've had razors steamed open and simply dressed with persillade, and the ipswich are steamed and served with ghee and some of the salty water they were steamed in.


 
Now we have massive beds of Ipswich clams right up in Ipswich, MA. We can buy them right there in town. But they aren't like razor clams. They are regular looking clams, but much sweeter and more meatier. And their shells are more solid. My ultimate favorite shellfish food. The one seafood I can eat without worrying about how much iodine is in them. I guess it is all in where you live.


----------



## buckytom

that's why i thought the pics of pacific razors were geoducks, but apparently, it's all in the name. pacific razors look like giant ipswich (or soft shell, or piss) clams. eastern razors are long and straight, like an old time straight razor.

technically, ipswich clams can only come from plum island sound. but many consider ones that come from essex, gloucester, newbury, or rowley to be the same. the name has caught on for all eastern soft shells with that distinctive siphon, though. again, it's just a name.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I had Cherrystone (?) Clams when I was in New Hampshire...gosh that was a long time ago.  They were served raw and I liked it!


----------



## buckytom

topnecks, littlenecks, and cherrystones are all small versions of quahogs, or hard shell clams.

smaller ones (topnecks, littlenecks) can be eaten raw or steamed, middle sized ones like cherrystones  are usually steamed but can be eaten raw if they're high quality, and quahogs, the big boys, are or fried or chopped for things like soups and pasta dishes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, I never knew all of that.  I just followed along to buy them and was happily perched on a stool eating them.


----------



## buckytom

when i was around 18 or 19, my church's softball team would have a picnic, and on the early morning of would send two of the guys in a van up the coast to buy about 75 dozen littlenecks from several fish mongers to be back that afternoon. after that aftermoon's game, we'd tap a few kegs (the drinking age was still only 18 back then) and start shucking and sucking down those little raw beauties with just a squirt of lemon, while a grill was fired up to cook dogs and burgers for those squeamish folks that didn't like eating raw, live clams.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!  Everytime we get together we end up talking about food...


----------



## chopper

I like the purple moon!  Lovely!


----------



## Kylie1969

Me too, it looks amazing


----------



## pacanis

I had to post this.
It was one of those pics at the top of the page I first open up. I see so many gorgeous looking plates that I wish some of the members were still around to post more pics and answer questions I may have.
My kind of portions, too! Blow it up for the full effect


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:


> I had to post this.
> It was one of those pics at the top of the page I first open up. I see so many gorgeous looking plates that I wish some of the members were still around to post more pics and answer questions I may have.
> My kind of portions, too! Blow it up for the full effect


----------



## vitauta

very nice looking plate, pac.  but where's the gravy?  your post has me totally confused, so that i must ask you-- top of what page?  so, it's not yours?  where are you seeing 'so many gorgeous plates' and, let's launch a campaign to get some of those photog members back here.  let's start with bolas, harry, tattrat, patty1, lucas--who else...?!


----------



## pacanis

I don't know the exact page, vit. Next time I log on I'll try to remember to look before hitting New Posts.
It's the page we were talking about a year or two ago where it grabs members pics out of their albums and displays them randomly. It's got some pretty *interesting* pics, too, lol.


----------



## vitauta

pac, did you wake up and determine that you would be mysterious today, is that it?  at least now i know what you are talking about re the random photo displays--a real treasure trove, i agree.  last question then, what do you mean by *interesting* pics?  i can't imagine anyone spending more time perusing those photos than i do.  what is it i'm missing seeing?


----------



## jharris

View attachment 17425

This photo was taken by Mark Gardner one of our servicemen.

The moon over Iraq or Afghanistan.

I don't remember which one.


----------



## Dawgluver

jharris said:


> This photo was taken by Mark Gardner one of our servicemen.
> 
> The moon over Iraq or Afghanistan.
> 
> I don't remember which one.



Beautiful..


----------



## pacanis

vitauta said:


> pac, did you wake up and determine that you would be mysterious today, is that it? at least now i know what you are talking about re the random photo displays--a real treasure trove, i agree. last question then, what do you mean by *interesting* pics? i can't imagine anyone spending more time perusing those photos than i do. what is it i'm missing seeing?


 
Mysterious?  Not that I recall, but I usually don't determine much when I first wake up 
What I do recall is that when the random photos was first set up it was supposed to be food or food related pics, at least that's what was said, but some of the pics that pop up just don't seem to fit in with the rest. Since I always leave the site and click back on I see a lot of pics on that page throughout the day and some do not fit in with the general theme of the rest. That makes them interesting.


----------



## vitauta

thanks for clearing up all of my photo confusions, pac. ty for your patience, too.  i don't wake up any given day intending to be a blockhead either. somehow, blockheadedness became part of my normal rotation anyhow though, so there are days i seem to spend a lot of my time asking people what everything means. i must say though, google has been a big help to me in this respect....


----------



## taxlady

I don't see the cheese cake pix.


----------



## 2old2change

*my chocolate cheesecake*

Lets try it again???


----------



## 2old2change

*My N.Y. style cheesecake*

and again ???


----------



## taxlady

Still no pix.


----------



## taxlady

2old2change said:


> 11-23-11_215.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *my chocolate cheesecake*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *my N.Y. style cheesecake*
> trying one last time, taxlady. I see them, but then they seem to dissappear when I close out and come back.  ???


Are you trying to link to the pix in your email? When I click the link above, I get, 

*Email currently unavailable*

                                                Please contact Comcast Support by calling 1-800-Comcast or chat live with a Comcast care representative.
                        Please reference error code: 400.
----------

You have to upload the pix to somewhere on the net to link to them. If you have downloaded them to your computer, you can post them as an attachment - click the paper clip icon and then click the browse button and find the file on your computer.


----------



## Cerise

Lavender & Lemonade - my last avatar.  I think it was hard to make out what it was.
View attachment 17431​


----------



## taxlady

View out my front door. I can't believe the snow hasn't fallen off yet.


----------



## Rocklobster

Just to the right of this photo about half a mile along the lake shore is where I worked last year. This was shot last autum from the ski hill that overlooks Calabogie Lake in Ontario...


----------



## buckytom

beautiful pics, taxy and rock.

speaking of snow and skiing, i heard killngton just got more than a foot of snow dumped on them. if this weather holds out just a few more weeks, we'll be heading to vermont for a little schussing.

yay! cheese and maple syrup, here i come.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> beautiful pics, taxy and rock.
> 
> speaking of snow and skiing, i heard killngton just got more than a foot of snow dumped on them. if this weather holds out just a few more weeks, we'll be heading to vermont for a little schussing.
> 
> yay! cheese and maple syrup, here i come.


 
bt. just to let you know, my son Poo works in the Springfield Hospital Emergency Room one weekend a month where they take all the ski bums who think they are ready for the Devil Slope. It is the only hospital that flies out all their ski patients to Boston. I will tell him to look for you. His specialty is Trauma and Emergency Medicine. Good Luck. You will be in very good hands. Even if I do say so myself.


----------



## buckytom

lol, addie. with due respect, i hope i never meet your son in that capacity.

the devil slope at killington is called outer limits. i've skiied it many times, but always down the right side where it's only very steep; no moguls (small car sized bumps).

i don't ski those runs anymore, though. my worst injury was from skiing down another run at killington called superstar. i got flipped upside down and backwards and landed on my head, pinching a nerve. the next morning my head was stuck sideways and i had to drive to the doc that way to get it unlocked through muscle relaxants and a chiropractor.
every once in a while when i sleep oddly it acts up and i get a stiff neck.

with my little guy next to me, i ski very slowly these days. i turn more now than i ever did, lol. my technique has really improved from skiing with him. funny how that works.

but i still like to get in a run when dw and my boy are eating lunch. i go to the top, point 'em downhill a let 'em rip. it's an amazing feeling to blast down a mountain at 50mph or so. it's like flying  but still stuck to the ground.

still, i hope poo and i cross paths in a non-professional way, lol.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> lol, addie. with due respect, i hope i never meet your son in that capacity.
> 
> the devil slope at killington is called outer limits. i've skiied it many times, but always down the right side where it's only very steep; no moguls (small car sized bumps).
> 
> i don't ski those runs anymore, though. my worst injury was from skiing down another run at killington called superstar. i got flipped upside down and backwards and landed on my head, pinching a nerve. the next morning my head was stuck sideways and i had to drive to the doc that way to get it unlocked through muscle relaxants and a chiropractor.
> every once in a while when i sleep oddly it acts up and i get a stiff neck.
> 
> with my little guy next to me, i ski very slowly these days. i turn more now than i ever did, lol. my technique has really improved from skiing with him. funny how that works.
> 
> but i still like to get in a run when dw and my boy are eating lunch. i go to the top, point 'em downhill a let 'em rip. it's an amazing feeling to blast down a mountain at 50mph or so. it's like flying but still stuck to the ground.
> 
> *still, i hope poo and i cross paths in a non-professional way, lol*.


 
And so do I. I was just being a smart a**. My usual jolly self. Have fun on that vacation. Sounds like fun. I just never have understood the need to go down a hill at breakneck speed to a vehicle waiting at the bottom with the doors open and a guerney inside. But then I am chicken with a big "C".


----------



## pacanis

I like when the snow lays in the trees like that, Taxy.
Well, when it's not the middle of March anyway 
Is it still the beginning of Spring tomorrow or are they moving it back this year?


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> I like when the snow lays in the trees like that, Taxy.
> Well, when it's not the middle of March anyway
> Is it still the beginning of Spring tomorrow or are they moving it back this year?


The snow has fallen off now. Spring officially started, here, at 07h01 EDT, *today*.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> ...Spring officially started, here, at 07h01 EDT, *today*.



Darn, I missed it!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Darn, I missed it!


 
Any crocus popping up in your yard? None here.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Any crocus popping up in your yard? None here.



I don't know.  The ground is covered with over a foot of snow.


----------



## MrsLMB

taxlady said:


> View out my front door. I can't believe the snow hasn't fallen off yet.


 
That is so beautiful !!

I'm with the rest of you though .. as much as I love the snow I am ready for spring to come full on.

I was okay with the weather until 2 days ago when I noticed my crocus were in bloom and my daffys and tulips are popping up .. now I'm ready .. come on spring !!!


----------



## taxlady

MrsLMB said:


> That is so beautiful !!
> 
> I'm with the rest of you though .. as much as I love the snow I am ready for spring to come full on.
> 
> I was okay with the weather until 2 days ago when I noticed my crocus were in bloom and my daffys and tulips are popping up .. now I'm ready .. come on spring !!!


I am soooo ready for spring. I would be happy to have nice weather and no pretty snow on the trees.


----------



## Kylie1969

Hope your Spring arrives soon Taxy


----------



## buckytom

for taxy, 

a sunset over the gulf of mexico from last easter week:

View attachment 17472


the marco island hilton's pool:

View attachment 17473


(click to enlarge)


----------



## taxlady

Gorgeous sunset, Tom.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 17476


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!!


----------



## chopper

I was thinking that I may be able to come up with a way to make a baby bunny butt cupcake. I think they would be fun to take to my Easter brunch.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I think that would be precious!


----------



## taxlady




----------



## Addie

What are the pink paw bottoms made from? That is adorable.


----------



## chopper

You know Addie, I'm not sure.  My son sent me the picture in a text this morning.  I will need to find out where he saw it.  I would guess it was in a magazine my DIL was reading.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Looks like slightly squished jelly beans for the toes and more squish for the pad.


----------



## Dawgluver

Maybe gumdrops?  So cute!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Gum drops would work.  I was trying to read the recipe, but can't quite see it.


----------



## chopper

Here is the answer Addie!  My DIL got it from the Betty Crocker calendar.  Here is a link to the site!  
Chocolate Bunny Butt Cake recipe from Betty Crocker


----------



## chopper

Or...if you don't want it chocolate...

Bunny Butt Cake recipe from Betty Crocker


----------



## chopper

I love the dirty little feet on the chocolate one.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, Chopper!  Grabbed the recipe and directions.  This will be fun for work.


----------



## Addie

OMG! Did any of  you look at the lemon recipes? Lemon anything in my book is worth the effort. The lemon jelly roll cake sounds like I could eat the whole thing myself. But I wouldn't. Too much sugar for my system and diabetes. But I could. I have to stop talking myself into misbehaving. Be good Addie, be good.


----------



## GotGarlic

chopper said:


> I love the dirty little feet on the chocolate one.



+1 lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I found lemon cream cheese scones...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I found lemon cream cheese scones...


 
I instantly thought of you when I saw that. Happy eating.


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> View attachment 17476



Awww, I love it


----------



## Kylie1969

buckytom said:


> for taxy,
> 
> a sunset over the gulf of mexico from last easter week:
> 
> View attachment 17472
> 
> 
> the marco island hilton's pool:
> 
> View attachment 17473
> 
> 
> (click to enlarge)



Wonderful sunset


----------



## jharris

Lichen on Rock, 
Latier Lakes, NM


----------



## jharris

.....


----------



## jharris

View attachment 17486

Bee & Butterfly on Flower
Williams Creek, Co


----------



## jharris

View attachment 17487

Happy Cat!


----------



## Kylie1969

Great shots Jeff


----------



## jharris

Thanks Kylie.


----------



## taxlady

Yes, that is dirty, spring snow on the left. The squirrels brought me "flowers". I wonder where they found them.


----------



## pacanis

Now that's interesting, Taxy. Kind of eerie, too. Especially if they were real.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Now that's interesting, Taxy. Kind of eerie, too. Especially if they were real.


Well, they aren't real. I thought that was kinda obvious. It *would* have been really, really weird if they were real, considering the time of year.

Gotta wonder what they were thinking. I have been putting out a few nuts for them every day, this winter.


----------



## chopper

taxlady said:
			
		

> Well, they aren't real. I thought that was kinda obvious. It would have been really, really weird if they were real, considering the time of year.
> 
> Gotta wonder what they were thinking. I have been putting out a few nuts for them every day, this winter.



Guess they were thanking you!  Nice.


----------



## chopper

This is Hubby's latest project. He used the original tailgate from our 1948 Ford pickup. It turned out really nice. 



View attachment 17522


----------



## pacanis

taxlady said:


> Well, they aren't real. I thought that was kinda obvious. It *would* have been really, really weird if they were real, considering the time of year.
> 
> Gotta wonder what they were thinking. I have been putting out a few nuts for them every day, this winter.


 
If you look closely you can tell they are plastic... but I don't know how close you might live to a funeral parlor


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> If you look closely you can tell they are plastic... but I don't know how close you might live to a funeral parlor



Not close enough for squirrels to find.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Well, they aren't real. I thought that was kinda obvious. It *would* have been really, really weird if they were real, considering the time of year.
> 
> Gotta wonder what they were thinking. I have been putting out a few nuts for them every day, this winter.


 
We have a very large oak tree at the end of our street. The acorns are a nuisance. I hate riding over them with my scooter. One of the residents in the building started to collect the good ones and saving them. Then when this winter's snow covered up everything, he put some out everyday feed the squirrels. He also removed some of the outside husks and chopped up the nuts inside for the birds. Those he scatters on the fenced in patio. The squirrels won't go there as it is part of the building and close to people. The birds have their nests in the tree located in the middle of the patio. At first I though he was a nut himself. Now I know different. How ingenious.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:


> We have a very large oak tree at the end of our street. The acorns are a nuisance. I hate riding over them with my scooter. One of the residents in the building started to collect the good ones and saving them. Then when this winter's snow covered up everything, he put some out everyday feed the squirrels. He also removed some of the outside husks and chopped up the nuts inside for the birds. Those he scatters on the fenced in patio. The squirrels won't go there as it is part of the building and close to people. The birds have their nests in the tree located in the middle of the patio. At first I though he was a nut himself. Now I know different. How ingenious.



Guess that tree and the acorns weren't a nuisance to him, or the critters for that matter.  Glad there is someone to deal with the nuts around there.


----------



## pacanis

When I was a kid we used to make pipes out of acorns and swizzle sticks.
I guess it kept us busy before the days of Atari 
And I remember crafters using the caps as berets on their figurines/dolls or whatever they made. It was a long time ago...


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> When I was a kid we used to make pipes out of acorns and swizzle sticks.
> I guess it kept us busy before the days of Atari
> And I remember crafters using the caps as berets on their figurines/dolls or whatever they made. It was a long time ago...



We used to make little Christmas ornament people and put those little "hats" on them.  I had forgotten that.....


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> This is Hubby's latest project. He used the original tailgate from our 1948 Ford pickup. It turned out really nice.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17522



Chops, that looks brilliant, well done hubby


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> Chops, that looks brilliant, well done hubby


+1!!


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> +1!!



+2!!


----------



## jharris

chopper said:
			
		

> This is Hubby's latest project. He used the original tailgate from our 1948 Ford pickup. It turned out really nice.



That is so cool! What a great idea.

Please tell him give hum a high-5 from a fellow woodworker.

Thumbs up!


----------



## chopper

jharris said:


> That is so cool! What a great idea.
> 
> Please tell him give hum a high-5 from a fellow woodworker.
> 
> Thumbs up!



Will do.  Thanks he will like that! 
He didn't use that tailgate on the truck because it was just too dented up from being a work truck for so long.  He wanted to keep it, so he combined his hobbies and came up with this bench.  That way he could justify keeping the tailgate. I just love it!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> This is Hubby's latest project. He used the original tailgate from our 1948 Ford pickup. It turned out really nice.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17522



beautiful Chopper!!!


----------



## buckytom

very nice, and cool idea, chop!


----------



## chopper

Thanks all!  I was proud to show it off.  He has made several benches now that are on our deck.  We bought a bench years ago, and the wind blew it over and broke it.  From that time forward he just makes his own, and they never blow over or break.  We have several.   I just thought that this idea was fantastic.  He actually got the idea from his forum he is on.  He just did his a little different from the other guy. By cutting the tailgate to really fit it into the bench where the bench would still be comfy to sit on.


----------



## jharris

What forum is that?


----------



## chopper

jharris said:


> What forum is that?



Ford Truck Enthusiasts, 1948-2011 Ford F150, Super Duty & SUV owners community and information source. Covers F100, F-150, F250, Bronco, Ranger, Explorer, Expedition, Lighting, Escape and More They have forums for different ranges of years.  Like I said, we have a 48 so he is on that one.  If you are into Ford trucks it is the place for you Jeff.    They are a very well behaved group of people.  He also goes into the jalopy journal forum but, just to warn you, they are not quite so well behaved there.


----------



## jharris

chopper said:
			
		

> ....He also goes into the jalopy journal forum but, just to warn you, they are not quite so well behaved there.



That's ok, I can take it. Sometimes men enjoy bustin' each others chops.


----------



## chopper

jharris said:


> That's ok, I can take it. Sometimes men enjoy bustin' each others chops.



I thought you could handle it, that's why I mentioned it.  Enjoy!


----------



## TATTRAT

Since having some free time at home, playing with my macro set up, some extension tubes and slider.

Work watch internals:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Nice!  love the last pic!


----------



## Dawgluver

Very cool!


----------



## cara

perfect!


----------



## Kylie1969

Great shots


----------



## vitauta

time has an internal beauty often missed


----------



## Soma

Here's one I took 2 weeks ago, on my front lawn.


----------



## luckytrim

Still on the Stem --


----------



## MrsLMB

TATTRAT said:


> Since having some free time at home, playing with my macro set up, some extension tubes and slider.
> 
> Work watch internals:


 

Those are awesome shots and would make great photos for a den .. good job !!


----------



## MrsLMB

Soma said:


> Here's one I took 2 weeks ago, on my front lawn.


 

Beautiful picture .. love wildlife.


----------



## MrsLMB

luckytrim said:


> Still on the Stem --


 
They don't get much fresher than that !

We grow them during the summer and they are soooo good !


----------



## Kylie1969

MrsLMB said:


> Beautiful picture .. love wildlife.



That is lovely


----------



## TATTRAT

Bored with pencils, meh


----------



## vitauta

TATTRAT said:


> Bored with pencils, meh




you have a real talent, tatt!  so flirty and fun--color me amused and aroused.


----------



## jharris

Soma said:
			
		

> Here's one I took 2 weeks ago, on my front lawn.
> 
> 
> View attachment 17568



Looks yummy! Anyone for biltong?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Soma that deer is beautiful!

Tatt...your pencils are quite abstract, love how they look.


----------



## Kylie1969

Nice photo Tatt


----------



## buckytom

jharris said:


> Looks yummy! Anyone for biltong?




lol, the first thing  thought was BANG! 

dinner..


----------



## buckytom

tatt, the first pics of the watch looks like the antkythera mechanism before it went into the sea.

you know, stavros antikythera's wife caught him cheating on a luxury cruise one nght after she went to bed all crabby and left him in the lounge 3 sheets to the wind, so she chucked his remarkable invention overboard, but that's another story.


and great lightling on the coloured pencils. 

you certainly have a photog's eye.


----------



## Soma

[No message]


----------



## vitauta

i think i know what soma is saying without words, and if it is a silent protest, pressing to be heard, i am in total agreement with her....


----------



## TATTRAT

While I know it's really abstract, this was on my camera (I think it was a misfire while setting up), ended up messing with it, and kinda like it. It's kinda like a drunken/hungover wake up, sleepy eyed look across a sand dune landscape or something. Mrrrr, I dunno.







aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand pot roast!


----------



## Bolas De Fraile

View attachment 17582i cant wait for the snow to melt, clic to enlarge


----------



## Soma

vitauta: you understand! (so appreciative that you do....).


----------



## Soma

Took this in 2007. Never saw a bee do this before, or since. Love the way it has folded its little wings, one atop the other.....and spread out its arms across the petals. I call it "bee in ecstasy".


----------



## vitauta

TATTRAT said:


> While I know it's really abstract, this was on my camera (I think it was a misfire while setting up), ended up messing with it, and kinda like it. It's kinda like a drunken/hungover wake up, sleepy eyed look across a sand dune landscape or something. Mrrrr, I dunno.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand pot roast!



love this, tatt--from impressionism to cubism!  cezanne's reward, yUMz


----------



## vitauta

Bolas De Fraile said:


> View attachment 17582i cant wait for the snow to melt, clic to enlarge



who can doubt the exuberant face of nature?  lovely, bolas!


----------



## vitauta

Soma said:


> Took this in 2007. Never saw a bee do this before, or since. Love the way it has folded its little wings, one atop the other.....and spread out its arms across the petals. I call it "bee in ecstasy".




i'll never see a bee in the same way again...thank you

can that bee red clover?


----------



## Soma

what caused the strange print letters in my post above? they look whitewashed.


----------



## Soma

the flower is centaurea.


----------



## taxlady

Soma said:


> the flower is centaurea.


I thought it was a thistle, but I see that they are thistle-like and in the same family.


----------



## TATTRAT

That's how bees dive in to get pollen


----------



## jharris

I think they dive in for the nectar and pick up pollen on their legs and bodies. The pollen is then rubbed off on the next flower.

Bees are an unwitting mechanism in the pollination process.


----------



## chopper

My Dad's new puppy. 

View attachment 17589


----------



## chopper

View attachment 17590


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> My Dad's new puppy.



Awwwww.  What a cutie!  He/she looks so pensive.  Boxer?


----------



## chopper

Dawgluver said:


> Awwwww.  What a cutie!  He/she looks so pensive.  Boxer?



He is a boxer.  His name is Duke.  My sister sent the pictures to me.  I won't get to see him until August when Hubby and I go to visit.


----------



## pacanis

Nice chopper. Looks like a Blaze though


----------



## jharris

I love boxers. My second mother was one.

Cappy and I circa 1960

View attachment 17594

Cappy was a spayed female and adopted me as her own when I was born.

Mom told me that one time Cappy and I were in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. I reached up for the hot pan on the stove.

Reflexively and out of terror Mom grabbed my hand, turned me away from the stove and gave me a swat on the behind.

Out of fear and maternal instinct and before Mom could say NO! HOT! Cappy proceeded to nip moms ankle.

Dear Cappy.... she was a sweet girl.

Thanks for invoking wonderful memories of my dear companion and protector.


----------



## Dawgluver

jharris said:


> I love boxers. My second mother was one.
> 
> Cappy and I circa 1960
> 
> Cappy was a spayed female and adopted me as her own when I was born.
> 
> Mom told me that one time Cappy and I were in the kitchen as she prepared dinner. I reached up for the hot pan on the stove.
> 
> Reflexively and out of terror Mom grabbed my hand, turned me away from the stove and gave me a swat on the behind.
> 
> Out of fear and maternal instinct and before Mom could say NO! HOT! Cappy proceeded to nip moms ankle.
> 
> Dear Cappy.... she was a sweet girl.
> 
> Thanks for invoking wonderful memories of my dear companion and protector.



Oh so sweet!  Thanks for sharing this, Jharris!


----------



## pacanis

Cool story, J.
And gerat photo! That epitomizes the love between man and dog. Well, little man and dog


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cute puppy!!!  

Nice story Jeff!


----------



## MrsLMB

Awww .. what a great picture and story !


----------



## Addie

Soma said:


> vitauta: you understand! (so appreciative that you do....).


 
Ditto here. My first thought was "how fortunate to have wildlife right in your front yard." When I saw the remarks about having dinner, I was disappointed. How could anyone miss the beauty of such an animal.

I understand the need to go hunting, but sometimes a gun is not always the answer. Just to stand there and appreciate is something everyone should be able to do even just once in their life.


----------



## Dawgluver

Winter aconites.  The first flower of spring here.

View attachment 17602

We have deer, coons, coyotes, possums, foxes, bunnies, groundsquirrels, squirrels, voles, moles, the neighbor's cats, and a huge and diverse assortment of birds.  We love life in the country!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Winter aconites.  The first flower of spring here.
> 
> View attachment 17602



Okay, that's what I want my front yard to look like...


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Winter aconites.  The first flower of spring here.
> 
> View attachment 17602
> 
> We have deer, coons, coyotes, possums, foxes, bunnies, groundsquirrels, squirrels, voles, moles, the neighbor's cats, and a huge and diverse assortment of birds.  We love life in the country!


Nice, and such a happy yellow colour.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

and Squirrels!!!!!


----------



## Kylie1969

Lovely photo Jeff, thanks for sharing


----------



## TATTRAT

Just to get folks warmed up for summer here in the Northern hemisphere. . . ready for a beach chair, about half a dozen fuzzy drinks and a view like back on Maui


----------



## Dawgluver

TATTRAT said:


> Just to get folks warmed up for summer here in the Northern hemisphere. . . ready for a beach chair, about half a dozen fuzzy drinks and a view like back on Maui



Mmmm.  Reminds me of Polihale Beach, Kauai.  We took our sandals off, and immediately put them back on.  Polihale means "barking dogs", the noise folks make when walking across the  scorching hot sands of the beach.


----------



## Kylie1969

Lovely shot


----------



## jharris

Yes beautiful shot..

Goose bumps!


----------



## TATTRAT

thanks, all! I sure do miss it out there


----------



## cara

Dawgluver said:


> Winter aconites.  The first flower of spring here.
> 
> View attachment 17602



ha! Another english word I learned today 

I have them in the garden, too, along with the crocus and the squills... I should think of my camera when going to the garden....


----------



## Dawgluver

cara said:


> ha! Another english word I learned today
> 
> I have them in the garden, too, along with the crocus and the squills... I should think of my camera when going to the garden....



Yes, do bring your camera!  What do you call aconites in Germany, Cara?


----------



## taxlady

Spotted the daffodil buds today. So I took some pix of them and the laminaria that grow around them:






And while I was at it, I took some pix of the chives and parsley, both coming back without help from me.


----------



## MrsLMB

I love those first flowers after winter.  We have crocus everywhere, the daffy's are just opening, tulips are up but not open and those other cuties we planted but can't remember what they are .. they just make a person feel good !

Chives are so hearty .. mine are up again already too ... and like yours .. with no help from me at all.


----------



## pacanis

I haven't seen any daffodils around here yet. The grass is getting mowing height though. That could be interesting with the ground still saturated from all the rain we've been getting.


----------



## Dawgluver

Nice, Taxy!

We've had daffodils for a couple weeks.  Mine have been smushed, bashed and mangled by pouring rain, winds and hail.


View attachment 17708


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> And while I was at it, I took some pix of the chives and parsley, both coming back without help from me.




The Daffs are nice!  Seeing your chives reminded of Mom and Dad's Chive hedge in Laramie.  They had a regular hedge and right in front of it Dad planted chives, it was a beautiful row of purple and lavender color for most of the summer.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Nice, Taxy!
> 
> We've had daffodils for a couple weeks.  Mine have been smushed, bashed and mangled by pouring rain, winds and hail.
> 
> 
> View attachment 17708


Ohh, lovely. I can hardly wait for mine. Mine are dwarf daffy's. What a great nickname. They are sort of clowny, daffy flowers, that I love. And that bright happy yellow.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Ohh, lovely. I can hardly wait for mine. Mine are dwarf daffy's. What a great nickname. They are sort of clowny, daffy flowers, that I love. And that bright happy yellow.



I have minis and species daffs too, they all come up at different times.  Love 'em!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I have minis and species daffs too, they all come up at different times.  Love 'em!


I really should plant some more daff bulbs. They are such a good investment.


----------



## Kylie1969

Dawgluver said:


> Nice, Taxy!
> 
> We've had daffodils for a couple weeks.  Mine have been smushed, bashed and mangled by pouring rain, winds and hail.
> 
> 
> View attachment 17708



They look lovely, I love daffodils


----------



## taxlady

This is what those same daffies look like today:


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> This is what those same daffies look like today:



Ooh, pretty!  And you have Lamium too!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Ooh, pretty!  And you have Lamium too!


The lamium are going crazy. I bought one years ago and it nearly didn't survive. Then I got a few from my M-I-L and it seemed to revive the ones I already had. They have pink flowers and pale leaves, the new ones have dark green & white leaves with purple flowers. When I bought the first one, it was called a "purple dragon". It had purple flowers back then. I think they are in the mint family. They have the right shape of leaves and square stems.


----------



## Kylie1969

They look lovely Taxy


----------



## Zhizara

Thanks, Taxy.  What a nice reminder of the only thing I miss about living up north.  I loved watching the bulbs blossom, and especially loved the daffodils.


----------



## Steve Kroll

taxlady said:


> And while I was at it, I took some pix of the chives and parsley, both coming back without help from me.


I love it when that happens. I bought some potted chives several years ago. I've done nothing to help them along. but somehow they've made it through every winter so far.


----------



## taxlady

Steve Kroll said:


> I love it when that happens. I bought some potted chives several years ago. I've done nothing to help them along. but somehow they've made it through every winter so far.


Chives seem to like our colder climate. The only time they seemed threatened was when I planted wild morning glory. I like the flowers, I had no idea it would try to strangle every other nearby plant. At least it wasn't hard to get rid of the morning glory, which never flowered. 

I love the purple chive flowers and love surprising people by putting them in salads.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> The lamium are going crazy. I bought one years ago and it nearly didn't survive. Then I got a few from my M-I-L and it seemed to revive the ones I already had. They have pink flowers and pale leaves, the new ones have dark green & white leaves with purple flowers. When I bought the first one, it was called a "purple dragon". It had purple flowers back then. I think they are in the mint family. They have the right shape of leaves and square stems.



I have L. Beacon Silver and White Nancy.  I like that it does so well in the shade gardens for me, and spreads, but is not invasive.  Great plant.


----------



## Addie

In Tacoma, WA, they have a Daffodil Festival every spring. Every kind of daffodil can been found in WA. There are even fields of them on the prarie lands that grow wild and come back every year. All it takes is one bulb or risone and in a year or two you have quite a garden. They do multiply very fast and where ever they want to. My favorite is the King Alfred. It has the largest trumpet of all the daffodils.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> In Tacoma, WA, they have a Daffodil Festival every spring. Every kind of daffodil can been found in WA. There are even fields of them on the prarie lands that grow wild and come back every year. All it takes is one bulb or risone and in a year or two you have quite a garden. They do multiply very fast and where ever they want to. My favorite is the King Alfred. It has the largest trumpet of all the daffodils.


My little daffies aren't multiplying


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> My little daffies aren't multiplying


 
We do have a newly graduated Master Gardener here. But my first guess would be to feed them some lime and loosen the dirt around the bulbs or risone. The soil may have become compacted and it also needs to be sweetened. Also make sure you don't have any underground critters that just love to chew on bulbs for a snack.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> We do have a newly graduated Master Gardener here. But my first guess would be to feed them some lime and loosen the dirt around the bulbs or risone. The soil may have become compacted and it also needs to be sweetened. Also make sure you don't have any underground critters that just love to chew on bulbs for a snack.



Actually, dafs are pretty critter-proof, unlike tulips and other bulbs.  I would pop the spent blooms off before they set seed, and resist the urge to cut down the foliage until it's yellow and dry or slimy.  I used to braid the foliage after blooming as it looks pretty untidy, but that's a no-no.  Now I just let it do its thing.  Hybrids are less likely to spread than non-hybrids.  I don't fertilize or do anything else with the soil.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Actually, dafs are pretty critter-proof, unlike tulips and other bulbs. I would pop the spent blooms off before they set seed, and resist the urge to cut down the foliage until it's yellow and dry or slimy. I used to braid the foliage after blooming as it looks pretty untidy, but that's a no-no. Now I just let it do its thing. Hybrids are less likely to spread than non-hybrids. I don't fertilize or do anything else with the soil.


 
Thanks Dawg. I had forgotten about hybrids and cutting back of the leaves after the blooms are done. You should always let the energy of the leaves go back into the bulb. Once they turn brown, then you can cut them back. I used to loosen the soil in the spring. I also used to fold the leaves over and tie together with another leaf while still attached. Looked much neater while they were going brown.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> We do have a newly graduated Master Gardener here. But my first guess would be to feed them some lime and loosen the dirt around the bulbs or risone. The soil may have become compacted and it also needs to be sweetened. Also make sure you don't have any underground critters that just love to chew on bulbs for a snack.


Thanks for the reminder about our Master Gardener. I really haven't done anything other than admire them.


----------



## Somebunny

We were at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival two weeks ago......here are some pics that show that Spring is finally here in the PNW. 

View attachment 17717



View attachment 17718



View attachment 17719



View attachment 17720



View attachment 17721


----------



## taxlady

Very pretty, but some of those tulips look suspiciously like daffodils.


----------



## Dawgluver

Somebunny said:


> We were at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival two weeks ago......here are some pics that show that Spring is finally here in the PNW.



Wow!  Just, um, Wow!  Gorgeous, Bunny!


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Very pretty, but some of those tulips look suspiciously like daffodils.



  The new daffodil-shaped tulips!


----------



## Kylie1969

They all look wonderful!

Looks like a fun day out 



Somebunny said:


> We were at the Skagit Valley Tulip festival two weeks ago......here are some pics that show that Spring is finally here in the PNW.
> 
> View attachment 17717
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17718
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17719
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17720
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17721


----------



## Kylie1969

taxlady said:


> Very pretty, but some of those tulips look suspiciously like daffodils.



They sure do


----------



## Addie

Thanks somebunny for a happy memory. Daffodils are my favorite flower. 

When I was first married to my second husband he was coming home from a trip and at Maverick Station there was a flower vendor. He was selling daffodils. There were five flowers in each bunch for twenty-five cents. He brought me home four bunches. When he got home he gave each kid a dollar and sent them down to clean the vendor out. They all came home with four bunches. I had 100 daffodils that night. I was one happy person.


----------



## Somebunny

Lol everyone!  Yes there were daffys too!  It really is beautiful this time of year where they grow the most tulips in the world.(according to one if the farms on the tour). It really was a lovely day that we shared with DH's siblings and our daughter and grandbabies!


----------



## Kylie1969

I just love all the colours


----------



## cjmmytunes

Cooksie said:


> Mr. Macro Kitty
> He does not like to cooperate during the shooting session .



This reminds me of my mom's cat.  We call him "The Evil Mojo Jojo". She got him in 1997, and my daughter - who was seven at the time - named him after the monkey of The Powerpuff Girls.


----------



## vitauta

ooh cooksie, mr.macro sure is a priitty kiitty, isn't he, though?  the glowering, that's just part of his appeal....


----------



## Kylie1969

What a lovely looking cat


----------



## Dawgluver

DH took this from his office window.  An abandoned robin's neat nest from last year became a dove couple's total mess.  The dove couple just randomly stuck in twigs.  I guess they're recycling.



View attachment 17854


----------



## buckytom

maybe the doves were mourning something and just didn't care anymore...

coo coo, aww hell. i'm just not into it.


----------



## Dawgluver

buckytom said:


> maybe the doves were mourning something and just didn't care anymore...
> 
> coo coo, aww hell. i'm just not into it.



How did you know?  

They were really upset with the window washer.


----------



## buckytom

i've lived with birds (parakeets, cockatiels, an african grey, and a cockatoo since i was 20). yes, my experience has been all hookbills, but i whistle really well, and often freak out the local birds from our second story window. cardinals, robins,  blue jays, finches, and blue footed boobies in my neighborbood by imitating their call.

our giant apple tree has two nests in it every year.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> DH took this from his office window.  An abandoned robin's neat nest from last year became a dove couple's total mess.  The dove couple just randomly stuck in twigs.  I guess they're recycling.
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 17854


I think they were adding a guard rail so the babies won't fall out.


----------



## buckytom

a sign on the door of one of our news graphics departments known as "the war room": (sorry it's blurry)


----------



## buckytom

a sign on our evening news studio door - a quote from edward r. murrow:


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I think they were adding a guard rail so the babies won't fall out.



We have a baby!  Sorry about the photo quality.

Huh. The nest looks much neater, where did the hairy twigs go?


View attachment 17953


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Aww a special delivery!


----------



## Addie

May I ask "what is it?" It looks like a bunny.


----------



## Dawgluver

Read up a couple threads, Addie!  DH is taking these from his window at work.

As I recall, doves only have one baby per nest, though DH thinks there might be another egg in there.


----------



## MrsLMB

Addie said:


> May I ask "what is it?" It looks like a bunny.


 

The picture is sideways Addie .. tilt your head to the left.

Pretty cool that there is a baby ... keep us posted and let us know if there really is another.


----------



## pacanis

MrsLMB said:


> The picture is sideways Addie .. tilt your head to the left.
> 
> Pretty cool that there is a baby ... keep us posted and let us know if there really is another.


 
OK, I see it now.
I thought it was a rabbit or something


----------



## Dawgluver

MrsLMB said:


> The picture is sideways Addie .. tilt your head to the left.
> 
> Pretty cool that there is a baby ... keep us posted and let us know if there really is another.



Yes, I don't know why the thumbnail is OK, but when you click on the pic, it's sideways.  iPad doesn't help, if you tilt it, it doesn't upright.  Sorry!


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh dear, sideways it does look like a rabbit!  

No, it's a dove mama and baby!  I tried to explain to DH that there are apps to crop, backlight, and edit iPhone pics, he gave me a blank look.  Oh well, I don't use them either.


----------



## Addie

Thanks I got it. Pretty cool. 

I was just listening to local news. A class of second graders found a nest of abandoned ducklings. The teacher brought them inside and now they are raising them and getting a science lesson as well. The news station is going to follow them. The teacher is going to try and find the mother. This ought to be interesting.


----------



## vitauta

so, what do the duckies do for food over the memorial day weekend?  shall i fix up a plate for them, and bring it over?  and where IS their mamma, anyhow?  i'd like to know--i haven't had roast duck in quite some time....


----------



## Dawgluver

vitauta said:


> so, what do the duckies do for food over the memorial day weekend?  shall i fix up a plate for them, and bring it over?  and where IS their mamma, anyhow?  i'd like to know--i haven't had roast duck in quite some time....



  Vit!

Around here, kindergarten classes routinely hatch eggs with chicks and ducklings in an incubator.  The kids love them!  (sometimes too much). Then the adolescent birds are sent back to the farm.


----------



## vitauta

what, you didn't know about my fondness for duckling, dawg?

didn't we already establish that she is a bad mother?  what?


----------



## Addie

vitauta said:


> so, what do the duckies do for food over the memorial day weekend? shall i fix up a plate for them, and bring it over? and where IS their mamma, anyhow? i'd like to know--i haven't had roast duck in quite some time....


 
I had some questions also. But it was just on the news and like always they don't give the whole story.


----------



## pacanis

I just hope they know ducks need water to eat and aren't trying to raise them like chickens. 
And if they are going to look for the mama, then maybe they weren't abandoned. They probably should have just left them.
But I guess it made a good story.


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> I just hope they know ducks need water to eat and aren't trying to raise them like chickens.
> And if they are going to look for the mama, then maybe they weren't abandoned. They probably should have just left them.
> But I guess it made a good story.


 
It is a worrisome story. I am sure the teacher meant well in rescuing the babies. Ducklings are able to swim immediately upon hatching. Sometimes I think it is better to let Nature take its course. No matter how hard it is to stand by and watch.


----------



## pacanis

A bunch of pics from bluing my pistol today. 
This is a gun I built from scratch, picking out and hand fitting all the parts together, polishing out the machining marks, and then taking it to a friends house to be blued.


----------



## Andy M.

Looks really good.  I like how the wood handle is set off by the bluing.


----------



## LPBeier

I know nothing about guns (and actually like it that way) - what is bluing?


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Andy. I like the contrast, too. I like the color of rosewood grips on any finish.

Laurie, bluing is like controlled rust. The heat (290F) and the chemical reaction turn the metal bluish. It's not the most durable finish, but it's the prettiest IMO.


----------



## Dawgluver

Nice, Pac!


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Dawg!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> A bunch of pics from bluing my pistol today.
> This is a gun I built from scratch, picking out and hand fitting all the parts together, polishing out the machining marks, and then taking it to a friends house to be blued.



Absolutely beautiful Pacanis!  A little bacon greese and it'll work smooth!

Two of my favorite smells...bacon and gun oil...


----------



## pacanis

What a great use for extra bacon grease! 
It may take the place of cosmoline!


----------



## chopper

It looks fantastic Pac!  Won't you look good on the range?!


----------



## pacanis

Thanks Chopper!
I might have to go to a public range now just to show it off 
I shoot in my back yard.


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> Thanks Chopper!
> I might have to go to a public range now just to show it off
> I shoot in my back yard.


 
Any neighbors around you don't like? If not I can send you a few for target practice.


----------



## pacanis

Addie said:


> Any neighbors around you don't like? If not I can send you a few for target practice.


 
I do not joke about such things.
Publically


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> Thanks Chopper!
> I might have to go to a public range now just to show it off
> I shoot in my back yard.



Nice.  We aren't able to do that here,  but my son (although three hours away) can shoot on his property.  It is nice when that is a possibility.  I actually like the targets they have for pistols on the ranges.  One range we go to by my son's house has the metal knock down targets.  I can really KA on those.  Hubby loves to tell his friends about my doing better than anyone else.  I guess it is because it is the only thing I have found that I can beat him at.  He feels safe with me to protect him.   He tells about me and then says, "What a woman!"  I'm ok with that!


----------



## roadfix

That's beautiful work on that gun Pac!


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Thanks Chopper!
> I might have to go to a public range now just to show it off
> I shoot in my back yard.


I think I see a target next to a tree. What are those wooden things in the foreground?


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> Nice. We aren't able to do that here, but my son (although three hours away) can shoot on his property. It is nice when that is a possibility. I actually like the targets they have for pistols on the ranges. One range we go to by my son's house has the metal knock down targets. I can really KA on those. Hubby loves to tell his friends about my doing better than anyone else. I guess it is because it is the only thing I have found that I can beat him at. He feels safe with me to protect him.  He tells about me and then says, "What a woman!" I'm ok with that!


 
Women automatically shoot better than men, especially pistol. It's that lower center of gravity thing.
I have a couple steel plates. I use them when I don't feel like putting up a target. It's nice to see something move and react when you hit it. Last year someone gave me a fruit basket. I used up two apples on stuffing and the rest went out to the range 



roadfix said:


> That's beautiful work on that gun Pac!


 
Thanks Roadie. It was probably as rewarding for me as you feel when you build or mod a smoker. A nice sense of accomplishment.



taxlady said:


> I think I see a target next to a tree. What are those wooden things in the foreground?


 
That's a shooting bench and stool.


----------



## chopper

One of my kids bought a mini watermelon just to shoot!  At least he bought another one to eat.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

chopper said:


> One of my kids bought a mini watermelon just to shoot!  At least he bought another one to eat.



That's an expensive target...


----------



## chopper

Black Forest Fire




View attachment 18086



View attachment 18087


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I am so dreading fire season this year, it's going to hit us hard since we didn't have any winter to speak of.  Sorry it's been so bad around you Chopper!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am so dreading fire season this year, it's going to hit us hard since we didn't have any winter to speak of. Sorry it's been so bad around you Chopper!


 
Fortunately I don't live in a fire season area. When I lived in Everett, two towns over, way down below the highway were railroad tracks. The area leading down to that is filled with Cat-o-Nine-tails. Also wild wheat. The kids just love to set fire to them each year when they are really dry. The smoke brings traffic to a complete halt for miles around Several main routes feed into this area and during rush hour, all hell breaks loose. If you get caught in it while you are in your car, you have to literally abandon your car and get to safety. 

I have lived in fire prone areas though. When I lived on the outskirts of Tacoma, there was a large piece of prairie behind my house. It caught fire one day during dry season and I watch the fire get closer and closer to my home. The fire trucks were racing to get ahead of the fire and stop it. Fortunately the wind change and caused the fire to go towards the open prairie. Usually there were always cows grazing there. But for some reason the farmer kept them in the barn that day. To bad. We could have had a BBQ on the hoof.


----------



## chopper

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I am so dreading fire season this year, it's going to hit us hard since we didn't have any winter to speak of.  Sorry it's been so bad around you Chopper!



It was just that it was a week or two shy of a year ago that another fire hit the area.  Tat one was considered the worse in history until this year.  The count right now is 502 homes totally destroyed!  The fire last year was just over three hundred.  The fire is now 75 % contained, so that is nice.  At the same time this terrible fire was going on, there were three others in Colorado, one being in the area of The Royal Gorge. Two people lost their lives in the Black Forest fire.


----------



## pacanis

I saw this bug this morning and snapped a cell phone pic of it.
View attachment 18092
Did a little Googling and came up with this Luna Moth

They only live a week and don't have a mouth, so don't eat


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> I saw this bug this morning and snapped a cell phone pic of it.
> View attachment 18092
> Did a little Googling and came up with this Luna Moth
> 
> They only live a week and don't have a mouth, so don't eat



Neat!  Never seen one before!


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:


> I saw this bug this morning and snapped a cell phone pic of it.
> 
> Did a little Googling and came up with this Luna Moth
> 
> They only live a week and don't have a mouth, so don't eat



Beautiful.  It's the spokes-moth for Lunesta sleep medication!  Really cool to see in flight too.


----------



## pacanis

He's still there, too. I wonder if he's going to die or fly away.


----------



## Dawgluver

I think they're nocturnal.  He's probably resting, may go flying at nightfall.


----------



## Andy M.

I don't think I've ever seen one before.  Cool.


----------



## pacanis

Dawgluver said:


> I think they're nocturnal. He's probably resting, may go flying at nightfall.


 
He moves a little when I open and close the gate he's on.  I suppose I'll find out tomorrow morning if he flies the coop tonight.


----------



## Dawgluver

I've seen a few, they're so pretty in flight too.  Apparently becoming rare.  We had one on our window years ago.  It was huge.  Hmm.  I'll have to check for a pic.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I think they're nocturnal.  He's probably resting, may go flying at nightfall.



My brain immediately goes to the Parrot Sketch. 

Monty Python - Dead Parrot - YouTube


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My brain immediately goes to the Parrot Sketch.
> 
> Monty Python - Dead Parrot - YouTube



ROFL!!!     I remember that well!


----------



## ahoymatey2013

It's been a while since I saw a luna moth,  they are pretty


----------



## Addie

I once had a horrible nightmare of a Lunar Moth chasing me all the whole length of Saratoga Street. That is the longest street in Eastie. I had forgotton it until this came up. Thanks for the memory, I think.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My brain immediately goes to the Parrot Sketch.
> 
> Monty Python - Dead Parrot - YouTube



Hehehe. Just resting.


----------



## pacanis

1234


----------



## roadfix

Nice shot of that moth!  It almost looks like a deep sea creature of sort...


----------



## Alix

Gorgeous fox pacanis! What does 1234 mean? Are there 4 things to see?

PS. Love the sig line. I feel like adding "and forgive us our eggsesses"


----------



## Dawgluver

BTW, Pac, how's your moth?  Did he/she leave yet?


----------



## pacanis

The bottom of the moth's wings are opening. It no longer resembles a stingray. It's still pretty much in the same spot though.
I read that after they emerge they need to dry their wings, get blood pumping through them or something, so maybe that's what it's been doing. Or maybe it's dying. Time will tell.

Alix, 1234 because we need four characters to post, so it was either that or ....


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

So, when my hair is wet and combed out it goes down to about two and a half inches below my waist, just at the top of my bum. As it dries the curl steels two to four inches depending on its mood. And then there are the days when the humidity wins.

View attachment 18116

Not even quite to the middle of my back. Curse you humidity. On the plus side, it's partialy pulled back so it didn't grow into the massive monster that I know it can.

Believe it or not there is a four inch long hair stick holding the twist in place. My brothers used to pick on me that if they threw a pencil in my hair it would be swallowed up and lost. Now I use that phenomenon as a styling tool. Not quite sure how I feel about that. Except that I definitely still want to punch them in the shoulder.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those are some serious curls p.a.g.!  Janis Joplin had nothin' on you.


----------



## Dawgluver

What beautiful hair, PAG!

Miy hair is long too, but straight.  At one point it hit mid-thigh.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Thank you. My hair's never been mid-thigh length. It's about as long as it will grow. I don't think I could hanldle it being that long. As it is I occasionally wake up with my arms tanlged in it. 

Usually I love my hair. It's surprisingly easy to take care of and I can do some rather nifty updos with it. But every so often heat and humidity conspire against me and for just a moment I think about shaving my head. I never will, I just think about it.


----------



## Dawgluver

Long hair is so easy, wash and wear.  I have a bunch of clippy things that will put it up, wet or dry.   My DH only charges $10 to trim it.  

Seriously, I dropped off some paperwork at a hairdresser's, and figured I'd get a trim, 2 inches and $20.  I think I'll go with DH from now on.  He's cheap.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Yeah, it's crazy how much people want to charge for 10 minutes worth of work. It's one thing if you're getting something complicated done like layers or asymetrical shaping or a design shaved into your head, but a basic two inches off the bottom or a buzz cut shouldn't cost $20. It's just silly.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those kinds of prices are what has made me wear my hair in non-styles all these years p.a.g.  I used to have Janis Joplin type wavy-curly hair when I was younger.  After years of blow-drying, wearing it to my waist (it looks great under my wedding veil  ), and giving birth to twins it appears my hair structure has changed.  I got it cut short-ish when our kids were around two and had practically straight hair!  My MIL (a hairdresser) said it was likely wearing it long for so long and the hormonal changes during pregnancy "pulled" the curl out of my hair.  I don't know what caused it but I'm not arguing.  Even now, into my 60s, still wear it below the shoulders, but I do pull it up a lot.


----------



## Kylie1969

Yes, it is ridiculous how much the hairdressers charge to just trim off a bit of hair...mine does too!

I have longish hair, just past my shoulders and I too have it straight and sleek 

When I go for a trim, it is just off the ends and I have it layered around my face, that is it and yet they charge $40.00 

It is the same with all the hairdressers around and if you go into the city, it just gets even more expensive!


----------



## pacanis

A good sized snake for around here. It was probably 3' long and about 1" thick.
And a coyote grabbing the snack I left for it. I was expecting the fox again.


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:


> A good sized snake for around here. It was probably 3' long and about 1" thick.
> And a coyote grabbing the snack I left for it. I was expecting the fox again.



Cool pics!


----------



## ahoymatey2013

Nice pictures!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Cool pics!



What she said.


----------



## Andy M.

Nice, Pac!


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle watching bunnies:

View attachment 18152


----------



## pacanis

My poor Pierce (my one dog's name, I just don't call him Rhodesian Ridgeback ) is fixated on my shed every time he steps outside. He stands on my porch and stares like your Beagle, Beagle, does. There are squirrels and bunnies hanging out there all day long. And there used to be ground hogs. One of these days there's going to be one I don't see and he'll be off coursing it.

Do you have a detailed pic of that where you can see the bunnies better? That's one of those pictures there could be a caption with.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pac!  Beagle is going apesnot tracking her bunnies.  She's been standing on my head, rushing to the front, back, and side of the house, and repeating, all inside the house.  She's shivering just watching all the baby bunnies.  Squirrels, groundsquirrels, and birds, meh.  No interest.

I have a pic of some baby bunnies from a few years back, will try to find it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle watching bunnies:
> 
> View attachment 18152



Can I have one, please, please.  I would hug him and hold him and squeeze him, I will call him George...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Can I have one, please, please.  I would hug him and hold him and squeeze him, I will call him George...



You are a Beagle mind-reader, PF!  

She wants to call them Sheila.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> You are a Beagle mind-reader, PF!
> 
> She wants to call them Sheila.




That's because I _know _what Beagle is thinking as she hops around the house watching her bunnies...


----------



## chopper

My female golden retriever, Maddy likes to watch "the outdoor channel" out the back door.  She watches bunnies all of the time.  I know what you mean about the dog shaking while watching.  We say that she is vibrating, because that is the only way to describe it.  When we see the baby bunnies out we try to keep her inside, but sometimes she will seek them out and find them.  It's kinda sad, but she is, after all, a dog.


----------



## taxlady

A few years ago my neighbour hung a bird feeder where my cats (when I still had two) could see it from the patio door. She called it "Nature TV".


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> A good sized snake for around here. It was probably 3' long and about 1" thick.
> And a coyote grabbing the snack I left for it. I was expecting the fox again.



Now that I'm looking at this on my PC instead of my phone, that snake looks like a garter snake. They don't get much bigger than that and they eat rodents (and frogs).


----------



## chopper

I saw a really big rattle snake by the road yesterday.  I thought at first that it was a bull snake, but then saw the rattles!  I didn't get close enough to stop and take a picture!


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> I saw a really big rattle snake by the road yesterday.  I thought at first that it was a bull snake, but then saw the rattles!  I didn't get close enough to stop and take a picture!



Chops, how scary...I am pleased you did not get too close...I would have run a mile


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> I saw a really big rattle snake by the road yesterday. I thought at first that it was a bull snake, but then saw the rattles! I didn't get close enough to stop and take a picture!


 
When I lived in Texas, the city I lived in had an ordinance that you HAD to keep your grass cut short. If not, the city would come in and cut it for you and then add the cost on to your water bill. 

I used to have to walk down the long driveway to get our mail. One night I was walking down the middle of it and I heard that rattle. I turned real quick and decided he could have my mail. It was probably a bill anyway. 

When I would mow the grass, every so often I would hear, chunk, clunk, bang. Pieces of rattlers would come flying out. I had run over a nest. Then one day I heard gun shots out back. The trash men were shooting a bunch of rattlers in my trash can. And The Pirate was about ten y.o. at that time. He and his friends would go rattle hunting and turn them in for the $5 bounty. Money for the movies. Such a joyous place to live.


----------



## Kylie1969

OMG Ads, that all sounds full on....I am so pleased we dont have them here 

Although we have brown snakes, they are very large and quite mean


----------



## Addie

Kylie, I always said when I lived in Texas, "All the mistakes God made when he created the earth, he put in Texas." And I still believe that.


----------



## Kylie1969

Is it mainly Texas, Ads, that has the snakes?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kylie, there are snakes in practically every state.  And just about each state has a venomous one.  Can't remember details, but there is no hiding from snakes here!


----------



## Addie

No. Just about every state has snakes. But there seem to be more in the southern warm states. And they are poisonous. I have never heard of any poisonous ones here in Massachusetts. Just garter snakes. They like to eat mice and insects.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:


> No. Just about every state has snakes. But there seem to be more in the southern warm states. And they are poisonous. I have never heard of any poisonous ones here in Massachusetts. Just garter snakes. They like to eat mice and insects.



Western cold states(aka Colorado) have rattle snakes!  Snakes are everywhere.  Here is a link for snakes in North America.
Snakes of North America

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/snakes/


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Let's see...snakes, yes; bears...grizzly and black, yes; mountain lions, yes; wolves, yes; coyotes, yes; bison, yes (I'm not kidding, they are mean)...I've even been attacked, in town, by white-tailed deer...


----------



## Kylie1969

We have the horrible red back spider!

The box jelly fish, European wasp, the bull shark, Brown snake, saltwater crocodile, funnel web spiders, blue ringed octopus, death adder, lots of snakes, tiger shark, great white shark, lots of water animals are deadly here too

It is scary stuff when you think about it


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's why I live in the mountains...I may be able to run faster, but I sure as heck can't out swim...


----------



## forty_caliber

Texas titty bar


----------



## chopper

That was great FC!  I can't wait to show Hubby that one.  He will love it!


----------



## Addie

forty_caliber said:


> Texas titty bar


 
 I love it. Would you know if these calves are dairy or cattle?


----------



## forty_caliber

Addie said:


> I love it. Would you know if these calves are dairy or cattle?



They look like herefords to me...beef.

.40


----------



## Addie

forty_caliber said:


> They look like herefords to me...beef.
> 
> .40


 
That is what it looks like to me also. Their coloring is too off for dairy. Also their hindquarters are too well developed for dairy. The reason I asked is because it is common to remove the calf from the mother if they are dairy. The farmer doesn't want the calf to nurse longer than necessary to get the colostrum and have the teats damaged from too much suckling. Then when the bag is full the teats drag across the ground and cause all sorts of problems. These are probably calves that got separated from the mother or rejected. Or they are males that are no more. Thus kept close to home to watch for problems. Only one bull per herd please.


----------



## GotGarlic

Testing adding a photo from my tablet after using Dropsync to sync my Dropbox folder. Texas BBQ at the Salt Lick in Austin. Yummy stuff. Yay, it works!

View attachment 18183


----------



## pacanis

All I see is a red X.
(just kidding)


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> All I see is a red X.
> (just kidding)



Oh nooooo! Wait. Giving Pac my sternest look


----------



## Kylie1969

GotGarlic said:


> Testing adding a photo from my tablet after using Dropsync to sync my Dropbox folder. Texas BBQ at the Salt Lick in Austin. Yummy stuff. Yay, it works!
> 
> View attachment 18183



Looks fabulous GG 

We use Dropbox too, great set up!


----------



## chopper

My strawberries are getting ripe.  Yummy!

View attachment 18194


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice chopper!  And look at all those flower buds...AKA more berries!  I also notice it seems you have no shade trees around?  *whew*


----------



## Addie

And that is why her berries are doing so well.


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> My strawberries are getting ripe.  Yummy!
> 
> View attachment 18194



They look fabulous Chops


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> My strawberries are getting ripe. Yummy!
> 
> View attachment 18194


 
Neat, potted strawberries.


----------



## chopper

Cooking Goddess said:


> Nice chopper!  And look at all those flower buds...AKA more berries!  I also notice it seems you have no shade trees around?  *whew*



Not a lot. It is not too easy to grow trees when the drought has lasted so long.  We have some trees, but they are not very big.


----------



## chopper

Kylie1969 said:


> They look fabulous Chops





pacanis said:


> Neat, potted strawberries.



Thanks!  I have to water them every day, and I usually eat two or three berries a day.


----------



## chopper

Addie said:


> And that is why her berries are doing so well.



Thanks.  They do like their sunshine.


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> Thanks! I have to water them every day, and I usually eat two or three berries a day.


 
That makes it worth it.
Do you have them throughout the season growing them this way?


----------



## pacanis

A little fun in the sun (also spelled humidity) today;
Shooting my Remington VTR in .223
My Remington 40XB .22
And my Winchester 52B .22. I can't believe how much better I shoot that Winchester, hence no target pic of the Remington .22. I was lucky to keep three shots touching out of the five shot groups. I just might sell the Remington. Plus the Win was made in 1941, so it has the cool factor over something made in the mid sixties 
It took me a while to dial in the VTR and keep three shots touching, which is where I wanted to be. Cheap ammo though. That never helps.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice shots pac!  And I can take the hint - leave your bacon alone, right?


----------



## pacanis

Don't be touchin' on da bacon


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> Thanks!  I have to water them every day, and I usually eat two or three berries a day.



Yes, when we grew strawberries we noticed they liked lots of water


----------



## pacanis

Check out this picture from USA Today Online. I thought it was photo shopped, but it isn't. These goats in Morocco have learned to climb trees to get to the berries. Amazing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Check out this picture from USA Today Online. I thought it was photo shopped, but it isn't. These goats in Morocco have learned to climb trees to get to the berries. Amazing.



Goats will climb anything...we found out it was hard to get them off a trampoline.  Eventually they bounced themselves off.


----------



## pacanis

More pics from the trailcam.
Check out the time stamp on the two coyote pics. In and out.
And look, twins!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Very nice pictures. How great to have a trail cam to capture them.


----------



## Dawgluver

Way cool, Pac!


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Goats will climb anything...we found out it was hard to get them off a trampoline.  Eventually they bounced themselves off.



I must ask, PF, why did you put your goats on a trampoline?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful pics!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I must ask, PF, why did you put your goats on a trampoline?



They got up there themselves.  They had gotten into the yard and were on the trampoline, we were watching them fly by the window while we were eating breakfast.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They got up there themselves.  They had gotten into the yard and were on the trampoline, we were watching them fly by the window while we were eating breakfast.



  Now THAT would be something for YouTube!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Now THAT would be something for YouTube!



That was well before the Internet and You Tube...


----------



## pacanis

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They got up there themselves. They had gotten into the yard and were on the trampoline, we were watching them fly by the window while we were eating breakfast.


 
I'll believe that when pigs fly.
Wait, forget I said that


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> I'll believe that when pigs fly.
> Wait, forget I said that



Flying goats...the house was a split level, so the dining room was a floor and a half up.  It's why it's such an indelible memory, we had a lot of fun on the dairy farm in the summers.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

PrincessFiona60 said:


> They got up there themselves.  They had gotten into the yard and were on the trampoline, we were watching them fly by the window while we were eating breakfast.



 Oh. My. Aching. Tummy!   Also PF, thanks for the tea spray on the monitor.  BTW, I use milk in mine.   Gotta go clean up Squirt (um, that's the notebook's name)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Oh. My. Aching. Tummy!   Also PF, thanks for the tea spray on the monitor.  BTW, I use milk in mine.   Gotta go clean up Squirt (um, that's the notebook's name)



You're welcome


----------



## pacanis

Before
View attachment 18281
View attachment 18282

After
View attachment 18283
View attachment 18284
View attachment 18285


----------



## Paymaster

My favorite hunt'n spot.


----------



## pacanis

Paymaster said:


> My favorite hunt'n spot.


 
Can you folks sit on the ground when you hunt or are the ticks and chiggers too bad? Ever since I saw that one Survivorman where he had to burn the ground before he laid down to sleep (in GA) I always wondered about that.


----------



## Rocklobster

We hiked in here this past week. Algonquin Provincial Park. One hour walk through the bush. It is a great little rapid with a few rock pools, warm water which runs between two lakes. Cool little flat rock that you can slide down from one pool to another. I would do it again, but my daughter said no way. Lots of dear flies....


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Before
> View attachment 18281
> View attachment 18282
> 
> After
> View attachment 18283
> View attachment 18284
> View attachment 18285



I will believe you if you tell me these are all the same basic pistol with mods though you couldn't prove it by me.  I assume the black superstructure is a sight.  Then there's the extension on the front and the knurled knob near the back.  New trigger, slide, etc.  New finish.  Lots of holes.  Please take a minute to explain the changes.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> I will believe you if you tell me these are all the same basic pistol with mods though you couldn't prove it by me. I assume the black superstructure is a sight. Then there's the extension on the front and the knurled knob near the back. New trigger, slide, etc. New finish. Lots of holes. Please take a minute to explain the changes.


 
The parts I used off the original are the slide, frame and guide rod (which you can't see). Everything else is different.
That extended piece is a compensator (or muzzle brake) to reduce recoil. And yes, that's a red dot optic. And because of the optic the knob goes where the rear sight used to be to pull the slide back more easily because you can't really grab the slide anymore. And the holes/porting are put in to lighten it back up, plus they look cool  I've got a friend with a machine shop in his basement that did that. I polished the slide just to give it more of a two-tone look.
Google or youtube "race gun" and you'll see some crazy stuff. They are built to shoot fast in competition. I just wanted a plinker. Plus it kept me out of trouble for a few weeks


----------



## Kylie1969

Rocklobster said:


> We hiked in here this past week. Algonquin Provincial Park. One hour walk through the bush. It is a great little rapid with a few rock pools, warm water which runs between two lakes. Cool little flat rock that you can slide down from one pool to another. I would do it again, but my daughter said no way. Lots of dear flies....



That looks like a fabulous place to hike


----------



## Kylie1969

Paymaster said:


> My favorite hunt'n spot.



That is a lovely shot


----------



## Paymaster

pacanis said:


> Can you folks sit on the ground when you hunt or are the ticks and chiggers too bad? Ever since I saw that one Survivorman where he had to burn the ground before he laid down to sleep (in GA) I always wondered about that.


 
I hunt from the ground. I take precautions for biting insects but some still make it thru. I use a Thermacell unit for mosquitos and biting flies. Thermacell is the best invention for the hunter, since the metallic cartridge was invented.


----------



## pacanis

Paymaster said:


> I hunt from the ground. I take precautions for biting insects but some still make it thru. I use a Thermacell unit for mosquitos and biting flies. Thermacell is the best invention for the hunter, since the metallic cartridge was invented.


 
Mine will be here Friday 
Thanks for the product endorsement. I didn't know these existed and the mosquitoes have been pretty bad out back all year, even during the day. This will be a godsend.


----------



## Paymaster

pacanis said:


> Mine will be here Friday
> Thanks for the product endorsement. I didn't know these existed and the mosquitoes have been pretty bad out back all year, even during the day. This will be a godsend.


 You will find the Thermacell as an indispensable part of your outdoor equipment. I left mine at home on a short bowhunting trip. I discovered it missing as I was putting on my gear at the parking spot. I left there and went home to retrieve it. I knew better than try to suffer the consequences.


----------



## pacanis

I hate to say this but, I can't wait to try it out.


----------



## Rocklobster

pacanis said:


> I hate to say this but, I can't wait to try it out.



Just make sure you don't qualify for any vids like this
Humor: 10 Funny Gun Fails | Military.com


----------



## Paymaster

Rocklobster said:


> Just make sure you don't qualify for any vids like this
> Humor: 10 Funny Gun Fails | Military.com


 
Ah! Not me. I did get scope bit once however!


----------



## pacanis

Rocklobster said:


> Just make sure you don't qualify for any vids like this
> Humor: 10 Funny Gun Fails | Military.com


 
I don't swat bugs when I shoot, but I want to.
Hopefully that bug repellant will let me shoot in peace. And even brush hog. I imagine shortly the deer flies will be getting bad. They don't care if you are moving or not to land on the back of your neck.


----------



## Paymaster

pacanis said:


> I don't swat bugs when I shoot, but I want to.
> Hopefully that bug repellant will let me shoot in peace. And even brush hog. I imagine shortly the deer flies will be getting bad. They don't care if you are moving or not to land on the back of your neck.


 I use mine out on our patio/deck as well. If I am fishing, it goes with me. Thermacell also makes a nice lattern that you can sit out on your patio table. Repels bugs out 15 yards. I bought one at Home Depot last year. Great $30 investment!


----------



## Andy M.

The Stargazer lilies are in full bloom in SO's garden.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 18319

Ok, it is sideways, but it is a picture of my oldest grandson on a mountain bike we bought in 1995 for his uncle.


----------



## chopper

Andy, those flowers are beautiful!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy, those lilies are so lovely I swear I can smell them here!  Oh, wait, those are the ones in MY garden that I can smell...  Aren't they they prettiest?  Love them.

chopper, isn't it amazing how quickly they grow up?  Nice to see he's wearing a helmet.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Paymaster said:


> I hunt from the ground. I take precautions for biting insects but some still make it thru. I use a Thermacell unit for mosquitos and biting flies. Thermacell is the best invention for the hunter, since the metallic cartridge was invented.



With the way you sing the Thermacell's praises through the posts here I'm tempted to get one just for weeding the garden.  MA mosquitos are stealthy and quiet compared to the big old Boeings that bite in OH.  You can hear and feel those before they bite you!


----------



## pacanis

PA as well, CG. You can feel the air move from their beating wings.

How long do those bloom, Andy?


----------



## taxlady

When I lived in the country, north of Montreal, we called skeeters "petit quatre moteurs". It means "little four engines", 'cause they were loud.


----------



## Addie

Our landscaping folks this year really outdid themselves. Our day lilies were dying or had gotten way out of hand. So they pulled up all the dead ones, and some of the ones that had gotten out of hand. The planted some a multitude of new bulbs last fall and they are blooming this year. All different colors and names. We now have a rainbow of them surrounding the whole property. They trimmed back the bushes and planted all new arrangements in the huge planters along with in the old horse cart on the large front lawn. The cart is right in front of the very tall flag pole. I noticed the other day that the flowers in it are red, white and blue. 

They also, as I found out later, had a day to dedicate the cart and flag pole to one of our residents and put a plague on them with his name. Why him? He served at Iwo Jima and was wounded. His sister and I went to school together and she was one of my best friends. What is left of his family was in attendance. I wish I had known.


----------



## Kylie1969

Andy M. said:


> The Stargazer lilies are in full bloom in SO's garden.



They look amazing!


----------



## Kylie1969

chopper said:


> View attachment 18319
> 
> Ok, it is sideways, but it is a picture of my oldest grandson on a mountain bike we bought in 1995 for his uncle.



Chops, lovely photo and great bike


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> ...How long do those bloom, Andy?



I don't have a clue.  We had one or two last year and I bought SO a dozen bulbs this Spring.  They're very fragrant.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> I don't have a clue.  We had one or two last year and I bought SO a dozen bulbs this Spring.  They're very fragrant.



Mine last at least a few weeks.  Love 'em.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> I don't have a clue. We had one or two last year and I bought SO a dozen bulbs this Spring. They're very fragrant.


 
One of the nice things about day lilies is that they self propagate. Each year each plant puts out more and more blooms. Some of the old plants here were so big, that the landscapers cut them in half leaving only the newest growth. And what was left bloomed in full this year. They did the clean out and replanting in the fall and covered all of it with black plastic. They removed the plastic at the end of March. I have also noticed that this year the folks who come each week to mow all the lawns, also have been pulling any dead stems to flowers that have died off. A new job for them. It makes for a prettier and healthier plant. The day lilies here bloom well into late fall. 

I have to laugh though. I am not saying riding around on a mower is easy work, but getting off it once all the lawns are cut and having to do real physical labor makes for some grouchy workers. It is a new assignment that has been added to their job description. They had to be reminded that the title of "Groundskeepers" included a whole host of new jobs. Like watering the plants that are not within the reach of the sprinkler system. It is not just cutting the lawn anymore.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Mine last at least a few weeks. Love 'em.


 
The secret to keep them blooming is to pull the dead stalks of the flowers. Once they are really dead, they pull out of the plant and ground easier than pulling a grey hair out of your head. If they give you the least resistance, leave it and try tomorrow. It is when they have sent all their nutrients back into the soil that they are ready to go.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> The secret to keep them blooming is to pull the dead stalks of the flowers. Once they are really dead, they pull out of the plant and ground easier than pulling a grey hair out of your head. If they give you the least resistance, leave it and try tomorrow. It is when they have sent all their nutrients back into the soil that they are ready to go.



Addie, Stargazers are true lilies and grow from bulbs.  Daylillies are Hemerocallis, and grow from roots.  It's OK to cut spent blooms off true lilies,  but you never pull them from the ground, they're all on one stalk, until they're totally dead for the winter.  As for daylilies, you let the folliage die back and go from yellow to brown before you pull anything off.  If the flower stalks develop seed pods, it's ok to cut them off.  And as you said, if the flowerstalk goes dead on daylilies, you can pull it out.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> The Stargazer lilies are in full bloom in SO's garden.



Those are beautiful!!!

The tiger lilies Shrek's friend got us is already kaput...they didn't know I kill plants...


----------



## Dawgluver

Stargazers and Tiger lilies in my gardens:



View attachment 18323



View attachment 18324

Day lily:

View attachment 18325


----------



## MrsLMB

Dawgluver said:


> Stargazers and Tiger lilies in my gardens:
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18323
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18324
> 
> Day lily:
> 
> View attachment 18325


 
So pretty !!  I love Lily season !!


----------



## Addie

Dawg, your yellow one is like what is in our border garden around the property.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

They look like the variety "Stella d'Oro".  That's a good choice for the border because they are hardy - you can't kill them if you try!  I have older ones in my garden that are more orange.  The yellow came out a year or two after I planted mine.  They grow like crazy so I didn't need to buy any more.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> They look like the variety "Stella d'Oro".  That's a good choice for the border because they are hardy - you can't kill them if you try!  I have older ones in my garden that are more orange.  The yellow came out a year or two after I planted mine.  They grow like crazy so I didn't need to buy any more.



Yes, they are.  I have dozens around our property, all different colors.  Stella does seem to bloom longer than my other daylilies.


----------



## Kylie1969

They look lovely DL 



Dawgluver said:


> Stargazers and Tiger lilies in my gardens:
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18323
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18324
> 
> Day lily:
> 
> View attachment 18325


----------



## pacanis

I've got some day lilies, but I don't know if they have names. I just call them yellow and purple


----------



## taxlady

I have some pretty yellow day lilies. But, I planted them (about 3 years ago) too close to the fence. All the stems are lying along the ground. I guess I should move them as soon as they stop blooming.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> I've got some day lilies, but I don't know if they have names. I just call them yellow and purple



That's better than Joe and Pete...


----------



## Addie

I looked out my big window today. The landscaper planted some new plants that sends out shoots all over the place. They are heading for my window right now. I feel like I am looking at a horror movie. It has giant leaves and grows at least six feet each day. I am going to have to take a picture. There is no way I can describe it.


----------



## Kylie1969

Gee, that sounds pretty full on Ads...a photo would be great


----------



## taxlady

Kylie1969 said:


> Gee, that sounds pretty full on Ads...a photo would be great


What Kylie said.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 18369


----------



## pacanis

What is that, somebody's pet moose?


----------



## chopper

Actually it was at the zoo.  I just think they are beautiful.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> Actually it was at the zoo.  I just think they are beautiful.


I think they are one of the silliest looking critters.


----------



## pacanis

I didn't know they kept moose in zoos. For all I know there are zoos with whitetail deer in them, too.

I saw one of those reality shows the other night where one guy was out collecting moose antlers in the snow. He would look for a beat up, rubbed tree that the moose used to knock them off with. I always thought they simply fell off, but according to this guy the moose can't wait to get rid of them.
Maybe it's like picking at a scab...


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> I didn't know they kept moose in zoos. For all I know there are zoos with whitetail deer in them, too.
> 
> I saw one of those reality shows the other night where one guy was out collecting moose antlers in the snow. He would look for a beat up, rubbed tree that the moose used to knock them off with. I always thought they simply fell off, but according to this guy the moose can't wait to get rid of them.
> Maybe it's like picking at a scab...





We saw a sign by the side of the road that said, "we buy antlers". 

Good thing there is someone to buy all of those used antlers you have hanging around.


----------



## Addie

Once the rutting season is over, they immediately start to rub trees to get their rack loose enough so that they fall off. In late summer you will see them again at the trees trying to rub off the velvet. Coming from Maine, Bakechef can tell you even more. You may think they are cute, but they are very dangerous. Most members of the deer family will flee from humans. Moose will gladly take you on. And you will lose. Over the years we have had some that have come right into town. The public gets very upset when they have to medicate it so they can take him back to the woods where they belong. I guess they think you can just say "Here Moosey!" There have been some instances during the rutting season when the moose has to be put down on the spot. 

The only member of the deer family that doesn't lose their antlers for the winter is the female reindeer. The males lose theirs. The females need theirs to defend for the offspring. Then they drop them in the Spring and grow new ones.


----------



## Addie

chopper said:


> We saw a sign by the side of the road that said, "we buy antlers".
> 
> Good thing there is someone to buy all of those used antlers you have hanging around.


 
Chopper, when I lived in Texas, my landlord used to process deer. Some folks wanted the antlers, most didn't. He sold the big ones to folks whose deer they had shot had a very small rack. Who wants to brag about that small deer they shot with a small rack. BTW, each year members of the deer family put a new point on their antlers. So if you see one with five points, you know it is five years old. And there are always the same amount of each side.


----------



## chopper

Right Addie.  I was just joking around with Pac.  I would much rather see the moose at Rocky Mountain National Park (we have been there many times), but we happen to have one at the local zoo.  Just knew someone (aka Pac) would ask a silly question since it is behind chain link fence.


----------



## pacanis

Silly question?! For all I knew it jumped into that fenced area.
Aren't moose the animals that are always falling in love with a cow or pig or something?


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> Silly question?! For all I knew it jumped into that fenced area.
> Aren't moose the animals that are always falling in love with a cow or pig or something?





Thanks for always making me laugh!


----------



## pacanis

Addie said:


> Chopper, when I lived in Texas, my landlord used to process deer. Some folks wanted the antlers, most didn't. He sold the big ones to folks whose deer they had shot had a very small rack. Who wants to brag about that small deer they shot with a small rack. *BTW, each year members of the deer family put a new point on their antlers. So if you see one with five points, you know it is five years old. And there are always the same amount of each side.*


 
Not in Pennsylvania. The amount of points just happens based on genetics and nutrition.
Think about it. How could a five point have the same amount of points on each side?


----------



## chopper

Just so we make sure we have the facts, here is an article about antlers put out by a fantastic source.  

About Deer Antlers


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hmm, like hairy toenails on their heads.  Wait, I suppose that sentence should be in the Random Thoughts thread?


----------



## chopper

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hmm, like hairy toenails on their heads.  Wait, I suppose that sentence should be in the Random Thoughts thread?


----------



## pacanis

A couple cell phone pics from yesterday.
I almost stepped on this little guy. I guess he thought I couldn't see him because he never moved, even when bending down to take his picture.
View attachment 18441

And a gold colored snake. He was just a little guy, pencil thin and about a foot long. I told him to stay away from Hoot's place 
View attachment 18440


----------



## Hoot

I 'ppreciate you giving that l'il feller a heads up. As cute as he is, Mrs Hoot ain't gonna be able to tolerate him in the house.


----------



## pacanis

Here you go, Andy.
Neat little story behind this one. Governments contract out the weapons they issue to their military. Argentina had hired Colt to produce for them a 1911, which they called an M1927 for the year put into use and eventually Argentina purchased the equipment and licensing from Colt to make it themselves (I have one of those, too, but it's pretty whooped). Meanwhile, a couple guys with an auto and tractor engine manufacturing plant came up with their own simpler, cheaper version, the Ballester-Molina. Some say the design was more robust because it lacked some of the features a regular 1911 pistol has. 
Britain, being in a bit of a bind to produce their own weapons at the time contracted out to have 8,000 to 10,000 B-Ms made for their special ops people between 1942 and 1944. This is one of them. It has the B issue number and British proofs. Then it was returned, put out of use and inspected and proofed again for civilian purchase over there. Then it found its way over here before it had to have an import stamp put on it, which makes a firearm more desirable.


----------



## Andy M.

So this pistol is a British cousin of the one you assembled from parts last month.


----------



## pacanis

No, no no... not even stone throwing, let alone kissing.
Military firearms have their own tree, but there are some commercial firearms that were inspected and used by the military. Or officers that wanted a small pistol for their pocket and just bought it themselves.
Do you know in Japan the officers were required to buy the pistols they were issued? How nutty is that?


----------



## Andy M.

Sorry.  No offense.

I just thought they were based on the 1911.


----------



## pacanis

None taken, Andy. 
I guess it's based on the 1911, but only one or two parts are interchangeable.
It's like saying a propane grill is based on a charcoal grill.
The charcoal grill might have been the inspiration, but that's where it ends


----------



## Rocklobster

,,,....


----------



## MrsLMB

Rocklobster said:


> ,,,....


----------



## chopper

View attachment 18535

We saw the biggest wind farm I have ever seen in eastern colorado on our trip. They went on for miles and miles!


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> We saw the biggest wind farm I have ever seen in eastern colorado on our trip. They went on for miles and miles!



Aren't they fascinating?  We see them on our way to visit Baby Bro in Mpls.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

They're great...unless they're near a residential area.  Those motors have this annoying "hmmmm" that is audible if you are too close!  Thank goodness there aren't any near us.  I much prefer the sound of a solar array.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> They're great...unless they're near a residential area.  Those motors have this annoying "hmmmm" that is audible if you are too close!  Thank goodness there aren't any near us.  I much prefer the sound of a solar array.



Reminds of the story of a guy with an oil pump in his backyard.  He was asked if the noise from the pump bothered him and he said, "Nope, that's the sound of money."


----------



## pacanis

Big controversy on wind turbines in my town. Nobody wants them except the farmers whose land they would be going on. Lots of town meeting and such. They were just approved with a compromise on setback from adjoining property lines. They are supposed to be quite annoying when the sun hits them a certain way and they cast flickering light through your windows, too. There's a term for it.


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> Big controversy on wind turbines in my town. Nobody wants them except the farmers whose land they would be going on. Lots of town meeting and such. They were just approved with a compromise on setback from adjoining property lines. They are supposed to be quite annoying when the sun hits them a certain way and they cast flickering light through your windows, too. There's a term for it.



They're not great for migrating birds, either.


----------



## pacanis

That, too. 
I'm telling you, between the fracking, the sewer and the wind turbines our elected officials will be lucky to be around after their terms are done. It's been one thing after another for the past year.


----------



## taxlady

In Denmark they put almost all of their wind turbines in the sea. Of course, that's easier in a country with that much coastline. At least one of the wind farms is just past the horizon. You can see the one near Copenhagen, but it's not huge, so it looks cool.


----------



## pacanis

That's pretty interesting. I didn't know they would do that.
They must be huge to make it worth their while.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> That's pretty interesting. I didn't know they would do that.
> They must be huge to make it worth their while.


25% of their electricity comes from wind turbines, which is a big improvement over almost 100% from coal. It actually works so well, that sometimes they sell power to Sweden and Norway. One winter it reached a point that they had so much excess electricity that they had to pay countries to take it.


----------



## pacanis

Somebody could benefit with that technology. Why haven't I heard of them doing it over here? Anyone on the coast reading this? Heck, we could stick them out on the Great Lakes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That's why there are wind farms in northeastern Colorado and Southeastern Wyoming... not many people and lots of freaking wind.  Man I hate the wind, not as much as I hate hot but it runs a close second.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> They're great...unless they're near a residential area.  Those motors have this annoying "hmmmm" that is audible if you are too close!  Thank goodness there aren't any near us.  I much prefer the sound of a solar array.



There is a wind farm off of Nantucket Sound. Even Walter Cronkite when he was alive tried to fight it. After years of court fighting, they lost. The farm is still there and growing. 

Across the highway from me is the start of a commercial area that serves the waterway and storage companies. They are provided their electricity by just one of these windmills. It is one lone windmill sticking up into the sky. It can't be too high due to the airplanes flying overhead. What electricity they don't use, is sold back to our power company. It is the reason they didn't lose their power last week when we did. 

Solar panels are still too expensive.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Most individuals with private wind turbines on their property make enough to sell to the power company.  Of course, if you want to be completely off the grid, you can just turn it off on those day you are fully charged.


----------



## Addie

You are going to start seeing them like you do those oil well pumps in Texas and Oklahoma. Acres and acres of crops and in the middle an oil pump. The windmills are a great boon for ranches and farms that are a number of miles from their nearest neighbor. Like that one lone oil pump, it can save or bring in extra money.


----------



## chopper

Cooking Goddess said:


> They're great...unless they're near a residential area.  Those motors have this annoying "hmmmm" that is audible if you are too close!  Thank goodness there aren't any near us.  I much prefer the sound of a solar array.



There were several houses intermixed throughout.


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> Somebody could benefit with that technology. Why haven't I heard of them doing it over here? Anyone on the coast reading this? Heck, we could stick them out on the Great Lakes.



They would get rid of the sea gulls and geese. . Out here they are killing lots of the bats that eat the insects.


----------



## chopper

View attachment 18543

My Dad's Boxer and my Goldens.


----------



## taxlady

chopper said:


> They would get rid of the sea gulls and geese. . Out here they are killing lots of the bats that eat the insects.


It's controversial. At least one expensive, Danish study indicates that seabirds are pretty smart at evading the offshore wind farms. Massive Offshore Wind Turbines Safe for Birds | MIT Technology Review


----------



## pacanis

chopper said:


> View attachment 18543
> 
> My Dad's Boxer and my Goldens.


 
They all look like they are watching a dead bird (hit by a wind turbine) was ashore


----------



## Dawgluver

chopper said:


> My Dad's Boxer and my Goldens.



Awwww.  I want to hug them....even if they're watching a dead bird hit by a turbine....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

pacanis said:


> Somebody could benefit with that technology. Why haven't I heard of them doing it over here? Anyone on the coast reading this? Heck, we could stick them out on the Great Lakes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Addie said:
> 
> 
> 
> There is a wind farm off of Nantucket Sound. Even Walter Cronkite when he was alive tried to fight it. After years of court fighting, they lost. The farm is still there and growing.
Click to expand...


The wind farm isn't built yet Addie.  Cape Wind, in the Nantucket Sound, is supposed to be built.  Pac,the residents along the southern shore of Cape Cod had fought it a long time because their view would be obstructed.  I think they're actually getting things rolling now.  From an article I found online they don't expect the first turbine to be spinning for a few more years.

I think they're pretty neat to look at - from a distance.  But they should not be placed anywhere that impacts people - sound, light pattern, etc - or wildlife.

taxy, that was a good article about the turbines and birds.  Guess birds are smart - sometimes smarter than humans.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

chopper said:


> My Dad's Boxer and my Goldens.



As our niece would say:  Squee!!!  So cute!  But I think I don't want to be around them when they're wet and have to shake themselves off!


----------



## chopper

pacanis said:


> They all look like they are watching a dead bird (hit by a wind turbine) was ashore


----------



## chopper

Cooking Goddess said:


> As our niece would say:  Squee!!!  So cute!  But I think I don't want to be around them when they're wet and have to shake themselves off!



The red golden was shaking herself while still in chest deep water.  Such funny "kids"!


----------



## Rocklobster

Drove by this guy today while going to a friends house. Looks like he is having a bad day..


----------



## pacanis

Are you serious? I've never seen anything like that before, but I did see a young robin you had his leg stuck in the V of a privacy fence. It was not pretty.


----------



## Rocklobster

Yeah. It was on a rural road called The Snake River Line outside of the village I live in. My gf was driving. I just happened to have the camera in the car and made her stop and turn around so I could get a few shots...Something you would see in a Steven King Movie...The silence of the country side made it seem all the more eerie..


----------



## pacanis

A housefly, sort of


----------



## TATTRAT

Skyline Drive, a few weeks ago.







The Inn @ Little Washington, impromptu stop/shot.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh that's a pretty pic!


----------



## TATTRAT

Home for the week





Mofongo w/ Shrimp & Garlic Sauce





Sunset


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, roughing it, eh?  Looks like great fun and great eating.  Enjoy!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was hoping you were enjoying your vacation...certainly looks like it.


----------



## Somebunny

View attachment 18693




View attachment 18694

From our vacation down the Oregon Coast


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> View attachment 18693
> 
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 18694
> 
> From our vacation down the Oregon Coast




I Love the Oregon Coast, my favorite place to be.

We haven't seen a pic of your gorgeous grand daughter lately...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

TATTRAT said:


> Mofongo w/ Shrimp & Garlic Sauce



Isn't mofongo made with plantains?


----------



## TATTRAT

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Isn't mofongo made with plantains?



Yup. Fried Green Plantains all mashed up with garlic, oil, pork cracklings, in this tall wooden vessel (a pilon), and what looks like a bat, think a giant mortar and pestle, but taller, deeper and wooden.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

TATTRAT said:


> Yup. Fried Green Plantains all mashed up with garlic, oil, pork cracklings, in this tall wooden vessel (a pilon), and what looks like a bat, think a giant mortar and pestle, but taller, deeper and wooden.


 
When I saw your pic of the Mofongo with Shrimp I thought "Man that looks good"  But now that you have explained what's in it I realized I have had it. There is a little Paladar we go to all the time in Cuba that serves it. (although not so nicely presented) Over there it's called Fufu.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

TATTRAT said:


> Yup. Fried Green Plantains all mashed up with garlic, oil, pork cracklings, in this tall wooden vessel (a pilon), and what looks like a bat, think a giant mortar and pestle, but taller, deeper and wooden.



Thanks, Tatt!  I was trying to remember...now I want some.  I think I may have a mofongo bat...I keep it by the front door.


----------



## Somebunny

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I Love the Oregon Coast, my favorite place to be.
> 
> We haven't seen a pic of your gorgeous grand daughter lately...



Hmmm....well here is a pic to fix that!  It's a Pic With a subliminal (okay not so much) message.  Lol!  

View attachment 18696


----------



## pacanis

lol, I love the cocked head. What a ham.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Somebunny said:


> Hmmm....well here is a pic to fix that!  It's a Pic With a subliminal (okay not so much) message.  Lol!
> 
> View attachment 18696



Just gorgeous!  I forgot there were two!  Lucky Granny, thanks, SomeBunny.


----------



## Somebunny

pacanis said:


> lol, I love the cocked head. What a ham.



You got that right Pac, that kid is an actress in the making.....quite the "drama queen" definitely a "ham"


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Somebunny said:


> Hmmm....well here is a pic to fix that!  It's a Pic *With a subliminal (okay not so much) message.*  Lol!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cute kids!  But "Baby Bro"?  Is there gonna be a grandbaby boy?  And if so, will that make you a grandpa too?


----------



## Andy M.

Somebunny said:


> Hmmm....well here is a pic to fix that!  It's a Pic With a subliminal (okay not so much) message.  Lol!...



Your girls are cute as a button.  Being dad to two daughters, I'm partial to cute little girls.  Lucky you!


----------



## luckytrim

My two Grandbeauties on Vacation in Venice.............


----------



## PrincessFiona60

luckytrim said:


> My two Grandbeauties on Vacation in Venice.............



Another pair of gorgeous girls! You are Lucky, LT...now have you purchased a shotgun?


----------



## luckytrim

no, but her daddy recently put a baseball bat behind the front door !


----------



## taxlady

luckytrim said:


> My two Grandbeauties on Vacation in Venice.............


Good looking kids.

They look so much alike that they could be the same person at two slightly different ages.


----------



## pacanis

The one in the front of the boat looks like the girl who played Billy Bean's daughter in Money Ball 

Speaking of shotguns... 
My new Benelli.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

luckytrim said:


> no, but her daddy recently put a baseball bat behind the front door !



LOL!!


----------



## taxlady

Shreddy is weird. Okay, he's a cat, so I should expect that.  This is one of  the ways he likes to sleep, using the stretcher on my antique dining table as a pillow:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What IS it with cats and sleeping taxy?  Our LittleBit likes to put her head like that on the door rail for the sliding glass door between the kitchen and sunroom.  Silly furballs!


----------



## pacanis

When my Ridgeback isn't curled up in a ball he likes resting his head like that on things.


----------



## TATTRAT

NOM NOM NOM

Beefsteak 'Maters, Gorgonzola, Rocket, Red Onion, Herbed Olive Oil, Balsamic Redux






St.Lawrence pass, Barbados.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

YUM!!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yes "yum".  To BOTH pictures!  

Hmm, four weeks from today I'll be wiggling my toes in Gulf Coast sand.


----------



## Andy M.

*Cruise Ships, Then and Now*

Here is a photo of two cruise ships.  The smaller one in front is the Titanic.  The larger is a modern day cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Here is a photo of two cruise ships.  The smaller one in front is the Titanic.  The larger is a modern day cruise ship, Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.


Wow!


----------



## pacanis

Dang. Man those things sure look top heavy looking at them like that. I've never seen a front view before. I wonder how much water they draft?


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Dang. Man those things sure look top heavy looking at them like that. I've never seen a front view before. I wonder how much water they draft?




31 Feet! 


MS Allure of the Seas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Cooking Goddess

They have to build the ships bigger because the cruise passengers are now bigger.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> They have to build the ships bigger because the cruise passengers are now bigger.



  True, dat!


----------



## Addie

radhuni said:


> View attachment 7023
> 
> I drew this one with sketch pen.





Radhuni, did any of the recent storms affect the area where you live? I was thinking of you when I read the news.


----------



## TATTRAT

Assateague Lighthouse, from a trip back from the 757






awesome vista, it wasn't until we were here that I realized just how unique and beautiful the barrier island wetlands are


----------



## Dawgluver

TATTRAT said:


> Assateague Lighthouse, from a trip back from the 757
> 
> awesome vista, it wasn't until we were here that I realized just how unique and beautiful the barrier island wetlands are



Beautiful, Tat.


----------



## pacanis

A tree.
View attachment 19277 

Ahhh, but what makes this tree special you say?
I planted this tree four seasons ago and this is the first time the leaves haven't blown off as soon as they started to change to red. I've been enjoying the color change for the past two weeks. And we've had some windy days, too, so the tree must have gotten stronger.
So it's special to me


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> A tree.
> View attachment 19277
> 
> Ahhh, but what makes this tree special you say?
> I planted this tree four seasons ago and this is the first time the leaves haven't blown off as soon as they started to change to red. I've been enjoying the color change for the past two weeks. And we've had some windy days, too, so the tree must have gotten stronger.
> So it's special to me



We have a tree like that out on the patio. In the summer it is a pain in the backside because there are numerous bird nests in it and it is poop, poop, poop all summer long. But in the fall, putting up with all the nuisance in the summer is worth it. It is in its full glory when the leaves turn dark red. The older it gets. the more beautiful it becomes in the fall. A great shade tree in the summer.


----------



## luckytrim

My Grandbeauties wearing Daddy's stuff ..........


----------



## Andy M.

luckytrim said:


> ...My Grandbeauties wearing Daddy's stuff ..........




WOW!  What beautiful young girls and so proud of daddy.


----------



## Dawgluver

luckytrim said:


> http://s19.photobucket.com/user/luckytrim/media/n27197_1368278767879_1258992904_108.jpg.html
> 
> http://s19.photobucket.com/user/luckytrim/media/n27197_1368278727878_1258992904_108.jpg.html
> 
> My Grandbeauties wearing Daddy's stuff ..........



They're gorgeous, LT!


----------



## taxlady

Such cutie pies LT.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wondering if LT has a shotgun ready...

Those babies are beautiful!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

luckytrim said:


> ...
> My Grandbeauties wearing Daddy's stuff ..........


You certainly are right in calling them grand*beauties*!  They both play to the camera nicely.  Hmm, budding models?  Certainly are pretty enough.


----------



## KatyCooks

vyapti said:


> We had a photo thread that I really enjoyed. I'm certainly not the photographer that some other members are, but I do want to see some more great pics. So, I'll try to revive the thread here. In the spirit of randomness, I offer my feet.
> 
> Random Photos:


 
And a few years later....   more feet!  

These are mine, on the glass floor of the CN Tower in Toronto.


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> A tree.
> View attachment 19277
> 
> Ahhh, but what makes this tree special you say?
> I planted this tree four seasons ago and this is the first time the leaves haven't blown off as soon as they started to change to red. I've been enjoying the color change for the past two weeks. And we've had some windy days, too, so the tree must have gotten stronger.
> So it's special to me


 
It's beautiful Pac!


----------



## KatyCooks

luckytrim said:


> My Grandbeauties wearing Daddy's stuff ..........


 
Wow, you must be a very proud grandparent!


----------



## pacanis

KatyCooks said:


> And a few years later.... more feet!
> 
> These are mine, on the glass floor of the CN Tower in Toronto.


 
Hey, I remember being there now when I was a kid. 
I'd forgotten all about that.


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> Hey, I remember being there now when I was a kid.
> I'd forgotten all about that.


 
Strange what random images can do to revive a memory!


----------



## pacanis

KatyCooks said:


> Strange what random images can do to revive a memory!


 
I'm just lucky to still _have_ memories! 

Here's some pics of a rifle I'm working on. I took a 1964 Anschutz target rifle and turned it into a bench rest rifle. I just finished putting it back together this morning. It would have a nice silver scope on it but I ordered the wrong mounts 

Before




After


----------



## taxlady

Those stocks are gorgeous Pac.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Those stocks are gorgeous Pac.



+1!!


----------



## MrsLMB

Cute little kidlets Lucky !!

Pac .. those are gorgeous - more like works of art !


----------



## pacanis

Thanks! 
I'll have to take some pics of some of my buddy's stuff sometime. He has a rifle rest, just the rest, that I fondle every time I'm over there. He made it himself and it's as beautiful as the rifles he makes. Works of art.


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> I'm just lucky to still _have_ memories!
> 
> Here's some pics of a rifle I'm working on. I took a 1964 Anschutz target rifle and turned it into a bench rest rifle. I just finished putting it back together this morning. It would have a nice silver scope on it but I ordered the wrong mounts
> 
> Before
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After


 
Gorgeous colours!

Edit:  I mean "colors"


----------



## pacanis

KatyCooks said:


> Gorgeous colours!
> 
> Edit: I mean "colors"


 
Oh I knew what you meant. Even if you didn't spell it right. 
The thing that "gets" me is the Americans who learned to spell it one way in school, but choose to spell it like they are from another country. I never could figure that one out  Maybe they think it makes them... heck, I don't know... bi-nationality?
I spell dinor diner because of this forum, but dinor is just plain wrong, even if it is on every diner in town 
But that's another thread 
Thanks.


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> Oh I knew what you meant. Even if you didn't spell it right.
> The thing that "gets" me is the Americans who learned to spell it one way in school, but choose to spell it like they are from another country. I never could figure that one out  Maybe they think it makes them... heck, I don't know... bi-nationality?
> I spell dinor diner because of this forum, but dinor is just plain wrong, even if it is on every diner in town
> But that's another thread
> Thanks.


 
As far as I know (or care), you guys spell things the way we used to before Europe influenced us....  

The guns look stunning.  (I think I spelt that correctly!)


----------



## taxlady

What annoys me is when some writes "colour" and "labor" in one sentence.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful stock, Pac!

What wood is that?


----------



## pacanis

KatyCooks said:


> As far as I know (or care), you guys spell things the way we used to before Europe influenced us....


 
Really. I didn't realize that. I figured you had always been "ou".



taxlady said:


> What annoys me is when some writes "colour" and "labor" in one sentence.


 
Now that's a sure sign. That would peeve me, too.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Fi.
It's laminated birch. Laminate stocks make more accurate rifles than solid woods because they aren't affected by the temps and moisture as much.


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> Thanks, Fi.
> It's laminated birch. Laminate stocks make more accurate rifles than solid woods because they aren't affected by the temps and moisture as much.


 
I hadn't realised I would learn so much about guns on a food forum!


----------



## pacanis

KatyCooks said:


> I hadn't realised I would learn so much about guns on a food forum!


 
Nor I cancer and mammograms


----------



## Andy M.

pac, that stock is a work of art!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pac, the gun is a beauty!  Love the way the two different woods are layered.  Like a yummy cake.  Can you tell I'm craving sugar?


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, CG.


----------



## Cheryl J

That is awesome, pac.  My son-in-law is into wood carving, he would be really interested to see your woodwork.


----------



## Cheryl J

A recent sunset from my front porch.


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> A recent sunset from my front porch.


Absolutely gorgeous.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> A recent sunset from my front porch.



Beautiful, we don't get good sunsets, surrounded by mountains, we don't have enough far horizons.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Cheryl.
I didn't make the stock, just did a little inletting and the finish work.

Nice sky! I love it when the sky looks like that. I've got a few of those pictures. Stunning.


----------



## Zhizara

Wow, Cheryl.  Does it look like that often?  Gorgeous!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, all.  We usually get a couple of nights a month of awesome sunsets, depending on cloud cover of course.   The best are coming up - fall and winter.  

Princess, I would love to see the sunrises as well, but there are too many trees and can't get a good view unless I walk down to the end of the street at sunrise.  Montana's amazing mountains though, are worth not seeing the sunset.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, all.  We usually get a couple of nights a month of awesome sunsets, depending on cloud cover of course.   The best are coming up - fall and winter.
> 
> Princess, I would love to see the sunrises as well, but there are too many trees and can't get a good view unless I walk down to the end of the street at sunrise.  Montana's amazing mountains though, are worth not seeing the sunset.



We've had some pretty spectacular sunrises, the mountains are so close that we don't actually get a sunrise until almost an hour after others folks in the time zone, but before that the sky is all pastels with lavender predominant. Since I started working days, I don't see as many sunrises as I would like.


----------



## pacanis

All done. I think it has just the right amount of silver and blue parts


----------



## KatyCooks

pacanis said:


> All done. I think it has just the right amount of silver and blue parts


 
Quite stunning Pac!


----------



## Andy M.

Pac, do you know what kinds of woods were used for the different colors?  I'd guess cherry and black walnut.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Katy. It looks like it will shoot straight anyway.

It's just stained birch, Andy.


----------



## TATTRAT

Beautiful wor, Pac! Very cool!



Not sure that I ever shared any of these, Great Falls, VA.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks Tat.

That is the coolest falls and rapids I've ever seen. The pictures make me want to go there before I die.


----------



## taxlady

Very pretty and interesting Tat. They look like they live up to the name, Great Falls.


----------



## luckytrim

A brand new LT !!


----------



## MrsLMB

luckytrim said:


> A brand new LT !!
> 
> http://s19.photobucket.com/user/luckytrim/media/lukas_zpsc4685b57.jpg.html
> 
> 
> http://s19.photobucket.com/user/luckytrim/media/Lukas11-4-2013_zps85fe892c.jpg.html


 
Oh my gosh LT ... now that is more than awesome !!

What a cutie !!  I just love little newborns .. they always bring a tear to my eye .. so sweet and innocent  .. awwwwww .... I want to hug him !!!

Gorgeous child .. congratulations !!!!!!!!


----------



## Andy M.

That's wonderful!  Congrats LT!


----------



## Addie

Congrats LT. Great weight and he looks like a Daddy's boy already. Love the name.


----------



## Dawgluver

What a sweet baby boy!  Congrats, LT!


----------



## taxlady

Congrats LT.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Congratulations LT!  They are so amazing!  Gorgeous Boy!


----------



## Cheryl J

Tattrat, those pics are amazing!  National Geo quality.   
Luckytrim....what a beautiful and healthy looking little guy!  I'm a sucker for baby and child pics.  Congratulations.


----------



## pacanis

A lot of history behind this WWII pistol.
Designed by John Moses Browning (that icon ) and originally built in Belgium. But when Belgium knew it was going to fall to the Germans in the beginning of WWII the blueprints were gotten into British hands, who then got them into Canadian hands. And if it wasn't for the Chinese contracting them for their own problems with Japan probably would not have been made in Canada. But the John Inglis factory outside Toronto, Canada made them and most ended up being used by the Canadians and British. Some Americans, too. Mostly special operations guys. I think Inglis' factory makes Whirlpools now 
They were dubbed "Hi-Powers" because they were the first pistols with double-stack magazines, holding a lot of firepower for their time.
I should add it was the only gun used by both side of the war, as the Germans also kept production going in the Belgium plant and issued them.


----------



## taxlady

Pac, cool to read about their history. But, I don't understand that first and last picture. What is that wooden stock? Is it attached to the Browning? Is that a magazine sticking out of the wooden stock?


----------



## Andy M.

It looks like the stock doubles as a holster.  That's the butt of the pistol sticking out of the holster.  Then you can take the pistol out of the stock/holster and mount the pistol onto the stock so it acts as a compact rifle (sort of).  The stock on the pistol provides added steadiness for aiming/shooting.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> It looks like the stock doubles as a holster.  That's the butt of the pistol sticking out of the holster.  Then you can take the pistol out of the stock/holster and mount the pistol onto the stock so it acts as a compact rifle (sort of).  The stock on the pistol provides added steadiness for aiming/shooting.


Thanks Andy. I guess that does look more like the handle of the Browning than like a magasin. I'm trying to figure out how that stock attaches to the Browning.


----------



## pacanis

Yep. Andy nailed it.
Very few stocks (holsters) were issued with the pistols, so they sat in Canada and remained in good shape.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Yep. Andy nailed it.
> Very few stocks (holsters) were issued with the pistols, so they sat in Canada and remained in good shape.


Neato. So, does the stock attach to the Browning with that hole at the back of the pistol (is it a pistol?) when it's being used as a stock and not as a holster?


----------



## phinz

Live photos I took of Carbon Leaf.











And Abney Park


----------



## phinz

I love to go to Deal's Gap and shoot.


----------



## pacanis

taxlady said:


> Neato. So, does the stock attach to the Browning with that hole at the back of the pistol (is it a pistol?) when it's being used as a stock and not as a holster?


 
Exactly. It's your typical male/female fit. The pistol is lotted, the stock has the metal male end and it snaps into place, holding it securely.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Exactly. It's your typical male/female fit. The pistol is lotted, the stock has the metal male end and it snaps into place, holding it securely.


Okay, I was looking at it wrong. That ring-hole is near the top of the pistol. Is there a slot near the bottom of the handle of the pistol, in the back? I can't see a slot in the pix.


----------



## pacanis

taxlady said:


> Okay, I was looking at it wrong. That ring-hole is near the top of the pistol. Is there a slot near the bottom of the handle of the pistol, in the back? I can't see a slot in the pix.


 
Post 1038 you should be able to see the slot. The pistol is sitting exactly like you would hold it to fire. That "ring hole" is the hammer (the part that falls forward when you pull the trigger). The slot is right there in the back of the pistol. Maybe it's thinner than what you are looking for.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Post 1038 you should be able to see the slot. The pistol is sitting exactly like you would hold it to fire. That "ring hole" is the hammer (the part that falls forward when you pull the trigger). The slot is right there in the back of the pistol. Maybe it's thinner than what you are looking for.


Thanks. Yes, now I see it. When I paged back to look before, I forgot about that last, lone photo.


----------



## pacanis

Well if you ever run into one, Rocket is looking for one


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

phinz said:


> Live photos I took of Carbon Leaf.
> 
> And Abney Park



That would be a fun concert!


----------



## phinz

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> That would be a fun concert!



Abney Park or Carbon Leaf? I've seen Carbon Leaf four or five times and Abney Park three times. Both bands are awesome in their own way. Abney Park is good steampunk goth music while Carbon Leaf is Irish Folk Rock. Love them both.


----------



## phinz

Playing with light painting on the beach of Kiawah Island a few years ago.






In the Bentley pits at Sebring






Sunrise at Road Atlanta






Sunset in Key Largo


----------



## Andy M.

Nice pics phinz.


----------



## cara

we went to Prague last weekend, and as the weather wasn't that nice on Sat, it improved on Sunday, so I had the chance to test my Iphone's Panorama Function near the castle, and this is, what came out ,o)


----------



## phinz

Andy M. said:


> Nice pics phinz.



Thanks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

cara said:


> we went to Prague last weekend, and as the weather wasn't that nice on Sat, it improved on Sunday, so I had the chance to test my Iphone's Panorama Function near the castle, and this is, what came out ,o)



Beautiful picture Cara!  Thanks for sharing!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Beautiful picture Cara!  Thanks for sharing!


+1


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

phinz said:


> Abney Park or Carbon Leaf? I've seen Carbon Leaf four or five times and Abney Park three times. Both bands are awesome in their own way. Abney Park is good steampunk goth music while Carbon Leaf is Irish Folk Rock. Love them both.



Abney park, although Carbon leaf sounds like a band I should check out.


----------



## phinz

purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Abney park, although Carbon leaf sounds like a band I should check out.



You should check both of them out. They're both awesome in their own ways.

Abney Park's studio cover of Creep is *incredible.*


Abney Park - Creep.wmv - YouTube


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

phinz said:


> You should check both of them out. They're both awesome in their own ways.
> 
> Abney Park's studio cover of Creep is *incredible.*
> 
> Abney Park - Creep.wmv - YouTube



Oh, I'm already an Abney Park fan. They have a great sound. I will definitely check out Carbon Leaf also.


----------



## Dawgluver

I found this fascinating:


View attachment 20605

It may look like an exotic frog, but is actually a living sculpture of 5 women, painted.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I found this fascinating:
> 
> 
> View attachment 20605
> 
> It may look like an exotic frog, but is actually a living sculpture of 5 women, painted.


Neato!


----------



## cara

amazing!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

After a few days of rain and gloom we have a lovely moon in the west right now.  The temperature is 31 right now and the moisture on the sun room roof was twinkling like stars...or diamonds. I took a couple of snaps with my phone. Here's one:


----------



## pacanis

Cool frog, Dawg. Where are they displaying that?  Or did they just do it for the pic?

CG, the clear nights have been awesome. You're right, it's been a long time since we got a good look at the stars and moon.


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:


> Cool frog, Dawg. Where are they displaying that?  Or did they just do it for the pic?



Apparently world-famous body painter (I had no idea there was such a thing) Johannes Stotter created the frog.  Will have to look up more of his work.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> After a few days of rain and gloom we have a lovely moon in the west right now.  The temperature is 31 right now and the moisture on the sun room roof was twinkling like stars...or diamonds. I took a couple of snaps with my phone. Here's one:


We never get to see that many stars here. Too much light pollution.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

pacanis said:


> CG, the clear nights have been awesome. You're right, it's been a long time since we got a good look at the stars and moon.





taxlady said:


> We never get to see that many stars here. Too much light pollution.



What was sparking weren't the stars. It was the water droplets on the glass sun room ceiling that you see. Maybe my post wasn't clear. No surprise to me! 



Cooking Goddess said:


> ...and the moisture on the sun room roof was twinkling like stars...or diamonds. ...





BTW taxy, we DO have awesomely clear skies where we live! Himself had 3 years of astronomy at THE Ohio State University before switching to IT, but he still has a passion for it. His telescope cost more than my first brand-new car! We lived in an OK viewing area in OH, but when we moved here he thought he wouldn't have the same opportunity. The first week we lived here I went out on our deck every night, looked up for the Milky Way, and would go back in. Four of those nights I informed him "it's a candy-bar kind of night". We found out that, serendipitously, we had built in an area called "The Last Green Valley", a true dark zone along the east coast. Unfortunately, getting the scope and tripod (with legs almost as big around as mine!) in and out of the house is nowhere near as easy.


----------



## taxlady

GG, that's cool, both the dark area and The Last Green Valley.

Sometimes, even when it's clear, I can only see about 10 stars.


----------



## phinz

From left to right: James W. Hall, Les Standiford, John Katzenbach and Scott Turow qt the Key West Literary Seminar. A really good discussion between the four about what they do. I loved it.


----------



## phinz

Where I've been staying the past 12 days. I'll be sad to leave on Monday.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

phinz said:


> From left to right: James W. Hall, Les Standiford, John Katzenbach and Scott Turow qt the Key West Literary Seminar. A really good discussion between the four about what they do. I loved it.


With all of that creativity in the room, the air must have been electric. How exciting for you! That's a sweet little cabin you've been living in too.


----------



## phinz

Cooking Goddess said:


> With all of that creativity in the room, the air must have been electric. How exciting for you! That's a sweet little cabin you've been living in too.



Thanks! It has been unbelievable. Attica Locke, John Sandford, Sara Paretsky, Jonathan Santlofer, Gillian Flynn, John Katzenbach, Jim Hall, Les Standiford, Megan Abbott, Joyce Carol Oates, William Gibson, Stephen L. Carter, Alexander McCall Smith, Carl Hiaasen, Scott Turow and Laura Lippman all spoke in the first seminar. It was amazing. 

Starting tonight we will have Elizabeth George, Lisa Unger, Otto Penzler, John Banville, Thomas H. Cook, Sarah Gran, Percival Everett, Alafair Burke, Michael Connelly, Michael Koryta, Tess Gerritsen, Benjamin Black, Lee Child, Lyndsay Faye and William Kent Krueger in attendance. It promises to be just as exciting.

Here's a major geek out moment for me. I'm the goofball in the middle.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

As you know, I've mentioned that we have a glass sunroom of the back of our house once or twice.  Things get interesting in the winter when it snows and then the sun comes out. The snowpack on the glass roof will start to slide, forming a canopy of snow hanging off the edge until we hear a big "whump!" of snow break off. This goes on until the roof is clear. The snow we got yesterday was wet and heavy, plus we had freezing rain mixed in. Today we have a sheet of ice curving off the roof and towards our windows! It's thin enough that it shouldn't be a danger to the glass, but it's really something to look at. These pictures really don't do it justice, but here's a go at them. The first one shows my view through the ceiling - the snow was so wet and heavy it molded itself to the shape of the siding. You can see the clapboard embossed into the packed snow. The second picture shows what that curtain of ice looks like when looking straight at it from the inside. The last image is one I snapped with the sliding door open, aiming down the tunnel formed by the curved ice, with the sunroom the structure on the left side of the image. I think we'll knock the ice off the edge of the roof when the dripping stops.


----------



## pacanis

That curved ice is pretty cool. I've never seen anything like that from melting.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> As you know, I've mentioned that we have a glass sunroom of the back of our house once or twice.  Things get interesting in the winter when it snows and then the sun comes out. The snowpack on the glass roof will start to slide, forming a canopy of snow hanging off the edge until we hear a big "whump!" of snow break off. This goes on until the roof is clear. The snow we got yesterday was wet and heavy, plus we had freezing rain mixed in. Today we have a sheet of ice curving off the roof and towards our windows! It's thin enough that it shouldn't be a danger to the glass, but it's really something to look at. These pictures really don't do it justice, but here's a go at them. The first one shows my view through the ceiling - the snow was so wet and heavy it molded itself to the shape of the siding. You can see the clapboard embossed into the packed snow. The second picture shows what that curtain of ice looks like when looking straight at it from the inside. The last image is one I snapped with the sliding door open, aiming down the tunnel formed by the curved ice, with the sunroom the structure on the left side of the image. I think we'll knock the ice off the edge of the roof when the dripping stops.


 I love the icicles that aren't vertical in the third one. I'd wanna knock that off, for sure.


----------



## pacanis

I think someone should photoshop someone on a snowboard riding the half pipe through that ice tunnel.


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> I think someone should photoshop someone on a snowboard riding the half pipe through that ice tunnel.


I love that idea. Too bad I have no idea how to do that and I don't have Photoshop.


----------



## Andy M.

Cool ice pics, CG.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks Andy. Just took a couple more; I think our half-pipe is done growing. Now the icicles look like cold witches' fingers trying to pry their way into the room!

The first is from the inside. The second is with the window open...and dripping icy water down my sleeve!


----------



## GotGarlic

You don't actually need Photoshop to photoshop  I use Corel Paintshop Pro - have been since 1993.

Really cool pix, CG, and thanks for the chance to practice!


----------



## pacanis

Good job, GG!


----------



## pacanis

Here is the pistol I recently finished rust bluing. All back together, re-tuned and with new grips on it that I just got yesterday


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> Good job, GG!



Thank you 

The pistol looks great.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks you. The grips really made it pop.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> You don't actually need Photoshop to photoshop  I use Corel Paintshop Pro - have been since 1993.
> 
> Really cool pix, CG, and thanks for the chance to practice!


Nice job GG.


----------



## taxlady

That pistol is real purty now. Nice job Pac.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks Tax.


----------



## Andy M.

All that time effort were worth it!  Looks fantastic.  What kind is it?


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, Andy!
It's not anny particular make. It's the one I built from scratch. It's got a Remsport serial # on it if that means anything. He's up there in NE somewhere.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

pacanis said:


> Here is the pistol I recently finished rust bluing. All back together, re-tuned and with new grips on it that I just got yesterday



Shrek wants to know how much you want for it...

It is beautiful!


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

pacanis said:


> Here is the pistol I recently finished rust bluing. All back together, re-tuned and with new grips on it that I just got yesterday
> 
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/My Combat Commander/3_zps3b6a1658.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/My Combat Commander/2_zpsb639cba4.jpg.html



Do you have a picture of the before?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> You don't actually need Photoshop to photoshop  I use Corel Paintshop Pro - have been since 1993.
> 
> Really cool pix, CG, and thanks for the chance to practice!



Well how cool is THAT?!? You did that so seamlessly it looks like one photo. BTW, would that be Shaun White practicing since the runs at Sochi aren't all that good?


----------



## pacanis

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Shrek wants to know how much you want for it...
> 
> It is beautiful!


 
ooh, then I can fund another one! 
Thanks. Almost too nice to shoot... almost 



purple.alien.giraffe said:


> Do you have a picture of the before?


 
Here are some pics along the way, PAG. This will save you (and me) from wading through the What are you doing? thread 
It was actually finished at one time with a nice hot blue, but I decided I wanted to rust blue it, which is more durable. It's the way they used to blue metals and many think the better way, but it's very time consuming. Layers of rust, boil it black, polish off the dust, repeat. I had to strip all the finish off it to get started. That was the point of no return.


----------



## GB

I am sick of seeing it in real life, but I don't mind seeing the snow and ice in pictures. This one is from a few storms ago.


----------



## Andy M.

Beautiful pic.  Nice composition.


----------



## GB

Thanks Andy.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well how cool is THAT?!? You did that so seamlessly it looks like one photo. BTW, would that be Shaun White practicing since the runs at Sochi aren't all that good?



Thanks!  I have no idea who it is. I googled for snowboarder halfpipe images and chose one that had a rider at the angle I wanted, then I copied the picture to my software. I never even looked at what website the photo came from, lol.


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> Thanks!  I have no idea who it is. I googled for snowboarder halfpipe images and chose one that had a rider at the angle I wanted, then I copied the picture to my software. I never even looked at what website the photo came from, lol.


 
I've never had this type of software.
How does the software know what to crop out so just the image you want is left?


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> I've never had this type of software.
> How does the software know what to crop out so just the image you want is left?



There's a selection tool you use to outline the part of the image you want, and various options for using the tool. If the object you want is clearly separate from the background, you can select the background based on the colors within a certain tolerance, and then increase or decrease the selection as needed. If not, you use the lasso or magic wand to outline, click by click, what you want. There's also a background eraser tool that does a pretty good job. 

Then you copy the selection, choose the image where you want to paste it, and paste it as a new layer - think plastic transparencies in school. Since it's a separate layer from the background, you can move it around to where you want it. You can also paste it as a new image and have just the selection.


----------



## Macgyver1968

Oooo!!  just found this thread!  Random photos, huh?

Here's one of me sewing up "Ole Glory" after last years insane hail storm:


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> There's a selection tool you use to outline the part of the image you want, and various options for using the tool. If the object you want is clearly separate from the background, you can select the background based on the colors within a certain tolerance, and then increase or decrease the selection as needed. If not, you use the lasso or magic wand to outline, click by click, what you want. There's also a background eraser tool that does a pretty good job.
> 
> Then you copy the selection, choose the image where you want to paste it, and paste it as a new layer - think plastic transparencies in school. Since it's a separate layer from the background, you can move it around to where you want it. You can also paste it as a new image and have just the selection.


 
That's pretty much how MS Paint works with the lasso thingy.
I never had the patience to blow up the image and then trace it out using a mouse.
Thanks.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

GB said:


> I am sick of seeing it in real life, but I don't mind seeing the snow and ice in pictures. This one is from a few storms ago.



It feels cold and starkly beautiful.  That is what winter should look like.

Love it GB!!


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> That's pretty much how MS Paint works with the lasso thingy.
> I never had the patience to blow up the image and then trace it out using a mouse.
> Thanks.



Yes, Paint is image-editing software like Paintshop Pro and Photoshop - it just doesn't have all the advanced bells and whistles that most people will never use. 

I did graphic design and print design - newsletters, flyers, brochures, etc. - for years. I'd never have the patience to clean a gun to the metal and re-blue it, though


----------



## Macgyver1968

How about this one....Mom posing in front of her grave stone.


----------



## GB

Thanks PF!


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> Yes, Paint is image-editing software like Paintshop Pro and Photoshop - it just doesn't have all the advanced bells and whistles that most people will never use.
> 
> I did graphic design and print design - newsletters, flyers, brochures, etc. - for years. I'd never have the patience to clean a gun to the metal and re-blue it, though


 
 good one! To each his own, right?


----------



## Dawgluver

Macgyver1968 said:


> How about this one....Mom posing in front of her grave stone.



Oh no!  You didn't dig her up, didja Mac?  She looks great!


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> good one! To each his own, right?



Absolutely. Variety is the spice of life! Sure would be boring if everyone did the same things


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

pacanis said:


> ooh, then I can fund another one!
> Thanks. Almost too nice to shoot... almost
> 
> Here are some pics along the way, PAG. This will save you (and me) from wading through the What are you doing? thread
> It was actually finished at one time with a nice hot blue, but I decided I wanted to rust blue it, which is more durable. It's the way they used to blue metals and many think the better way, but it's very time consuming. Layers of rust, boil it black, polish off the dust, repeat. I had to strip all the finish off it to get started. That was the point of no return.
> 
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/My Combat Commander/1_zpsb077c06a.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/My Combat Commander/2_zps3e616152.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/My Combat Commander/1_zps104c0722.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/Rust Bluing/1_zpsdcb92cbf.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/Rust Bluing/2_zpsffc926bb.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/Rust Bluing/3_zpsc399c7ed.jpg.html
> http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/PAcanis/media/Rust Bluing/4_zpsa767d141.jpg.html



Thanks Pac! Interesting process. It's funny to think of corrosion, something most people try to protect against, actually being a part of a finishing/protectant process.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Macgyver1968 said:


> How about this one....Mom posing in front of her grave stone.


Mac, she looks very happy to be on this side of the dirt!


----------



## pacanis

Look what Amazon brought me yesterday 
View attachment 20810

I can finally stop doing this
View attachment 20808
View attachment 20809


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Looks like a baby anteater spoon...


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> Look what Amazon brought me yesterday
> View attachment 20810...




That's the nicest one of its kind I've ever seen.  What is it?


----------



## pacanis

It's a marrow spoon. It's got a big end and a narrow end for the different crevices in a beef bone.


----------



## Macgyver1968

I thought it was for scooping stuff out of very narrow necked bottles.


----------



## pacanis

I'm sure I'll probably find some other uses for it just like you suggested, Mac.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We had a beautiful, sunny day today so we went to the grocery store...the long way. Along our route we passed by a place that give us the giggles big time. This photo is from a previous drive, but it's still funny. Especially since as we drove past Himself said "Nothin' says lovin'..." and out from my mouth slipped "...like your loved one in the oven".  Ooops! Well, we plan on being cremated so I guess it's OK.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> We had a beautiful, sunny day today so we went to the grocery store...the long way. Along our route we passed by a place that give us the giggles big time. This photo is from a previous drive, but it's still funny. Especially since as we drove past Himself said "Nothin' says lovin'..." and out from my mouth slipped "...like your loved one in the oven".  Ooops! Well, we plan on being cremated so I guess it's OK.



  Love it, CG!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> We had a beautiful, sunny day today so we went to the grocery store...the long way. Along our route we passed by a place that give us the giggles big time. This photo is from a previous drive, but it's still funny. Especially since as we drove past Himself said "Nothin' says lovin'..." and out from my mouth slipped "...like your loved one in the oven".  Ooops! Well, we plan on being cremated so I guess it's OK.



Ever see someone snort 16 ounces of water out their nose???


----------



## Cooking Goddess

No.  And I'm very sorry if it hurt. Thank goodness it wasn't something carbonated or alcoholic!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Here's another older photo I keep meaning to post. I found a grill that would be perfect for pac. It was at Lehman's when I made my last pilgrimage there with my bestie from back home and my darling daughter. Perfect for ribs, don't you think?


----------



## pacanis

Perfect for pac?! 
Can I get mine in brown with tusks?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

This one still makes me laugh:


----------



## Macgyver1968

Here's me enjoying a see-gar and a highly "irished-up" coffee after a wonderful thanksgiving meal:







If you like to see what a Thanksgiving in East Texas looks like, click here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73LLTMXSJo&list=UU4upQbmj6_19Y0ghRNjF_Ew&feature=c4-overview


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> Perfect for pac?!
> Can I get mine in brown with tusks?


Somehow, I didn't think that pink was your colour Pac.


----------



## pacanis

taxlady said:


> Somehow, I didn't think that pink was your colour Pac.


 
No, I want mine to look like a wild boar.
And I want it to make grunting noises when I open the lid


----------



## Cooking Goddess

pacanis said:


> Perfect for pac?!
> Can I get mine in brown with tusks?


Sorry pac, all I saw was pink piggy grills. No boars. I guess they're ... boaring. 

You gots skillz. You could probably take one of these pink ones, use heat-proof paint in brown, and hammer some metal tusks. Something to do in your free time.


----------



## pacanis

I will put it on the list


----------



## Cooking Goddess

For all the moaning I've done this winter about the ice and snow, it does provide pretty pictures! We ended up with a light dusting of snow, then enough sun early enough to melt just a touch of it before it started to freeze up again. As the sun was setting I looked out the window and saw "lace" on the ceiling of the sunroom. Here is a shot of our trees through that crystal veil:


----------



## taxlady

Neato, CG!


----------



## Dawgluver

Oooh, pretty!


----------



## GotGarlic

Love that shot, CG


----------



## pacanis

Now that's interesting.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks guys! When we settled my parents' estate and sold their house we used part of the proceeds to treat ourselves to a Brady-Built Sunroom. Our room is roughly 16x11 with a full glass ceiling, the "wall" around the bottom of the wall is about 18".  Pricy, mostly worth it, definitely different. Our big-jobs handyman said he could have done something like that for about $7000. or so less, but then he said "you wouldn't have this, it wouldn't look like that" and then we both laughed! It would have been a normal, attached addition. Not the same as being outside while you're still inside.


----------



## pacanis

I clicked on your link and thought it was a Cialis commercial 
Do you and himself stand there hugging each other with the outdoors pouring in around you? 
(not that there's anything wrong with that)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Um, no.  Wait, that's a good idea!  Anyway, we will eat out there when the temperature is right. On a sunny, snowless winter day it gets up to 70-80 until the sun starts to get low. We could turn the heat on in the winter, but the electric bill is plenty high enough without that on! In the dead of summer the room is pretty much useless during the main part of the day. With no HVAC run out there we don't have AC. The glass is a special kind that does cut the heat build-up, but that won't help when the outside temps are in the mid-80s and above. But breakfast is a definite option, and I most enjoy it late at night, when everyone around us is sleeping (including dogs) and I can sit out there and read. Didn't get too many books read last summer because it never really cooled down at night. The best part is that about half the year or so we can leave the slider doors open from the house to the sunroom and treat it like a normal room.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful picture CG!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks PF. Hope you like this next one too. Unfortunately, I was on "CG Time" when I took this, which is staying up beyond way too late. Seen out our front door sidelight on my way to bed yesterday, which is why I'm heading off to bed after I post this:


----------



## pacanis

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks PF. Hope you like this next one too. Unfortunately, I was on "CG Time" when I took this, which is staying up beyond way too late. Seen out our front door sidelight on my way to bed yesterday, which is why I'm heading off to bed after I post this:


 
Why does the sky look so bright? Like the sun just set.

ETA: I got it! The sun was just coming up! lol


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks PF. Hope you like this next one too. Unfortunately, I was on "CG Time" when I took this, which is staying up beyond way too late. Seen out our front door sidelight on my way to bed yesterday, which is why I'm heading off to bed after I post this:




Beautiful sunrise...I used to see lots of those when I was working nights.

Now I see them at the "wrong time" of day. <yawn>


----------



## pacanis

The reason I like my new toaster oven.
View attachment 20907

Sun getting ready to come up snow blowing yesterday.
View attachment 20908


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Nice sunrise pac. That looks like an awful long driveway.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The toaster oven rocks!

Beautiful sunrise!  It'll be sunrise here this morning at about 9.


----------



## pacanis

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Nice sunrise pac. That looks like an awful long driveway.


 
The sun came out yesterday and didn't disappear until it set. Thank heaven because it really would have been cold otherwise.
I'm about halfway down the drive. Yesterday it took me 30 minutes because I had to go slower than normal.


----------



## pacanis

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The toaster oven rocks!
> 
> Beautiful sunrise! It'll be sunrise here this morning at about 9.


 
I couldn't be happier with my Breville. Well, maybe if the dial was easier to read. I've been meaning to take a red marker to the knob so at least I can see the pointer more easily.


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> ...Sun getting ready to come up snow blowing yesterday. View attachment 20908



Snowblowing at sunrise!  Your neighbors must have been thrilled.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> Snowblowing at sunrise! Your neighbors must have been thrilled.


 
Sunrise during DST is late, 7:30 or so. They wouldn't care anyway. Come grape season there are tractors out 24 hours/day. You get used to it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty shot of the sunrise pac. And that's some pretty snow blower you have too! 

I miss late sunrises, and late sunsets even more. When we moved here in 2000 and DST was in April, dawn would break around 4:00 AM...and the birds were chirping too. I've never been a morning person, so I'm glad it's all the way into early March now. Still wish the sun was up until 9:00 PM in the summer though...


----------



## pacanis

Thanks, CG. Nothing but a bunch of slush out there now. Like 6" worth.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

pacanis said:


> Thanks, CG. Nothing but a bunch of slush out there now. Like 6" worth.



I hope you have a lot of shear pins for that auger. LOL.


----------



## pacanis

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> I hope you have a lot of shear pins for that auger. LOL.


 
5/16" x 2-1/2" if I remember. Got 'em very handy right on the tractor 
I've only had to use one once. And I was glad to have it handy for sure.


----------



## pacanis

BTW, it's a Canadian made snow thrower. Go figure.


----------



## Cheryl J

I saw this little guy today, doing what they do best - eating aphids. Good thing I saw him, I was about to go make a mild soap spray and spray down the whole 8' length of vine. I hope he invites his family and friends!  

Not the greatest pic, it's from my phone and I had to really zoom in.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Nice picture!  What kind of vine is it, Cheryl?  I don't recognize the flower or leaves.


----------



## Rocklobster




----------



## PrincessFiona60

Roflmfao!!!!!!!!


----------



## pacanis

I recently read an article that said that the five second rule is based on fact. Some outfit in England did a study introducing various foods to various surfaces contaminated with two kinds of bacteria. In most cases food picked up within five seconds was fine. Of course there were a lot of variables.


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> I recently read an article that said that the five second rule is based on fact. Some outfit in England did a study introducing various foods to various surfaces contaminated with two kinds of bacteria. In most cases food picked up within five seconds was fine. Of course there were a lot of variables.



One of those variables is how hungry you are.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

How expensive the ingredient is...


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nice picture!  What kind of vine is it, Cheryl?  I don't recognize the flower or leaves.



It looks like clematis to me.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nice picture!  What kind of vine is it, Cheryl?  I don't recognize the flower or leaves.



It's a vinca/periwinkle, a nice ground cover plant.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> One of those variables is how hungry you are.


 


PrincessFiona60 said:


> How expensive the ingredient is...


 
Whether or not you have alcohol in your system... for just such purification emergencies like these


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> I couldn't be happier with my Breville. Well, maybe if the dial was easier to read. I've been meaning to take a red marker to the knob so at least I can see the pointer more easily.



White Out works better and never wears off.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> It's a vinca/periwinkle, a nice ground cover plant.


 
Yep, that's what it is!   There are sooo many aphids on it this year.  I've just been researching ordering ladybugs online.  Think I might do that.  They say that if the ladybugs are put on the plant after sunset that they will likely stay, since they don't fly at night.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Yep, that's what it is!   There are sooo many aphids on it this year.  I've just been researching ordering ladybugs online.  Think I might do that.  They say that if the ladybugs are put on the plant after sunset that they will likely stay, since they don't fly at night.



Hmm.  The soap spray might be the best thing to try first, Cheryl, or even a really hard water spray from the hose.  It's the lady bug larvae that actually do most of the aphid eating, and from what I've read and seen, the lady bugs still take off at the first opportunity.  An all-purpose organic spray that has served me very well is Pyola, a combo of pyrithrins and canola oil, that I get from Gardens Alive.

I have vinca vine all over, have not seen any aphid infestations.  After the winter we've had, I don't expect many bugs this year!


----------



## Cheryl J

Good to know, Dawg.  I'll take your advice and try the soap spray first.  I already blasted it with the hose today while I was outside grilling.  Thanks for the info!


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

Behold: the lost art of icicle balancing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Behold: the lost art of icicle balancing.



LOL!!


----------



## pacanis

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Behold: the lost art of icicle balancing.


 
It's so cold up there your dog has blue balls?


----------



## taxlady

pacanis said:


> It's so cold up there your dog has blue balls?


Oh, that's terrible.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Rocket_J_Dawg said:


> Behold: the lost art of icicle balancing.



What a cute puppie!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Such a cute pup. If he flips the ball up into the air can he catch the icicle in his mouth and use it like a bat? Play ball!


----------



## pacanis

I just finished up the pistol I've been working on.
Nothing left to do now but fine tune it.


----------



## taxlady

Looks good Pac.


----------



## Andy M.

Pac, that turned out really handsome.

I assume that lever on the left side near the hammer is the safety.  What's the silver button on the left side behind the trigger?


----------



## pacanis

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out myself.

Andy, yes. The lever by the hammer is a thumb safety. It stands out so much because it is an extended one. The idea is to rest your thumb on it while shooting (I'm rt ahnded).
And the other lever is the takedown lever/slide release. And it also funtions to hold the slide open after the last shot. It's a multi-tasker.


----------



## Andy M.

Thanks for explaining.


----------



## pacanis

Not a problem
But just so you know, I came >this close< to saying I didn't know what they did.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice work on the gun pac! Himself was looking at the photos over my shoulder and said "that looks really good". The man does not compliment freely! Good job.


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice, pac.  Thank you for sharing your pics.  They are so crystal clear and show up so well against the blue background!


----------



## pacanis

Thanks CG, thanks Cheryl.
I have other colored backgrounds. Do you want to see more, lol.

I wish I had started this 15-20 years ago. I'd have a shop right now. I love doing this stuff. Laws being what they are though I can only do it for myself.


----------



## Rocket_J_Dawg

pacanis said:


> Thanks CG, thanks Cheryl.
> I have other colored backgrounds. Do you want to see more, lol.
> 
> I wish I had started this 15-20 years ago. I'd have a shop right now. I love doing this stuff. Laws being what they are though I can only do it for myself.



Beautiful result pac. I was going to ask if you were a Smitty but I guess your last sentence answered my question.


----------



## pacanis

Thanks RJ. I'm just an aspiring hobbyist. Much like cooking.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

The gun looks fantastic, Pac!  Good Job!


----------



## Dawgluver

Nice, Pac!


----------



## pacanis

Thanks. It's a good shooter, too.


----------



## phinz

Andy M. said:


> Pac, that turned out really handsome.
> 
> I assume that lever on the left side near the hammer is the safety.  What's the silver button on the left side behind the trigger?



The button behind the trigger (I don't think Pac answered this) is the magazine release. You press it to drop the mag.


----------



## pacanis

oops, good catch, Phinz. I must have read that too quickly and assumed he meant the slide stop lever.


----------



## cara

spring is here...
The siberian squill and the cowslip show there colors...


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, pretty Cara.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

cara said:


> spring is here...
> The siberian squill and the cowslip show there colors...



Very pretty!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics, Cara!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Look! It's Beagle!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> Look! It's Beagle!





CG, Beagle thanks you for the pic of her cousin Spike!  She's not into camping, though she does like to sunbathe.


----------



## purple.alien.giraffe

Cooking Goddess said:


> Look! It's Beagle!



Awww, that's cute!


----------



## Cheryl J

A couple of random pics from yesterday, at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve State Park, about an hour's drive from home.  Despite the drought, the little bit of rain we had in Feb and March was enough to bring the poppies and other wildflowers to life. 

My 3 yr. old grandson Tyler was such a trooper, he walked the entire 3 mile trail with us like a seasoned little hiker.  He was so excited, he loves to get out and walk the great outdoors.


----------



## Addie

All I can think of is:

In Flanders field
Where poppies grow


----------



## Cheryl J

I've read that poem a thousand times over the years, and it still makes me choke up a bit....


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl, I followed the breadcrumb to hunt down these promised pictures. How spectacular, especially when the perfect combo of orange is sprinkled with purple Lupine's.

We have a nearby mountain we enjoy looking at from our front porch and I've often thought of how beautiful it would be with a smattering of California Poppy's. We found a recipe of how to make poppy balls out of seeds and fertilizer and want to get the neighborhood together to make the hundreds it would take to seed the mountain. Steve could fly us over it and I could drop the bombs. We could all be famous for generations to come! 
Sounds like a plan to me.


----------



## Dawgluver

What beautiful pictures, Cheryl!  And what a sweet l'il trooper your grandbaby is!

And poppy bombs, what a neat idea, Kayelle!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> What beautiful pictures, Cheryl!  And what a sweet l'il trooper your grandbaby is!
> 
> And poppy bombs, what a neat idea, Kayelle!


What Dawg said. I couldn't put it better.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you so much, ladies.  

Kayelle, what a great idea....poppybombing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dad loves California Poppies, he has banks and banks of them around his yard.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Cheryl, I followed the breadcrumb to hunt down these promised pictures. How spectacular, especially when the perfect combo of orange is sprinkled with purple Lupine's.
> 
> We have a nearby mountain we enjoy looking at from our front porch and I've often thought of how beautiful it would be with a smattering of California Poppy's. We found a recipe of how to make poppy balls out of seeds and fertilizer and want to get the neighborhood together to make the hundreds it would take *to seed the mountain*. Steve could fly us over it and I could drop the bombs. We could all be famous for generations to come!
> Sounds like a plan to me.



Lady Bird Johnson would love you.


----------



## pacanis

Tough thread to find without anybody posting any random pics...

Chicks first day. Hour actually.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Awwww, babies! They're precious. Congrats Daddy Pac!

Now YOU can keep this thread bumped up - you know we'll all want to see more pics of the Kids.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh how cute!


----------



## GotGarlic

Cute babies! 

Here's something random. Azaleas are in bloom in my front yard:

View attachment 21233


----------



## pacanis

I'm barely getting flowers on my lilac bushes. I'm wondering if the cold temps affected the buds like it did a few years ago.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty, GG!  We have a massive patch of Dogtooth violets in our woods, they're about done blooming now.
View attachment 21234


----------



## taxlady

Cute chicks.
Gorgeous azaleas.
Those are violets?


----------



## Dawgluver

They're a native wildflower.  If you dig them up or step on them, they'll die.  This patch has increased in size over the years.

I have plenty of "regular" violets growing in the yard.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cute chicks!!!

Pretty flowers!


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> I'm barely getting flowers on my lilac bushes. I'm wondering if the cold temps affected the buds like it did a few years ago.



In the housing complex where Spike lives, there are lilac bushes all over the grounds. We know they are lilac bushes, but the bushes don't know it this year. Not one flower yet. I wonder if the Arboretum in Jamaica Plain have any flowers on their bushes. They have thousands of bushes of all kinds. One of the traditions is for families to bring a picnic on Mother's Day when all the bushes are in full bloom. The air makes you very heady with the aroma.


----------



## Dawgluver

pacanis said:


> I'm barely getting flowers on my lilac bushes. I'm wondering if the cold temps affected the buds like it did a few years ago.




I wonder too.  Miss Kim, my dwarf Korean lilac that sits in a shady protected corner, has buds like crazy.  She usually blooms a month after regular lilacs.  The white one that FIL gave us,and that has the prime real estate, has no blooms this year.  Last year it went nuts.  When we went on our walk, we saw several lilacs in bloom, but they were in protected locations or down in the woods.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I wonder too.  Miss Kim, my dwarf Korean lilac that sits in a shady protected corner, has buds like crazy.  She usually blooms a month after regular lilacs.  The white one that FIL gave us,and that has the prime real estate, has no blooms this year.  Last year it went nuts.  When we went on our walk, we saw several lilacs in bloom, but they were in protected locations or down in the woods.



I wish I could go to the Arboretum this coming Mother's Day to see the lilacs in bloom. 

Arnold Arboretum - Boston - Reviews of Arnold Arboretum - TripAdvisor


----------



## Dawgluver

So much for apple trees producing every other year.  My old, ratty tree is going nuts.  Again.  I see a food bank and random apple drop-offs in our future.
View attachment 21238


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> So much for apple trees producing every other year.  My old, ratty tree is going nuts.  Again.  I see a food bank and random apple drop-offs in our future.
> View attachment 21238


Are those already apples?


----------



## Dawgluver

Not yet, but they will be soon if previous experience serves me.


----------



## Rocklobster

Here is one that surfaced from the past. My son and I when I lived in Italy back in '86. We were at the bar his mother and I had.....


----------



## pacanis

lol, gotta love the eighties.
Who is the Dave Stewart wannabe?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What cute little apple cheeks Rock!


----------



## pacanis

Ahh, it's YOU! lol.

The first look at this post there wasn't any text, just the pic.


----------



## cara

Dawgluvers apple tree made me think of the cherry trees around here. I didn't make it there this year, because I was in Regensburg, but I have some from the past


----------



## Dawgluver

cara said:


> Dawgluvers apple tree made me think of the cherry trees around here. I didn't make it there this year, because I was in Regensburg, but I have some from the past



Oh, these are breathtaking, Cara!

Many years ago, we were in Washington, DC, when the cherry trees that were a gift from Japan were in bloom.  They were spectacular.  Then a few years ago, I read that some very busy beavers gnawed down the same cherry trees!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

cara, those trees are lovely! We have a couple small flowering trees in our yard but nothing with as much impact as that row. Like Dawg said, breathtaking.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> So much for apple trees producing every other year.  My old, ratty tree is going nuts.  Again.  I see a food bank and random apple drop-offs in our future.
> View attachment 21238



Didn't you just finish up with last year's crop? You were doing apples around the clock and ran out of people to give them to. I would suggest middle of the night deliveries to all you neighbors and then go out of town with them. Leave a bag on each porch.


----------



## pacanis

Either that or start pinching off blossoms.


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> Either that or start pinching off blossoms.



With a crop like that I would suggest she climb that tree and start cutting off branches.


----------



## pacanis

I've got a suggestion for a good little battery operated chainsaw.


----------



## Addie

pacanis said:


> I've got a suggestion for a good little battery operated chainsaw.



 Good one Pac!


----------



## Mad Cook

Addie said:


> Didn't you just finish up with last year's crop? You were doing apples around the clock and ran out of people to give them to. I would suggest middle of the night deliveries to all you neighbors and then go out of town with them. Leave a bag on each porch.



I'd love to have apples. There are two trees in the garden here and they have lots of apples every summer but I can't get at them either on the tree or on the ground because the area is so over grown. 

My mother planted some dwarf conifers on a new rockery she starter abot 20 years ago. The "dwarves" are now fifteen feet high and growing upwards and out wards and I have to fight my way through them and a jungle of other "small" shrubs (mahonia, ceanothus and bachelor's buttons) to get near enough to _see _the apples let alone get near enough to pick hem. Can't knock them off with a long pool as I wouldn't be able to pick up the fruit


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Didn't you just finish up with last year's crop? You were doing apples around the clock and ran out of people to give them to. I would suggest middle of the night deliveries to all you neighbors and then go out of town with them. Leave a bag on each porch.




I did.  Made my last batch of apple sauce in February.  This year is supposed to be an "off" year.  The apples are really good, both for eating and for cooking, I have no idea what the variety is.  The tree is so tall it would behoove us to rent a cherry picker.  Instead, I send DH up on a ladder with an apple picker pole that I made an extension for.


----------



## Cheryl J

Tonight's sunset from the front porch.  Got a little rain!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is beautiful, Cheryl!


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That is beautiful, Cheryl!


It sure is.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> It sure is.




+3.  Glad you got some rain!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, ladies.   And yes, actually getting a little rain from those clouds instead of them just blowing over, was an added plus!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Couldn't quite get ourselves to bed until we were exhausted, but at least we saw a pretty sunrise Sunday morning.


----------



## Addie

I can never decide which is prettier, A sunrise or sunset.


----------



## CraigC

Jane's Scenic Drive (Fakahatchee Strand).


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> I can never decide which is prettier, A sunrise or sunset.




I can't say.  I rarely, if ever, see a sunrise.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> I can't say.  I rarely, if ever, see a sunrise.


Andy, sunrises are the ones you see before going to bed after a long night out.


----------



## Andy M.

taxlady said:


> Andy, sunrises are the ones you see before going to bed after a long night out.



At my age, late night is the 11:00 news.


----------



## pacanis

I think sunsets have more colors, but sunrises are more uplifting. They start the day out right.


----------



## ElleShip

Cooking Goddess, your neighborhood looks so beautiful.


----------



## pacanis

Moving day for the girls.


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> Moving day for the girls.



Where are they moving from/to?


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> Where are they moving from/to?


 
From their brooder into their coop. 
I still have a heat lamp down low for them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

So much fun!  They look great, Pac!


----------



## Somebunny

Awww!  Papa Pac's poultry!


----------



## taxlady

Pac, how old are those chicks/chickens now? You wrote about them somewhere else here, but I can't remember what kind you said they were.


----------



## pacanis

Somewhere between 3-4 weeks, TL.


----------



## Somebunny

Just picked these from my yard.  The Peonies smell so good!
View attachment 21383


----------



## pacanis

achoo!


----------



## Andy M.

Pac, those chicks got big fast.  At what age are the able to start giving you eggs?


----------



## pacanis

They sure did, Andy. 
Last time I got chicks (around the same time) I started getting eggs in November and they laid all through winter without artificial lighting. That was a few weeks late if I recall. Generally you start looking at six months of age.

I remember checking the nestbox, checking the nestbox everyday, several times each day, as freezing temps were here and I didn't want to lose my first egg to freezing. It was quite the present and surprise to finally see that first little brown egg.


----------



## Cheryl J

Somebunny said:


> Just picked these from my yard. The Peonies smell so good!
> View attachment 21383


 
So pretty, Bunny!  Love the irises.


----------



## Cheryl J

pacanis said:


> They sure did, Andy.
> Last time I got chicks (around the same time) I started getting eggs in November and they laid all through winter without artificial lighting. That was a few weeks late if I recall. Generally you start looking at six months of age.
> 
> I remember checking the nestbox, checking the nestbox everyday, several times each day, as freezing temps were here and I didn't want to lose my first egg to freezing. It was quite the present and surprise to finally see that first little brown egg.


 
Aww....I bet, Pac.  Best of luck to you with your chicks.  They sure have grown fast and look happy as can be.


----------



## phinz

Sunrise in Folly Beach.


----------



## phinz

Greenbrier in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


----------



## phinz

Pike Brewing. Pike Place Market. Seattle, WA


----------



## phinz

Unfortunately, most of us have to leave Paradise sometime.


----------



## phinz

But not until you've had one last sail.


----------



## taxlady

I came across this photo of me and Shreddy taking a nap, taken by Stirling in 2009.


----------



## TATTRAT

Some from a recent little day trip to a little town I miss dearly.


----------



## Zhizara

Hey, Tat!  It's good to "see" you.


----------



## TATTRAT

Zhizara said:


> Hey, Tat!  It's good to "see" you.





thanks! It's been a while!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Hi Tatt!  Love those pics.


----------



## Dawgluver

Great pics, Tat, so nice to "see" you again!


----------



## TATTRAT

Dawgluver said:


> Great pics, Tat, so nice to "see" you again!



Thanks, nice to be back!

For some reason, the 3rd didn't lin, but here's the one I was trying to share


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hi TAT! Long time no read! Like the pics, especially the one from the inside looking through the window.


----------



## TATTRAT

From the recent meteor showers. . . of which there weren't many meteors. . .more like a meteor sprinkle.






The glow off in the distance is the light pollution from Washington, D.C.


----------



## Katie H

Oh, goody, goody, goody!  I'm so glad you're back.  I love your photos!!


----------



## Cheryl J

Tattratt, I've so enjoyed your amazing photos, thank you so much for sharing!


----------



## Cheryl J

Tonight's sunset from the front yard this evening.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beautiful sunset, Cheryl.


----------



## pacanis

Cheryl J said:


> Tonight's sunset from the front yard this evening.


 
That looks like my sunrise a couple hours ago. Beautiful.


----------



## Somebunny

Hmmmm........one man's sunrise is another man's (woman's)sunset????
Beautiful pic Cheryl!


----------



## GotGarlic

Somebunny said:


> Hmmmm........one man's sunrise is another man's (woman's)sunset????
> Beautiful pic Cheryl!



It all depends on which way you're facing ;-)


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> It all depends on which way you're facing ;-)


Especially north of the Arctic Circle, right now.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> Tonight's sunset from the front yard this evening.


I love the copper color of the clouds Cheryl! I don't remember ever seeing them quite that color. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> It all depends on which way you're facing ;-)


 
So true!


----------



## TATTRAT

Going through some old shots from my time living in the 808, what I wouldn't do to be back there!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That first one is my favorite of your pictures.  I'm sure I have other favorites, but that one ranks at the top.


----------



## Dawgluver

A view from our balcony in Mexico:
View attachment 21504


----------



## cjmmytunes

So beautiful. I would love to go there sometime. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Things we saw back home*

Went for a little ride to get good Amish smoked meat and ran across a couple things. Just a few pics: 1) sunset, reflected 2) a bit different eggroll 3) peacock and pony 4) for our British friends and 5) for PF and other fans - only about 1/4 to 1/3 of their buildings!


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, those are gorgeous pics, Tattrat.  Dawg, I love your pic. Looks like a lovely vacation getaway. Love the horse and buggy!

Nice pics, CG. I've always wanted to visit Amish country. So beautiful.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aww. Thanks Cj and Cheryl. 

The Disney cruise ship is cool, when they leave, they play "When You Wish Upon a Star."

We can't wait to get back, we love Cozumel!

Cool pics, CG and Tat!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Went for a little ride to get good Amish smoked meat and ran across a couple things. Just a few pics: 1) sunset, reflected 2) a bit different eggroll 3) peacock and pony 4) for our British friends and 5) for PF and other fans - only about 1/4 to 1/3 of their buildings!



Lehman's!!!  Thanks CG, love their products!  The other pics are nice too, but the shopping opportunities


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawg, have you ever been on one of those cruise ships?


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Dawg, have you ever been on one of those cruise ships?




PF, many years ago I went on a Caribbean cruise with Mom, Baby Bro, and my sister, Cruella the Horrid.  We went on Norwegian.  It was OK, but DH and I much prefer to stay in one place and get to know an island. 

That said, for you and Shrek, it might be a great way to see stuff!  We plan to hit the Greek islands as well as Alaska on a cruise some time.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, it helps to know that some have enjoyed it, I've heard so much about how bad they are.


----------



## Dawgluver

My BIL and his third ex just loved the Greek island cruise.  They did it 3 times.  It's sort of a bucket list item for me.


----------



## GotGarlic

We went on a cruise in the eastern Caribbean several years ago and really enjoyed it. We're going on a western Caribbean cruise in February to celebrate our 30th anniversary. That one will be on Norwegian. My aunt and uncle have been on river cruises in Europe and loved them. I think they're doing another one this fall.


----------



## Dawgluver

The European river cruises have interested me too.  And there used to be a paddleboat cruise on the Mississippi that started north and ended up in New Orleans.  That sounded like fun too.


----------



## TATTRAT

I'll be honest, I absolutely LOVE cruising. For me, it's great bang for the buck, you get settled in/unpacked and you're done. You can be as involved or relaxed as you want, don't have to worry about buying food, you get to see a few places, and the typical day at sea forces you to unplug and just be.

As an aside, being from Bermuda, it's the cheapest way for me to go/stay without staying with friends or family. I can book a 7 day home out of NYC, Norfolk or Baltimore for far cheaper than airfare/hotel to/on Bermuda. . .and eating on the island is far from cheap. 

I highly recommend them if you want a great bang for the buck.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was thinking about a river cruise on the Columbia River, it visits my most favorite town in the world, Astoria, OR.  Getting to Portland and back would be a bit of a mess and it is not cheap, almost $5000 per person.


----------



## creative




----------



## Dawgluver

Very cool, Creative!


----------



## Zhizara

Very nice, Creative.  Please show us more!


----------



## cjmmytunes

Very pretty. 

Sent from my SM-N900R4 using Discuss Cooking mobile app


----------



## LPBeier

Very pretty, creative!


----------



## creative

Thank you for your kind comments.  The painting was done quite a while back (before I became a full time carer for my mother).  I am now back at my flat but lack confidence and motive to open my paintbox again....


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is beautiful, Creative  I like it!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's a nice, peaceful-feeling painting creative. So, more please? What medium did you use? Kinda looks like watercolors, but it's hard to tell on a monitor.


----------



## creative

Yes they are watercolours (from tubes, since it's a large painting).  I like vivid colours (as you can tell) so am a bit "heavy handed" on the pigments.


----------



## creative

Just 2 more then...these are above my bed.


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was thinking about a river cruise on the Columbia River, it visits my most favorite town in the world, Astoria, OR.  Getting to Portland and back would be a bit of a mess and it is not cheap, almost $5000 per person.



We took that cruise in 2008 PF and it's beautiful. It's one of our trip stories.
http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/columbiarivercruise2008.pdf


----------



## Cheryl J

Nice pics, creative! Hoping to see more! 

Kayelle, I enjoyed your photos and story.  The Columbia River Gorge IS a beautiful place, isn't it?  The last time I was there was in 2001, some friends and I sat on a blanket on a grassy hillside overlooking the Gorge, and watched a Santana concert.  Lots of fun and beautiful scenery.


----------



## Cheryl J

Had such a great time yesterday up at my daughter and SIL's cabin up in Kennedy Meadows. It's only an hour's drive from here, but high up in the Sierras, at 7000'. It was so nice to leave the heat of the valley here behind us and play around in the mountains. The cabin is on 500 acres of private property so there was not another soul in sight, except for the critters.  LOL. It was awesome. 

Son-in-law taking the littles for a ride around the lake. 





My little fishermen. They were using their little Spiderman fishing poles, and they all caught one! 





Their lake. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Some of the other residents. 





My one yr. old grandson trying to look through his daddy's binoculars, backwards. 





The cabin.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wow, Cheryl, what wonderful pictures!


----------



## taxlady

Nice, Cheryl.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> We took that cruise in 2008 PF and it's beautiful. It's one of our trip stories.
> http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/columbiarivercruise2008.pdf



Thanks Kay for the link. I have previously read the diary from front to back. But it is always nice to go back and revisit.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> We took that cruise in 2008 PF and it's beautiful. It's one of our trip stories.
> http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/columbiarivercruise2008.pdf



Did you guys get to tour the Lightship?  Shrek and I did, we were also able to climb the stairs of the Astoria Column...I made it all the way to the top.  My legs were angry the next day.  We spent 4 days in Astoria and the surrounding area.

So I wonder if the food has gotten any better on the cruise.  Thanks for the link!


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Did you guys get to tour the Lightship?  Shrek and I did, we were also able to climb the stairs of the Astoria Column...I made it all the way to the top.  My legs were angry the next day.  We spent 4 days in Astoria and the surrounding area.
> 
> So I wonder if the food has gotten any better on the cruise.  Thanks for the link!



PF, here's the latest review on that river cruise. Queen of the West Cruise Ship Reviews - American Cruise Lines

We love cruising and your *best* information for any cruise can be found at cruisecritic.com.


----------



## Kayelle

Kayelle said:


> PF, here's the latest review on that river cruise. Queen of the West Cruise Ship Reviews - American Cruise Lines
> 
> We love cruising and your *best* information for any cruise can be found at cruisecritic.com.



I just wanted to add PF, that the 30 day cruise we recently took around South America on Princess cost much less than the river cruise on the American Columbia river cruise we did in 2008. Flying at least one way however, is not optional.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

creative said:


> Yes they are watercolours (from tubes, since it's a large painting).  I like vivid colours (as you can tell) so am a bit "heavy handed" on the pigments.



I'm the same way with watercolors. I've done three paintings - the first two look more like tempera paint!  The third turned out really nice, so I quit. Wanted to end on a high note.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl, those photos are really nice.Cute grandkids too. And that last one is of the "cabin"?  That cabin looks like it's three times the size of our house! So much to clean, so little time interest.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> I just wanted to add PF, that the 30 day cruise we recently took around South America on Princess cost much less than the river cruise on the American Columbia river cruise we did in 2008. Flying at least one way however, is not optional.



Thanks Kayelle.

The reviews are very mixed.  Not sure I would want to spend that much money and have the same experience as some.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cheryl, those photos are really nice.Cute grandkids too. And that last one is of the "cabin"?  That cabin looks like it's three times the size of our house! So much to clean, so little time interest.


 
Thanks, CG! Yes, it's big. If you noticed that it's in the shape of a barn, that's because it used to be one.  There was a fire and the main cabin burned down about 15 years ago, so the guys in the family all got together and rebuilt from the barn. 

The wooden beams in the pic used to be part of the horse stalls. They're not too worried about keeping it spic and span, as you can see the floor is dusty.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is a beautiful cabin, inside and out.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What PF said Cheryl. And what's wrong with dusty floors? With enough dust you don't need throw rugs.


----------



## Kayelle

What wonderful pictures Chery! I adore that part of California and it brings back many happy camping memories. Especially the little boys secured safely in their life vests when near the water. That was an iron clad rule for my boys, no matter how hot it was! Holy moley......that's one gorgeous "cabin".


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cheryl J said:


> Had such a great time yesterday up at my daughter and SIL's cabin up in Kennedy Meadows. It's only an hour's drive from here, but high up in the Sierras, at 7000'. It was so nice to leave the heat of the valley here behind us and play around in the mountains. The cabin is on 500 acres of private property so there was not another soul in sight, except for the critters.  LOL. It was awesome.
> 
> My little fishermen. They were using their little Spiderman fishing poles, and they all caught one!




Very nice!

It looks like a wonderful place to be a kid!

Not sure who is luckier grandma or the fishermen!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you all for the nice comments.  

Kay...yes, whenever those precious little guys are anywhere near water, they have their life jackets on. 

Aunt Bea...I think it's a toss up, but I sure do think I'm blessed to have those little ones in my life! 

So....let's see some more photos here in the random photo thread - we all love to see them, so share your faves!


----------



## phinz

Me, my wife and several other 501st Legion members at a charity event a few years ago.


----------



## Andy M.

phinz said:


> Me, my wife and several other 501st Legion members at a charity event a few years ago.




Cute.  All the storm troopers have little chewbacca dolls.


----------



## phinz

Andy M. said:


> Cute.  All the storm troopers have little chewbacca dolls.



They're actually teddy bears given to children who are in the Variety program. 

U.S. Variety - Gold Heart Pins

There's also not a single stormtrooper in that picture.


----------



## Andy M.

phinz said:


> They're actually teddy bears given to children who are in the Variety program.
> 
> U.S. Variety - Gold Heart Pins
> 
> There's also not a single stormtrooper in that picture.




Poetic license


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> Cute.  All the storm troopers have little chewbacca dolls.




I thought they were carrying Ewoks...


----------



## Dawgluver

My niece's pepper plant.  She is not happy!

View attachment 21537


----------



## Cheryl J

I bet she's not!!  Eww...that is one big hornworm.


----------



## GotGarlic

Wow, that's huge! Bummer about the peppers!


----------



## Dawgluver

I told her to pull it off and stomp it.  But I'm afraid it's too late.


----------



## GotGarlic

Well, sometimes they can come back. But yeah, the thing did quite a bit of damage.


----------



## Dawgluver

This pepper plant is not coming back!  RIP, pepper plant.

I told her she needs to check daily, hornworms are insidious.


----------



## Cheryl J

They are.  They can do so much damage in such a short amount of time. Blech...

I used to pull them off and throw 'em over the back fence for the birds until the new neighbors built a house and moved in.


----------



## Dawgluver

Apparently they are really good bait for fish.  I just stomp them, but I make sure it's on the lawn, as they stain the deck.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> ...I used to pull them (hornworms) off and throw 'em over the back fence for the birds until the new neighbors built a house and moved in.


I suppose you could still do that, depending on whether you like you new neighbors or not.


----------



## TATTRAT

Step Dad with his first Cobia






Made some great fish tacos. 

While it was a full day trip out, only 2 fish were caught (that's why it's called fishing and not catching), but a good time was had by all.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's a nice looking dinner TAT. And here I figured it would have ended up stuffed for a trophy since it was his "first". Instead, sounds like you guys are the ones who got "stuffed".


----------



## GotGarlic

A photo I took of my herb garden last weekend and the monster cucumbers in the background. It's raining pretty hard right now, so I'll need to check for new ones tomorrow. They sure suck up the water.


----------



## taxlady

Pretty herb garden GG.


----------



## Zhizara

Nice Cobia, Tat!  Good eatin'!


----------



## Kayelle

The smile on his face really says it all....and what a nice looking man. I love his hat.

What a *beautiful garden! *That's a picture worthy of House and Garden magazine.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks, Taxy and Kayelle  You may remember my bay tree died after our unusually cold winter. Well, it's coming back from the roots now. We're going to keep it small this time.


----------



## creative

I have 2 bay trees.  A smallish one in a container and a huge one that is now a very tall tree!  It just went skyhigh without any fertiliser or attendance!   (Admittedly, I had been away for 2 years - being a resident, full time carer for my mother).


----------



## Cheryl J

Tatt, love the pic of your step dad out on the ocean.  Looks like it was a perfect day!  

GG - what a beautiful herb garden.  I love the rock border.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Tatt, love the pic of your step dad out on the ocean.  Looks like it was a perfect day!
> 
> GG - what a beautiful herb garden.  I love the rock border.



Thanks, Cheryl  DH is a geologist by training and he collected many of these rocks while growing up in Michigan. We loaded up the car with them years ago when his parents retired and sold his childhood home and brought them here to Virginia.


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Thanks, Cheryl  DH is a geologist by training and he collected many of these rocks while growing up in Michigan. We loaded up the car with them years ago when his parents retired and sold his childhood home and brought them here to Virginia.



I was also going to mention that nice rock garden GG. When I was a little girl we had a neighbor/customer who was a geologist. He was a wonderful old man and he gave me a rock that was actually collected by him from our nearby 6,000 foot mountain. He explained it was actually a piece of fossilized sea shell and as a little girl, I was in awe that the mountain top (Topa Topa) had once been the floor of the Pacific ocean. I still treasure it in our rock garden with rocks we have brought home in our suitcases from all over the world..  

Here are some pretty images of Topa Topa mountian..
Images of the Ojai Topa Topa Mountains


----------



## Dawgluver

Love the little rock garden, GG!  And what pretty mountain pics, Kayelle!

Here are my refrigerator pickles, using Steve Kroll's recipe:
View attachment 21545


----------



## Kayelle

*Yummmmm.......*


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks K!  It will be hard to wait the 5 to 7 days to taste them!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GG, that is one fine looking garden! BTW, if you need more rocks I'd be happy to send some to you (at your cost, of course  ). I swear there are Rock Fairies up here who fly over the yard every winter, spreading rock seeds everywhere, which sprout up new rocks the following spring when I go to dig. 

Dawg, those pickles look yummy already. Resist, resist!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> GG, that is one fine looking garden! BTW, if you need more rocks I'd be happy to send some to you (at your cost, of course  ). I swear there are Rock Fairies up here who fly over the yard every winter, spreading rock seeds everywhere, which sprout up new rocks the following spring when I go to dig.
> 
> Dawg, those pickles look yummy already. Resist, resist!



CG, there is an old story about a New England farmer. A neighbor asks him what does he do for a living. The farmer replies, "I farm."

"Oh, what do you farm?"

"Rocks" replies the farmer. 

How do you think we got all those stone walls?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, I'll buy that story!  Funny thing is Ohio has a lot of stone walls too, and I never had such large crops of rocks in either of those two yards back there. We built all three houses in what had been wooded areas too. These must be special multiplying rocks.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, I'll buy that story!  Funny thing is Ohio has a lot of stone walls too, and I never had such large crops of rocks in either of those two yards back there. We built all three houses in what had been wooded areas too. These must be special multiplying rocks.



All of those rocks are part of the Allegheny Mountains before they were worn down over time the millenniums. I love stone walls. Poo lived in a house where the stone walls surrounding the property were built during Colonial times. It was covered with growth and a lot of wild flowers. That growth kept the rocks in place. You couldn't even pick up one of the top ones.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> All of those rocks are part of the Allegheny Mountains before they were worn down over time the millenniums. I love stone walls. Poo lived in a house where the stone walls surrounding the property were built during Colonial times. It was covered with growth and a lot of wild flowers. That growth kept the rocks in place. You couldn't even pick up one of the top ones.



Actually, those rocks are known as glacial drift - debris left behind by glaciers as they melted and retreated north. Sediment worn down from mountains by erosion is mostly sand and some pebbles. 

More info: http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I always find it interesting to discover the geology in the places I live.  Even though I am not a geologist, I still understand enough to see and know why certain things are the way they are.  Like the horizontal lines on our mountains...they are the shorelines from when our valley was a glacial lake.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I always find it interesting to discover the geology in the places I live.  Even though I am not a geologist, I still understand enough to see and know why certain things are the way they are.  Like the horizontal lines on our mountains...they are the shorelines from when our valley was a glacial lake.



Me, too. DH and I grew up in Michigan and met going to college at Eastern Mich. University. He was a junior majoring in geology and I had to take a year of science classes, so guess what? I chose Earth science!  He also was a meteorologist and oceanographer in the Navy and taught Earth science, oceanography and meteorology as a high school teacher. He's taught me a lot about those topics over the years.


----------



## TATTRAT

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I always find it interesting to discover the geology in the places I live.  Even though I am not a geologist, I still understand enough to see and know why certain things are the way they are.  Like the horizontal lines on our mountains...they are the shorelines from when our valley was a glacial lake.



Whenever I travel, I always bring rocks from other places and deposit them, just to throw off future geologists.


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I always find it interesting to discover the geology in the places I live.  Even though I am not a geologist, I still understand enough to see and know why certain things are the way they are. * Like the horizontal lines on our mountains...they are the shorelines from when our valley was a glacial lake.*



Yes, the shorelines are so clearly defined on Topa Topa mountian where my petrified sea shell was collected. I can see it from my back porch and it never fails to wow me.

Images of the Ojai Topa Topa Mountains


----------



## Kayelle

TATTRAT said:


> Whenever I travel, I always bring rocks from other places and deposit them, *just to throw off future geologists.*



 Good point Tatt, and I do the same.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Good point Tatt, and I do the same.



DH says you're the reason why we're now in the anthropocene era: http://www.anthropocene.info/


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> DH says you're the reason why we're now in the anthropocene era: Welcome to the Anthropocene



He's part of the reason with his rock garden too. 

Seriously, that's a fascinating website and I watched all the videos.  I'm also passing it on.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

TATTRAT said:


> Whenever I travel, I always bring rocks from other places and deposit them, just to throw off future geologists.



Oh you are mean!!!

Nothing like a geologist trying to figure out how an erratic got where it is.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Yes, the shorelines are so clearly defined on Topa Topa mountian where my petrified sea shell was collected. I can see it from my back porch and it never fails to wow me.
> 
> Images of the Ojai Topa Topa Mountains



Kayelle, I beg to differ.  Your mountain lines are actual layers of the sea bed, hence sedimentary rock, they were under the water.  Our lines are the levels of the lake at different time periods. 

In order for me to see the lake bed, like you can see the sea bed, I would have to drill down or dig.  I would love to take a crawl over your mountains.


----------



## Kayelle

Well, it sounded right to me but what do I know?  I'd love to have you come crawl through these mountains PF. I could wave and take pictures from down here and you could have a bed and and a good meal with us.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kay...loved the pics of the Topa Topas, thanks for sharing! I didn't know you were that close. How awesome to be able to see it from your property. I have cousins in Ojai and loved going to their ranch, haven't been there in about 10 years. Beautiful area!

Yes, those are sedimentary formations. We have tons of them here - it's so fascinating seeing the layers of different periods in time when the ocean actually flowed through the desert here. I love geology! Rocks...love them.  My front yard is desert landscaping - rock gardens and conifers. Low maintenance.


----------



## Cheryl J

GG...thank you for that link!  Saved, and will most definitely read.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Well, it sounded right to me but what do I know?  I'd love to have you come crawl through these mountains PF. I could wave and take pictures from down here and you could have a bed and and a good meal with us.



Now that sounds fun!  Thanks!

I'm a sucker for geology, I have no idea why.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> He's part of the reason with his rock garden too.
> 
> Seriously, that's a fascinating website and I watched all the videos.  I'm also passing it on.



Nuh uh, because he did it 'cause he likes rocks, not because he wanted to fool someone! 

Glad you enjoyed the site. I'll have to check it out. I hadn't heard about it till today.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> *Kay...loved the pics of the Topa Topas, thanks for sharing! I didn't know you were that close. How awesome to be able to see it from your property. I have cousins in Ojai and loved going to their ranch, haven't been there in about 10 years. Beautiful area!*
> 
> Yes, those are sedimentary formations. We have tons of them here - it's so fascinating seeing the layers of different periods in time when the ocean actually flowed through the desert here. I love geology! Rocks...love them.  My front yard is desert landscaping - rock gardens and conifers. Low maintenance.



Yes, the "Pink Moment" on Topa Topa is visible from my back porch here in the Heritage Valley. It only happens with perfect conditions at a certain time of year when the sun sets over the Pacific and casts a perfect "Pink Moment" on the mountain. I've seen it so many times in my lifetime, but it never fails to humble me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Suddenly, there was a fork in the road.


----------



## Addie

Old farm houses here in the New England area have a rock foundation. And some have left the huge rocks right where they were and built the foundation around them. Most of the rocks are right from the property. If they weren't building wall to keep the animals in, then they were building houses on top of them. You take the little rocks and stick them in-between the big ones to keep out the cold. Most of the rocks you find in these here parts are granite. 

Up on Route 1A they cut right through a huge rock for the highway. Every time I go past there I think of cutting through the mountains to build our first coast to coast railroad. That rock has a lot of quartz in it. At night when the headlights hit it, you can see little twinkles where the quartz is. Very pretty. Then further up the road there is another huge rock they cut through. That one has a lot of iron in it. The whole side is covered with rust. Pretty in its own way.


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> A photo I took of my herb garden last weekend and the monster cucumbers in the background. It's raining pretty hard right now, so I'll need to check for new ones tomorrow. They sure suck up the water.


 
Nice setup. A little veggies, a little flowers. That gives me some ideas.


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> Nice setup. A little veggies, a little flowers. That gives me some ideas.



Thank you! Nice to see you pop in


----------



## Kayelle

Here's *Lucy....
with her Mic Jagger lips..She is owned by our neighbor, but we get to dog sit her on a regular basis. We love her like our own so we call her our grand furbaby. It's like having a grandchild you can send home at the end of the day. Yes, I kiss her on her Mic Jagger lips....






*


----------



## Dawgluver

What a l'il cutie!


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks Dawg, she's really a special girl. I don't know what the heck happened to her picture though, so here it is again.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hmm. The original pic is still there, K.  What happened?


----------



## Kayelle

That's weird you're still seeing her on post #1378. On my screen there's a sign from photo bucket saying "Sorry, this person moved or deleted this image". Very strange


----------



## Dawgluver

I see what you mean.  I went to the regular website, and it's gone.  Strange I can still see it on the app.  Your second pic is still there.


----------



## taxlady

She's adorable. I can see her photo in both posts on the web.


----------



## Kayelle

Her real mom just came to get her. She was so tickled to see "our" girl posted on my computer because she hardly ever sits still for a picture. She's sending it to her whole address book. 

I hope Photo Bucket doesn't mess up for her.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> I see what you mean.  I went to the regular website, and it's gone.  Strange I can still see it on the app.  Your second pic is still there.



It must have something to do with the browser cache. Nice pic, Kayelle!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Lucy's a cutie Kayelle! 

FWIW, by just before midnight eastern time the photo on my laptop was the same apology box you mentioned and my cell phone gave me just an empty frame with no pic. Thanks to posting up the second image.


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww!  Lucy is such a sweetie, Kay.  Love her lips!   I see both pics on my laptop, too.


----------



## pacanis

The first pic didn't show up for me either.
Shih Tzus are one of my favorite little dogs. Cute face.

Here's my pup Kimber a couple days ago not liking her new undies.
It hasn't gotten much better


----------



## Cheryl J

Poor Kimber!  Maybe they're not her color.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh dear, Pac.  She didn't like borrowing yours.  Maybe get her a pair of her own?


----------



## Kayelle

Our Aussie used to pose like that Pac. At least she has cute panties. My husband called it her Sorority position.


----------



## GotGarlic

pacanis said:


> The first pic didn't show up for me either.
> Shih Tzus are one of my favorite little dogs. Cute face.
> 
> Here's my pup Kimber a couple days ago not liking her new undies.
> It hasn't gotten much better



Why does she need panties? I've never put clothes on any of my dogs or cats and they've all been female.


----------



## Dawgluver

In heat.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> In heat.



Pac, are you breeding her then? We've always had our pets spayed when they were young.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> In heat.



Sort of a canine chastity belt.


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> Sort of a canine chastity belt.




I suspect Kimber is too young to be bred yet, and Pac also has a couple of males.  Prevention.  I may be wrong.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Well at least those panties are in a "girly-pink" pac. But maybe Kimber would like something with a little more flair?


----------



## Addie

Hey Mad Cook, I repeat myself. You thought only Mad Englishmen went out in the noon day sun? Take a look at this side of the pond and what we are up to now!


----------



## pacanis

GotGarlic said:


> Pac, are you breeding her then? We've always had our pets spayed when they were young.


 
No, I don't breed. It's healthier for the dog (males too) to let them go through puberty before spaying or neutering. Especially a large breed dog. And it helps the females to be more feminine and the males more masculine to get that shot of hormones. I always wait until the dog is 1-1/2 to 2 years old.


----------



## Andy M.

pacanis said:


> No, I don't breed. It's healthier for the dog (males too) to let them go through puberty before spaying or neutering. Especially a large breed dog. And it helps the females to be more feminine and the males more masculine to get that shot of hormones. I always wait until the dog is 1-1/2 to 2 years old.




I didn't know that.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> I didn't know that.



I didn't either. Good to know.


----------



## Kayelle

I knew that and tried it with my beautiful Aussie pup. We had her in our yard with a six foot fence, and panties when a big mutt fence jumper ruined our plans of letting her come into her first heat. I took out after that brute with water hose in hand but it was too late. It was a horrible experience for the whole family, her included. Never again.


----------



## pacanis

Andy M. said:


> I didn't know that.


 


GotGarlic said:


> I didn't either. Good to know.


 
Yeah, something to do with the growth plates not closing correctly if they don't get their hormones. Along with certain features, especially in males. They don't get that muscular look and blocky head if they are snipped too soon.
Some vets will recommend not neutering a male if it is diagnosed with dyplasia early enough for that reason, but of course they still want to spay the female. Too many reckless people in our country to have unspayed females, even if it's healthier for them.

And I just noticed this was random pics and not the pet thread... carry on


----------



## Dawgluver

No prob, random photos are random!


----------



## Cheryl J

My daughter and I had to re-certify in CPR on Tuesday. Everyone else in our family here had to work, so we had no child care for my 4 year old grandson and had to bring him with us. The instructor was awesome! He gave Tyler his own practice dummy to 'work on', and Tyler learned something at the same time!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cool Cheryl!  I would have done the same thing.  Never to young to learn CPR, safety and first aid.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Cool Cheryl!  I would have done the same thing.  Never to young to learn CPR, safety and first aid.



Ditto!


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> Ditto!




Indeed!  Good for you, Gramma!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Good for Tyler, and good for that instructor too.


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Cool Cheryl! I would have done the same thing. Never to young to learn CPR, safety and first aid.


 
Agreed! Not surprised at all that you would've done the same thing.  

Thanks all...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I firmly believe that every minute of a 4 year old's day is a learning experience.  May as well be something that is constructive!


----------



## Addie

That's how Poo got interested in medicine. There was a bad crash right in front of my home. Poo ran into the house and got a blanket and clean sheets out of the linen closet for me so I could cover the compound fracture in the woman's clavicle bone. I let Poo help me. He was about four also. I let him cover her on the other side of the car. He was really good about following my directions. After, I told him why we had to cover her injury. He just soaked that all in and was hooked from that day forward. 

The woman had over $3,000.00 in her purse. I gave her my name and address and phone #. Later that day she gave it to her husband and he called me to tell me how she was doing. He came the next day to get her purse. All she could talk about to her husband was about Poo helping her.


----------



## Dawgluver

Found this in my back yard:

View attachment 21662

I'll have to look it up in my mushroom book.  Anyone else know what it is?  (The foot is mine.)

Aha!  A Black-Staining Polypore.  Unlike Hen of the Woods, probably shouldn't eat it.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Found this in my back yard:
> 
> View attachment 21662
> 
> I'll have to look it up in my mushroom book.  Anyone else know what it is?  (The foot is mine.)


Wow, that's a biggun. How long since you looked in that corner of the yard?


----------



## Dawgluver

I was just out there pruning stuff a couple days ago, didn't even see it!


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, that is a big 'shroom!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

what a keen picture...


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> what a keen picture...




  Closest thing I had to show the size!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is one big, honkin' mushroom Dawg! Before I read your caption I was trying to figure out if it was a flower of some kind. Maybe one of those huge crepe paper flowers they used to sell at fair!


----------



## Dawgluver

I could have sworn it was not there a couple days ago.  I did see a smaller one on the other side of the yard that was in a state of decomp.

I pulled this one up and set it on the steps as DH planned to mow over it, and I wanted to make sure that we couldn't eat it.  Apparently, some folks do eat it, but it may cause some "issues".  

I'm hoping it might dry into something neat, but as its namesake, it will probably just rot.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> That is one big, honkin' mushroom Dawg! Before I read your caption I was trying to figure out if it was a flower of some kind. Maybe one of those huge crepe paper flowers they used to sell at fair!



Did you see her size 4 shoe next to it?


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Did you see her size 4 shoe next to it?




I'll have you know, I wear a dainty size 9.  At my height, size 4 would not support me!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> I'll have you know, I wear a dainty size 9.  At my height, size 4 would not support me!



At my height, my size 9's look like clown shoes...


----------



## Andy M.

Ladies, ladies, we all know size doesn't matter.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It does when it comes to cute or clunky shoes...


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Ladies, ladies, we all know size doesn't matter.



 Oh you bad boy! My kind of folk!


----------



## Cheryl J

Throw back Thursday from October 2012. My grandson Tyler and I up on the Kern River, taking a break.  Going through pics and organizing them and came across this one. Anyone else have any TBT pics?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Hi Cheryl!  Nice Picture.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl, you are both knockouts!  Nice pic!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, ladies.


----------



## cara

we went out chasing combines last week ;o)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's more fun to drive them, Cara!  LOL!!


----------



## cara

That's what Frank says, too ;o)

I never ever drove them and I'm sure I'll never will - they are way too Big!


Gesendet von meinem iPhone mit Discuss Cooking


----------



## luvs

*furries. & me.*

they're, to those unaware, human beings in fursuits. they call my city their home city. they say we treat them well & that we're kind. i find them to be different, especially when in a fursuit in mid-summer, except I've consistentantly found them to be polite & kind people.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Another picture of our pseudo-pet, Buddy. Looks like Buddy needs a girl name.  I suppose it doesn't matter what she's called, she always answers to the sound of the peanut can. I'm almost out of peanuts, so I guess she was checking out what I had instead.


----------



## Cheryl J

How cute is that!!! What a great pic of your little friend, CG!


----------



## Addie

That is some crazy dance step she is doing there.


----------



## taxlady

Buddie is a real cutie.


----------



## buckytom

did you ever catch one, cara? (they must have really efficient and quick ones in germany for it to be sport to chase them, ... lol)

great to see you luvs. you're looking well, and in good company. 

cg, full frontal squirrel nudity?  what have we come to here?


----------



## Addie

Okay, I will come clean. When you mentioned that you need to find a "girl's" name for Buddy, I looked to see what kind of plumbing was there. I am guilty of squirrel porn.


----------



## buckytom

for shame, addie.   FOR SHAME!!!

got any nuts?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> Okay, I will come clean. When you mentioned that you need to find a "girl's" name for Buddy, I looked to see what kind of plumbing was there. I am guilty of squirrel porn.


Well of course you did. You're human. I certainly did.


buckytom said:


> for shame, addie.   FOR SHAME!!!
> 
> got any nuts?


Nope, no nuts. It's a girl.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> for shame, addie.   FOR SHAME!!!
> 
> got any nuts?



I think we are all going to hell. At least we won't be lonely. We can continue with DC down there.


----------



## buckytom

hey, wait a minute there. i was asking about nuts because they're squirrels. as this is a cooking/foodie website we should be largely concerned with the foodstuff in question.

walnuts, maybe?


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> hey, wait a minute there. i was asking about nuts because they're squirrels. as this is a cooking/foodie website we should be largely concerned with the foodstuff in question.
> 
> walnuts, maybe?



Maybe Hazel nuts for a girl squirrel.


----------



## Cheryl J

This evening's sunset from my front porch.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's gorgeous, Cheryl!  Wow!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Ohmigosh!  Who spilled the paint!  That is beautiful!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks so much, ladies...the sunsets are so pretty here but they don't last long, so we have to grab a quick pic while we can.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Breath-taking. I have never seen such yellow in the sky! No wonder they call Cali "the golden state".


----------



## cara

buckytom said:


> did you ever catch one, cara? (they must have really efficient and quick ones in germany for it to be sport to chase them, ... lol)



we did - Frank ended up on a combine, the first time since the accident ;o)
You can see him on the machine in the attached photo.

It wouldn't have been so easy to catch them, if Frank didn't have the telemetry ;o)


----------



## Addie

I had heard many times that you could actually feel seasick if you looked at a field of wheat. I didn't believe it until I went over to Eastern Washington to visit a friend. Sure enough, we went out to the field, and guess who got sick. Yup. The non-believer.


----------



## cara

I'm not sure if we would have fields big enough for that feeling


----------



## Addie

cara said:


> I'm not sure if we would have fields big enough for that feeling



The song _America The Beautiful_ says it all. "Amber waves of grain." And that field was as far as the eye could see.


----------



## cara

We have some great fields in the east.. but I never got sea sick when I saw them - maybe the wind was missing...


----------



## Addie

cara said:


> We have some great fields in the east.. but I never got sea sick when I saw them - maybe the wind was missing...



Well I have vertigo and that adds to the problem.


----------



## buckytom

addie, how do you feel about alabaster?

and do you think god shedding his grace is like being treated second class?


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> addie, how do you feel about alabaster?
> 
> and do you think god shedding his grace is like being treated second class?



Alabaster is a stone. And I don't ask God to shed his grace on me. Only my family and those I care about.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> This evening's sunset from my front porch.



WOW Cheryl......that picture could be in Sunset Magazine.

http://www.sunset.com/community/send-us-your-photo-of-the-west


----------



## buckytom

lol, i'm just goofing around.


America, The Beautiful Lyrics
by Katharine Lee Bates - 1913


O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain, <<gack>> LOL, J/K
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!l

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev'ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

earworm for the day.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Breath-taking. I have never seen such yellow in the sky! No wonder they call Cali "the golden state".


 
Thank you, CG.  It was pretty awesome.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> WOW Cheryl......that picture could be in Sunset Magazine.
> 
> Submit a photo to Sunset magazine - Sunset


 
Thanks, Kay. Wow, I had forgotten about Sunset magazine! I didn't know they had a place for reader submitted photos. I used to subscribe, then over the years I had kind of forgotten about it. Thanks for re-igniting my interest....I put it in my faves. If I remember correctly, they had some really good recipes as well.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Thanks, Kay. Wow, I had forgotten about Sunset magazine! I didn't know they had a place for reader submitted photos. I used to subscribe, then over the years I had kind of forgotten about it. Thanks for re-igniting my interest....I put it in my faves. If I remember correctly, they had some really good recipes as well.



Actually I had kind of forgotten about Sunset Magazine also until I saw your picture.....Sunset was/is the magazine of the west, a little like Southern Living for the south, but more.


----------



## taxlady

Sunset Magazine still exists?


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Sunset Magazine still exists?



Sure does. My foot doctor has it in his office and they are up to date. They are not old issues. Depending on how brilliant I feel when I go there, I either pick up Sunset or a kids magazine while I am waiting, because I know I can do their puzzles and win.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> Actually I had kind of forgotten about Sunset Magazine also until I saw your picture.....Sunset was/is the magazine of the west, a little like Southern Living for the south, but more.



Just out of curiosity  - more what?


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Just out of curiosity  - more what?



More sunset pictures over the ocean.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You mean we don't take those type of pictures in MA?


----------



## GotGarlic

My reply went missing! We have more pretty sunrise pix here on the East Coast but I'm too lazy to get up and take them


----------



## taxlady

I'm going to guess that there are more actual photos taken of sunsets than of sunrises.


----------



## Dawgluver

Another sunset pic, a friend took it from our balcony in Mexico:
View attachment 21778


----------



## TATTRAT

here are some sunsets/sunrises


----------



## GotGarlic

I love the colors, especially when there are clouds.


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> I love the colors, especially when there are clouds.



Yes, a lot like a beautiful life. 

To have a beautiful sunset there must be clouds. 

Sometimes I surprise even myself the way beautiful sunsets inspire me.


----------



## creative




----------



## Andy M.

Creative, that's a grat pic of a colorful flower.


----------



## Andy M.

The Starburst Lily is one of my favorites.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*creative*, is that gorgeous flower from your lovingly tended garden bed?




taxlady said:


> I'm going to guess that there are more actual photos taken of sunsets than of sunrises.


Seems like whenever we take a sunrise photo it's on our way TO bed.


----------



## Andy M.

Ye, they're all over the place.  I got SO some bulbs because she really liked them.  We have a lot of lilies in her garden.


----------



## Dawgluver

Love Stargazer lillies, I have a few poked here and there.


----------



## Andy M.

Dawgluver said:


> Love Stargazer lillies, I have a few poked here and there.




Oooops!  You're right.  They're stargazer lilies, not starburst as I posted.


----------



## Cheryl J

What gorgeous pics!!!


----------



## Dawgluver

Andy M. said:


> Oooops!  You're right.  They're stargazer lilies, not starburst as I posted.




Stargazer actually has a few sports, I wouldn't be surprised if there was one called Starburst.  Anyway, they are amazing plants!


----------



## GotGarlic

Tuesday was the master gardeners' association's monthly meeting. We had the meeting at a local park and had a picnic there as well. I made these pasta shells stuffed with Italian chopped salad. Turned out very well!


----------



## Dawgluver

Very nice, GG!


----------



## Cheryl J

Oh, those look sooo good, GG.  Bet they were a hit!


----------



## Andy M.

Looks good, GG!


----------



## creative

Attractive...wondering how manageable they are to eat as finger food (without dropping bits)?


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks, all!  I had one and you can eat it in two bites. Some men can probably manage it in one bite  It worked very well. A few bits escaped, but they fell on my plate and I ate them with my fork. I'm not sure I'd serve them at a cocktail party (not that I ever have any), but they worked great for a picnic.

I have to start making sure I have extra from master gardener cooking for DH


----------



## TATTRAT

Got to shoot one of my favorite bands this past Friday, katchafire, a New Zealand based reggae band.


----------



## GotGarlic

Nice pic, tatt! It can be tricky getting enough light for a sharp photo at night.


----------



## Kayelle

GotGarlic said:


> Tuesday was the master gardeners' association's monthly meeting. We had the meeting at a local park and had a picnic there as well. I made these pasta shells stuffed with Italian chopped salad. Turned out very well!



What a brilliant idea GG and perfect for a picnic!! Now I'm thinking of other fillings too.......tuna salad, rolled lunch meat around a cheese stick, Italian meat ball........the  ideas are endless....


----------



## buckytom

hockey season is about to start!


----------



## Addie

SCORE!!! And into the net he goes. The crowd roars!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Riding in the combine with dad.


----------



## taxlady

Aww, cute.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> Riding in the combine with dad.



Another Future Farmer of America!


----------



## cara

starting early ;o)

my Photo is from last friday - cranes on their way south


----------



## TATTRAT

Today we held our company picnic, what a great success! Did it at Nationals Park, with a 4 hour pregame in the bullpen at the fairgrounds.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What a great day for the last of the regular season. As a bonus, I understand you got to see a no-hitter too! 104 pitches - wow!  Zimmerman looks like a fine pick by the Nationals. Hope he continues to pitch ace-like for your team. Well, unless he faces off against my team.


----------



## TATTRAT

Cooking Goddess said:


> What a great day for the last of the regular season. As a bonus, I understand you got to see a no-hitter too! 104 pitches - wow!  Zimmerman looks like a fine pick by the Nationals. Hope he continues to pitch ace-like for your team. Well, unless he faces off against my team.



Well, the no hitter was today, a fantastic end for a great season for the Nats. yesterday was just as much a blast, I would like to think...I don't really follow the baseball, I am a rugby kinda guy, but it was really fun to be at the game. 

Walking home from the local last night, I think I found the FIRST leaf of fall, despite it still being 80 degrees!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ah,  you're a rugby man TAT. Otherwise known as football for real men. 

I'm glad to hear you had a good day no matter which it was. I'm a baseball girl myself. Mom taught me most of what I know starting around age 8. We'd listen to the game on the kitchen radio while doing dishes after summer suppers. When I got older, we'd sit on the screened back porch chomping on leftovers Mom brought home from catering jobs (the owner let his "girls" take any overages after the customer got what was due for what they paid), drinking beer, and listening to the west-coast games. Every time I listen to baseball games to this day it's a little like Mom's right there with me cheering on our Tribe.


----------



## buckytom

great memories, cg. good vibes for your mom. 

baseball is really a great sport for radio. it's slow enough to let our minds draw the field, then set the players out there, and still sit on the edge of your chair for a pitch.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

buckytom said:


> great memories, cg. good vibes for your mom.
> 
> baseball is really a great sport for radio. it's slow enough to let our minds draw the field, then set the players out there, and still sit on the edge of your chair for a pitch.


Thanks bucky. She's been gone 14 years, Dad almost 23, and I miss them more every day I do something that we'd do together. And I did a LOT with Dad! As an only child AND a girl, I was Dad's pseudo-son. I can solder, pull wires, and hammer a nail with the halfway-best of them. He taught me a lot about living life. Mom taught me cooking, baseball, and how to have fun. They were both the best parents I could have asked for, even though they had their flaws. But we ALL have flaws. I just overlooked theirs. 

Baseball is especially fine if you have a good play-by-play guy. The Cleveland Indians' Tom Hamilton is as much of a homer as you can get, but he calls an exciting game and paints the field and the action in your mind. Since we use MLB Audio to listen, I've sampled quite a few of the announcers. I really enjoy listening to the Brewers' Bob Uecker. How can you not love Harry Doyle!


----------



## buckytom

i guess i never cared who was announcing. you know, in the radio market you kind of expect to hear "homers". but i just love(d) baseball. 

two of my boy's first spoken sentences were, "and the pitch", and, "see ya!!!"

now hockey on the radio is an entirely different beast. the opposite end of the spectrum.


----------



## buckytom

jono, the leaves are a'changin' here too:







the stage hands just brought them in to the losding dock for some show tomorrow:


----------



## buckytom

espeakin' of beisbol, here's my little league team from this past spring.

we were the minors champs (9 and 10 year olds)! our record was 13-2-1.

View attachment 21965

click on the pic for a slightly larger view


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Congrats on the championship bt! Just 11 players though? I figured little league had more on a team than that. Nice looking group of kids too. Your son is smack in the middle, right? Is that a girl to his left, or a boy with long hair? I'm guessing it's a sister-brother combo, with the brother being on her(?) left. Then again, I could be wrong.

BTW, which of the four older kids in the back row is you? Or aren't you telling...


----------



## buckytom

thanks, cg.

yup, that's my boy in the middle, and a girl (vianna) to his left. she was one of the best players on my team. 

and yeah, there were 5 teams of 11 players in the minors this year. it gets less and less with the growing popularity of other sports.

the 2nd in from the left, and the rightmost boy in the middle row are brothers. the boy in front of me was the boy that i spoke of a few years ago that i helped get his act straight and do better in school, and at home.


oh, i'm the mug in the back on the right.


----------



## buckytom

let's see if this works better:


----------



## Cheryl J

Tatt, beautiful pics of closeup autumn leaves! 

Bucky, nice pic of you and your handsome little bucky jr.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Near sunset, we had this funky red streak in the sky below the cloud deck, just before the clear sky. I thought it was pretty neat. You can see it pretty much smack across the center of the image. It isn't anywhere near as easy to pick out in the second photo, but I really like the way our woodsy back yard looks when there are colorful leaves on both the trees and the ground.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Your back yard is woodsy enough I would love to take a walk through it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We have a half-acre, 100 foot wide and about 235 curb-to-back-line. More than half the yard is wooded. And full of ticks.  Bring bug spray. LOTS of bug spray.


----------



## buckytom

Cheryl J said:


> Tatt, beautiful pics of closeup autumn leaves!
> 
> Bucky, nice pic of you and your handsome little bucky jr.


 
i just saw this. thanks cheryl.

my coaches are great guys. the guy to my right is a tremendous athlete, but unfortunately it's a case like the martin and lewis movie "that's my boy". hopefully, someday he'll realize that his son would rather design women's clothes or room decor rather than play sports.

the next guy over is the sweetest, soft spoken, and eternally positive guy you could ever meet. he was my bench coach (keeping everyone focused on the game - not distracted as 9 and 10 year olds can be. oh look, there's a squirrel). he also warmed up my relief pitchers and was so complimentary that when i put them in, they were full of confidence, ready to paint the black and throw smoke.

the guy on the other end from me is the best baseball man that i've ever known. he would catch my little mistakes here and there that could have cost us the game. more importantly, he taught the kids to respect the coaches and to never underestimate our opponents, and to be good sportsmen at all times.

it was a pleasure to work with them this past spring.

plus going 13-2-1 and coming in 1st place didn't hurt. 

btw, we was robbed on one of our losses. the umpire blew a few critical calls that stevie wonder would have gotten right. then he stopped the game before we got our last ups as we were the home team. he didn't understand the rules thinking that the time limit of 2 hours supercedes baseball rules.

KILL THE UMP! 

he never worked any of my games after that.


----------



## Addie

bucky, you need Spike to umpire your games. He can cite the rule book backwards and forward. He was involved in Little League for a good many years. Even after his son stopped playing. His wife used to say she was a widow from May to the end of September. After he stopped coaching, he took up umpiring. It was his way of staying in the game. Now his son has his own semi-pro baseball team that is sponsored by the Boston Red Sox. Their first year was a disaster. To be expected. This year they came in first in their division. Practice makes perfect.


----------



## buckytom

i was with you, addie, right up until you mentioned the red sox.

as seen on a nyc subway:

View attachment 22058


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> i was with you, addie, right up until you mentioned the red sox.
> 
> as seen on a nyc subway:
> 
> View attachment 22058



And turn that around here and it would say "a Yankee" hat!


----------



## Farmer Jon

John deere baby


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> John deere baby



You are going to have the girls flocking to your door when he becomes a teenager. He is adorable.


----------



## phinz

Took a drive through Deal's Gap to Cashiers, NC on Wednesday in my wife's new Outback. Need to put some varied miles on before we leave for Disney World in 10 days.


----------



## Cheryl J

CG...omgoodness, how I'd love to have woods like that in my own backyard. Beautiful!

FarmerJon...that is such a sweet pic of your little guy on the tractor.  I have 5 grandsons ages 5, 4, 4, 3, and 1 so I'm partial to their cuteness! 

phinz...what gorgeous fall scenery!


----------



## phinz

Thursday night at the lake.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is so peaceful looking, phinz - lovely. That picture fits right in with your signature too.


----------



## Cheryl J

My daughter and SIL go all out for Halloween every year. 

"The Lovely Ladies", as they call them, were born of yard sale items and thrift shop finds, and made an appearance at their Halloween party again today.


----------



## Kayelle

How creative your daughter is Cheryl!  The Lovely Ladies are so disturbingly tres chic!!

Very very clever.


----------



## Dawgluver

Love 'em, Cheryl!


----------



## Kayelle

The lovely lady in front would be especially lovely in a discarded rhinestone tiara!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl, those "Lovely Ladies" are great! And here I was all impressed with myself for having our pumpkin carved before the beggars showed up. I carved ours on Wednesday, rather than starting about 15 minutes before the start of the races. And yes, that's a cleft in the pumpkin's chin. I told our son I used him for my "model". The NICU nurse called him "Kirk" (Douglas) when he was born.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg and Kayelle! 

Kay, "disturbingly tres chic" is the most apt description I've heard - I'll pass that on to my daughter! And yes, a tiara would be perfect. The Lovely Ladies will probably change and grow throughout the years. 

My daughter and SIL are both artists, so they have that creativity goin' on. I'll try to find the ghouly hitchhiking ghosts Steve carved and painted for an entrance to their Halloweeny home.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cheryl, those "Lovely Ladies" are great! And here I was all impressed with myself for having our pumpkin carved before the beggars showed up. I carved ours on Wednesday, rather than starting about 15 minutes before the start of the races. And yes, that's a cleft in the pumpkin's chin. I told our son I used him for my "model". The NICU nurse called him "Kirk" (Douglas) when he was born.


 
"Kirk Douglas"....that's perfect, CG! I have a candle and a straw scarecrow on my front porch, and called that good.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Shrek took a picture, I have to wait until he is motivated to download it to his computer.


----------



## Cheryl J

Looking forward to seeing shrek's pic when he gets a chance!


----------



## Kayelle

That's a really spectacular pumpkin, CG!  I was never very good at it as hard as I tried.


----------



## Cheryl J

The Halloweeny entrance to their front yard - SIL Steve carved, built, and painted everything but the humans. lol







Just one more, then I'm done....I don't want to be boring....just want to share some fun pics.  They had a lot of trick or treaters coming to their house, and this little girl loved the ghosty window.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's fantastic, Cheryl!  Wow!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It's Shrek's picture of MY costume...


----------



## Addie

Spike tonight mentioned when it was just too dangerous for kids to go trick or treating. Razor blades, acid, and all sorts of other horrible things that had been put in candy in the previous year. So the city we were living in held a huge party for the kids in the two movie theatres in our town. He even remembered the movie they saw and some of the acts that were shown. Like a great magic show whereby the magician brought kids up on stage to help him. Spike got to be one of the kids. Fortunately, today sanity has returned to Halloween and the kids are allowed to have fun once again and be kids.


----------



## Kayelle

I'd love to see more pictures Cheryl! Those are FAR from boring! What a wonderful job they did!  Brag away!!  More!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> That's a really spectacular pumpkin, CG!  I was never very good at it as hard as I tried.


Thanks Kayelle, but it's child's play compared to a few that the neighbors did. This was the best I've ever done simply because I wasn't in a hurry! 




Cheryl J said:


> The Halloweeny entrance to their front yard - SIL Steve carved, built, and painted everything but the humans. lol...


Cheryl, those "sets" are terrific! I bet there's a community theatre that would drool over Steve and his talents. *hint hint*


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Had to share this photo of my Momma and Baby. "Christmas" cacti, that is. Although, right on schedule, they are once again "Halloween" cacti. One of these days they might live up to their names...


----------



## GotGarlic

Beautiful, CG. I'm terrible with houseplants. That reminds me - I need to bring my new succulents in!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cooking Goddess said:


> Had to share this photo of my Momma and Baby. "Christmas" cacti, that is. Although, right on schedule, they are once again "Halloween" cacti. One of these days they might live up to their names...




So pretty!  My Christmas cactus also didn't get the memo for many years, blooming beautifully at Halloween, but now it seems to be back to Christmas.  Or at least Thanksgiving.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you all....

Oooh, I'm loving those pics of the succulents and cacti. Just beautiful!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thank you ladies! I have only a couple of plants, but I'm lucky they all are healthy. Good Lord knows I have little to do with that!

GG, those are some neat looking succulents. Like the planter they're in too.


----------



## Addie

I used to be one of those ladies who had a jungle in her home. Now I am lucky if I can grow green mold. I get no sunshine at all in this apartment. And very little light. So now I don't even try.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

On orders from K-Girl to post some vacay pics, I thought I'd set a goal of one picture for each day we're gone. Weather permitting, since there isn't much to photograph inside our resort unit.

This is the public beach and park area at the top of Estero Island at Bodwitch Point. It's 4.5 miles from our resort. I took the shot right around the last of sunset/dusk.


----------



## Farmer Jon

[/URL][/img]


----------



## Aunt Bea

Farmer Jon said:


> [/URL][/img]



Children of the corn! 

Great picture.

When I was little, think John Deere B, everything we owned was painted John Deere yellow and green!


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> [/URL][/img]



What a great picture of the kiddies. Definitely a farm family! Which one is going to take over the farm?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice photo of the family, Jon. I thank you for being one of the unsung heroes of our country. Without small farmers who work so hard, we'd all have a lot less food for cooking to discuss.


----------



## Addie

Jon, that definitely is a picture you need to have enlarged and hung on the wall. Right where everyone can see it as they walk in the door. It speaks loud and clear what your family is all about. I did notice that the three oldest have a John Deere shirt on. You really should send a copy of it to the John Deere company. I love it. I keep going back and looking at it.


----------



## Cheryl J

What a great pic, FarmerJon!  You have a beautiful family.   

Addie, it's kind of hard to tell for sure, but I think they're ALL sporting John Deere shirts!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Thanks everyone! We took a time out during harvest and got a photographer to take a bunch of family pics.  They are all wearing john deere shirts. My wife and I are also.


----------



## Farmer Jon

[/URL][/IMG]

Kenton the one in the grey wants to come back after school and work the farm. Zane the little boy in black I think will also. ITs too soon to tell about Jasper. He is the baby.


----------



## Kayelle

Now if those pics don't put a smile on everyone's face nothing will! What a great way to raise children and thanks for sharing them with us.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Now if those pics don't put a smile on everyone's face nothing will! What a great way to raise children and thanks for sharing them with us.



Ditto Kayelle. They are great looking kids. And then the girls may marry someone who wants to be a farmer also. 

Plenty of sunshine, and clean air. Lucky kids.


----------



## Wyshiepoo

*Me, wife and two of my grandchildren.*


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww....nice pic, Wyshie...beautiful family, and lots of love there.


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Went shopping today and took two of our grandsons with us. Jo Jo and Jacob.


Poor Jo Jo was so tired, he had a grizzle and then fell asleep. Jacob thought that reindeer ears were really funny!


----------



## Dawgluver

What sweet baby boys!

The water finally calmed:

View attachment 22389


----------



## Dawgluver

View attachment 22397
Beagle says "Merry almost Christmas!"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Merry Christmas Beagle!


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle says back at ya, Ogress!

(I told her about the treats...)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Beagle says back at ya, Ogress!
> 
> (I told her about the treats...)



Yeah, I was mugged by a gang of dogs this morning.  They must smell the treats in my pockets.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw, Beagle looks so cute!


----------



## Dawgluver

View attachment 22435

Usually, nothing tops a good Iowa sunset, but this was nice from our Mexican balcony.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Now that's a sunset...I miss good Wyoming sunsets.


----------



## Dawgluver

North Dakota has fantastic sunsets too.  Sadly, 40 years ago I didn't have an iPad.

Wish I could have caught the Northern lights in pics back then too, thankfully, they're burned into my brain.  Just can't post them.  Maybe that will be the next big thing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

We are too close to the mountains here for good sunsets, the sunrises can be pretty breathtaking at times.  Of course I have other things around here that make my heart go "boom".


----------



## GotGarlic

This is from a Facebook page called Sandbridge Sunrise, in Virginia Beach.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> This is from a Facebook page called Sandbridge Sunrise, in Virginia Beach.




WOW!


----------



## GotGarlic

Gorgeous, isn't it? They post a new one every day.


----------



## tinlizzie

A happening on my front screened-in porch on Dec. 30.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> A happening on my front screened-in porch on Dec. 30.




Whoa.  Gorgeous!  I love Monarchs, but we don't get them this time of year here.


----------



## GotGarlic

So cool, Lizzie! I love monarchs, too. So beautiful.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> A happening on my front screened-in porch on Dec. 30.



Wonderful Lizzie!  That is so cool!

Beautiful sunrise GG!


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Granddaughter, Milly Moo (Amelia Grace) with bonus shot of Mrs Wyshiepoo.


----------



## Dawgluver

What a little cutie!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Does Grandpa have a cricket bat to fight off teenage boys in the future?


----------



## Wyshiepoo

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Does Grandpa have a cricket bat to fight off teenage boys in the future?


 

I have a gun, a shovel and a large garden.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

You are well-prepared


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Dawg*, that's a beautiful sunset.

*GG*, nice steal on that sunrise -  just as pretty.

*TL*, you have a real nature center in your yard!

*Wyshie*, that is one cute little kid! Looks like she's ready to have a sleep-over with Grandma. Better keep that gun well-tuned and the shovel sharp.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I love mushrooms, but this is ridiculous!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

should've had it bronzed...


----------



## Zhizara

Sell it on eBay?


----------



## Farmer Jon

Wyshiepoo said:


> I have a gun, a shovel and a large garden.




Those of us with young daughter/granddaughters use the 3 s method. Shoot shovel shut-up  
http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## CharlieD

Was making puff pastry piroshki yesterday, for 4 of us. I think I overdid it just a little bit.


----------



## Dawgluver

CharlieD said:


> Was making puff pastry piroshki yesterday, for 4 of us. I think I overdid it just a little bit.




  Give me 7 hours, and I'll be there to help you out, Charlie.


----------



## CharlieD

Dawgluver said:


> Give me 7 hours, and I'll be there to help you out, Charlie.



I'm sure there will be some left waiting for you.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle found DH's heavy coat that he dumped on the floor after shoveling snow:
View attachment 22475

It's now her new bed.  She spent the whole day on it.


----------



## Cheryl J

Charlie...your piroshki look so good, what a huge job that must have been! 

Dawg....LOL at Beagle...she looks so adorably comfortable!  Hubby may have a hard time getting his coat back.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle didn't like it when her daddy wore her new bed to work today...


----------



## CharlieD

Cheryl, no those are a breather. I used store bought pastry dough. Filling is not a big problem.


----------



## tinlizzie

This one hatched yesterday.  He's a Polydamas, a/k/a Gold Rim Swallowtail butterfly.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beautiful, Lizzie!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Lizzie, your view outside is much better than mine...dirty, half melted snow.


----------



## GotGarlic

Wow. What is the black one with the yellow spots? I love the close-up with the thorns.


----------



## cara

beautiful!
and a funny tree, btw...


----------



## tinlizzie

Thanks, guys.  This is just one butterfly -- open his wings and it's presto-change-o.  The thorns are on the Kapoc tree - fibers from which are used for stuffing cushions and such.  It also has beautiful flowers in the Fall.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> Thanks, guys.  This is just one butterfly -- open his wings and it's presto-change-o.  The thorns are on the Kapoc tree - fibers from which are used for stuffing cushions and such.  It also has beautiful flowers in the Fall.



Very pretty!

Made me think of this old quote from Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I love that tree and the quote, thank you ladies for making this a great start to my day.


----------



## tinlizzie

Aunt Bea said:


> Very pretty!
> 
> Made me think of this old quote from Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.
> 
> “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.”



Very nice, AB.  

Go get 'em, Princess.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We got snow! Although it' been bitter cold on and off this winter, it's been a very brown one. Big, fat flakes were floating down about 8:15 this morning, sticking to a lot of things. If you look closely, you can see them between the branches, against the darker background.  I couldn't resist taking a picture.  Himself keeps stalling, but that 5-6 inches of snow in the driveway won't clear itself! Wet and heavy, it's not fit for shoveling. Every time I've tried to fight our huge snowblower, it's won. We could be housebound for a while...


----------



## Cheryl J

Very, very pretty, CG!   I do hope you're not housebound, though! 

From one extreme to the other , it's been warm and sunny, and today I picked up 6 lbs of strawberries from the roadside stand.


----------



## creative

roadside?   There are high street shops with fruit and veg outside in open boxes....I won't touch them! Maybe air pollution is not a problem where you are?


----------



## Cheryl J

creative said:


> roadside?  There are high street shops with fruit and veg outside in open boxes....I won't touch them! Maybe air pollution is not a problem where you are?


 
Wow... 
No, actually air pollution isn't a problem here in my* small *town at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range....no cities with air pollution for at least a hundred miles.  I know the vendors, I know where the produce comes from, I know how long they are at the dreaded roadside stands before they are sold out, and I've been buying from them for years. LOL


----------



## Cheryl J

This evening's sunset out my front door.


----------



## Dawgluver

Gorgeous, Cheryl!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

beautiful


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you ladies, it was just a quick shot with my cell phone before it disappeared, so the focus is off a little....but it did look like the sky was on fire.


----------



## Cheryl J

My 4 year old little man in his first suit.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Oh, he's going to break some hearts.


----------



## Dawgluver

He's adorable, Cheryl!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So cute! Look out in 10 years - girls beating down his door!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks so much, he's grandma's little man....I love that little guy to the moon and back a million times....


----------



## creative

That photo reminds me of a joke where a baby has just been born.  The midwife hands it to the mother and says "congratulations, it's a lawyer!"


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> My 4 year old little man in his first suit.



When Poo was ten years old, he had to wear a suit as he was in the wedding party for my daughter's wedding. He complained about it for the whole day. Come high school and the proms, and he wanted to be stepping high. Including a top hat. Now he has to wear a suit most of the time when he is not working. He gives a lot of lectures to med students and at medical conferences. From scrubs to suits. He must have about ten suits now hanging in his closet. 

That little one looks darling in his first suit. Is there a special place he is going in it?


----------



## creative

Addie said:


> When Poo was ten years old, he had to wear a suit as he was in the wedding party for my daughter's wedding. He complained about it for the whole day. Come high school and the proms, and he wanted to be stepping high. Including a top hat. Now he has to wear a suit most of the time when he is not working. He gives a lot of lectures to med students and at medical conferences. From scrubs to suits. He must have about ten suits now hanging in his closet.
> 
> That little one looks darling in his first suit. Is there a special place he is going in it?


Not surprised he complained at that age on having to wear a suit...a suit is far too stiff for the activities children like to get up to.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie, unfortunately it was for his great grandfather's funeral. 

Tyler loved his suit and tie, and wants to wear it again. He said it made him feel big.   My daughter and SIL told him they'll take him to one of our nicer restaurants this week, they'll all get dressed up, and he can wear it again.  He's excited about it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Tyler loved his suit and tie, and wants to wear it again. He said it made him feel big.   My daughter and SIL told him they'll take him to one of our nicer restaurants this week, they'll all get dressed up, and he can wear it again.  He's excited about it.



LOL!!  My brother wore different ties every day of his life from age two until he was 8 years old.  If you wanted him to do something, you had to agree to let him wear a tie.  When Shrek and I got married, Baby Brother was the only one in a tie...rest of us had on jeans and flannel shirts.


----------



## Cheryl J

Funny story! I'd be one of the ones in flannel too....maybe even flip flops.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Addie, unfortunately it was for his great grandfather's funeral.
> 
> Tyler loved his suit and tie, and wants to wear it again. He said it made him feel big.   My daughter and SIL told him they'll take him to one of our nicer restaurants this week, they'll all get dressed up, and he can wear it again.  He's excited about it.



I love kids at his age. The whole world is exciting to them. I would love to go to the restaurant with them. And no booster seat for him. Cloth napkins in the lap, And a Shirley Temple for him. Give him a big, big hug for me. 

Addie


----------



## Dawgluver

Winter wonderland:  View attachment 22559View attachment 22560

We had shaken the snow off the Mugo pine this morning, it got some more.  Still snowing.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Pretty, I'm jealous...wish I had snow.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, it is pretty.  Snow plow guy came through this morning, now you can't even tell he's been here.

This snow is excellent for snowman building, wet and very heavy.  I may need to borrow some kids!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, it is pretty.  Snow plow guy came through this morning, now you can't even tell he's been here.
> 
> This snow is excellent for snowman building, wet and very heavy.  I may need to borrow some kids!



I'll ship you a 69 year old...


----------



## Dawgluver

Excellent! DH doesn't like to be the interior snowman structure anymore.


----------



## creative

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Pretty, I'm jealous...wish I had snow.


It's one thing to see it from a window when you are snug and warm inside....quite another to be struggling outside!

I recall a time that I woke up to find snow had covered the garden outside. It looked like everything had a dusting of icing sugar and inspired a poem.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> Excellent! DH doesn't like to be the interior snowman structure anymore.



Reminded me of one of my favorite commercials! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=VtOyymOJ5tk&x-yt-cl=85114404


----------



## PrincessFiona60

creative said:


> It's one thing to see it from a window when you are snug and warm inside....quite another to be struggling outside!
> 
> I recall a time that I woke up to find snow had covered the garden outside. It looked like everything had a dusting of icing sugar and inspired a poem.




Actually, I love being out in the snow and "struggling", it's no struggle, it's a way of life.  Been in snow country most of my life.


----------



## creative

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Actually, I love being out in the snow and "struggling", it's no struggle, it's a way of life.  Been in snow country most of my life.


Ah so you're used to it.  I live in London, UK - different experience.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, it is pretty.  Snow plow guy came through this morning, now you can't even tell he's been here.
> 
> This snow is excellent for snowman building, wet and very heavy.  I may need to borrow some kids!



The Pirate has this idea of having me stand still outside during the snowstorm and just let the snow stick to me. He would put me out on the big lawn next to the flag pole. That way folks would be able to see me from three different roads. Then when the kids come by to see the snow woman, I could scare them by coming to life and talking to them. I am practicing my "BOO!" My evil mind is working overtime.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Winter wonderland: View attachment 22559View attachment 22560
> 
> We had shaken the snow off the Mugo pine this morning, it got some more. Still snowing.


 
 Oh, that's so pretty!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Oh, that's so pretty!




Thanks!  Will have to shake off the Mugo again, it's drooping really bad with the weight.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I droop, too, with the weight on me.


----------



## Andy M.

Cheryl J said:


> This evening's sunset out my front door.



WOW!  Beautiful photo.


----------



## Andy M.

Cheryl J said:


> My 4 year old little man in his first suit.



He's a handsome young man!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Andy.  

Have to say though - when I saw you posted here, I thought I'd open up this thread and see pics of sunny beaches in Aruba.    

Glad you're back home safe and sound.


----------



## TATTRAT

Cheryl J said:


> Have to say though - when I saw you posted here, I thought I'd open up this thread and see pics of sunny beaches in Aruba.
> .



Here's some barbados for ya, if you like!



Untitled by JONO202, on Flickr


----------



## Andy M.

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, Andy.
> 
> Have to say though - when I saw you posted here, I thought I'd open up this thread and see pics of sunny beaches in Aruba.
> 
> Glad you're back home safe and sound.



Workin' on it.


----------



## Cheryl J

Yay! 
---------------
Beautiful pic, Tattrat.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My photos are nowhere near as exotic as TAT's (lovely water shot, TAT), but I'm amused every time I look into our neighbor's yard. They have a tiny shih tzu, so the first image is the "rest area" our neighbor has cleared out for Oreo. The second image is from our sun room looking up through the rolling waves of snowdrifts through some backyards. I hope we get to use our grill before the Fourth of July!


----------



## TATTRAT

Good lord, that is a LOT of snow!


----------



## Cheryl J

That's so beautiful, CG!  As a native Californian, it still just amazes me to see pics of that amount of snow.  Thank you for sharing your gorgeous pics!


Daughter, grandson and I went up to the foothills yesterday behind our local junior college - the desert floor is green with grass from all the recent rain, and the wildflowers are popping up already.  What a contrast!


----------



## Andy M.

Took these earlier today.


----------



## TATTRAT

Good Lord, Andy! Reminds me of snowmageddon we had here 5 or 6 years ago. Just nuts, glad to see you're digging out ok.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy, you need to get SO some snow clothes in a color different than white. You're going to lose her in a snowbank this winter! 




TATTRAT said:


> Good lord, that is a LOT of snow!


Yes. It. Is.  *digs snorkel and mask out of sporting gear box...*


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Yes. It. Is.  *digs snorkel and mask out of sporting gear box...*



LOL!


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Andy, you need to get SO some snow clothes in a color different than white. You're going to lose her in a snowbank this winter!




Ssshhhhh!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ha Ha, Andy! Cute...


1) My bathroom window was cold, so I gave it a blanket. I suppose I could have made a Roman shade, but I was in a hurry. This Polish version will have to suffice.

2) Screenshot of my weather app around 2:00 AM today. Too many skinny numbers, too many minus signs.


----------



## Kayelle

Had to show you a pick of my crazy lady clock wanting her coffee with her wagging tongue . She now has a place of honor in the new kitchen.


----------



## Cheryl J

Andy, I don't know how I missed the pic of SO in front of the snowbank - she is a cute and tiny little thing! 

CG, your blanket window covering actually looks really good!  I can imagine it works much better than little frilly curtains. 

Kay....love the clock!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, *Cheryl*. If I ever unearth my sewing machine I might make a real cover. That window faces due south with nothing between the house and the sun except sky. In the summer, that direct sun warms the bathroom up way too much!

*Kayelle*, I love your silly kitchen clock.  She would put a smile on my fact each time I looked at her.


----------



## Addie

For those of you who live in California and are envious of our windfall of snow, here you go! 

Boston man will ship 'historic' snow anywhere in the US - News - TODAY.com


----------



## Addie

By the way, it is snowing again and we are in terrible danger of beating our old record of snowfall of 1996. Alas, records are made to be broken.


----------



## creative

My xmas cactus plant, as it is looking now...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So pretty, *creative*. I love the way a "Christmas" cactus has a mind of its own as far as bloom time. I have two plants, Mother and Daughter, and they are both "Halloween" cacti right now. Whenever they bloom, they're lovely.


----------



## Cheryl J

creative, that's gorgeous!  My Christmas cacti never had that many blooms.


----------



## creative

Cheryl J said:


> creative, that's gorgeous!  My Christmas cacti never had that many blooms.


Did you feed it in the flowering season?  Maybe it's a climate thing...I am in UK.  I also top up the soil every now and then (with houseplant compost).


----------



## Cheryl J

I used potting soil with nutrients in it, but it still didn't do that well.  Yours looks like it's been around a while and has had time to develop a lot more blooms.  I'll try one again this winter.  Again, your cactus is beautiful and looks like it loves where it lives!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl, you mean yours never looks like mine? It's so root bound I'm surprised it hasn't crawled out to a new pot, but the shape of the pot will require me to break it if I'm going to repot the cactus. I rarely feed it, forget to water it, and yet it thrives. Go figure. ~ BTW, the measurement for the top of the table is 15 inches.


----------



## Cheryl J

I knew I'd seen another Christmas cactus here....!   Yours looks amazing too, CG.  Maybe I should have just ignored mine, too.  I've got lots of houseplants that seem to thrive on ignorance.  LOL


----------



## Dawgluver

My Christmas cactus thrives on neglect.  I inherited it from one of my cleaning ladies 20 or so years ago, and now it expands at over 3 feet.  It used to flower over Halloween, now it's reverted to Christmas, of course, when we're on vacation.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> My Christmas cactus *thrives on neglect.* I inherited it from one of my cleaning ladies 20 or so years ago, and now it expands at over 3 feet. It used to flower over Halloween, now it's reverted to Christmas, of course, when we're on vacation.


 
That's what I meant to say.  
I'm going to try another Christmas cactus this winter and see if I can find a place for it.


----------



## Cheryl J

I've so enjoyed seeing all the pristine snow pics that you all have posted lately, even though it may be a PITA for most of you by now. Still, they're so pretty! 

Just thought I'd share a few from my 'hood - the wildflowers in the CA desert are bursting with color from the recent rains that we need so badly. 


These are from a family outing yesterday.


----------



## Cheryl J

I can't resist posting one more.  My grandson said his dinosaur needed some greens. LOL


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I can't resist posting one more.  My grandson said his dinosaur needed some greens. LOL



You can't let Dino get  hungry. Even he needs a balanced diet. 

Love the pics!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Cheryl,* those are nice pictures of pretty flowers...and one dear, little stinkweed.  Just kidding - your grandson is a cutie too.

As far as getting a new Christmas cactus, if you know anyone with a plant, just get a piece off of theirs. Whenever part of a length breaks off of mine I either shove it in the soil next to the original (the daughter plant from the photo I posted has room in its pot) or put it into a small glass with water. I have two pieces on my windowsill that need to be planted. Would you like them?


----------



## taxlady

Gorgeous pix Cheryl.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, everyone. 

CG, that's good to know that they re-grow themselves so easily.  I think my neighbor has a Christmas cactus, I can probably get a little starter from her.  If not, yeah, run one of them over to me, please?


----------



## Cheryl J

My 4 year old grandson Tyler is just now learning to write his name, and he can now also write 'mom'.  He saw me putting Post-It notes in a recipe book of recipes I want to try. I left the room to make his lunch and came back to see his additions to my notes.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cool, Cheryl!  Love hearing about kid's achievements.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Princess, I do too.  It's fun to see it 'click' in their little minds that letters make up words, and that the ABC's isn't just a song.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Thanks, Princess, I do too.  It's fun to see it 'click' in their little minds that letters make up words, and that the ABC's isn't just a song.



Cheryl, when my youngest was about three or four, I used to stand half hidden in a doorway and watch him play. He was learning to spell. He would make his toys spell the word "stop", the first word he learned to spell. Each week we would work on a new word as we were out walking to the store. When I taught him how to spell his name, he was naming all his toys with his name. I had bought him a chalkboard that stood up. You remember the kind. I would put the word of the week on it and it would stay up there until he was ready for the next word. It was so much fun watching him learn. I bought him a thick pad of paper so he could practice. I kept that pad for a number of years. Then he got married and had a son. I gave that pad to him. He just sat and went through it, page by page. I looked at him and saw tears running down his cheek. He put the pad away and never said a word. But I know that pad held happy memories for both of us. To  this day he loves learning. He has two Masters in Science and in now a Physician Assistant He is considering going into medical school to become a Doctor for Emergency Medicine. 

I did the same with learning math. We counted steps, fence pickets, and anything else I could see that I could go to the number 20 with. We had some great learning walks on the way to the store or to get an ice cream.


----------



## Cheryl J

Ladybugs - they're all over the place now! I managed to get a close up of this little guy with my cell phone.


----------



## Addie

I love Lady Bugs. When I was small I had a tea set that had Lady Bugs on it. There is a very old wives tale that if you kill one, it will bring rain. I didn't believe it, but I didn't push my luck either.


----------



## taxlady

Nice photo of the ladybug, especially since it was the phone camera.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, taxy.   I happened to have my phone in my pocket when I was out watering, and it was just one of those lucky shots. It does take pretty good pics though, just as good as my 5 year old cheapie little Nikon Coolpix.  And my phone is handier. lol


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw, you still have the cute ladybugs (or ladybirds, like the old Nursery rhyme; or ladybeetles, like we called them in OH since they really are "beetles") that are more red and have fewer dots. That kind here got upstaged by a different variety that is a little bigger, more orange, full of dots...and stinks to high heaven when you squish one. If you want more pictures, just come visit us. We have them crawling all over the inside of our east- and south-facing windows. There have been times we have dozens swarming all over a window. *sigh* Still, you took a really nice pic.


----------



## Cheryl J

Like this one, CG? I took this pic around the same time, they do look a little different. At least they all keep the aphid population down on my flowers. 
We don't have them all over windows, though....I wouldn't like that either.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Actually, ours are more orange than that. Like an orange - the fruit - orange. Maybe your two ladybeetles mated and sent their babies to MA?


----------



## licia

This isn't a picture but a couple of things the above posts bought to mind.
When our son was in preschool he came home proudly announcing that he knew how to spell "Indian". I thought that was quite advanced for a preschooler until he said "NDN".
Also we had a picture of him in a little sunsuit. I kept that all through the years. When his son was about the same age, I mailed it to our son. He took a picture of his son wearing the same sunsuit. Then when he outgrew it, he sent it back to me for safekeeping. I suppose you can tell the previous posts got me remembering things from our past.


----------



## tinlizzie

The Monarchs have been busy -- this is a Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed stem.  The little green balls to his right are frass, the butterfly word for poop.


----------



## taxlady

tinlizzie said:


> The Monarchs have been busy -- this is a Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed stem.  The little green balls to his right are frass, the butterfly word for poop.


Yay! and learned a new word.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Yay! and learned a new word.



This forum gives us quite an education. Did the butterfly talk to her telling her what words they use? ruuuunning! Oh how I hate such short legs.


----------



## Cheryl J

tinlizzie said:


> The Monarchs have been busy -- this is a Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed stem. The little green balls to his right are frass, the butterfly word for poop.


 
That's a really nice pic, tinlizzie.  I've been seeing some Monarchs around here lately.


----------



## Dawgluver

Monarch caterpillars can frass all over my milkweed, or anything else.  Have at it, little guys!


----------



## tinlizzie

Thanks, folks.  Here's some more information on Monarchs -- a Google site expained that as the caterpillar progresses in its stages, each phase is called an 'instar.'  After eating constantly until reaching its full size, the caterpillar suspends itself in a 'J' shape, which lasts for only a day or so before it turns into the chrysalis, like the one on the right.  Sad to say, that one, which began as an emerald green with golden dots, just turned black and never progressed to a hatch.  The next one did, though.

Oooo, CW - talkin' dirty!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks for the lesson, TL! The chrysalis looks like a jalapeno pepper with a little white Pope's cap on top.


----------



## tinlizzie

In the realm of worms turning into butterflies, when we first hear of it as children, it seems so astonishing.  Most of our adulthoods (speaking for myself, here), we take it for granted.  Seems like in our 'golden years' we are astonished anew by the miraculous process.


----------



## Dawgluver

My niece and nephew.  It may be a bumpy ride.

View attachment 22704


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> My niece and nephew.  It may be a bumpy ride.
> 
> View attachment 22704



I love it. She is doing the driving while he is the passenger holding the baby.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> My niece and nephew. It may be a bumpy ride.
> 
> View attachment 22704


 
I love it, Dawg!  How awesome of the pilot to let the littles sit up there!


----------



## Dawgluver

My brother surprised them with a trip to Disneyland!


----------



## Dawgluver

View attachment 22708

The view from our balcony, the Disney cruise ship.  It honks "When You Wish Upon a Star" when it leaves port.


----------



## Dawgluver

Happy Beagle is happy to be home:
View attachment 22712


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Happy Beagle is happy to be home:
> View attachment 22712


Aww


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Taxy!  We miss her so much when we travel to Cozumel.  I'd have to starve 2 pounds off her to be able to shove her under the seat, and she abhores water, so it wouldn't be a good experience for her.  She travels well in the car though.


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww....sweet Beagle!   Nice view from your hotel room, Dawg.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Cheryl, we miss it so much!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Looks like both DH and Beagle have the same energy levels.  Hope you recover enough from your vacation to get on with the necessaries of life. In the meantime, just relax with your doggy and your favorite adult beverage.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Happy Beagle is happy to be home:
> View attachment 22712



She looks like she is daring you to move her from that spot.  She's such a pretty beagle!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks ladies!


----------



## Cheryl J

My grandbabies...OMGosh, I am so blessed! They were watching the fishies in a koi pond in the mall near my daughter's house in Valencia. The little guys are 6, 5, 4, and 2. They are SO my world.  
View attachment 22729


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Lovely pic Cheryl. Bet they are a bundle of mischief!


----------



## Wyshiepoo

My grandkids.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Such sweet grandkid pictures Cheryl and Wysh! Every single one of those littles is a real cutie. Since I don't have any of my own, hug each of yours a little tighter next time.


----------



## Addie

Good looks seem to run in both families. 

Gee, I actually had to write down how many kids each of my kids had and then onto the third generation. All in all there are 19 grand and great grand children. For years I have been thinking I had only 17. I just became a very old lady. And now I have two great-grand children that are old enough to get married and start their own families. And two of my kids don't have any grandchildren yet. No wonder I stopped giving out Christmas presents. But one thing I am always grateful for is that I got to hold every grand and great-child when they were just a couple of hours old. 

I have created quite a legacy.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Wyshie, CG, and Addie. 

Wyshie, that's a great looking gaggle of grandchildren you've got there!


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, Wyshie, CG, and Addie.
> 
> Wyshie, that's a great looking gaggle of grandchildren you've got there!



When you are able to look at photos of grandchildren such as you two have, no wonder they are so special and loved so much.


----------



## Kayelle

All those kiddies are adorable and thanks for sharing. Cheryl, with boys those ages you'd need a distraction like that to keep them still for a picture. Good thinking!

Dawg, I could curl up with your adorable Beagle...how sweet.


----------



## CharlieD

Vacation, last morning.


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty pic, Charlie.  Where were you?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That IS nice, *Charlie*. Your last morning in paradise. 

*Cheryl*, I know for sure one place he wasn't - Minnesota.


----------



## Gravy Queen

Charlie you tease where is that beautiful place ?


----------



## CharlieD

Yes, Minnesota it was not. We spent Passover vacation in Miami Beach. Right on the beach. Nearly without internet service or TV, but, oh how beautiful. If somebody doesn't believe in G-d, they should come and spend a week or two by the ocean front and see the beauty of Creation.


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Wyshiepoo

All dressed up and no where to go.


----------



## Cheryl J

CharlieD said:


> Yes, Minnesota it was not. We spent Passover vacation in Miami Beach. Right on the beach. Nearly without internet service or TV, but, oh how beautiful. If somebody doesn't believe in G-d, they should come and spend a week or two by the ocean front and see the beauty of Creation.


 
Like ^
Sometimes it's nice to get away from the internet and other media for a while.  Glad you had such a nice getaway, Charlie.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wyshie, if I went to the bother of getting all dressed up, I'd find *somewhere* to go.   Even if it was to the grocery store and not have sweats on and my hair all up in a baseball cap for once.  You can bet I wouldn't see anyone I know there at that time, though....  LOL
You look good.


----------



## Dawgluver

View attachment 22780View attachment 22781

Dogtooth violets. We're lucky that they've taken over a big area in our woods.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> View attachment 22780View attachment 22781
> 
> Dogtooth violets. We're lucky that they've taken over a big area in our woods.


Lovely


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Lovely




Thanks Taxy!  They're fascinating to me.  If you step on or injure the leaves, they die.  Apparently, they're pretty rare around here.  It takes 4 years for them to bloom.  They're actually not violets at all, more related to lilies.  Another name for them is Trout lily.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks Taxy!  They're fascinating to me.  If you step on or injure the leaves, they die.  Apparently, they're pretty rare around here.  It takes 4 years for them to bloom.  They're actually not violets at all, more related to lilies.  Another name for them is Trout lily.


I'm not surprised. They look like they are related to lily of the valley.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks Taxy!  They're fascinating to me.  If you step on or injure the leaves, they die.  Apparently, they're pretty rare around here.  It takes 4 years for them to bloom.  They're actually not violets at all, more related to lilies.  Another name for them is Trout lily.



Sounds like some of the flora on Mt. Ranier in Washington State. Because of the altitude, some of the flowers will die if you step on them. Then depending on what state of reproduction they are in, it can take up to ten years for that one flower to come back. So the rules are very strict. "Stay on the designated path. Do not pick any of the flowers."


----------



## creative

Addie said:


> Sounds like some of the flora on Mt. Ranier in Washington State. Because of the altitude, some of the flowers will die if you step on them. Then depending on what state of reproduction they are in, it can take up to ten years for that one flower to come back. So the rules are very strict. "Stay on the designated path. Do not pick any of the flowers."


It's a shame that the notice does not explain that it can take up to 10 years for a flower to return.   That added bit of info could well make someone think twice, whereas "do not pick any of the flowers", by itself, may not.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Sweet little flowers, Dawg! We had a cluster of yellow trout lilies in each of our OH back yards. Never saw one  here. However, we do have a few skunk cabbage in the back 40.


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice, Dawg.  Must be so nice to see some greenage after the long winter!  

Our desert was beautiful with such gorgeous splashes of spring wildflowers - they're all gone now.


----------



## Cheryl J

Early evening sky here today. It didn't last long, but it was sure pretty while it lasted.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beautiful, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg.   The weather reports are calling for a bit of rain in SoCal in the next few days, hopefully those dark and stormy looking clouds will return and give us some rain....


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What a striking sky, *Cheryl*! Hope you guys get three days of nice, gentle rain, but I bet you all would be happy with three hours.


----------



## Gravy Queen

A pretty English sunset while walking the dog last night


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty, *GQ*! Is that a Catalpa tree in the picture? The pods hanging from it look like the "lady cigars" I remember for a tree in my childhood neighborhood.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Thanks, Dawg.   The weather reports are calling for a bit of rain in SoCal in the next few days, hopefully those dark and stormy looking clouds will return and give us some rain....



I am praying they give you a lot of rain. Specially in the food valley.


----------



## Addie

Gravy Queen said:


> A pretty English sunset while walking the dog last night



They have a few trees like that in front of the Federal Reserve Bank and those pods are a nuisance when they begin to fall. That is a very high foot traffic area. They now have a maintenance man out there a couple of times a day cleaning them up after a few folks have slipped on them and got hurt. It is a beautiful tree otherwise.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie said:


> I am praying they give you a lot of rain. Specially in the food valley.



They don't need rain in the valley. They need it in the mountains so the aquifers can be refilled for irrigation in the valley.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, CG, Addie, and GG.  We'll happily take whatever we can get. 

GravyQueen, that's a pretty sunset pic.


----------



## creative

Someone is having fun....


----------



## Dawgluver

DH called at lunch and told me to go out and look at this.  I tried to take a picture, but too many trees were in the way.  I did find this on a local website, and it was featured on the evening news:
View attachment 22814


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ooo, do you think it was aliens?


----------



## Dawgluver

Definitely!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cooking Goddess said:


> Ooo, do you think it was aliens?



or Simon Templar!


----------



## Dawgluver

Aunt Bea said:


> or Simon Templar!




Heh.  Blast from the past!  Good memory, AB!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Did they ever say what it was, Dawg?


----------



## Dawgluver

Not really.  We figured it was a jet doing manuevers.  Lots of jet trails today, maybe because it's Taco Tuesday?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> Not really.  We figured it was a jet doing manuevers.  Lots of jet trails today, maybe because it's Taco Tuesday?



Could be, I jetted quickly to Cafe Rio to get tacos for Taco Tuesday.  Yum!  They will make any taco or burrito into a salad for me, no tortillas!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Dawgluver said:


> Heh.  Blast from the past!  Good memory, AB!



All my blasts are from the past!


----------



## taxlady

Okay, I remember Simon Templar, sort of. What's it have to do with those contrails?


----------



## Andy M.

ST's symbol was a halo.


----------



## Dawgluver

Roger Moore was The Saint.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> ST's symbol was a halo.


  Of course, thanks Andy.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Did they ever say what it was, Dawg?




DH's boss says it was a memorial for someone who died.  Pretty cool.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Very cool!


----------



## Cheryl J

That's an awesome pic, Dawg....


----------



## Cheryl J

Front porch sunset this evening.


----------



## Dawgluver

Gorgeous, Cheryl!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty one, Cheryl. No sunsets from our front porch - our house faces east.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you....the desert can be so pretty sometimes.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Pretty one, Cheryl. No sunsets from our front porch - our house faces east.


Thanks, CG.  Pretty sunrises here too, but I'm not up early enough to see them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful Cheryl!  

I'm impatient for some Wyoming sunsets.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks Dawg and Princess.  I can imagine there are some spectacular sunsets in Wyoming!


----------



## Dawgluver

For CWS:
View attachment 22822


----------



## Rocklobster

Went to England a few weeks ago. I took my daughters to go and visit their brother who has been living near Leeds up North....We had a good time...


----------



## taxlady

Good looking family Roch.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sweet, Rock!


----------



## Rocklobster

Thanks! It was my youngest's last March break. She's off to University in a few months so this seemed like the last time we could do something like this....It was great to get the kids together over there....


----------



## Kayelle

Beautiful family, Rock!

I don't have any pictures of my own right now, but I just spent some time with this collection that I hope you all enjoy as much as I did.  These pics are really eye popping! 

Distractify | 28 Surreal Places You Won't Believe Are Found On Earth


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Rocklobster said:


> Thanks! It was my youngest's last March break. She's off to University in a few months so this seemed like the last time we could do something like this....It was great to get the kids together over there....


You have great-looking kids there, Rock! I see you have a goofy member in your family, too! In our gang, it's "the boy".


----------



## Cheryl J

Good looking family, Rock! I was also wondering if the guy in the background was one of yours too, or if he was a passerby caught in the pic. 

Kay, I enjoyed that link - gorgeous pics!  Now I have another website to get caught up in.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle, those pictures sure are something! At first, I figured they were color enhanced. Apparently not! So many interesting places to see that I'll never get to...


----------



## creative




----------



## Dawgluver

Teeny tiny little frog on one of my hydrangea leaves:
View attachment 22902


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Teeny tiny little frog on one of my hydrangea leaves:
> View attachment 22902


Awwww


----------



## Dawgluver

I know!  He patiently waited while I took his picture.  He's about half an inch long.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawg, so cute! Great photo.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks!  I'm going to go check on him.  He moved leaves the last time I looked.  Not sure if his species is of the vocal singers we get around here in bodies of water, including the pre-season swimming pools.

Tried to get another pic, he was looking right at the iPad camera, but then he got camera shy and now I can't find him.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

He looks like the tiny frogs that used to hand around our pond at our last home. They would hide behind the shutters and serenade our daughter every night as she tried to go to sleep. Then, when we sold the house and she moved to my Mom and Dad's house, she couldn't fall asleep easily because she DIDN'T have her froggies singing her to sleep.


----------



## Dawgluver

We always have one who squishes him/herself behind the electric meter by the furnace vent and sings his/her little heart out.

Up at Lake of the Woods, we had what we called Peeper frogs.  They also sang like crazy.  They were even smaller than this little guy, but not as jewel-like.  They were brown.


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww, it's so cute!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Cheryl, I thought so too!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> ...Up at Lake of the Woods, we had what we called Peeper frogs.  They also sang like crazy...


Yup, Spring Peepers. That's what would sing outside Loverly's window. They had three different calls - she would yell out her window "hey, cute that out!" when they started making whoopie!


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Yup, Spring Peepers. That's what would sing outside Loverly's window. They had three different calls - she would yell out her window "hey, cute that out!" when they started making whoopie!



Thanks CG for the memory. I used to have a key chain that had a recording of the peepers. I played it so much, I wore out the battery. I should have bought more than one.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful evening sitting out on the front porch with a glass of wine, and watching the sky change colors.


----------



## Dawgluver

Ooooh.  Absolutely gorgeous, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Dawg.


----------



## taxlady

Yup, gorgeous.


----------



## GotGarlic

Love that, Cheryl.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

View attachment 22933

Every Friday in Honolulu, there's a boat race from the Ala Wai Boat Harbor out to the buoy off Diamond head and back.  FUN!


----------



## Dawgluver

So pretty, K-girl.  I miss Hawaii, but for us, it's such a loooonnng trip.

Eons ago, I actually took sailing lessons up in Canada, and could man a two-person sailboat.  Such fun!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you Taxy, and GG. 

Pretty picture, kgirl!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Cheryl*, don't you guys ever have boring sunsets? 

*K-Girl*, I love all those (not) tiny sailboats in the picture.


----------



## Wyshiepoo

DIL was baking some cakes and gave the spoon to Amelia Grace to lick.


Bad move!


----------



## Zhizara

Awwwww!


----------



## taxlady

So cute


----------



## PrincessFiona60

choco-face...much nicer than spaghetti-face


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Cheryl*, *don't you guys ever have boring sunsets? *
> 
> *K-Girl*, I love all those (not) tiny sailboats in the picture.


 
Yes, but those don't get posted!


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww, very cute, Wyshie!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What a cute kid and cute photo, *Wyshie*! Glad to see you got a break from your busy life and stopped by DC for a bit.


----------



## Dawgluver

Chocolate faces are the best!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our backyard wildlife refuge welcomed a couple of old friends this morning. In addition to our usual assortment of bunnies, squirrels, and various little birds, our BIG bird friends stopped by. Used to be a time back when we first moved here that there was a flock of turkeys (as many as 23 at a time) that would wander uphill early in the day, then return downhill as dusk approached. We would put out cracked corn and sunflower seeds for them, scattering it on the huge, flat rock that sits a in the woods maybe 10-15 feet from the edge of the grass. They would follow us to the rock, then patiently wait in a semi-circle around the rock until I was done filling it up with food!  One day I was out running errands. I came up the street and saw the flock wandering in the across-the-street neighbor's yard. When I went down the driveway to get the mail they spotted me and started to run across the street, between our house and the neighbors', and headed for the rock!  Needless to say, their antics got them extra food.


----------



## Andy M.

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our backyard wildlife refuge welcomed a couple of old friends this morning...



Cool, CG.  

We have a flock of three that wanders through periodically.  Also have seen ducks, fox, deer, and the ubiquitous rabbits and squirrels.


----------



## taxlady

Good story CG. And nice photo.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

DH and I are visiting with Mr.&Mrs. DF here in Northern Arizona.
After lunch today, we wandered through this huge antique shop
and found this
View attachment 22968
HEH!  Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute there!
I still have one one of these for cryin' out loud


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Me too! Guess that makes us antique collectors.  Mine will be in the garage sale later this year, where I hope someone else wants/needs one.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Me too! Guess that makes us antique collectors.  Mine will be in the garage sale later this year, where I hope someone else wants/needs one.



CG, DH and I have decided that all of my 'stuff' will go into an antique shop and bring in some bucks for our retirement coffers.  They wanted $20USD for that phone! 
I have both grandmothers teacup collections... my great grandmothers Fostoria Americana Glassware, that alone will bring in a nice sized purse of coins.  I saw a punch cup and saucer and they wanted $35, I think I have 10 of those alone


----------



## Addie

Kaneohegirlinaz said:


> DH and I are visiting with Mr.&Mrs. DF here in Northern Arizona.
> After lunch today, we wandered through this huge antique shop
> and found this
> View attachment 22968
> HEH!  Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute there!
> I still have one one of these for cryin' out loud



I don't think the phone company here in Mass. provides the dial tone for rotary phones anymore. I saw a candlestick phone last year and wanted to get it. It did have a rotary dial on it. When I looked at the bottom, it had the name of Western something. The very same name that was on all Bell Systems phone. So I knew it wasn't a remake from the 50's or so. But I no longer have a land phone. Only my cell.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> I don't think the phone company here in Mass. provides the dial tone for rotary phones anymore. I saw a candlestick phone last year and wanted to get it. It did have a rotary dial on it. When I looked at the bottom, it had the name of Western something. The very same name that was on all Bell Systems phone. So I knew it wasn't a remake from the 50's or so. But I no longer have a land phone. Only my cell.


It's the same dial tone Addie. It's whether or not the phone system still understands pulse dialing. I know it still does here. Stirling's phone line is a pulse line and it won't connect if we dial using tones. We aren't changing it until Bell quits charging extra for tone.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie said:


> ...When I looked at the bottom, it had the name of Western something. The very same name that was on all Bell Systems phone...


Western Electric. I worked for Ohio Bell for 11 years. And what taxy said.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Western Electric. I worked for Ohio Bell for 11 years. And what taxy said.



Thanks CG. Once again you have come to my rescue from another senior   moment. Of course every time I see a candlestick phone, I want it. Then I come to my senses and remember that you need two hands to use it and can't walk around with it.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It's the same dial tone Addie. It's whether or not the phone system still understands pulse dialing. I know it still does here. Stirling's phone line is a pulse line and it won't connect if we dial using tones. We aren't changing it until Bell quits charging extra for tone.



I just asked Pirate if he knew of anyone who has a rotary phone. He told me his best friend's mother still has one. She is blind and has a great bit of difficulty trying to learn the touch tone. So her kids decided to let her keep her rotary dial. Every so often she gets a notice about how much easier it would be if she had a touch tone phone. He also has some friends that own a summer cabin up in Maine. They keep a rotary dial phone up there and turn it on for the summer only. So I am surprised that we still have it here in Boston.


----------



## Cheryl J

*CG, *love that story of the 'big birds' following you to the rock!   That's a great pic!


----------



## Cheryl J

Kgirl and CG, you don't hear of many who love those old phones!  I've got a friend who has one even older than that - it's black, and before the time of the curly wires. She looked long and hard for it.

I *love* antiques and the ones I have mean a lot to me - I've got a curio cabinet full of them, almost all from my grandmother and great grandmother. There are probably some worth a pretty penny, but they're not going anywhere, at least in my lifetime - they'll go to my daughters and I'm pretty sure they will keep them, too.


----------



## Cheryl J

Sky pics this evening.  Cloudy and rainy one minute, bright sunset the next. The weather sure does change fast here.


----------



## Kayelle

You have the most beautiful sunsets Cheryl!  

Thought you'd all like to take a look at these remarkable drone photo's, many will take your breath away! Drones are illegal in many of these places now, so these pictures will likely be one of a kind. I went back to some of the links here and it was time very well spent. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Illegal drone photos of the most beautiful places on earth - Business Insider


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Kayelle said:


> You have the most beautiful sunsets Cheryl!
> 
> Thought you'd all like to take a look at these remarkable drone photo's, many will take your breath away! Drones are illegal in many of these places now, so these pictures will likely be one of a kind. I went back to some of the links here and it was time very well spent. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
> 
> Illegal drone photos of the most beautiful places on earth - Business Insider



WOW, that kept coming out of my mouth over and over again, WOW!!!


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> *You have the most beautiful sunsets Cheryl!*
> 
> Thought you'd all like to take a look at these remarkable drone photo's, many will take your breath away! Drones are illegal in many of these places now, so these pictures will likely be one of a kind. I went back to some of the links here and it was time very well spent. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
> 
> Illegal drone photos of the most beautiful places on earth - Business Insider


 
Thanks Kay!   I saved your link to look at a little later this evening.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle, those ARE some amazing photos! Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Kayelle

I'm glad you're enjoying the eye popping photography too. We feel so lucky to have seen many of these places at ground level, it's almost unworldly to see the bird's eye view. WOW is right!
My personal opinion is drone photography should be banned now, but I'm sure glad these pictures exist. I'd love to have a wall of these pictures framed.


----------



## Josie1945

Kayelle said:


> You have the most beautiful sunsets Cheryl!
> 
> Thought you'd all like to take a look at these remarkable drone photo's, many will take your breath away! Drones are illegal in many of these places now, so these pictures will likely be one of a kind. I went back to some of the links here and it was time very well spent. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
> 
> Illegal drone photos of the most beautiful places on earth - Business Insider




Kayelle 
Thanks for posting this link.The Photos are absolutely 
breath taking. 

Josie


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Got a new app for my phone, Lumia Selfie. It has several filters and some pre arranged frames. I thought this was funny, Mrs Wyshiepoo said I was sad!


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Our cabbage has done really well this year!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice! What are your plans for using it? There are so many options for cabbage.

However it's fixed, enjoy the results.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful cabbage, Wyshie.


----------



## GotGarlic

I've got a crazy (typical, I guess) harvest of zucchini and cucumbers coming in. I've made quick pickles, stir-fry, grilled veggies, sautéed veggies and just sliced with ranch dressing for dipping. I'm planning to make tzatziki sauce tonight and maybe some grilled kefta patties with Zaa'tar, mint and parsley. The green tomato was on the ground.


----------



## Dawgluver

Lovely cabbage, Wyshie.  What do you do to keep the cabbage worms off?

Nice haul, GG!


----------



## taxlady

Nice looking cabbage. What kind is it?


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice, GG!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What, *GG*, no plans for zucchini bread? Or even chocolate zucchini bread.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> What, *GG*, no plans for zucchini bread? Or even chocolate zucchini bread.



Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that! Chocolate zucchini bread, for sure!


----------



## bethzaring

I never tire of photographing the sky here, but tonight's clouds were something like I had not ever seen before.  They look like a painting.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics, Beth!  I never get tired of sky pics and sunsets, either.  I'm in the desert too, we sure do get some nice ones.


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, pretty, Beth


----------



## Dawgluver

So pretty!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Beautiful, *beth*. Those clouds are so wispy they must be angels' wings.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Got 'em pickling!  First taste-test planned for Saturday.


----------



## bethzaring

Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful pics, Beth! I never get tired of sky pics and sunsets, either. I'm in the desert too, we sure do get some nice ones.


 

I took DH back East a few weeks ago and took some photographs to show the folks back home.  When I realized they were mostly of the sky, I had to take some of my house and gardens to take along too!


----------



## LPBeier

Beth, your sky pics are incredible!

CG, your pickles are looking good!  What time Saturday? 

I am so glad I got a picture of this before the management company of our complex made us take this down. My hubby and the neighbours were starting a garden out front for me because management has been promising for 3 years. I was very upset at first, but the back is starting to take shape and soon I will have my park bench to sit on at the side of our house.


----------



## Wyshiepoo

Dawgluver said:


> Lovely cabbage, Wyshie. What do you do to keep the cabbage worms off?
> 
> Nice haul, GG!


 


taxlady said:


> Nice looking cabbage. What kind is it?


 
Not sure what kind it is, they were given to us as seedlings by my father in law. I thought they were Spring Cabbage but they seem too big for that.

All I do is scatter a few non/low animal toxic slug pellets around.


----------



## Cheryl J

Yum, nice looking pickles, CG.  I can almost taste the crunchy goodness. 

Beth, I know what you mean about sky pics - I've been going through my pics, I can't believe how many I've got.  

LP, glad you're able to get a nice little garden area that management can't touch.


----------



## LPBeier

Cheryl J said:


> LP, glad you're able to get a nice little garden area that management can't touch.



Thanks, Cheryl. I still would like one out front, but my neighbour is making some cute flower pots from wood that will sit on the fence (which we paid for)  by my bench, which another friend is painting for me. So I will have my own little corner to call my own - I will post pictures when it is set up!


----------



## LPBeier

Another random photo, the cake I made last week for a baby shower!


----------



## taxlady

Wyshiepoo said:


> Not sure what kind it is, they were given to us as seedlings by my father in law. I thought they were Spring Cabbage but they seem too big for that.
> 
> All I do is scatter a few non/low animal toxic slug pellets around.


Is it maybe oxheart cabbage? They are kinda pointy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

LPBeier said:


> ...CG, your pickles are looking good!  What time Saturday? ...


Probably mid-afternoon. Enough travel time? 

I have to say the basement is smelling a lot like I remember my parents' smelling during the summer. A "smaller" smell, but then my quart can't put out the aroma of Dad's 3-gallon one.


----------



## GotGarlic

LPBeier said:


> Another random photo, the cake I made last week for a baby shower!



Wow, LP! Adorable!


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Wow, LP! Adorable!




Wow from me too!  That looks like a lot of work!


----------



## Kayelle

Another wow from me LP! Do share how you did that frosting pleeeeeze?


----------



## Dawgluver

That's just adorable, LP!


----------



## Cheryl J

LOVE the teddy bear cake, LP - you're so talented!  My grands would go crazy over that on their birthday table.


----------



## LPBeier

Thanks ladies, and Andy, I really had fun with that one. 

Kayelle, it is normal buttercream (chocolate cappuccino) and I piped it with a "grass" tip. It was a lot of piping for my arthritic hands, but it was worth it! Oh, I also carved the cake rather than using the teddy bear pan. I have been practicing carving and even though I have the pan, I wanted to do it myself.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

LP, that looks like it would be a fun "lawn" to mow my way through!    Just like my little backyard Bun-Bun does with my...clover. Not much of a lawn there...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> I've got a crazy (typical, I guess) harvest of zucchini...


Hey *GG*, ran across another idea to get you through zucchini season. How about *oven baked zucchini chips*? I've never made them, but every time one of my FB friends posts a photo, I drool.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hey *GG*, ran across another idea to get you through zucchini season. How about *oven baked zucchini chips*? I've never made them, but every time one of my FB friends posts a photo, I drool.



That sounds interesting. Thanks.


----------



## GotGarlic

Playing with my spiralizer today. I bought it last winter but haven't used it till today because I was so sick. I used it on garden zucchini and farmers market carrots for the salad I'm making for my neighbor.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Playing with my spiralizer today. I bought it last winter but haven't used it till today because I was so sick. I used it on garden zucchini and farmers market carrots for the salad I'm making for my neighbor.


Neato!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Bought a boxed, take-and-bake Pizzeria Uno pizza at Market Basket today. Uno's has some 'splainin' to do...


----------



## Addie

CG, I might buy a boxed pizza every five years or so. But I think you have just made it 10 years or so. That is the most terrible pizza I have ever seen. What were they thinking? You should let MB know about it. That pizza is way below their standards for a local company provider.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Addie, it was a take-and-bake UNO's pizza that is sold at MB, and probably a lot of other grocery stores. We've bought them before and never had any problem. Cooked on our pizza stone, it's usually hard to tell the pre-made from the restaurant. If you look at the photo, it's easy to see that the problem was in manufacturing. There is NO sauce on one side of the dough, and never did have any. I'll send an email off to Uno's tomorrow. We'll see how they answer.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Addie, it was a take-and-bake UNO's pizza that is sold at MB, and probably a lot of other grocery stores. We've bought them before and never had any problem. Cooked on our pizza stone, it's usually hard to tell the pre-made from the restaurant. If you look at the photo, it's easy to see that the problem was in manufacturing. There is NO sauce on one side of the dough, and never did have any. I'll send an email off to Uno's tomorrow. We'll see how they answer.



Do let us know what they say. I will be looking forward to the reply.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Bought a boxed, take-and-bake Pizzeria Uno pizza at Market Basket today. Uno's has some 'splainin' to do...


 
Wow....someone was asleep during inspection.  I hope you get some freebie coupons for that, CG.


----------



## Cheryl J

Had the most fabulous day yesterday with daughter, SIL, and Tyler. We went to the farmers market up by the Kern River Valley, went out for some very good eats at a tiny little family run diner on the Kern River, then drove on up a little further to the Sequoia National Forest and walked the *'Trail of 100 Giants'.* It's a grove of giant Sequoias, and I mean *giant*.  The trail is a little over a mile walk, so it was easy and doable for the little guy. It's a spectacular sight, and was great to get out of the heat here in the valley and enjoy cooler mountain weather. 

View attachment 23077

Giant Sequoia 
View attachment 23078

To show how massive some of these 1,500 year old trees are, here's my grandson Tyler standing in that same tree from above, and the three of them on another beauty.
View attachment 23079


----------



## taxlady

Nice photos Cheryl. I was in the redwoods once. It was amazing.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Glad you had a nice trip out of the heat, *Cheryl.* Love the pic of Tyler looking so tiny in the hollow of the tree base. 

Sequoia is beautiful, isn't is? Those redwoods sure can make a person feel small in the scheme of things. We were there about a decade ago when Himself had to go for training near LA. He took a week vacation the following week, we picked up our son who was living in Redlands at the time, and visited Sequoia and Yosmite. One of the giant redwoods was smoldering from a gash on its trunk. When our son mentioned it to a ranger back at the visitors' center, he ranger said they just let them burn until they extinguish on their own.  Guess it's a system that works, since most of them have been standing for centuries.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Glad you had a nice trip out of the heat, *Cheryl.* Love the pic of Tyler looking so tiny in the hollow of the tree base.
> 
> Sequoia is beautiful, isn't is? Those redwoods sure can make a person feel small in the scheme of things. We were there about a decade ago when Himself had to go for training near LA. He took a week vacation the following week, we picked up our son who was living in Redlands at the time, and visited Sequoia and Yosmite. One of the giant redwoods was smoldering from a gash on its trunk. When our son mentioned it to a ranger back at the visitors' center, he ranger said they just let them burn until they extinguish on their own.  Guess it's a system that works, since most of them have been standing for centuries.


Someone told me that by the time the trees are adults, at about 100 years old, they "know" how to handle fire.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Someone told me that by the time the trees are adults, at about 100 years old, they "know" how to handle fire.



I remember when living in Washington, there was a patch of trees in the Nasqually Valley. They had been through a major fire. The bark had some blackening on it. But they were in full leaf. The trees around the perimeter were completely destroyed. They were smaller than the big ones that were just blackened.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Taxy and CG. 

CG....regarding your comment about feeling small in the scheme of things...yes!  We felt SOOO small when we were among those giants, and it was a big part of our discussions for the day.  Glad to hear that some of you that are so far from CA now have had the opportunity to see 'the big huge trees', as Tyler calls them.


----------



## Kayelle

What great pictures Cheryl ! I remember well the thrill of sharing the wonder of those magnificent trees through the eyes of a child. I'm getting misty with the memories.
The scent of the air from them is magical.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Kay. It's such a sight to walk among those giant redwoods. And yes, the aroma of cedar and pine is nearly intoxicating - what a glorious day it was!  

On our next day trip I want to go up to the ancient bristlecone pine forest.


----------



## GotGarlic

....


----------



## GotGarlic

Love the redwood forest. It's an amazing place. 

We're on our way home from DH's parents'. Took a picture of Stryder, our year-old rescue Basenji. She decided to join us in the front seat.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Love the redwood forest. It's an amazing place.
> 
> We're on our way home from DH's parents'. Took a picture of Stryder, our year-old rescue Basenji. She decided to join us in the front seat.


What a cutie!

Have a safe and enjoyable trip home.


----------



## Cheryl J

What a cute picture!  It looks like Stryder has her own coffee, too.   Hope you all have a nice drive back home, GG.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cute little Stryder!  Does she yodel?  Most Basenjis don't bark.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks  That's a good word for it, Dawg. I've heard her bark only a couple of times, but she is vocal. The first time I heard her make a noise, I thought she was yawning


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Your Stryder is one groovin' doggy


----------



## Cheryl J

This evening's sunset. 16 years of sunsets from my front yard and they're always different. I never get tired of seeing the colors the desert sky has to offer.


----------



## Dawgluver

Gorgeous sunset, Cheryl!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks for sharing, Cheryl. I never tire of sunsets. Sunrises are pretty too, but the only time I ever see them is when I head to bed way, way, WAY too late!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Thanks for sharing, Cheryl. I never tire of sunsets. Sunrises are pretty too, but the only time I ever see them is when I head to bed way, way, WAY too late!


Yes, thanks for sharing Cheryl. 

That's the only time I sunrises too.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

taxlady said:


> ...That's the only time I sunrises too.


Well SOMEBODY has to wake up the birds. BTW taxy, is Saturday your turn, or mine?


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, ladies!  

I too have to admit, that I'm more apt to see sunsets than sunrises.  Once in a while, I'm actually up early enough to see the sun rise, but there's too many trees to see much of it anyway.


----------



## CWS4322

One of the dogs makes sunrises...even in the rain


----------



## CWS4322

*makes sure I am up to see the sun rise even in the rain. Wish I could edit my posts when using my phone. Some smartphone!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Well SOMEBODY has to wake up the birds. BTW taxy, is Saturday your turn, or mine?


Did I really type "I sunrises"? Yup, I did. I think it's time for bed. If you don't feel like waking the birds, they'll just have to wake up on their own.


----------



## Addie

When I was small, there was a new sapling across the street from our home that the city had planted. My father used to go over there and shake it for me so the birds would wake up and sing just for me.


----------



## CWS4322

TL methinks you were thinking Tequila sunrises...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

This is one reason we don't use chemical fertilizers or week killers on our lawn. (The other reasons are we're cheap and we're lazy.  ) Lucky bunnies - we don't hunt.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> This is one reason we don't use chemical fertilizers or week killers on our lawn. (The other reasons are we're cheap and we're lazy.  ) Lucky bunnies - we don't hunt.


Aww, such cuties


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> Aww, such cuties




No, they are not!  They destroyed all my lush green bean plants, and drive Beagle absolutely crazy!  She leaps and runs around from furniture to furniture when she spots them from inside the house, and has been impossible to walk, as she tugs and practically pulls my arm out of the socket whenever she sees them.  I have one partial stalk of my formerly beautiful mums left.  Worst bunny season I've ever seen.

CG, I'd love to send you a couple dozen more bunnies, but I fear that won't help.  

Cute pic though.


----------



## taxlady

Well, pests can be cute.


----------



## Dawgluver

Agree.  Baby mice are also cute, as are baby skunks.

Life in the country.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

At least the bunnies are quiet, even if they are voracious plant killers. Still, we think they're an improvement over the rafter of turkeys that wandered through our yard for a number of years, uphill in the morning and downhill at night. Then, about 9-10 years ago, they stopped. Top count was 23 birds.  Those gobblers can get loud! Recently, a small trio has been wandering through the yard, waking everyone up with backyard-facing bedroom windows.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> This is one reason we don't use chemical fertilizers or week killers on our lawn. (The other reasons are we're cheap and we're lazy.  ) Lucky bunnies - we don't hunt.



Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies!!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(this was before I saw Dawg's post)


Darn Bunnies ruin everything, bet they would all love to go to CG's house.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies!!!!
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> (this was before I saw Dawg's post)
> 
> 
> *Darn Bunnies ruin everything, bet they would all love to go to CG's house.*



Too bad they are very good for eating. Only tame ones are eating tender. Wild ones are gamey and tough.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> PrincessFiona60 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies!!!!
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> (this was before I saw Dawg's post)
> 
> 
> *Darn Bunnies ruin everything, bet they would all love to go to CG's house.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Too bad they are very good for eating. Only tame ones are eating tender. Wild ones are gamey and tough.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't know. I have only eaten wild snowshoe hare. They weren't gamey or tough, but they didn't taste like chicken. The most noticeable thing about them was the lack of fat.


----------



## Dawgluver

I couldn't hurt, much less eat these bunnies, but I wish something else, like the coyotes, foxes or eagles would help out!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I'm not going to eat bunnies!  I'd be jumping around like Beagle, trying to get a look at them!


----------



## Dawgluver

With our bunnies, you can get within two feet of them, and they turn their backs on you and ignore you.  Bold little monsters.


----------



## GotGarlic

This swallowtail butterfly just emerged from its cocoon - in our kitchen! It was on a bunch of parsley from my garden that I had put in a glass of water. I saw the caterpillar and a few days later, there was a cocoon. And today - a beautiful butterfly!


----------



## Dawgluver

Beautiful, GG!


----------



## taxlady

Wow, that's real cool GG. How long between becoming a chrysalis and becoming a butterfly?


----------



## GotGarlic

A little over a week.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty little butterfly!  That must have been fun to watch him emerge so close up.


----------



## Kayelle

Love your pet butterfly GG, and your yard is a stunner too.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks! Unfortunately we didn't see it emerge. The glass of parsley was sitting on the windowsill in the kitchen and the coffee maker is on the counter to the left. When I went to make my morning cup of coffee, I saw it stretching its wings. So I grabbed my phone and called for DH. He came and picked it up and I followed him out to the back porch to take the picture. Then he put it on the lantana in the garden.


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty butterfly, and I *love* your beautiful yard, GG. 

Sunset yesterday evening.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is really pretty, Cheryl!  

I NEED to find my camera.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, princess....and yes, you need to find your camera!   I know I'm not the only one who's looking forward to seeing your new stompin' grounds.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I love watching the young squirrels do their acrobatics on the feeder.  I make sure I buy a good mix that has something for the birds and the squirrels.  They all share.  The squirrel knocks off seeds and the ground feeders, Mourning Doves, clean it all up.  They all get something!


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, princess....and yes, you need to find your camera!   I know I'm not the only one who's looking forward to seeing your new stompin' grounds.



Add me to the list! I can't wait to see your home PF!!

FF..you are a kind soul and I love those pictures!


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice pics, FoodieFanatic.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute squirrel pics, FF! 

We have a friendly little bugger who isn't shy about asking for more. The door she's at doesn't have steps; she hopped up three feet to reach the threshold. In the second picture, I could have scratched her tummy through the screen if I wanted to. I didn't bother. I didn't want her to think it was a peanut.


----------



## taxlady

She's a cutie. Gee, I wonder how you figured out it was a she squirrel.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I actually referred to her in the generic "he" until a FB friend pointed out her lack of hardware.


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> I actually referred to her in the generic "he" until a FB friend pointed out her lack of hardware.


You can't always see the hardware on the boy squirrels. But, when they are nursing, you can certainly tell.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Add me to the list! I can't wait to see your home PF!!
> 
> FF..you are a kind soul and I love those pictures!



I have the pics, now for the time to get them uploaded and fixed so I can post them.  Hopefully Monday!  Everyone will have to excuse my messy house, there are boxes everywhere. I have empty CD racks with the boxes sitting next to them, but I can't find the shelves for the racks


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Those are so cute, CG!


----------



## Zhizara

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have the pics, now for the time to get them uploaded and fixed so I can post them.  Hopefully Monday!  Everyone will have to excuse my messy house, there are boxes everywhere. I have empty CD racks with the boxes sitting next to them, but I can't find the shelves for the racks



It'll be fun to see the before and after (unpacking) pictures.  Just take it easy there's no big hurry.  XOXOX


----------



## creative




----------



## Andy M.

Great photo of a pretty bird.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

That bird is stunning!  Those colors are beautiful.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is a beautiful bird, creative. Do you know what kind it is? I went hunting for it, figuring it was something in the parrot family. No luck.

I did find a slideshow of a lot of other colorful birds. If anyone is interested, *the slideshow is here*.


----------



## creative

Cooking Goddess said:


> That is a beautiful bird, creative. Do you know what kind it is? I went hunting for it, figuring it was something in the parrot family. No luck.
> 
> I did find a slideshow of a lot of other colorful birds. If anyone is interested, *the slideshow is here*.



They are just called tropical parrots.  I adore their rainbow colours.


----------



## Addie

It looks like a Scarlet Macaw. They are a Amazon South American parrot and the most popular ones wanted for a pet. As a result they are becoming fast endangered.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I trimmed the bushes and thought the pile of clippings was beautiful.   All the colors...could be turned into a jig-saw puzzle.


----------



## creative

Addie said:


> It looks like a Scarlet Macaw. They are a Amazon South American parrot and the most popular ones wanted for a pet. As a result they are becoming fast endangered.


Oh yes! Thanks Addie.  I did a google search but it did not produce a name.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

creative said:


>



Ara Macaw - Green winged from Central America


----------



## Addie

FoodieFanatic said:


> Ara Macaw - Green winged from Central America



Ara macao  is the Latin scientific name for the bird. Scarlet Macaw is the common name known and used by most of the English speaking people of the world. Translated to English from Latin Ara is 'altar'.  Quite understandable as who wouldn't worship such a beautiful creature.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Found it on Wikipedia.  This particular photo is quite popular and I can see why, just gorgeous!


----------



## Addie

FoodieFanatic said:


> Found it on Wikipedia.  This particular photo is quite popular and I can see why, just gorgeous!



National Geographic did a special on the parrots and macaws of the Americas. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Macaw has been placed on the endangered list. It is the most popular bird as a pet because of it color. 

When they are snuck into this country, most folks don't realize that the bird may have several diseases that was contacted in the wild. So they pay $1,000 or more and in a few months, they find the bird dead on the bottom of the cage. There is nothing they can do since owning one is illegal in the first place.


----------



## Dawgluver

Spider web stretched across our front door, just tonight.  It's a good 2 feet wide.  The maker of the web is a beautiful red-legged girl who's camera-shy.  Whenever I thought I got her in frame, she took off.
View attachment 23334


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Spider web stretched across our front door, just tonight. It's a good 2 feet wide. The maker of the web is a beautiful red-legged girl who's camera-shy. Whenever I thought I got her in frame, she took off.
> View attachment 23334


 OMGosh, Dawg....what a great pic!! You should lighten that up just a bit and send it to National Geographic. Seriously.


----------



## Dawgluver

You're too kind, Cheryl!  Thanks!  I really wanted to get the manufacturer in, she's about 1.5 inches, and a beauty, but I don't want her in the house.  Wish I could get the whole web, this is just when I open the door a crack.


----------



## Cheryl J

I wouldn't want her in the house either, I'm not a spider fan  but that perfectly architectural web she made is stunning.


----------



## Dawgluver

Checked on the web this morning, it was totally trashed, with no beautiful spider in sight.  Glad I was able to get a pic while I could.


----------



## Andy M.

We don't get picturesque spider webs often.  This is from a few years ago.  I sprayed it with water for effect.  I'm sure spider man (or woman) wasn't happy.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty!  Webs fascinate me.

I have a little orb weaver out the back door who unfortunately weaves her orb across the steps between a potted hibiscus and an adjacent mugo pine.  I try to go under it when I go out that door, but I've destroyed a few webs.


----------



## Dawgluver

I took Cheryl's advice and lightened it up:  View attachment 23339

The green things are evergreens in the background.  I took this from the inside of the door.


----------



## Dawgluver

I popped my head out the front door, and my spider is back, reconstructing her web!  

Hoping she'll let me take her pic.  I'm leaving her alone for awhile.


----------



## Dawgluver

Ah, my beauty!  Here she is, reconstructing her web!  View attachment 23342


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Ah, my beauty!  Here she is, reconstructing her web!  View attachment 23342


It tells me that its an invalid attachment.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dawgluver said:


> Ah, my beauty!  Here she is, reconstructing her web!  View attachment 23342




We'll try this again:


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> We'll try this again:
> View attachment 23343


That worked. How big did you say she was?


----------



## Dawgluver

She's about 1.5 inches stretched out.  My camera washed out her beautiful red striped legs.  I'm just pleased that she held still for a picture!  I think I've traumatized her for life, so I'm leaving her alone for awhile.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

We get the big spider webs in October. For now I have the small spider webs stretched all over my tomato plants. They sure have done a great job keeping plant invaders away! I move spiders from inside to outside. Never ever kill them! They are truly great gifts of nature.


----------



## Dawgluver

Ah, here's some of the red!
Apparently they eat the previous day's web and build new ones the next day.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> Ah, here's some of the red!View attachment 23344
> Apparently they eat the previous day's web and build new ones the next day.


Cool, recycling.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice pet spider, Dawg. Please make sure she doesn't stray far from home - we have enough pet spiders in our house and yard. Unfortunately, none of them are as pretty as yours.


----------



## GotGarlic

DH took this photo of a garden spider in our patio raised garden. She's got a carpenter bee in her web.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beautiful spider, GG!  I haven't seen one like that here.


----------



## GotGarlic

They're pretty common here. At one point, we had five webs from these spiders in the garden - some in the veggie garden  She hung an egg sac from the fence a couple weeks ago, and may be getting ready to have another one.


----------



## Kayelle

As long as you guys don't show me your snakes, I'm good. Great pics gals!


----------



## GotGarlic

Aw, really, Kayelle? DH got a good pic of a garter snake in our garden. They eat the critters that would eat our produce!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Random Photo*



Every few years, my husband and I go back home to Hawaii.
This photo of an Opah or Moon Fish was taken in 2012 at the Honolulu Fish Auction.
That thing is enormous!  That's my foot, size 6 by the way, in the shot to emphasize the point... them's good eats too 
The tag on the fish is shows the boat that caught it and the weight, 138 pounds.  We had a great time.  I had no idea that anyone could just walk in to the auction, watch, bid and buy fresh fish.  We saw a couple of families buying Ahi or Tuna for luaus that afternoon.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's one massive fish, K-Girl!  I've had opah in Hawaii, delicious.

Kayelle, I'm glad I didn't post a pic of the 1/3 of a garter snake I found on my front step the other day...whole, live, intact snakes don't bother me.  Partial snakes skeeze me out.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> That's one massive fish, K-Girl!  I've had opah in Hawaii, delicious.
> 
> Kayelle, I'm glad I didn't post a pic of the 1/3 of a garter snake I found on my front step the other day...whole, live, intact snakes don't bother me.  Partial snakes skeeze me out.


I hear ya.


----------



## Kayelle

Well, I admit to having a phobia about snakes. I can't even stand seeing them on TV.
Like most irrational fears it comes from my childhood when my teen age half brother thought it was cute to tease his 5 yr old little sister with them. He had a ball of rattles from Rattlesnakes hanging on the rear view mirror of his car. I still shiver with the memory.


----------



## Kayelle

What a great picture Kgirl........you're not kidding about Opah being ono!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Another pretty one, *GG*.

*K-girl*, the colors in that huge fish are really lovely.


----------



## Cheryl J

Great spider and web pics, GG and Dawg....Andy, I could have sworn I saw a great web pic you posted but I can't see it now. 

kgirl...that is one huge colorful fish.


----------



## Andy M.

*What happened???*



Andy M. said:


> We don't get picturesque spider webs often.  This is from a few years ago.  I sprayed it with water for effect.  I'm sure spider man (or woman) wasn't happy.




I put up post #1937 with a picture of a spider web.  I saw it but now it's gone.  What's going on???


It looked like this:


----------



## Cheryl J

That's the one I saw - I went back to look at it today to comment on what a pretty pic it was, and it was gone..


----------



## Dawgluver

Looking into it.  I swear it was there this morning.


----------



## Dawgluver

Well, the consensus is, we have no idea.  Thankfully, Andy was able to repost his pic!

Checked on my girl, she's busy reconstructing her web.  Sadly as much as I try, I can't get her beautiful coloring in a pic.

She hangs out on the top of the door trim during the day.  I think there's an egg sac up there.


----------



## Addie

While walking to the store one day I say a beautiful spider with various meals caught in her perfect web. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. Today every phone has a camera. And I always make sure I have mine with me. Not for the phone calls, but for what wonder I may see.


----------



## Cheryl J

I was dusting and re-arranging display frames today, and thought I'd share a few magnificent native American finds while I was out walking in these parts.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very nice, *Cheryl*! Unfortunately, now that you have 'fessed up to having native artifacts in your possession, someone from the Department-of-You-Shouldn't-Have-That Police will be by to pick them up.  And, maybe, you.  If we don't see you around these parts for a while, we'll take a collection, form a posse, and come get ya!


----------



## Dawgluver

Those are very cool, Chery!  I inherited a few from my grandparents.

We have a friend, who kind of lives "off the grid" who knaps his own arrowheads.


----------



## Cheryl J

I knew someone would call me on that!  These were from 20 plus years ago and on private property.  Nowadays, I won't even grab a nice rock for my rock garden or pick a desert flower.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Those are very cool, Chery! I inherited a few from my grandparents.
> 
> We have a friend, who kind of lives "off the grid" who knaps his own arrowheads.


 
Thanks, Dawg. I'm astounded with the skill it must take to do that.


----------



## Cheryl J

Freedom Park at City Hall this week.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Freedom Park at City Hall this week.




Beautiful.  

It's the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow, this suits it.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is a very nice tribute, Cheryl. So sad that we have to have events like 9/11 to inspire it. 

A few of my friends posted a message on Facebook suggesting that people stay off of Facebook from 8:46 AM through 10:07 AM. It would be a real tribute if all social media took a break then. Not a problem for me, since nothing in this house "powers up" before noon, me included. Just because I'm on my feet does not mean I am functional...


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, ladies. This pic only shows part of it, there are 1000 flags 'planted' on City Hall grounds.  Every year since 9/11 we have a Parade of 1000 Flags down the boulevard - people either sign up to carry one of the city provided flags or bring their own.  The townsfolk meet up at Freedom Park afterwards for a ceremony and the flags are re-set in their little cups on the grounds for a week.

CG, I saw that going around FB too....


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty sky late this afternoon. Sun and raincloud combo.


----------



## Dawgluver

Super cool, Cheryl!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is beautiful, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Dawg and princess!  It was trying to rain, but cleared up by evening.


----------



## LPBeier

My latest cake creation - this was for my MIL's birthday on Sunday. It was my first time making hard fondant panels and a molded "box top". The jelly beans are because she always keeps a dish of candies on her counter went the kids come over. It was a challenge as it is out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed trying something new!


----------



## Andy M.

Wow! You certainly haven't lost your touch.


----------



## taxlady

Andy M. said:


> Wow! You certainly haven't lost your touch.


Ditto


----------



## Cheryl J

LPBeier said:


> My latest cake creation - this was for my MIL's birthday on Sunday. It was my first time making hard fondant panels and a molded "box top". The jelly beans are because she always keeps a dish of candies on her counter went the kids come over. It was a challenge as it is out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed trying something new!


 
That's just beautiful, LP.  I'd be in tears to receive such an amazing personalized cake!


----------



## LPBeier

Thank you for your kind comments.

Cheryl, she was very pleased with it. She wants to keep the top to take down south with her the end of October to show a friend down there who makes cakes - a picture wasn't enough!


----------



## Dawgluver

Monarch caterpillar on my milkweed!  So excited to see them back!


----------



## FoodieFanatic

This is my little gardening buddy. It's a female Tree Frog.  I'd bring her a container of water to swim in and she was so happy.  I'd talk to her and it was like she knew what I was saying.  Adorable!


----------



## Dawgluver

Love my tree frogs and my peepers!  They can get a bit noisy around here.  Occasionally I find one glued to the picture window.  They like to stuff themselves between the outdoor faucets and the house and sing like crazy.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Monarch caterpillar on my milkweed!  So excited to see them back!
> View attachment 23461



Birds often are not too fond of Monarchs. The reason is the Viceroy. It has almost the same color and markings as a Monarch. But it is very bitter so birds and other insect eaters avoid these two butterfly.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Birds often are not too fond of Monarchs. The reason is the Viceroy. It has almost the same color and markings as a Monarch. But it is very bitter so birds and other insect eaters avoid these two butterfly.




I found something I'd never heard of on my milkweed the other day, bright orange and black milkweed beetles.  They like milkweed for the same reason Monarchs do, it makes them taste bad to predators.  I'm reserving my milkweed for monarchs and seeds, so I squished the beetles.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cute little tree frog, FF. 

Dawg, that's awesome you have a Monarch caterpillar - hopefully where there is one, there will be more!


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> I found something I'd never heard of on my milkweed the other day, bright orange and black milkweed beetles.  They like milkweed for the same reason Monarchs do, it makes them taste bad to predators.  I'm reserving my milkweed for monarchs and seeds, so I squished the beetles.



Smart lady!


----------



## tinlizzie

Here is a Florida Milkweed Bug.  I've cropped the photo down -- hope it's not too small to see.  Such a pest!

Are the Northern Milkweeds' flower yellow & red like these or are they whitish-pink as I seem to remember growing in Ohio?


----------



## Dawgluver

Our milkweeds here are pinkish flowered.  I think you can get cultivated ones in different colors, I just have wild ones.  That's a pretty milkweed, TL.  The leaves are a different shape than ours.

My milkweed beetles were brilliant orange and black.  Strangely, this was the first time I'd ever seen them, but apparently they're very common.  I had to google to figure out what they were.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

They look like Boxzelder bugs in shape and size. We have them but they are harmless and they are pink and black .


----------



## taxlady

I have only seen the white/pink milkweeds. I looked up milkweed on Wikipedia and the colour of the flowers depends on the species of milkweed. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of milkweed. Heck, I didn't know there was more than one kind.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I have only seen the white/pink milkweeds. I looked up milkweed on Wikipedia and the colour of the flowers depends on the species of milkweed. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of milkweed. Heck, I didn't know there was more than one kind.



And it's the swamp milkweed monarchs like best. Unfortunately, it can be invasive in my area.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

I don't recall ever seeing Milkweed out here.  Does it grow in the PNW?


----------



## Dawgluver

I think so.  Problem is, milkweed is considered an invasive weed, and has been wiped out in a lot of places, resulting in a huge decline in the monarch population.

The ones here get tall, some over 6 feet.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Interesting.  We still have lots of butterflies but mostly the black and yellow, just beautiful.  Not sure what they called.  I don't recall if we Monarch's.  We have a lot of Dragon Flies.  Those are fun to watch.  I love how they dart around and catch bugs.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sounds like you have swallowtails.  They are beautiful.  Ours here like parsley.

Monarchs are bright orange and black.

We had a lot of dragonflies here this year, love them too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dad said I had a milkweed when he mowed.  He said he would stop mowing them in his yard, too.


----------



## FoodieFanatic

Growing up in the Midwest Monarchs were the only butterflies. Loved them!


----------



## Dawgluver

Another pet spider at the front door.  This one is much smaller than the other one:


Sadly, I had to move the lovely girl at the back door, she kept stringing her web so I'd keep having to do the Limbo to get down the steps.  And she was attaching the web to one of my hibiscus, which I plan to bring indoors, minus spiders.  Hopefully she'll like her new home.


----------



## Cheryl J

"....the Limbo..."   I hope she adapts to her new home too, Dawg. 

On the other hand, I had to permanently remove 3 black widow spiders from various places in the garage today.  Big ones, too.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Sounds like you have swallowtails.  They are beautiful.  Ours here like parsley.
> 
> Monarchs are bright orange and black.
> 
> We had a lot of *dragonflies* here this year, love them too.



When I was about four or five, there were a lot of dragonflies every summer on our property. So many, that they created a humming sound as they darted around. My sister told me that they would sew my mouth shut. I spent the whole summer walking around with my mouth wide open. As wide as I could get it. And if I saw one near me, I put my hands over my mouth and ran. I wouldn't take them down until I could get far away from them.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> "....the Limbo..."   I hope she adapts to her new home too, Dawg.
> 
> On the other hand, I had to permanently remove 3 black widow spiders from various places in the garage today.  Big ones, too.




  Black widows!  Hope you had your tongs, Cheryl!

We have them here too, along with brown recluses.  Thankfully I haven't encountered any yet.

I'm not concerned about tarantulas down south, they're pretty harmless.  A friend in Mexico has to regularily remove them from her house with her dedicated tongs.  She discovered one on her pillow.  After she woke up.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> When I was about four or five, there were a lot of dragonflies every summer on our property. So many, that they created a humming sound as they darted around. My sister told me that they would sew my mouth shut. I spent the whole summer walking around with my mouth wide open. As wide as I could get it. And if I saw one near me, I put my hands over my mouth and ran. I wouldn't take them down until I could get far away from them.




That's funny, Addie!  We also have what we call darning needles, a small variety of dragonfly, with bright blue bodies.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Black widows!  Hope you had your tongs, Cheryl!
> 
> We have them here too, along with brown recluses.  Thankfully I haven't encountered any yet.
> 
> I'm not concerned about tarantulas down south, they're pretty harmless.



When Pirate was 16, his girlfriend gave him a  tarantula as a present for his birthday. Very soft fur.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> That's funny, Addie!  We have what we call darning needles, a small variety of dragonfly, with bright blue bodies.



  Don't let them sew your mouth shut. But on the other hand if you have any mending that needs doing, leave it out and maybe they will do it for you.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> When Pirate was 16, his girlfriend gave him a  tarantula as a present for his birthday. Very soft fur.




Glad he got a gentle one.  Tarantulas can shoot their hairs and cause skin and eye irritation when they're frightened.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> * Black widows! Hope you had your tongs, Cheryl!*
> 
> We have them here too, along with brown recluses. Thankfully I haven't encountered any yet.
> 
> I'm not concerned about tarantulas down south, they're pretty harmless. A friend in Mexico has to regularily remove them from her house with her dedicated tongs. She discovered one on her pillow. After she woke up.


 
No, I didn't have my tongs but I had a good can of spray.   Don't want them around! We don't have the recluses here, but I've heard about them - they do a lot more bodily damage than widows. I'm with ya on the tarantulas - they look scary but are generally very docile creatures.  We have lots of them around here out in the desert.  Not that I want one for a pet.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

*Random Photo*




Grocery shopping in Honolulu


----------



## GotGarlic

My corn bread from last night. It was really good. I realized I had no corn meal, so I used masa harina - the finely ground corn used for making tortillas. And I didn't use any wheat flour. I added about a cup of grilled corn kernels and some chopped tomato (I had been planning to use that mixture to make a salad, but didn't get to it). I love the color - I'm going to do that again. 

I can't share the method - sorry. It was given to me and I was sworn to secrecy


----------



## Cheryl J

Mmm, looks yummy GG.


----------



## taxlady

Looks good GG. I'll bet it's healthier with masa too. Masa is nixtamelized, so the niacin is more available.


----------



## GotGarlic

Thanks! It tasted more corny lol than corn bread I've made with flour. A little honey butter and it's perfect ☺


----------



## GotGarlic

In case you missed the Blood Moon eclipse last night. We had too much cloud cover and ambient light to see much.


----------



## Cheryl J

My grandson Tyler at his second game of the season yesterday. He was as full of determination as his little 5 year old self could muster up, and hit a home run!  

He had already started to swing the bat, so his arms look a little off...


Home base! He loves baseball SOOO much. I told him when he hits the major leagues he can buy me a big new house.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, Sweetness!  Way to go, Tyler!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

He's a Natural!  Good for him.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Dawg and Princess.  He always has his tongue stuck out when he bats, I guess it helps him concentrate.  LOL

I've got a video somewhere of him playing baseball in my backyard with his mama, just a week after he turned 3 yrs old.  He hit the ball over the fence and into the neighbors yard.


----------



## Kayelle

Now that's a champ Cheryl. I just love his stance with the first picture! *You* *go Tyler!!*


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Kay.   He's had that same baseball stance since before he was two years old with his little toy plastic bat  - that little guy has always loved baseball!


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty sky late this afternoon. I took a few random shots with my phone from the front yard, and didn't see the bird in flight until I looked at the pics on my computer.


----------



## Dawgluver

Super cool, Cheryl!  Is that a hawk?


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg.   It probably was a hawk, from the looks of the wing span. There's a lot of them out here.


----------



## taxlady

Love the photo, Cheryl.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Very nice Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Taxy and Princess.  

Weird - I was having my coffee on the patio this morning and a young hawk swooped in and landed on a lower branch of one of the trees.  My cat freaked out, fortunately he was right next to me.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wish I could get a picture of the birds outside right now, but if I move they all fly away.  They tolerate the cats watching them, but not the big clumsy human.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, Taxy and Princess.
> 
> Weird - I was having my coffee on the patio this morning and a young hawk swooped in and landed on a lower branch of one of the trees.  My cat freaked out, fortunately he was right next to me.



Isn't that just the coolest Cheryl? I had nearly the same happen to me when I was sitting on the front porch reading, and a red tailed hawk landed on the porch railing not five feet away. We stared at each other while I didn't move, and could hardly breathe. I think he landed there to check out the very realistic little bunny statue I have in the garden. Gosh, that just filled me with wonder and sure made my day. I love to watch them flying over our mountain, and what a shot you got with that beautiful picture. Good thing your little cat was right beside you!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Kay - yes, it's those unexpected moments that take our breath away! (as your sig line says)  I can imagine your mountain is a beautiful view from your porch. 

Princess, I'm glad your kitties get to watch bird TV - I bet they love their new home! Looking forward to some pics of those gorgeous Wyoming sunsets....or sunrises.   

This thread needs more love.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Princess WiggleBottom (Latté) wondering if she can get that bird this time & Both Latté and Smudge relaxing and watching the goings on.  The bowl on the deck is full of sunflower seeds.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Princess WiggleBottom (Latté) wondering if she can get that bird this time & Both Latté and Smudge relaxing and watching the goings on.  The bowl on the deck is full of sunflower seeds.


Princess WiggleBottom


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Princess WiggleBottom (Latté) wondering if she can get that bird this time & Both Latté and Smudge relaxing and watching the goings on.  The bowl on the deck is full of sunflower seeds.




Sweet kitties!


----------



## Cheryl J

Love the pics, Princess!  Looks like you have such a nice deck and yard now in your new home.  I can just see you and Shrek relaxing in the living room watching your kitties enjoy their view, but your probably busy building shelves.   Thanks for sharing some pics.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I wish I could get a pic of the birds, but they fly away when I approach, by the time they start coming back I can't hold my arms up any longer.

They've already wiped out a pound of sunflower seeds today.


----------



## tinlizzie

I was driving to the grocery store this morning early and saw this group of birds standing by a water-filled ditch beside the road.  There were 10 Wood Storks, two Roseate Spoonbills, and a bunch of White Egrets that I couldn't count because a car was coming up behind me.  Glad my camera was handy for once -- just rolled down the window & took a shot.


----------



## creative

"It wasn't me!"


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> I was driving to the grocery store this morning early and saw this group of birds standing by a water-filled ditch beside the road.  There were 10 Wood Storks, two Roseate Spoonbills, and a bunch of White Egrets that I couldn't count because a car was coming up behind me.  Glad my camera was handy for once -- just rolled down the window & took a shot.



Oh that is fantastic!  I would love to see that.  I saw a Great Blue Heron the other day.


----------



## Dawgluver

tinlizzie said:


> I was driving to the grocery store this morning early and saw this group of birds standing by a water-filled ditch beside the road.  There were 10 Wood Storks, two Roseate Spoonbills, and a bunch of White Egrets that I couldn't count because a car was coming up behind me.  Glad my camera was handy for once -- just rolled down the window & took a shot.




Love this!  Florida has such an amazing variety of birds.

I used to see a great blue heron daily on my commute to one of my districts.  Here along the river, bald eagles are a common, but lovely sight.


----------



## Cheryl J

What a great pic, Tinlizzie!  Glad you had your camera handy.


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> What a great pic, Tinlizzie!  Glad you had your camera handy.


Yes! And all birds with long legs.


----------



## tinlizzie

Thanks, folks.  A Wood Stork reminds me of a hermit -- they look somehow aged and sort of hunched over.  And this bunch would be Monty Python's colony of hermits.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you, Dawg and Princess.  He always has his tongue stuck out when he bats, I guess it helps him concentrate.  LOL...that little guy has always loved baseball!


Tyler is The MAN! I love it when kids enjoy sports so much.  BTW, my Mom always stuck her tongue out a little bit when she was concentrating. I've found out that I now do that sometimes when I'm threading a needle. I guess it makes the eye in the needle look bigger. 

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot to let you know that's a remarkable photo of the clouds with the bonus maybe-hawk. Remarkable how nature gives us a little treat when we aren't expecting it.  ~~  *Kayelle*, I like the way our little chickadees are so brave when I'm filling the bird feeders. I've had one buzz my ear, only to pull up and fly away as he realizes that big monster standing next to his perch is moving!


----------



## Addie

The day I arrived in Aransas Pass, Tx. I was coming in a cab from the airport in Corpus Christi. It was at a time when I was following the plight of the Whooping Crane. They were at their lowest at the time. Twenty-five. Right there on Wheeler Avenue, was a swampy area with drinkable water and tall grass. Prime real estate for them. But that is not where they are supposed to be. They winter in the Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Rockport. There was one lone WC. It had overshot where it was supposed to be. The cab driver stopped the cab, called in to his dispatcher to let him know exactly where the bird was located. It seems that all the locals in Aransas Pass and Rockport look after the birds and report to the authorities if one is where it shouldn't be. We stayed there until the wildlife officer arrived and got the crane on its way. 

What a welcome to my new home.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

tinlizzie said:


> I was driving to the grocery store this morning early and saw this group of birds standing by a water-filled ditch beside the road.  There were 10 Wood Storks, two Roseate Spoonbills, and a bunch of White Egrets that I couldn't count because a car was coming up behind me.  Glad my camera was handy for once -- just rolled down the window & took a shot.


What a great shot, tinlizzie! Lucky you to have that camera ready to point-and-shoot.

Our collection of birds in our backyard are of the small variety. It will be hard to see them in my picture, but we've seem to have had an influx of JUNCOS (aka "snowbirds"  ) in the last few days. So many, way too soon.


----------



## Dawgluver

I like juncos.  My now dead Mugo pine (RIP, Mugo) outside of my sunroom attracts all sorts of birds, juncos, chickadees, downy woodpeckers.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I like juncos too, Dawg. Just not this early in the season! 

Each bird I see is my "favorite" at the time I'm looking at it. However, if I HAD to pick just a couple of favorites I'd probably go with cardinals (because my Mom loved them, and I've heard that when you see a cardinal it is a deceased loved one coming to visit you  ) and American goldfinches. We used to have an upside-down thistle feeder - it was a riot watching the finches hang on the perches upside-down eating! Had that feeder for years back in OH; since we moved here the squirrels destroyed that one, plus two more.  We now use a standard thistle feeder. No matter the feeder, it's still fun to watch them fly. Their up-and-down movements always make me think of Woodstock from the "Peanuts" comic strip.


----------



## Addie

The Black Capped Chickadee is the state bird of Massachusetts. We would see them everywhere. Now, not so anymore. Oddly enough, Spike lives just four blocks from me and he sees them every day. I haven't seen one in many years. I think it is because of all the pigeons that the residents keep feeding here. We also have six trees just on the block here. And more trees on the property itself. Three are oak and a haven for hundreds of squirrels. Or it seems like it. The acorns are leaving very large dents in the cars that park underneath the oak trees. And these are not your run of the mill second hand cars. I am waiting for a car owner to cut one of the oak trees down in the middle of the night. Bird droppings and dents in fairly new cars. Makes me so glad I don't drive. 

I want to see the chickadee birds once again.


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty pic, CG.  I love the fall leaves in your yard, and unlike you and Dawg, I had never heard of a Junco before today.  I had to look them up. I've also never seen a Cardinal in real life - just online - they are such beautiful birds!


----------



## Dawgluver

We have a male cardinal who yells at DH if he doesn't fill the feeder at the specified time.  He even divebombs him.


----------



## Cheryl J

Crazy weather here these days...blue sky and puffy white clouds one minute, and this the next.  Loving it, though.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cool! Someone off to the right (east? north?) is getting a nice rainfall.

Am I supposed to be able to make out a face in that cloud, or should I quit with the nightly wine?


----------



## Cheryl J

CG, my daughters laugh at me because I'm always seeing faces in things - with or without the wine. 

That pic was looking west.  I was walking my grandson home from school and it clouded up quickly.  We barely made it to my driveway when it started pouring.


----------



## Dawgluver




----------



## Cooking Goddess

Lovely, *Dawg*. What has been happening in the City of Light is horrific.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, CG.  We had friends who just came back from Paris.  This is just so sad.


----------



## Josie1945

*Josie's back yard*

Thought I would share some pictures
of my back yard.


----------



## Dawgluver

What a beautiful back yard, Josie!


----------



## Addie

Josie1945 said:


> Thought I would share some pictures
> of my back yard.





Wow! Would you care for a lifetime guest? I will even keep the lawn mowed. Any gators in that body of water?


----------



## Josie1945

Addie said:


> Wow! Would you care for a lifetime guest? I will even keep the lawn mowed. Any gators in that body of water?




Addie you are welcome any time.
Yes there are gators in the lake.
Wally looks to be about 10 ft.

Josie

http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## Addie

Josie1945 said:


> Addie you are welcome any time.
> Yes there are gators in the lake.
> Wally looks to be about 10 ft.
> 
> Josie
> 
> http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/



Does he come up on land often? I would stay within running distance of the door. 

I had a friend (who has since passed) that lived in Louisiana right on the Gulf. One day she went out to get her mail and there was a huge bull gator there. She came back in the house in a hurry and declared he could have the mail and pay the bills that were in there. Smart Lady!


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> What a beautiful back yard, Josie!


Yes! and a great view.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful yard, Josie!  I can only imagine that gorgeous view every day.


----------



## GotGarlic

I love your yard, too, Josie. Beautiful


----------



## Josie1945

Thanks for all the complements, It is truly
a serene place.


----------



## Josie1945

Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful yard, Josie!  I can only imagine that gorgeous view every day.




Cheryl, I think the same when I see the beautiful
sunsets that you share with us.

http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## Josie1945

Addie, the big gator never goes
any father than the bank of the
lake. We get along just fine. I make
it a point not to irate anything that
I know could eat me!!

Josie


----------



## Cheryl J

Josie1945 said:


> Cheryl, I think the same when I see the beautiful
> sunsets that you share with us.


 
Thank you, Josie.


----------



## GotGarlic

And there's your garden. Do you grow everything you put up each year?


----------



## Josie1945

I can every thing he grows.I also 
can a lot of dry beans enough for
my sister and I. I enjoy canning.

Josie


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful yard, Josie!


----------



## Addie

Josie1945 said:


> Addie, the big gator never goes
> any father than the bank of the
> lake. We get along just fine. I make
> it a point not to irate anything that
> I know could eat me!!
> 
> Josie



Smart lady! That's why I love small dogs. No pit bulls or Great Danes for me. Great Danes are taller than me when standing on all fours.


----------



## Addie

Josie1945 said:


> I can every thing he grows.I also
> can a lot of dry beans enough for
> my sister and I. I enjoy canning.
> 
> Josie



There is something very theuraputic about the handling food and cooking for those we love. Some see cooking as a chore. I don't. I just wish I had 8-10 kids so I would still have some young enough that were at home and rushing in the door asking, "What's for supper Ma?"


----------



## Josie1945

The Hawk in the third picture
was watching Stevan work in
the garden, He does this every
Spring.

Josie


----------



## Kayelle

WOW.......those pictures are just beautiful Josie. Thanks for sharing them. I was just going to ask about the bird......How fantastic!! What a beautiful home!


----------



## Josie1945

Thanks Kayelle


----------



## MarcD

Front yard when the trees still had some leaves...Oct 26.

From the garden and ready to bake (not the beer...)

All done (pre-made crust because I was lazy that day)


----------



## Kayelle

Great pics Marc! Good grief...do you mow that beautiful lawn?


----------



## Dawgluver

Lovely, Marc!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful yards, Josie and Marc! I would love to have that much space.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

MarcD said:


> ...From the garden and ready to bake (not the beer...)...


Yuengling beer when you have Great Lakes in Ohio?  I have to make sure I have our daughter (near Canton) snap up my favorites so I can bring a couple 6-packs back with me when we visit her and her bro. Anyway, if you like Yuengling, enjoy away. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Lovely yard and trees. I hope you have a tractor or ride-a-mower, though. unless grass-cutting is your No. 1 exercise program.


----------



## MarcD

Kayelle said:


> Great pics Marc! Good grief...do you mow that beautiful lawn?



That's not even 1/4 of the lawn. Takes ~2 hours to do the whole thing after I got wise and bought a 60" commercial lawn mower. Yep....2 hours riding a bucking bronco. I can hang on for the entire ride but never get any points for style....



Dawgluver said:


> Lovely, Marc!



Thank you....the yard is a pain and I get no help.  

I haven't made any pies this year but my son has. He's a stubborn sort and made his own pie crusts. Bought some pie pumpkins at the store (I had 0 harvest this year) that were the worst things I've ever seen. It was a fight just to cut them in half for baking......after baking they could not be peeled and he had to scoop the pulp out. Not bad pies and his gf was impressed.....

Two of my sons are firefighters......they can cook. The oldest son is the cook at his station......that'll teach him to help in the kitchen. He got stuck with the job.....


----------



## MarcD

Cooking Goddess said:


> Yuengling beer when you have Great Lakes in Ohio?  I have to make sure I have our daughter (near Canton) snap up my favorites so I can bring a couple 6-packs back with me when we visit her and her bro. Anyway, if you like Yuengling, enjoy away.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Lovely yard and trees. I hope you have a tractor or ride-a-mower, though. unless grass-cutting is your No. 1 exercise program.



Yuengling for the price.......my preference is closer to where you live but the price is 2X. Favorite beer is Samuel Adams.......Boston Lager most times but a Rebel Rouser isn't bad once in a while.....


----------



## Andy M.

MarcD said:


> ...Favorite beer is Samuel Adams.......Boston Lager most times but a Rebel Rouser isn't bad once in a while.....



I'm a Sam Adams fan as well.  Boston Lager most of the year and Winter Lager when I can get it.  Bought a case of Winter last week.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Looks like you're a hoppy sort of guy. Himself favors hop beers, while I'm a malty sort of gal. Too bad you don't live closer to our kids,* Marc*. I'd happily swap you a couple 6-packs of Rebel Rouser ($9.99 per six-pack by us) for an equal value of "something" GLC (too many to list by name  ).


----------



## MarcD

Andy M. said:


> I'm a Sam Adams fan as well.  Boston Lager most of the year and Winter Lager when I can get it.  Bought a case of Winter last week.



I like the Winter ale......Octoberfest not too bad with a hint of pumpkin.



Cooking Goddess said:


> Looks like you're a hoppy sort of guy. Himself favors hop beers, while I'm a malty sort of gal. Too bad you don't live closer to our kids,* Marc*. I'd happily swap you a couple 6-packs of Rebel Rouser ($9.99 per six-pack by us) for an equal value of "something" GLC (too many to list by name  ).



Yes....I like a hoppy beer. It's been a while since I've had any Great Lakes.....Edmund Fitzgerald porter.


----------



## Addie

MarcD said:


> That's not even 1/4 of the lawn. Takes ~2 hours to do the whole thing after I got wise and bought a 60" commercial lawn mower. Yep....2 hours riding a bucking bronco. I can hang on for the entire ride but never get any points for style....
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you....the yard is a pain and I get no help.
> 
> I haven't made any pies this year but my son has. He's a stubborn sort and made his own pie crusts. Bought some pie pumpkins at the store (I had 0 harvest this year) that were the worst things I've ever seen. It was a fight just to cut them in half for baking......after baking they could not be peeled and he had to scoop the pulp out. Not bad pies and his gf was impressed.....
> 
> Two of my sons *are firefighters*......they can cook. The oldest son is the cook at his station......that'll teach him to help in the kitchen. He got stuck with the job.....



I have three first responders in the family. I am very proud of them, but worry constantly. They are the only people that leave their home each day looking for trouble with the good possibility of being hurt. 

Your yard is beautiful. Those trees are breathtaking. And that pie can take a prize also.


----------



## Cheryl J

*MarcD*, my son-in-law is a firefighter, too - and yes, those boys can cook!  Steve works at a very small fire station, only 9 guys there total, 3 for each shift. They share cooking duties so no one person has to do it all.  They're planning their Thanksgiving feast this week. 

Here's their kitchen


Year 'round outdoor grilling area for the boys 


Future firefighter


----------



## MarcD

Addie said:


> I have three first responders in the family. I am very proud of them, but worry constantly. They are the only people that leave their home each day looking for trouble with the good possibility of being hurt.
> 
> Your yard is beautiful. Those trees are breathtaking. And that pie can take a prize also.



Both sons are on duty today......one day on and two days off. They do look for trouble but are highly trained. I may listen to the scanner tonight to see if they have any runs. 

The yard was in need of being cut when the pic was taken but looked kinda OK. Last year, at this time, we had snow.

Looking towards my 'wildlife area' (2 acres). Fenced yard is for the dogs to romp in.....hose is drained and left hanging because it's ~300' of hose so I can water the garden.


----------



## MarcD

Cheryl J said:


> *MarcD*, my son-in-law is a firefighter, too - and yes, those boys can cook!  Steve works at a very small fire station, only 9 guys there total, 3 for each shift. They share cooking duties so no one person has to do it all.  They're planning their Thanksgiving feast this week.
> 
> Here's their kitchen



The son that lives with me is with a township fire dept......his older brother is with the city of Columbus. They both worked hard to get where they're at but the oldest son had to go through an extra 7 months training with the city. 

Nice kitchen.....they always get the best stuff. 

Cute future firefighter......I don't have any that young. My youngest turned 10 last June.....and lives with me (along with her 11 and 15 year old sisters). The oldest grand-daughter turned 17 a few days ago.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sweet pics, Cheryl.  My dad was the volunteer fire chief for our little town for many years.  My baby bro would take a whiff of him when he got home, and would say,  "Dad, you smell just like bacon."


----------



## MarcD

Dawgluver said:


> Sweet pics, Cheryl.  My dad was the volunteer fire chief for our little town for many years.  My baby bro would take a whiff of him when he got home, and would say,  "Dad, you smell just like bacon."





They go through lotsa bacon. Makes no difference if it's breakfast or not.


----------



## Cheryl J

Last night's sunset over the Sierra Nevadas.


----------



## Dawgluver

Whoa!  Cheryl, that is spectacular!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg....there's been some incredible sunsets here the past few days.
I can't take credit for this pic...a local friend got this amazing shot.  I took a few pics from my house but there's a streetlamp and houses from my driveway view - her pic is better from down the street and away from the obstructions.


----------



## Kayelle

That sunset is mind blowing Cheryl! Sigh...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> Last night's sunset over the Sierra Nevadas.


OOoooooooo. AHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Lovely, no matter who took it.


----------



## LPBeier

Cheryl, that is gorgeous!


----------



## Andy M.

WOW!


----------



## GotGarlic

Red sky at night, 
Sailor's delight. 
Red sky at morn, 
Sailors be warned. 

Looks like you're in for a beautiful day today!  Amazing photo.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Last night's sunset over the Sierra Nevadas.



Beautiful, amazing color!


----------



## taxlady

Spectacular sunset


----------



## creative

Just seen that sunset photo...indeed spectacular.  _Wonderful_ colours!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, everyone!  I never get tired of looking at the beautiful colors in nature.   

There was a gorgeous sunrise this morning too, but I didn't want to bundle up at 6:45 this morning when it was barely 30F to go out and get a picture.  Seeing it through my bedroom window sufficed.


----------



## Kayelle

Woo Hoo, the whole house has been painted. 

This shows our new color scheme along with our new special order "porch rules" sign. We're both over the moon happy with the new look. Time for us to sit on the porch again.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oooh, so pretty, Kay!  Nice job!


----------



## taxlady

That is very nice Kayelle.


----------



## Cheryl J

*Beautiful* color combination Kay and SC, and I LOVE the porch sign!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very nice, Kayelle. When can I show up with a bottle of wine?  That chair looks like it's lonely.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Very Nice Kayelle and Sous Chef!  Love that red door!


----------



## Paymaster

Cade's Cove in the Smoky Mountain N.P. last year.


----------



## Cheryl J

What a beautiful pic, Paymaster!


----------



## CharlieD

Cheryl J said:


> *MarcD*, my son-in-law is a firefighter, too - and yes, those boys can cook!  Steve works at a very small fire station, only 9 guys there total, 3 for each shift. They share cooking duties so no one person has to do it all.  They're planning their Thanksgiving feast this week.
> 
> Here's their kitchen
> View attachment 23839
> 
> Year 'round outdoor grilling area for the boys
> View attachment 23840
> 
> Future firefighter
> View attachment 23841




Oh, my that would be my dream kitchen!


Sent from my iPad using Discuss Cooking


----------



## Paymaster

Coca Cola Santa climbing a ladder on our Christmas Tree this morning.


----------



## taxlady

PM, that's adorable.


----------



## creative




----------



## taxlady

Took some pix at the mummy-in-law's place The first one is of a black squirrel who obviously has some red squirrel ancestry.

The second one is of the Xmas tree in the front yard. The lights were put on the outside of the tree 9 years ago. The lights at the bottom right are on a bush.


----------



## Cheryl J

Very pretty trees and lights, Taxy.  Looks cold there. 

That squirrel's tail - such a definitive line between black and red!


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> Very pretty trees and lights, Taxy.  Looks cold there.
> 
> That squirrel's tail - such a definitive line between black and red!


Thanks Cheryl. Yes, it's cold here, -10°C (14°F).


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Brrr, that's cold! We're still at our daughter's in OH and the temps are in the mid-upper 30s. Stay warm, and safe travels when you do get to leave for home.

That poor squirrel looks like someone grabbed him and stuck most of his tail into hair bleach. Maybe they thought he'd make a cute blond.


----------



## RPCookin

Throwing a couple of photos at you.  

First is one from 35 years ago, 4 wheeling up in the Colorado Rockies:







Then one from this last summer north of Cody Wyoming on my way in the back door to Yellowstone Park:






And one from our trip to Africa in 2014 - helicopter view of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wonderful pics Rick!  I'm pretty sure I've been on two of those roads.


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wonderful pics Rick!  I'm pretty sure I've been on two of those roads.



The second one is about 20 or 30 miles north of Cody.  I drove up through Red Lodge, Montana, then over the Beartooth Scenic Highway and into the NE entrance to Yellowstone.  A couple more from that drive:

Looking down from above a scenic overlook on the Montana side:






Gardiner Lake.  Panorama stitched from 6 images.


----------



## GotGarlic

Wow, Rick. Gorgeous photos.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

RP, those are poster-worthy shots! You could probably sell them to a travel agency.


----------



## Cheryl J

Rick, those pics are absolutely stunning!


----------



## RPCookin

Thanks for the comments.  I've been shooting as a hobby on and off for 40 years.  It's so much better now with digital images that I can develop on my computer instead of having to send them in for processing.  

A couple more from Africa:

A herd of zebra crossing the Chobe River on the border between Botswana and Namibia.  I'm on the Botswana side in Chobe National Park.  Note the native huts in the distance.






This one is a leopard.  We spent nearly an hour there shooting from several angles.  The leopard wasn't going anywhere because it was guarding an impala carcass that it had taken the day before.


----------



## Addie

RP, the picture with the zebras has what looks like a cheetah or some other cat in the background running to make a catch. Or he is being chased by a lion. Beautiful pictures. Very talented.


----------



## Paymaster

A buck from Cade's Cove yesterday.


----------



## GotGarlic

Addie, I zoomed in on that animal in the distance and it looks more like a bird. Although it's a bit blurry, the shape at the top is more like wings than an animal head and back. Maybe Rick has a better view with his original image and can tell us what it is.


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> Addie, I zoomed in on that animal in the distance and it looks more like a bird. Although it's a bit blurry, the shape at the top is more like wings than an animal head and back. Maybe Rick has a better view with his original image and can tell us what it is.



I think you're right.


----------



## RPCookin

Addie said:


> RP, the picture with the zebras has what looks like a cheetah or some other cat in the background running to make a catch. Or he is being chased by a lion. Beautiful pictures. Very talented.



I don't think so.  There is a fish eagle flying above the herd and a few other birds around in the photo, but no cats.   I have good photos of lions, cheetahs, and leopards, but none making a kill.  They were all just lying in the shade trying to stay cool at the times when we saw them.  

I have a photo of a pack of African Wild Dogs (also called painted wolf) on the hunt, but they never caught up to anything while we could see them.  They had an injured hyena following them hoping for some leftovers.  You can see the dog that is farthest from the camera looking back to where the hyena is hiding.  Two of the dogs have tracking collars.  The wild dog is endangered.


----------



## Andy M.

Fantastic photos.  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## RPCookin

Paymaster said:


> A buck from Cade's Cove yesterday.



Is that a whitetail?  I've only seen one or two ever.  We mostly have mule deer out here, with just an occasional whitetail in the brushy stream bottoms.  Also see Pronghorn antelope regularly, but never close enough to be worth trying to photograph with the lenses I have.


----------



## Paymaster

RPCookin said:


> Is that a whitetail?  I've only seen one or two ever.  We mostly have mule deer out here, with just an occasional whitetail in the brushy stream bottoms.  Also see Pronghorn antelope regularly, but never close enough to be worth trying to photograph with the lenses I have.



Yes. This is a whitetail. I got to within about 20 yards of him. The deer at Cade's Cove in the Smoky Mountain National Park are quite wild but don't fear humans much due to them never being harassed. They are protected there.
I got pretty close to this one too.


----------



## taxlady

All these pictures of deer reminded me of photos I took in Denmark in Jægersborg Dyrehave, about 10 km north of Copenhagen. It's a park that a king had built for his private hunting. It is now public and no hunting is allowed. The deer are very tame and well taken care of and fed.

This pic shows how close photographers can get. I took the picture from a horse drawn carriage that my mother hired for a tour of the park. You can see the lamp on the carriage on the right. On the left, is one of the feeding stations.







Here's a Sika deer, imported from Japan.


----------



## taxlady

Also from Jægersborg Dyrehave, the palace/hunting lodge built for the king. It has no bedrooms. It has a kitchen in the basement and a very large table that comes up through the floor like an elevator.


----------



## taxlady

And another one from Jægersborg Dyrehave. These burial mounds have been put off limits to archeologists for now. They will be the last mounds opened in Denmark.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> Thanks for the comments.  I've been shooting as a hobby on and off for 40 years.  It's so much better now with digital images that I can develop on my computer instead of having to send them in for processing...
> 
> ...This one is a leopard.  We spent nearly an hour there shooting from several angles.  The leopard wasn't going anywhere because it was guarding an impala carcass that it had taken the day before.



I swiped your leopard pic for my desktop...beautiful cat!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks for sharing all the pics, everyone.  It is so nice to see what others see.

Rick, we did that scenic by-way 4 or 5 times while we lived in Montana.


----------



## Dawgluver

Loving the pics too!


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks for sharing all the pics, everyone.  It is so nice to see what others see.
> 
> Rick, we did that scenic by-way 4 or 5 times while we lived in Montana.



It was a fantastic drive. and this from me who has been over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park (more than 12,000 feet elevation) too many times to count.  I've also driven several times up the road to the top of Mt. Evans here in Colorado, 14,000 feet.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I plan on exploring Laramie Peak and Scottsbluff in the spring.  Have never been.  I have to remember to take my camera.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I plan on exploring Laramie Peak and Scottsbluff in the spring.  Have never been.  I have to remember to take my camera.



Sounds like fun.  I've found my iPhone camera takes great photos outdoors in daylight.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

My cell phone takes phone calls...no camera.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My cell phone takes phone calls...no camera.




The you can call and describe the scenery to me...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> My cell phone takes phone calls...no camera.



Mine takes lovely pictures of my rug or ceiling. Every time if I forget to not grab it by the side, the camera clicks a picture.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> The you can call and describe the scenery to me...



Now that I can do


----------



## Kayelle

My picture seems really mundane after all those beautiful photo's. Thanks so much for sharing them.
I just wanted to share our new furniture for our little TV/Office room. We love the new electric reclining love seat and faux mink fur pillows. The Souschef just put together the little magazine rack with table top and lamp all in one. The photo of Venice is a treasure from our first trip. Ready to watch TV!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Kayelle*, that double recliner looks so comfy - and cozy enough for two hand-holding lovebirds.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oooh.  Love it, Kay!  Looks so comfy.


----------



## GotGarlic

Just what I was thinking - comfy, cozy nook you have there, Kayelle


----------



## Cheryl J

Far from mundane at all, Kay.  I'd love to get comfy on that beautiful new love seat with a nice blanket, those pillows, a good movie, and my significant....umm...kitty.   Great pic!


----------



## taxlady

Kayelle, the way you have done that room is perfect for "hygge" with your honey. Hygge is a Danish word for a concept that includes coziness, but covers more than that. A few candles help. Here's an article that does a pretty good job of describing "hygge".

Is the secret of happiness contained in this Danish word? | PBS NewsHour

And as to pronunciation, I keep reading "hooga", well almost. If you know how to say the letter "u" in French, that's how the "y" is pronounced.


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks for the nice compliments everybody. I really enjoyed that article and the video helped with the pronunciation Taxi. I had never heard the concept.


----------



## taxlady

Kayellle, thank you for mentioning the video. I hadn't noticed it and it was a good one.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

At $3.99 for a mere 3.7 ounces, more than $1 an ounce, I said "Dang" when I looked at the package, too!  I know you can buy those large, plain coconut chips in a number of places. I would think it would take mere minutes in your oven to toast those little suckers and make your own for half the price, or less.


----------



## Cheryl J

Yesterday evening's stormy looking sunset moving in.


----------



## Kayelle

You get the most awesome skies out therel!! Yep, we're all predicted with a real frog drowner tomorrow, and my rain gauge is all ready to go. Do you have one Cheryl?


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> My picture seems really mundane after all those beautiful photo's. Thanks so much for sharing them.
> I just wanted to share our new furniture for our little TV/Office room. We love the new electric reclining love seat and faux mink fur pillows. The Souschef just put together the little magazine rack with table top and lamp all in one. The photo of Venice is a treasure from our first trip. Ready to watch TV!



Kayelle, there is nothing mundane about that great seat! I could easily take a nap nestled right down in it.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> You get the most awesome skies out therel!! Yep, we're all predicted with a real frog drowner tomorrow, and my rain gauge is all ready to go. Do you have one Cheryl?



Fingers are crossed and a prayer sent on its way for that rain to fall and enough of it to make a difference.


----------



## Andy M.

Here's a pic of tonight's sunset.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, Andy....that's beautiful!! The sand and the ocean makes it even more spectacular.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> You get the most awesome skies out therel!! Yep, we're all predicted with a real frog drowner tomorrow, and my rain gauge is all ready to go. Do you have one Cheryl?


 
"frog drowner"   Yep, we're supposed to get a gullywasher here tomorrow, too.  We'll see if the weather report is correct.  Last week we got a big rainstorm, and it wasn't even predicted for this area.   I don't have a rain gauge, but I know you have one and that you and the SC enjoy tracking the amounts of rain.  I should get one.


----------



## Cheryl J

Addie said:


> Fingers are crossed and a prayer sent on its way for that rain to fall and enough of it to make a difference.


 
(evidently I messed up the multiquote) 
Thanks, Addie. There are some hopeful signs for California, but it won't happen this year.  At least it's headed in the right direction. 
Water level of California's Lake Oroville spikes by 17 feet in 10 days


----------



## RPCookin

Cheryl J said:


> "frog drowner"   Yep, we're supposed to get a gullywasher here tomorrow, too.  We'll see if the weather report is correct.  Last week we got a big rainstorm, and it wasn't even predicted for this area.   I don't have a rain gauge, but I know you have one and that you and the SC enjoy tracking the amounts of rain.  I should get one.



You can have your gullywasher, just keep it on your side of the Divide.  Here we are having a Great Plains Blizzard from the remnants of your gullywasher.  My wife is supposed to be flying into Denver from LA after a 2 week trip to Thailand, and I have to drive 100 miles this evening through the storm to meet her if the flight isn't cancelled.  Pray for me!


----------



## Andy M.

Ran into an old friend today.


----------



## Dawgluver

I've met a few of her relatives!


----------



## Cheryl J

RPCookin said:


> You can have your gullywasher, just keep it on your side of the Divide. Here we are having a Great Plains Blizzard from the remnants of your gullywasher. My wife is supposed to be flying into Denver from LA after a 2 week trip to Thailand, and I have to drive 100 miles this evening through the storm to meet her if the flight isn't cancelled. Pray for me!


 
You're probably already on your way Rick, and may not see this - sending best wishes across the miles to you and your wife for a safe travel. Please check in here when you get home.


----------



## NYBrit

This is my first time attempting to upload a photo on this site so I hope it works.  This is me after shoveling two feet of snow a week ago!


----------



## Dawgluver

Perfect, NYBrit!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You look like you're "happy smiling" after shoveling all that snow, *NYBrit*. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't look as happy. You would think by now I'd be use to snow up the ying-yang, too, after our snow dumps of last winter. It's your turn.


----------



## NYBrit

Cooking Goddess said:


> You look like you're "happy smiling" after shoveling all that snow, *NYBrit*. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't look as happy. You would think by now I'd be use to snow up the ying-yang, too, after our snow dumps of last winter. It's your turn.



LOL>  I think I was happy because for the first time I was able to shovel the snow without getting out of breath or having palpitations.  I went on a health journey in 2015, losing over 30 lbs and I started running.  I'm definitely much fitter than I used to be and it really showed when it came to clearing away the snow.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I noticed you mentioned those accomplishments in a different thread. Congrats to you! It isn't easy, getting healthy. Keep up the good work, and welcome back to DC.


----------



## NYBrit

Cooking Goddess said:


> I noticed you mentioned those accomplishments in a different thread. Congrats to you! It isn't easy, getting healthy. Keep up the good work, and welcome back to DC.



Thank you.  I'll be haunting the healthy food forums from now on getting ideas.
Getting healthy is not the easiest thing but it's definitely much easier when you see dramatic results.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Went to bed about 4-ish this morning - no snow. Got up around 11 - this is what greeted me! There is about a foot's worth on the round table (there really is an iron mesh table under there) and birds all over the feeders, ground, and trees. That puffball to the left of the male cardinal in the tree in the distance is a mourning dove. I've never seen one that fluffy!


----------



## Andy M.

Went out to dinner last night. This was the view from my table.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, just quit it, Andy.

Just kidding, keep 'em coming!


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Went to bed about 4-ish this morning - no snow. Got up around 11 - this is what greeted me! There is about a foot's worth on the round table (there really is an iron mesh table under there) and birds all over the feeders, ground, and trees. That puffball to the left of the male cardinal in the tree in the distance is a mourning dove. I've never seen one that fluffy!


I have seen birds fluff up their feathers in winter. I think it helps keep them warmer.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics, NYBrit, CG, and Andy!  I SO enjoy seeing member photos!


----------



## Andy M.

Here's a commercial building in downtown Oranjestad.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Looks sorta Disneyesque, *Andy*. And warm. And a foot less snow than we got today.

Glad to see you're enjoying your vacation. And for sharing it so we can all vacation vicariously.


----------



## Dawgluver

I was thinking Disney too, CG!  Lovely, Andy!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful blue sky in your pic, Andy!


----------



## NYBrit

This is a sunset I took a couple of months ago.  One of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wow, NYBrit!  Gorgeous!


----------



## Andy M.

We ran into Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts who is from Aruba. He flew from Boston to Aruba with us and we ran into him at a restaurant a few days later.  That's SO and our grandson with him.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I bet that was a thrill for you guys. Nice looking family members, too. Loving your grandson ear-to-ear grin.


----------



## Cheryl J

NYBrit said:


> This is a sunset I took a couple of months ago. One of the most amazing sunsets I've ever seen.


 
OMGosh, NYBrit - what a spectacular sunset!


----------



## Cheryl J

Great pic, Andy - I love your grandson's big smile!


----------



## Katie H

Had the presence of mind to take some pictures of our rather heavy, for our region, snowfall last month.

The first picture is our driveway.  Well, it IS under there somewhere.  The second photo is of our front bird feeder, which is the one I can see and enjoy watching birds from the sofa in the living room.


----------



## Kayelle

OHMYGOSH.....just look at all those beautiful Cardinals!


----------



## Katie H

Kayelle said:


> OHMYGOSH.....just look at all those beautiful Cardinals!



Yes, lots and lots of cardinals and they look so beautiful against the snow.  Just after I snapped that photo, another crew flew in.  After 27, I quit counting.  The feeder was awash in red.  Awesome sight!!!


----------



## Kayelle

How I would love to sit on your couch and watch them Katie!!


----------



## Kayelle

This is the last of the yearly harvest 2/19/16. The SousChef will plant a new "Celebrity' tomato plant next month. This one plant gave us aprox. 200 tomatoes, most about twice as big as what's pictured with the last harvest.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, that was one big tomato 'tree', Kay!  Very nice.  I just went to Home Depot for seedlings today to get some started, but they didn't have any just yet.  
Is that a Meyer lemon bush there off to the side?


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Wow, that was *one big tomato 'tree'*, Kay!  Very nice.  I just went to Home Depot for seedlings today to get some started, but they didn't have any just yet.
> Is that a Meyer lemon bush there off to the side?



Good description Cheryl. In all it's green summer glory it was indeed a tomato tree that folded itself in half, and grew upside down perfectly happy. We will definitely buy another "Celebrity" plant when they become available in a gallon container. SC is not so patient with seedling. 
The Meyer lemon tree is in the front of the house. That's a dwarf navel orange in the picture.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is one amazing tomato plant,* Kayelle*. Texas is no longer able to lay claim to "we grow 'em bigger". Not everything BIG is in TX, by the looks of your plant.


----------



## GotGarlic

I went grocery shopping a while ago. This is one of my favorite stops. I may have overbought, but I had Alton Brown's Fromage Fort in mind  I got chunks of Asiago, baby Swiss and habañero Monterey Jack. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/fromage-fort-recipe.html


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I like that basket, *GG*. It must be nice to pick through a selection of different cheeses so you can sample, but not buy so much that you are in trouble if you end up not really liking it. Besides, that looks like you took it in a fromagerie. So then, samples.  Love samples!

We didn't sample anything from this wall of heat. Stopped in an upscale beverage store to check for something, and ran into this sight. Took the picture just to send to our son, a hot sauce fiend. Too bad he lives over 600 from this store - we would have fun watching HIM have fun! Oh, besides all of these hot sauces, there were two other walls filled with BBQ sauces, and mustards, and all kind of fun.


----------



## GotGarlic

Wow, CG, yes, that place would be fun to browse


----------



## Andy M.

CG, if you're ever out for a ride in southern Maine, check out this place and bookmark it of your son.  hot sauces,salsas,stonewall kitchen,gourmet gifts at Flaming Gourmet, Kennebunkport, Maine


----------



## RPCookin

Some images from the field corn harvest last fall.

My wife riding in the jump seat:






Unloading the combine:





Something left behind for the deer:


----------



## RPCookin

My wife's family farm.  Farmed continuously by her family since 1913 when her great grandfather built the barn (that was the first building erected because the stock was more important than the people).  The house, grain elevator, and other outbuildings came over the next 2-3 years.  I did some processing to create the antique look.


----------



## Kayelle

Beautiful collection of photo's Rick, and thanks for sharing.


----------



## Cheryl J

Rick, those are some great pics!


----------



## GotGarlic

Really like those pictures, Rick


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Great pics, Rick.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice pictures, Rick. I especially like the antiqued one. But one thing that jumped out at me was that your last name is PRIEBE????  My Great Aunt Rose was married to a Priebe! Who knows, we might be long-lost, extremely distant cousins - and I'm not talking the CO to MA distance either.


----------



## Capt Lightning

Most of my back garden taken from the roof of my workshop.  The crops in the fields behind are mostly barley for the Scotch whisky industry.


----------



## RPCookin

Cooking Goddess said:


> Nice pictures, Rick. I especially like the antiqued one. But one thing that jumped out at me was that your last name is PRIEBE????  My Great Aunt Rose was married to a Priebe! Who knows, we might be long-lost, extremely distant cousins - and I'm not talking the CO to MA distance either.



My father was born and raised in Minnesota (as was I), but he is technically my stepfather.  My biological father deserted us when I was 9, and Mom remarried when I was 14, and my step dad adopted us kids (my birth name was Schultz).  So while there may be something there in the tiny branches of the family tree, it would be pretty obscure.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You might be a tiny branch on the tree, but I'm pretty sure I'm one of the nuts on the ground.


----------



## Cheryl J

LOL *CG *

*Captain,* what a beautiful yard and view!  Thank you for sharing your pic.


----------



## Capt Lightning

This is my house - built originally around 1830 and extended in 1896.  It is typical of houses in the area and is built from stone quarried near the village and roofed with Scottish slate from the west coast.

It was probably owned by a person of relative wealth.  I think the stone building at the rear was a fuel & animal feed store.


----------



## Capt Lightning

A place to chill out...   my summer house in the garden.


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks from me too Captain, I really enjoy getting a feel for the way people live. Lovely pictures.


----------



## Dawgluver

Love your pics too, Capt!  Thanks for sharing them!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very nice photos, *Capt*. Thanks for posting them. Your summer house looks like a peaceful place to read a book - or to sip some of that Scotch whisky. 

Also, welcome to DC.


----------



## RPCookin

Nice place Captain.  You look to have a wonderful home.


----------



## Dawgluver

Out my sunroom window:


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics from your sunroom, Dawg!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, Cheryl!  My car battery died again, otherwise I would have driven down the road for a better view!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

For a minute there, I thought you were shooting that out MY sunroom window. Then I realized your hill goes up to the left. Ours goes pretty much straight back. We sure have nice backyard views, don't we *Dawg*?


----------



## Dawgluver

Indeed, CG!  I thought your shot was my backyard too...


----------



## Souschef

*Dogs*

We are dogsitting for our neighbor, and I asked my copilot to bring his dog "bandit" over for a visit. After they got through running and chasing, here is where they ended up


----------



## Dawgluver

Little dogs are so cute!  Glad they're friends!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Souschef said:


> We are dogsitting for our neighbor, and I asked my copilot to bring his dog "bandit" over for a visit. After they got through running and chasing, here is where they ended up


Cute, but which one is your co-pilot's "Bandit"? They both look like they're wearing goggles, sort of.


----------



## RPCookin

Speaking of backyards, these were shot from my yard last summer:








This guy was spraying the wheat field about 1/4 mile east of the house.  I took the shot standing in my driveway.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You take really nice photos, *Rick*. You can almost tell what color the pilot's eyes are! 

Question about the windmills: can you hear them from your house? I have bat hearing, so I'd be afraid I'd be listening to them whoosh while I would be trying to fall asleep.


----------



## Dawgluver

Love the moon shot!  When I take moon pics, no matter how big it looks to me, it just looks like a dot in the pic.  Cool capture of the plane too!


----------



## RPCookin

Cooking Goddess said:


> You take really nice photos, *Rick*. You can almost tell what color the pilot's eyes are!
> 
> Question about the windmills: can you hear them from your house? I have bat hearing, so I'd be afraid I'd be listening to them whoosh while I would be trying to fall asleep.



Nope.  They are over 2 miles away.  



Dawgluver said:


> Love the moon shot!  When I take moon pics, no matter how big it looks to me, it just looks like a dot in the pic.  Cool capture of the plane too!



You have to use a telephoto lens of some kind to give that sort of perspective.  I took that last August (I think it was August, but maybe September?) on the night of the supermoon.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Love that moon pic...it was grand up here, too.


----------



## Capt Lightning

I've mentioned in other posts that we keep traditional breed pigs for pork. 
Here are a few pics...
1.  British Saddlebacks





2. Oxford Sandy & Black.  Once almost extinct in the UK.





3.  Berkshire - one of the oldest pure breeds in the UK.  Apparently they are highly prized for their taste by the Japanese Royal family!











These pigs are not usually kept commercially so it is up to small scale breeding and enthusiasts to keep the breeds viable.  They do taste far better than anything you can buy in the supermarket.


----------



## Dawgluver

Nice looking pigs, Capt!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Pigs!!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hello, dinner!  Those are fine looking pigs. I especially like the markings on the Oxford. ~ We currently live in Massachusetts. There are a number of farms that raise the Saddleback and Berkshire breeds. One of these days I'm going to raid our piggy bank and get us some of the chops for dinner.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I need to find a piggery around here.  Had one in Montana that we shopped from.  Wonder if Mom and Dad would like to go halves on a pig...


----------



## Lance Bushrod

My CSA sells pigs and cut pork. The cut pork is US$15 a pound and up. They started with Berksires but now are running what ever they can buy and call it "pastured pork".  For the money I'll stick with Hormel.


----------



## Souschef

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cute, but which one is your co-pilot's "Bandit"? They both look like they're wearing goggles, sort of.


The one on the left,with the dark mask around his eyes


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, what great pics CG, Dawg, Captain, Rick, and SC! 

Dawg and CG....can hardly believe how similar your backyard views are! 

Captain, love the piggy pics.  They look so happy and healthy. 

Love the farm pics, Rick. 

Sous....such cute puppy pics! 

I so enjoy member photos.


----------



## Kayelle

Souschef said:


> We are dogsitting for our neighbor, and I asked my copilot to bring his dog "bandit" over for a visit. After they got through running and chasing, here is where they ended up



Bandit is on the left, and Lucy is on the right. They have been in love since they were puppies. All the neighbors think we should have a wedding.


----------



## Capt Lightning

Went for a walk today.  Tide was in, so no beach, but a lovely walk anyway.

This is Banff, a small town near me  with some interesting history that I won't bore you with at present....







In town there is a cafe called "the broken fiddle" and on the wall is this sign..






Jamie Macpherson was the illigitimate son of a laird and a gypsy girl.  When the laird died, Jamie and his mother joined the gypsies.  Jamie became a good swordsman and a gifted fidddle player.  He eventually became leader of the band of gypsies and embarked on a 'Robin Hood' lifestyle - robbing from the rich and helping the poor.

When the law caught up with him, he was sentensed to be hanged at the Merkat cross in Banff.  On the gallows, he played his fiddle and then asked if someone would play it at his funeral.  Nobody wanted to be guilty by association, so he broke the fiddle and threw it into the crowd,  saying it should never be played again. 

This sounds a bit like a Disney fairytale,  but it is largely true.  The official records are kept in the National Archives of Scotland,  The fiddle is in the Macpherson museum and his sword is on display in the nearby Duff House.  A few stories grew up round the trial, which most people believed was 'fixed'.  These are a bit doubtful, but they make a good tale.


----------



## Addie

I love history of the UK. Thanks.


----------



## RPCookin

Love the first photo Capt, and I liked the story.  History is often far more interesting than fiction.


----------



## RPCookin

This is the Bahamian island where we lived for 2½ years.  The island is 80 miles long and 4 miles wide at its widest.  The beaches are amazing.

A panorama of the beach from our deck:





A beach about 6 miles north of us where we went often for a sheltered swimmimg spot:





My wife on our beach.  The sand extends for more than 3 miles like this, usually without another soul in sight.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those are some picture-postcard worthy photos there, *Capt* and *RP*!


----------



## Kayelle

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those are some picture-postcard worthy photos there, *Capt* and *RP*!



From me too...just beautiful!!


----------



## taxlady

Hate to be the curmudgeon here, but the term "Gypsy" is considered a slur. The preferred term is "Roma".


----------



## Capt Lightning

taxlady said:


> Hate to be the curmudgeon here, but the term "Gypsy" is considered a slur. The preferred term is "Roma".



Perhaps in Montreal, but please  bear in mind  that this refers to events from the 17th century when Macpherson and his clan were also referred to as 'Egyptians'.
The term 'Roma' would hardly have been known at that time.


----------



## taxlady

Capt Lightning said:


> Perhaps in Montreal, but please  bear in mind  that this refers to events from the 17th century when Macpherson and his clan were also referred to as 'Egyptians'.
> The term 'Roma' would hardly have been known at that time.


"Egyptian" is not that surprising. It used to be believed that the Roma came  from Egypt and the word "Gypsy" comes from the word "Egyptian" or "Egypt".

The term "Roma" is preferred nowadays everywhere that people care about what people prefer to be called. I strongly doubt that "Gypsy" was never used as a slur in Scotland. 

If it had been obvious that you were quoting something written in the 17th century, I wouldn't have commented.


----------



## Capt Lightning

Let's not get hung up on cultural differences.  The word 'gypsy' is  used now not to describe a group of people, but a lifestyle.  For example, while shopping today, my wife was looking at what was described as a 'Gypsy dress'.  Someone who travels a lot can be said to have some "Gypsy in them".  
Historically it would have been used to refer to any itinnerant person / free spirit  and not to a particular ethnic group. It was illegal in 17th & 18th century Scotland.

If you'd like a more full account, you may like to browse..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Macpherson

I'll leave you with a good Scottish term - Gaberlunzie - and itinnerant licensed beggar.


----------



## Capt Lightning

Shopping day today, but fortunately, the shops are beside the beach.   The tide was out and the sun was shining.  Unfortunately, I didn't have  my camera with me, but here is a pic of Wife & daughter earlier this  year.......






Near to where this was taken,  Buffalo Bill's Wild West show performed in 1904 during his tour of the UK.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Easter pics the wife took.


----------



## Aunt Bea

Farmer Jon said:


> Easter pics the wife took.



Nice photos!

It's nice to see that you carry on the tradition of getting your children dressed up for Easter Sunday!


----------



## Addie

Your boys are *absolutely adorable*. It is so nice to see that parents are still teaching their children about getting properly dressed for an occasion.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute kids, *Jon*. Nice photos, too. Your wife has a good eye.


----------



## Cheryl J

I love the Easter pics of your sweet boys, *Jon*.  Thank you for sharing. Your wife is a great photographer!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Thank you.  I'm just amazed she got them to sit still long enough.


----------



## creative




----------



## Dawgluver

Dang boat parked in front of my sunset:


----------



## Dawgluver

We will try this again:


----------



## Cheryl J

What a beautiful pic, Dawg.  The boat in front of the setting sun is perfect!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, Cheryl!

Boat should have moved for me when I told it to.  Apparently the captain didn't hear me.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Thanks, Cheryl!
> 
> Boat should have moved for me when I told it to.  Apparently the captain didn't hear me.



I take care of that for you the next time it happens Dawg. I will give them the look of displeasure that put terror in the hearts of my children. Without a word, they would head for their room or the hinterlands.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> Easter pics the wife took.



Cute kids.  On the other end of the age spectrum:

My 92 year old father-in-law at work on the farm 2 days ago - sawing up and removing a dead elm tree that blew down over the winter.  The tractor is a Massey-Harris 44 circa 1946, still going strong, just like the driver.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

AWW-some, *Rick*! I would say that neither your Dad-in-law nor the tractor look a day over 60. It must be the farming that keeps them young.


----------



## Cheryl J

Great picture, Rick - I love it.  Agree with CG - farm work must be good for him.


----------



## GotGarlic

This pic reminds me of photos I've seen of my great-grandfather. Farming is strenuous, for sure, but it's also dangerous. My GGF hurt his back in an accident involving his tractor and suffered great pain for the rest of his life. I'm glad your FIL avoided that.


----------



## taxlady

Yup, farming is one of the most dangerous occupations.


----------



## Souschef

*Angel Flight*

I love the photos all of you have posted. I was flying a cancer patient home  to Northern California from the San Fernando Valley in  Southern California.
As we crossed over the Sierra Nevada mountains , near the San Joaquin Valley, the hills were covered with California poppies. What a sight!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful! Have you ever walked the trails at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve? It's breathtaking. 
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=627

Here's a couple of my pics from 2014, one of the best years I've seen.
Wide view while walking...


From the trail...


----------



## RPCookin

GotGarlic said:


> This pic reminds me of photos I've seen of my great-grandfather. Farming is strenuous, for sure, but it's also dangerous. My GGF hurt his back in an accident involving his tractor and suffered great pain for the rest of his life. I'm glad your FIL avoided that.



I spent part of the day in the danger zone.  He would raise up the trunk of the tree with the tractor and hold it while I cut through with the chain saw.  We had to do that to keep from pinching the saw.  It made it a bit hazardous for me when the last bit broke and the overbalanced piece fell over.  I was always ready to jump as I got near the bottom of a cut.


----------



## Dawgluver

RPCookin said:


> I spent part of the day in the danger zone.  He would raise up the trunk of the tree with the tractor and hold it while I cut through with the chain saw.  We had to do that to keep from pinching the saw.  It made it a bit hazardous for me when the last bit broke and the overbalanced piece fell over.  I was always ready to jump as I got near the bottom of a cut.




One of our best buddies is in his 70's.  He's German, and still has us start the chain saw up and he grabs it while he's in a tree.

He grew up in the Black Forest.  To me, that just would have been good cake, not daredevil stuff.  You can always tell a German, but you can't tell him much!

Lovely pics, all!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I so love California Poppies, have not been able to find the seeds of the all golden here, only mixed colors.


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I so love California Poppies, have not been able to find the seeds of the all golden here, only mixed colors.


 
Princess, I would be more than happy to send you a couple of packets.  Our local Home Depot always has plenty of the all orange/golden poppy seeds.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Princess, I would be more than happy to send you a couple of packets.  Our local Home Depot always has plenty of the all orange/golden poppy seeds.



Thank you, Cheryl!  I would love it.


----------



## Kayelle

There's an old unkept house across town that looks terrible most of the year. Once a year their entire front "lawn" bursts into bloom with Ca. poppies, and people take pictures. They reseed themselves from year to year.


----------



## Cheryl J

*Princess*, I picked up a packet (or two ) at Home Depot while out shopping today. They'll be headed your way Monday. 


*Kay, *isn't it nice how poppies thrive on neglect and just do their own thing. They actually prefer un-amended soil and love just plain ol' dirt.


----------



## Kayelle

*PF *and *Cheryl*, I just read this most interesting article on the planting of Ca. Poppies, although It's not clear if it would apply to your area *PF*. 

We have a plan for seeding the mountain we look at every day from our front porch. Details later. 

The California poppy: Fall planting is best for their natural life cycle


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl, thank you so much!  I am working out the plaques, haven't decided if I am going to paint or wood burn them.

Kayelle, thank you for the article.  I know they came back year after year for Dad, but they were in a sheltered planter with plenty of shade for the hot summer.  The bed I have planned for them is on the west side of the house and will get full force sun in the summer.


----------



## Cheryl J

You're most welcome, Princess.  I hope they do well.  I've never tried growing them from seed. 

Kay, that's a most informative article on poppies - thank you for sharing.  They've always been one of my most fave wildflowers - sturdy, hardy little things, and so beautiful!  Would love to hear how you plan on seeding the mountain you live near.  Is the Sous going to pilot the plane overheard while you scatter seeds out the window?


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> You're most welcome, Princess.  I hope they do well.  I've never tried growing them from seed.
> 
> Kay, that's a most informative article on poppies - thank you for sharing.  They've always been one of my most fave wildflowers - sturdy, hardy little things, and so beautiful!  Would love to hear how you plan on seeding the mountain you live near.  *Is the Sous going to pilot the plane overheard while you scatter seeds out the window? *



We've been talking about doing just that for the last few years, but glad we know now that fall is the right time to do it! We had planned on Spring, and we would have ruined the plan.


----------



## RPCookin

We planted poppies last fall, but not seeds.  We planted what looked like root bundles, much the way you plant bulbs (which we also planted a variety of).  I'll post later this summer when we find out how successful we were.  The bulbs are coming up nicely.


----------



## Cheryl J

Looking forward to hearing about your results, *RP*. 

*Kay...*in thinking about it...if I had access to a plane, a handsome pilot , poppy seeds, and good flying weather, I think I'd go for it this year rather than wait until next fall.  What have you got to lose - those seeds could germinate and form taproots on their own.  Not all poppy fields waited on someone to plant them in fall...?


----------



## Farmer Jon

RPCookin said:


> Cute kids.  On the other end of the age spectrum:
> 
> My 92 year old father-in-law at work on the farm 2 days ago - sawing up and removing a dead elm tree that blew down over the winter.  The tractor is a Massey-Harris 44 circa 1946, still going strong, just like the driver.



We should team up. We could get lots of work done. My grandpas 53 John Deere. i love old tractors no matter the color. 

 I'm carring a hog feeder I took apart. I'm going to fill the rings with dirt to plant tomatoes in.
http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> We should team up. We could get lots of work done. My grandpas 53 John Deere. i love old tractors no matter the color.
> 
> I'm carring a hog feeder I took apart. I'm going to fill the rings with dirt to plant tomatoes in.
> http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/



And it looks like the youngsters are helping with the digging also.


----------



## Cheryl J

Throwback Thursday...I love this pic of my (then) chubby little 1 yr. old grandson Aiden looking through his daddy's binoculars backwards.  He's now a big 3 year old.


----------



## Dawgluver

How cute!  My nephew is 3 now as well!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Addie said:


> And it looks like the youngsters are helping with the digging also.



Always. I swear I will never have grass there. Oh well.
http://www.discusscooking.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## Kayelle

I just had to share this picture of our adorable Cheyenne (GD) in her Easter outfit. The little sun bonnet we got for her in Amash country is perfect for her new dress and shoes. She makes my heart melt.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I should have thought to take this picture earlier in the day. Just a few hours before, everything was fully covered in layers of "feathers". Beautiful. Too bad my brain doesn't kick on until after noon...

Ten minutes after I took this picture the winds began to switch. The trees began to twitch. It went dark and cloudy and started to snow again. Gotta love spring snow!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you Dawg...3 year olds are lots of fun!

Cheyenne is such a sweet little lamb, Kay. 

CG, I love your snow pic - what a beautiful view!


----------



## Dawgluver

Usually I post my own crappy pictures, but this one of my favorite island (not taken by me) made me miss it even more:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I was going to post my first flowers of spring, but decided you guys didn't want to see dandelions...I did get the trash and tumbleweeds cleaned out of the yard yesterday.


----------



## Farmer Jon

With my grand daughter Ava.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> With my grand daughter Ava.



 Congratulations And before you know it she will be going out the door on her first date. She is a beautiful baby.


----------



## CarolPa

Dawglover and Cooking Goddess, I have a similar treed hill behind my house but it's to the south, so no sunsets.


----------



## RPCookin

CarolPa said:


> Dawglover and Cooking Goddess, I have a similar treed hill behind my house but it's to the south, so no sunsets.



At least you have trees.  This is what I see when I look northeast from my driveway.  






They aren't as close as they look in a telephoto shot, but they are out there none the less.


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> At least you have trees.  This is what I see when I look northeast from my driveway.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> They aren't as close as they look in a telephoto shot, but they are out there none the less.



A lot of folks who have a wind farm too near their homes, complain of the constant noise of them turning. Any problem in your area?


----------



## RPCookin

Addie said:


> A lot of folks who have a wind farm too near their homes, complain of the constant noise of them turning. Any problem in your area?



The nearest ones are about a mile away, so no noise.


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> The nearest ones are about a mile away, so no noise.



Glad to hear that.


----------



## Dawgluver

You sure have different-looking trees out there, RP.

Cheryl, those poppy fields are spectacular!  Wow!

My pushkins (pushkinia).  They're wonderful self-seeders, and some of the first spring flowers:


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> You sure have different-looking trees out there, RP.
> 
> Cheryl, those poppy fields are spectacular!  Wow!
> 
> My pushkins (pushkinia).  They're wonderful self-seeders, and some of the first spring flowers:
> View attachment 24543


I was going to say they were awfully skinny trees. 

Those pushkins are lovely. I especially like the way they are growing up between those rocks. I'll have to look into getting some.


----------



## Dawgluver

taxlady said:


> I was going to say they were awfully skinny trees.
> 
> Those pushkins are lovely. I especially like the way they are growing up between those rocks. I'll have to look into getting some.




Thanks, Taxy.  I have them all over, along with Siberian squill, which are deep blue.  From a few bulbs of each, they now pop up everywhere, which is fine with me.  The foliage disappears in the summer.

Hardy little things.  Wish I could have gotten a less-blurry pic, but I'm finding once I get down to ground level, it's getting harder to get back up, so it was a one-shot deal.


----------



## Cheryl J

Jon, your baby granddaughter Ava is a little beauty - what a smile! 

Rick, you're sure out in the middle of a lot of open space there. 

Pretty little flowers, Dawg! I also like how they grow among the rocks. Loved the ocean view pic you posted, too.


----------



## Cheryl J

Some of my patio pretties, taken early this morning. A little blurry here, it was clearer in my pic album for some reason. 



Itty bitty tomatoes - about an inch in diameter.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oooh, so jealous, Cheryl!  No planting here till after Mothers Day, but I can live vicariously through your pics!


----------



## taxlady

Nice Cheryl. What kind of tomatoes do you grow in pots?


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, inquiring tomato minds want to know.


----------



## Cheryl J

Taxy and Dawg, they're *Patio tomatoes*. They're an actual variety, not just a method of planting. I have a pretty big back yard, but little planting space since it's mostly lawn and trees, so several years ago I gave up trying to grow them inground in what little available space I had and tried the Patios. I've had *really* good luck with them! 

Patio Tomato Gardening Tips

They don't get much higher than about 2'. I have them planted in clay pots 14" wide by a foot deep and that seems perfect for them. "They" say they're determinate and all ripen at once, but I've never found that to be the case.  I get 'maters for at least 4 months or so at different times. They average about the size of a Roma, maybe a little smaller. Perfect for one person. Here's a couple of pics from last year. Some of the containers were a little smaller but they didn't seem to care.  I went bigger this year.


----------



## taxlady

Thank you Cheryl. I'm off to read the link you shared.


----------



## Dawgluver

Those tom plants are beautiful, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

You're very welcome Taxy, and thank you Dawg!


----------



## RPCookin

We are back from Akumal, so it's time for a photo or 2.  This is El Hombre Orquesta Abel, who walks the beach at the resort playing his homemade instrument(s).  He was really quite good, a really nice guy and fun to talk with.  He made the contraption himself.  Quite the unique sound.  We were serenaded by him several times during the week.


----------



## Kayelle

Those super coordinated musicians fascinate me Rick! I can't walk and chew gum at the same time. Great pictures but too bad you didn't record him.


----------



## Dawgluver

We saw a guy on Cozumel with a similar setup.  Amazing!


----------



## Addie

There was a man at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup that had a similar rig and his most requested song was, _*"It's A Small World Afterall"*_ I have to admit, he did a bang up job with that song. He would have kids dancing around him. And if not around him, then like the Pied Piper, following him in dance. A true troubordor.


----------



## Lance Bushrod

Addie said:


> There was a man at the Western Washington Fair in Puyallup that had a similar rig and his most requested song was, _*"It's A Small World Afterall"*_ I have to admit, he did a bang up job with that song. He would have kids dancing around him. And if not around him, then like the Pied Piper, following him in dance. A true troubordor.



I saw him at the spring fair last year. That shuffle does was weirding me out.  He does a good job, for sure.


----------



## Dawgluver

My elderly, decrepit apple tree is all budded out.  Last year I had maybe 3 blooms.  Looks like I'll have a busy fall!  It isn't pretty, but it sure is productive.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Welcome Back Rick!  Glad you had a good time.

Lovely apple tree, Dawg.  Maybe you get to play "sneak the apples" this year!


----------



## Andy M.

Nice photos Ric.  Where does he put the tips?


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> My elderly, decrepit apple tree is all budded out.  Last year I had maybe 3 blooms.  Looks like I'll have a busy fall!  It isn't pretty, but it sure is productive.
> 
> View attachment 24629



Dawg, have you ever given thought to have a tree company come in and paring and thinning the tree out? 

Also, one time a landscaper told me if I loosened the dirt around the roots and fed the tree lime, I would get sweeter and bigger fruit. I had a plum tree right outside my window. 

That looks like an old tree. Worth any labor you might put into it.


----------



## Dawgluver

Addie said:


> Dawg, have you ever given thought to have a tree company come in and paring and thinning the tree out?
> 
> 
> 
> Also, one time a landscaper told me if I loosened the dirt around the roots and fed the tree lime, I would get sweeter and bigger fruit. I had a plum tree right outside my window.
> 
> 
> 
> That looks like an old tree. Worth any labor you might put into it.




Our "tree company" is a good buddy with a chain saw!  DH did announce to me that he's no longer willing to ascend the ladder with an apple picker to get the best apples from the top of the tree.  What a wimp.

We may need to borrow a bucket truck.  I foresee some drive-by apple drops again this year.


----------



## RPCookin

Andy M. said:


> Nice photos Ric.  Where does he put the tips?



In his pocket, I guess.  Never really paid any attention.


----------



## RPCookin

Cheryl J said:


> Looking forward to hearing about your results, *RP*.
> 
> *Kay...*in thinking about it...if I had access to a plane, a handsome pilot , poppy seeds, and good flying weather, I think I'd go for it this year rather than wait until next fall.  What have you got to lose - those seeds could germinate and form taproots on their own.  Not all poppy fields waited on someone to plant them in fall...?



No poppies yet this early, but here are the others we planted.  Good results for their first spring.


----------



## Kayelle

Oh my, so pretty Rick!!


----------



## Dawgluver

Gorgeous, RP!


----------



## Dawgluver

Another apple tree pic.  All 40 feet of it.

You are invited to bring a bag and pick what you want in October!


----------



## RPCookin

Dawgluver said:


> Another apple tree pic.  All 40 feet of it.
> 
> You are invited to bring a bag and pick what you want in October!



We have several decorative "fruit" trees in the yard.  They have beautiful blossoms this time of year, but never bear fruit.  This is a good thing as it would just end up rotting on the ground anyway.

The day after we got back from Mexico, we picked up the dog from the Bow Wow Barn where he was living while we were gone.  He was one happy puppy and we played out in the yard for an hour after we got him home.


----------



## GotGarlic

Beautiful dog, Rick!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Puppy!  He sure looks like one loved dog, *RP*. Like *GG* said, he's a beauty.


----------



## GotGarlic

Yesterday, when I made baked beans for dinner, I used bacon we had bought at the Nahunta Pork Center in North Carolina, while on our trip to the Chef & The Farmer restaurant. This is definitely not like supermarket bacon!  You can definitely tell it's pork belly. Most of it was thick-sliced, so it didn't crumble well; I had to dice it fine when it was done cooking. Made mighty fine baked beans, though!


----------



## Cheryl J

Mmm...good lookin' bacon, *GG*. 

*Rick* - beautiful dog AND beautiful flower pic!  *Dawg*, loving your apple tree pics.  The blossoms are SO pretty.  Wish I had room for an apple tree!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I haven't seen one of these hanging around my bird feeders for a couple of years. Early on when we lived here, we would get a rafter of turkeys around 23 strong. I wonder where the rest of them were.


----------



## Andy M.

We've been entertaining a solo turkey for a while now. There used to be three.


----------



## Dawgluver

Neato, CG!  We have a lot of wild turkeys around here, but they mostly hang out in the timber.  Occasionally we get a couple in the yard, drives Beagle nuts.  When I was commuting to work, there was a small flock that hung out by the road.  One tom would insist that the road was his, and would attack cars that slowed down.

When we visited relatives in Joisey, they'd have a dozen or so hanging out at their birdfeeder.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

My pear has a plumber's crack...


----------



## GotGarlic




----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> My pear has a plumber's crack...



 Having a plumber in the family, (Pirate) this hit home. Thanks CG.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Silly Squirrel*

My kitchen sink area has a window overlooking our back yard. Since we're semi-rural, we have lots of critters around. I like looking out the window while I prep foods (which is why it takes me so long to make a meal). There I see a young squirrel splayed flat-out on his belly, just as relaxed as can be. Then he started to rub his chin and cheeks against the grass, just like a cat does when rolling in catnip. Then he rolls the upper part of his body onto his back, then flips all tummy-down again. Suddenly he springs up and chases another squirrel! Silliest thing I've seen in a while. ~ When I was telling this to Himself earlier tonight, he said he must have seen the same silly squirrel. This time the squirrel had nabbed one of the peanuts Himself tossed out to the squirrels and birds, and Silly was tossing it up into the air and rolling around with it in its paws. Honest, people, I do NOT have a pot farm in my woods! Anyway, here's Silly Squirrel, chillin'.


----------



## taxlady

Silly Squirrel sounds entertaining.


----------



## Cheryl J

I love that pic of Silly Squirrel, just chillin'. 

-----------------------
I went out to the mailbox this evening and ran back in for my phone to take a pic of this pretty desert sunset, before it disappeared.


----------



## Dawgluver

That's gorgeous, Cheryl!  I'm a big fan of sunsets!  (I don't get up early enough to appreciate sunrises.)


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Another beauty, *Cheryl*.

*Dawg*, the only time I see a sunrise is on my way to bed.   Also, a few of the Tequila kind...


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg and CG.   

Even if I got up early enough to see the sunrise (sometimes I am, but not often), I don't get as good a view of it as I do the sunsets.  Too many trees in the way.


----------



## Dawgluver

I'd have to ask the neighbors to move their house, it blocks the sunrise.  We see the sunset through the woods, getting harder now that the trees have leafed out.


----------



## Dawgluver

This is Miss Kim, our late blooming "dwarf" Korean lilac.  She's a bit over 8 feet tall, despite being cut back several times.  She smells heavenly.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So delicate, *Dawg*! Lovely.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, CG.  She blooms a lot later than regular lilacs, and most of the time is in almost total shade.  I'm quite proud of her!


----------



## Addie

Dawg, at the Arboretum in Jamaica Plain they have hundreds of lilac bushes and if the weather cooperates with enough rain, then come Mother's Day they are all in bloom. They range from the purist white to the deepest purple. 

One year my sister and I went there on that day. Now I could have my head in a bucket of cow patties and not smell it. But I could smell those lilacs that were in full bloom. I so envy you. The lilac is a beautiful bush and has an aroma that could stop a way when in full bloom.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> This is Miss Kim, our late blooming "dwarf" Korean lilac.  She's a bit over 8 feet tall, despite being cut back several times.  She smells heavenly.
> 
> View attachment 24792



I planted 2 Miss Kim's.  Thanks for the pic that show what they will be someday.  They are beautiful!


----------



## Andy M.

Lilacs have always been a favorite of mine.  Both for their beauty and their fragrance.  SO planted a couple of lilac bushes (no idea what kind) many years ago and we have never seen a flower.


----------



## Dawgluver

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I planted 2 Miss Kim's.  Thanks for the pic that show what they will be someday.  They are beautiful!




You'll enjoy them, PF.  I like that she blooms a lot later than regular lilacs, and the blooms last for a goodly time.

Bummer about your lilacs, Andy.  I don't fertilize, and Miss Kim is in full shade for most of the day and seems to thrive on neglect, so I don't know why yours have never bloomed.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Lilacs have always been a favorite of mine.  Both for their beauty and their fragrance.  SO planted a couple of lilac bushes (no idea what kind) many years ago and we have never seen a flower.



May I make a suggestion that was passed on to me many years ago by a professional gardener? Loosen the dirt around the bush, and give it some lime to sweeten the dirt. Not a lot. You are giving the roots room to breath. And avoid using nitrogen in the fertilizer. Lilacs don't like nitrogen. But they do love the sunshine. Lots of sunshine.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful lilac bush, Dawg - and it's HUGE!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful lilac bush, Dawg - and it's HUGE!




Thanks Cheryl, it's supposed to be a dwarf


----------



## Cheryl J

That's a big dwarf.   I've bought mis-labeled plants a time or two.  My whole fence line in the back yard is lined with red flowering oleanders - except for one that was labeled as red but turned out to be white.


----------



## Cheryl J

Today was Tyler's kindergarten graduation ceremony.  OMGosh, were those kids ever cute and SO well behaved! The audience was seated and waiting patiently for them.  When _Pomp and Circumstance_ started playing and those little 5 year olds walked up the center aisle with big smiles and wearing their little caps and gowns, I lost it. Thank goodness I brought plenty of tissues!  

It was a sea of tiny little graduation caps when they were all seated and waiting to be called to the stage for their diplomas.


----------



## Dawgluver

How adorable!  Congrats, Tyler!

Yeah, I probably would have choked up a bit too, Cheryl!


----------



## Aunt Bea

Cheryl J said:


> Today was Tyler's kindergarten graduation ceremony.  OMGosh, were those kids ever cute and SO well behaved! The audience was seated and waiting patiently for them.  When _Pomp and Circumstance_ started playing and those little 5 year olds walked up the center aisle with big smiles and wearing their little caps and gowns, I lost it. Thank goodness I brought plenty of tissues!
> 
> It was a sea of tiny little graduation caps when they were all seated and waiting to be called to the stage for their diplomas.



Great photo!

Congratulations Tyler!!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Aw, so cute! Congrats to Tyler and his classmates!


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Today was Tyler's kindergarten graduation ceremony.  OMGosh, were those kids ever cute and SO well behaved! The audience was seated and waiting patiently for them.  When _Pomp and Circumstance_ started playing and those little 5 year olds walked up the center aisle with big smiles and wearing their little caps and gowns, I lost it. Thank goodness I brought plenty of tissues!
> 
> It was a sea of tiny little graduation caps when they were all seated and waiting to be called to the stage for their diplomas.


I got a little teary just hearing about it. Those little caps are even with the chairs...flash forward 12 years and take another picture then Cheryl. 
Do you think Tyler will be tall Cheryl? My boys Dad was only 5'9" and I'm 5'8" When they both grew to be well over 6' I used to say I had to home grow them to get a tall man.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So cute, *Cheryl*! The wee ones are so short you see just caps above the chair backs for most of them.  Sweet. Congrats. Now on to bigger and better things...like first grade. 

Do they still use The Letter People program in kindergarten? They were popular when our kids were in k-garten in 1986-87. Towards the end of the year they had a wedding between Mr. Q and Miss U. Our son got to be Mr. Q, "Mr. Quiet", even though he was anything BUT quiet!  To this day I refer to the waffle recipe that uses club soda as "Wonderful Waffles" because Miss Cindy made waffles with the class as that letter's learning tool.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> So cute, *Cheryl*! The wee ones are so short you see just caps above the chair backs for most of them.  Sweet. Congrats. Now on to bigger and better things...like first grade.
> 
> Do they still use The Letter People program in kindergarten? They were popular when our kids were in k-garten in 1986-87. Towards the end of the year they had a wedding between Mr. Q and Miss U. Our son got to be Mr. Q, "Mr. Quiet", even though he was anything BUT quiet!  To this day I refer to the waffle recipe that uses club soda as "Wonderful Waffles" because Miss Cindy made waffles with the class as that letter's learning tool.



Now that sounds like a teacher who looks for materials that cost almost next to nothing so the little ones can learn. Very inventive of her.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you so much, ladies! It was certainly a day to remember. My daughter bought Tyler an adult sized T-shirt that says "Class of 2027" and will be taking his picture every year wearing that enormous shirt, starting with this year. It will be fun to look back on someday.  (your comment below reminded me of that, Kay!)



Cooking Goddess said:


> So cute, *Cheryl*! The wee ones are so short you see just caps above the chair backs for most of them.  Sweet. Congrats. Now on to bigger and better things...like first grade.
> 
> *Do they still use **The Letter People** program in kindergarten?* They were popular when our kids were in k-garten in 1986-87. Towards the end of the year they had a wedding between Mr. Q and Miss U. Our son got to be Mr. Q, "Mr. Quiet", even though he was anything BUT quiet!  To this day I refer to the waffle recipe that uses club soda as "Wonderful Waffles" because Miss Cindy made waffles with the class as that letter's learning tool.


 
Cute story, CG! Kindergarten has changed *so* much over the years - the Letter People learning is done in pre-schools now. Kindergarten is the new 1st grade. Most of the kids in Kindergarten at Tyler's school are reading at least at 1st grade level, some at 2nd grade level. I was *amazed* at how much he's learned this year, on so many different subjects - math, science, etc. 



Kayelle said:


> I got a little teary just hearing about it. Those little caps are even with the chairs...*flash forward 12 years and take another picture then Cheryl.*
> *Do you think Tyler will be tall Cheryl?* My boys Dad was only 5'9" and I'm 5'8" When they both grew to be well over 6' I used to say I had to home grow them to get a tall man.


 
They must have gotten a recessive gene in there somewhere, Kay! Yep, Tyler's going to be a tall one, like his dad. He's always been taller than most kids his age and will probably be taller than me (5'4") by the time he's 9 or 10.  My SIL is a big and burly 6'3", he works out a lot and is just, well, a BIG guy. 

Funny story - yesterday my SIL was on duty but was able to come in for most of Tyler's graduation. He had his 25 pounds of cop gear he has to carry stuffed in his vest, on his belt and in his pockets. A little 3 year old boy nearby saw him and told his mom "Look, mama! A transformer!"


----------



## RPCookin

Times sure have changed.  The first graduation that was observed when I was in school was high school.  All the rest you just moved up a grade and at certain points usually changed changed schools, even from elementary to junior high, and from there to high school.  No special observances.


----------



## Cheryl J

RPCookin said:


> *Times sure have changed.* The first graduation that was observed when I was in school was high school. All the rest you just moved up a grade and at certain points usually changed changed schools, even from elementary to junior high, and from there to high school. No special observances.


 
Yes they have, Rick!  Friends and I were just talking about this yesterday.  Many, if not most schools now have Kindergarten graduation (some schools call it 'promotion') ceremonies, at least in California. I too only recall HS graduations back then.  

I remember parts of Kindergarten back in 1960, and it was little more than napping, playing, coloring, and snacks.  Nothing at all like the curriculums nowadays.


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you so much, ladies! It was certainly a day to remember. *My daughter bought Tyler an adult sized T-shirt that says "Class of 2027" and will be taking his picture every year wearing that enormous shirt, starting with this year. *It will be fun to look back on someday.  (your comment below reminded me of that, Kay!)



What a cute and clever idea for Tyler! 
Loved the Transformer Daddy story!


----------



## RPCookin

Cheryl J said:


> Yes they have, Rick!  Friends and I were just talking about this yesterday.  Many, if not most schools now have Kindergarten graduation (some schools call it 'promotion') ceremonies, at least in California. I too only recall HS graduations back then.
> 
> I remember parts of Kindergarten back in 1960, and it was little more than napping, playing, coloring, and snacks.  Nothing at all like the curriculums nowadays.



Kindergarten was about the same for me in 1951 - and no preschool either.  We didn't really start our "education" until 1st grade.  Yet I seem to have gotten a much better basic education than most kids do these days.


----------



## Aunt Bea

RPCookin said:


> Kindergarten was about the same for me in 1951 - and no preschool either.  We didn't really start our "education" until 1st grade.  Yet I seem to have gotten a much better basic education than most kids do these days.



I agree, in my case I attribute it to two things.  

I was raised before the internet.  People seem to be more isolated and self absorbed, less engaged with the people around them than they were when I was growing up.

I was raised by people who cared about me and not in daycare.  I spent much of my time with my grandparents and my grandmother in particular was always teaching us about our surroundings.  Not preaching, just teaching in a casual conversational style.  She talked to us about anything and everything from how to act in the cemetery to how to tell one type of tree from another.


----------



## RPCookin

Aunt Bea said:


> I agree, in my case I attribute it to two things.
> 
> I was raised before the internet.  People seem to be more isolated and self absorbed, less engaged with the people around them than they were when I was growing up.
> 
> I was raised by people who cared about me and not in daycare.  I spent much of my time with my grandparents and my grandmother in particular was always teaching us about our surroundings.  Not preaching, just teaching in a casual conversational style.  She talked to us about anything and everything from how to act in the cemetery to how to tell one type of tree from another.



My grandmother was similar.  She was an elementary school teacher, and loved the natural world.  Summers spent with her were an informal education.  She was also a reader and got all of us kids reading very early.


----------



## Cheryl J

Much of our summers were spent with my grandma and grandpa, and they too were such a positive influence on me and my brother.  They took us to Yosemite every year, showed us the joys of camping in the wilderness, and taught us how to fish.  Grandma was also big on helping us learn to read and memorize our 'times tables'. She was into crafts, and I remember spending hours making little people out of wooden clothespins, scraps of fabric, and a little glue. 

My grandkids have 3 grandpas and 3 grandmas (4 grandmas up until last month ), and we're all actively involved in their lives and love every minute of it. Tyler is with me every day after school and now that it's summer vacation, he'll be with me nearly full time - 3 days a week. When he's not with me, he'll be in summer activities through Parks and Recreation here in town, and with my daughter's best friend who has a little boy for him to play with. I hope to be the memorable and positive influence to him, as my grandma was to me. 

Times have changed, and many young families now have to have two incomes and rely on pre-schools when Gma and Gpa can't be available for whatever reason. My younger daughter has to work, my older daughter is able to be a stay at home mom. They've had the kids in part time pre-school for different reasons.  I'm very thankful that nowadays they are actual learning facilities, and not just daycare.


----------



## medtran49

DD had kindergarten graduation back in the early 1980s, full cap and gown.  They were so cute marching.


----------



## Addie

During the late 50's and early 60's mother's were just beginning to go to work to supplement the family income. Here in Boston, school started at nine a.m. Unfortunately for the children of working mothers, the kids were in the schoolyard at eight a.m. in the middle of the coldest days of winter. So the policy was changed. The school day started at eight-thirty. Some kids would wait at the home of their friends until it was time to head out the door. 

Today, the doors open at seven a.m. and almost every grammar school has after school activities for latch key kids. If not at their school, the YMCA here in Eastie has very active programs for the kids. The only problem there is that the parents have to pay a fee to join. An expense not every family can afford. Also, our branches of the public libraries have after school activities for the kids. That is free. These afterschool activities run until six p.m. If a parent has signed up a kid for one, and the kid fails to show by a certain time, a call to the parent takes place immediately. 

These are not babysitting services. Some kids will do their homework. Teachers are available to help them if they need it. Some will find a corner by themselves and read. And others head for the computer science room. The child chooses what they want to do. We also have a social center that specializes in sports activities. 

I will admit, I liked it better when my kids were growing up. After school, they were able to play outside. But then it was a lot safer for kids. They did their homework after supper.


----------



## Cheryl J

This morning's haul from our local little farmers market. I roasted the baby beets and had them with this evening's dinner - they were sooo good. 
Can't wait to dig into the stone fruit.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oooh.  So pretty, Cheryl!  

I'll have to start scouting out our local farmers markets.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, Dawg.  I'd love to hear about the bounty at your local farmers market. Fresh Iowa corn, anyone?  

$2/lb. here for fresh picked peaches, nectarines and plums. SO much better than paying twice as much for the tasteless grocery store stone fruits!  I had to be careful and not buy more than I can eat.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those would be good all cut up and mixed together. Top a portion with a bit of ice cream and you have a nice dessert. Have some with yogurt or cottage cheese for breakfast the next day. Delicious!


----------



## RPCookin

In remembrance:

My wife's family plot - most of her mother's family since 1914 is here together.:







Thinking of friends long gone:


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> In remembrance:
> 
> My wife's family plot - most of her mother's family since 1914 is here together.:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thinking of friends long gone:



Thank you for the reminder.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Yes, I spent yesterday at the cemetery finding my Mom's side of the family.  Now I know where to find them, I can continue to help Mom.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

So much for "squirrel-proof". The little buggers keep prying the lid open...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Damn squirrels chewed their way into the plastic bucket I keep the sunflower seeds in...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

They'll gnaw their way through anything plastic! We used to put out a goldfinch feeder like this:






We also had to replace it several times a year because of the squirrels.  Now we get the Droll Yankees brand goldfinch feeder because they offer a lifetime guarantee - and stand by it. Sadly, they don't make the upside-down feeder.

We used to keep our seed buckets (5-gallon covered tubs) in the garage. This past winter I moved them to the basement, figuring as long as we didn't have snow it would be easier to go up the bulkhead steps and fill the feeders right outside the basement. Now that it's summer, I thought of putting them IN the bulkhead. However, there have been too many bear sightings in eastern MA. I'm afraid a BEAR might smell it that way and rip the bulkhead open.  Don't want to test my theory that the doors are probably bear-proof.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> They'll gnaw their way through anything plastic! We used to put out a goldfinch feeder like this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We also had to replace it several times a year because of the squirrels.  Now we get the Droll Yankees brand goldfinch feeder because they offer a lifetime guarantee - and stand by it. Sadly, they don't make the upside-down feeder.
> 
> However, there have been too many bear sightings in eastern MA. I'm afraid a BEAR might smell it that way and rip the bulkhead open.  Don't want to test my theory that the doors are probably bear-proof.



You also want to be aware of that new breed of coyote that is now plentiful. They have been spotted in Downtown Boston. They have longer legs than the regular coyote and have no fear of humans. A few have been shot and I am sure we will be hearing from the animal lovers real soon. 

Love your shots of the wildlife in your yard.


----------



## tinlizzie

The little house-shaped feeder in my yard was being popped open and de-roofed, spilling all the seed onto the ground.  It now has a bungee cord reaching around the whole house from side to side, which stopped the wholesale pilfering, but is a nuisance to undo for filling.  This little guy has no trouble climbing straight up the skinny shepherd's crook post to get to the feeder.  See the thorns on the tree?  I saw him climb upward using the thorns for hand-holds the way a rock-climber would.


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> The little house-shaped feeder in my yard was being popped open and de-roofed, spilling all the seed onto the ground.  It now has a bungee cord reaching around the whole house from side to side, which stopped the wholesale pilfering, but is a nuisance to undo for filling.  This little guy has no trouble climbing straight up the skinny shepherd's crook post to get to the feeder.  See the thorns on the tree?  I saw him climb upward using the thorns for hand-holds the way a rock-climber would.



They are a pain but they are fun to watch!

Maybe it's time to invest in a Twirl-a-Squirrel or a Yankee Flipper! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJuMqYQa7Vw


----------



## Dawgluver

I have baffles on both of my bird feeders.  They really work to keep squirrels and coons out.  The critters still try, but can't get to the feeders.


----------



## taxlady

I have seen videos of squirrels using the Yankee Flipper like an amusement park ride.


----------



## GotGarlic

Grease the pole 
https://youtu.be/0byRVAXF6Mg


----------



## RPCookin

Maybe we just had stupid squirrels, but the feeder we had was called a 
Squirrel Buster, and it worked.  It simply had a spring loaded perching ring that was adjustable for tension that let birds feed with no trouble, but the weight of a squirrel would pull the ring down, which closed the gates on the feeding ports.  The squirrels never figured a way around it and ultimately gave up after a few days of trying.  It was then squirrel free until the next crop of youngsters came of age.  It got to the point where we almost never saw any squirrels around the feeder except occasionally on the ground under it, feeding on the scatter.


----------



## Kayelle

I'm missing out......I've never seen a squirrel where I live and I personally think they're adorable, interesting and very smart. Thanks for the entertainment!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Kayelle*, they can be cute and entertaining. However, they are also danged annoying when they chase the birds away, commandeer the feeder, and go through our seed licky-split. If they were satisfied with all of the peanuts we put out for them, I'd be OK. But they blow through our birdseed so fast that we have, at times, stopped feeding the birds instead of killing our budget. Not seeing the birds makes me sad. 

And, yes, they ARE smart. Here is a little evidence about how they can clean out a feeder quickly. Yup, the upper half of that varmint is IN the feeder!


----------



## Dawgluver

Those tree rats are so annoying!  I will send you some if you like, Kay.  The baffles have helped a lot on our feeders.

The coons can actually unscrew and drain a hummingbird feeder.


----------



## RPCookin

THIS is the one we had and it was completely squirrel proof. 






The tension is completely adjustable so you can even limit the size of the birds that it will allow to feed from it.  

Our squirrels tried to gnaw through the top cap, and while they only scratched it up a bit, the company replaced the cap free of charge.  I felt like it was a good buy, despite the then $80 price tag.  We used that feeder for several years, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one if we had any squirrels here in town.


----------



## Dawgluver

It's totally dark out now, but I will take a picture tomorrow of the first squirrel baffles that have worked for me in over 20 years.  I've used many squirrel-proof bird feeders, but they're not.  The baffles have been the only things that work for me.

Warning:  they will have plenty of bird poop on them, and it won't be pretty...


----------



## Addie

medtran49 said:


> DD had kindergarten graduation back in the early 1980s, full cap and gown.  They were so cute marching.



When I started school, it was right into the first grade. There weren't any kindergartens for the kids.

I got to see some of the work kids in other families brought home that were in kindergarten. I wasn't impressed at all. So none of my kids attended. They were home schooled for the most part until they were to enter the first grade. In Boston, all children have to be in school by seven years of age. By the time each of them reached the mandatory age, they could read and do script writing. They learned to print in school. 

I found out what books were being used in the school for first graders. I went to the library and got a copy and taught them at home. One hour a day I concentrated on the child that would be entering the following September. Spike was a ferocious learner. He would sit with his older sister and copy everything she was learning. He learned faster than her. I found him one day sitting with the book that she was learning from and noticed he was far ahead of where we were. I also got a book that was close to the workbooks for math the kids would be using. Spike was a whiz at math. I couldn't keep up with him. He loved learning. Today he can do math in his head faster than you can site what he has already figured out the answer to. 

I attended a PTA meeting at the school when Spike was in the 7th grade. The teacher informed me that he had found several incorrect math problems in the book they were using. He also found spelling errors in other text books. She asked me to speak to him and tell him not to correct her. When I asked her how long she had been using these books, she told me. So my answer to her was, "Perhaps you should be paying attention to what the text books are trying to teach kids how to spell wrong and or do the math herself and she would be ahead of the children." She didn't like my answer, I didn't like her attitude toward my child. I never said a word to Spike except that the teacher mentioned how smart he was to find all the errors in the books they were using.


----------



## Dawgluver

Dawgluver said:


> It's totally dark out now, but I will take a picture tomorrow of the first squirrel baffles that have worked for me in over 20 years.  I've used many squirrel-proof bird feeders, but they're not.  The baffles have been the only things that work for me.
> 
> Warning:  they will have plenty of bird poop on them, and it won't be pretty...




Here's one of the squirrel baffles:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Dawg*, I've checked out the baffles at our local bird store. They need posts bigger around than our feeders hang from, so I would also have to buy new posts. It's another one of those "If you give a mouse a cookie..." things.  Maybe whenif we move back home, I'll just ditch all of my bird stuff here and start from scratch once we land in a new house.




RPCookin said:


> THIS is the one we had and it was completely squirrel proof.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually, the one I have is a squirrel-proof unit. Or used to be. If you look at my last photo, the one with a squirrel tail hanging out of the top of the tube, you can see metal clips at either side of the wire the feeder hangs from on the shepherd's hook. Over the years, they have managed to pry the lid up so that one of the clips distorts and lets the top slide up. In lieu of spending $80 on a new feeder, I'll just complain about my squirrels as I head out to the feeder and bend the clip back in place. The squirrels and I play this game once or twice a week, but I'm using a whole lot less rubber from my shoe that buying a new feeder would cost.  Besides, the walk to and from the feeder is good exercise.


----------



## Dawgluver

CG, we used to have shepherd's crooks for our feeders, but the coons bent them to the ground.  Now we have galvanized pipe set into concrete, with a t cap.  Then I wire the feeders to it.  The coons used to steal the whole feeder and drag it into the woods.  Not anymore.

The things we do for love...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Uh-huh, the things we do for love. 

The suet feeder we now have has a cage all around the square suet holding cage. We've had it for years and, fingers crossed, the squirrels haven't figured out how to beat it or drag it off. The small one we first got, just a chain with the suet-sized cage, would end up in the woods regularly. Clever squirrels, they are.


----------



## forty_caliber

*Digital Light Field Camera*

I've been working on some photography stuff recently.  Here is a link to my  "Living Pictures" page.  While it is possible to export a flat .jpg and post directly here the special effects would be lost. Think Harry Potter and the pictures in the Daily Prophet news paper...

https://pictures.lytro.com/forty_caliber

Have a look please, I'd be very interested in your feedback.

About the Lytro:
The camera is highly advanced and captures not only the light coming into the lens but also the direction of each individual ray.  More details about how the camera works can be found here. 

.40


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I have uploaded my pictures of the garden to Flickr...next time I'll use the good camera.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pfiona60/27685858655/in/dateposted-public/


----------



## Aunt Bea

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have uploaded my pictures of the garden to Flickr...next time I'll use the good camera.
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/pfiona60/27685858655/in/dateposted-public/





The flyswatter is a nice touch! 

You are going to be very busy this summer, garden therapy!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I have uploaded my pictures of the garden to Flickr...next time I'll use the good camera.
> 
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/pfiona60/27685858655/in/dateposted-public/



That prairie sod looks like misery to break through.


----------



## GotGarlic

Nice, PF! Your little gnome reminded me of this pic I took recently in our backyard.


----------



## Dawgluver

I like the minion in the coconut bra.  

A big project, PF, lookin' good.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice Minion and one-legged flamingo, *PF*. Now we have evidence as to why you've been kinda quiet here on DC. OK, enough playing now - back to work.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks, everyone...definitely a labor of love.  Several townsfolk have stopped and complimented my work.  They are happy to see someone taking care of the yard.  The lady who originally owned the house was a beloved teacher at the high school.

And the flyswatters (there are more) were to bring in some inexpensive color and a reminder to the yard kid to not mow over.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks, everyone...definitely a labor of love.  Several townsfolk have stopped and complimented my work.  They are happy to see someone taking care of the yard.  The lady who originally owned the house was a beloved teacher at the high school.
> 
> And the flyswatters (there are more) were to bring in some inexpensive color and a reminder to the yard kid to not mow over.



PF, I am curious. How difficult was it to break that sod? I ask because when I was able to garden, at one home that had been neglected, turning that dirt over required a sharpened fork and tons of labor. And I live in the northeast where the dirt is much easier to turn over.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> PF, I am curious. How difficult was it to break that sod? I ask because when I was able to garden, at one home that had been neglected, turning that dirt over required a sharpened fork and tons of labor. And I live in the northeast where the dirt is much easier to turn over.



The sod has 3 inches of thatch on top, so it is a huge chore to break it up and haul away.  One day to remove the sod and a second to turn, feed and groom the soil.  I am also afficted with a wheelbarrow that is too big for me and I end up dumping it in spots I don't want to dump.  Clean that up and on to the next load.  I am getting some much needed soil into the back yard.  I've managed to kill all the weeds, just need to rototill it all under for next year.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> The sod has 3 inches of thatch on top, so it is a huge chore to break it up and haul away.  One day to remove the sod and a second to turn, feed and groom the soil.  I am also afficted with a wheelbarrow that is too big for me and I end up dumping it in spots I don't want to dump.  Clean that up and on to the next load.  I am getting some much needed soil into the back yard.  I've managed to kill all the weeds, just need to rototill it all under for next year.



Any help from Dad? Would he have a smaller wheelbarrow? I know how tempting loading it up is, but try for smaller lighter loads. See if that helps any. Being on the small side, I really have to listen to my body when I have a chore to do. Just how much can I do safely without putting a strain on my heart. And the sternum bone that never heals from open heart surgery, reminds me when I am trying too hard. To this day I still can't sweep or vacuum without pain in that area.

But the yard is looking really good.


----------



## Cheryl J

Enjoyed the pics, *Princess* and *GG!* 

*Princess*...so nice that people are stopping by and commenting on your yard.  It looks like such a nice little quiet, small-town neighborhood. My idea of heaven on earth.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Enjoyed the pics, *Princess* and *GG!*
> 
> *Princess*...so nice that people are stopping by and commenting on your yard. It looks like such a nice little quiet, small-town neighborhood. My idea of heaven on earth.


 
Wait till your poppies come in next spring, Dawg's butterfly garden should be coming up then, too.


----------



## Cheryl J

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Wait till your poppies come in next spring, Dawg's butterfly garden should be coming up then, too.


 
Looking forward to seeing the bursts of color!


----------



## tinlizzie

These attached photos are intended as encouragement for Princess F and others who are doing a reclamation project.  I moved here in 2010 -- the back yard, enclosed by a board fence, was the happy playground for a pair of large German Shepherds.  Consequently it had seemed a futile effort to grow anything but trees.  The very sandy soil was not helpful -- the opposite of the thatch and tough roots that you are dealing with, PF.  So here are the before and after of some 6 years of amending soil, watering through the dry winters, etc., etc.  Having no dogs, I'm using the former dog house as a garden shed.  It's stuffed to the gills with hoses, rakes, hoes, trimmers and so on.

Full speed ahead, PF!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks for the encouragement Lizzie!  Your yard looks great!


----------



## Aunt Bea

tinlizzie said:


> These attached photos are intended as encouragement for Princess F and others who are doing a reclamation project.  I moved here in 2010 -- the back yard, enclosed by a board fence, was the happy playground for a pair of large German Shepherds.  Consequently it had seemed a futile effort to grow anything but trees.  The very sandy soil was not helpful -- the opposite of the thatch and tough roots that you are dealing with, PF.  So here are the before and after of some 6 years of amending soil, watering through the dry winters, etc., etc.  Having no dogs, I'm using the former dog house as a garden shed.  It's stuffed to the gills with hoses, rakes, hoes, trimmers and so on.
> 
> Full speed ahead, PF!



An amazing transformation! 

When I look at these pictures of projects that involve so much imagination and elbow grease I feel better about living in an apartment, I'm much better at starting projects than I am at finishing them!


----------



## tinlizzie

Thanks, guys.  Yard work is my favorite thing to do.  I have a lot of respect for the crafters who labor away stitching and knotting gifts for others.  I have my first ever cross-stitch project in its bag on the shelf, it's two years old now and it may grow a beard before I ever get to it.


----------



## Addie

Yeah PF and Lizzie. There is some deeper inner satisfaction with helping Mother Earth become beautiful again after so much neglect. I loved the feeling of coming in after a hot day digging in the dirt. I almost hated to see that good dirt go down the drain as I showered.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

tinlizzie said:


> ...So here are the before and after of some 6 years of amending soil, watering through the dry winters, etc., etc...


What an amazing difference in just a half-decade. Forget that cross stitch project - your skills are definitely in the garden. Besides, you probably had a lousy teacher.  Nice conversion on that dog house.  Dog House. How BIG were those Shepherds?


----------



## tinlizzie

I appreciate the kind words, folks.  If I recall correctly those Shepherds were 60 lbs. or so each and very active.............

CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share.  For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle.

And Addie, you're an inspiration with that busy brain - you seem to be interested in everything, with lots and lots of life experience under your belt.

Here's a photo of one of the rewards of gardening.  This is a Zebra, the State  butterfly of Florida.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful yard, tinlizzie....and I just LOVE that butterfly pic!


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> I appreciate the kind words, folks.  If I recall correctly those Shepherds were 60 lbs. or so each and very active.............
> 
> CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share.  For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle.
> 
> *And Addie, you're an inspiration with that busy brain - you seem to be interested in everything, with lots and lots of life experience under your belt.*
> Here's a photo of one of the rewards of gardening.  This is a Zebra, the State  butterfly of Florida.



You are right. As I said before, I raised five kids, out lived two husbands, one child and have lived from Massachusetts to Texas to Hawaii and Washington State and back home in that time. Kids are all grown. They youngest is in Vermont practicing Medicine in an ER. I finished raising my oldest granddaughter who now has her oldest child in college and old enough to (heaven forbid) make me a Great, great grandmother. I have 17 grand and great grandchildren. My oldest two boys are now disabled. Spike from eight heart attacks, and Pirate from 20 plus years of carpet installing. A profession I do not recommend to any kid. It wrecks havoc on your knees from "kicking" in carpet. If anyone out there has a kid that is not college material, send them to plumbing school. Good money and you can specialize in what you want to do. Pirate went in that direction after he quit carpets, but by then the damage had already been done. After ten years he had to quit and apply for disability. 

Anywhere I have lived, I learned something new. Specially in cooking. My mother was my greatest influence in that area. My father is the one who taught me to love embroidery. Knitting and crocheting I learned from my Aunt Lolo. She was a family favorite member to all of us kids. She had a stroke that took away her ability to speak, yet she managed to always get her message across. 

I am old enough to remember the tail end of WWII and definitely the Korean War. If I hadn't chosen to get married at an early age, I would have chosen to go into nursing or music. Or to use music to calm the savage beast called pain. For a year I worked with a children's choir teaching them how to sing in harmony. The church organist didn't seem to know how to get it across to them. So I had her tell me what hymn she wanted them to sing two weeks away, and I would teach them to learn the hymn only singing the alto. They never heard the melody until their last rehearsal with me. During the final last rehearsal, they would join the sopranos and be ready for Sunday services. I also had to teach the organist my method. To this day, you will hear me singing hymns in Latin as I wash dishes or other housework. And I find myself harmonizing when I hear a song that I love. Go figure. I am protestant. But I did take Latin in high school. Of all the Latin hymns my all time favorite is Ave Verum by Mozart. 

My apologies for the length.


----------



## tinlizzie

Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful yard, tinlizzie....and I just LOVE that butterfly pic!



Thanks, Cheryl.  That's a Firebush he's perched on - a native plant that attracts lots of butterflies, like this Monarch, and bees.  I hope to see a hummingbird feeding on it some day.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful Butterflies!  I've taken the weekend off from yard work, except for watering, it's just too hot and I am tired.  Been working extra shifts...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Beautiful Butterflies!  I've taken the weekend off from yard work, except for watering, it's just too hot and I am tired.  Been working extra shifts...



Next week spend some time where you and Shrek go someplace special.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

tinlizzie said:


> ...CG, if my cross-stitching didn't get off the ground (which it obviously did not) I certainly can't blame the excellent coaching you were kind enough to share.  For some reason I find it easier to use a shovel than a needle...


Then follow your bliss, *lizzie*. The butterflies and bees need you more that that piece of fabric does.  Love your wildlife center. You could charge admissions.


----------



## GotGarlic

For the talk on culinary herbs I gave the other evening, I served watermelon salad with feta and mint. With the leftover rind, I made watermelon rind pickles and canned them  I used my Instant Pot multicooker on the steam setting to sterilize the jars. Worked great.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*The CLE*

We spent a little time this evening driving around downtown Cleveland. Stopped along the dock area at the Port of Cleveland so we could watch Lake Erie swallow up the sun. This might be my favorite shot. Sorry you can't here the fun being had by the people on the boat - The Goodtime III. We could hear them all the way on the shore. Party time!


----------



## Kayelle

What a beautiful picture CG.....so glad you're enjoying being home where your heart is.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, *Kayelle*. I'm sure the sights I see are just as pretty as when we lived here, but they seem to have taken on an extra special quality now that we only visit.

As mentioned elsewhere, we went to a little speakeasy tonight. Just a small place, with a bar that seats about a dozen, a couple of 2-person booths plus a four-person one, and a small seating area of a couch and two easy chairs, which is where we were relaxing. Anyway, in order to enter the bar, you had to know which item from those displayed in the entry was the magic one that opened the door! Since I described the inside, you know we made it in.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Not a very good image (Hynde is constantly moving, so every pic was fuzzy), but in the spirit of the "Photo, or it didn't happen" saying, here is proof that we got to see rocker Chrissie Hynde and professional photograper Jill Furmanovsky:


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm enjoying the pics of your trips, CG.  Wow...that sunset one is amazing. I don't know many songs from The Pretenders, but I love "I'll Stand By You"...that one has meaning to me from a couple of decades ago and still makes me teary eyed when I hear it.    So glad to hear you, Himself, and family are having a great time.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, *Cheryl*. Sunsets by lakes are extra-pretty - guess it's the reflection.  I've been seeing a lot of clouds while we're here, too. Lots more and bigger/different shapes than we see in MA. It seems the choppy terrain and the mountains to the NW of us break up the cloud formations so we don't get the fun ones much. Thought I'd toss another couple of photos your way. The Akron library building is made from sheet metal. Large, diamond-shaped panels. While taking a photo of the texture, my two guys decided to add a different texture as a diversion.


----------



## RPCookin

We had an evening thunderstorm, then after it passed east of us, this:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ooh, RP, that looks heavenly.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful!  Feel free to toss any of those thunderstorms up here, they all seem to pass over us and hit Nebraska.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful shot, Rick!  Wow...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Here are a couple pictures I took of a part of downtown Cleveland. The first is through the gate of the Ohio City Farm, the second from the other side of those locked gates. Cleveland wasn't listing, I was.  They weren't electrified, so I was OK with sticking my hands and cellphone on the other side to get a clear shot of downtown. We were on the "west side", so you can see a bridge or two that cross the Cuyahoga river in The Flats in the frame. 

An urban farm in an area where many people have limited access to fresh fruits and veggies, Ohio City Farm utilizes unused land in the city proper. Supported by public and private groups, the farm produce is available to residents, CSAs, and retaurants, and a farm stand that is open on Fridays and Saturdays. It also has a work-study program for people who reside in the housing communities for low-income people. All in all, a great and successful program that could work in many communities.


----------



## Cheryl J

What a beautiful city!  And that sky - looks like a *perfect* day.


----------



## RPCookin

Sun setting over a wheat field.


----------



## Dawgluver

I love this thread.  Lovely pics.


New little beach.  I thought the sepia tones were interesting.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Another stunner, *Rick*.


----------



## Addie

So do I Dawg. So often I come across a scene worth taking a picture of. But I don't carry my little Kodak around with me. And I have the free Government phone and can take pictures, but I can't upload them. Not even to my computer. Just basic service.


----------



## RPCookin

A couple of shots from yesterday of a deserted house on an old homestead near us.


----------



## Rocklobster




----------



## Kayelle

Great picks lately!

Rock, does Doug the Pug belong to you? That picture cracks me up..what an adorable face of hope.


----------



## Rocklobster

Kayelle said:


> Great picks lately!
> 
> Rock, does Doug the Pug belong to you? That picture cracks me up..what an adorable face of hope.


He belongs to my son...quite a terror...usually destroys a couple of things every visit. And what he doesn't break, he poops on...


----------



## Kayelle

Rocklobster said:


> He belongs to my son...quite a terror...usually destroys a couple of things every visit. And what he doesn't break, he poops on...



 No kidding. He has that look too.


----------



## Dawgluver

Hm.  Bad Doug!  But he's still adorable!

Bad Doug bad Doug, watcha gonna do?  Watcha ya gonna do when he poops on you?  (Or your floor.)


----------



## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> A couple of shots from yesterday of a deserted house on an old homestead near us.


Beautiful Rick!  I prefer the black and white.


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Beautiful Rick!  I prefer the black and white.



I do too.  I took several shots, then developed them in different ways in Lightroom.  That was my favorite.


----------



## RPCookin

Took a drive in Rocky Mountain National Park with my sister on Wednesday.

We saw:

Looking down Forest Canyon from Trail Ridge Road:





Two bull elk a long way across the the valley from us:





The rest of the herd:





Moose:





Flowers:


----------



## GotGarlic

Gorgeous scenery, RP


----------



## Kayelle

Stunning pictures Rick! How lucky you are to live with such beauty!


----------



## Andy M.

Great pics RP. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, *RP*, wow. Beautiful. Keep 'em coming.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Love it, thanks for the mountain pictures...I can get pictures of corn fields if anyone wants them...


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Love it, thanks for the mountain pictures...I can get pictures of corn fields if anyone wants them...



Have they been turned into mazes that trap visitors?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Some have.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful photos, Rick!


----------



## RPCookin

Another one from my drive last week.  When I was processing this one I think I was channeling Ansel Adams, but without his artistic vision.


----------



## Kayelle

Hmmm, to me that looks pretty darn close to the vision of  Ansel Adams. 

Just look at that sky!! Beautiful work Rick.


----------



## Cheryl J

Another gorgeous photo, Rick!  The black and white makes it even more spectacular.


----------



## Dawgluver

Milkweed Tussock moth caterpillars:


After coming back from my week-long road trip, DH was thrilled to tell me that one of our milkweed plants was full of caterpillars.  Alas, they weren't monarch caterpillars.  These fuzzy yarn remnant look-alikes can totally decimate a milkweed plant.


----------



## Addie

Dawgluver said:


> Milkweed Tussock moth caterpillars:
> View attachment 25072
> 
> After coming back from my week-long road trip, DH was thrilled to tell me that one of our milkweed plants was full of caterpillars.  Alas, they weren't monarch caterpillars.  These fuzzy yarn remnant look-alikes can totally decimate a milkweed plant.



Could it be a Viceroy? They look just like a Monarch, but are slightly different in size.


----------



## RPCookin

Some photos from our camping trip last week.  We did a drive on the upper Poudre and over Cameron Pass to Walden, then back and up Long Draw Road to look for moose.  We found them, some 25 to 30 along the 14 miles of the road.  It was rainy and gloomy, so they aren't the best photos, but it was quite a drive.

The largest bull we saw:





A slightly smaller bull:





This doe was posing for us as she munched her dinner:





Not all of what we found was of the larger size:


----------



## taxlady

RPCookin said:


> Some photos from our camping trip last week.  We did a drive on the upper Poudre and over Cameron Pass to Walden, then back and up Long Draw Road to look for moose.  We found them, some 25 to 30 along the 14 miles of the road.  It was rainy and gloomy, so they aren't the best photos, but it was quite a drive.
> ...


I love the photos. Actually, overcast or rainy can actually make for better photos. You don't have any harsh shadows.


----------



## GotGarlic

Rick, how wonderful to get to see such beautiful animals so close. DH and I were driving with one of our exchange students in the Smoky Mountains in western Virginia and came upon a bear sitting on the road! I was so transfixed, I didn't get my camera out for a photo! After a moment, it got up and ambled away. Pretty cool


----------



## GotGarlic

We spent the last week at my in-laws house in Michigan. When he retired, they expanded their summer vacation cottage on one of the ubiquitous lakes, added a large garage and moved there. After cooking all day, I relaxed and read in the gazebo in the back yard.


----------



## Kayelle

Every time a see a picture of a moose, I feel a connection. 

I weighed 10 lbs 11 oz at birth and my hateful teenage half sister filled out all my birth announcements. She added "what a moose" on all of them. She started out being a lousy sister and nothing ever changed. 

Great pictures everyone! I love that beautiful Gazebo GG! I always dreamed of having one.


----------



## tinlizzie

This little lady turkey wandered through the yard last week.  I'm really not that far out in the country -- she was a big surprise.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Nice pic, Lizzie!

I had peacocks earlier this Spring.  I thought I had a pic, I'll need to check Shrek's computer.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wonderful Meese and other critter photos, Rick.


----------



## Dawgluver

Nice pics, guys!

Meese can turn into evil creatures.  I read something yesterday that talked about how after kicking, goring, and stomping you, they'll plant your ragged corpse on their antlers.

I've seen a couple swimming up at the lake years ago.  Moose that is, not corpses.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I've heard of people dying from Moose Bites...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great photos, as usual, *Rick*.

*Dawg*, those caterpillars are a wee "eww" since they're the wrong kind. Otherwise, I'd say they are cute. 

*GG*, that is a pretty setting in spite of the fact that it's Michigan.  (What else would you expect from a native Ohioan. Go Buckeyes!)

Good grief, *Kayelle*, what an awful thing to say by your evil step-sis. I think we should start calling you Cinderella. 

Gobble-gobble, *lizzie*. We used to get a lot of those, but no more. I guess some of them retired to FL.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Great photos, as usual, *Rick*.
> 
> 
> Gobble-gobble, *lizzie*. We used to get a lot of those, but no more. I guess some of them retired to FL.



I don't think they know boundaries. Cambridge at one time had a huge problem with them. A lot of the newer science building over near MIT have mirrored windows. The males were constantly attacking their own image and managed to break a few before the City took the problem seriously. Once all the males were either shot or caught, the females left the area. 

The problem they had is that they take to roost after sundown. You can't shoot them in the middle of the day with pedestrian traffic and cement all around. So just before sundown you would see the cops climbing the trees to get them where they lived. In the trees. Netting them didn't work. The Toms were smarter than man. They only roosted in the lower branches. So get above them, and shoot down. If you missed, the bullet went into the grass. I am afraid the City of Cambridge was the laughing stock of the area. 

When we lived in Texas, the Tom that belonged to my neighbors next door, used to chase my daughter. One day it caught up with her and took a huge chunk of flesh out of her but. Oh joy! Another trip to the ER.


----------



## RPCookin

tinlizzie said:


> This little lady turkey wandered through the yard last week.  I'm really not that far out in the country -- she was a big surprise.



Love the turkey.  We saw several back in June on a camping/float trip in Nebraska.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

There are a few flocks of wild turkeys on Hwy 85 around the Hawk Springs area, just south of me.


----------



## Souschef

*Our Plumeria*

Here is our front yard pride and joy. It looks like heck in the winter. It is a Plumeria from Hawaii. The blossoms have a delicate peach like scent. The sign at the base says, "Come grow old with me, the best is yet to be"-Browning


----------



## Addie

you are going to make Kaneohegirl homesick. I bet she can tell you how to make a lei with those beautiful flowers.


----------



## GotGarlic

When we were in Michigan with my in-laws, I admired this book that my brother-in-law had given to my MIL. Since she's living in a nursing home and won't be able to go home, my FIL asked me if I'd like to have it. It's my favorite kind of cookbook, with pictures and stories of the country, as well as recipes.


----------



## Dawgluver

This little guy was sitting atop my mail box when I went out to get the mail, and didn't mind me taking his picture.  I think it's a juvenile, not sure what kind of bird, maybe a catbird?  They often nest in the juniper.  Hope he wasn't injured.


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> This little guy was sitting atop my mail box when I went out to get the mail, and didn't mind me taking his picture.  I think it's a juvenile, not sure what kind of bird, maybe a catbird?  They often nest in the juniper.  Hope he wasn't injured.  View attachment 25153



Cute birdie. He's probably a fledgling, just learning to fly.


----------



## Dawgluver

He didn't seem too concerned, even when I got the mail.  Looking at the black markings and striping, he may be a baby woodpecker.  Hm.  Maybe a baby dove.


----------



## GotGarlic

My first thought was a dove. We used to get mourning doves nesting on top of our front porch columns.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yes, pretty sure it's a dove now.  Similar size.  I sent DH the pic, he thinks it's a dove too.


----------



## GotGarlic

Backyard bee hive. This is called bearding. Some of them are hanging around outside, trying to help the inside stay cooler. It's been really hot lately, so they also flap their wings like crazy to increase airflow inside the hive. You can tell by the buzzing


----------



## Dawgluver

Neato, GG!  Bees fascinate me.


----------



## Cheryl J

Really enjoying the random photo pics! 

Rick...those are amazing wildlife photos. I always look forward to your pics. 

GG...LOVE the pics of your inlaws lakeside place, just gorgeous.  I'd grab a book and kick back there as well. LOVE the bees as well!

Dawg...great pic of the young dove on your mailbox. 

Souschef...that's such a pretty plumeria! I can imagine how you two love seeing that in your front yard.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cool bees, *GG*! They amaze me and scare me all at the same time. I've been stung a couple of times, but I still think they're cute and fascinating. Especially when they are....................................over there >.

Our son had a little bee that would visit him on his 3rd floor balcony/porch at the old house where he has an apartment. He's posted pictures of it sitting on his finger and all. I'm not that brave.


----------



## RPCookin

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cool bees, *GG*! They amaze me and scare me all at the same time. I've been stung a couple of times, but I still think they're cute and fascinating. Especially when they are....................................over there >.
> 
> Our son had a little bee that would visit him on his 3rd floor balcony/porch at the old house where he has an apartment. He's posted pictures of it sitting on his finger and all. I'm not that brave.



Honeybees aren't dangerous as long as they don't feel threatened.  I've sat with my camera in a patch of wildflowers for an hour or more with dozens of bees all around me.  As long as you don't move too quickly or slap at them or something, they totally ignore you.  

Wasps are different and although they won't sting either if you remain still while they check you out, they do have a somewhat nastier disposition.  Unlike honeybees, they are predators, so they may be more aggressive and may be quicker to sting.  I really hate this time of year when the yellowjackets become more active and aggressive.


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> Honeybees aren't dangerous as long as they don't feel threatened.  I've sat with my camera in a patch of wildflowers for an hour or more with dozens of bees all around me.  As long as you don't move too quickly or slap at them or something, they totally ignore you.



This is true. I'll tell you this - they *hate* the weed whacker. They come swarming out and buzz like maniacs. DH is looking for a push mower.


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> Honeybees aren't dangerous as long as they don't feel threatened.  I've sat with my camera in a patch of wildflowers for an hour or more with dozens of bees all around me.  As long as you don't move too quickly or slap at them or something, they totally ignore you.
> 
> Wasps are different and although they won't sting either if you remain still while they check you out, they do have a somewhat nastier disposition.  Unlike honeybees, they are predators, so they may be more aggressive and may be quicker to sting.  I really hate this time of year when the yellowjackets become more active and aggressive.



I was attending some business classes at the local Catholic High School in the late afternoon. Right in front was the bus stop along with a huge nest of yellow jackets. The city FINALLY did something about them. Even the bus drivers refused to stop there and open the doors. Nasty critters!


----------



## tinlizzie

The turkey whose photo I posted has left the territory.  This morning's visitor was a juvenile Ibis looking lonely as he poked his long bill into the soft mud.  They usually travel in groups and the adults are white.


----------



## Dawgluver

Aww.  Poor guy, hope he finds his flock.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Poor Ibis...great picture!

I was watering this morning and splashed towards a blue jay.  He must have liked it, I soon had about 8 jays hanging out for a shower.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Poor Ibis...great picture!
> 
> I was watering this morning and splashed towards a blue jay.  He must have liked it, I soon had about 8 jays hanging out for a shower.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


>



What was really nice, they weren't making their shrieking noises, they have a lovely call/cooing.  Boys, Girls and babies.

I'm glad the starlings have looked for greener pastures...


----------



## tinlizzie

Here's an old photo of a flock of White Ibis in my previous back yard.  That's my helpful assistant in the foreground.


----------



## tinlizzie

My assistant was called away, so I got this shot that appears to be an Ibis bus stop.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful birds.  Did your assistant talk to the Ibis?


----------



## tinlizzie

He offered to let them wait inside where it's cooler, but his twitchy tail made them suspicious.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Django talks to the birds and squirrels...and flies, bees, grasshoppers...


----------



## Addie

You folks seem to have very strange pets. Although I have often had the same thoughts when it comes to Teddy. He knows the difference between left and right. When he wants to go out. He grabs Spikes right hand and pulls on it very gently. He knows that, that is the hand that holds the leash.


----------



## tinlizzie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Django talks to the birds and squirrels...and flies, bees, grasshoppers...



Django -- that's rich, PF.

And Addie, when I see that adorable little white dog in the Caesar's dog food commercial (his master looks to be an airline pilot) I think of Teddy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Love the photo of your bird-guarding cat, *lizzie*! Our daughter and her friend had a small flock of hens he keeps at his house. When he has the cat (they have shared custody, at his house during the nice weather, at hers when it's too hot or cold), Moo likes to watch the chickens. Lays on top of the wire run from the coop and dozes off. Silly cat.

I've never seen a juvenile ibis, just white ones, when we visit FL. I had to do a double-read on your post for it to register.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

tinlizzie said:


> Django -- that's rich, PF.
> 
> And Addie, when I see that adorable little white dog in the Caesar's dog food commercial (his master looks to be an airline pilot) I think of Teddy.



He's named after the Jamie Foxx character in the Quentin Tarantino movie, _Django Unchained._


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> He's named after the Jamie Foxx character in the Quentin Tarantino movie, _Django Unchained._


I figured that since Shrek is a musician, that he was named after Django Reinhardt.


----------



## Addie

tinlizzie said:


> Django -- that's rich, PF.
> 
> And Addie, when I see that adorable little white dog in the Caesar's dog food commercial (his master looks to be an airline pilot) I think of Teddy.



That dog in the commercial is a Westie. West Highland Terrier. Teddy is a Maltese. My daughter and grandson each have a Westie. I don't like my grandson's dog. Nobody does. He has never been neutered and is very aggressive and distructive. And he has never been trained to obey. A couple of times he has attacked my daughter's and it cost her vet bills. So finally she and her husband laid down the law. He is not allowed out in the yard when my daughter's Westie is out there. And then when he is out, he has to be tethered to a long leash. My daughter's Westie is such a sweetheart. Everyone loves him. 

Teddy is so well trained. Spike just has to give him a look, and he knows he has done wrong. That is when he becomes so contrite. He understands everything Spike says to him. Everyone in a square ten block area knows Teddy. And he stops to say hi and wants you to scratch him. Just about every one in my building always grab a handful of Milk Bones from the big bowl at the bank. My neighbor even carries some in her pockets all the time just in case she runs into him.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> I figured that since Shrek is a musician, that he was named after Django Reinhardt.


 
Nope, the little monster was on a rampage and had a time out in the spare room, Shrek finally let him out after 15 minutes of yowling and declared, "Django Unchained!" his name was switched from Rufus to Django in that instant.


----------



## RPCookin

The dog and I took a drive today.  Had the car detailed yesterday on a gift certificate I got from my wife so I thought I record it before it got all dusty again.






Then we found this box turtle along the road.  He refused to even stick his head out.





Also captured and vintage developed a shot of what was once the headquarters of the Wagon Wheel Ranch, a very nice ranch house, now in ruins.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I love that house picture!


----------



## Dawgluver

Neato pics, RP!


----------



## Cheryl J

Great photos, Rick!  That little turtle close up is amazing - almost looks like the pattern on the little guy has been painted on.  Great camouflage for the little guy among the tall grasses.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great photos, as usual, *RP*. Our daughter had a turtle that looked a little like your guy. She called him "Nanner" for the bright yellow on his shell. 

I really like the image of the house, too. Very nice.


----------



## Kayelle

Is that a turtle or a tortoise? Turtles live in water not on land.


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> Is that a turtle or a tortoise? Turtles live in water not on land.



It's definitely a box turtle, which, while not a tortoise, is still a land reptile.

From Wikipedia:



> Box turtles (also known as crescent turtles) are turtles of the genus Terrapene native to North America (United States and Mexico). They are also known as box tortoises,[3] although *box turtles are terrestrial members of the American pond turtle family (Emydidae), and not members of the tortoise family (Testudinidae).*


----------



## Kayelle

RPCookin said:


> It's definitely a box turtle, which, while not a tortoise, is still a land reptile.
> 
> From Wikipedia:



Thanks Rick. After I asked the question I went investigating also. Might know there's lots of questions and answers here with some interesting reading..
Box turtles are...Turtles? | Tortoise Forum

At any rate they sure are cute although we don't have them here. We had pet California Desert Tortoises when my boys were growing up.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> Is that a turtle or a tortoise? Turtles live in water not on land.


Turtles can be found on land, though. Ponds and small lakes abound in our area. Like people, turtles often look for a bigger, better home (pond). Every spring, a local organization puts up signs that warn "Look out for turtles" at points along the roadways where there are a lot of ponds. Every once in a while you'll see a splat mark on the road.  Someone wasn't watching...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Turtles also like to bask in the sun...


----------



## RPCookin

The box turtle is exclusively a land dweller.  It would have to be out here, since from where I found him, he would be days, if not weeks, from the nearest standing water, and that's even if he knew where to find it.  It was 14 miles in a straight line to the South Platte river, and that would have been his best bet if he was actually looking for water.  Fortunately for him that's not his preferred habitat.


----------



## RPCookin

For my first 17 years, all of our summertime household water came from one of these.  From the time I was big enough to carry the pail, it was my job to fetch water from the pump, which was in front of my aunt's cabin, about 100 yards from our clapboard summer cabin on Balsam Lake, Wisconsin.  Prime the pump, refill the priming can, then fill the pail and lug it back to our kitchen. 

We didn't even have electricity until the late '50s.  I remember many an evening playing cards with my mother and grandmother in the light of a kerosene lamp.  Strangely, we never felt underprivileged, even though we were by far the poorest summer residents that I knew.  Our only watercraft was my grandmother's canoe while all of my friends had motorboats, yet the canoe was important in our circle of summer friends.  It was commonly towed around the lake behind a boat, then we fished, or hunted turtles or frogs, from the canoe.

It was really a rather idyllic time in my life.


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> For my first 17 years, all of our summertime household water came from one of these.  From the time I was big enough to carry the pail, it was my job to fetch water from the pump, which was in front of my aunt's cabin, about 100 yards from our clapboard summer cabin on Balsam Lake, Wisconsin.  Prime the pump, refill the priming can, then fill the pail and lug it back to our kitchen.
> 
> We didn't even have electricity until the late '50s.  I remember many an evening playing cards with my mother and grandmother in the light of a kerosene lamp.  Strangely, we never felt underprivileged, even though we were by far the poorest summer residents that I knew.  Our only watercraft was my grandmother's canoe while all of my friends had motorboats, yet the canoe was important in our circle of summer friends.  It was commonly towed around the lake behind a boat, then we fished, or hunted turtles or frogs, from the canoe.
> 
> It was really a rather idyllic time in my life.



As a Girl Scout in my childhood, our summer camp also had one of them. We always went camping towards the last two weeks of August. The mornings were always quite chilly. We started alphabetically as to whose turn it was to go out and prime the pump. It never got to me initial K. Yea!

My mother also had one outside the summer kitchen. When canning began, that was the only time it went into use. The first priming was always done with boiling water. We did have running water inside the house kitchen. It was a soapstone sink and the faucets were attached above in the wall.


----------



## Dawgluver

Anyone know what kind of mushroom these are?  They're prolific under our pine trees.  I'm thinking they might be a kind of bolete, they have a honeycomb gill pattern.  And I don't plan on eating them.


----------



## taxlady

For better identification, you could pick a few. Put some on white paper and others on black paper. Next morning, see what colour the spores are - the ones that fall on the paper.


----------



## Dawgluver

I thought about just frying up a few for DH to try.    Oh wait, not a good idea without a positive ID.  Boletes are edible, but these don't quite look the same as the pics in my mushroom book.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> For better identification, you could pick a few. Put some on white paper and others on black paper. Next morning, see what colour the spores are - the ones that fall on the paper.



What would that tell you?


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> What would that tell you?


The colour of the spores is often listed in mushroom identifying books. Sometimes it's the only easy way to tell apart two similar looking 'shrooms.


----------



## RPCookin

Today was Labor Day, so we labored planting 9 trees.  Fortunately my 93 year old father-in-law came over with his Ford tractor with the post hole auger mounted and made shorter work of the job than it otherwise would have been.


----------



## Kayelle

Here's just one picture from near Taos New Mexico. I loved the constantly changing  puffy cloud formations we seldom see here. More pics to follow in the trip story when it's completed.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty!

Taos got me thinking, here are my new Taos boots:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Nice picture Kayelle!


----------



## taxlady

That picture, wow!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Ooo, cool boots, *Dawg*!

*Kayelle*, I love that photo! And puffy clouds. When we lived back home I would lie on my back and watch them drift by - even as an adult. The kids and I would spend a lazy summer afternoon saying "that one looks like..." and "don't you think that one over there..." for an hour or two. Great memory.  We still see nice clouds on occasion, but nowhere near as often or as artistic as the ones back home. Big difference in having the prevailing wind some across Lake Erie or across the Berkshire Mountains, I guess.  At least here I can lay on the futon and look through the sun room's glass ceiling. A bonus for my old bones!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pic, Kay....and I *love* that bridge, even though I'm kind of afraid of  heights. LOL.  We get clouds like that often here - your pic reminds me to not take them for granted and to look at them through fresh eyes. 

Pretty snazzy boots there, Dawg!


----------



## Dawgluver

Yep!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbyAZQ45uww


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> Here's just one picture from near Taos New Mexico. I loved the constantly changing  puffy cloud formations we seldom see here. More pics to follow in the trip story when it's completed.


That's the canyon that is just suddenly there as you approach Taos.  You can't see it until you are almost on the bridge.


----------



## Souschef

*MiG-15 Flight*

This picture was taken before I got strapped into the plane to fly it. While I was doing this, Kayelle was having a massage back at the hotel
Here is the link to the story:http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/mig15.pdf


----------



## Kayelle

Cool boots Dawg!


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Kay!  It's a bit of an addiction.  I love boots!  Haven't gotten any in many years, it was time.

I tend to land a bit on the Goth side, with a slice of Elvira, Queen of Darkness.

Glad you and the Souschef had such a good time!  Looking forward to the next adventure!


----------



## RPCookin

Souschef said:


> This picture was taken before I got strapped into the plane to fly it. While I was doing this, Kayelle was having a massage back at the hotel
> Here is the link to the story:http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/mig15.pdf



So she didn't want to watch you crash and burn???    Cool plane, but the link just went to a blank page.


----------



## taxlady

Souschef said:


> This picture was taken before I got strapped into the plane to fly it. While I was doing this, Kayelle was having a massage back at the hotel
> Here is the link to the story:http://stevekathytravels.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/mig15.pdf


Don't know how I missed this post yesterday.

Neato. Nifty plane. Great story. That tiny wing you can see from your cockpit, would that be called a "canard"?


----------



## Kayelle

RPCookin said:


> *So she didn't want to watch you crash and burn???*   Cool plane, but the link just went to a blank page.



Hmm, the link seems to be working Rick.

Strange you should mention "so she didn't want to watch you crash and burn". SC just asked me if I had shared my dream before now.
Actually, I had a terrible vivid dream the night before he flew, and it upset me a lot. I'm pretty intuitive with dreams but I decided to just keep my yap shut and pray all would go well. I really needed that massage while he was flying!! I sure was glad to see him walk through the door with his big grin.


----------



## Souschef

taxlady said:


> Don't know how I missed this post yesterday.
> 
> Neato. Nifty plane. Great story. That tiny wing you can see from your cockpit, would that be called a "canard"?


Actually they are radio communication antennas. They had to retrofit the airplane to make it able to communicate over US frequencies


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> Hmm, the link seems to be working Rick.



I've tried it on 2 computers and 2 different internet connections with no luck.


----------



## Cheryl J

Hmmm...strange.  I've had no trouble opening the link.


----------



## taxlady

RPCookin said:


> I've tried it on 2 computers and 2 different internet connections with no luck.



It linked to a PDF for me right away. Can you usually see PDFs in your browser?


----------



## Souschef

RPCookin said:


> I've tried it on 2 computers and 2 different internet connections with no luck.


There is more that one way to skin the Internet I hope this works, Rick


----------



## RPCookin

Souschef said:


> There is more that one way to skin the Internet I hope this works, Rick



Thank you.  For some reason it would not open in Chrome for me.  The pdf opened fine in Adobe.  Looks like a great experience!


----------



## taxlady

RPCookin said:


> Thank you.  For some reason it would not open in Chrome for me.  The pdf opened fine in Adobe.  Looks like a great experience!


Can you usually see PDFs in Chrome? Does it need an add on/extension to open PDFs?


----------



## Cheryl J

Today's early evening sunset from my front yard.  It was *so* pretty.


----------



## Kayelle

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh that's just *stunning* Cheryl!!

Thank you!!


----------



## Dawgluver

That is lovely, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Kay and Dawg.  It's getting to be that time of year - I could sit out front in the lawn chair and look at the sunsets daily for as long as they last...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice, *Cheryl*!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, CG....looking forward to many more this time of year...


----------



## taxlady

Our stupid condo association had two pines cut down near here. They looked healthy to me. They left this poor thing that is being strangled by Virginia creeper.







And since the trees are beginning to turn, I took a picture of this showoff.


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty pic.  This annoys me too, Taxy.  Our idiot neighbor took out a bunch of healthy evergreens that screened our properties.


----------



## taxlady

And now I get light from several more streetlights at night, with those two evergreens gone. As if there was enough light already that I can usually only see a few stars. Now I'm down to about six stars on a clear night.


----------



## Cheryl J

Pretty pic, Taxy. I love when the leaves change in the fall.  I couldn't see the first pic, though.  

It's black as coal out here at night - no city lights and only a couple of streetlamps down the street.  So pretty when there's a full moon - and when there's no moon and a billion stars.


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> Pretty pic, Taxy. I love when the leaves change in the fall.  I couldn't see the first pic, though.
> 
> It's black as coal out here at night - no city lights and only a couple of streetlamps down the street.  So pretty when there's a full moon - and when there's no moon and a billion stars.


Oops, maybe you need to be signed in to a Google account to see it. I'll attach it here. Can you see it here?


----------



## Cheryl J

Taxy...yes, I can see it now. Thank you.  It does look like the Creeper is taking over the pine.  

Pretty neighborhood you live in, though.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> Oops, maybe you need to be signed in to a Google account to see it. I'll attach it here. Can you see it here?



Taxy, if that were me, I would be out there with a set of hedge clippers and cutting into that creepy vine. And then I would be sticking the points into the ground and snipping some of the roots. It will save the tree. That vine is an invasive plant. 

Quite a few years ago, up on Route1A they had planted trees on the median strip to break the glare of oncoming traffic. Unfortunately about five years later they had to remove them. The highway crews couldn't keep up with the creepy vines invading and choking the trees to death.


----------



## taxlady

I think that tree is a goner, not worth trying to save it now. I'm just annoyed that they cut down two healthy looking trees and left that poor thing. They will have to pay to have that removed soon. It would annoy me less if that didn't get paid for by our condo fees.


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh dear.  Yeah, I think that poor evergreen is done.  At first inspection, I thought it was a maple.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Our trees were changing color nicely...on Monday we had 60 MPH winds that tore all the leaves off the trees...at least I won't have to rake, but some guy in Nebraska will be po'd by all the leaves.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Our trees were changing color nicely...on Monday we had 60 MPH winds that tore all the leaves off the trees...at least I won't have to rake, but some guy in Nebraska will be po'd by all the leaves.



Those leaves would have made great compost over the winter to use in the spring for your flowers. And the side benefit would be at present, some very not so needed exercise.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Addie said:


> Those leaves would have made great compost over the winter to use in the spring for your flowers. And the side benefit would be at present, some very not so needed exercise.



No unsupervised exercise until cleared by Rehab...good thing I have a kid who rakes, mows and shovels for me.  He's been by every day since my heart attack to take out the trash and see if there's anything else I need done.  He's a great kid!


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> No unsupervised exercise until cleared by Rehab...good thing I have a kid who rakes, mows and shovels for me.  He's been by every day since my heart attack to take out the trash and see if there's anything else I need done.  He's a great kid!



He sounds like a definite keeper.


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Our trees were changing color nicely...on Monday we had 60 MPH winds that tore all the leaves off the trees...at least I won't have to rake, but some guy in Nebraska will be po'd by all the leaves.



Took a short drive along the South Platte yesterday.  The wind did a fair job of stripping the trees here too, but left enough to still make a pretty photo:


----------



## RPCookin

I also took this shot yesterday of a long abandoned ranch.  The land still has cattle pastured on it, but yard and buildings harbor only ghosts.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice photos as usual, *Rick*!



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Our trees were changing color nicely...on Monday we had 60 MPH winds that tore all the leaves off the trees...at least I won't have to rake, but some guy in Nebraska will be po'd by all the leaves.


 When we lived in our first house, we were three houses "upwind" from a semi-cul-de-sac. We all were pretty good about keeping our lawns leaf-free, but poor Corky at the end of the line still said he got ALL of the leave from the entire street! Poor guy, it seemed like he was raking every day. Then again, he was a bit *ahem* anal about his yard.


----------



## Cheryl J

Princess....I hope recovery is going well.   Glad to hear you have such an enthusiastic neighbor kid to help you out.  Win-win for all!

Great pics, Rick! 

We had a few good wind gusts several days ago. I have several pine trees in the front yard and the wind usually blows from the south...so my neighbor to the north gets the brunt of the pine needles in his yard.  I commented to him recently on how he ends up with them on his lawn and ever gracious gentleman that he is, he said with a smile that he doesn't mind at all and that it's worth it to see those tall lovely pines.  Awww...  What a sweetie he is.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> Took a short drive along the South Platte yesterday.  The wind did a fair job of stripping the trees here too, but left enough to still make a pretty photo:



I was down by the South Platte yesterday.  You take wonderful pictures of the countryside.  

Love the old farmstead...


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I was down by the South Platte yesterday.  You take wonderful pictures of the countryside.
> 
> Love the old farmstead...



Thank you PF.


----------



## Kayelle

RPCookin said:


> I also took this shot yesterday of a long abandoned ranch.  The land still has cattle pastured on it, but yard and buildings harbor only ghosts.



That picture fascinates me Rick.  I'd love to hear the stories that place holds. Who built it, who loved it, who left it, and why?
Do you have a guess how old it might be? Did you wander around?


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> That picture fascinates me Rick.  I'd love to hear the stories that place holds. Who built it, who loved it, who left it, and why?
> Do you have a guess how old it might be? Did you wander around?



No idea for any of your questions.  I did not go in because it is well off the road and on private property.  There are many abandoned farm buildings and homesteads in the countryside around here.  My father-in-law knew the people who lived on this homestead, and his wife gave piano lessons to the kids there for a time.  It's been empty for 40 or 50 years now:






And this one is another abandoned ranch.  I know a descendant of the original owners, but her family doesn't own the land any more.


----------



## Dawgluver

Neato, RP!

One of my hydrangeas was a late bloomer this year, and I'll need to give it some aluminum sulphate to keep the flowers from turning from blue to pink.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I had to go up on one of the grain bins a while back so I snapped a picture of part of the homestead.

The other is of our first camping trip back in may.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> I had to go up on one of the grain bins a while back so I snapped a picture of part of the homestead.
> 
> The other is of our first camping trip back in may.



Nice farm.  This is my wife's family farm in NE Colorado - photo taken in February across a field of corn stubble.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kitty on my lap and matching doggie in the background.


----------



## Cheryl J

Great pictures, all!  

Dawg...what a beautiful hydrangea! Reminds me of my daughter's wedding - she had vases of them on the reception dinner tables.  We can't grow them here, must be too dry. 

Jon and Rick...such nice farm pics! 

GG...I always love the fur critter pics. They look so comfy.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks, Cheryl!  It's blooming later than usual this year, but I love it. 

The farm pics remind me of ND.  Say what you might, but it's a beautiful state!

Love furbaby pics, GG!


----------



## RPCookin

GotGarlic said:


> Kitty on my lap and matching doggie in the background.



  Cute guys (or gals, or other).


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> Cute guys (or gals, or other).



They're both girls 

Thanks, everyone. My sweet babies... And there's one more, but I think she was in her box upstairs.


----------



## Cheryl J

Here's my sweet little demon kitty after he scrunched up the comforter on my freshly made bed and then waved to me.


----------



## Dawgluver

Sweet kitties, GG and Cheryl.  Beagle would love her own kitty.  Kitties don't care for Beagle so much.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw, guys, I love your kitties!  More motivation for me to get this house ready for market so I can be adopted by another kitty in OH. Or...just give in and get one here. 

*GG*, is your doggie a corgi? The photo looks a little fuzzy on my screen - then again your critters ARE fuzzy!


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> *GG*, is your doggie a corgi? The photo looks a little fuzzy on my screen - then again your critters ARE fuzzy!



We're pretty sure she's a Basenji. Her legs are too long and her body too slender to be a corgi. She does have their coloring, though. 

A friend called her a tortoise shell, like the cats


----------



## Cheryl J

Happy Halloween! I was going through pics this evening - found this one of my first grandson's first Halloween at 7 months old.   He's now 7 years old. 
Anyone else want to share any Halloween pics?


----------



## Farmer Jon

One from this year and the others in 2013 the year jasper was born. He wanted to be coo-choo this year. He loves Thomas the train so that's what he got. Zane is Bumblebee the transformer.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Cheryl J said:


> Happy Halloween! I was going through pics this evening - found this one of my first grandson's first Halloween at 7 months old.   He's now 7 years old.
> Anyone else want to share any Halloween pics?



HE is adorable.


----------



## dragnlaw

His 1st year he was a Sock Monkey 







last year's photo... 






haven't gotten this year's photo's yet.


----------



## Cheryl J

VERY cute Halloween kids, Jon and dragn!  
Looking forward to seeing the one from this year, Jon. 

My daughter and SIL just keep going over the top more and more with their Halloween parties.  SIL Steve built a pirate ship  over the past year, complete with pirate skeletons to navigate it, and put it in their front yard.  He named it the "Skallywag".  I'll snag a pic of it from their FB.


----------



## Addie

I just love all the pics of the little ones. Keep them coming folks.


----------



## Farmer Jon

one of our trucks in the field at sunset. Waiting for another load. This was taken with my phone.


----------



## RPCookin

Corn harvest on my father-in-law's farm:

My wife on a ridealong:






Filling up:


----------



## Addie

Love the pics RP. Was the wife applying for a job?


----------



## RPCookin

Addie said:


> Love the pics RP. Was the wife applying for a job?


 Heh heh... not likely.  It's her father's farm - he's 93, so he rents the land to a couple of "young" 50 somethings and he gets 1/3 of the crop.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Oh share croping. Not too many people do that anymore. Mostly just the old timers so they can complain about the grain prices LOL.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> Oh share croping. Not too many people do that anymore. Mostly just the old timers so they can complain about the grain prices LOL.



It's pretty common around here.  Folks like my wife's father, who at 93 is still actively involved but doesn't do the actual farming any more.  None of his kids are interesting in taking over the farm (operated by her family for more than 100 years), but none of them wants it to leave the family either.  It's going to be difficult when he's gone and they try to deal with upkeep on 100 year old buildings when none of them lives there.


----------



## dragnlaw

That's really sad RP, hope they can find a solution.


----------



## Dawgluver

Just took a load of laundry out of the dryer.  Before I got to it and could fold it and put it away, someone else discovered it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I like to lay on warm laundry, too.


----------



## Dawgluver

Beagle jumped off the couch, wearing a towel from her nice warm pile of laundry.  I told DH to quick, get a pic!  He did, but of his thumb.

This did not work.  DH is an abject failure as a camera man.  But it was pretty funny, should have video'd it.  Didn't have my phone at hand.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I got this little rooster at an auction a while back. Paid $3. He's only about 6 or 8 inches tall. I got him because I felt bad for him they had him in a tiny little cage he couldent even stand up. I don't even know what breed he is for sure.


----------



## dragnlaw

Rhode Island Red Bantam or myabe a New Hampshire Bantam - loaned all my books to a neighbour but there's a guess to start with.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Chickens!!!!

I got a drastic change haircut yesterday, the stylist said, "Dang, I should have taken before and after pictures, this is cute!"  

So, no pictures.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> View attachment 25729
> 
> I got this little rooster at an auction a while back. Paid $3. He's only about 6 or 8 inches tall. I got him because I felt bad for him they had him in a tiny little cage he couldent even stand up. I don't even know what breed he is for sure.



Looks like a N.H. rooster. Can't find any other brand that looks like it. Keeping it in that small cage certainly stunted his growth. His comb looks stunted. One of the main things that makes a rooster stand out from the crowd is their comb and tail feathers.


----------



## dragnlaw

*Addie* he is a bantam - that is his full size.  Also as they mature often their combs will flop over, at least on some breeds.

Word of warning Jon, I had a rooster very like him in colouring, very Kellog's perfect rooster picture.  He was the devil incarnate!  Would stalk you across the yard. Fight with anything he thought was male and/or not of the chicken breeding.  
One tiime we were working on the fencing around the pens and we finally had to scoop him up (fishing nets work beautifully) and pen him inside. We just couldn't work with him sneaking up behind us every 5 minutes! 
By the way, a very tasty stew -


----------



## buckytom

We moved a little over a year ago, and I just love seeing these guys in my yard very day.


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> We moved a little over a year ago, and I just love seeing these guys in my yard very day.



BT, don't make the same mistake I did.  FIRST you chop their head off, THEN you pluck them.  Much easier!


----------



## buckytom

Lol, Andy.


----------



## buckytom

And this little guy wanders through every once in a while, disappearing past my wood pile into the woods behind the house.


----------



## buckytom

Andy, how's that beautiful little grandson of yours?


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> *Addie* he is a bantam - that is his full size.  Also as they mature often their combs will flop over, at least on some breeds.
> 
> Word of warning Jon, I had a rooster very like him in colouring, very Kellog's perfect rooster picture.  He was the devil incarnate!  Would stalk you across the yard. Fight with anything he thought was male and/or not of the chicken breeding.
> One tiime we were working on the fencing around the pens and we finally had to scoop him up (fishing nets work beautifully) and pen him inside. We just couldn't work with him sneaking up behind us every 5 minutes!
> By the way, a very tasty stew -



Ask CWS about how vicious roosters can be. Her rooster was so vicious that she had to send him off to another farm rather than the stew pot. 

When I lived in Texas, the neighbors had a Tom turkey that was free range. He used to chase my daughter all around. Even on our property. One day he took out a big hole in her backside. He went right into the oven in 24 hours.


----------



## RPCookin

Love the wildlife photos Bucky.  We get the deer occasionally right here in town (it's a really, really small town ), and we have had turkeys here just east of the house.  That's pretty rare - the turkeys mostly stay in the trees and brush along the South Platte.  It was a surprise to see a flock of them here 10 miles away from any significant cover.  We followed a buck mule deer down the street to our house a couple of weeks ago coming home from the pub.  We also see pronghorn antelope regularly.


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> Andy, how's that beautiful little grandson of yours?



BT, he just turned 10 YO and is doing great.  Not so little anymore.


----------



## buckytom

Wow, 10 already. Does he play any sports?


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> Wow, 10 already. Does he play any sports?



He tried basketball but the program sucked.  He's done a couple of years of coach pitch baseball but not sure if he will stick to it.


----------



## Cheryl J

Really nice wildlife pics, Bucky.  The bear would kind of freak me out, though.  Glad you're loving your new home.  Are you still in Joisy?


----------



## Farmer Jon

dragnlaw said:


> *Addie* he is a bantam - that is his full size.  Also as they mature often their combs will flop over, at least on some breeds.
> 
> Word of warning Jon, I had a rooster very like him in colouring, very Kellog's perfect rooster picture.  He was the devil incarnate!  Would stalk you across the yard. Fight with anything he thought was male and/or not of the chicken breeding.
> One tiime we were working on the fencing around the pens and we finally had to scoop him up (fishing nets work beautifully) and pen him inside. We just couldn't work with him sneaking up behind us every 5 minutes! [emoji38]
> By the way, a very tasty stew -


I did a little research and I think he's an English game bantam. He is small. Smaller then my other bantam hens.  He is fast  but he don't bother anyone. The full size rode island red is kinda a pain. Wife is scared of him but my boys 3 and 7 have no problems. Especially Jasper the 3 year old. They scatter when they see him coming. He chases them all over the farm.


----------



## taxlady

It's snowing today. This fence is part of a squirrel highway. If you look really carefully at the top of the fence, you can see the dents in the snow from running/jumping squirrels.


----------



## buckytom

Cheryl J said:


> Really nice wildlife pics, Bucky.  The bear would kind of freak me out, though.  Glad you're loving your new home.  Are you still in Joisy?



Yes, still in Joisey. All of our neighbors have dogs, so you usually get a pretty fair warning if there's a bear around. Their normal barks suddenly get mean. And if you know the dogs, you can actually tell which direction the bear is going by how the dogs sound off.


----------



## Addie

taxlady said:


> It's snowing today. This fence is part of a squirrel highway. If you look really carefully at the top of the fence, you can see the dents in the snow from running/jumping squirrels.



We only got a light dusting, then it turned to rain and all the snow is gone.

My daughter's next door neighbors have a *huge* oak tree in their yard. It towers over part of my daughter's three story home. There as well as right here on this property, there is not a 'single' squirrel.  They are all married with very large families. They could start their own nation.


----------



## taxlady

Addie said:


> We only got a light dusting, then it turned to rain and all the snow is gone.
> 
> My daughter's next door neighbors have a *huge* oak tree in their yard. It towers over part of my daughter's three story home. There as well as right here on this property, there is not a 'single' squirrel.  They are all married with very large families. They could start their own nation.


That isn't a highway for a single squirrel. They just tend to jump to the same spots on the fence.


----------



## Cheryl J

Last night's sunset from my mailbox.


----------



## buckytom

You've got mail.

Probably doesn't want to be brought in and ripped open after a brief but well travelled life that sees so much beauty..


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, bucky.  Oh my, do we ever get gorgeous sunsets out here in the middle of no where. LOL


----------



## taxlady

That's gorgeous Cheryl.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> It's snowing today. This fence is part of a squirrel highway. If you look really carefully at the top of the fence, you can see the dents in the snow from running/jumping squirrels.


 
Oh, what a lot of snow many of you are getting - so pretty.


----------



## Cheryl J

taxlady said:


> That's gorgeous Cheryl.


 
Thank you, Taxy.


----------



## buckytom

This is my fishin' hole and soon to be hockey pond about 3/4 of a mile from my house. I live on the mountain up on the left.


----------



## Cheryl J

Gorgeous pics, bucky!


----------



## Dawgluver

Pretty pics guys!


----------



## taxlady

Cheryl J said:


> Gorgeous pics, bucky!





Dawgluver said:


> Pretty pics guys!


I agree


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Haven't checked this thread in a couple of pages, so I'll sum up with "lots of nice photos, all of you!". 

*bucky*, it sure looks like you moved out to the country. Were you guys more city in your previous house? Or did you just exchange space for more space?


----------



## buckytom

We were definitely city slickers before this, CG. Well, suburbanites, but not like Leave it to Beaver types. Our old house was veey small, in a very busy town, on a busy street. We could walk to almost any store that we needed to go. 
Now, the nearest store is 4 miles in one direction, or 7 the other. And it's mostly undeveloped wilderness in between.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> We were definitely city slickers before this, CG. Well, suburbanites, but not like Leave it to Beaver types. Our old house was veey small, in a very busy town, on a busy street. We could walk to almost any store that we needed to go.
> Now, the nearest store is 4 miles in one direction, or 7 the other. And it's mostly undeveloped wilderness in between.



Sounds like you found your own little spot of heaven. Oh how I envy you. I hate city living.


----------



## buckytom

I'm lucky in that I go to the city every day, but also get to go back to live in the mountains every morning.

Dw is starting to get a little stir crazy living here. We went into the city for San Gennaro in September, and she commented how much she missed the excitement of being in the city, in throngs of people, and shopping, and restaurants.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> I'm lucky in that I go to the city every day, but also get to go back to live in the mountains every morning.
> 
> Dw is starting to get a little stir crazy living here. We went into the city for San Gennaro in September, and she commented how much she missed the excitement of being in the city, in throngs of people, and shopping, and restaurants.



Bucky, I can certainly relate to her feelings. I worked in downtown Boston for many years. And I also found all my entertainment there. The ballet, symphony, concerts, the theatre, etc. I have been disabled for more than ten years now. And I still miss it. 

Depending on what the night's activity was going to be, I dressed for it before I left for work each day, then killed an hour or so after work until the event was scheduled to open their doors.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

buckytom said:


> I'm lucky in that I go to the city every day, but also get to go back to live in the mountains every morning.
> 
> Dw is starting to get a little stir crazy living here. We went into the city for San Gennaro in September, and she commented how much she missed the excitement of being in the city, in throngs of people, and shopping, and restaurants.


Country Mouse/City Mouse.  That's how our kids are. When Goober moved back to Ohio, he and Loverly were sharing a house in Akron. He was in his glory, she hated it. A few years later, they went to separate housing, he stayed in the city, she moved out to the country. Two happy campers! Not suggesting you get your DW her own apartment in the city, though!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

any pics


----------



## buckytom

Cooking Goddess said:


> Country Mouse/City Mouse.  That's how our kids are. When Goober moved back to Ohio, he and Loverly were sharing a house in Akron. He was in his glory, she hated it. A few years later, they went to separate housing, he stayed in the city, she moved out to the country. Two happy campers! Not suggesting you get your DW her own apartment in the city, though!




Lol, I feel like singing the Green Acres theme song.

Aaand it reminds me of a joke. 
My wife and I found the secret to making a marriage last. Twice a week we go to a nice restaurant;  a little wine, good food.
She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays...


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I've heard that one before, but it's always funny. Bonus: Himself laughed and had never heard it before. Thanks for the chuckles.


----------



## buckytom

Henny Youngman was great.


----------



## Andy M.

buckytom said:


> Henny Youngman was great.



His deadpan delivery was the best.  

...and he played the violin!


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> His deadpan delivery was the best.
> 
> ...and he played the violin!



I loved him on the Mary Tyler Moore show.


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> I loved him on the Mary Tyler Moore show.



Are you thinking of Morey Amsterdam??


----------



## RPCookin

Andy M. said:


> Are you thinking of Morey Amsterdam??



Morey Amsterdam was Buddy on the Dick Van Dyke Show.  Henny Youngman wasn't on that or MTM.


----------



## Addie

Andy M. said:


> Are you thinking of Morey Amsterdam??



Yeah. My boo boo. Sorry. But I still liked him.


----------



## Dawgluver

Back story.  Even though we don't drink bourbon, DH subscribed to Maker's Mark's yearly Christmas gifts. Last year they sent us a winter people headband along with a headband for a booze bottle.  This year, we got 2 mistletoes on a collar for booze bottles.  Since I don't have bourbon, I put it on Kahlua.  Partial Beagle and DH in the background.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LOL!!


----------



## dragnlaw

that's funny dawg! took me a bit to decipher the pic.


----------



## Dawgluver

Yeah, lousy pic.  Beagle had stuck her head out just before I took it, but reburied herself.


----------



## Cheryl J

I love the rustic style of your living room, Dawg....my kind of place.  Especially with the bottle of Kahlua front and center.   I haven't had Kahlua in years...might have to buy myself a bottle for Christmas.


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks Cheryl!  It's the sunroom at night.  We built it on.  I wanted a "lake cabin" feel.  My favorite room in the house!

Kahlua in Mexico is so much cheaper than here in the US.  Do not make your own!  It will keep you up for days!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Looks like you need to kiss the Kahlua, *Dawg*! ~ Himself and I got a chuckle out of your snuggled Beagle.


----------



## Paymaster

Been growing my beard since July and did my first ever Santa Photo gig Friday. It was a load of fun!


----------



## Andy M.

Great pic, Paymaster!


----------



## Dawgluver

Awww.  Great pic, PM!  One of my best buddies from my little town school is also a great Santa, and his beard is also original!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

To quote the M&M guy "He DOES exist!" Wow, Paymaster, you make a great Santa.


----------



## buckytom

Wow, Paymaster, you're a perfect Santa. Someone call Herald Square, we've got a ringer.


----------



## Addie

Wow! Those are five kids who will *always* believe in Santa. There is no feeling like bringing joy to children.


----------



## Addie

Know any of these folks? Could one be in your family?

https://www.buzzfeed.com/maximilian...1&utm_source=BuzzFeed Newsletters#.sfjwALR676


----------



## buckytom

Lol, Addie.

I'm usually the one that melts things, mostly plastic. Which is why I try to buy stuff that's fairly indestructable.

DW is murder on non-stick cookware, and is a "plastic bag knotter".


----------



## Andy M.

Addie said:


> Know any of these folks? Could one be in your family?
> 
> https://www.buzzfeed.com/maximilian...1&utm_source=BuzzFeed Newsletters#.sfjwALR676



This is why no one is allowed in my kitchen without direct supervision!


----------



## Josie1945

I agree with Andy on this one. It could
be dangerous being there with me in there


Josie


----------



## taxlady

buckytom said:


> Lol, Addie.
> 
> I'm usually the one that melts things, mostly plastic. Which is why I try to buy stuff that's fairly indestructable.
> 
> DW is murder on non-stick cookware, and is a "plastic bag knotter".


Does she know how to make a slip knot?


----------



## CraigC

GD, who doesn't like her picture taken, opening a present yesterday, while nosy Voodoo watches.





Now its nosy little sister.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful girls, Craig and Karen!


----------



## Addie

So what was in that big box?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute girls, *Craig*. Looks like they were enjoying Christmas.


----------



## CraigC

Addie said:


> So what was in that big box?



http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/grandparents-pride-97071.html

The box had several things for art, for which Rachel shows a talent and interest.


----------



## medtran49

A set of carbon and graphite pencils, a huge set of colored pencils/pastels, and a hundreds of sheets sketchbook for her drawing.  She also expressed an interest in sculpting so we got her 5 pounds of plastic clay (which supposedly never dries out) to practice with, 5 pounds of air dry clay, and 5 pounds of kiln dry clay, plus a starter set of tools for clay work.  

We got to see her artwork the teacher finally let them bring home from school when they left for Christmas break.  They were all good, but 2 of them really stood out.  There was a still-life of 3 apples that was pretty darned good, had the highlighting and shading right.  The one her teacher really liked and was showing off to other teachers was an Andy Warhol-esque painting of Michael Jackson.  If I'd known she could paint that well, I'd probably have gotten her paints instead of the clay stuff.  I really wish she would agree to take some classes or see if somebody would mentor her 1 on 1, but she wants to teach herself.


----------



## buckytom

Beautiful and talented girls, Craigsy and Med.


----------



## Paymaster

Merry Christmas


----------



## Addie

Paymaster said:


> Merry Christmas



That is a great looking family. The adults all look alike. The two ladies, the one sitting with Santa and the one on the end in the grey T shirt, look like twins. 

And those kids look really happy. Santa must have been good to them.

I noticed the two flags on the shelf. My condolences to your whole family. May you never have to add another one.


----------



## Dawgluver

You make a wonderful Santa, Paymaster!  You sure look like the real deal!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

He is the real deal...

Wonderful family photos PM, thank you for sharing.


----------



## Paymaster

Addie said:


> That is a great looking family. The adults all look alike. The two ladies, the one sitting with Santa and the one on the end in the grey T shirt, look like twins.
> 
> And those kids look really happy. Santa must have been good to them.
> 
> I noticed the two flags on the shelf. My condolences to your whole family. May you never have to add another one.



Thank you! The flags are from my Uncle and my Father in Law. Both served during WW2 and for a time, post war. Couple of the finest men I ever knew.

Thanks Y'all.


----------



## Kayelle

Love all these pictures!!

Here's our little 3 yr old Cheyenne (GD) yesterday just before Christmas dinner. She sure moves faster than her Nana K, and this was the only good picture I could get. What fun to have a little one in our family again!


----------



## Andy M.

Enjoying the family pictures everyone.  Thanks.


----------



## buckytom

Aww, what a sweetie, K-L.

Payman, you were born to be Santa.

And yes, +1 for what Andy said. Keep 'em coming.


----------



## GotGarlic

Hee hee, Kayelle, what a fun smile she has


----------



## Dawgluver

Oh, aren't 3 year olds such fun little terrors?  So cute!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Paymaster*, you have a lovely family! Thanks so much in sharing your Christmas spirit.

*Kayelle*, Cheyenne looks like a cute bit of mischief. She's really precious.


----------



## Kayelle

*Bucky, GG, Dawg, and CG* you have Cheyenne down pat!

"A sweetie with a fun smile who's a cute precious terror full of mischief"!

It's like you know her! She's my joy.


----------



## medtran49

Yep, Miss Mischief was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw Cheyenne's pic.  Beautiful little girl K.

Nice family Paymaster.  Everybody looks like they are having a really good time.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm late to the party here, but have really been enjoying the family pictures. Lots of love, Christmas joy, and beautiful children. 

I haven't even looked through all my Christmas pics yet but in the meantime, here's this evening's sky. Another storm is a brewin', hopefully we'll get some more rain tomorrow. We had a downpour today, then it cleared up, and this evening looks like more is to come.


----------



## Dawgluver

How lovely, Cheryl!


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> I'm late to the party here, but have really been enjoying the family pictures. Lots of love, Christmas joy, and beautiful children.
> 
> I haven't even looked through all my Christmas pics yet but in the meantime, here's this evening's sky. Another storm is a brewin', hopefully we'll get some more rain tomorrow. We had a downpour today, then it cleared up, and this evening looks like more is to come.



So happy for Californians for the desperately needed rain. Just hope God doesn't send you too much of a good thing.

Happy New Year.


----------



## Cheryl J

My daughter, SIL, and grandsons went up to their cabin last week for a couple of days and got snowed in.  They knew snow was coming, but didn't expect this.   I'm still wondering lately if this is really California!  This is only an hour up the road from here. 

 Summer, 2016


Same view last week, January 2017 


This little calf was born on the ranch, it's only a week old.  They moved the calf and his mama down to lower elevations. 


My youngest grandson Aiden.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> My daughter, SIL, and grandsons went up to their cabin last week for a couple of days and got snowed in.  They knew snow was coming, but didn't expect this.   I'm still wondering lately if this is really California!  This is only an hour up the road from here.
> 
> Summer, 2016
> View attachment 26092
> 
> Same view last week, January 2017
> View attachment 26093
> 
> This little calf was born on the ranch, it's only a week old.  They moved the calf and his mama down to lower elevations.
> View attachment 26096
> 
> My youngest grandson Aiden.
> View attachment 26095



He must be having a ball in this snow. I don't know of any child who doesn't want to get out there even before they eat some breakfast. Has he made a snowman yet?


----------



## Cheryl J

Yes, lots of snowmen, and lots of fun play. 

They had no power for 4 days, so they lived by candlelight, flashlights, and fireplace. 


Finally got some help down the hill, the cows included.  


They all had a pretty good time, regardless - they were stocked with food,  warm clothes and supplies, and kind of had a nice Little House on The Prairie type vacation.


----------



## Addie

Cheryl J said:


> Yes, lots of snowmen, and lots of fun play.
> 
> They had no power for 4 days, so they lived by candlelight, flashlights, and fireplace.
> View attachment 26097
> 
> Finally got some help down the hill, the cows included.
> View attachment 26098
> 
> They all had a pretty good time, regardless - they were stocked with food,  warm clothes and supplies, and kind of had a nice Little House on The Prairie type vacation.



Now is the time to teach him about snow ball fights. While his hands are small and can only make small snowballs. Watch out Mommy and Daddy! Here's one for you!


----------



## Paymaster

I took this pic at Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains last week.


----------



## taxlady

Nice shot Paymaster.


----------



## Farmer Jon

I've been to cades cove. Great place.


----------



## Addie

I just love that shot of the deer!


----------



## RPCookin

Paymaster said:


> I took this pic at Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains last week.



Perfect timing.  Well done!


----------



## RPCookin

My wife, her 93 year old father, and I took a drive yesterday.  We headed northwest from here into the Pawnee Grasslands up along the border where Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska meet.  We started in Colorado, had lunch in Pine Bluffs Wyoming, then cut through the SW corner of Nebraska back through the grasslands to Pawnee Buttes.  I managed a couple of photos from the trip (obviously we are not currently have much in the way of winter weather):

The bluffs that bound one part of the grasslands:






And the Pawnee Buttes from one of the overlooks:


----------



## Addie

Even though they slightly mar the scenery, I just love those windmills way off in the distance. It tells me that we have finally found a safe, and pollution free method for producing and meeting our energy needs.


----------



## RPCookin

Addie said:


> Even though they slightly mar the scenery, I just love those windmills way off in the distance. It tells me that we have finally found a safe, and pollution free method for producing and meeting our energy needs.



Hate to burst your bubble, Addie, but they are a band-aid, not a solution.  They simply don't generate as much power as you'd think.  We don't even get any benefit from them, and we have a field of them that starts only 3 miles from our house.  From what I've read, the power is being shipped to the west coast so all the folks in La-La land can feel good about "their" clean power.  Our coal and gas powered plants are still running at full capacity.


----------



## Farmer Jon

This is from a couple weeks ago. I think they got enough salt on the roads. It took 2 people an hour to wash it and it was still dirty.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, Paymaster.  GREAT action shot of the deer!  Nice scenery pic, Rick...and Jon, what a huge job to wash that truck!


----------



## Dawgluver

Baby Bro and Paula Deen!  I'm so envious, I could scream!  Bet he ate well tonight, he's staying at her beautiful lake house.  I am highly annoyed.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, Paula looks good.  And baby bro is a handsome fella!  How fun - from what I've seen she's got a beautiful place.


----------



## Dawgluver

I know!  He takes after his big sister.  My moustache is darker though.

I'll try to post her gorgeous lake property.  Right after I kick him.  How dare he???  Without inviting me???


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> Hate to burst your bubble, Addie, but they are a band-aid, not a solution.  They simply don't generate as much power as you'd think.  We don't even get any benefit from them, and we have a field of them that starts only 3 miles from our house.  From what I've read, the power is being shipped to the west coast so all the folks in La-La land can feel good about "their" clean power.  Our coal and gas powered plants are still running at full capacity.



I live right next to a major highway. Across on the other side for about three miles are all large businesses. UPS terminal, FedEx, Burlington Express, etc. These are large buildings that contain a complete mechanical service center and loading dock for their large vehicles. Each large building has a windmill to provide electrical service to the individual service. What electricity they don't use, they sell back to our utility company or the grid. As a result, those on SS and Medicare receive a very small cash stipend with our food stamps to pay us for the overcharges of the utility company simply because they have refused to lower their rates even thought they are getting all this electricity back at a reduced rate. 

Sometimes we little folks just can't win.


----------



## Kayelle

Wow Dawg! That baby bro is drop dead handsome!! He looks like someone famous I can't place right now. What the heck is he doing there?


----------



## dragnlaw

Kayelle said:


> Wow Dawg! That baby bro is drop dead handsome!! He looks like someone famous I can't place right now. What the heck is he doing there?



LOL Kayelle....  you wouldn't be thinking of Mr. Clooney, would you?


----------



## Dawgluver

Kayelle said:


> Wow Dawg! That baby bro is drop dead handsome!! He looks like someone famous I can't place right now. What the heck is he doing there?




I know, Kay!  All 6'7“ of him!  One of his besties is the guy who does the Alaska crab boat show.

He's an executive producer and occasional actor on NBC shopping network.

I'm not about to feed his ego by telling him he looks like George Clooney, dragn.  Need to keep him in line.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Wow Dawg! That baby bro is drop dead handsome!! He looks like someone famous I can't place right now. What the heck is he doing there?



That was my first thought. Reminds me somewhat of George Clooney.


----------



## Dawgluver

I told him he has a fan club on DC.  Then  I kicked him in the shin, just to keep him humble.  I am the big sister after all.

He's also a bit of a foodie.  Not a bad cook either.  Does not listen to a word of advice.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Dawgluver said:


> Baby Bro and Paula Deen!  I'm so envious, I could scream!  Bet he ate well tonight, he's staying at her beautiful lake house.  I am highly annoyed.View attachment 26103


Wow, is that exciting! If he were my little bro, I'd find a way to tag along once in a while...and I would not be above blackmail.  BTW, he IS very dashing.



Dawgluver said:


> I told him he has a fan club on DC.  Then  I kicked him in the shin, just to keep him humble...Does not listen to a word of advice.


Tell him next time you might aim for a higher "shin".


----------



## Dawgluver

I know!  How dare the little 6'7” snot not tell me he was staying at Paula Deen's lake house?  Without me?  I shall kick him twice.

He's got me by about a foot, and I'm not a ninja, so his shin is as about as far as I can kick.


----------



## dragnlaw

Dawgluver said:


> He's got me by about a foot, and I'm not a ninja, so his shin is as about as far as I can kick.



My 5 foot 'nothing' sister would often say "I'm goin' to jump up on a chair and kick you in the knee!"


----------



## Dawgluver

dragnlaw said:


> My 5 foot 'nothing' sister would often say "I'm goin' to jump up on a chair and kick you in the knee!"




I'm 5'9", so I could probably hit his thigh, but then I'd fall over.  I'll aim for the shin.


----------



## buckytom

I noticed something slinking across my backyard this afternoon. By the time I grabbed my phone, this guy was nearly back into the woods, tracking birds for his dinner.

He said his name was Bob.


----------



## KatyCooks

buckytom said:


> I noticed something slinking across my backyard this afternoon. By the time I grabbed my phone, this guy was nearly back into the woods, tracking birds for his dinner.
> 
> He said his name was Bob.



Is that a wolf?  

Not something I would ever see in my backyard!

(Absolutely awesome by the way.)


----------



## Dawgluver

What is it?  Coyote with no tail?


----------



## Cheryl J

Bob the Bobcat!   Cool pic, bucky!


----------



## Dawgluver

Of course!  Good catch, Cheryl.  We have them around here too, though I've not seen one yet.

We do have an Australian shepherd with no tail living next door though.


----------



## dragnlaw

I just looked it up and I never knew that a Bobcat and a Lynx were one and the same differing only in size.

Wow, fantastic picture, had no problem recognizing him!  Congrats on snapping that pic. I would probably still be standing there with my mouth open just holding my phone in my hand.

for those of you who don't know how big these guys are they're around 8.5 kilo or almost 20 lbs.  Not very big, are they.  But....  I can guarantee I don't want my dog to run into him/her even thou she weighs about 60 lbs.


----------



## dragnlaw

Bucky, are you sure his name isn't Lenny?  With the size of the trees and the building in the background sure looks more like a Lynx!


----------



## caseydog

A little something I shot about ten-ish years ago. Just me at the crack of dawn, six inches of fresh snow, a camera and an Audi with quattro. 

CD

.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Of course! Good catch, Cheryl. We have them around here too, though I've not seen one yet.
> 
> We do have an Australian shepherd with no tail living next door though.


 
We have them around here too, but they usually stay in the foothills.  Every now and then one will come down the hill and be spotted in someone's front yard - word gets out quickly and the neighborhood gathers up their small pets and brings them inside.  One time my neighbor was out for an early morning walk and saw one jump down from a boulder in my front yard and take off.


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> A little something I shot about ten-ish years ago. Just me at the crack of dawn, six inches of fresh snow, a camera and an Audi with quattro.
> 
> CD
> 
> .


 
Very pretty, CD!


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> We have them around here too, but they usually stay in the foothills.  Every now and then one will come down the hill and be spotted in someone's front yard - word gets out quickly and the neighborhood gathers up their small pets and brings them inside.  One time my neighbor was out for an early morning walk and saw one jump down from a boulder in my front yard and take off.




We get coyotes here too, and apparently cougars.  My neighbor's ex called me frantically while we were on vacation worried about a cougar prowling the area.  

I've seen foxes and coyotes, but I'd be more worried about getting kicked by a deer.  Beagle is always walked on a leash.


----------



## buckytom

Pretty landscape, casey.

Yep, it was a young bobcat by the looks of the tail. It was moving across the back of the property so fast I barely caught few pictures before he disappeared.


It's not just land predators that we have to watch out for. Last summer I was sitting on the deck with my parrots and a large hawk moved into the branches of an overhead tree, looking at them like lunch.


----------



## LPBeier

Hey Everyone, I found Princess Fiona's wedding picture - we finally get to see her beloved Shrek!


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Pretty landscape, casey.
> 
> Yep, it was a young bobcat by the looks of the tail. It was moving across the back of the property so fast I barely caught few pictures before he disappeared.
> 
> 
> It's not just land predators that we have to watch out for. Last summer I was sitting on the deck with my parrots and a large hawk moved into the branches of an overhead tree, looking at them like lunch.



A few years ago, I was sitting at my desk in my home office one evening, and heard a noise to my right. There, on my window ledge was an owl. It was a full-grown owl. Absolutely majestic. 

We stared at each other for maybe ten seconds, then he flew away. It is a sight I'll never forget. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We've heard coyotes around here, but we haven't seen any. Our back yard has seen other wildlife, though: red fox the first year, but not anymore; turkeys, deer, squirrels, of course. Have yet to see the different owls that keep us entertained at night, though.

*********************

Our sun room got warm enough today for me to sit out there and enjoy a cup of tea while reading. I noticed, though, that the snow from the roof had formed a nice awning extending beyond the roof's edge. Right after I took this picture, the snow protrusion snapped off and *crashed* to the ground.  I won't ever get used to that sound!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Again! Dang, I took a vertical photo, posted a vertical photo...and get ^that^. Sheesh...


----------



## PrincessFiona60

LPBeier said:


> Hey Everyone, I found Princess Fiona's wedding picture - we finally get to see her beloved Shrek!


 
Egad, it shows my triple chin...


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> We've heard coyotes around here, but we haven't seen any. Our back yard has seen other wildlife, though: red fox the first year, but not anymore; turkeys, deer, squirrels, of course. Have yet to see the different owls that keep us entertained at night, though.
> 
> *********************
> 
> Our sun room got warm enough today for me to sit out there and enjoy a cup of tea while reading. I noticed, though, that the snow from the roof had formed a nice awning extending beyond the roof's edge. Right after I took this picture, the snow protrusion snapped off and *crashed* to the ground.  I won't ever get used to that sound!



I used to have a lake property that was located in a national forest. I would go down there and every single day I would see deer walk through the yard. We would often see grey foxes pass through, too. My wife and I were driving to the store one day, and a red fox was in the middle of our street. We stopped and just stared at it, while it stared at us. What a beautiful animal. We just sat there in the car, completely silent. 

We have coyotes and bobcats where I live, too, but they don't mess with psycho poodle. He would want to play with them, up to a point. Beyond that point, where play turns into sharp teeth, he'd kill them. I've only seen him open a can of woopass once -- he won. I was walking him on a leash, It was a dog about twice his size that had an attitude problem. It was on a leash, too, but the owner lost control of it. Her dog learned a valuable lesson that day about not starting something you can't finish. 

Psycho poodle's very best friend is a cat, believe it or not. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

I see fox fairly often, coyotes not so much anymore - certainly hear them though, deer are often in my paddocks, wild turkeys pass thru my back yard and once I saw a bear crossing the road as I was pulling out of my driveway. That was very unusual, rare to see them here.

these are from a couple of years ago and the enlarge feature was rather limited. 





and this guy was asleep beside the highway, only opened his eyes when he heard my car stop. He was there when I went out and still there on my way back about 45 min. later.


----------



## Andy M.

I noticed some critters in our "backyard" a couple of weeks ago.


----------



## dragnlaw

Andy! I know that critter! Haven't seen one in a long time around here. 

It's a No-Eared Long tailed Spineless Porcupine.  The water version.

Ha! Thought you could fool me, didn'tcha.


----------



## LPBeier

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Egad, it shows my triple chin...



But the green dress is very slimming!


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Again! Dang, I took a vertical photo, posted a vertical photo...and get ^that^. Sheesh...


 
Fixt it for ya, CG.  

Wow....lots of snow! I can't imagine how that sounded once it came crashing down.


----------



## Cheryl J

I'm enjoying the pics!  Especially the snowy ones with critters.  Great pics, dragn!

Andy...those are some big ol' lizards!  Nice view of the ocean in Aruba, too. 

This is one of my fave threads - aside from 'what's for dinner'.  

Sunset a couple of nights ago, from my front yard. I thought it was purdy.


----------



## Andy M.

Cheryl J said:


> ...Andy...those are some big ol' lizards!  Nice view of the ocean in Aruba, too...



Cheryl, those are rocks by the pool at our timeshare.


----------



## RPCookin

The only critters I've seen lately when I had my camera handy was a cattle drive.  One cowboy and his dog with about a dozen cattle:






Then a couple of days later they were doing some maintenance at the wind farm.  It's hard to judge the size of these things until you get close.  Those mobile cranes look like toy trucks next to the blades:






Then for a little more variety, I saw this in the parking lot at the hardware store:


----------



## Cheryl J

Andy M. said:


> Cheryl, those are rocks by the pool at our timeshare.



Ooops!  I thought that was a little too blue for ocean, but wasn't sure.  Beautiful timeshare!


----------



## Addie

Due to the loss of their terrain, folks in the city now get to see wildlife all the time. They are no long limited to the countryside. We even get a moose or two that thinks those tall buildings are for attacking when they see their reflection in the glass door or on the side of a shiny car. 

One day when my son was walking Teddy, a hawk came down out of the sky to take what looked like a very small white rabbit for dinner. Spike grabbed Teddy just in time in his arms. We now also have Bald Eagles being spotted in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston. And little by little they are spreading out to other sections of the city. All you have to do is look for them near water with surrounding tall trees.


----------



## Cheryl J

The *Blue Angels* have been out stretching their wings over this area for the past few days for an air show this weekend. It's amazing watching some of the greatest pilots in the world from my back yard! 

My 6 year old grandson Tyler is at a Meet and Greet with them this evening, and so hoping to get an autograph.  Especially from the Pilot of Blue Angel #6, whose name is also Tyler.


----------



## Dawgluver

The Blue Angels are so impressive!  One of my roommate's boyfriends took me to Friends and Family Day when I was in college (they were both in the military, I was the "stand-in girlfriend"), and they were amazing!


----------



## Cheryl J

My friend Cathy went to Friends and Family Day today - she got sunburned in this sunny 80's weather, but was floored by their spectacular aerial acrobatics.  The last time I saw the Blue Angels, my heart skipped a beat several times!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You got to see that from your backyard, *Cheryl*? That's pretty cool!


----------



## Addie

CG, we used to have a Naval Air Base located in Weymouth. It is now all condos. They used to have a team similar but not as good. And only four planes. And the show was much shorter. Too bad we lost it. The kids loved it. We used to call them Green (with envy and experience) Angels.


----------



## RPCookin

That's pretty cool, Cheryl.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> You got to see that from your backyard, *Cheryl*? That's pretty cool!



Yes, the first two were from my yard, there happened to be a break in the tree line just where they were flying.  I cropped out my neighbor's chimney from both of them.  

The third one was from up the road a couple of miles.


----------



## Cheryl J

RPCookin said:


> That's pretty cool, Cheryl.



Thank you, Rick. I'm keeping my phone battery charged and hope to get a lot more pics.  I'll share a couple more if they turn out well.


----------



## RPCookin

I don't know if I posted this here before or not, but this was shot from my driveway -not quite the Blue Angels, but.....  Crop duster at work:


----------



## Cheryl J

That is an amazing shot, Rick!  Can even see the pilot's face in that one. You are an excellent photographer and I always enjoy your pics.


----------



## Farmer Jon

The boys like helping put new chicks in the bin.


----------



## Farmer Jon

RPCookin said:


> I don't know if I posted this here before or not, but this was shot from my driveway -not quite the Blue Angels, but.....  Crop duster at work:


I bet that guy would love a copy of the picture.


----------



## Addie

Well, Spike was here this morning and we went over the whole problem I have with my present phone. I can take pics, but I can't download them to the internet. I have two choices. Keep the free phone I have, or take the offer Assurance gives me and then pay $30.00 a month for internet services. I am not sure I want to take on another bill each month. If I want internet abilities, I have it on my computer. 

*GG,* I did see your request regarding the quoted site. I will have to find it again. I do remember it was the FCC that made the ruling.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Addie said:


> Well, Spike was here this morning and we went over the whole problem I have with my present phone. I can take pics, but I can't download them to the internet. I have two choices. Keep the free phone I have, or take the offer Assurance gives me and then pay $30.00 a month for internet services. I am not sure I want to take on another bill each month. If I want internet abilities, I have it on my computer.
> 
> *GG,* I did see your request regarding the quoted site. I will have to find it again. I do remember it was the FCC that made the ruling.


Before I had internet I just texted pics to my email.


----------



## ixamnis

We had an ice storm here in January. I took a couple of photos in the yard near the end of it. (Precip was still falling when these were taken .... as were a few trees).


----------



## dragnlaw

good suggestion Jon.  I was going to say I sometimes email myself but guess that is data on the internet...


----------



## Addie

ixamnis said:


> We had an ice storm here in January. I took a couple of photos in the yard near the end of it. (Precip was still falling when these were taken .... as were a few trees).



Wow! great shots. I had a friend that caught a melting drop in midair. You pics reminded me of that. We just love pictures of nature! It reminds us of just how gentle, fragile and delicate our environment is.


----------



## Souschef

Farmer Jon said:


> I bet that guy would love a copy of the picture.


I Googled the registration number, and the plane is registered to Aero Applicators in Sterling CO. You can contact them or just send them a copy


----------



## GotGarlic

It's that time of year again when I have to carefully examine my garden parsley before chopping it up for dinner [emoji38] These guys have been hanging out in the kitchen for several days now.


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> It's that time of year again when I have to carefully examine my garden parsley before chopping it up for dinner [emoji38] These guys have been hanging out in the kitchen for several days now.
> View attachment 26752




They are adorable!  Have you named them yet?

Tiger Swallowtails are welcome to my parsley any time!


----------



## GotGarlic

No... Do you have any ideas? 

I have a ton of parsley that seeded itself last year. I set aside some of it for them and move them so they won't decimate all of it


----------



## Cooking Goddess

GotGarlic said:


> It's that time of year again when I have to carefully examine my garden parsley before chopping it up for dinner...


----------



## Dawgluver

GotGarlic said:


> No... Do you have any ideas?
> 
> I have a ton of parsley that seeded itself last year. I set aside some of it for them and move them so they won't decimate all of it



Lee and Pars?  Not terribly original.  I always give them their own parsley plants.  Then they promptly move over to mine.  Their little horns stick up as they try to frighten me when I move them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

They do look like they might need more wriggle room.


----------



## Cheryl J

Usually I'm all "ewww" about crawlies, but those are actually very pretty.


----------



## Dawgluver

They are very pretty.  And your hands smell like parsley after you move them.


----------



## Cheryl J

I can't actually touch them, though.


----------



## Dawgluver

They don't bite too hard, Cheryl.  They just put up their little horns and make you smell like parsley.  Not a bad thing.


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> *They don't bite too hard, Cheryl.* They just put up their little horns and make you smell like parsley. Not a bad thing.


 
 Aaaack!  Now I KNOW I'll never touch one.  I know, I'm a wimp. When I find a tomato hornworm I just cut off the leaf it's on and throw it out in the yard for the birds.


----------



## Dawgluver

Tomato hornworms, I pull, throw, and stomp.  They don't smell like parsley.  They do squirt though.

BTW, swallowtail caterpillars don't bite!


----------



## Cheryl J

Dawgluver said:


> Tomato hornworms, I pull, throw, and stomp. They don't smell like parsley. *They do squirt though*.
> 
> BTW, swallowtail caterpillars don't bite!


 
 Just stop that now!


----------



## Addie

Gee, they would make a great meal in some of the Asian markets overseas. You can find them right next to the fried grasshoppers.


----------



## RPCookin

We did our first camping trip of the year last week in the new camper.  We bought it last October, towed it home and parked it and never had a chance for a late season trip.  We went to North Sterling State Park (about 30 miles from home) for a couple of nights to check everything out and see what needed to be addressed before our 8 day outing in May.  No major hangups, so we'll be good to go this month.


----------



## Just Cooking

RPCookin said:


> We did our first camping trip of the year last week in the new camper.  We bought it last October, towed it home and parked it and never had a chance for a late season trip.  We went to North Sterling State Park (about 30 miles from home) for a couple of nights to check everything out and see what needed to be addressed before our 8 day outing in May.  No major hangups, so we'll be good to go this month.



Should be a great trip... I miss those days...


----------



## dragnlaw

I loved those trips...   but I don't miss them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

As a kid we did those trips, but no camper, just tarps for weather protection and a Volkswagen Squareback.  Best memories ever.


----------



## Andy M.

PrincessFiona60 said:


> As a kid we did those trips, but no camper, just tarps for weather protection and a Volkswagen Squareback.  Best memories ever.



I had a '71 VW squareback.  Our two daughters loved to go to a drive-in movie with the back bed tilted up.  They would lay on the stomachs and watch the movie.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Andy M. said:


> I had a '71 VW squareback.  Our two daughters loved to go to a drive-in movie with the back bed tilted up.  They would lay on the stomachs and watch the movie.



We did the same, there were three of us, many drive-in movie visits.  Mom and Dad had lawn chairs and bug spray


----------



## ixamnis




----------



## buckytom

Lol, he has to sit because he would miss the toilet if standing up...


----------



## Kayelle

buckytom said:


> Lol, he has to sit because he would miss the toilet if standing up...



 * All *of you miss the toilet standing up!!


----------



## buckytom

I was raised with 4 older sisters and lots of pets, so at least I put the seat and lid down.


----------



## Cheryl J

My daughter has 3 little boys, ages 4, 6, and 8.  The older ones have caught on to the 'right way' (unless they're in a major hurry, haha), the youngest is still working on it.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> My daughter has 3 little boys, ages 4, 6, and 8.  The older ones have caught on to the 'right way' (*unless they're in a major hurry, haha*), the youngest is still working on it.




That's it...That's it... We are always in a major hurry...   

Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

Sometimes toys just don't wait.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Kayelle said:


> * All *of you miss the toilet standing up!!


Miss the toilet, miss the sink. Following Himself "in there" is like bringing up the rear behind a sloppy duck. Water all over the counter...and HOW can he splash the mirror?


----------



## Kayelle

Cheryl J said:


> My daughter has 3 little boys, ages 4, 6, and 8.  The older ones have caught on to the 'right way' (unless they're in a major hurry, haha), the youngest is still working on it.


Cheryl, as a Mom to two boys, and a day care mom to many, a floating Cherrio in the water was great for the "aiming game".


----------



## buckytom

Lol, this is so cool!

Thanks for the great idea, K-L!!!


Take that you no longer tasty ring of wheat...


----------



## buckytom

Sorry, just goofin' around. Too easy to pass up.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Cheryl, as a Mom to two boys, and a day care mom to many, a floating Cherrio in the water was great for the "aiming game".


 
 I think my daughter actually tried that!  Either she or her best friend...somewhere I heard that.  BTW, a fun tidbit....my daughter and her best friend of 15 years delivered their youngest sons on the exact same day, within an hour of each other - even though their due dates were 3 weeks apart.


----------



## dragnlaw

Don't remember where or when I saw this, but actually saw a picture of a fly painted/glazed onto a urinal in a public wash room.  They said the clean up effort was considerably lessened...  

Here's another tidbit... I had never heard of this but being female and not frequenting the men's washrooms...  evidently many places that have heavy traffic evenings (pubs, bars, restaurants) put ice cubes in the urinals. _Supposedly_ helps with Odor Control!  Who'da thunk.


----------



## buckytom

It's often a way for a pub/bar to get rid of a tub of old ice. 

Besides being fun to see how much you can make melt.





But this Cheerio thing rocks!


----------



## dragnlaw

buckytom said:


> Besides being fun to see how much you can make melt.
> 
> But this Cheerio thing rocks!



Have to admit... the melting was my first thought when I heard about it!

and I am going to mention the cheerio thing to my sons, both with small boys!


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> I was raised with 4 older sisters and lots of pets, so at least I put the seat and lid down.



Thank you bucky tom on behalf of all women in the world.


----------



## Addie

Kayelle said:


> Cheryl, as a Mom to two boys, and a day care mom to many, a floating Cherrio in the water was great for the "aiming game".



I used that trick for all three of my boys. Works like a charm. In fact when Poo learned that trick long after he was completely trained, he still insisted in having a Cheerio handy for the "bowl." I used to keep a small bowl of them in the bathroom so he could toss one in. Both he and Pirate used it for their boys also. Training go so much faster.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Picture of my youngest granddaughter, she's almost 2.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Picture of my middle granddaughter.  She's almost 4, and the sister of the one that's almost 2.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cuties...   

Ross


----------



## Addie

They are both adorable. You can tell they are sisters! I love kids in that age bracket.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Just Cooking said:


> Cuties...
> 
> Ross



Thank you so much.  They're coming up the weekend after Mother's Day and I can't wait to see them.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Gorgeous Girls!  Maybe Grandma needs to buy a shotgun...


----------



## buckytom

Beautiful wee ones, cjm.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> They are both adorable. You can tell they are sisters! I love kids in that age bracket.


Thank you so much, Addie.  They kind of look like their mom when she was little except the oldest one has her dad's height and ears (poor thing), youngest has her dad's temper when she gets mad - and she'll be 2 next month.


----------



## cjmmytunes

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Gorgeous Girls!  Maybe Grandma needs to buy a shotgun...



Daddy already has a shotgun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjO9kX4npVY


----------



## cjmmytunes

buckytom said:


> Beautiful wee ones, cjm.



Thank you so much.  I have 2 other grandkids that I'm trying to get pics  on here but I keep getting a "too many characters for message" error.


----------



## RPCookin

Performing maintenance on wind generator.  When you look at the detail in the photo you start to get a feel for the size of these suckers.  This is a panorama created from 5 exposures.


----------



## buckytom

The guys that go up top are truely crazy people.

I've worked on very tall buildings putting up sattelite dishes, and even worked at the transmitter on the old World Trade Center, but that is a building. Not some giant fan on a pole in the sky.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

It is an awesome sight to come over a hill and see a windfarm.  The turbines and fans are huge.  I want a tour of one some day.


----------



## RPCookin

Northeastern Colorado is covered with them.  The photo above and this one were shot within 5 miles of our house.


----------



## Addie

They built a wind farm out in the middle of Nantucket Sound. This was during the times the farms were still in the experimental stage. Walter Cronkite had a home right on the waterfront. When it was time to decide if the farm was to stay or go, he spoke up at the citizens meeting. He stated that "the wind farm was destroying his view." Someone on the panel looked at him and asked him what was he viewing. "The water." was his answer. The room broke out in laughter. He had the whole Atlantic Ocean to look at and the poles were far enough apart so that the ferries coming from the mainland could easily get through with plenty of room to spare. The more he answered their questions, the more ridiculous his answers got. The wind farm is still there. Thank you Walter. The Islands now have secure electricity and don't have to worry about a blackout. 

We have a couple of them just down the street from this building for the oil farms and other commercial buildings along that side of the highway. I love to go up to my daughter's home on a windy and watch them spin like mad. And they do make a lot of noise when they are spinning!


----------



## Sagittarius

Really nice photos. 

Thank you for sharing them.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

RPCookin said:


> ...When you look at the detail in the photo you start to get a feel for the size of these suckers.  This is a panorama created from 5 exposures...


That is a great series of shots, Rick, and a fine editing job, too. When we collected our son and his belongings from AZ and drove to OH, we traveled through CO on I-70. As huge as the turbines looked at first glance, I was surprised at how they grew and grew the closer we got to them. And we never were close to them! Amazing.



Addie said:


> They built wanted to build a wind farm out in the middle of Nantucket Sound...


There, *Addie*, I fixed it for ya. 

Cape Wind had been attempting to build a wind farm since the early 2000s. The project was never even started, so there are no turbines in the Sound. From this August, 2016 article in the Cape Cod Times, it looks like they have all but given up. "In what might be the most definitive sign that Cape Wind officials have given up on the long-running and seemingly unattainable dream of building a wind farm in Nantucket Sound, the company has moved to dismiss its appeal seeking to extend state permits to connect the project to the electric grid."

If you want all the legal gobbledygook, there is this statement from the MA Bureau of Ocean Energy Management you can read.


----------



## Cheryl J

This evening's sunset.  Grabbed a shot with my phone when I went out to get the mail.


----------



## taxlady

Wow! That's gorgeous Cheryl.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful, Cheryl.


----------



## GotGarlic

Beautiful photo, Cheryl. That reminds me, I took a nice pic of sunset over the lake at my in-laws' house. The Google Photos app enhanced it.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wonderful, GG.  Love the view of sunsets from around the country.  Need to find my camera.  Shrek "put it away" somewhere...


----------



## Dawgluver

Lovely sunsets, ladies!  We have some beauties here too, but we have to peer through the woods to see them, or get in the car.


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, that's really pretty GG.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, ladies.   GG....holy cow, that is a beautiful pic.  How lucky your inlaws are to live on a lakeshore!  

Dawg....I get a clear view of sunsets from my home, but sunrises are another story.  Like you, too many trees - I keep telling myself one day I'm going to walk down to the end of the street to get a pic of the sunrise, but I'm not exactly an early morning person.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Lovely sky photos, *GG* and *Cheryl*! *GG*, your sky seems to have wet feet...


----------



## buckytom

I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but here is a sunset pic from a pond just down the block from my house. My fishin' hole, as it were:


----------



## Andy M.

Nice photo, BT.


----------



## taxlady

Pretty photo BT


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Love lavender sunsets.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, CG. 

bucky...wow, what an amazing shot of your pond! Just beautiful.


----------



## ixamnis

In addition to cooking (and food) I do a little woodworking for fun.  I spent the afternoon working on a shoe bench that I'm building to go at the foot of our bed.  I think the point of this thread is to post 1 (one) "random" photo, but I'm going to post a few:

1.  Just starting to glue things together, here. The legs are on and the basic structure is in place.  (The project is upside down for the purposes of gluing).








2.  Starting to attach the trim on the front side.  This will make it look more "finished"....








4. The sanding is now complete, and it's ready for stain.  (Nice photo of the bench right-side-up, front view)....







5.  This is me.  Staining has begun.  (Bench is up on one end to make it easier)...









6.  Stain has been applied and is now drying  (This is from today)....


(Back view)






(nice photo of the top and left side)







(front view)







(right side)






Tomorrow I start the process of applying lacquer for the final finish.


----------



## Addie

That is a great job. Looks so pretty. I love the slots for the shoes. That is a nice touch I have never seen for a shoe bench. Are you going to put a cushion on the top for sitting?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is a beautiful piece of work, *ixamnis*. Too pretty to put dirty ol' shoes in. Himself, who just started up with doing woodworking projects, wondered what kind of wood you used. His guess is cherry. I can't tell woods unless it's knotty pine.


----------



## buckytom

Very nice work, ixamnis. 

Are you sure it's a shoe bench? (You have no shoes...)


----------



## cjmmytunes

*Oldest GD at Potato Festival this weekend*

My GD went to the Potato Festival with her bio dad this weekend.


----------



## Andy M.

Your GD is a real cutie.


----------



## Dawgluver

Very nice, ix!  Something very relaxing and satisfying about taking wood and making stuff out of it.

Cute GD, cj, love her umbrella hat!


----------



## ixamnis

Cooking Goddess said:


> That is a beautiful piece of work, *ixamnis*. Too pretty to put dirty ol' shoes in. Himself, who just started up with doing woodworking projects, wondered what kind of wood you used. His guess is cherry. I can't tell woods unless it's knotty pine.



Solid Oak, one-by material.  The top is a 1x8 and a 1x12 glued together.  The middle shelf and bottom shelves and the sides and dividers are all two 1x8s glued together.

My wife was concerned about it being strong enough to hold our grandkids if they played on it.  This is while I was sanding it down, getting ready for the stain.  It took off my shoes and jumped up on it and started jumping up and down.  Then I said, "I think we're good."  I suspect it would hold well over 1000 pounds before bowing or creaking, but I'm not going to test that theory.

I didn't have any plans for the design.  I just sort of "drew it up" in my head before starting the work on it.  

It is about 4 feet wide, 16 inches deep and 18 inches high.


----------



## ixamnis

Addie said:


> That is a great job. Looks so pretty. I love the slots for the shoes. That is a nice touch I have never seen for a shoe bench. Are you going to put a cushion on the top for sitting?



My wife wants to add a cushion for the top.  I hadn't thought about it, honestly.  Once sanded down after the final coats of lacquer, it will be very smooth, but obviously a little hard.  The height is slightly shorter than a standard dining room chair, though, so very comfortable to sit on. However, my wife wants to put something over it to protect the wood from scratching. As far as I'm concerned, it's made to be used and if it scratches, it will just add character.


----------



## Kayelle

I haven't checked here in a while, and I'm loving all the pictures of the sunsets, kids and projects! 

Our house faces our 2,000 ft. South Mountain, and when the sun sets over the Pacific, it turns South Mountain pink. I've tried to capture the moment without luck, so here's a picture of my pretty succulent garden on the front porch.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty little planter garden, *Kayelle*. I'm curious, though, what is that little black and white box that's attached to the porch spindles? 

*cj*, I bet your grandkids had a great time at the festival!



ixamnis said:


> Solid Oak, one-by material...


That was my guess! Darn, I should have put that into my post. That way I would have documented proof that I'm not as clueless about types of wood as I think I am.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cooking Goddess said:


> Pretty little planter garden, *Kayelle*. I'm curious, though, *what is that little black and white box that's attached to the porch spindles? *



That's a solar deck light.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

ixamnis said:


> Solid Oak, one-by material.  The top is a 1x8 and a 1x12 glued together.  The middle shelf and bottom shelves and the sides and dividers are all two 1x8s glued together.
> 
> My wife was concerned about it being strong enough to hold our grandkids if they played on it.  This is while I was sanding it down, getting ready for the stain.  It took off my shoes and jumped up on it and started jumping up and down.  Then I said, "I think we're good."  I suspect it would hold well over 1000 pounds before bowing or creaking, but I'm not going to test that theory.
> 
> I didn't have any plans for the design.  I just sort of "drew it up" in my head before starting the work on it.
> 
> It is about 4 feet wide, 16 inches deep and 18 inches high.



It is beautiful.  If I didn't have a cedar chest, I would be interested n the specs to make a bench like it.


----------



## dragnlaw

WOW, I too have not looked at this thread for a bit.  Wonderful pics guys! Sunsets and all, grandkids - soo cute, ixamnis...  gonna send you the dimensions for the gun safe hidey hole I need...  LOL 

Came on here to post a question...  just as soon as I figure out what the category is...  LOL.  meanwhile I cruise the other threads and get lost.


----------



## Cheryl J

Loving the recent pics here!  ixamnis, beautiful woodworking! You have a great talent. 

cjm.....what sweet little grands...looks like they had so much fun! 

Kay...LOVE your little patio succulent garden. Succulents are so beautiful and do so well without much fuss. That little bird looks real. 

There was a roadrunner on my driveway this afternoon when I went out to get the mail...I don't know who freaked each other out first . I wished I had my phone on me to take a pic, but at least an 'ACME' brand anvil didn't fall on my head.  (only understandable to those who watched the Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons...LOL)


----------



## Kayelle

Thanks Cheryl, did you notice the pretty shoot with the yellow bell blossoms in the foreground? It's kinda hard to see at first.
WOW....I just love Roadrunners! I saw one in the neighborhood not long ago. They're soooooo cool!! Beep Beep...


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Thanks Cheryl, *did you notice the pretty shoot with the yellow bell blossoms in the foreground?* It's kinda hard to see at first.
> WOW....I just love Roadrunners! I saw one in the neighborhood not long ago. They're soooooo cool!! Beep Beep...


 
Yep, sure did, Kay. That was what I saw first!


----------



## Cheryl J

dragnlaw said:


> WOW, I too have not looked at this thread for a bit. Wonderful pics guys! Sunsets and all, grandkids - soo cute, ixamnis... gonna send you the dimensions for the gun safe hidey hole I need... LOL
> 
> Came on here to post a question... *just as soon as I figure out what the category is... LOL.* meanwhile I cruise the other threads and get lost.


 
I don't think there's any particular category here, but I get what you're saying....!  The photo thread kind of stands on it's own and can lead to all kinds of discussion. It's one of my faves.


----------



## Addie

ixamnis said:


> My wife wants to add a cushion for the top.  I hadn't thought about it, honestly.  Once sanded down after the final coats of lacquer, it will be very smooth, but obviously a little hard.  The height is slightly shorter than a standard dining room chair, though, so very comfortable to sit on. However, my wife wants to put something over it to protect the wood from scratching. As far as I'm concerned, it's made to be used and if it scratches, it will just add character.



Your work is just too pretty and attractive to add scratches. A lovey velvet cushion held on with small pieces of Velcro. The grandchildren could take a nap on it.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Thank you all or the comments on the granddaughter.  The baby in a couple of the pictures is not my grandchild, that is her half-brother.  My DD and her s/o live about a 4 hour drive south of me.  Her oldest daughters bio-dad lives about a 1.5 hour drive to the north of me.  So they often use my hometown as a meeting place.  I don't mind, gives me more time to spend with my cute granddaughters and I will even offer to have the bio-dad and his current s/o and baby at the house for a while if weather conditions won't allow them to do things outside.


----------



## RPCookin

Some photos from last week's camping trip to Iowa.  My wife wanted to search out some of the barn quilts of Grundy County.  Using the map from their website and the GPS in the F-150, we found 22 there, plus a few more the next couple of days in areas outside of Grundy County.  

What they are is quilt patterns painted on barns - I'd never heard of them until Kendra started talking about wanting to see them.  The idea began in Ohio, and has been repeated in several farming regions through the midwest.

Our first stop was in NE Nebraska at Willow Creek State Rec Area:






Then a few of the barns:


----------



## Kayelle

Nice rig you have there Rick, and what a fun plan to see all those quilt patterns on the old barns!! Americana at it's best on the open road!!
Love the pictures!!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Great pictures, Rick!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great pictures as always, *Rick*. I like the camper...and the second set of doors on the truck. If Himself and I were camping, I could always pick up my pillows and sleep in the truck when he lets loose with his snoring.  ~ And aren't those barn quilts something? We get to see quite a few when we visit our kids, since our daughter's condo (AKA our Bed and Breakfast Inn) is right on the edge of Amish Country.



ixamnis said:


> ...my wife wants to put something over it to protect the wood from scratching. As far as I'm concerned, it's made to be used and if it scratches, it will just add character.


I'm on your side of this discussion, *ixamnis*, even though that doesn't amount to much.  We bought our first (and only purchased) dining table set when our kids were a mere 18 months old. I wanted a real wood top. Himself wanted Formica. "Wood will scratch". Well, yeah, but it's one of the ingredients of memories. 

We ended up with Formica...and after the first scratch, the table has worn some type of protective table covering ever since. *sigh* Wish I had argued my point more strongly. You could always start with no cushion...and add it if the top gets scratched too much.


----------



## GotGarlic

Kayelle said:


> I haven't checked here in a while, and I'm loving all the pictures of the sunsets, kids and projects!
> 
> Our house faces our 2,000 ft. South Mountain, and when the sun sets over the Pacific, it turns South Mountain pink. I've tried to capture the moment without luck, so here's a picture of my pretty succulent garden on the front porch.


Nice. My succulent garden is getting drowned today with all the rain. This is from last weekend.


----------



## ixamnis

Cooking Goddess said:


> I'm on your side of this discussion, *ixamnis*, even though that doesn't amount to much.  We bought our first (and only purchased) dining table set when our kids were a mere 18 months old. I wanted a real wood top. Himself wanted Formica. "Wood will scratch". Well, yeah, but it's one of the ingredients of memories.
> 
> We ended up with Formica...and after the first scratch, the table has worn some type of protective table covering ever since. *sigh* Wish I had argued my point more strongly. You could always start with no cushion...and add it if the top gets scratched too much.



Honestly, if the wood got scratched "too much," I could always sand it down and refinish it, as well.


----------



## Cheryl J

Nice camping set up you've got there, Rick - and I LOVED the pics of the barn quilts!  

Pretty succulent garden, GG.


----------



## Farmer Jon

RPCookin said:


> Some photos from last week's camping trip to Iowa.  My wife wanted to search out some of the barn quilts of Grundy County.  Using the map from their website and the GPS in the F-150, we found 22 there, plus a few more the next couple of days in areas outside of Grundy County.
> 
> What they are is quilt patterns painted on barns - I'd never heard of them until Kendra started talking about wanting to see them.  The idea began in Ohio, and has been repeated in several farming regions through the midwest.
> 
> Our first stop was in NE Nebraska at Willow Creek State Rec Area:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then a few of the barns:


If you went from Pierce to Iowa you were within 20 miles of my place.


----------



## Addie

Those bars are beautiful. Sounds like a great camping trip. Would love to be able to do the same. I love the pictures you post. You are one great photographer.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> If you went from Pierce to Iowa you were within 20 miles of my place.



Actually we cut back west a bit when we left because we planned to stop at the Ashfall Fossil Beds, but it turned out they were closed on Monday.  At that point we just drove north to Hwy 20 and east to Eldora, Iowa.


----------



## Dawgluver

From my cousin's backyard.  Aren't they adorable?  She used a really good camera.


----------



## Kayelle

Dawgluver said:


> From my cousin's backyard.  Aren't they adorable?  She used a really good camera.
> View attachment 26952



WOW.......that's a photo worthy of Nat. Geographic Dawg........just amazing to be sure!! "whoo youuu"????!!!


----------



## GotGarlic

Dawgluver said:


> From my cousin's backyard.  Aren't they adorable?  She used a really good camera.
> View attachment 26952


Incredible photo. They are most definitely adorable [emoji813]


----------



## dragnlaw

fantastic* Dawg!*


----------



## Dawgluver

Thanks!  I take no credit, other than we are related.  To the photographer, not to the baby owls.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Dawgluver said:


> From my cousin's backyard.  Aren't they adorable?  She used a really good camera.
> View attachment 26952



OMIGOSH!  They are beautiful.  I would love to see something like that. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## taxlady

Yes Dawg, they are adorable.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Your cousin's neighbors are so cute, *Dawg*! They look like small owls, too. I wonder if they're screech owls. They sure look like they could be:






We've heard a screech owl in our woods this spring. We haven't been lucky enough to see it, though. In spite of their name, their call really sounds more like a warble, or maybe the call of a small primate. Not screechy.


----------



## RPCookin

Dawgluver said:


> From my cousin's backyard.  Aren't they adorable?  She used a really good camera.
> View attachment 26952



Great photo!


----------



## Farmer Jon

We had the field of rye by my house cut the other day. The boys enjoyed running around in it. A year ago Jasper would have broke out all over. Its makes me so happy most all his allergies are gone.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> We had the field of rye by my house cut the other day. The boys enjoyed running around in it. A year ago Jasper would have broke out all over. Its makes me so happy most all his allergies are gone. View attachment 26977View attachment 26978



That's great about his allergies. I love hearing good news about children. It always places a smile in my heart.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Farmer Jon, it's good that Jake can get out and play without worrying about itching, sneezing, and all the other allergy-like things that happen.  I'm sure he'll be playing outside a lot more.


----------



## RPCookin

A couple of months ago I posted some photos after the prairie fire here in NE Colorado.  It looked like this the day after the fire:







Yesterday I drove up about 5 miles north of our house to see what it looked like now.  You would have to know what it was like before to know that there had been a fire.  The vegetation now is different from what it was, but to someone just driving through, they'd have no clue.


----------



## Just Cooking

Mother nature heals...   

Ross


----------



## Kayelle

*Wow*...talk about rebirth. That's really inspiring Rick. Thanks.


----------



## GotGarlic

Nice to know the land is so resilient.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, what a difference! Thanks so much for the update, *Rick*. Nice to see that nature does such a great job at regeneration.


----------



## dragnlaw

Beautiful! What a wonderful reminder that Mother Nature has a purpose for everything she does.  

Thank you!


----------



## Addie

Rick, the first picture reminds me of what the Wrath of God can do to the land, and the second tells me that the soft beauty of Mother Nature prevails.


----------



## Cheryl J

Those are some beautiful photos, Rick. Sometimes it takes a fire to come back bigger and better. Thank you for sharing!


----------



## Dawgluver

Lovely how Mother Nature heals herself.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Latest pictures of my 2 youngest granddaughters.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Lets try this again


----------



## Just Cooking

Sweeties...    

Ross


----------



## cjmmytunes

Thank you so much!  3 weekends until I get to see them in person again.....


----------



## Addie

I have 11 grandchildren along with six great grandchildren. Another one on the way. Two of the grandchildren just seconds from me. I only see them in the summer when I go to my daughter's house and sit in the yard to get some sun. I have two grandchildren that live in Maine and I see them more than I do the two that just live seconds away. The rest? Haven't seen them in five years. I will get to see them if I live to be 100 and my daughter throws me another bash. They always show up for free food.


----------



## LPBeier

Those are very interesting, and telling, photos, *Rick*. There is a lot like that near where our niece and her husband live where fired ravaged the area a few years ago. They are at the base of a mountain so a lot of what was burnt down were trees. However, the new growth is more grassy. The forestry department are planning to do tree planting in a year or so to make sure the land is ready for them.


----------



## Dawgluver

From our storm last night, hail and sheets of rain from the back window:


----------



## Cheryl J

OMGosh, Dawg!  That is some good sized hail!


----------



## GotGarlic

Whoo, scary! Hail that size can cause some serious injury if you get caught outside. Glad you all are okay.


----------



## RPCookin

Nasty hail.  We have had hail reported this year in eastern Colorado up to tennis ball sized, but fortunately that only fell in fairly small areas.  My niece (in Denver) had the hood of her car dimpled by hail about the size you are holding.


----------



## cjmmytunes

Addie said:


> I have 11 grandchildren along with six great grandchildren. Another one on the way. Two of the grandchildren just seconds from me. I only see them in the summer when I go to my daughter's house and sit in the yard to get some sun. I have two grandchildren that live in Maine and I see them more than I do the two that just live seconds away. The rest? Haven't seen them in five years. I will get to see them if I live to be 100 and my daughter throws me another bash. They always show up for free food.



That's a shame, Addie.  Do you have ANY contact with them?  My DD calls me every few days or whenever she had news about one of the girls.  She's always sending pictures to me on my phone before she puts them on FB for everyone else.


----------



## Cheryl J

My daughter, grandsons and I had such a good time on vacation up in NoCal. Sure wish it could have been longer!  The littles are only 4, 6, and 8, and are quite active.  Thought I'd share a few pics. 

Lake Tahoe






The boys panning for gold 





Mama helping the little one, he wasn't tall enough to pan. 





The littlest little examining his (store bought) 'gold'. 





We took a little side trip on the way home and visited our state Capitol.


----------



## Kayelle

Awwwww.........loved these Cheryl!!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great photos, Cheryl! I love the one of them on the capital steps. You could have had them do the "hear no evil-see no evil-speak no evil" thing!


----------



## Dawgluver

Adorable, Cheryl!  Lake Tahoe is beautiful.


----------



## Just Cooking

Appears to be a great vacation, Cheryl... Add family and it becomes all the more enjoyable...


----------



## GotGarlic

Looks like a wonderful trip, Cheryl! Have you been to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento? I bet the boys would love it. 

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=485


----------



## RPCookin

Looks like good fun.  I always loved going on trips with my grandmother when I was a kid.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Great pics, Cheryl!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, all!  We had a great time, and were on the go constantly. The littlest, Aiden, cracks me up - he just turned 4.  When we were out to breakfast on our last day there, Aiden wanted waffles - but he couldn't remember the name.  He told the waitress he wanted "square pancakes with little boxes". 

*GG,* we really wanted to go to Sutter's Fort, but we ran out of time, unfortunately.  Maybe next year!


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> Great photos, Cheryl! I love the one of them on the capital steps. You could have had them do the "hear no evil-see no evil-speak no evil" thing!


 
Dang, I should have done that!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> ...Aiden wanted waffles - but he couldn't remember the name.  He told the waitress he wanted "square pancakes with little boxes". ...


Oh My Gosh, that's adorable!  Our kids would always drop the "w" and call them "awfuls" in spite of the fact that they loved them. *Kids say the darndest things*. (credit to Art Linkletter)


----------



## Cheryl J

That was a great program!


----------



## Souschef

A few weeks ago I was able to fly an old WW2 training aircraft. I flew it past our local airport and our house and had Kathy wave as I went by.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That's pretty neat, *Sous*. If you need someone to ride shotgun with you, I'm sure Himself would be happy to tag along. Since another licensed pilot probably has to go in that two-seater, though, you have my permission to strap him to a wing or tailpiece. (Don't tell him I told you that...)


----------



## Farmer Jon

We have itty bitty little babies. 4 of them hatched.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Ooooh!  Babies!


----------



## Just Cooking

We need a "like" button...


Ross


----------



## Caslon

Just Cooking said:


> We need a "like" button...
> 
> 
> Ross



For this photo too.

"Jolene Jackinsky said she thought she saw a man who looked like Obama, and as she got closer, she realized "Oh my God, it is Obama." She said Obama spotted her 6-month-old daughter, Giselle, and walked up to Jackinsky and said "who is this pretty girl?" He carried the baby and posed in a selfie with Jackinsky and Giselle. When Giselle's father approached, Obama joked, "I'm taking your baby," Jackinsky said.

Giselle was calm and content during the brief encounter, Jackinsky said. "It was only five minutes but it was a moment that will last forever," she said".


----------



## Just Cooking

I saw that on facebook... Great photo, adorable baby...   

Ross


----------



## Merlot

Souschef said:


> A few weeks ago I was able to fly an old WW2 training aircraft. I flew it past our local airport and our house and had Kathy wave as I went by.


. I love this!


----------



## Merlot

Farmer Jon said:


> We have itty bitty little babies. 4 of them hatched. View attachment 27212


Awww!  We had a broody hen but we do not have a rooster, so we snuck some of our neighbors fertilized eggs under her, marked them and found one of them was eating them so we gave broody chickie to the neighbor!


----------



## dragnlaw

Well, the rain finally stopped long enough to let me load up some pictures without crashing on me. So here are my babies hatched about 2 weeks tomorrow. 







OK, now watch closely...  this is how you do it.






Now don't pee in the pool, you drink there! (they did)


----------



## Merlot

Awww so sweet!  I Love babies!


----------



## dragnlaw

By day 3 I was already chasing them back inside the fence. This was day 4 four after about my third chase. I scolded Mom & Dad...  but all they did was hiss at me! LOL






Merlot, it's really best to separate a sitting hen from the others. Were they after hatchlings? or eggs? 

I've been able to "break" the broodiness by either just tossing her off the nest every time you catch her there or put her in quarantine, a wire cage with food and water but no nesting material, just bare wire and a roost for her to perch if you can.  Three days should do it. If you see her on the roost sooner, you know the broodiness is over.
I had a cage I hooked up on the wall of the coop. This way she was still 'in contact' with the group (sorta!) and you didn't have to worry about re-integrating with the flock so much.


----------



## Merlot

dragnlaw said:


> By day 3 I was already chasing them back inside the fence. This was day 4 four after about my third chase. I scolded Mom & Dad...  but all they did was hiss at me! LOL
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Merlot, it's really best to separate a sitting hen from the others. Were they after hatchlings? or eggs?
> 
> I've been able to "break" the broodiness by either just tossing her off the nest every time you catch her there or put her in quarantine, a wire cage with food and water but no nesting material, just bare wire and a roost for her to perch if you can.  Three days should do it. If you see her on the roost sooner, you know the broodiness is over.
> I had a cage I hooked up on the wall of the coop. This way she was still 'in contact' with the group (sorta!) and you didn't have to worry about re-integrating with the flock so much.


They were eggs, she just sat and sat.  We should have separated her but we really didn't have a spot at the moment and my neighbor has hens so we just gave her to them, they didn't mind.  We are planning on getting more.  I'm new at chickens but the boyfriend grew up on a farm.  He doesn't mind just to push her aside, I'm a bit more timid.  I know everything about chickens from reading cws's chicken chronicles here, that's the extent of my knowledge!  He's a born and raised farmer


----------



## Cheryl J

Awww, Jon and dragn...*great* pics of the little chicks and ducklings. 

Sous...what a great time that must have been, and to have your bride waving to you as you flew over...bonus!


----------



## Caslon

Will any of this get eaten?


----------



## dragnlaw

Caslon said:


> Will any of this get eaten?



*IF* these goslings survive, and *IF* I can tell goose from gander, the geese will be allowed the winter but perhaps a gander will not. 

I have not been very successful in my animal husbandry methods. 

so we just go one day at a time.


----------



## Merlot

Just going through pictures, feeling happy


----------



## Farmer Jon

dragnlaw said:


> *IF* these goslings survive, and *IF* I can tell goose from gander, the geese will be allowed the winter but perhaps a gander will not.
> 
> I have not been very successful in my animal husbandry methods.
> 
> so we just go one day at a time.


I wanted my geese to hatch some out with no luck. What breed do you have? I have pair the African bump nose white ones.


----------



## dragnlaw

These are American Buff Geese.  I chose them as they reportedly are the least aggressive.  It was true when I first got them. My original pair (called Amelia and Erhardt) used to follow me around and try to get my laces while gardening. 

George & Gracie (Burns) are my breeding couple now. I actually hatched George along with two females. But thru haps and circumstance over time I only had George left. I named him at the time as Lonesome George (Gobel) but then Gracie came along and hence the name change.

But right now standing over 4 babies...   heh heh - not at all friendly!


----------



## RPCookin

Took a detour on my way to my sister's house last week.  Taken high above Empire, CO.






My baby.


----------



## Cheryl J

Merlot...what sweet mama and baby pics! 

Rick...wow, that is some GORGEOUS scenery!


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> Just going through pictures, feeling happy



That middle picture show pure joy on your face.


----------



## Merlot

RPCookin said:


> Took a detour on my way to my sister's house last week.  Taken high above Empire, CO.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My baby.


Those are gorgeous!! The baby too


----------



## Merlot

Cheryl J said:


> Merlot...what sweet mama and baby pics!
> 
> Rick...wow, that is some GORGEOUS scenery!


Thank you!  He's 13 now, I just couldn't resist!


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> That middle picture show pure joy on your face.


Ah to be young and full of joy again  he's 13 now, but I think he's a keeper


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> Ah to be young and full of joy again  he's 13 now, but I think he's a keeper



Anybody that makes you that happy is definitely worth keeping around. I want to see the joy on your face when he graduates with his Doctorate *** laude! 

Poo's wife took a snapshot of me with my son when he graduated and there were tears running down my face. He had that one enlarged and framed. 

The best thing about a 13 year old boy, is they think their mother can do anything in the world to make their life perfect.


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> Anybody that makes you that happy is definitely worth keeping around. I want to see the joy on your face when he graduates with his Doctorate *** laude!
> 
> Poo's wife took a snapshot of me with my son when he graduated and there were tears running down my face. He had that one enlarged and framed.
> 
> The best thing about a 13 year old boy, is they think their mother can do anything in the world to make their life perfect.


Addie, he's too lazy to do much of anything  but I'm working on it.  He's very smart and very quirky.  I would love to see that picture, I bet it's a good one!


----------



## Addie

Merlot said:


> Addie, he's too lazy to do much of anything  but I'm working on it.  He's very smart and very quirky.  I would love to see that picture, I bet it's a good one!



That picture is at his house in Vermont where he lives and works. He stands at 6'1" and I am only 4'6". His wife had a devil of a time trying to get the whole of us from the waist up into the picture. 

At the age of 13, Poo's bedroom was a constant disaster. Today he is such a neat freak. So you see, there is still hope for him. You may think he is doing nothing, but he is. He is growing mentally and physically. 

At 13, I took him to his doctor and asked the doctor if there is such a thing as growing pains. ABSOLUTELY! Poo was constantly complaining about his legs hurting. That is when the light went on. I thought he was just trying to get out of doing his chores.


----------



## Merlot

Addie said:


> That picture is at his house in Vermont where he lives and works. He stands at 6'1" and I am only 4'6". His wife had a devil of a time trying to get the whole of us from the waist up into the picture.
> 
> At the age of 13, Poo's bedroom was a constant disaster. Today he is such a neat freak. So you see, there is still hope for him. You may think he is doing nothing, but he is. He is growing mentally and physically.
> 
> At 13, I took him to his doctor and asked the doctor if there is such a thing as growing pains. ABSOLUTELY! Poo was constantly complaining about his legs hurting. That is when the light went on. I thought he was just trying to get out of doing his chores.


Oh quite right about growing pains, it's real! My fiancé told me how his mom would rub that green alcohol on his legs at night but he grew up on a farm and really had to work, no choice.  Well anytime he decides to send a copy of that picture, post it for me!  Hope you are having a great day!


----------



## Cheryl J

I relaxed on the front porch this evening with a glass of wine, and watched the after-the-rain sunset. So pretty.


----------



## dragnlaw

WOW Cheryl, that's an amazing photo...  not to mention you are soo fortunate to not only witness it personally but the ability to record it!  LOL  thanks!


----------



## Rparrny

How do I post photo's...the picture icon asks for a link?  When I go to the insert icon, it says invalid file.


----------



## Rparrny

Merlot said:


> They were eggs, she just sat and sat.  We should have separated her but we really didn't have a spot at the moment and my neighbor has hens so we just gave her to them, they didn't mind.  We are planning on getting more.  I'm new at chickens but the boyfriend grew up on a farm.  He doesn't mind just to push her aside, I'm a bit more timid.  I know everything about chickens from reading cws's chicken chronicles here, that's the extent of my knowledge!  He's a born and raised farmer


I miss chickens...I raised them for years until a huge raccoon showed up and foiled every fail safe we had on the coop.  I had Americanas...they lay blue, pink and green eggs and are the sweetest birds.  Even the rooster would sit on my lap and eat meal worms from my hands.  Before that I had Rhode Island Reds...not my favorites but good egg layers.  The rooster would try to attack me every couple of weeks and a good firm push away from my boots didn't help...so I needed to open of a can of whoop a** and that would keep him away for a few weeks.  I bonded so much with the Americanas that when the raccoon got them I gave it all up.  This raccoon was massive, he did a face off with me on the deck one night...I stood with a broom, he stood on two legs and I would have to say he was nearly four feet tall...needless to say he won the face off.  He was around for nearly 20 years which is really unusual for a raccoon, they don't have a very long life span.  I haven't seen him in a few years...can't say I will miss him.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hello, *Rparrny*. I understand you're a new kid on the block. so welcome welcome! Let's see if I can confuse you even more...

I suppose it depends on where you are pulling your photo from. I upload any mobile-taken photos to Dropbox. This is how I get my photo into my post.  I'm going to guess you're in "Post Reply" mode? If you are, scroll down below the compose box to "Additional Options" and look a couple of lines down for the box titled "Attach Files". Click on "Manage Attachments". A mini-window will appear in the upper left of your screen. For me, that is where I can access my Dropbox photos. Darned if I remember whether or not I had to link DC with Dropbox because it's been a while. Anyway, if you get a box with access to your photos, click on "Choose File", and its file number will appear in that frame. When you have selected your photo(s), Click "Upload" in the bottom-right of the mini-window. When it's uploaded, you will notice the file number has appeared in the "manage Attachments" box below. You should be OK. I always "Preview Post" before I submit any reply. That way I know the interwebs understood my confused request.

I hope this helps! If not, someone who understands these things might be along and see your question. In the meantime, you might find some help in the *Tech Support sub-forum*.


----------



## Dawgluver

Cheryl J said:


> I relaxed on the front porch this evening with a glass of wine, and watched the after-the-rain sunset. So pretty.




Beautiful pic, Cheryl!  Hope you found matching wine!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Jasper at the dam last weekend.


----------



## Just Cooking

Dawgluver said:


> Beautiful pic, Cheryl!  Hope you found matching wine!




+1...   

Ross


----------



## Rparrny

My favorite picture of my grandson...


----------



## Just Cooking

Rparrny said:


> My favorite picture of my grandson...




Gotta love the babies...   

Ross


----------



## Rparrny

Some of my favorite homemade soaps


----------



## Rparrny

The cake I made for my best friend's 60th birthday


----------



## Addie

Rparrny said:


> My favorite picture of my grandson...



He is so adorable and huggable. 

I have at last count 18 grand and great grand children. Christmas got to be too expensive. I just got a brand spanking new grandson. When my grandson told me that as soon as all the medication from her C section was safely out of her system, she put her son right to her breast. I am such a strong advocate of breast feeding as soon as possible right after birth, if possible. I wanted to hug her so much. They live up by the NH border. Travel is very difficult for me. So when she is feeling up to it, they will bring the baby to me. I can't wait to sing a lullaby to him.


----------



## Addie

Rparrny said:


> The cake I made for my best friend's 60th birthday



You are so talented in more ways. Good enough to sell your wares. You go girl!


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> Jasper at the dam last weekend.



Jon, that child's curiosity of the world he lives in, knows no bounds. My oldest son was like that and I was always challenged to keep up with him.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, dragn, Dawg, and Ross. I just love the desert sunsets we get here.  Kind of makes up for the heat.  The sunrises are pretty too, but the trees are in the way and I'm not usually up for walking around the block at 5:30 AM to get a pic. haha 

Dawg...yes, my wine matched the sunset.  Or maybe not.  After a couple of glasses, I didn't care. 

Rparrny and Jon...great pics of the kidlets!  Loved the soaps too, Rparrny.


----------



## Rparrny

Addie said:


> He is so adorable and huggable.
> 
> I have at last count 18 grand and great grand children. Christmas got to be too expensive. I just got a brand spanking new grandson. When my grandson told me that as soon as all the medication from her C section was safely out of her system, she put her son right to her breast. I am such a strong advocate of breast feeding as soon as possible right after birth, if possible. I wanted to hug her so much. They live up by the NH border. Travel is very difficult for me. So when she is feeling up to it, they will bring the baby to me. I can't wait to sing a lullaby to him.


I envy you...I had to wait 7 years for Zach and I've been begging them to have another but so far it has fallen on deaf ears...
I am Jewish...became observant much later in life so both my kids, although they support my choice, do not follow it.  My daughter however, has allowed me to take Zach every Sabbath since birth...the first month she stayed with him at my house until he could take breast milk from a bottle.
He's four now and I call him my energizer bunny...if I'm tired or in pain, one hug from him and it's all gone.  It's so cute when he kisses my hips to make them better....


----------



## Rparrny

Addie said:


> You are so talented in more ways. Good enough to sell your wares. You go girl!



Thank you, once I left the Marines, I was private chef in the hamptons, I worked for the son of David Niven (only people our age would know who he is).  He was wonderful to me and as a dedicated foodie asked me if I would be interested in more formal training (I think he was worried I would be insulted).  I of course jumped at it and was blessed enough to train with some of the legends of the cooking world.  Nick Malgieri taught me how to make soufflé's and other baked goods.  He wasn't famous back then.  Marcella Hazan was not only a fabulous teacher but would have you rolling with laughter during the classes with her stories.  I've seen her son has continued the family tradition.  My most memorable was with James Beard...he was scheduled to teach a masters class but became ill and the class was cancelled several times.  When he finally got better, as a way to make up for it...he held the class in his home in Greenwich Village.  Ten of us spent the week with him.  He died six months later.


----------



## CraigC

Rparrny said:


> The cake I made for *my best friend's 60th birthday*



Can you have one sent to me by Sunday for mine. 60th that is?


----------



## Rparrny

CraigC said:


> Can you have one sent to me by Sunday for mine. 60th that is?



Happy Birthday...a little early.  I think by the time it got to you it would resemble more of a funny bone (peanut buttercream filling)


----------



## Addie

Rparrny said:


> I envy you...I had to wait 7 years for Zach and I've been begging them to have another but so far it has fallen on deaf ears...
> I am Jewish...became observant much later in life so both my kids, although they support my choice, do not follow it.  My daughter however, has allowed me to take Zach every Sabbath since birth...the first month she stayed with him at my house until he could take breast milk from a bottle.
> He's four now and I call him my energizer bunny...if I'm tired or in pain, one hug from him and it's all gone.  It's so cute when he kisses my hips to make them better....



I had five kids. Just when I got the last one out the door, my youngest daughter was murdered and left five kids. At first I took four of her kids, but it got to be just too much for me. So I had to sign the paper for the youngest three to be adopted. It broke my heart, but I was friends with both families, so I knew I would still have them in my life. I would babysit them whenever they needed a babysitter. The oldest one stayed with me and I finished raising her. When she got married, I would babysit her daughter. She had three kids and now lives in NH. 

It was harder raising her alone, than it was with all four. I was not only dealing with my own grief, but trying to get the both of us through it all. Everyday I am so thankful she had her Siamese cat Tasha to talk to. And I also bought her a diary so she could write her thoughts in it. 

You know how kids will say stupid things like, I hate my mother, I wish she was dead? Well when my granddaughter would hear kids say that in school, it would destroy her. Too many times I had to leave work and go get her, take her home and calm her down. Counseling was of no help. Finally I had to have her home schooled. She graduated on the Honor Roll. 

I don't get to see my grandchildren too often. Traveling is presently very difficult for me. Stairs are impossible. I presently have three children that live just a couple of blocks from me. One lives with me, and is a great help, the second one a boy also stops by twice a day to see if I need anything, and my daughter and her two children are within distance of my scooter.


----------



## Rparrny

Addie said:


> I had five kids. Just when I got the last one out the door, my youngest daughter was murdered and left five kids. At first I took four of her kids, but it got to be just too much for me. So I had to sign the paper for the youngest three to be adopted. It broke my heart, but I was friends with both families, so I knew I would still have them in my life. I would babysit them whenever they needed a babysitter. The oldest one stayed with me and I finished raising her. When she got married, I would babysit her daughter. She had three kids and now lives in NH.
> 
> It was harder raising her alone, than it was with all four. I was not only dealing with my own grief, but trying to get the both of us through it all. Everyday I am so thankful she had her Siamese cat Tasha to talk to. And I also bought her a diary so she could write her thoughts in it.
> 
> You know how kids will say stupid things like, I hate my mother, I wish she was dead? Well when my granddaughter would hear kids say that in school, it would destroy her. Too many times I had to leave work and go get her, take her home and calm her down. Counseling was of no help. Finally I had to have her home schooled. She graduated on the Honor Roll.
> 
> I don't get to see my grandchildren too often. Traveling is presently very difficult for me. Stairs are impossible. I presently have three children that live just a couple of blocks from me. One lives with me, and is a great help, the second one a boy also stops by twice a day to see if I need anything, and my daughter and her two children are within distance of my scooter.



Losing a child...so against the natural order of things...I can't even begin to imagine your pain.  You were so blessed to have her children as a part of her to remain.
You're very lucky to have most of your kids so close by.  How nice that you have a son so concerned...not usually the norm.  
I have a son, not likely I will get any grandchildren from him...he thinks a long term relationship is a three day weekend.  He has been great since I've been home about doing anything I ask of him...but he's not one to initiate.
My daughter is just the opposite...I think she was my reward for not killing my son...he was quite the handful growing up.
My son-in-law...what a blessing he is for our family.  Wonderful husband, wonderful father.  When he brings Zach over on Friday (my daughter works), he will spend and hour or more just hanging out and talking with me...same thing when he picks Zach up.  They have been together since my daughter was 17 and they are truly soulmates.  I didn't like him in the beginning.  He made my daughter cry when they first started dating (nearly 18 years ago). I forbid him on the property and told him I had a gun, knew how to use it and if I saw him on my property, he was a dead man.  To his credit, he stuck it out...and after a year I forgave him and allowed him back on the property but he was terrified of me for nearly a decade....


----------



## Addie

Rparrny said:


> Losing a child...so against the natural order of things...I can't even begin to imagine your pain.  You were so blessed to have her children as a part of her to remain.
> You're very lucky to have most of your kids so close by.  How nice that you have a son so concerned...not usually the norm.
> I have a son, not likely I will get any grandchildren from him...he thinks a long term relationship is a three day weekend.  He has been great since I've been home about doing anything I ask of him...but he's not one to initiate.
> My daughter is just the opposite...I think she was my reward for not killing my son...he was quite the handful growing up.
> My son-in-law...what a blessing he is for our family.  Wonderful husband, wonderful father.  When he brings Zach over on Friday (my daughter works), he will spend and hour or more just hanging out and talking with me...same thing when he picks Zach up.  They have been together since my daughter was 17 and they are truly soulmates.  I didn't like him in the beginning.  He made my daughter cry when they first started dating (nearly 18 years ago). I forbid him on the property and told him I had a gun, knew how to use it and if I saw him on my property, he was a dead man.  To his credit, he stuck it out...and after a year I forgave him and allowed him back on the property but he was terrified of me for nearly a decade....



My grandson has a 16 y.o. daughter. When she was allowed to start dating, she HAD to bring home her very first date. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table and she brought her BF into the kitchen. Her father was sitting there cleaning his gun. The BF got the unspoken message. He started to stutter when he was answering the questions. As they were ready to leave, all her father said was, "just remember, she was my first born and I have a very special place in my heart for her." At that point he picked up the gun and blew off the tip of the barrel as if there was smoke from an imaginary shot. My great granddaughter has never missed her curfew, always is where she says they are going, (her father will call and check up on her. Asks to speak to an adult that is supposed to be there.) and she is still with the same boyfriend. I think the word spread around school and all the other boys are just too scared to ask her out for a date.


----------



## RPCookin

Just back from 5 days camping at State Forest State Park near Walden CO.  This is the view we were stuck with each day:







Watched little critters:











And some big ones:


----------



## Addie

My heart just bleeds for your whole family for suffering while you had that view. It must have been so painful. 

 Smart ass! Just keep in mind of what those poor animals had to look at when seeing you. I just hope you suffer as much on every camping trip and vacation you take. And then on top of all that, you have the nerve to try and make us suffer with you. 

Gee, if I had known you needed cheering up, I would have taken some pictures of our day long drizzle and temps in the upper 60's. 

That deer/moose (?) looked like he was still in the process of his velvet developing. Loved the pic of the humming bird. That is quite a shot. Nat Geo could use you and your camera skills.


----------



## dragnlaw

ohh RP, you must have suffered so looking at that horrid stuff!  My sympathies. Next time you absolutely HAVE to go, just send me the ticket and I'll take your place.  Don't want a fellow DC'er to suffer so. 


Gorgeous pics RP, nicely done.


----------



## Rparrny

Addie said:


> My grandson has a 16 y.o. daughter. When she was allowed to start dating, she HAD to bring home her very first date. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table and she brought her BF into the kitchen. Her father was sitting there cleaning his gun. The BF got the unspoken message. He started to stutter when he was answering the questions. As they were ready to leave, all her father said was, "just remember, she was my first born and I have a very special place in my heart for her." At that point he picked up the gun and blew off the tip of the barrel as if there was smoke from an imaginary shot. My great granddaughter has never missed her curfew, always is where she says they are going, (her father will call and check up on her. Asks to speak to an adult that is supposed to be there.) and she is still with the same boyfriend. I think the word spread around school and all the other boys are just too scared to ask her out for a date.


----------



## Rparrny

Across the street my neighbors have 4 girls.  Years ago, while they were going through a nasty divorce, I would invite the girls over for "projects", they could thumb through my piles of cookbooks and each pick out something to make.  The oldest twins and the youngest would always pick something predictable...cookies or brownies or something similar.  Molly the middle child and the only redhead would always go for the gusto...Kimchi, gallettes, sauerkraut.  She became my favorite and years later still comes over for projects.  This is a picture I have hanging right at the entrance of my kitchen.  Molly is always asking about Jewish customs and wanted to learn how to make Challah.  I think she's about 8 in this photo...she's now 13.


----------



## Rparrny

Here's Molly last summer...Williams Sonoma was having a class on pasta making and Molly wanted to go but it was closed to children.  I spoke with the store manager and told her that Molly was an accomplished cook and any child's class would be unsuitable and boring for her.  They allowed her to attend and she was the hit of the class.  That night she made homemade pasta for her family and it turned out perfect!


----------



## CharlieD

Ok, enough about Molly. How about you post recipe for that gorgeous Challah? Please.


----------



## Rparrny

CharlieD said:


> Ok, enough about Molly. How about you post recipe for that gorgeous Challah? Please.



The recipe came from the book The Kosher Baker, which has been used so much several pages are now stuck together and the challah recipe was one of them...I pretty much wing it now.  As far as the design...although I can do a six strand challah braid, this is a cheat version and is much prettier IMHO.

Divide one loaf of challah dough into four equal sections.  Use three of them to form a simple braid (roll them out into strands with your open palm).  Take the last piece of dough and divide into three sections and form a simple braid which will be much smaller and thinner...but make it the same length. Place on top of the larger braid (sometimes I brush the larger braid with egg first, sometimes it sits on there just fine and I brush the whole loaf at the same time).  Add your seeds and bake.  Since it was Molly's first time I didn't want to overwhelm her with a 6 braid loaf but wanted to make something extra pretty.  She did those 3 loaves all by herself...all I did was some of the heavier kneading but she did all the braiding.


----------



## Addie

Rparrny said:


> Here's Molly last summer...Williams Sonoma was having a class on pasta making and Molly wanted to go but it was closed to children.  I spoke with the store manager and told her that Molly was an accomplished cook and any child's class would be unsuitable and boring for her.  They allowed her to attend and she was the hit of the class.  That night she made homemade pasta for her family and it turned out perfect!



Do I detect a slight smile on the woman in black in the background? She looks like she can't believe what she is seeing.


----------



## Addie

I love Challah bread. One time when my son Spike took me shopping, he takes one half of the store with my list, (it is a huge store) and I take the other half. He covers the bread section for me. Now the city where the supermarket is located is about 99% of Spanish origin. On his list I had Challah bread. 

He chided me for months about that one. "Since when have you seen any Jewish folks here. Have you heard one person in this store speak Yiddish? Do you think you are shopping in Israel?" If he had looked hard enough and gone up to the window of the in-store bakery, he would have been handed a loaf of Challah. Then it was my turn to chide him for months. 

He was to young to remember when that city was 99% Jewish. Including my landlord and his whole family that lived in the building. It has always been a city of immigrants.


----------



## Addie

dragnlaw said:


> ohh RP, you must have suffered so looking at that horrid stuff!  My sympathies. Next time you absolutely HAVE to go, just send me the ticket and I'll take your place.  Don't want a fellow DC'er to suffer so.
> 
> Gorgeous pics RP, nicely done.



What she^ said. We can sit together on the plane.


----------



## Cheryl J

RPCookin said:


> Just back from 5 days camping at State Forest State Park near Walden CO. This is the view we were stuck with each day:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watched little critters:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And some big ones:


 
 Holy cow, Rick.  You have a real talent for photography.  I really enjoyed looking at your pics!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> Just back from 5 days camping at State Forest State Park near Walden CO.  This is the view we were stuck with each day:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Watched little critters:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And some big ones:



Kind of shocking to not see snow on those mountains.  Still a beautiful scene.

Nice moose...very young, one year possibly.  Love the chipmunks and hummingbirds.


----------



## RPCookin

Cheryl J said:


> Holy cow, Rick.  You have a real talent for photography.  I really enjoyed looking at your pics!



Thanks.  I had some good luck this week.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Kind of shocking to not see snow on those mountains.  Still a beautiful scene.
> 
> Nice moose...very young, one year possibly.  Love the chipmunks and hummingbirds.



There is snow on the northeast face.  That's the southern side that we saw from camp.  

Actually that's a pretty big bull.  It's hard to see the flat part of his antlers in that view.  Here's one that shows him better:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Ah!  Now I see him.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

RPCookin said:


> Just back from 5 days camping at State Forest State Park near Walden CO.  This is the view we were stuck with each day...[/IMG]


*Rick*, those photos are ahhhhhmazing!  Himself was wondering how long of a lens you have? His guess is about 600mm. At that length, you need a tripod for the camera and another for the lens!

BTW, did you take a hummingbird feeder when you went camping?  I can't imagine it "growing" there naturally.


----------



## Addie

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Kind of shocking to not see snow on those mountains.  Still a beautiful scene.
> 
> Nice moose...very young, one year possibly.  Love the chipmunks and hummingbirds.



So glad someone cleared that up. You can tell I am a city girl. At first I thought that was a deer. But on the second look, I saw the long nose and realized it was a moose. But I wasn't absolutely sure. And I didn't even have a clue about what the chipmunk was. We don't have many of them running around our streets.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Holy cow, Rick.  You have a real talent for photography.  I really enjoyed looking at your pics!


Ditto! Really beautiful photos.


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> Thanks.  I had some good luck this week.
> 
> 
> 
> There is snow on the northeast face.  That's the southern side that we saw from camp.
> 
> Actually that's a pretty big bull.  It's hard to see the flat part of his antlers in that view.  Here's one that shows him better:


He's smiling for the camera! [emoji38]


----------



## RPCookin

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Rick*, those photos are ahhhhhmazing!  Himself was wondering how long of a lens you have? His guess is about 600mm. At that length, you need a tripod for the camera and another for the lens!
> 
> BTW, did you take a hummingbird feeder when you went camping?  I can't imagine it "growing" there naturally.



I have 5 lenses, but only used 2 of them during that trip.  The wildlife shots are with my EF 70-200 f4 L IS zoom (one of Canon's best lenses) with the Canon 2x teleconverter.  The landscapes were taken with my EFS 17-55 IS zoom.  I can hand hold the telephoto zoom because it's image stabilized.  The photos of the hummingbirds and chipmunk are cropped.  I actually do at least some cropping on most of my photos when I process them on the computer.



GotGarlic said:


> He's smiling for the camera! [emoji38]



I hadn't noticed that, but it does look that way.


----------



## dragnlaw

The moose is at different angles.  Did you creep around? or was he standing in the first picture.


----------



## LPBeier

This is Violet's and my life now. 


This is me - the most popular human in the park...when I bring treats!


Violet's view of the park from her favourite place to be - at my feet!

It's a tough job but someone has to do it!


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> The moose is at different angles.  Did you creep around? or was he standing in the first picture.



He was standing, then he laid down.  I don't go creeping around a bull moose.  They tend to be a bit crotchety. 

We saw about a dozen moose on our drive, and never had to leave the road.  Here's another one of a cow and calf.  It was raining pretty hard at the time.


----------



## dragnlaw

RPCookin said:


> He was standing, then he laid down.  I don't go creeping around a bull moose.  They tend to be a bit crotchety.



LOL...  that's why I asked. My next question was going to be what kind of life insurance does your family have on you. 

In the evenings at the cottage, I would pile everyone in the van and we would take a drive thru the park on the logging roads. 

One evening, driving along, I suddenly exclaimed "Oh look! A baby moose!" 
My MIL, riding shotgun, turned to look at me and said... "where, where!" 
I replied, "just look out your side window."  Now this was a full size passenger van, not a mini-van. This baby probably about 4 months old? if even!  about the same size as yours in the pic. and was eye level with her and less than 2 feet from her! Her reaction was priceless. The kids in the back were hysterical with laughter!

It kept following us...  argh - I was worried that he would follow us too far from his mom. 

Another time, while out riding on my trusty Quarterhorse, I came across 2 extremely agitated women on their WarmBloods (a little taller than my horse!) They were upset as a baby moose - the same size as their mounts - was following them. I'm not too sure who was more nervous, the ladies or their horses. 

 Guess baby thought he would join the herd! I was a little nervous myself as I wasn't sure just where mommy was. Didn't want her to think we were mooseknapping her baby! If he was our size...  how big was she!  Don't remember but think the scent of my dog finally drove baby off into the woods. Ladies went their way and I went mine.


----------



## Cheryl J

LPBeier said:


> This is Violet's and my life now.
> 
> View attachment 27397
> This is me - the most popular human in the park...when I bring treats!
> 
> View attachment 27398
> Violet's view of the park from her favourite place to be - at my feet!
> 
> It's a tough job but someone has to do it!



Very sweet pics, LP!   Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear you and the furbabies are happy in your new home with the beautiful park nearby.


----------



## caseydog

One of my favorite family-oriented photos. Me and my dad on our PWCs. 

My SeaDoo was way faster. 

This was 20 years ago, when my dad was in his mid 60s. My wife at the time took the picture. 

CD

.


----------



## LPBeier

Cheryl J said:


> Very sweet pics, LP!   Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear you and the furbabies are happy in your new home with the beautiful park nearby.



Thanks, Cheryl,
Once a week or so I take Monkey out to the back of our building on her leash (a  small retractable) and let her have some time in the grass. She is very skittish about traffic so I don't take her out front anymore. But otherwise, she seems totally content having "Outside Time" on the balcony. Things are less scary there and she has no desire to try to get down!


----------



## GotGarlic

DH harvested some honey from one of our hives today and brought me this nugget of comb full of honey that broke off. Nom nom nom...


----------



## dragnlaw

*GG,* I am sooo jealous of your nugget!  That is beautiful! 

Unfortunately honey is one of the things my stomach takes issue with.  I can tolerate a half teaspoon once in a while but if I start to cheat and have more (and I soo love honey that I do ) it lets me know in no uncertain terms


----------



## Cheryl J

GotGarlic said:


> DH harvested some honey from one of our hives today and brought me this nugget of comb full of honey that broke off. Nom nom nom...
> View attachment 27414


 
Very nice!! YUM....


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> *GG,* I am sooo jealous of your nugget!  That is beautiful!
> 
> Unfortunately honey is one of the things my stomach takes issue with.  I can tolerate a half teaspoon once in a while but if I start to cheat and have more (and I soo love honey that I do ) it lets me know in no uncertain terms   [emoji38]


Thanks. Sorry about your tummy. I know what it's like to be unable to enjoy the foods you like.


----------



## Merlot

Saturday we went on the side by side in Greenbrier County, WV.  We ate hotdogs over a fire we built along the way, saw a bear.  The picture quality isn't great but all I had was my phone.  Luckily when it decided to come down it didn't jump towards me, I barely got up the hill to the tree  I'm so clumsy! And on side note... 2 baby deer in our neighbors yard


----------



## RPCookin

I was doing some black and white conversions for the monthly assignment on a photo website, and this one just really grabbed me.  I took this a couple of years ago, and the color version is good, but after converting, adjusting, and cropping, this look really works for me.  

I realize that some people just don't get monochrome photos in this age of Instagram and Facebook, but I've always enjoyed viewing some the works of the early master photographers, and I try in my humble way to emulate them.

This is my take on Pilot Peak, on the Montana/Wyoming border east of Yellowstone Park.


----------



## dragnlaw

yup...  I can see why you like it.   VERY nice, good job, RP!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I love black and white photos.  Nice one Rick!


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I have 5 lenses, but only used 2 of them during that trip.  The wildlife shots are with my EF 70-200 f4 L IS zoom (one of Canon's best lenses) with the Canon 2x teleconverter.  The landscapes were taken with my EFS 17-55 IS zoom.  I can hand hold the telephoto zoom because it's image stabilized.  The photos of the hummingbirds and chipmunk are cropped.  I actually do at least some cropping on most of my photos when I process them on the computer.



I use a Nikon 70-200 f4, and like the Canon, it is a better lens than the more expensive F2.8. The APS-C sized sensor in your 60D crops it to look like an even longer lens. That plus a 2X converter must be tough to hand-hold, even with IS. Kudos to you for your steady hands. The 70-200 f4 and a 24mm f1.8 prime are my "moneymakers." I use them on every car shoot I do. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> I was doing some black and white conversions for the monthly assignment on a photo website, and this one just really grabbed me.  I took this a couple of years ago, and the color version is good, but after converting, adjusting, and cropping, this look really works for me.
> 
> I realize that some people just don't get monochrome photos in this age of Instagram and Facebook, but I've always enjoyed viewing some the works of the early master photographers, and I try in my humble way to emulate them.
> 
> This is my take on Pilot Peak, on the Montana/Wyoming border east of Yellowstone Park.


It's beautiful, Rick. Very dramatic.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

RPCookin said:


> ...I realize that some people just don't get monochrome photos in this age of Instagram and Facebook...


I have two words for those kind of people: Ansel Adams.   Unless you want to toss in a hyphenated name: Margaret Bourke-White. Although I had known of Adams before I met Himself, he was the one who mentioned Bourke-White. I guess I got lucky with one of my photos and it looked like a poor-man's version of hers - the Cleveland Terminal Tower as seen through an arch of a bridge in The Flats.

No matter what "those" people think, I think you have a terrific composition.


----------



## Addie

RPCookin said:


> I was doing some black and white conversions for the monthly assignment on a photo website, and this one just really grabbed me.  I took this a couple of years ago, and the color version is good, but after converting, adjusting, and cropping, this look really works for me.
> 
> I realize that some people just don't get monochrome photos in this age of Instagram and Facebook, but I've always enjoyed viewing some the works of the early master photographers, and I try in my humble way to emulate them.
> 
> This is my take on Pilot Peak, on the Montana/Wyoming border east of Yellowstone Park.




I think black and white monochrome pictures can tell a more intensive story than those in color. When you look at some of the faces taken during the 30's during the Depression, their emotional pain and hopelessness show in those black and white pictures. No words are necessary.


----------



## Just Cooking

Excellent photo, RP.. I grew up with black and white photography and have always had an appreciation of those who present it well..

Ross


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I took a couple of quick cellphone shots just before we left the Night Market that was in Cleveland's old Chinatown area as it was closing up.


----------



## GotGarlic

Looks like a fun place, CG! [emoji2]


----------



## TATTRAT

From Blackwater Falls, Davis County, WV


----------



## LPBeier

Our little Monkey living up to her name as usual!


----------



## GotGarlic

This has been a problem with cats for a very long time


----------



## LPBeier

GotGarlic said:


> This has been a problem with cats for a very long time
> View attachment 27693


----------



## buckytom

I heard something about a boxing match last night...


----------



## dragnlaw

HA!  Bagged it!  Got one up on yuh...   You'll never find me. hehehe


----------



## LPBeier

buckytom said:


> I heard something about a boxing match last night...



What a sweetie, Bucky T!


----------



## LPBeier

dragnlaw said:


> HA!  Bagged it!  Got one up on yuh...   You'll never find me. hehehe




I love the white paws!


----------



## CharlieD

View from our hotel window. Waking up to this is a dream.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice view, *Charlie*! Enjoy your view - and your vacation.

*TAT*, I love waterfall photos. Very pretty.

Love all of the kitties. I miss having one, but still trying to hold off for "later". 

I tried uploading a photo of a portion of downtown Cleveland at night, but the site told me it was too big. Um, it was smaller than many others I've posted. I'll figure that DC is just being ornery right now, and I'll try later!


----------



## TATTRAT

Cool old general store, still operating in Rig WV


----------



## Andy M.

CharlieD said:


> View attachment 27715
> View from our hotel window. Waking up to this is a dream.



Very nice, Charlie.  Where is this?


----------



## Farmer Jon

Got to hang out with my granddaughter Sunday. Don't get to see her much. Time flies and before you know it several months have passed. 

Uncle Jasper pulled his niece Ava all over in the wagon. They are only a little over a year apart.


----------



## Cheryl J

Loving all these new pics!  The kitty ones crack me up.  This is one of my fave threads. 

Tatt, love the pic of the ol' general store.  We have several around here in these parts, your pic reminds me to look some of them up again. 

Jon...what cute little babes. 

Charlie...enjoy your vacay.  You too, CG...hope to see your pic.


----------



## CharlieD

Cooking Goddess said:


> Nice view, *Charlie*! Enjoy your view - and your vacation.





Thank you. I wish it was vacation. I'm here for one day only.


----------



## CharlieD

Andy M. said:


> Very nice, Charlie.  Where is this?





Andy, Miami Beach.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Aw *Charlie*, that's a shame. Maybe you'll vacation there some other time.


OK, *Cheryl*, I'll try again!  The odd thing is that DC let me upload the cast iron photo in the "Kitchen Candy" thread with no problem - and it was much larger than the Cleveland one. Go figure.


And.....it didn't work. I need to resize the photo. But I don't use a software program that will resize per DC's requirements. Even Himself said I'm out of luck. Alas, so are you. I think I have an app on my phone that will allow me to resize. Maybe I'll try again...tomorrow. Brain's a little bit tired tonight.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> Loving all these new pics!  The kitty ones crack me up.  This is one of my fave threads.
> 
> Tatt, love the pic of the ol' general store.  We have several around here in these parts, your pic reminds me to look some of them up again.
> 
> Jon...what cute little babes.
> 
> Charlie...enjoy your vacay.  You too, CG...hope to see your pic.




+1...  

Ross


----------



## LPBeier

It isn't as clear a picture, but Monkey decided to renovate. Unfortunately, she hasn't learned to clean up after herself!

View attachment 27734


----------



## Addie

LPBeier said:


> It isn't as clear a picture, but Monkey decided to renovate. Unfortunately, she hasn't learned to clean up after herself!
> 
> View attachment 27734



No one is looking at the renovation, they are all gazing at beautiful Monkey!


----------



## dragnlaw

LPBeier said:


> It isn't as clear a picture, but Monkey decided to renovate. Unfortunately, she hasn't learned to clean up after herself!


----------



## LPBeier

Addie said:


> No one is looking at the renovation, they are all gazing at beautiful Monkey!



 Thanks, Addie. She feeds off of that beauty too. It is too hard to get mad at her.

Here she is just chilling on the balcony!


----------



## TATTRAT




----------



## LPBeier

Glad to see you are living the good life, *Tatt*!


----------



## dragnlaw

Harrumph!! those look an awful lot like dollar store wine glasses to me! I should know.



and so the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!


----------



## TATTRAT

dragnlaw said:


> Harrumph!! those look an awful lot like dollar store wine glasses to me! I should know.
> 
> 
> 
> and so the rich get richer and the poor get poorer!



Only the finest crystal for our Boones Farm Wine and MD20/20.


----------



## dragnlaw

TATTRAT said:


> Only the finest crystal for our *Boones Farm Wine* and *MD20/20*.



LOL  I had to google them.


----------



## Just Cooking

TATTRAT said:


> Only the finest crystal for our Boones Farm Wine and MD20/20.




We used those to serve Thunderbird when we had parties in the 60's....  

Actually the Thunderbird was better right out of the brown bag...  

Ross


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> LOL  I had to google them.



You never had Boonesfarm Strawberry Hill?  Or Annie Green Springs?  You poor deprived kid!


----------



## dragnlaw

Naw...  I was brought up on 'Screech'.


----------



## caseydog

I just came across these shots from a few years ago. I was doing a studio shoot of one of the Kennedy bubble-top Lincolns (not the one he was killed in), and my assistant and I had to shoot each other (pardon the pun) in the car.

BTW, I've lost 25 pounds since that photo was taken -- yes, really. 

CD

.


----------



## buckytom

TATTRAT said:


> Only the finest crystal for our Boones Farm Wine and MD20/20.



Lol @ Boones Farm.

For us it was Leroux blackberry brandy.


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> I just came across these shots from a few years ago. I was doing a studio shoot of one of the Kennedy bubble-top Lincolns (not the one he was killed in), and my assistant and I had to shoot each other (pardon the pun) in the car.
> 
> BTW, I've lost 25 pounds since that photo was taken -- yes, really.
> 
> CD
> 
> .




You look very Presidential, CD...  

Ross


----------



## TATTRAT




----------



## GotGarlic

TATTRAT said:


>



Kewl


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Excellent picture Tatt!


----------



## TATTRAT

Thanks, All. It's a cool location, an old prison that has since been converted to art space. The older, abandoned building, I really enjoy.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those are interesting photos, *TAT*! Did you alter the door image? As in, did you add the "Culinary Supply Area" to the wall, or is that actually painted on the bricks?   It reminds me of the type of photos our son took before he started to edit (read: colorize) his shots dramatically. My avatar is actually a photo he took. I like the name on the door plate: Or Derv Foods. 

Do you have an Instagram account I could follow? I enjoy looking at your stuff.  I use Instagram to catch any photos our son may post that he doesn't add to Facebook. His user name at Instagram is "skalamander", just in case you have a moment to take a peek and critique.


----------



## Cheryl J

Nice pics, TATT and Casey!  CG, I'll def look up Goober's pics on instagram.


----------



## TATTRAT

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those are interesting photos, *TAT*! Did you alter the door image? As in, did you add the "Culinary Supply Area" to the wall, or is that actually painted on the bricks?   It reminds me of the type of photos our son took before he started to edit (read: colorize) his shots dramatically. My avatar is actually a photo he took. I like the name on the door plate: Or Derv Foods.
> 
> Do you have an Instagram account I could follow? I enjoy looking at your stuff.  I use Instagram to catch any photos our son may post that he doesn't add to Facebook. His user name at Instagram is "skalamander", just in case you have a moment to take a peek and critique.



Nothing added, that's the actual old supply area. 

You can always view my flickr (should be in my signature), and I'll add your son on my instagram. I have one, @jonobrands, though that's more for side gig stuff (concert photography, digital marketing and branding), but I do put some of my food/work stuff up.


----------



## dragnlaw

so today I moved into my "winter" kitchen.  That involves moving the table away from the window and rehanging the lamp over to the hook in the centre of said table.  It doubles the seating area of course, but alas, inspires romping grandchildren to tear around the table at full speed.  

Aside from the fact I like a "new" look once in a while, as the season advances, the light over the table by the window is not very conducive to being able to see in either of the cupboards against the other walls.  Hanging in the centre of the room does help this, hence the winter/summer kitchens.  Also during the summer I sit and gaze out the window as the corn grows.

and so here is my "winter" kitchen...  come on in, sit awhile and have a slice of warm bread from the oven.


----------



## Just Cooking

Nice and spacious...  

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

Thank you Just Cooking!
Spacious looking till you have 2 - 4 grandchildren, 3 - 4 dogs(big dogs!), assorted adults all milling about!  But it works! Love it...  what can I say 

Come December when we have our 2nd Gingerbread House Decorating day...  I'm only having 7 (maybe 8) kids, 8 (maybe 10) adults all vying for the candy to decorate the houses.  I'm lucky, I will probably bake 12 houses (just to be safe) and try not to break the bank at the Bulk Barn for candy.  

My brother, I believe, has been doing this for way more than 10 years and has done up to 20 houses - and I won't $ay what he $pent for the candy.   He was thinking this year he might break tradition and bake a train instead. I think that's a terrific idea and might even try that myself.  He wants to decorate the coal car and just dump all the candy in!


----------



## Cheryl J

Sounds like a whole lotta fun, dragn.  I love the pic you posted - looks like a wonderful, homey, family type dining area....and those windows.....!


----------



## RPCookin

Nice.  I wish we had windows like that to look out at the world from the table.  Best thing is that in the summer, we can eat on either the front porch or the back patio.

Front





New back patio





There is also an attached slab patio outside of the back door where our wooden picnic table resides at the moment.  We are contemplating either moving it to the new patio, or buying a new one for that.  I use it all the time when I'm grilling/BBQing, so I prefer a new one, just for more outdoor living options.


----------



## Just Cooking

Wonderful outdoor spaces... I miss my Missouri decks and views...  

Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

VERY nice, Rick! You have a *lot* of outdoor area there to enjoy! I love all the seating space, and especially the fire pit.

I think I might have posted this here before, but here's my humble little outdoor eating/grilling/morning coffee area. It's right off the kitchen and dining room, and separated by sliding glass doors. The Weber is out of camera range in this pic, but it's close by.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

What a sweet little corner of paradise you have, *Cheryl*. It looks very cheery and peaceful.


----------



## Just Cooking

Lovely space, Cheryl.. Early morning serenity comes to mind...   

Ross


----------



## buckytom

Very cozy and relaxing patio and yard you have, Cheryl.


----------



## RPCookin

Cheryl J said:


> VERY nice, Rick! You have a *lot* of outdoor area there to enjoy! I love all the seating space, and especially the fire pit.
> 
> I think I might have posted this here before, but here's my humble little outdoor eating/grilling/morning coffee area. It's right off the kitchen and dining room, and separated by sliding glass doors. The Weber is out of camera range in this pic, but it's close by.



That isn't bad at all Cheryl.  It looks a lot like our yard when we lived in the SW Denver area.  We lived there for 20 years and had the original cracked and uninspired patio torn out and rebuilt in a more aesthetic design after the first few years.  They do some really cool stuff these days with concrete coloring and stamping.  That is what sort of inspired what we have now.  We still intend to add a pergola to the new patio for some shade.  It gets rather warm during the summer months out there (typically 90's to low 100's), and some way to make it even a little bit more comfortable on summer evenings, will make it far more usable.

First spending priority for us this winter (me anyway  ) is a canoe (with accessories and roof rack for the F-150 to carry it).  I need to get off the bank and out on the water when we go camping and fishing.  I've been told that this will be my Christmas present this year.... works for me!


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you all!  

CG, I also think of it as my little piece of paradise, and Tyler loves it, too. He has plenty of space to play ball and run around, and when we're in the dead of summer heat, it just 'feels' cooler out there.  

Bucky and Ross, it faces east so it's a nice little place to have coffee in the early AM....and wine in the evening when the sun is on the other side of the house. 

Rick, I'm not too worried about replacing the unfinished patio floor just yet, but I tell ya...at times I do lust after the gorgeous terracotta patio tile I see at Home Depot.  Just not a priority right now. You'll need to post pics of your new canoe this Christmas!


----------



## TATTRAT

It's really the only thing I don't like about my condo...no yard. I miss having an outdoor space readily available. We have a common area for grilling and stuff like that, but it's not the same.

After work stop at Gravelly Point.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I dunno about you guys, but I think this was a rather nasty rearrangement of the grocery store's shelves...


----------



## Just Cooking

too funny..

Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

It's getting to be that time of year again for sunsets!  From the driveway this evening.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

You sure do get some pretty sunsets, *Cheryl*!


----------



## Just Cooking

Lovely...   

Ross


----------



## RPCookin

Nice!


----------



## buckytom

We even get really cool bugs up here in the mountains. Check out these moths hanging out by the driveway:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, the first one sure is fuzzy! The second photo is of a Luna moth. Our older niece has been so taken with them that she named her mosaic shop and website after them!

Luna Mosaics

She also does phenomenal mosaic work: CherieBosela.com


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you CG, Ross, and Rick. We're blessed with some cool sunsets here.

Bucky....wow, those are some neat lookin' moths!


----------



## buckytom

I went down to the marina to get the boat ready for winter storage a few weeks ago and found this guy tooling around:


----------



## tinlizzie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, the first one sure is fuzzy! The second photo is of a Luna moth. Our older niece has been so taken with them that she named her mosaic shop and website after them!
> 
> Luna Mosaics
> 
> She also does phenomenal mosaic work: CherieBosela.com



Wow, CG!  Her mosaics are fabulous!  Thanks for sharing the site.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, the first one sure is fuzzy! The second photo is of a Luna moth. Our older niece has been so taken with them that she named her mosaic shop and website after them!
> 
> Luna Mosaics
> 
> She also does phenomenal mosaic work: CherieBosela.com



Thank you for the links... My daughter is interested in mosaics..

Ross


----------



## Just Cooking

buckytom said:


> We even get really cool bugs up here in the mountains. Check out these moths hanging out by the driveway:




Really cool bugs...   

Ross


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> I went down to the marina to get the boat ready for winter storage a few weeks ago and found this guy tooling around:



I wonder where the mate was. They usually travel in twos.


----------



## buckytom

Addie said:


> I wonder where the mate was. They usually travel in twos.


 

I've seen the pair over the summer, near where we anchor up to swim in a no wake zone. We've decided they should be called Ogden, and Mrs. Nash.

I'm guessing they have a nest somewhere.


----------



## RPCookin

Went fishing at a little pond a few miles from town.  The moon came up as I was driving home, and I had my camera along so:  I call this "Moonrise over Windchargers".


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is beautiful, Rick!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Mr. Moon looks a wee bit surprised, *Rick*. Probably at the size of the windmills.



tinlizzie said:


> Wow, CG!  Her mosaics are fabulous!  Thanks for sharing the site.


You're welcome, *tl*! And thanks for the compliment. Such detailed work from a woman who didn't have the least bit of patience when she was younger.



Just Cooking said:


> Thank you for the links... My daughter is interested in mosaics..
> 
> Ross


You're welcome, *Ross*. Perhaps you could give your daughter a gift card to the shop? Cherie does ship product...:


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> I've seen the pair over the summer, near where we anchor up to swim in a no wake zone. We've decided they should be called Ogden, and Mrs. Nash.
> 
> I'm guessing they have a nest somewhere.



In the Boston Gardens across from the Boston Commons, a man from Maine has a flock of swans he brings down every Spring. Their wings have been clipped. He raises them. And he brings along any young ones they have that are old enough to travel and no longer in the nest. They swim in the pond where you can take a ride in the Swan Pond boats along with the swans.  

One year some a--hole shot one of the parents with a bow and arrow. It died. It was the female and she had some young ones. The public along with the owner was heartbroken. And extremely angry. Now there is constant rangers patrolling the garden around the clock. 

The owner stated that he hoped the male would be able to find another mate from some of the females that had hatched from another couple the previous year. They do look for a new mate when they have lost the one they were with. They mate for life with just the same one until one dies, hopefully and usually of natural causes. Then they look for a new mate. The write-up in the paper and on the TV news this incident received educated the public about swans and how they live. Hopefully, the culprit (who was never caught) read it and got an education. 

I hope he lives with an excruciating painful conscience for the rest of his life.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Hmm, *according to this truncated article*, the Boston Garden swans overwinter at the Franklin Park Zoo. Nothing about Maine, but maybe that's how it started ages ago. I also thought this was interesting about the "couple". Apparently, *both of the swans that have been nesting together are females*. It appears that if "Romeo" and Juliet have plans on starting a family, they will just have to adopt.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> Hmm, *according to this truncated article*, the Boston Garden swans overwinter at the Franklin Park Zoo. Nothing about Maine, but maybe that's how it started ages ago. I also thought this was interesting about the "couple". Apparently, *both of the swans that have been nesting together are females*. It appears that if "Romeo" and Juliet have plans on starting a family, they will just have to adopt.



The event I referred to occurred more than two years ago. The man from Maine has stopped providing the swans after that event. I can't say that I blame him.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I also thought this was interesting about the "couple". Apparently, both of the swans that have been nesting together are females. It appears that if "Romeo" and Juliet have plans on starting a family, they will just have to adopt.



That wouldn't fly (pardon the pun) down here in the Bible Belt. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute, *CD*. 



Addie said:


> The event I referred to occurred more than two years ago. The man from Maine has stopped providing the swans after that event. I can't say that I blame him.


Oops, sorry, I linked the wrong article Addie. Guess I'm not quite as sharp as I used to be at 4:30 AM. 

*THIS article is from 2013*. It's the same one that said both birds are girls. It says that the birds have been brought over to the Pond from Franklin Park Zoo for "the past 10 years", so it seems this couple has been together spending summers in the Pond and winters at the zoo since 2003. About a swan being shot with an arrow? That I don't recall. I do remember something about a waterfowl in Shrewsbury being found with an arrow in  him (her?) a few years ago, and that is all I could find online. I looked high and low for something about a Boston Commons swan being shot by an arrow and found nothing. Maybe it happened before we moved here...


----------



## TATTRAT

I liked this lil guy


----------



## Just Cooking

Looks like an Insurance Agent, to me...  

Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

He's cute Jon!


----------



## RPCookin

TATTRAT said:


> I liked this lil guy



We had lots of those guys in the Bahamas.  They are quite entertaining.


----------



## RPCookin

Here's more tropical wildlife... not as cute though. The second photo shows a size comparison next to my wife's hand.

A 7" long Bahamian walking stick.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

I have no clue as to why I've only now discovered this thread, 
all very cool guys!


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

A coupla years back in the middle of the desert, 
we got our very first Whole Paycheck Foods store 
and they have an absolutely gorgeous bakery section!





I had my very first Macaron, Double Chocolate Ganache, 
Oh my gosh! And I'm not chocolate fan but
gravy me that was a~maz~ing!


----------



## Cheryl J

LOVE those pics, TATT and RP!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cute Geckos/lizards...I had my fill on Guam...


----------



## buckytom

You ate a lot of geckos in Guam, PF?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

buckytom said:


> You ate a lot of geckos in Guam, PF?



Nah!  Mom wouldn't cook them for me.


----------



## Stardust

Beautiful sunset in Mossel Bay, South Africa.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful, Stardust!

This evening's sunset from my front yard...


----------



## caseydog

The sunsets reminded me of a shot in my collection of "clouds/skies." I keep this collection to replace boring skies in architectural shots, and sometimes car shots. 

This one is just plain funky looking. It has a weird, sci-fi-fi look to it. 

CD

.


----------



## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> The sunsets reminded me of a shot in my collection of "clouds/skies." I keep this collection to replace boring skies in architectural shots, and sometimes car shots.
> 
> This one is just plain funky looking. It has a weird, sci-fi-fi look to it.
> 
> CD
> 
> .


 
Beautiful pic, Casey!


----------



## buckytom

Aliens stopped visiting Texas years ago.

"We have reached the limits of what rectal probing can teach us"...

https://youtu.be/ALXZ2ElV8_U


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> The sunsets reminded me of a shot in my collection of "clouds/skies." I keep this collection to replace boring skies in architectural shots, and sometimes car shots.
> 
> This one is just plain funky looking. It has a weird, sci-fi-fi look to it.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Like!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our view in about a week and 36 hours. If I'm not coming around much, it's because I'm either packing or driving/riding. First, though, Savannah on M/T/W.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cooking Goddess said:


> Our view in about a week and 36 hours. If I'm not coming around much, it's because I'm either packing or driving/riding. First, though, Savannah on M/T/W.


Have a safe and enjoyable trip...  

Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, CG - beautiful!  Have a wonderful time.  Hope to see more pics!


----------



## Farmer Jon

I got a couple new chicks at the auction the other day. I have no idea what they are. It just said 3 pullets.


----------



## Addie

Farmer Jon said:


> I got a couple new chicks at the auction the other day. I have no idea what they are. It just said 3 pullets.View attachment 28316




Here's hoping they give you eggs or become Sunday dinner at sometime.


----------



## RPCookin

One last look at the 2017 solar eclipse.  My sister took the series of photos using a sun filter (pretty expensive piece of glass) on her camera from somewhere near Casper WY.  I love that you can actually see some sunspots on the surface of the sun in her images.  She sent them to me to "do something with them in Photoshop Elements".  So I finally got around to trying something, and this is the result.  Nothing like I've seen from the pros who really have the right gear for it, but I was satisfied with the result.

The images leading into and away from the total are hers, and the one of the totality is mine, 9 images in all.


----------



## Kayelle

*WOW*...that's really impressive Rick. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Just Cooking

+1...   

Ross


----------



## TATTRAT

Good stuff!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Fantastic, Rick!


----------



## Andy M.

Cool, RP.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks so much for sharing this amazing pic, Rick!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very nice composition, Rick!


----------



## caseydog

I just got back from Pheonix, where I was photographing cars. One of the cars had to be shot in the worst possible of places... GRRRR!

Photoshop to the rescue. Well, that and a few hours of my time. GRRRR!

Anyway, I thought some of you would like to see how we pros can lie to you (am I the fake media?). 

A photo of the car, plus a photo I shot of a pretty location, and a few hours of work.






CD


----------



## Andy M.

Nice work. Is that a  Caddy?


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> Nice work. Is that a  Caddy?



1931 Cadillac V12 Dual Windshield Phaeton.

CD


----------



## RPCookin

Good job with PS.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> Good job with PS.



Thanks. Of course, I just noticed a couple of tiny things I need to fix. DOH! But, you get the picture -- pardon the pun. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice PS job, Casey!  That beautiful car *should* be shown in a beautiful location, instead of in front of corrugated steel.


----------



## Kayelle

That Cadillac is just beautiful Casey, and great job with the presentation.  How I wish I could have hung on to my gorgeous 1998 DeVille (new from the showroom) for it to become a classic for future generations.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> Very nice PS job, Casey!  That beautiful car *should* be shown in a beautiful location, instead of in front of corrugated steel.


+1...   

Ross


----------



## Addie

You even took care of the trash in front of the car. Great Job.


----------



## buckytom

I took off Tuesday night through the rest of the week to enjoy time with my family.

So, first up, my boy and I went for a hike in the wildlife preservation area just down the road from my house.


----------



## buckytom

Two more


----------



## Just Cooking

Great place to hike and great photos...  

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

Nice bucky-t - looks so much like where my family used to hike when I was a kid.


----------



## LPBeier

*Bucky T*, that boy of yours is sure growing up! What an awesome place to hike!

Here's a few pics of our fur-kids. I tell you, they never cease to entertain us. Miley (dog) is now 6 months old and has gained 7 pounds and 2 inches in the month she has been with us. Coming from Mexico, she sure isn't used to our cold wet weather.

Monkey (cat) has definitely come out of her grieving the loss of our other dog, Violet, but is doing her best to hide. These two aren't playing together yet, but there's a glimmer of hope!


----------



## Andy M.

BT:  Your son has really grown into a young man.  It's great you two can share great outdoor experiences so close to home.

LP:  Handsome dog.  I'm sure Monkey will come around.


----------



## LPBeier

Andy M. said:


> LP:  Handsome dog.  I'm sure Monkey will come around.


To be honest, Andy, I think her aloofness is all part of the game. She seems to enjoy hiding somewhere and when Miley finds her she just runs to the next "in".  And as you can see, other than the top of our wardrobe, she isn't very hidden!


----------



## RPCookin

buckytom said:


> I took off Tuesday night through the rest of the week to enjoy time with my family.
> 
> So, first up, my boy and I went for a hike in the wildlife preservation area just down the road from my house.



Good stuff.  Love the area.  Looks like a great place to just wander.


----------



## caseydog

Kayelle said:


> That Cadillac is just beautiful Casey, and great job with the presentation.  How I wish I could have hung on to my gorgeous 1998 DeVille (new from the showroom) for it to become a classic for future generations.



Well... you did the right thing. A 1998 DeVille is never likely to become a collectible classic. 

The one I shot is one of approximately 35 made. 1998 DeVille... they made more than 35. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

Here's a car you won't see every day.  I see it around town every so often - this was shot at the local Ace Hardware.  On the side it says "Mini Plym II".  Just about the biggest fins ever put on a car.







I'm thinking that it started life as an ordinary 1960 Plymouth Belvedere.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> Two more



I loved hiking as a kid. When I would take my girl scouts, I would make them turn over rocks and old logs. Amazing what life they found.


----------



## caseydog

I went to Port Arthur this weekend, where I lived as a teenager. We were out driving around, and I grabbed this shot of some people fishing as a tanker and a fishing boat passed on the ship channel. While we were there, someone caught a pretty big flounder. 






CD


----------



## buckytom

Addie said:


> I loved hiking as a kid. When I would take my girl scouts, I would make them turn over rocks and old logs. Amazing what life they found.



You're lucky you live far enough North that this isn't a problem. I teach my sprogs to step on and away from a downed log (except in Winter) because of the risk of biting snakes. 
If you step directly over a log in warm weather, you risk startling the beast, enticing a strike.


----------



## Farmer Jon

My wife took these pictures of my guineas yesterday.


----------



## Andy M.

A quick shot from my back deck.  This is the pretty part of the snow storm.  

Our GD's little Chihuahua, Pico, had his first snow experience yesterday and he was not amused.  He was trying to figure out a way to walk around without his paws touching the snow.  Couldn't wait to go back indoors.


----------



## caseydog

I shot a Shelby GT350 in Houston this morning. I was in a really ugly part of town, but in the middle of it was a building painted like an American flag. It was perfect for the car. 

CD

.


----------



## Addie

buckytom said:


> You're lucky you live far enough North that this isn't a problem. I teach my sprogs to step on and away from a downed log (except in Winter) because of the risk of biting snakes.
> If you step directly over a log in warm weather, you risk startling the beast, enticing a strike.



The turning over was always done with a warning and demonstration from me first. There are some very interesting critters under those logs and rocks. The best time to do this is about two weeks into Spring. Critters are just getting started living. Babies are ready to leave the nest, critters are out of their holes, etc.

One of my Scouts had to write a paper about the most interesting thing she had ever done. Class assignment. She chose to write about turning over logs and stones while on a hike. The teacher said she was lying. I had to write a letter to the teacher explaining that as a Scout leader, this was something I had the troop do every Spring. ( I cc'd it also to the principal.) 

The teacher changed her mark to an A+. 

BTW, don't forget to look up overhead when on a hike.


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> I shot a Shelby GT350 in Houston this morning. I was in a really ugly part of town, but in the middle of it was a building painted like an American flag. It was perfect for the car.
> 
> CD
> 
> .




+1

Ross


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> I shot a Shelby GT350 in Houston this morning. I was in a really ugly part of town, but in the middle of it was a building painted like an American flag. It was perfect for the car.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Nice.  Always wanted one, but they were priced well outside of my budget back then.

Here's one that I took a little over a year ago.  We were on a camping trip and took a half day drive looking for moose, and found this Cobra convention parked at the Moose Visitor's Center in Colorado State Forest State Park:


----------



## RPCookin

Not much to say... moonrise and renewable energy...  Just liked the composition.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Nice Rick!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Yes, very nice indeed! I love the fact that the Man in the Moon is so visible it looks like a portrait. You have mad skills and nice gear.


----------



## caseydog

Hey RP, can I make a suggestion as a professional photographer? Don't distract attention from a nice image with huge copyright text. Your photos are protected by copyright laws, whether or not you announce it on the photo. All you are doing is messing up a really nice photograph. 

Just my 2-cents. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Hey RP, can I make a suggestion as a professional photographer? Don't distract attention from a nice image with huge copyright text. Your photos are protected by copyright laws, whether or not you announce it on the photo. All you are doing is messing up a really nice photograph.
> 
> Just my 2-cents.
> 
> CD



I don't really expect to take anyone to court, with or without the copyright.  I use it mostly when I post to any of the several discussion forums that I visit, and I don't post anything larger than 1024 px on the long side.  Just makes it harder for anyone to alter and use it.  I realize that it's easy to cut it out, but copying a smallish jpeg and then messing around with it just degrades the file that much more, making it less attractive for anyone to "borrow".  When using them for anything else, I export from Lightroom without the copyright.

I may take your advice and try it without on some photos.  Thank's for the suggestion,  Casey.  

If I may ask, how long have you been shooting professionally?  I've been on and off doing amateur stuff since the mid 70's (Minolta 102 35mm), but took a long break from putting any real effort into it for 20 years.  Started getting back into it in 2010 when I bought my first DSLR (Canon T3i).  Now I shoot with a 60D.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I don't really expect to take anyone to court, with or without the copyright.  I use it mostly when I post to any of the several discussion forums that I visit, and I don't post anything larger than 1024 px on the long side.  Just makes it harder for anyone to alter and use it.  I realize that it's easy to cut it out, but copying a smallish jpeg and then messing around with it just degrades the file that much more, making it less attractive for anyone to "borrow".  When using them for anything else, I export from Lightroom without the copyright.
> 
> I may take your advice and try it without on some photos.  Thank's for the suggestion,  Casey.
> 
> If I may ask, how long have you been shooting professionally?  I've been on and off doing amateur stuff since the mid 70's (Minolta 102 35mm), but took a long break from putting any real effort into it for 20 years.  Started getting back into it in 2010 when I bought my first DSLR (Canon T3i).  Now I shoot with a 60D.



I got my BA degree in Art, with an emphasis on photography in 1983. I've been in and out of professional photography as a full-time endeavor since then. Like most people, I went where the money led me. I made the transition back to full-time photography when I was the Senior Art Director for three magazines, where I also did a lot of the photography. Now, almost all of my income comes from photography. 

Back in the day, I shot Nikon, Hasselblad and Sinar film cameras. I now shoot Nikon digital cameras, with my primary camera being a Nikon D4. 

I don't put copyright text on my photos, even though a lot of photographers do. The stuff I post on the web is low-rez, and not really suitable for commercial use. I can easily prove my ownership of any of my images, and in the few, very rare instances where some web site has used my photos without my permission, I have been able to contact them and tell them to stop using my images, or write me a big check. They have always agreed to my demands, which means they stop using my images -- they are not going to pay my fees. 

I really do like your images. But, that copyright text is like a giant zit on a person's nose -- you can't help but look at it, and not see the person's face for what it is. If you feel that you have to do it, make it a lot smaller, so it isn't the first thing your eye wants to go to. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> I really do like your images. But, that copyright text is like a giant zit on a person's nose -- you can't help but look at it, and not see the person's face for what it is. If you feel that you have to do it, make it a lot smaller, so it isn't the first thing your eye wants to go to.
> 
> CD



It's kind of ironic that I'll take the time to remove or minimize an unwanted object in an otherwise decent image, then put that watermark in the corner.  You are probably right that I'm just giving myself a false sense of security.  Is this better?


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That is beautiful, I tend to like B&W photos.  This one is exceptional.


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> It's kind of ironic that I'll take the time to remove or minimize an unwanted object in an otherwise decent image, then put that watermark in the corner.  You are probably right that I'm just giving myself a false sense of security.  Is this better?


This is gorgeous.


----------



## LPBeier

RP, I love both of your pictures here. I, too, love B&W images but that moonrise is incredible!


----------



## buckytom

RPCookin said:


> It's kind of ironic that I'll take the time to remove or minimize an unwanted object in an otherwise decent image, then put that watermark in the corner. You are probably right that I'm just giving myself a false sense of security. Is this better?


 
WOW!

Just beautiful, Rick. You know it's an incredible picture when it makes you want to be there.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> It's kind of ironic that I'll take the time to remove or minimize an unwanted object in an otherwise decent image, then put that watermark in the corner.  You are probably right that I'm just giving myself a false sense of security.  Is this better?



Yes! I can now enjoy your photo without distraction. Very nice, BTW. I rarely get to shoot just for the art of photography. Keep up the good work!

CD


----------



## caseydog

Today was a very unusual day, I shot about 5-million dollars worth of cars -- with just these three cars. A Porsche Carrera GT, a Porsche 918 Spyder, and a Ferrari Enzo. Somedays, it is good to be me. Others, not so much. 

CD

.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics, Rick and Casey. You both are very talented with the camera.


----------



## buckytom

I saw this really cool mailbox yesterday:


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I saw this really cool mailbox yesterday:





CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Today was a very unusual day, I shot about 5-million dollars worth of cars -- with just these three cars. A Porsche Carrera GT, a Porsche 918 Spyder, and a Ferrari Enzo. Somedays, it is good to be me. Others, not so much.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Nice cars!  If I ever got into one, I'm afraid I'd need some assistance to get out again.  That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have a blast if I got to drive one at a track. 



buckytom said:


> I saw this really cool mailbox yesterday:



Don't suppose that a Star Wars fan lives there?


----------



## caseydog

Update: I got the front cover with my Porsche 918 photo! It's been at least a year since I got a cover of an auction catalog. I'm out of my slump. 

Oh, I got the back cover, too, with the Saleen S7. Woohoo!

CD

.


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Update: I got the front cover with my Porsche 918 photo! It's been at least a year since I got a cover of an auction catalog. I'm out of my slump.
> 
> Oh, I got the back cover, too, with the Saleen S7. Woohoo!
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Excellent!  You got 'em coming and going. 

Here's my daily ride, shot taken on a day trip in the Colorado mountains.  Slightly different class of vehicle, but I have to admit that I prefer the versatility.


----------



## caseydog

RP, my daily driver is the same color, but it is a MINI CooperS -- about as different from your ride as you can get, other than a SMART. LOL

CD


----------



## RPCookin

The South Platte near Iliff, CO this morning.  Lots of ice floating.


----------



## RPCookin

It's looking like we will have cold for the next week and more, so I was looking for something warmer.  I came across this one that I took last August while we were waiting for the eclipse to start.


----------



## Kayelle

Two more great picks Rick. The second one made me smile..what a peaceful spot to watch the eclipse. I'm curious if the animals had any reaction to it?


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> Two more great picks Rick. The second one made me smile..what a peaceful spot to watch the eclipse. I'm curious if the animals had any reaction to it?



I didn't notice anything from those in this photo, but shortly before the start of the moon passing, several flocks of birds came from different directions to apparently shelter in the trees in back of the empty farmhouse where we were watching from the front yard.  It seemed too well timed to just be a coincidence, and within about 5 minutes, the eclipse began.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice spot for eclipse viewing, *RP*. Our field was plain grass, no horses, no goats - unless it's OK for me to call Himself an Old Goat. 


******************

"Squidworth, Mom?"
"No thanks, honey, I'll pass."


----------



## caseydog

The current weather situation in much of the country reminded me of this shot I took some years ago. We got about 7-inches of snow, a rare thing, and I had an Audi allroad quattro, so I was able to get way outside of where most people could go, and got this shot in pristine snow, early in the morning. 

BTW, that is not a greyscale image, it is RGB color. 

CD

.


----------



## dragnlaw

Nice Casey...  but I'm already half frozen.  Would really rather like to see a picture of crocus' peeking thru.


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> The current weather situation in much of the country reminded me of this shot I took some years ago. We got about 7-inches of snow, a rare thing, and I had an Audi allroad quattro, so I was able to get way outside of where most people could go, and got this shot in pristine snow, early in the morning.
> 
> BTW, that is not a greyscale image, it is RGB color.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Nice shot Casey.  I've always found winter photography to be difficult.  Too many earth tones for my eye.  I like natural landscapes, but I like to have at least some happy colors in them too.  Winter is too brown in Colorado most of the time.



dragnlaw said:


> Nice Casey...  but I'm already half frozen.  Would really rather like to see a picture of crocus' peeking thru.



Not a crocus, but a warmer image.  I scanned this shot of lowly dandelion from an Ektachrome transparency I took nearly 40 years ago.






Then a lily in an African river in the Okavongo Delta in Botswana:





And the Colorado State Flower, the Blue Columbine - like the dandelion, shot on transparency film about 40 years ago:


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice pics, all! I sure do enjoy this thread. 

Aww...CG.  Loverly is, well, loverly.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice photos, guys. Although your shot is captivating, *CD*, I prefer *RP*'s right now. When your thermostat seems to be stuck in single-digits, it's nice to be reminded that warmer days will show up again.

*Cheryl*, we think Loverly is lovely, too. Bonus: she's just as pretty "inside" as she looks.  We're very blessed in that we have two kind, compassionate kids.


----------



## caseydog

Maybe I should have posted that photo in August. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> Maybe I should have posted that photo in August.
> 
> CD




YES!

Just remember to post it again then - we'll all feel cooler, right?


----------



## Whiskadoodle

caseydog said:


> Maybe I should have posted that photo in August.



Bringing August to you now, or June or July.  When we need it most.

Looking at Rick's picture of Colorado Columbines reminded me of our own state flower, A pink and white lady slipper orchid.  We had a patch of these growing at our lake place in a bit  from the lake shore, through some brush that we couldn't remove because it was considered part of the shore line and in front of some pine trees.  It is illegal to pick / alter/ harvest these plants, so we would go stand around them in early summer and ooh and ahh, and shoot photos. 

This photo is a google copy of the pink lady slipper.


----------



## dragnlaw

Took this back in Feb '16 - Sentinels rising over the frozen forest. 

Think I posted it before but it may have been with photobuck.

and I think of the next one as Tolkien trees bowing to the Ice God

and yes, I'm still frozen...


----------



## RPCookin

An oldie but a goodie - Alpine Tundra in the Colorado Rockies - between 11,000 and 12,000 feet up on Mt. Evans:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

That looks like home, thanks Rick, it's beautiful.


----------



## caseydog

Okay, a summer photo from Italy. This shot was taken from my table at a restaurant in Firenze (Florence). It is a shot of the Ponte Vecchio. Nice *warm* colors. 

CD 

.


----------



## dragnlaw

Wow!!  Keep 'em comin' guys.  They're beautiful.


----------



## Just Cooking

+1...   

Ross


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Okay, a summer photo from Italy. This shot was taken from my table at a restaurant in Firenze (Florence). It is a shot of the Ponte Vecchio. Nice *warm* colors.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Italy is a great place for photography.  All I had when I was there was a point and shoot camera... got a few good shots but I wasn't thrilled with a lot of the photos I took there, and jpegs are so much harder to make adjustments on to bring back what I was intending to have in the image.


----------



## Cheryl J

Great pics, Rick and Casey!


----------



## Farmer Jon

Me and one of my girls.


----------



## Just Cooking

2 thumbs up, Jon...  

Ross


----------



## buckytom

Beautiful pics, guys.

I'm not much of a photographer, but I am proud of my green thumb. Here is a twisted Hibiscus plant that I picked out of someone's garbage when  it looked dead and I was able to bring it back to life.


----------



## Just Cooking

Gorgeous plant. BT.. 

Ross


----------



## RPCookin

buckytom said:


> Beautiful pics, guys.
> 
> I'm not much of a photographer, but I am proud of my green thumb. Here is a twisted Hibiscus plant that I picked out of someone's garbage when  it looked dead and I was able to bring it back to life.



Well done.  I commend you. On the other hand, I can kill most anything.  It really doesn't seem to matter what plant it may be, or how hardy it's supposed to be - if I really want it to grow, it dies, and if I really don't want it growing in my yard, it flourishes.  

To be honest, I think the two issues go hand in hand.  We just planted our vacant lot in grass last year, and got a flourishing crop of sand burrs.  Our only hope is that the grass starts to really fill in this year and chokes out some of the nasties.  

I'd give anything to only be dealing with the normal lawn weeds like crabgrass and dandelions - we have them too, but they are treatable, sand burrs are not by any method we've been able to uncover except digging up each weed, one by one.  In a 1/4 acre lot, that's more than the two of us can handle.  Around mid July they start popping up faster than we can extract them.  

Maybe if we were better at growing grass, we'd have an easier time controlling the burrs.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> Well done.  I commend you. On the other hand, I can kill most anything.  It really doesn't seem to matter what plant it may be, or how hardy it's supposed to be - if I really want it to grow, it dies, and if I really don't want it growing in my yard, it flourishes.
> 
> *To be honest, I think the two issues go hand in hand.  We just planted our vacant lot in grass last year, and got a flourishing crop of sand burrs.  Our only hope is that the grass starts to really fill in this year and chokes out some of the nasties.  *
> 
> I'd give anything to only be dealing with the normal lawn weeds like crabgrass and dandelions - we have them too, but they are treatable, sand burrs are not by any method we've been able to uncover except digging up each weed, one by one.  In a 1/4 acre lot, that's more than the two of us can handle.  Around mid July they start popping up faster than we can extract them.
> 
> Maybe if we were better at growing grass, we'd have an easier time controlling the burrs.



Lawns are a PITA, which is why I've been slowly replacing mine with native plants and ground-covers. 

However, if those sand burs are annual weeds, meaning they grow new each year from last year's seeds, get some pre-emergent down now, and continue to do it as directed on the package. That will keep last summer's seeds from germinating. Basically, birth control for weeds. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Lawns are a PITA, which is why I've been slowly replacing mine with native plants and ground-covers.
> 
> However, if those sand burs are annual weeds, meaning they grow new each year from last year's seeds, get some pre-emergent down now, and continue to do it as directed on the package. That will keep last summer's seeds from germinating. Basically, birth control for weeds.
> 
> CD



I use a preemergent to control crabgrass in the lawn around the house, and it does help, but everyone I've talked to says that it's ineffective on sand burrs.  I don't know if they are annuals or perennials, but they are a real pain, both figuratively and literally.  We have goathead burrs too, but they are a broadleaf plant and 2-4-D will kill them without hurting the lawn.


----------



## taxlady

God and the great heresy of lawn care


----------



## PrincessFiona60

RPCookin said:


> I use a preemergent to control crabgrass in the lawn around the house, and it does help, but everyone I've talked to says that it's ineffective on sand burrs.  I don't know if they are annuals or perennials, but they are a real pain, both figuratively and literally.  We have goathead burrs too, but they are a broadleaf plant and 2-4-D will kill them without hurting the lawn.



The burrs, I know which ones you mean, are perennials.  They have a strong root system.  I'm cutting them out of the same spots each spring and they are spreading from the lot next door.  Dad says you can't burn them out,  it just makes them go underground.  I'm going to try digging down until I can get under that main root.  I have a couple near the driveway. Maybe I'll be able to put in a water feature...


----------



## Farmer Jon

-24 wind chill this morning.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> -24 wind chill this morning.View attachment 28914



Sounds about right.  It was -3° here this morning - don't know the chill factor, but it was breezy.


----------



## caseydog

Hey TATTRAT, where are you. I'd like to see some new shots. I like your stuff.

CD


----------



## TATTRAT

caseydog said:


> Hey TATTRAT, where are you. I'd like to see some new shots. I like your stuff.
> 
> CD



Aloha!

Haven't been out shooting much, so not much to post. You can always click the link in my signature though.

Leaving NYC


----------



## PrincessFiona60

TATTRAT said:


> Aloha!
> 
> Haven't been out shooting much, so not much to post. You can always click the link in my signature though.



Casey, make sure you have a couple of hours before you click that link.  There are some wondrous sights.  Especially love the black and white pictures.


----------



## RPCookin

TATTRAT said:


> Aloha!
> 
> Haven't been out shooting much, so not much to post. You can always click the link in my signature though.
> 
> Leaving NYC



I love the pastel colors in this skyline image... very nice.


----------



## caseydog

When it is 30-degrees and raining, ice forms on trees. We get this a lot in North Texas. I looked out my office window, and grabbed my camera...

CD

.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute "Mutt and Jeff" photo, *Farmer Jon*.

*BT*, that hibiscus is lovely! I really like the ruffly pink one.

*TAT*, that is a great shot of NYC. It should be on the wall of the Chamber of Commerce or something.

So sparkly, *cd*. I hope the roads stay clear enough for drivers in the AM, though. It looks like they aren't slick right now. It also looks like the neighbor across the street has his driveway astro-turfed...


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cute "Mutt and Jeff" photo, *Farmer Jon*.
> 
> *BT*, that hibiscus is lovely! I really like the ruffly pink one.
> 
> *TAT*, that is a great shot of NYC. It should be on the wall of the Chamber of Commerce or something.
> 
> So sparkly, *cd*. I hope the roads stay clear enough for drivers in the AM, though. It looks like they aren't slick right now. *It also looks like the neighbor across the street has his driveway astro-turfed*...



LOL, not Astroturf, that is an "aggregate" driveway. They basically poured concrete with a lot of pea stones in it, and as it set up, they washed it to reveal the pea stones. It looks nice, but it is brittle and terrible to walk on barefoot. 

The ground is way to warm for ice to form on the roads, with the exception of some bridges and overpasses, that are up in the air. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I like my astro-turf idea better. 

I know what you're talking about with the aggregate. Too bad there isn't an epoxy tough enough to stand up to TX heat. There is a company in OH (maybe other states, too) called Nature Stone that uses a thick epoxy to seal the stone floor/driveway/etc. From the looks of it, though, it's still not a smooth surface. Probably a lot nicer to walk on barefoot, though, than just stones tarred to the driveway.


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> I like my astro-turf idea better.
> 
> I know what you're talking about with the aggregate. Too bad there isn't an epoxy tough enough to stand up to TX heat. There is a company in OH (maybe other states, too) called Nature Stone that uses a thick epoxy to seal the stone floor/driveway/etc. From the looks of it, though, it's still not a smooth surface. Probably a lot nicer to walk on barefoot, though, than just stones tarred to the driveway.



The problem here is not the heat, it is the black clay ground we live on. Think of it as the opposite of frost heave up North. The black clay shrinks in hot, dry conditions, and what's on top collapses. Driveways and sidewalks are least able to take it. And, aggregate driveways and patios are worse, because they are not as strong. 

The saying here is, there are two kinds of houses in North Texas, those _with_ foundation problems, and those that _will_ have foundation problems. My foundation is 16-inches thick, and I had to have the front of my house jacked up and piers installed that went down 16-feet to bed-rock. Driveways, patios and sidewalks are four-inches thick. In August, my driveway is typically three-inches lower than in January. Not all of the sections move the same amount. It gets really interesting during a long drought. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> When it is 30-degrees and raining, ice forms on trees. We get this a lot in North Texas. I looked out my office window, and grabbed my camera...
> 
> CD
> 
> .



That's something that happens so rarely here that in 45 years in Colorado, I really can't remember seeing it.  It does make for some really good photo ops.



caseydog said:


> The problem here is not the heat, it is the black clay ground we live on. Think of it as the opposite of frost heave up North. The black clay shrinks in hot, dry conditions, and what's on top collapses. Driveways and sidewalks are least able to take it. And, aggregate driveways and patios are worse, because they are not as strong.
> 
> The saying here is, there are two kinds of houses in North Texas, those _with_ foundation problems, and those that _will_ have foundation problems. My foundation is 16-inches thick, and I had to have the front of my house jacked up and piers installed that went down 16-feet to bed-rock. Driveways, patios and sidewalks are four-inches thick. In August, my driveway is typically three-inches lower than in January. Not all of the sections move the same amount. It gets really interesting during a long drought.
> 
> CD



Same is true for a lot of areas along the front range here in Colorado.  There is a lot of bentonite clay, and it's infamous for destroying foundations from swelling and shrinking as the moisture content changes.  I can recall many reports of lawsuits against developers for building and selling costly homes that became unlivable within just a few years because of severe foundation issues.  Some of the issues were only only revealed when a homeowner made significant landscaping changes which required a different watering pattern, changing the amount of water that was absorbed into into the clay.


----------



## taxlady

Both of the houses I lived in in the San Fernando Valley in California did not have foundations. The were on some sort of concrete blocks. The crawlspace had a dirt floor.


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> Both of the houses I lived in in the San Fernando Valley in California did not have foundations. The were on some sort of concrete blocks. The crawlspace had a dirt floor.



Very common there at one time. Pier and beam construction. Unless your piers go down to bedrock, pier and beam doesn't work well where I live. 

I doubt California earthquake codes allow pier and beam construction anymore. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

The foundations of the houses in my development were blasted out of an iron ore mountain, some partially blasted in to fit in with the landscape along the ridge, or like mine, my foundation is entirely set into ledgerock. Everyone has exposed boulders or boulder retaining walls, or the like as landscape features that were left over from the blasting. 

The air in my basement keeps amazingly steady temps and humidity. I should grow something, or store wine or cheese down there.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> The foundations of the houses in my development were blasted out of an iron ore mountain, some partially blasted in to fit in with the landscape along the ridge, or like mine, my foundation is entirely set into ledgerock. Everyone has exposed boulders or boulder retaining walls, or the like as landscape features that were left over from the blasting.
> 
> The air in my basement keeps amazingly steady temps and humidity. I should grow something, or store wine or cheese down there.



Builders here won't do basements. They say it is "too difficult" in our ground. Yet, people in the NE use dynamite to make basements. So, we live in "Tornado Alley" with no basements. The real reason we don't have basements is because builders here want to slap together a house as cheaply as possible, dress them up with cheap decorative "upgrades," and sell them for huge profit margins. When my house was being built, I bought a cheap pickup truck to haul building materials and tools, and came to the house almost every evening, made improvements and fixed things that were done wrong. And, I had one of the better builders. 

CD


----------



## TATTRAT

I'\d never lived anywhere with a basement until moving to NOVA...I had always associated them, with a dark/dank place just to chuck stuff, but LOVED having a finished basement in our first house here. SO much room for activities!

Here's something from the Potomac. I kind of like how this turned out, over exposed and slight tripod wiggle while setting up a shot. Kinda like a watercolor painting.


----------



## caseydog

Nice image. It does have a watercolor feel to it. 

I have a blurry shot that I love, but I did not take it. It was taken with my camera, but not by me. I was at an Audi Club track day at Motorsports Ranch, and was photographing the action when I wasn't driving, and handed my camera to a friend as I got suited up and jumped into my car for the last session of the day. 

She decided to take some shots, handheld, as it got  dark, and one was this shot of me at the apex of a left turn on the track. I named it, _Voiding my Warranty_. 

CD

.


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> The air in my basement keeps amazingly steady temps and humidity. I should grow something, or store wine or cheese down there.



Cheese, sausage, wine, beer, fungus/mushrooms, canned food, potatoes/onions/carrots/turnips.


----------



## buckytom

blissful said:


> Cheese, sausage, wine, beer, fungus/mushrooms, canned food, potatoes/onions/carrots/turnips.


 
Yeah, we're set to survive a while if shtf, but I'd love to do cheese or mushrooms as a tasty hobby.


----------



## Cheryl J

Nice pics, guys.  I enjoy this thread.


----------



## blissful

buckytom said:


> Yeah, we're set to survive a while if shtf, but I'd love to do cheese or mushrooms as a tasty hobby.



We'll bring the cheese,  and if you have boiled potatoes with some home canned dill pickles, we can melt some raclette over it for a shtf dinner. 
You might want to measure the ambient temperature and the humidity, a temp and RH meter costs about $6, and then you know, what you know.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> Nice pics, guys.  I enjoy this thread.


+1    

Ross


----------



## buckytom

Anpther "pastel" of lower Manhattan: (from my buddy's boat, the Sunshine Daydream)


----------



## TATTRAT

buckytom said:


> Yeah, we're set to survive a while if shtf, but I'd love to do cheese or mushrooms as a tasty hobby.



I use to do mushrooms as a hobby, but they were not tasty!


----------



## TATTRAT

Getting around


----------



## RPCookin

This one I was trying to practice panning.  He was moving a a fast trot, and I got his head pretty clear, but everything else was moving in different directions.  






Then later I did some fast shutter, stop action shots:


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> This one I was trying to practice panning.  He was moving a a fast trot, and I got his head pretty clear, but everything else was moving in different directions.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then later I did some fast shutter, stop action shots:



With panning shots, I think a little bit of blur is a good thing. It shows motion. I like that in your slightly blurred dog shot. 

I do a lot of panning shots with cars, using slower shutter speeds to intentionally get a little blur. I set my shutter to "continuous" mode, and shutter speed to 1/250 or 1/320, and shoot 10 fps while panning with the cars. 

CD

.


----------



## buckytom

TATTRAT said:


> Getting around




Police cars look much nicer these days.


----------



## caseydog

^^^^^ 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> With panning shots, I think a little bit of blur is a good thing. It shows motion. I like that in your slightly blurred dog shot.
> 
> I do a lot of panning shots with cars, using slower shutter speeds to intentionally get a little blur. I set my shutter to "continuous" mode, and shutter speed to 1/250 or 1/320, and shoot 10 fps while panning with the cars.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Shutter speed on the panning shot was 1/20 sec at f16 (70-200 l IS @70mm).  My 60D only does about 5 fps - I don't remember if I was on continuous or not.  I set it there often when I'm shooting animals, both wild and tame, because they love to move just as you click the release.


----------



## buckytom

'Shrooms!


----------



## TATTRAT

buckytom said:


> Police cars look much nicer these days.



They were super friendly!


----------



## TATTRAT

caseydog said:


> With panning shots, I think a little bit of blur is a good thing. It shows motion. I like that in your slightly blurred dog shot.
> 
> I do a lot of panning shots with cars, using slower shutter speeds to intentionally get a little blur. I set my shutter to "continuous" mode, and shutter speed to 1/250 or 1/320, and shoot 10 fps while panning with the cars.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Exactly. Here's a couple from Donnington Park


----------



## Cheryl J

I went out to the front patio this morning to have my coffee, and saw this flock of geese on my next door neighbors' front lawn.   Kind of unusual, they're normally out somewhere else other than neighborhoods.  Messy little critters, but fun to watch them so close.


----------



## dragnlaw

Cheryl - that is exactly why I finally had to confine my kids to a pen.
This picture is from 2013. 

American Buff are the 'friendliest' of the breeds of geese but still made it difficult to get in the house or to your car for visitors.  LOL - not to mention the obvious mess on the stoop.  aka 'The poop stoop' at one time.
Oh.. and there were other reasons... 
- my old van at the time had a lot of paint blisters - which they cleaned off. 
- they would 'play' with the air valves on the tires.
- they started on the yellow paint of the propane pipe leading to the house.


----------



## Just Cooking

The geese remind me of the deer all around where we lived in PG, Ca... Cute as heck but also can be a bit of a pain..  

Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Just Cooking said:


> The geese remind me of the deer all around where we lived in PG, Ca... Cute as heck but also can be a bit of a pain..
> 
> Ross



Nothing beats having to wait after work (off the clock) so you can get to your car.  There is a wandering herd of deer that are aggressive and hang around the parking lot at shift change.


----------



## buckytom

I had to wait for a huge tom (turkey) to cross the road this morning as I was driving home. He stopped right in the middle of the road,
I honked at him, and with every bit of Jersey attitude he just glared at me and walked slowly off. I think he even moon walked a bit, just to be a dick.


----------



## Just Cooking

buckytom said:


> I had to wait for a huge tom (turkey) to cross the road this morning as I was driving home. He stopped right in the middle of the road,
> I honked at him, and with every bit of Jersey attitude he just glared at me and walked slowly off. I think he even moon walked a bit, just to be a dick.


Uh huh...   

Ross


----------



## Cheryl J

Love the critter stories!  We have a large quail population here.  It's fun to stop and watch a covey of quail and the little babies cross the street. They are so cute.  It's common to see roadrunners around here, too.  I've even seen them in my garage when I have the door open - I guess they are hiding from the Coyote's ACME anvil.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I had to wait for a huge tom (turkey) to cross the road this morning as I was driving home. He stopped right in the middle of the road,
> I honked at him, and with every bit of Jersey attitude he just glared at me and walked slowly off. I think he even moon walked a bit, just to be a dick.



Ever driven on a dirt road inside a cattle ranch with bulls? 

I used to do it a lot in my duck hunting days. There is a very non-intuitive way to safely win the "stare-down," but you have to commit to it and _not stop_. When they paw the dirt with a hoof and lower their horns at you, it really tests your resolve. 

The cows just move out of the way. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Love the photos of your "pet" geese, *Cheryl* and *dragn*.

The first 7 or 8 years we lived here, we had a flock of wild turkeys that would wander through our yard twice a day, going uphill in the morning and back downhill to their "home" in the late afternoon. We took to leaving cracked corn on a giant flat rock just into our woods from the grassy area in the back yard. It got to the point that if they were nearby and could see me and my white, 5-gallon bucket of corn heading to the rock, they would chortle and run, following me to their dinner table. They stood respectfully at a distance, waiting for me to cast the corn, then run to the rock once I was heading back towards the house. I thought they were so cute, I ended up tossing out bonus sunflower seeds to the stinkers.


----------



## buckytom

caseydog said:


> Ever driven on a dirt road inside a cattle ranch with bulls?
> 
> I used to do it a lot in my duck hunting days. There is a very non-intuitive way to safely win the "stare-down," but you have to commit to it and _not stop_. When they paw the dirt with a hoof and lower their horns at you, it really tests your resolve.
> 
> The cows just move out of the way.
> 
> CD



I've been trout fishing in Wisconsin that was something similar. As you walked along the stream through the cow's fields, I was warned to look out for the field where a bull might be kept. If you fished there, the local guys said if you hear snorting and stomping behind you, it would probably be a good idea to jump in the stream or risk being run over when the bull found you.


----------



## RPCookin

This is probably the least interesting photo I've ever posted here, but what the heck!  There is a current discussion on a fishing forum (Bass Resource) about hook points and sharpness.  One of the members was posting some photos he took through his Nikon microscope, and I was curious how I could do with my Canon camera and my 100mm image stabilized macro lens.  This is the result, processed and cropped in Lightroom.  My light source was a hand held tac flashlight.  

The hook is a weighted Owner Twist Lock 4.0, generally used for soft plastic worms and grubs:


----------



## Caslon

In your dreams!


----------



## Caslon

I'm sure it worked out okay for whoever had to go in there and fix something.


----------



## dragnlaw

not to worry Caslon, he just has to wait until the dog finishes.  When it fall over the animal will either be crushed or electrocuted.


----------



## caseydog

I was working in Austin a week or so back, and love that city. Their motto is _*Keep Austin Weird*_. 

I pulled up behind this car covered in artificial turf. 

CD

.


----------



## taxlady

How is that allowed, to cover up the back window?


----------



## dragnlaw

Depends on the State rules.  Trucks, stepvans, vans - don't have rear windows to begin with...  just side mirrors.


----------



## buckytom

It could be considered tinting, where it's legal if a certain amount of light passes through.


----------



## caseydog

It is legal here. So is tinting. The front side windows can be a certain percent, and all the windows behind the driver can be as dark as you want. 

What draws more "legal" attention in these parts is the tint of the driver, not the windows. 

CD


----------



## dragnlaw

caseydog said:


> It is legal here. So is tinting. The front side windows can be a certain percent, and all the windows behind the driver can be as dark as you want.
> 
> What draws more "legal" attention in these parts is the tint of the driver, not the windows.
> 
> CD



"more attention" unfortunate for whatever the reasons and also very true... 

the legal part is the same here - the front and front side windows are regulated but the back ones are not.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Depends on the State rules.  Trucks, stepvans, vans - don't have rear windows to begin with...  just side mirrors.


That's terrible. But, you can't really compare to trucks and stepvans. I had a stepvan and the mirrors were huge and they gave visibility that car mirrors just don't. I won't even drive with my rear window iced over.


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> I was working in Austin a week or so back, and love that city. Their motto is _*Keep Austin Weird*_.
> 
> I pulled up behind this car covered in artificial turf.
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Got a feeling that doesn't do much to help his drag coefficient.  Likely loses a few miles per gallon, especially on the highway where aerodynamics has the biggest impact.


----------



## dragnlaw

Anyone want to hazard a guess that there are golf clubs in the trunk.  Handy if he gets stuck in traffic. 

Taxy - I have driven trucks, stepvans, full-size vans and currently drive a mini-van.  Side mirrors show so much more than a rear view.  I'm not saying not to have or use one.  But I have often driven my mini-van with furniture, animals, hay that easily block the rear view.  I'm only saying it is not crucial.

Which reminds me of a sign on some rigs that I've often seen.  
*"If you can't see my mirrors...  I can't see you."*
I think that pretty much says it all. Because as you know if you get rear-ended it is never your fault.


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> Anyone want to hazard a guess that there are golf clubs in the trunk.  Handy if he gets stuck in traffic.
> 
> Taxy - I have driven trucks, stepvans, full-size vans and currently drive a mini-van.  Side mirrors show so much more than a rear view.  I'm not saying not to have or use one.  But I have often driven my mini-van with furniture, animals, hay that easily block the rear view.  I'm only saying it is not crucial.
> 
> Which reminds me of a sign on some rigs that I've often seen.
> *"If you can't see my mirrors...  I can't see you."*
> I think that pretty much says it all. Because as you know if you get rear-ended it is never your fault.


I rented a minivan. The mirrors were inadequate. I backed into someone in a parking lot. After hitting the other car, I tried to see what I hit. I couldn't, even while leaning towards the mirrors. I had to open the door to see the car. Luckily, it was deemed her fault. She had pulled out (going forwards) of her parking spot without looking.


----------



## Cheryl J

Turf Car wouldn't last 2 seconds on a California street/highway/freeway.


----------



## Kayelle

My new Mazda has a back up camera. It's really hard for this old school driver to get used to since I learned to drive in 1959. Ykies..


----------



## buckytom

My wife refuses to use the rear camera. She says it messes up the way she has always driven.

I'm not sure what that means.


----------



## Andy M.

Our current car has a camera. I’m conflicted using it. I find myself switching back and forth among the camera, mirrors, and head turning.


----------



## buckytom

The rear camera would be better displayed in an HUD {heads up display) projected on the windshield. That way you don't have to shift your eyes much.

I drive 2 - soon to be 3- old cars, so I just swivel my head and use my mirrors.


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> Our current car has a camera. I’m conflicted using it. I find myself switching back and forth among the camera, mirrors, and head turning.



I'm not used to the reverse cameras, either. I use them as an "extra" set of eyes in cars that have them, not my primary reference. I use side view mirrors as my primary reference. I got in that habit driving big trucks, and still use it in my MINI CooperS. I only use the head turning thing to back up if I'm driving a classic car that has no side view mirrors, or tiny, worthless ones. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

I assume that overly dark tinted windows are outlawed in California because it's a  driving impairment?  It also brings to mind a police chase where dark windows are suddenly rolled down that shows 5 shooters firing back.


----------



## dragnlaw

Actually I don't think they are outlawed because of 'driving impairment' but for police protection!


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> The mirrors were inadequate. I backed into someone in a parking lot. After hitting the other car, I tried to see what I hit. I couldn't, even while leaning towards the mirrors. I had to open the door to see the car..



LOL, taxy you were lucky! I admit it does take experience to drive with only side mirrors - large or small.  The younger generation probably have absolutely no idea what it is like.  Not to mention shifting gears! (that's another story)

Just be glad - it could have been like me...  a 24' straight body that I backed into another parked car and put a beautifully perfect triangular humongous dent into a Crown Vic. hood and engine.  I felt nothing as I continued to back up.  Only found out after I pulled forward to straighten out a bit to fit into the spot.  There was a new young jockey working at the time - I asked him why he didn't yell at me or something! all he could say was he thought I knew...   wha???  you don't feel much in a truck that size, certainly not in slow motion of backing up.   (ps. Budget on Sources LOL)


----------



## taxlady

dragnlaw said:


> LOL, taxy you were lucky! I admit it does take experience to drive with only side mirrors - large or small.  The younger generation probably have absolutely no idea what it is like.  Not to mention shifting gears! (that's another story)
> 
> Just be glad - it could have been like me...  a 24' straight body that I backed into another parked car and put a beautifully perfect triangular humongous dent into a Crown Vic. hood and engine.  I felt nothing as I continued to back up.  Only found out after I pulled forward to straighten out a bit to fit into the spot.  There was a new young jockey working at the time - I asked him why he didn't yell at me or something! all he could say was he thought I knew...   wha???  you don't feel much in a truck that size, certainly not in slow motion of backing up.   (ps. Budget on Sources LOL)


Frelling inadequate mirrors was what the problem was. I never had problems seeing properly when backing up with truck mirrors. I was actually surprised by how much easier it was to parallel park the stepvan than a car. It didn't have power steering and weighed 3 metric tonnes and was still easier.


----------



## Caslon

dragnlaw said:


> Actually I don't think they are outlawed because of 'driving impairment' but for police protection!



There are tinted windows, then again, there are tinted windows. Really dark ones.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> I was actually surprised by how much easier it was to parallel park the stepvan than a car. It didn't have power steering and weighed 3 metric tonnes and was still easier.



LOL...  join the band, I still find it easier to back into a parking spot than to go in forward.  

LOL again!  once had a full size van stolen (remember Pascal Warehouse on Henri Bourassa, Saint Laurent?)- it was found 3 blocks away - guess they figured they couldn't get rid of a non-power steering and large block engine 440 (???please don't take me to task on that) gas guzzler.

*Casey-Casey-Casey* - did you ever think a simple photo would start such a conversation!


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> My new Mazda has a back up camera. It's really hard for this old school driver to get used to since I learned to drive in 1959. Ykies..



It's not that hard to add a new source of information on what's in back of you.  I'm in your age group (high school class of '64), maybe a few years younger, but I try to embrace useful technology.  The camera took some getting used to, but that combined with the warning beeper and mirrors tells me everything I should have to know about what's hiding behind me.  Parking lots are especially hazardous when backing a 4x4 pickup - short people can be totally invisible to mirrors and eyes when they're behind the tailgate. 



Andy M. said:


> Our current car has a camera. I’m conflicted using it. I find myself switching back and forth among the camera, mirrors, and head turning.



I use all of them as needed.  The biggest advantage for me is that with the back up camera, I can quickly hook up the camper by myself.  When I get close, I hit the zoom button and I get a perfect view of the hitch.  That just means that when packing up to leave a site, my wife doesn't have to stand there giving me directions.  She can be doing other things while I hitch up - it gets us on the move that much sooner.


----------



## dragnlaw

A friend installed a camera on my old van. I needed it for hitching the horse trailer alone.  Without it I had to jump in and out of the van up to 6 times to get it right.  Sort of miss the camera - was useful.  Newer ones would be even better but I bought this one straight off the lot as is.


----------



## Kayelle

RPCookin said:


> It's not that hard to add a new source of information on what's in back of you.  I'm in your age group (high school class of '64), maybe a few years younger, but I try to embrace useful technology.  The camera took some getting used to, but that combined with the warning beeper and mirrors tells me everything I should have to know about what's hiding behind me.



I fully agree with you Rick. I never want to be too old to learn new tricks, and I actually like the back up camera now. My last car was a 1999 Caddy and they've come a long way since then. My favorite feature on my new Mazda is the Radar Cruise Control. Now that's the best thing ever!!


----------



## Just Cooking

Kayelle said:


> I fully agree with you Rick. I never want to be too old to learn new tricks, and I actually like the back up camera now. My last car was a 1999 Caddy and they've come a long way since then. My favorite feature on my new Mazda is the *Radar Cruise Control*. Now that's the best thing ever!!


  What a great feature...  

Ross


----------



## Kayelle

Just Cooking said:


> What a great feature...
> 
> Ross



No kidding Ross!! As far as I'm concerned Radar CC is the best idea since automatic transmissions. Yesterday I drove for an hour in and out of freeway traffic and used the RCC the whole time. Not only does it not let me tailgate, I never have to worry about my lead foot. 

Although my new car is Candy Apple Red, I won't be pulled over for speeding...yet another plus.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> No kidding Ross!! As far as I'm concerned Radar CC is the best idea since automatic transmissions. Yesterday I drove for an hour in and out of freeway traffic and used the RCC the whole time. Not only does it not let me tailgate, I never have to worry about my lead foot.
> 
> Although my new car is Candy Apple Red, I won't be pulled over for speeding...yet another plus.



But, they will pull you over if you keep driving with your feet on the dashboard and your hands behind your head...


----------



## dragnlaw

PrincessFiona60 said:


> But, they will pull you over if you keep driving with your feet on the dashboard and your hands behind your head...



While I was driving cars to Florida BEFORE the I-95 became a constant literal gridlock - I would cruise along with one foot up on the dash.  - whether or not there was cruise control in the car.  I could drive with my left foot as easily as my right.

Someone (female I'm guessing from the hand) appreciated it because...
As one car passed me a hand came out the window with a thumbs up!


----------



## Kayelle

PrincessFiona60 said:


> But, they will pull you over if you keep driving with your feet on the dashboard and your hands behind your head...


 I still have to steer...don't want to give up all control.



dragnlaw said:


> While I was driving cars to Florida BEFORE the I-95 became a constant literal gridlock - I would cruise along with one foot up on the dash.  - whether or not there was cruise control in the car.  I could drive with my left foot as easily as my right.
> 
> Someone (female I'm guessing from the hand) appreciated it because...
> As one car passed me a hand came out the window with a *thumbs up!*



 I kinda figured it wouldn't be her thumb.


----------



## RPCookin

Went for drive this morning scouting some local fishing holes.  Took a couple of photos.

This one is a little 2 acre pond.  It's stitched from 2 wide angle images.






This is just from a corner of Jumbo Reservoir in NE Colorado.


----------



## caseydog

With all the work I've been doing, and all the bad weather, I finally got to spend an afternoon cleaning up the "back-forty." Back forty feet, not acres. 

I built a new cedar frame for my pepper garden. I got the leaves from the Spring leaf drop from the Live Oak tree cleaned up. 

I bought my new pepper and herb plants -- the oregano, thyme and rosemary survived the winter. The new plants go in the ground this week. 

Oh, the grass is not dead, just dormant. Bermudagrass does that in the winter. It will start sprouting new, green grass soon. 

CD

.


----------



## Caslon

RPCookin said:


> Went for drive this morning scouting some local fishing holes.  Took a couple of photos.
> 
> This one is a little 2 acre pond.  *It's stitched from 2 wide angle images.
> *



Nice pics. I too have"stitched" pics together with my 10 yr old Olympus digital camera. It's a pretty neat feature. It lets you take a wide angle picture without having a wide angle lens. The software provided does a fine job of stitching together two pics to make it a seamless wide angle shot.  In other words, you point and click, pan the camera some, point and click, then let the software stitch it all together into one wide angle picture. I can even take 3 successive pics and the software will stitch them all together seamlessly into one panoramic shot.  Pretty neat.


----------



## GotGarlic

Sitting on the front porch, enjoying a beautiful sunny day and our first azalea of spring.


----------



## taxlady

Ooh, pretty GG


----------



## caseydog

Psycho Poodle is bein' a playa' today. 

CD

.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cute!  Is he waiting for his girlfriend to hop into the passenger seat?


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Cute!  Is he waiting for his girlfriend to hop into the passenger seat?



You mean his b--ch? That's actually PC when referring to a female dog. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

Reports of an invasion of zombie raccoons roaming around a small town.  Maybe they all got to trippin on something.


----------



## Caslon

Garbage, probably.


----------



## RPCookin

I'm ready for a road trip.  Anyplace or no place.  Soon... soon...


----------



## Andy M.

OK, but be sure to turn right in 20 feet.


----------



## RPCookin

Andy M. said:


> OK, but be sure to turn right in 20 feet.



  Actually I was about 500 yards from the curve.  Telephoto lens compresses distance.


----------



## Kayelle

^


----------



## Rocklobster

What a great deal!! That's a serious saving, right there..


----------



## dragnlaw

RPCookin said:


> I'm ready for a road trip.  Anyplace or no place.  Soon... soon...



OOMG... what a view!  Can I build a house just a bit back??? 



Rocklobster said:


> What a great deal!! That's a serious saving, right there..



 too funny!   get me 4 cans please.


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> OOMG... what a view!  Can I build a house just a bit back???



So many people from the east hurry through eastern Colorado with nothing in mind but getting to the mountains.  The mountains are beautiful, but there is some wonderful scenery out here on the prairie too.  Here's another one from the Pawnee National Grassland an hour northwest of me:


----------



## dragnlaw

Drop dead gorgeous!  I'm on my way!


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful photos of beautiful country, Rick.  Thank you for sharing!


----------



## buckytom

Rocklobster said:


> What a great deal!! That's a serious saving, right there..



Only if it is made fro 100% Habitants...


----------



## RPCookin

Spring finally arrived.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful, Rick.

Today, my trees leafed without me...


----------



## caseydog

We are about two months ahead of you, Rick. I took this picture on March 8. That's a Bradford Pear tree in the background -- trash tree, but for a few weeks every year, it looks pretty with its white blooms. I liked how it worked with the black car with a white interior. 

CD

.


----------



## buckytom

This old boy has been hanging around the road behind my house for the past week, lookin' for love, apparently. There's lots of females that hang out in the woods between my house and the neighbors'.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Looks like a Tom, Bucky...


----------



## buckytom

Lol, I think he said his name was Goober. He kept yellung it at me when I stopped my car to take the picture and I was between him and his ladies.


----------



## RPCookin

Was out for a drive... saw this long abandoned farmhouse.  Someone back in the day saw a piece of ground with lush grasses growing and saw a homestead.  It was only later that they found that the only thing that would grow and hold the land from blowing was that grass that they had plowed under.  We have many farms that failed on sandy soil and were ultimately reverted to cattle raising once they got the grasses back, the unused houses left to decay with time.






This is the road I was driving on when I found that house:


----------



## PrincessFiona60

motorcycle road


Beautiful picture of the house!


----------



## Cheryl J

OMGosh...loving these pics.  Thank you all for sharing!


----------



## phinz

Yesterday's view from our Gatlinburg house.


----------



## buckytom

Are those the Smokies in the distance?


----------



## RPCookin

phinz said:


> Yesterday's view from our Gatlinburg house.




Nice... bad weather can help make a good photo.


----------



## phinz

buckytom said:


> Are those the Smokies in the distance?



Yes. That's Mt. Leconte way up in there in the background.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Those are some mighty fine scenery photos there guys! And I see Thanksgiving happening at *BT*'s this year. 




phinz said:


> Yesterday's view from our Gatlinburg house.


Beautiful! I'd never leave home if I woke to that each day. We spent a day in the Smokies when we did a week in Asheville. Loved the area; would love to go back.


----------



## Kayelle

Just stunning photo's guys! Rick, yours are always emotional to me. 



I've become obsessed by succulent container gardening lately, and thought you might like to meet *ATHENA.*


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Those are some mighty fine scenery photos there guys! And I see Thanksgiving happening at *BT*'s this year.
> 
> 
> 
> Beautiful! I'd never leave home if I woke to that each day. We spent a day in the Smokies when we did a week in Asheville. Loved the area; would love to go back.



Land Rover flew me to Asheville to attend their off-road driving school at the Biltmore. Beautiful country. We stayed at the Biltmore hotel, and got a tour of the Biltmore house. 

BTW, Land Rover teaches "Tread Lightly" techniques. But we still had some fun. 

CD

.


----------



## RPCookin

Memorial Day observances at the town cemetery.


----------



## Kayelle

God bless his old heart...what a picture!!


----------



## dragnlaw

Oh my...   I got a lump in my throat.  thanks RP


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very touching, *RP*.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Wonderful pictures Rick.


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Just stunning photo's guys! Rick, yours are always emotional to me.
> 
> 
> 
> I've become obsessed by succulent container gardening lately, and thought you might like to meet *ATHENA.*


 
Don't know how I missed these last few pics.  Hello, Athena! I love succulents too Kay, and this inspired me to go to Home Depot for some more.  I have space against the patio wall that would be perfect for a bakers rack filled with lovely and easy-to-care-for succulents. 

---------------

Beautiful pics Rick, and thank you for sharing!


----------



## buckytom

A little sunset run on the lake last night to open my boat, the Little Girl, for the season.


----------



## caseydog

This is not a great photo, but the subject is cool. I'll be re-shooting it in a few weeks, when it is running and ready for a full photoshoot. . 

It is Sir Paul McCartney's Mini Cooper ‘S’ Radford Conversion. One was made for each member of the Beatles. 

When I go back to reshoot it, I do plan to drive it. 

CD

.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

*Shrek's Rose*

The Ebb Tide has one bloom and lots of buds.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

*Front gardens*

more shots...I found the camera...


----------



## Just Cooking

Wondeful..  

Ross


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL - so glad you found your camera, Princess.  Just love garden pictures! 

this is my 5 (?) year old Bougainvilea.  I've just put her out for the summer.  She will go into a bit of shock, then grow some leaves and bloom again just as I bring her in for the winter.  thought I'd get this picture in before all the blooms drop!


----------



## RPCookin

Colorado mountain golf with my brother.


----------



## Cheryl J

Such pretty green grass and flower pics.


----------



## TATTRAT




----------



## Caslon

My sister-in-law, she lives in Volcano, California.  An hours drive east of Sacramento.  Tall trees, awesome quietness. The goldfish  make it thru the winter somehow.


----------



## RPCookin

Caslon said:


> My sister-in-law, she lives in Volcano, California.  An hours drive east of Sacramento.  Tall trees, awesome quietness. The goldfish  make it thru the winter somehow.



What a setting!  Looks like paradise to me.


----------



## RPCookin

This is a grounded boat on Long Island, Bahamas just a few miles south of where we lived.  Like many such wrecks in the Bahamas, it was "commandeered" by Haitian refugees escaping the deplorable conditions there, navigated north to the Bahamas and deliberately run aground on a randomly chosen beach.  The refugees were ultimately rounded up by the Bahamian authorities and usually shipped back home, but the boats they came in on were left to the sea to dispose of.  The Bahamas has its own problems in plenty, and no jobs or charity available for refugees.  It really is an economic issue for them.


----------



## Kayelle

Caslon said:


> My sister-in-law, she lives in Volcano, California.  An hours drive east of Sacramento.  Tall trees, awesome quietness. The goldfish  make it thru the winter somehow.


  How beautiful Caslon!
I love  early California history..The town is named for its setting in a bowl-shaped valley which early miners thought was caused by a volcano. Early morning fog rising from the valley floor only reinforced that belief. 

Today, less than 100 people live there, down from 5,000 during the gold rush days.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Some lovely new photos here, guys. *RP*, that is a lovely picture in color and composition, but a sad tale of reality...


----------



## Cheryl J

BEAUTIFUL pics RP, and Caslon. I so got lost in the loveliness.

Caslon...NOCAL has such beautiful scenery...I was just there last year, close to the area of your pics.  Just gorgeous and as mentioned, lots of history of the Gold Rush up there.


----------



## Rascal

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30291&stc=1&d=1528948145

This is me and my son and my great mate in the Hawaiian shirt. We are dismembering a pig that's been on a rotisserie, basted with butter and pineapple juice. This was the best pork and crackling I've eaten

Russ


----------



## PrincessFiona60

*Ebb Tide Rose*

Here is the newest photo of Shrek's Rose and the balloon flowers.


----------



## Kayelle

*Russ*, that sure looks like fun, and good eats too I bet. Thanks for sharing.


Just lovely *PF,* I like the little garden gnome too.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Kayelle said:


> Just lovely *PF,* I like the little garden gnome too.




Thanks Kayelle, I thought the gnome with his hands folded was the most appropriate for Shrek, he would not have wanted a cross or angel.


----------



## dragnlaw

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Here is the newest photo of Shrek's Rose and the balloon flowers.



....


----------



## Just Cooking

Nicely done, PF..  
Ross


----------



## TATTRAT

Spent a week dog-sitting for my buddy. This is Lily, the sweetest, chillest dog I've ever known.


----------



## GotGarlic

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Here is the newest photo of Shrek's Rose and the balloon flowers.


Beautiful memorial, PF. Hugs.


----------



## dragnlaw

TATTRAT  at that angle looks like she got stung on the nose.  LOL - she looks like my late Trail's little sister.  So sweet - thanks for the memories. 

I was looking for the picture of when that cat and another were just tiny kittens napping on top of Trail who was snoring but this is the only one I can find.

The late TiggyT'gar went from being small enough to nap on Trail's head to being almost equal in length! LOL


----------



## caseydog

An old friend and co-worker called my, out of the blue, and sent me a nice chunk of new business. I photographed his car for him over the weekend. It is a really nice 1965 MGB. Not many left that haven't dissolved to rust piles. This one is very well restored. So, for you MG fans...

.


----------



## phinz

Spent a weekend getting our tiki on at the fabulous Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Looks like a fun place, *phinz*. Reminds me a little of a Cleveland place called "Kon-Tiki" that closed back in 1974. No entertainment at Kon-Tiki, but lots of good food...and drinks.


----------



## dragnlaw

sure does look like fun guys! 

We had a Kon Tiki in Montreal too.  Was in one of the big hotels.  I don't remember entertainment either but the decor/menu/drinks were impressive!


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> An old friend and co-worker called my, out of the blue, and sent me a nice chunk of new business. I photographed his car for him over the weekend. It is a really nice 1965 MGB. Not many left that haven't dissolved to rust piles. This one is very well restored. So, for you MG fans...
> 
> .


 Very nice MG... 


When first married (1959) I had a 54 TR2 with Isky cam and HD Olds  lifters. I used to love dragging MG's on the streets and at the Salinas Drag Strip.. My new wife was scared of driving the car and because I couldn't afford 2 cars, I sold it and became a proper husband.. (Carwise anyway)  


Ross


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks Kayelle, I thought the gnome with his hands folded was the most appropriate for Shrek, he would not have wanted a cross or angel.


----------



## RPCookin

Went to my niece's wedding in Bozeman, Montana last weekend.  Drove 1700 miles over the 5 days.  On the drive up last Thursday we counted 655 pronghorns in Colorado and Wyoming... quit counting when we crossed into Montana.  If we had kept a total for the entire trip, we would have easily topped 800.  Used a handy little phone app called "Thing Counter" to keep track.

Had a chance to explore a bit around Bozeman and managed a couple of photos despite rather poor weather.

Hyalite Reservoir south of town:







Old church in the town/community of Sedan, northeast of Bozeman:


----------



## Caslon

Just curious, are you all using smart phones for your pics? They certainly are making ones with higher resolution these days.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I use a camera, still haven't figured out how to get pics from the phone to the computer for upload.


----------



## Andy M.

I use my phone camera almost exclusively. I always kept a camera at the ready in my home so I could grab quick photos of my grandson. I always took it on vacation. I don't bother anymore because the phone camera can do most of the same things and deliver excellent quality. I'm speaking as a non-professional photographer. I don't thing caseydog would rely on phone cameras to do his job.

Here's a quick sample. This is a photo of Nassau harbor from the cruise ship we were on in February.


----------



## Caslon

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I use a camera, still haven't figured out how to get pics from the phone to the computer for upload.



I pic with my  Olympus 3 megapixel camera. It was state of the art  back then.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Caslon said:


> I pic with my  Olympus 3 megapixel camera. It was state of the art  back then.




I have a Kodak 5 mgp...


----------



## Caslon

Using a cable to transfer digital pics to your pc can be a bother.  You can remove your digital cameras's memory card, plug it into a bought "reader" that goes into a usb port on your pc, then copy  whatever's on that memory card to any directory.


----------



## RPCookin

Caslon said:


> Just curious, are you all using smart phones for your pics? They certainly are making ones with higher resolution these days.



Most of my photos are shot with a Canon 60D DSLR.  I have 5 lenses for it, plus a few other accessories.  I process the RAW images in Adobe Lightroom.  Some of my landscapes are stitched from several separate photos, like this one from 6 individual exposures.


----------



## Caslon

Panoramic scenes. I luv 'em. My camera's software is capable of that. My software stitches my shots together nicely.  I know to pan my shots correctly.  The software does a nice job.


----------



## taxlady

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I use a camera, still haven't figured out how to get pics from the phone to the computer for upload.


Is it a smart phone? Do you have a google account/gmail address? Mine automagically upload to Google Photos. I could tell you how to set that up.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

taxlady said:


> Is it a smart phone? Do you have a google account/gmail address? Mine automagically upload to Google Photos. I could tell you how to set that up.




Nope, it's a flip phone, dumber than a stump.


----------



## dragnlaw

Don't know how old your computer is but I've made sure that all mine (lately just laptops) have a slot for the disc from my camera (or my phone).  Even my last printer had slots for various discs.  I could put the disc directly in and print off the photos.  Never did though.

I don't seem to use my camera that much anymore (NIkon Coolpix S2) and now my new "smart" phone doesn't even have a disc! (nor a removeable battery!)

So it's back to the cable to load my pictures - or I have to email them to myself - one by one! LOL...  have done it on occasion.

It's not toooo complicated but easiest if you can find someone to* physically show* you how.  *And* stand by *and* watch you repeat it.  *And* make sure you write down the steps by steps!


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Don't know how old your computer is but I've made sure that all mine (lately just laptops) have a slot for the disc from my camera (or my phone).  Even my last printer had slots for various discs.  I could put the disc directly in and print off the photos.  Never did though.
> 
> I don't seem to use my camera that much anymore (NIkon Coolpix S2) and now my new "smart" phone doesn't even have a disc! (nor a removeable battery!)
> 
> So it's back to the cable to load my pictures - or I have to email them to myself - one by one! LOL...  have done it on occasion.
> 
> It's not toooo complicated but easiest if you can find someone to* physically show* you how.  *And* stand by *and* watch you repeat it.  *And* make sure you write down the steps by steps!


Or, if you have an Android phone and a Google account, you can connect them all to your computer and they will automagically sync with each other. You can also do it with other software like Dropbox. Apple devices have similar capabilities.


----------



## GotGarlic

Some recent pix of my azaleas. I use my smartphone camera for my picture-taking now. I used to use a digital camera, but the one on my phone is better and since I'm not a professional, I don't need (nor can I afford) that type of camera.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Or, if you have an Android phone and a Google account, you can connect them all to your computer and they will automagically sync with each other. You can also do it with other software like Dropbox. Apple devices have similar capabilities.


 Good point that there is other software and that it can be done with Apple devices too.


I have my phone set to only sync the photos when it is on a wireless network and plugged in, so it doesn't use data or waste battery. I can tell it to upload any pix at any time, whether I'm on the home network or the cell network and plugged in or not.


----------



## RPCookin

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Nope, it's a flip phone, dumber than a stump.



Opposite here, my phone (Galaxy S9 - we just upgraded from S5 a few months ago) is way smarter than I am.  I can make it do what I need to do, so I don't worry about all the stuff of which it's capable and I'm not. 


For transferring photos from my camera, I pop the card out of the camera in to a card reader plugged into my desktop computer, then import them directly into Lightroom, stored on an external drive and backed up to a second one.  I shoot in RAW format for the greater flexibility in post processing (RAW files aren't even a picture, just raw data as the camera captures it), then only convert to jpeg when I export an image from Lightroom for publishing or posting online.

For the few photos that I take with my phone, I email them to myself when needed (I have 2 gmail accounts).  Mostly they just stay on the phone to display there.


----------



## Andy M.

RPCookin said:


> ...For the few photos that I take with my phone, I email them to myself when needed (I have 2 gmail accounts).  Mostly they just stay on the phone to display there.




I have a function on my iPhone and MacBook called Air Drop that enables direct download. I’m sure there is a corresponding app for Android/PC.


----------



## RPCookin

Andy M. said:


> I have a function on my iPhone and MacBook called Air Drop that enables direct download. I’m sure there is a corresponding app for Android/PC.



I don't transfer enough photos from my phone for it to matter.  If I post them on Facebook or something, then I just do it direct from the phone.  I so rarely move one from the phone to the computer that it's really not a big deal.


----------



## Kayelle

Fast forward a hundred years. 



 Will there be any printed photo's of all of us, or will they all be lost to cyberspace somewhere? That will also be when nobody knows how to read script handwriting.
My mom used to say I think too much.


----------



## Andy M.

RPCookin said:


> I don't transfer enough photos from my phone for it to matter.  If I post them on Facebook or something, then I just do it direct from the phone.  I so rarely move one from the phone to the computer that it's really not a big deal.





OK. Keep it in mind for other documents too.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow, lovin' the wonderful recent photos!  TATT, Lilly is a beauty and she is definitely smiling for the camera.  

I too use my phone (Galaxy S7) for pics.  It's not the newest, and I don't care about that - it was a gift from my daughter and I'm very grateful and happy with it. It's handy, always charged, and takes just as good (if not better) pics than my little Nikon Coolpix that has been in a drawer for 2 years.  

I should learn the newer transferring apps mentioned, though.  Right now I'm still just plugging my phone into my laptop with the cord and loading them that way, and I'm OK with that, although I'm sure there's much easier ways. I get befuddled with trying learn techie things on my own - I need to get my daughter over here and help me.


----------



## dragnlaw

Cheryl J said:


> I should learn the newer transferring apps mentioned, though.  Right now I'm still just plugging my phone into my laptop with the cord and loading them that way, and I'm OK with that, although I'm sure there's much easier ways. _I get befuddled with trying learn techie things on my own_ - I need to get my daughter son over here and help me.



+1


----------



## Cheryl J

Yep, Dragn!


----------



## Cheryl J

Kayelle said:


> Fast forward a hundred years.
> 
> 
> 
> *Will there be any printed photo's of all of us, or will they all be lost to cyberspace somewhere? That will also be when nobody knows how to read script handwriting.*
> My mom used to say I think too much.


 
I think of that too, Kay!  My daughters are good about printing out digital pics on nice Kodak paper and framing them.  I have so many on my computer that need to be gone through, and have the best of the best printed out.   Back to the techie issue though, I need help from my girls with that. 

Speaking of cursive writing - we are *so* happy that Tyler's teachers have included it in their lesson plans.  He'll be going into 3rd grade this August and is doing really well with it.  He loves to take my shopping lists off the refrigerator and re-write them for me in cursive.


----------



## phinz

Cooking Goddess said:


> Looks like a fun place, *phinz*. Reminds me a little of a Cleveland place called "Kon-Tiki" that closed back in 1974. No entertainment at Kon-Tiki, but lots of good food...and drinks.



I have a matchbook cover and several other pieces of ephemera from the Cleveland Kon-Tiki.  We are big Steven Crane fans, so we have collected pieces from his Ports, Kon-Tiki and Luau restaurants as part of our larger (some would say ridiculous) collection. Here are a few of the pieces. There's also a cool thread on Tiki Central about the Cleveland location.

Kon Tiki Restaurant (Sheraton Hotel), Cleveland, OH (restaurant) -- Tiki Central


----------



## dragnlaw

Ahhh...  that must have been the hotel here in Montreal.  The Sheraton!  So I take it the Kon Tiki restaurants must have been a franchise? To the Sheraton?


----------



## phinz

dragnlaw said:


> Ahhh...  that must have been the hotel here in Montreal.  The Sheraton!  So I take it the Kon Tiki restaurants must have been a franchise? To the Sheraton?



They were not franchises. They were owned by Steven Crane, who had several restaurants in the US and Canada.


----------



## dragnlaw

Sorry...  but who is Steven Crane?  I googled and came up with a Stephen Crane, a journalist/poet/novelist, died in 1900 at the tender age of 30.


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> Sorry...  but who is Steven Crane?  I googled and came up with a Stephen Crane, a journalist/poet/novelist, died in 1900 at the tender age of 30.



This is the only Steven Crane I'm familiar with too.  When I read that first post, I was trying to figure out how he got involved in restaurants.  The only thing I know about Kon Tiki is that was the name of Thor Heyerdahl's raft.


----------



## GotGarlic

dragnlaw said:


> Sorry...  but who is Steven Crane?  I googled and came up with a Stephen Crane, a journalist/poet/novelist, died in 1900 at the tender age of 30.


http://www.enterthetiki.com/content/stephen-crane

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stephen_Crane


----------



## phinz

GotGarlic said:


> Stephen Crane - The Errol Flynn of Polynesian Pop | Enter the Tiki
> 
> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stephen_Crane



Thank you. Apparently autocorrect on my phone doesn't like Steve with a ph.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

phinz said:


> I have a matchbook cover and several other pieces of ephemera from the Cleveland Kon-Tiki...There's also a cool thread on Tiki Central about the Cleveland location.
> 
> Kon Tiki Restaurant (Sheraton Hotel), Cleveland, OH (restaurant) -- Tiki Central


I had not seen that blog post before. Thanks! I took a quick peek at the menu - Planter's Punch for $1.75? Wow, that ship has sailed!

Cleveland has a newer tiki bar called "Porco Lounge & Tiki Room". Never been there, but I see by the map that it's just half a mile down the road from West Side Market. We make a pilgrimage to WSM most every time we go to OH to visit. Might have to have a little Polynesian next time we're in town.


----------



## dragnlaw

RPCookin said:


> This is the only Steven Crane I'm familiar with too.  When I read that first post, I was trying to figure out how he got involved in restaurants.  *The only thing I know about Kon Tiki is that was the name of Thor Heyerdahl's raft.*



I had an illustrated book on that story - I loved it and so admired their courage!

While we lived in Europe we went to the museum and it just reinforced my admiration!


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> I had an illustrated book on that story - I loved it and so admired their courage!
> 
> While we lived in Europe we went to the museum and it just reinforced my admiration!



I read the book many years ago.  It was quite the adventure, crossing the pacific on a balsa wood raft.


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL...  you have to remember - that adventure took place in 1947 - I was 2 +1/2 yrs old.  

I saw the raft in the late 50's - probably just 10 years later!  

At the time it was like it just happened yesterday!


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I read the book many years ago.  It was quite the adventure, crossing the pacific on a balsa wood raft[/IMG]



I loved that book as a young teen. I read a few of Thor Heyerdahl's adventure books. _The Ra Expeditions_ was another favorite. 

CD


----------



## Caslon

Kayelle said:


> Fast forward a hundred years.
> 
> 
> 
> Will there be any printed photo's of all of us, or will they all be lost to cyberspace somewhere?




I dunno, Kayelle.  It's sooo easy now to have only digital memories.  I don't print much these days, either. Besides, lol,  printers that cost $99 these days can print a label on a DVD.  The thing is...the cost of buying  a few ink refills nowadays, exceeds the price of the printers !  

But when I do print nowadays, I have to say, printers have gotten sooo much more reliable (and less expensive).  The inks cost a lot.


----------



## RPCookin

Kayelle said:


> Fast forward a hundred years.
> 
> 
> 
> Will there be any printed photo's of all of us, or will they all be lost to cyberspace somewhere? That will also be when nobody knows how to read script handwriting.
> My mom used to say I think too much.



I'm not sure that "lost" is the right thought.  As long as the technology exists to support and recover it, our current electronic data storage methods are far more permanent and efficient than printed documents. 

However, there are issues to deal with.  My wife has a database of the items and in some cases the history, for all of the displayed and stored pieces in the town museum (she is the secretary for the museum board of directors).  Unfortunately, it's saved on a 3.5" floppy disk, and so far she has been unable to find a computer with a 3.5" floppy drive to read it.  She wants to transfer the database to more current media and update it, but for now she is still looking for an answer.  (I just looked it up and found that she can get an external 3.5" floppy drive on Amazon for $13.  I passed the info on to her.)

She has approached a couple of local computer repair shops and even they don't have that capability.  The next question is whether the stored database is still compatible with modern software.  Issues upon issues.  It will be a big project if she has to use the printed and filed documents to recreate the database from scratch.  This should have been updated from time to time by the previous secretary as database software and media storage technology advanced, but it wasn't done.


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> The next question is whether the stored database is still compatible with modern software.  Issues upon issues.  It will be a big project if she has to use the printed and filed documents to recreate the database from scratch.  This should have been updated from time to time by the previous secretary as database software and media storage technology advanced, but it wasn't done.



I was going to suggest an external disk drive; they're pretty cheap, as you found.

Microsoft apps have been pretty good about being able to import older versions of documents and data files and convert them to current versions. If you have access to Access [emoji38] give it a try.


----------



## taxlady

A friend of my husband recently bought an external 3.5 inch floppy drive. It uses USB to connect to a computer. I know this because my husband has it to see if he can make it work. We suspect that the problem is a driver. I expect that most modern computers do not come with driver software for 3.5 inch floppies and it will need to be downloaded.

 My husband had the "file format of old pictures" problem at one point. He tells me that there is free software that can open most of those old formats. He found software that would open pix stored in some weird format used on the Atari ST. He says that, if the pix were taken in the past 20 years or so, there is a good chance that they are in something we still use, for example .jpg or .gif.


For archiving purposes, it might be good to rescan old pix in higher resolution. I have been doing Swedish genealogy and all of the old church books were scanned by Family Search, years ago. They are all being rescanned and the new pix are much easier to read.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> My husband had the "file format of old pictures" problem at one point. He tells me that there is free software that can open most of those old formats. He found software that would open pix stored in some weird format used on the Atari ST. He says that, if the pix were taken in the past 20 years or so, there is a good chance that they are in something we still use, for example .jpg or .gif.



Images are pretty easy to recover. RP is talking about a database of information about items in a museum.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Images are pretty easy to recover. RP is talking about a database of information about items in a museum.


 d'oh! I was thinking that the database included pictures of those museum items.


Most images might be easy to recover, but my husband, the computer geek, only found software that would convert those old Atari St image files, after several years of searching.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> d'oh! I was thinking that the database included pictures of those museum items.
> 
> 
> Most images might be easy to recover, but my husband, the computer geek, only found software that would convert those old Atari St image files, after several years of searching.


You should have told me  I have 20-year-old image shareware on CDs around here somewhere.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> You should have told me  I have 20-year-old image shareware on CDs around here somewhere.


  You do know that the data on those CDs *may* have degraded by now, eh?

This was a while ago. He had pretty much stopped using the Atari St by the late 1980s, so those pix were very old. In any case, he did eventually find free software that converted them.


----------



## TATTRAT

RPCookin said:


> I read the book many years ago.  It was quite the adventure, crossing the pacific on a balsa wood raft.



When the ship were made of wood, the men were made of steel.


----------



## TATTRAT

Kayelle said:


> Fast forward a hundred years.
> 
> 
> 
> Will there be any printed photo's of all of us, or will they all be lost to cyberspace somewhere? That will also be when nobody knows how to read script handwriting.
> My mom used to say I think too much.



I hope that the photos live on. I can't have kids, and pics are all I am leaving behind.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Himself made this for me!*

I posted this in the "Last thing that made you smile" thread, but I'm all about showing this off. Himself made a step stool for me in his basic "wood shop" down in our basement.  Quite a "step up" from the hand carved coffee spoon he made when he was first laid off. Wonder what's next?


----------



## GotGarlic

Cooking Goddess said:


> I posted this in the "Last thing that made you smile" thread, but I'm all about showing this off. Himself made a step stool for me in his basic "wood shop" down in our basement. [emoji2] Quite a "step up" from the hand carved coffee spoon he made when he was first laid off. Wonder what's next?


Very nice. I like the duo-toned wood.


----------



## Andy M.

Very nice CG. I can see using the stool is a fairly simple task. You can use the top level to steady yourself as you step up. But how do you get onto the table so you can use the stool?


----------



## TATTRAT

I have a step stool too. My real stool left when I was 9.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy M. said:


> Very nice CG. I can see using the stool is a fairly simple task. You can use the top level to steady yourself as you step up. But how do you get onto the table so you can use the stool?


Ha ha, Andy! I flap my wings. 

Seriously, though, it was much easier putting it on the table for the shot rather than try getting back up off the floor to photograph it from that view.


----------



## Cheryl J

Very nice, CG! Hubby is pretty talented.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Thanks, everybody! It's nice to see him doing something fun that he enjoys.

*Cheryl*, I don't know how talented he is just yet, but he is tenacious. He has a nice stack of scrap wood that he made from failed projects. Trust me, those wheat sheaves aren't his first attempt. Good for him, though, he keeps on at it. Kinda like me in the kitchen, except we eat most of my failures.


----------



## RPCookin

Camping and a drive up a road where we always find a lot of moose.  This trip we found an even dozen.

It starts with a beautiful, frosty morning at camp:





Big bull:





And a pair of bulls.





A fawn, still with spots.


----------



## Andy M.

Great photos.


----------



## Cheryl J

Wow...beautiful photos, Rick!


----------



## caseydog

RP, nice to see that you used a 70-200mm lens, which works out to around 320mm on your camera. I've heard that moose can be pretty mean animals if you get close to them. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Very nice, *RP*.


----------



## Just Cooking

I agree.. Must have been a great trip..


Ross


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> RP, nice to see that you used a 70-200mm lens, which works out to around 320mm on your camera. I've heard that moose can be pretty mean animals if you get close to them.
> 
> CD



I also have the Canon 1.4x extender which gets me a bit more reach (448mm full frame equivalent field of view).  My 70-200 has image stabilization too, so with a little care, I can get decent shots in less than ideal lighting as long as the subject isn't moving too fast.  This trip we mostly had blue skies, but the previous 2 years it was overcast and raining, so the IS was essential for hand held shooting.


----------



## GotGarlic

My fall-blooming azaleas have started blooming already!


----------



## dragnlaw

*more wisteria blooming!*

Much to my surprise, the wisteria on the back patio - which I was going to rip out this fall or coming spring as it will damage too many things there - has suddenly bloomed! Again, not big ones but OK for their first attempt. But I thought they only bloomed in the spring.  

Think it read my mind and decided to bloom so I would have to re-think my murderous thoughts.

Why are they all upside down?????


----------



## dragnlaw

ARGGH!  these photo's will drive me nuts!

Hope some of you can see them properly.  

The last picture is this vine which loves to climb up the umbrella.  Does it every year but this year out did itself.  I will cut them off, of course but right now my back has me inching around with a cane. 

I also can't let this vine get up on the roof to rip out the heat wires and create a dam for the winter snow and ice.  sigh...   ignorance and lack of forethought or research does not forgive.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I also have the Canon 1.4x extender which gets me a bit more reach (448mm full frame equivalent field of view).  My 70-200 has image stabilization too, so with a little care, I can get decent shots in less than ideal lighting as long as the subject isn't moving too fast.  This trip we mostly had blue skies, but the previous 2 years it was overcast and raining, so the IS was essential for hand held shooting.




My 70-200 is a Nikon f4 lens. The f2.8 is a thousand bucks more, and not as sharp as the cheaper f4. Besides, I'm never going to shoot a car at f2.8 -- half the car would be out of focus. 

My f4 has IS, which comes in handy since I hand-hold. I do not like tripods -- I feel they limit my creativity. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

GotGarlic said:


> My fall-blooming azaleas have started blooming already! View attachment 31239


 
Sooo pretty, GG!


----------



## Cheryl J

dragnlaw said:


> ARGGH! these photo's will drive me nuts!
> 
> Hope some of you can see them properly.
> 
> The last picture is this vine which loves to climb up the umbrella. Does it every year but this year out did itself. I will cut them off, of course but right now my back has me inching around with a cane.
> 
> I also can't let this vine get up on the roof to rip out the heat wires and create a dam for the winter snow and ice. sigh... ignorance and lack of forethought or research does not forgive.


 
Fixed 'em for ya.  What a beautiful home and yard you have, dragn!


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Cheryl J said:


> Fixed 'em for ya.  What a beautiful home and yard you have, dragn!
> 
> View attachment 31246
> 
> View attachment 31247
> 
> View attachment 31248
> 
> View attachment 31249
> 
> View attachment 31250




Oh Good!  For a minute there I thought Dragn had moved Down Under.


----------



## Rascal

Not bad for winter.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31251&stc=1&d=1535414234

Russ


----------



## dragnlaw

Thank you Cheryl!  I really appreciate! 

PF - I felt like I had fallen in a perpetual pit, no matter how much I scrambled up, I reached the bottom.


----------



## Cheryl J

Rascal said:


> Not bad for winter.
> 
> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31251&stc=1&d=1535414234
> 
> Russ




Ooooh....very pretty, Russ.


----------



## TATTRAT

A few from a rainy day road trip.


----------



## dragnlaw

Lovely TATRAT just lovely, thanks.


----------



## Andy M.

Great pic, Tat!


----------



## Just Cooking

Love it... Well done, Tatt..


Ross


----------



## RPCookin

Very nice Tat... love those rainy days.  We don't get many of them here in Colorado, so I value them.


----------



## Kayelle

Breathtaking pics Tat!! Thanks for sharing.


----------



## TATTRAT

Thanks, All!


----------



## buckytom

Very nice. 

Southeast U.S.?

When will you be in NYC? PM me again, please.  My brain is mush.


----------



## TATTRAT

buckytom said:


> Very nice.
> 
> Southeast U.S.?
> 
> When will you be in NYC? PM me again, please.  My brain is mush.



Marshall, VA. 

I'll do that, Bucky!


***EDIT***

buckytom has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.


----------



## caseydog

TATTRAT said:


> buckytom has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.



His PM box is always full. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself and I loved the photos, *TAT*. I swear his "wow" got louder with each image, and he's been guilty of taking some very nice pics, too. Very nice.


----------



## RPCookin

This is really our town jail, built in 1929.  I've been trying to learn when it last had an inmate, so far without luck.  The town hasn't had a constable since my wife was in high school, And it was probably long before that when the jail was last used.  It was cleaned up and painted and restored for the Fall Festival this weekend.


----------



## buckytom

TATTRAT said:


> Marshall, VA.
> 
> I'll do that, Bucky!
> 
> 
> ***EDIT***
> 
> buckytom has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.



Sorry, cleaned out. I can't stop Casey from talking about Taylor Ham.


----------



## buckytom

RPCookin said:


> This is really our town jail, built in 1929.  I've been trying to learn when it last had an inmate, so far without luck.  The town hasn't had a constable since my wife was in high school, And it was probably long before that when the jail was last used.  It was cleaned up and painted and restored for the Fall Festival this weekend.





Makes me want to ride a horse up, tie a rope to the bars, and pull them out racing away, hootin and hollerin.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

I don't even think Lingle has a jail...the nearest would be in Torrington, 10 miles away.


----------



## caseydog

I just stumbled onto this fun little spontaneous shot while looking for something else. I snapped it on the Galveston to Bolivar ferry. I call it, _Air Traffic Control_. 

CD

.


----------



## buckytom

I got *that* look from Ben and Mush the other morning when I got home a little late from work.

"Two legs, you are late with our treats!"


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I got *that* look from Ben and Mush the other morning when I got home a little late from work.
> 
> "Two legs, you are late with our treats!"



People own dogs... cats own people. 

CD


----------



## taxlady

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff.


----------



## dragnlaw

RPCookin said:


> This is really our town jail, built in 1929.  I've been trying to learn when it last had an inmate, so far without luck.  The town hasn't had a constable since my wife was in high school, And it was probably long before that when the jail was last used.  It was cleaned up and painted and restored for the Fall Festival this weekend.



Why don't you try the nearest town that does still have a jail?  Perhaps they have a date - or time line - as to when they received prisoners from...


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> Why don't you try the nearest town that does still have a jail?  Perhaps they have a date - or time line - as to when they received prisoners from...



I have a feeling that our jail was more for the occasional Saturday night when a cowboy or farmer gets a a bit feisty and starts a fight and has to sleep it off.  The jail was built during prohibition, so maybe initially as a temporary hold for someone caught using liquor too openly?  One of our friends is laboriously going through 60 years of town council meeting minutes to see if she can find anything on it.


----------



## buckytom

Oh, geez. Shhh, say nothing of my plans...


----------



## RPCookin

Spent yesterday baking ciabatta bread for the Historical Society bake sale at the town Fall Festival.  Always seems to sell quite well.


----------



## dragnlaw

RP - those look delish!  
I searched but didn't find, have you ever posted your recipe?  

I'm still not happy with mine, too wet, not enough rise, and the holes sometimes rival the actual size of the 'slipper'.


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> RP - those look delish!
> I searched but didn't find, have you ever posted your recipe?
> 
> I'm still not happy with mine, too wet, not enough rise, and the holes sometimes rival the actual size of the 'slipper'.



Actually they are supposed to have some fairly significant air pockets.  Mine don't always seem to form them, even from 2 loaves out of the same batch.  It's just possible that it's my lack of expertise that's the culprit.  The recipe is at Artisan Bread Baking.  He has lots of info on techniques there as well as the recipes.


----------



## dragnlaw

RPCookin said:


> Actually they are supposed to have some fairly significant air pockets.



I searched but couldn't find my picture of this particular loaf, I'm sure I took one as it was so bizarre. 

When I say the air holes rivaled the bread - I could have stuffed the loaf itself inside of the humongous air pocket.

Thanks for the link, pretty sure I've been there but with your success I'll certainly try again.


----------



## RPCookin

It's monarch butterfly migration time.  They have been passing through town for the last week.  We had several snacking on the asters in the garden, so I took the camera out and captured a couple of them.


----------



## dragnlaw

WOW...


----------



## taxlady

Love those pix with monarchs and asters.


----------



## GotGarlic

Gorgeous, RPCookin.


----------



## Kayelle

Ohh the color combination! Stunning.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*GG*, you took the words right out of my mouth!

*Rick*, thanks so much for sharing your beautiful photos! They make me smile every single time.


----------



## RPCookin

Thanks to all... I thought they came out okay.  As mentioned, the colors just jump out at you.  Thanks again.


----------



## TATTRAT

RPCookin said:


> Thanks to all... I thought they came out okay.  As mentioned, the colors just jump out at you.  Thanks again.



Very cool! I'm surprised at the lack of them in my area this year.


----------



## RPCookin

My sister and I did a road trip to Durango, CO last weekend.  We were booked on the Durango & Silverton RR, narrow gauge train.  This weekend was the Photographer's Special.  About 9 hours with many stops to get shots of the train and the scenery.  Then the next day we drove highway 550 to Silverton, then 550 becomes the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray.  The aspens were in full autumn display.  Here are some of the scenic photos I took:


----------



## RPCookin

And here are some shots from the train trip:
















And one with an aged look:


----------



## Just Cooking

Great photos and trip, Rick..
US train trips have long been on my bucket list..


Ross


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Thanks for the pics of the mountains, Rick.  Missing them out here in the flats.


----------



## taxlady

Wow Rick. Nice pix, gorgeous scenery, nifty train.


----------



## Andy M.

Rick, excellent photos of beautiful scenery. Thanks.


----------



## roadfix

Awesome photos!   Some of them almost look like large scale model trains.


----------



## Dawgluver

Wow! Great pics!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, *Rick*, those photos are spectacular! The images are so crisp and life-like, it took me about five minutes to get the smell of burning coal cleared from my nose. And I swear I can hear the horn... wait, that's from the train that's running on the tracks a mere straight-line mile away downhill from our house. Thanks so much for sharing.


----------



## Rascal

A friend is in Fiji for a week, so she offered her home for us, the wife and I went for 4 days and the kids came for tea Sunday night, two story house 5 bedroom and 6 bathrooms, and showers. I giggled the value 1.950 million. Own swimming pool and spa which everyone loved. Here's my view

Russ


http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31690&stc=1&d=1538374069


----------



## dragnlaw

roadfix said:


> Awesome photos!   Some of them almost look like large scale model trains.



LOL...  could be that most scale model trains are based on the real thing?


----------



## buckytom

I went down to the lake marina Sunday to clean out the Little Girl (my boat), and the sunset on the lake was tripendicular!


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> I went down to the lake marina Sunday to clean out the Little Girl (my boat), and the sunset on the lake was tripendicular!



Nice sunset. Nice boat, too. Looks a lot like one of my ex-boats, a Larson 225 open bow. I'm guessing the ubiquitous 5.7L I/O drivetrain? 

After I got my first SeaDoo PWC, I sold my I/O boat and bought a SeaDoo twin-engine jet boat. That thing got up on a plane in about one second, and could do 65mph on relatively smooth water. And, since the lakes in Texas are manmade, and full of stumps, I saved a ton of money on having props fixed or replaced. 

CD


----------



## buckytom

Yeah, I'm on my second prop in 3 years.

And she's a small I/O. 135hp 4 cyl Honda engine.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Yeah, I'm on my second prop in 3 years.
> 
> And she's a small I/O. 135hp 4 cyl Honda engine.



_You got two props to last three years?_ I was lucky to get away with two props a year. My worst was when I had a bunch of friends down at the family lake house, and had a brand new stainless steel prop, and hit a submerged tree top less than an hour into the first outing. Grrrrrrr. It vibrates the whole boat and cuts 20 mph out of your top speed. 

The Larson had a Volvo-Penta 5.7L V8, but it was useless with a perpetually bent prop. The SeaDoo boat had 360HP, and NEVER broke. Well, the batteries didn't make it though the winter in my garage without a trickle charger, but I could fix that myself. But, no exposed prop. 

Ah, but Mother Nature can be cruel. I bought my perfect boat right at the start of a major drought. By mid summer, I could't put my boat in the water, because the water was 20-feet away from the boat ramps. Boat slips around here start at 400-bucks a month, and many of those were useless that summer. You couldn't get out of the Marina. So, I was making payments on a very pricey boat that I couldn't use. Bye, bye my friend. 

Like they say, the two best days for a boat owner are the day you buy them, and the day you sell them. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

We spent some time in Williamstown MA this afternoon, viewing original documents from the birth of our nation. The Chapin Library at Williamstown College houses an unsigned Declaration of Independence, a draft copy of The Constitution complete with editing notes by one of our forefathers, and George Washington's personal copy of The Federalist. It was inspiring to see all of these relics from turbulent times in our country, knowing that we're still going strong in spite of our troubles and differences. Puts a little hope in one's heart that this too shall pass. Oh, pictures:


----------



## buckytom

Cooking Goddess said:


> We spent some time in Williamstown MA this afternoon, viewing original documents from the birth of our nation. The Chapin Library at Williamstown College houses an unsigned Declaration of Independence, a draft copy of The Constitution complete with editing notes by one of our forefathers, and George Washington's personal copy of The Federalist. It was inspiring to see all of these relics from turbulent times in our country, knowing that we're still going strong in spite of our troubles and differences. Puts a little hope in one's heart that this too shall pass. Oh, pictures:
> 
> View attachment 31710View attachment 31711View attachment 31712View attachment 31713




Oh, so cool.

Yeah, we'll be OK. When everyone stops thinking their opinion matters more than anyone else's. 
Everyone agrees that equality is a great thing. But some folks believe they should be more equal than others;.


----------



## Cheryl J

Cooking Goddess said:


> We spent some time in Williamstown MA this afternoon, viewing original documents from the birth of our nation. The Chapin Library at Williamstown College houses an unsigned Declaration of Independence, a draft copy of The Constitution complete with editing notes by one of our forefathers, and George Washington's personal copy of The Federalist. It was inspiring to see all of these relics from turbulent times in our country, knowing that we're still going strong in spite of our troubles and differences. Puts a little hope in one's heart that this too shall pass. Oh, pictures:
> 
> View attachment 31710View attachment 31711View attachment 31712View attachment 31713


 
Thanks *so* much for sharing these pics and your experiences, CG.


----------



## RPCookin

Cooking Goddess said:


> We spent some time in Williamstown MA this afternoon, viewing original documents from the birth of our nation. The Chapin Library at Williamstown College houses an unsigned Declaration of Independence, a draft copy of The Constitution complete with editing notes by one of our forefathers, and George Washington's personal copy of The Federalist. It was inspiring to see all of these relics from turbulent times in our country, knowing that we're still going strong in spite of our troubles and differences. Puts a little hope in one's heart that this too shall pass. Oh, pictures:



Cool.  I love that kind of stuff.


----------



## RPCookin

My sister tried to get a perfect shot of an aspen leaf... I just went for the whole lot... and included her as well.


----------



## Kayelle

How cool is that CG!!


Rick I always love your photo's and this one is another example of telling a beautiful subtle story without words. You are truly talented.


----------



## buckytom

^^^ +1. ^^^

Aspens are beautiful (I'm sure you sis is as well).

I may have to cut down/dig out an ornaments tree near my garage that didn't do well after last winter. If it doesn't come ack next year, I was thinking of putting in an Aspen. Either that, or White Birch.

Your pics do the beauty of the Aspens justice.


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Oh, so cool.
> 
> Yeah, we'll be OK. When everyone stops thinking their opinion matters more than anyone else's.
> Everyone agrees that equality is a great thing. But some folks believe they should be more equal than others;.



Actually, the founding fathers were just as divided as we are today, but they worked it out. Too bad they weren't more specific about a few of their compromises, especially in the constitution. Specifically, the Second Amendment and the Establishment Clause. I guess they didn't foresee those things becoming such a big deal in 240-some years. 

I tend to think that if the FF knew what the 21st century would look like, the constitution would be quite a bit longer and more specific. But, I am only 57, and as a teenager, I never conceived of such a thing as an iPhone. 

CD


----------



## RPCookin

A couple more photos from the Durango & Silverton RR day.  these do a better job of showing the mountains that the line runs through, and the Animus River Canyon which is the natural route through those mountains that the RR made use of.


----------



## TATTRAT

Great pics!


----------



## TATTRAT

Here's a few from my last adventure:

London





Salisbury 





Lerwick, Shetland Isles





Iceland





Newfoundland





Nova Scotia





Portland, Maine





NYC


----------



## taxlady

Tat, great pix. Looks like you must have a great trip.


----------



## PrincessFiona60

Beautiful Tatt!


----------



## Just Cooking

PrincessFiona60 said:


> Beautiful Tatt!


 +1..  



Ross


----------



## Andy M.

Great photos as always, Tatt. Thanks for posting them.


----------



## buckytom

Very cool, Tatt.


----------



## Addie

Tatt, thank you so much for lifting my spirits. I have been having some down days lately, and your beautiful pictures, as always, have lifted me right up again back to my old self. 

Again, THANK YOU!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

TATTRAT said:


> Here's a few from my last adventure:...


I first looked at these on my phone and though they were very nice, *TATT*. Then I looked at them on my laptop. Wow, all I can now say is "stunning". You sure have a talent. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## RPCookin

Great photos Tat!


----------



## TATTRAT

taxlady said:


> Tat, great pix. Looks like you must have a great trip.



Thanks, it was! It ticked a lot of boxes for us, and it was kind of the trip of  a lifetime. Going to be hard to top, but we'll try!



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Beautiful Tatt!



Thanks, PF!



Just Cooking said:


> +1..
> 
> 
> 
> Ross



Thanks, Ross!



Andy M. said:


> Great photos as always, Tatt. Thanks for posting them.



Thanks, Andy!



buckytom said:


> Very cool, Tatt.



Thank you, BT!



Addie said:


> Tatt, thank you so much for lifting my spirits. I have been having some down days lately, and your beautiful pictures, as always, have lifted me right up again back to my old self.
> 
> Again, THANK YOU!



Thanks for the kind words, Addie! Glad I could help in any way!



Cooking Goddess said:


> I first looked at these on my phone and though they were very nice, *TATT*. Then I looked at them on my laptop. Wow, all I can now say is "stunning". You sure have a talent. Thanks for sharing.



Thanks, CG! If you ever want to kill some time, my signature links to all my photos.



RPCookin said:


> Great photos Tat!



Thanks!!


----------



## caseydog

So, I am photographing a $250K, 100-point Jaguar today, and someone decided to be the center of attention. I was sitting on the ground, lining up my shot, and here it flies in. Look, it is even looking at the camera. 

CD

.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> ...Look, it is even looking at the camera...


Could you tell if it was smiling?


----------



## Cheryl J

I love this thread. So many beautiful pics! Thought I'd share another one - yesterday evening's sunset from my front yard when I walked out to get the mail.


----------



## buckytom

Wow, beautiful, Cheryl. Reminds me of Hotel California.

From the East coast, my favorite little happy tree in the Fall:


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Could you tell if it was smiling?



It may have bee flipping me "the bird," literally. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Okay, another car photo.  Shot today.

1925 Bugatti Type 35A. And yes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.  

CD

.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Nice photos of autumn, *Cheryl* and *bt*. I glanced out the east window this morning as the sun was coming up (a nighttime wander to the loo was in progress...) and the sky was truly on fire! I briefly thought of snapping a photo, then decided to crawl back into my cocoon instead. 

Sure enough, sailors were warned. We had rain all day long.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thanks, bucky and CG.  Bucky, that *is *a very pretty little tree, and so are the grounds around it.  Is it a maple?  We don't have many maples out here in my area, so I'm kind of unfamiliar with them.  

Beautiful car pic, Casey!


----------



## buckytom

Cheryl J said:


> Thanks, bucky and CG.  Bucky, that *is *a very pretty little tree, and so are the grounds around it.  Is it a maple?  We don't have many maples out here in my area, so I'm kind of unfamiliar with them.
> 
> Beautiful car pic, Casey!



Thanks, Cheryl. Yes, it's a variety of Japanese Laceleaf maple, between the driveway and the front yard. The red-ish tree next to it (not well pictured) is also a Japanese maple. I've always loved weeping trees.

If the tall thin trees just to the left of them dies this winter (I think it was accidentally poisoned by one of the landscapers), I pman on putting in either White Birch or Aspens, but I've always wanted a Weeping Willow. Not enough water up on the mountain, though, to grow one well.


----------



## TATTRAT

A couple from the Halloween party at my local:






















My fave, was the staff at the end of the night. They. Got. Worked. BUT handled it like champs!


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Thanks, Cheryl. Yes, it's a variety of Japanese Laceleaf maple, between the driveway and the front yard. The red-ish tree next to it (not well pictured) is also a Japanese maple. I've always loved weeping trees.
> 
> If the tall thin trees just to the left of them dies this winter (I think it was accidentally poisoned by one of the landscapers), I pman on putting in either White Birch or Aspens, but I've always wanted a Weeping Willow. Not enough water up on the mountain, though, to grow one well.



I was pretty sure it was a species of Japanese Maple. Those are the only Maples that survive in North Texas, and only in the shade. My next-door neighbors have one on the North side of their house, where it is mostly in the shade all year. It was around 800-bucks new, 15 years ago. Absolutely beautiful. It hasn't grown more than a foot or two in 15 years. I prune it for them -- they don't know how to do it. I have kind of adopted that tree as mine. 

Most Maples will not grow here, and many Maples can't be bought or sold here. Landscapers can't sell them or plant them, by law, because they can't survive here. Silver Maples, a staple tree up north, are on the forbidden list. They just can't survive here. 

But, Japanese Maples, if planted on the North Side of a two-story house do very well down here. And they are so beautiful. But, really expensive. 

CD


----------



## Addie

Maples in the northern part of the country require the cold of night and warmth of the daytime sun in the fall and spring. It is how we get our maple syrup.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I took this photo yesterday. As I was walking through the front hall, I noticed the full moon peeking over the roof of our neighbors' house across the street, centered perfectly in a space between two trees. Photoshop couldn't do a better job!


----------



## Rascal

Had these given to me the other day. They were good.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32343&stc=1&d=1543035398

Russ


----------



## Andy M.

Rascal said:


> Had these given to me the other day. They were good.
> 
> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=32343&stc=1&d=1543035398
> 
> Russ



Looks something like a lobster? How did you cook them?


----------



## Rascal

Called crayfish, caught all around New Zealand, these don't have the big claw that your lobsters do. I believe they taste the same.? Those 2 are prolly worth about $60 retail. These were caught by a friend who has a holiday home in kaikoura.
We do swaps, he loves my gerkins .

Russ


----------



## Andy M.

Rascal said:


> Called crayfish, caught all around New Zealand, these don't have the big claw that your lobsters do. I believe they taste the same.? Those 2 are prolly worth about $60 retail. These were caught by a friend who has a holiday home in kaikoura.
> We do swaps, he loves my gerkins .
> 
> Russ



Lucky you to have such a good friend.  How did you cook them?


----------



## caseydog

I spent six days on the road photographing cars last week, and the majority were "okay" car, but a few were outstanding.

1. 1920 Stutz Bearcat

2. 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Touring Coupe

3. 1957 Fiat 1100/103 Desiree Coupe 

The Alfa is my favorite. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cool cars, *casey*. The Alfa is sporty, but I could see me in 1920's threads riding in the hep-cat car.






Geez, I even have a necklace just like that.


----------



## buckytom

I just got into work after leaving my nephew's wedding. I have to say that it was one of the prettier weddings that I've been to in my life.  Very nice ceremony.


----------



## Rascal

Andy M. said:


> Lucky you to have such a good friend.  How did you cook them?



I have lots of foody friends.my friend Paul, catches them when he's in kaikoura most weekends. I drown them in fresh water, then put in a pot of water with teaspoon of mustard powder. Bring to boil and cook for 5 mins if small, 10 minutes if bigger. His wife says my gerkins ( pickles to you) are the best ever, sweet with a wee tang. Paul and his wife have dinner parties with fine food. They use my curry onions and gerkins. They also love my plum sauce.
Any the wiser??lol.

Russ


----------



## Rascal

buckytom said:


> I just got into work after leaving my nephew's wedding. I have to say that it was one of the prettier weddings that I've been to in my life.  Very nice ceremony.



Looks like a flash do! 

Russ


----------



## Cheryl J

buckytom said:


> I just got into work after leaving my nephew's wedding. I have to say that it was one of the prettier weddings that I've been to in my life. Very nice ceremony.


 
Wow.  Beautiful pic, bucky.  Many congrats to the bride and groom.


----------



## buckytom

Rascal said:


> Looks like a flash do!
> 
> Russ



"twas.



Cheryl J said:


> Wow.  Beautiful pic, bucky.  Many congrats to the bride and groom.



Thanks, Cheryl. I'll pass along the well wishes. All three of my sister's boys (the groom and 2 groomsmen) are really good kids.


----------



## Kayelle

buckytom said:


> I just got into work after leaving my nephew's wedding. I have to say that it was one of the prettier weddings that I've been to in my life.  Very nice ceremony.




I'm impressed Bucky. That looks like a low key wedding filled with everything a wedding should be. Just lovely indeed.


----------



## buckytom

Yes, exactly K-L. Thanks.

No big production, but everything done very well.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Congrats to your nephew and his lovely bride, *bt*. Just looking at those bare shoulders on the bridesmaids, though, makes me feel cold! To be young and in love again... Still in love, just not anywhere near young.


----------



## buckytom

Thanks, CG. My wife said the church was freezing, so I'm sure the bridemaids were just grinning and bearing it.


----------



## caseydog

Something nobody got a photo of at my wedding was when my bride and I kneeled for the blessing, my best man had written HE on the bottom of my left shoe, and LP on the other one. We and the preacher didn't know what people were laughing at until after the ceremony. 

CD


----------



## Rascal

caseydog said:


> Something nobody got a photo of at my wedding was when my bride and I kneeled for the blessing, my best man had written HE on the bottom of my left shoe, and LP on the other one. We and the preacher didn't know what people were laughing at until after the ceremony.
> 
> CD



Same with my wife's niece, her hubby had the same. About 20 years ago.

Russ


----------



## buckytom

OK, we need a Tatt sighting. He hasn't posted any pics in a while.

I took my boy out on a section of the Appalachian Trail today. We had a great time. We stopped at a shelter, had a fire, made dinner, put out the fire properly, and hiked back to my truck well after dark. My wife was freaked out that something bad might happen, but I know this stretch of the AT like the back of my hand.

It was around 30° and windy when we got to the shelter, and abput 24° by the time hiked out. We got a fire going right away. My boy was a great help in gathering all of the partially burned whole logs that some jackass had scattered about the campsite. Also, he cut and brought back some nice hardwood logs to split for center dry wood just to get the fire going as everything was quite wet.


----------



## Addie

It can be very difficult for a parent to trust anyone, even the father with their baby. Sounds like the two of you had a great time. I wish I had been with you. I love outdoor camping.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Current sky near Canton, OH. Gosh, I miss later sunsets...


----------



## Cheryl J

Very pretty sunset, CG! 

It's gray here today....very gray.


----------



## buckytom

Nice shot, CG! I love that moment just before it gets really dark in winter. 

Like the last run of skiing, or getting the fire going at a campsite, and the police on the 4-12 shift just settling in - not looking for speeders just yet...


----------



## caseydog

buckytom said:


> Nice shot, CG! I love that moment just before it gets really dark in winter.
> 
> Like the last run of skiing, or getting the fire going at a campsite, and the police on the 4-12 shift just settling in - not looking for speeders just yet...



Much better than night skiing. Did that once.... once. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

buckytom said:


> Nice shot, CG! I love that moment just before it gets really dark in winter....


Or spring, or summer, or fall! I must have a couple hundred of these kinds of shots, right as the last light is fading and the sky lights up with pretty colors. I especially like the sky when it looks like the American flag, all deep pink and white horizontal stripes with a patchy cloud grouping in the upper-left corner. I'll have to hunt through my photos to find one like that later. And thanks for the compliment.


----------



## buckytom

caseydog said:


> Much better than night skiing. Did that once.... once.
> 
> CD




Night skiing is fun, but you really have to pull it back a little, not go as fast. And of course switch to a clear lens on your goggles. Dark lenses or sunglasses don't cut it at night for very long.


----------



## phinz

How I spent my Monday night.


----------



## phinz

I call this one "Closing Down The Kingdom". The white car is ours.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cool, *phinz*! That's our kind of park visiting! We took my parents to Disney World a few years before we had kids of our own. As the cleaning crews and park personnel were moving us all along to the exits, Himself and Dad stepped into the men's room. My Dad asked Himself "do you think if we stood on the toilet and crouched down, they wouldn't notice and we could stay all night?"  *sigh* Always the last out the door, always the last car in the lot.


----------



## Cheryl J

My SIL just sent me this pic on my phone, so thought I'd share.

My little 6-year old grandson, Aiden, is my youngest grandchild and is just learning how to ski.


----------



## Just Cooking

Cheryl J said:


> My SIL just sent me this pic on my phone, so thought I'd share.
> 
> My little 6-year old grandson, Aiden, is my youngest grandchild and is just learning how to ski.



Love it...  

Ross


----------



## buckytom

He looks great, Cheryl! 

Where were they skiing?

I so badly want to go skiing out west again.


----------



## Cheryl J

buckytom said:


> He looks great, Cheryl!
> 
> Where were they skiing?
> 
> I so badly want to go skiing out west again.


 
Thank you Ross, and Bucky. 

Bucky, this pic was taken at _*Mountain High*, _in the San Gabriel Mountains of *SoCal*.   Lots of snow up there - not only there but in most of the higher elevations.   
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_High

If you are an avid skier, you should check out Mammoth Mountain's FB page.  They are getting pounded with snow, and expecting skiing conditions to last until at least June of this year. Holy moly....!


----------



## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> Thank you Ross, and Bucky.
> 
> Bucky, this pic was taken at _*Mountain High*, _in the San Gabriel Mountains of *SoCal*.   Lots of snow up there - not only there but in most of the higher elevations.
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_High
> 
> If you are an avid skier, you should check out Mammoth Mountain's FB page.  They are getting pounded with snow, and expecting skiing conditions to last until at least June of this year. Holy moly....!



I wish I had learned to ski at his age. It comes so naturally to kids. 

I took a really bad fall one year at _Squaw Valley_, and the next morning I took a test ski down a green slope at _Northstar_ to make sure I was okay to keep skiing, and these little kids were flying past me. 

CD


----------



## Kayelle

How adorable is that Cheryl!! 



Do you ski? I only learned how to ski on water.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Cheryl J said:


> My SIL just sent me this pic on my phone, so thought I'd share.
> 
> My little 6-year old grandson, Aiden, is my youngest grandchild and is just learning how to ski.


How cute! Let's see, he's six. So he'll be ready for the winter olympics in 2026? Definitely by 2030.


----------



## caseydog

Kayelle said:


> How adorable is that Cheryl!!
> 
> Do you ski? I only learned how to ski on water.



I learned to waterski before I learned to snow ski. Two things you would think are the same, but are 100-percent opposite. I had to ignore everything I knew about waterskiing to get the hang of snow skiing. Once I hit that "aha" moment on snow, I was okay. I just had to get used to leaning forward instead of backward. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you Kay, Casey, and CG. 

Not a snow skier here....I tried it a couple of times and it just wasn't for me. I pretty much grew up with water skiing and love the sun and water more than the cold and snow.


----------



## Addie

Pirate belong to a children's group at our Recreation Center. One day they took the kids skiing. Pirate on his first run down the slope brought him right into the small river at the end of the slope. Nobody warned him to go sideways to another trail. That was the end of this skiing lesson. He was soaking wet and shivering from head to foot. They had one of the leaders bring him home. Needless to say I was miffed.


----------



## RPCookin

Looking across the yard from the front porch a couple of days ago:


----------



## taxlady

That's really pretty Rick. Is that ice or snow on the trees?


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Lovely photo, *Rick*. A perfect amount of snow - enough to make everything clean and pretty, not so much that it makes driving a problem. I bet all the snow melted off the driveway and street anyway. I know that a sunny day helps us out that way.


----------



## Janet H

Snowmageddon a few days ago - my driveway


----------



## taxlady

Janet H said:


> Snowmageddon a few days ago - my driveway
> 
> 
> View attachment 33731 View attachment 33730



I read that you guys in the Pacific NW and southern BC really got whomped with snow.


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful snow pics, Rick and Janet!


----------



## RPCookin

taxlady said:


> That's really pretty Rick. Is that ice or snow on the trees?



It's actually hoarfrost - happens when you have fog while the temperature is below freezing.  Oddly for a region that is classified as "semi-arid", we get fog quite often in the winter.  I've waked up to a fairly heavy fog probably 7 or 8 mornings this winter so far, but not all resulted in such a picturesque morning as the one in the photo.


----------



## RPCookin

Janet H said:


> Snowmageddon a few days ago - my driveway



Not exactly a normal event for you folks.


----------



## RPCookin

taxlady said:


> That's really pretty Rick. Is that ice or snow on the trees?



Here's a shot I took with my phone while driving past the local wind farm a couple days before the one I posted above.  We woke up to the same thing again this morning - our whole world is about a 2 block radius.


----------



## caseydog

This isn't random, but I'm going to Corpus Christi tomorrow for a 100-car photoshoot. It is a studio shoot, with a 10X30 foot softbox and 18,000 watts of lights. The lighting gear is owned by the customer, and some of it is not what I would have bought, but I've worked with worse. 

Here is a photo of a previous shoot with similar equipment. Hopefully, we can get similar results. 

CD

.


----------



## Andy M.

Casey I’m seriously jealous!!


----------



## caseydog

Andy M. said:


> Casey I’m seriously jealous!!



Don't be jealous yet. I haven't seen the cars. I'm sure they won't be a perfect as the Nash Healy in the sample shot I posted. That was a Dennis Collins restoration, so it was perfect. 

Anyway, I just though a few people would enjoy seeing a studio shot bigger than a plate of food -- and get a glimpse of what I do to pay for my food. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> ...It is a studio shoot, with a 10X30 foot softbox and *18,000 watts* of lights...


Good grief, that might melt the paint right off of the vehicle!


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Good grief, that might melt the paint right off of the vehicle!



Hot air rises. The cars will be okay. 

I'm just waiting to see how the people setting up the lighting equipment are going to power it. 18,000 watts draws 108 amps. Not my problem... it's in my contract. 

Just another day on my job. Nobody listens to me until the s--t hits the fan. Then, I'm expected to fix it. This one is much better than others I have done for this customer. Other than the electricity draw problem, things are looking okay. I'll know more when I get there. 

CD


----------



## Just Cooking

caseydog said:


> This isn't random, but I'm going to Corpus Christi tomorrow for a 100-car photoshoot. It is a studio shoot, with a 10X30 foot softbox and 18,000 watts of lights. The lighting gear is owned by the customer, and some of it is not what I would have bought, but I've worked with worse.
> 
> Here is a photo of a previous shoot with similar equipment. Hopefully, we can get similar results.
> 
> CD
> 
> .


Interesting... I watched an episode of "Pickers" in which Mike and Frank found an old dealer and his son who had 4 53/54 Nash Healy's.. They bought 2 of them.. One has the Cadillac engine Healy originally intended for them and one has the Nash motor which Healy ended up installing on most of the 400 built and distributed..
Fascinating episode..

Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

My daffodils are blooming! I love my mini daffodils [emoji7]


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> My daffodils are blooming! I love my mini daffodils [emoji7]
> View attachment 33802


 I love daffodils.

Are the big ones in the front really that much bigger than the little ones? Or is there some camera angle / distortion thing going on?


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> I love daffodils.
> 
> Are the big ones in the front really that much bigger than the little ones? Or is there some camera angle / distortion thing going on?


There's probably a little distortion, but the little ones are about half the size of the large ones. This one is head-on.


----------



## taxlady

Gorgeous daffodils GG.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Gorgeous daffodils GG.


Thank you [emoji2]


----------



## Andy M.

GotGarlic said:


> There's probably a little distortion, but the little ones are about half the size of the large ones. This one is head-on.
> View attachment 33805



Daffodils are my favorite flower. I love the vivid yellow color.


----------



## Dawgluver

I am sooo jealous of your daffs! We're still firmly entrenched in the Winter Without End here.


----------



## taxlady

Dawgluver said:


> I am sooo jealous of your daffs! We're still firmly entrenched in the Winter Without End here.


Me too. There's about a metre of snow, right now, on top of my garden where the daffodils grow.


----------



## Kayelle

*OHHHHH those Daffodils!!! *

TJ's has buckets of cut ones selling for $2 a bunch. I need to get some next week.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*GG*, those daffodils are a fresh breath of spring (she types as snow falls gently outside...). Thanks for posting!


----------



## RPCookin

Dawgluver said:


> I am sooo jealous of your daffs! We're still firmly entrenched in the Winter Without End here.



Yeah... here too.  Sunday (March 3) is supposed to be a high temp of 10F.  Totally not remotely springlike, and not very Colorado like.  By this time we have usually had at least a few days in the high 50's or low 60's.  This winter I've been grateful when it got up to 40.


----------



## GotGarlic

Andy M. said:


> Daffodils are my favorite flower. I love the vivid yellow color.



Very pretty, Andy.


----------



## caseydog

Well, day five of the mega-car-photoshoot. Not too bad, but I'm worn out.

Here are a few un-retouched images (no Photoshop, yet). 

CD

.


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Well, day five of the mega-car-photoshoot. Not too bad, but I'm worn out.
> 
> Here are a few un-retouched images (no Photoshop, yet).
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Nice shots.  Was this a private collection?


----------



## Just Cooking

Love the Buick.. I had one, reverse colors, in the early 60's..  

Ross


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> Nice shots.  Was this a private collection?



Yes, it. is a private collection. 

CD


----------



## Addie

caseydog said:


> I learned to waterski before I learned to snow ski. Two things you would think are the same, but are 100-percent opposite. I had to ignore everything I knew about waterskiing to get the hang of snow skiing. Once I hit that "aha" moment on snow, I was okay. I just had to get used to leaning forward instead of backward.
> 
> CD



Posture plays so many roles in my life. As a child and just learning to stand on point in ballet class, to this day, I still hear the teacher yelling, "Stand up straight and you won't fall." And now I hear it from my PT team. Stand up straight and you won't fall over. You won't lose your sense of balance. 

I never fully realized just how much those words reflected on my kids. Hemming a dress or pants for the kids, "Stand up straight so I can measure it right." I took a close look at my daughter a couple of years ago. Perfect posture and so is Pirate. 

Yeah, you do have to know when to stand up straight or bend over backwards. Me, I am still a sloucher.


----------



## Vinylhanger

caseydog said:


> Don't be jealous yet. I haven't seen the cars. I'm sure they won't be a perfect as the Nash Healy in the sample shot I posted. That was a Dennis Collins restoration, so it was perfect.
> 
> Anyway, I just though a few people would enjoy seeing a studio shot bigger than a plate of food -- and get a glimpse of what I do to pay for my food.
> 
> CD


Anytime.  If I woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Instead I swing a hammer.


----------



## bethzaring

caseydog said:


> Well, day five of the mega-car-photoshoot. Not too bad, but I'm worn out.
> 
> Here are a few un-retouched images (no Photoshop, yet).
> 
> CD
> 
> .



Nice, thanks for sharing

My parents had 2 1957 Buicks, at the same time;  a Special and a Roadmaster.


----------



## caseydog

bethzaring said:


> Nice, thanks for sharing
> 
> My parents had 2 1957 Buicks, at the same time;  a Special and a Roadmaster.



1957 Roadmaster Convertibles are beautiful, and were fetching as much as $250K for a while. The price has dropped, but they still sell for decent six-figure prices. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Himself was drooling over your photos, *casey*. Or maybe it was the wheels. Either way, I hope you post them again after you work your magic and purdy them up. It's nice to see the difference.


----------



## bethzaring

caseydog said:


> 1957 Roadmaster Convertibles are beautiful, and were fetching as much as $250K for a while. The price has dropped, but they still sell for decent six-figure prices.
> 
> CD



LOL, my parents Roadmaster was not a convertible, was butt-ugly green, had crank windows with the center post between the front and back windows! Now their Special was beautiful.


----------



## caseydog

caseydog said:


> This isn't random, but I'm going to Corpus Christi tomorrow for a 100-car photoshoot. It is a studio shoot, with a 10X30 foot softbox and 18,000 watts of lights. The lighting gear is owned by the customer, and some of it is not what I would have bought, but I've worked with worse.



For those interested, here is how we lit the cars in my previous posts. 

Brownie points for the person who can identify what kind of cars are in this photo. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

SoCal super bloom. Due to all the rain we've had, the poppies are exploding.


----------



## taxlady

That must be really amazing to see in person, Cheryl.


----------



## dragnlaw

They sorta look like Zitroens - but the last thing I know are cars.


----------



## dragnlaw

taxlady said:


> That must be really amazing to see in person, Cheryl.



absolutely ditto!


----------



## caseydog

dragnlaw said:


> They sorta look like Zitroens - but the last thing I know are cars.



Nobody guessed. I assume you meant Citroens. No, but not a completely bad guess. Most people guess 1950s Ferrari. 

The cars are actually Apollos. Body designed and built in Italy, then shipped to America where they got Buick V8 engines and drive trains. 

Buick built a fantastic small V8 in the early sixties. It was WAY ahead of it's time for the USA market. Aluminum block and heads. Real European level stuff. But, "Mercans" wanted giant cast iron V8s. A 215 Cubic Inch V8 didn't sell here. Same thing happened to the first American overhead cam engine. My dad owned one, a 68 Pontiac Tempest with an OHC six cylinder. Discontinued in one year due to low sales numbers. Buick sold the engine design to Land Rover after a few years of dismal sales here. LR used it for a good 30 years, or more. 

Not a whole lot has changed for people who grew up in that era. The Corvette is still using a 1950s huge pushrod V8. Well, for now. The next generation Vette looking more European. Maybe GM is tired of selling Corvettes for $20K below sticker price. 

CD


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*Cheryl*, those flower photos are gorgeous! Did you take them? I especially like the tiny blueish flowers sharing the spotlight with the poppies in this second photo:


----------



## dragnlaw

LOL - CD - I knew there was something wrong with the spelling but truth to tell I had lemon zest on my mind and I thought I had the vowels wrong!  

When we went to Germany in '57 my father had just bought a '56 Ford, Salmon Pink in the middle and top and bottom a darker Dusty Rose (or something like that) which we took with us.  (have only ever once seen that colour combination on a car since)

Big American cars were stared at and my father thought to blend in more by purchasing a second car, a Citroen.  Little did he realize that it was the first year for the new styling of their car - so it got as many stares as the Ford. 

Even when we brought it back to Canada with us - nobody knew what it was.


----------



## Cheryl J

Thank you, Taxy, dragn, and CG.  They sure are pretty.  Even here in town, the desert floor is green and bursting with flowers.  Enjoying it for as long as they last. 

CG....no, they are not *my* pics.  I should have mentioned that.  I got them from the FB poppy site.   I have some from a couple of years ago though....I'll try to find them.


----------



## Just Cooking

Spring is here.. Spider Baby's are developing root system for give-a-ways..

Ross


----------



## GotGarlic

DH working the beehives Sunday afternoon. He says we're going to have a bumper crop of honey this spring [emoji518] [emoji219] [emoji534]


----------



## GotGarlic

GotGarlic said:


> DH working the beehives Sunday afternoon. He says we're going to have a bumper crop of honey this spring [emoji518] [emoji219] [emoji534]


Oops [emoji16]


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Oops [emoji16]
> View attachment 34339



Please keep your bees on a leash. It is not fun when strays take up residence in an attic. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Please keep your bees on a leash. It is not fun when strays take up residence in an attic. [emoji38]
> 
> CD


Individual strays will die by themselves. He's watching them carefully for swarm preparations because a nuc (a swarm captured before it leaves the hive) with a mated queen is worth almost $200. He sold three last year.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Individual strays will die by themselves. He's watching them carefully for swarm preparations because a nuc (a swarm captured before it leaves the hive) with a mated queen is worth almost $200. He sold three last year.



Only 200 bucks? It cost me $350 to get the bees out of my house. Another 500 to tear out my soffit and remove the hive so more don't move in. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Only 200 bucks? It cost me $350 to get the bees out of my house. Another 500 to tear out my soffit and remove the hive so more don't move in.
> 
> CD


Not sure how your situation is relevant to what I said...

People who WANT TO RAISE a hive pay to get a certified-healthy starter.

People who WANT TO REMOVE a hive pay for someone else's expertise to have it removed and yet someone else's expertise to fix the damage caused by the removal.


----------



## taxlady

GotGarlic said:


> Not sure how your situation is relevant to what I said...
> 
> People who WANT TO RAISE a hive pay to get a starter.
> 
> People who WANT TO REMOVE a hive pay for someone else's expertise to have it removed and yet someone else's expertise to fix the damage caused by the removal.



And then whoever got the bees out of your house could sell them.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Not sure how your situation is relevant to what I said...
> 
> People who WANT TO RAISE a hive pay to get a certified-healthy starter.
> 
> People who WANT TO REMOVE a hive pay for someone else's expertise to have it removed and yet someone else's expertise to fix the damage caused by the removal.



Were you born without a sense of humor, or did you lose it somewhere along the way? 

CD


----------



## caseydog

taxlady said:


> And then whoever got the bees out of your house could sell them.



Well... they didn't actually "get them out." To be more accurate, they killed them. It cost so much, because you have to have a beekeeper kill them. An exterminator won't mess with honey bees. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Were you born without a sense of humor, or did you lose it somewhere along the way?
> 
> CD


I don't bring it out when it comes to you, since you laugh at me rather than with me. Besides, you're not as funny as you think you are


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> Well... they didn't actually "get them out." To be more accurate, they killed them. It cost so much, because you have to have a beekeeper kill them. An exterminator won't mess with honey bees.
> 
> CD


That's quite strange. No experienced beekeeper I know would kill them unless it was absolutely necessary. When they capture the queen, all the other bees follow her into a box. The beekeepers club we belong has people on call who will remove a swarm or hive for free because, as Taxy said, they can then sell them or augment their own bee yard.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> That's quite strange. No experienced beekeeper I know would kill them unless it was absolutely necessary. When they capture the queen, all the other bees follow her into a box. The beekeepers club we belong has people on call who will remove a swarm or hive for free because, as Taxy said, they can then sell them or augment their own bee yard.



It is hard to capture a queen that is inside a remote part of a house, such as a hive in a soffit. So, in this case, it was "absolutely necessary." 

BTW, I'm overweight, out of shape, and ugly, but I am at least moderately funny. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

caseydog said:


> It is hard to capture a queen that is inside a remote part of a house, such as a hive in a soffit. So, in this case, it was "absolutely necessary."
> 
> BTW, I'm overweight, out of shape, and ugly, but I am at least moderately funny.
> 
> CD


Might be hard but it's not impossible. I've seen pictures of the president of our beekeepers club taking out part of an exterior brick wall to remove a hive. Without a suit or gloves.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Might be hard but it's not impossible. I've seen pictures of the president of our beekeepers club taking out part of an exterior brick wall to remove a hive. Without a suit or gloves.



Yeah, um, as much as I like honey, I'm not taking a section of house apart (especially bricks) to save one bee hive. 

If the hive had been in an accessible part of the attic, I would have been fine with a live removal. 

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programing. 

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

Yeah, this is quite the boring conversation. 

My chard, spinach, and the bolting lettuce, as well as a closer view of the hives. I need to find a new birdbath top for watering the bees. *Someone* neglected to empty it during the winter and frozen water broke it.


----------



## caseydog

GotGarlic said:


> Yeah, this is quite the boring conversation.
> 
> My chard, spinach, and the bolting lettuce, as well as a closer view of the hives. I need to find a new birdbath top for watering the bees. **Someone* neglected to empty it during the winter and frozen water broke it.*
> View attachment 34354View attachment 34355



Hey, it wasn't me. 

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

Nice pics, GG.


----------



## Cheryl J

My brother John and I went out to lunch today. Rather than go home afterwards, we decided to take a couple of back roads and check out the local wildflowers. So glad we did. The sky was a little cloudy, but the flowers were breathtaking.


----------



## Addie

Cooking Goddess said:


> *Cheryl*, those flower photos are gorgeous! Did you take them? I especially like the tiny blueish flowers sharing the spotlight with the poppies in this second photo:



Now I know that I need to get some sleep. I read your post as "Did you take them" to mean did you pick all of them. I had to go back and reread it slowly.

Good night folks, pleasant dreams for everyone.


----------



## Farmer Jon

All your pictures of green are making me jelous. Here's some snow.


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> All your pictures of green are making me jelous. Here's some snow.View attachment 34389



Left the house on April 5 for a golf tournament in Denver.  Beautiful day, perfect for golf on Saturday.  Then Sunday on to visit my sister in Grand Junction in western Colorado.  Again great weather for our trip to Arches National Park on Monday (photos to follow).  Tuesday was still nice but mostly cloudy as we toured the Colorado National Monument (more photos).  I planned to drive home Wednesday, but that was the day the blizzard hit eastern Colorado and shut down most of the highways that I had to take to get home.  Once a gain we didn't get hit as badly as Jon did in Nebraska, but any snow with 60 mph winds is very hazardous to drive in, even if they don't close the roads.

Now the photos: 

From the trip to Arches:

Along the Colorado River near Moab UT










Some of the fantastic geological formations in the park





Delicate Arch from the lower viewpoint (I'm no longer capable of the tough 3 mile hike to the base of the arch)





Colorado National Monument:


----------



## caseydog

Nice scenery, RPC! Good exposures -- the skies look great, and really nice shadow detail. Um, watch your horizon lines. The Earth is kind of tipping in a few shots. That really stands out in landscapes. 

Overall, Thumbs up!

CD


----------



## Cheryl J

Absolutely stunning pics, Rick. Colorado is such a beautiful state. Thank you for sharing!


----------



## Andy M.

Fantastic scenery and photos. Thanks, Rick.


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Nice scenery, RPC! Good exposures -- the skies look great, and really nice shadow detail. Um, watch your horizon lines. The Earth is kind of tipping in a few shots. That really stands out in landscapes.
> 
> Overall, Thumbs up!
> 
> CD



While I admit that I can miss by a little, horizons are one thing I'm generally quite careful with.  In this area, the horizons are often not horizontal.  A lot of my photos from that area look to be off kilter, but when you see it in real life that's just now it looks.  The geology of the place makes everything look tilted one way or another.


----------



## Cheryl J

Again....love your pics Rick and like others, I look forward to them. 

 This thread is one of my faves.  Maybe it's just me, but I can't imagine posting a critique of anyone's pics.

We're just a cooking forum and posting pics that we love, and hope that others will enjoy as well.


----------



## GotGarlic

Cheryl J said:


> Again....love your pics Rick and like others, I look forward to them.
> 
> This thread is one of my faves. [emoji813] Maybe it's just me, but I can't imagine posting a critique of anyone's pics.
> 
> We're just a cooking forum and posting pics that we love, and hope that others will enjoy as well.


It's not just you, Cheryl.

Rick, I love your pix, too. I've only been to Colorado twice and I had a great time wandering around Garden of the Gods taking pictures while DH was in a class. The geology is so different from where I've always lived.

And Cheryl, your pix of the California wildflowers are beautiful, too. My sister lives in Temecula and she's been posting photos of the ones near her home. Just gorgeous.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Prom last night.


----------



## GotGarlic

Farmer Jon said:


> Prom last night.


All right, who photobombed the beautiful girl?! [emoji16] She looks great, Jon.


----------



## Farmer Jon

Feel cute might photo bomb later. IDK


----------



## RPCookin

Farmer Jon said:


> Prom last night.


----------



## luckytrim

Can anyone tell me what I've got here ?


----------



## RPCookin

Got a new camera yesterday.  My wife says it's all of my gifts for the next 5 years.  Headed down by the South Platte to seek out something to shoot.  Seems to work okay.  Only had one lens from my old camera body that fits it... new lens due today.  Lots more to learn about and to set up (this body has wi-fi and GPS tagging), but I did manage to find a couple of shots:

First shot, just messing around in the living room as soon as I got the charged battery installed and a SD card in the slot.  Some of my wife's teapot assortment:







Then on my drive I found this house in the woods by the river... move-in ready 






Driving home as the sun was setting, this seemed like a good way to finish the testing:


----------



## Andy M.

Super!


----------



## Addie

Sounds like a lot of enjoyment in the future for you. I will gladly move into that house as long as I can see the windmill everyday.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Great shots, RP!


----------



## dragnlaw

Just with my phone through the kitchen window.  enlarged as far as it could go which ruined the colour somewhat, especially on the Goldfinches. Plus the light had omved by that time.  

For a spit second both Goldfinch and Indigo Bunting were on the feeders - fraid I just wasn't fast enough.  Then right after a Cardinal swooped in.  What a dream if I could catch all 3 at the same time.  Red - Blue - Yellow. 

Grandkids were here and got to see them too.


----------



## luckytrim




----------



## RPCookin

Ever get really close to a flower?  Here's up close to a hibiscus that I took several years ago and sort of lost track of.  It's one of my favorite macro shots.


----------



## GotGarlic

That's gorgeous, Rick. I have some similar ones somewhere. I bought a Gorilla-pod to help with making good macro shots with my smartphone camera. It's about eight inches tall and I can wrap the legs around things to raise it up.


----------



## RPCookin

GotGarlic said:


> That's gorgeous, Rick. I have some similar ones somewhere. I bought a Gorilla-pod to help with making good macro shots with my smartphone camera. It's about eight inches tall and I can wrap the legs around things to raise it up.
> View attachment 34868



I have a Gorilla Pod too.  Fun to wrap the legs around a tree branch or fence post.  But my most used one for most purposes is my regular tripod.  It has a center post that swivels and allows the camera to be mounted in almost any orientation desired, even as low as an inch from the ground (and my camera has a swiveling screen so I can still see to aim and focus without having to be a contortionist).  Mine is this Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB with a similar ball head.


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> I have a Gorilla Pod too.  Fun to wrap the legs around a tree branch or fence post.  But my most used one for most purposes is my regular tripod.  It has a center post that swivels and allows the camera to be mounted in almost any orientation desired, even as low as an inch from the ground (and my camera has a swiveling screen so I can still see to aim and focus without having to be a contortionist).  Mine is this Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB with a similar ball head.


I have one of those, too. It's nice that the Gorilla Pod camera holder can screw into the standard tripod. With the neuropathy in my feet, I don't get out to take pictures as much as I used to.


----------



## RPCookin

GotGarlic said:


> I have one of those, too. It's nice that the Gorilla Pod camera holder can screw into the standard tripod. With the neuropathy in my feet, I don't get out to take pictures as much as I used to.



I have a smaller version of the same Vanguard brand ball head on my Gorilla Pod.  It uses the same quick change system, and I keep the mounting plate on my camera all the time, so it's just a matter of seconds to lock the camera on either tripod.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

That is one really cool photo, *Rick*!  Our son will go through a stretch of taking macro photos with his phone, but none of them are that *wow*!


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I have a Gorilla Pod too.  Fun to wrap the legs around a tree branch or fence post.  But my most used one for most purposes is my regular tripod.  It has a center post that swivels and allows the camera to be mounted in almost any orientation desired, even as low as an inch from the ground (and my camera has a swiveling screen so I can still see to aim and focus without having to be a contortionist).  Mine is this Vanguard Alta Pro 263AB with a similar ball head.




I have a very similar tripod. It is a Manfrotto, and since I sometimes have to pack it for travel, it is made of carbon fiber and magnesium. 

I have a ball head and a heavy duty tilt-pan head. 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1121190-REG/manfrotto_mt055cxpro4_carbon_fiber_4_section.html

CD


----------



## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> I have a very similar tripod. It is a Manfrotto, and since I sometimes have to pack it for travel, it is made of carbon fiber and magnesium.
> 
> I have a ball head and a heavy duty tilt-pan head.
> 
> https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1121190-REG/manfrotto_mt055cxpro4_carbon_fiber_4_section.html
> 
> CD



Vanguard makes one identical to mine but with carbon fiber legs.  I don't have that one because it cost $100 more than aluminum.  The weight isn't a big factor for me because I don't hike or travel with it, except when I drive.  Generally when I travel, if I take any support at all, it's my monopod or Gorilla Pod.  When I went to Africa a few years ago, I only took the monopod with a ball head on it.


----------



## RPCookin

Ah, spring!  Yesterday 3 inches of snow.  Today sunny and bright... this was a couple of days before the snowstorm:


----------



## GotGarlic

My kitty Arwen on the front porch the other day.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Pretty kitty, GG. [emoji813]

When I was picking mushrooms from the bin at the grocery store, I swore this one asked "does my butt look big?"


----------



## Cheryl J

How did I miss Arwen....?  Pretty kitty, GG.  

CG....LOL!!


----------



## taxlady

Arwen really is a pretty kitteh.


----------



## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> Vanguard makes one identical to mine but with carbon fiber legs.  I don't have that one because it cost $100 more than aluminum.  The weight isn't a big factor for me because I don't hike or travel with it, except when I drive.  Generally when I travel, if I take any support at all, it's my monopod or Gorilla Pod.  When I went to Africa a few years ago, I only took the monopod with a ball head on it.



I don't like to use a tripod, because it limits my creativity (IMHO). But, sometimes I have to. And, when shooting in studio with hot lights, I have to. 

I really like the concept of the gorillapod, but I don't think it can handle a D4 with a long lens. I know I would be very nervous about putting a $6,000 camera and $2,000 lens on one of them. All my gear is well insured, but I still treat it like its my children. 

I also have a Manfrotto monopod. I rarely use it. But, every once in a while, it comes in very handy. Plus, it weighs next to nothing when I am traveling. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Cooking Goddess said:


> Pretty kitty, GG. [emoji813]
> 
> When I was picking mushrooms from the bin at the grocery store, I swore this one asked "does my butt look big?"
> View attachment 34940



Freddy likes that mushroom!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnjF1O4eH0

CD


----------



## Katie H

My treasured "toy."  One owner 1985 Toronado Brougham, garaged in Florida and only 60K miles.  It's my baby and we call it "Beauty,"  because it is.


----------



## Rascal

That's a nice car.

Russ

Looking out my French doors http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=34945&stc=1&d=1558839813


----------



## caseydog

Katie H said:


> My treasured "toy."  One owner 1985 Toronado Brougham, garaged in Florida and only 60K miles.  It's my baby and we call it "Beauty,"  because it is.



I remember those. They were a very "handsome" car. Not Ferrari beautiful, just a handsome gentleman kind of car. Riding in one was kind of like riding in your living room sofa. Soft and smooth. Enjoy it!

CD


----------



## GotGarlic

I spent most of yesterday afternoon sitting on the porch picking cilantro from these overgrown plants from the garden and putting it in ice-cube trays to freeze. It was a lovely day under the ceiling fan with my dog and kitties.


----------



## RPCookin

GotGarlic said:


> I spent most of yesterday afternoon sitting on the porch picking cilantro from these overgrown plants from the garden and putting it in ice-cube trays to freeze. It was a lovely day under the ceiling fan with my dog and kitties.
> View attachment 34954



You're picking stuff that's overgrown, yet here we are just in the process of planting.  Nothing like cilantro will survive winter here... it won't even make it through summer without some care.  We just had 3 inches of snow last week.

We did have a nice morning for the Memorial Day observances today:


----------



## GotGarlic

RPCookin said:


> You're picking stuff that's overgrown, yet here we are just in the process of planting.  Nothing like cilantro will survive winter here... it won't even make it through summer without some care.  We just had 3 inches of snow last week.



Latitudes and attitudes [emoji38] I only planted them a couple months ago. They bolt quickly as soon as it gets hot and we've had temperatures in the 80s and 90s for the past couple of weeks.


----------



## RPCookin

My wife was potting flowers for the family grave sites for Memorial Day, and I took a couple of shots.  Pretty petunias:


----------



## Addie

Spike was married to Sandy for 27 years. Second marriage for both of them. 

For each birthday of any family that had passed, Sandy insisted that Spike go with her to put flowers on every grave of past family members. So then it comes time to place flowers on my youngest daughter, Maureen. The only problem was that she wanted to be cremated and her ashes were at the very top in the building for cremated individuals. The only spot left in that building. Since then a new building has been built for those who have been cremated. 

"How in heck do you think anyone can put flowers there for her? Toss one at her spot at the top and hope she can catch it?" That sent a roar of laughter through all of us. If she had only waited to leave us, she could have gone in the new building and had the one flower placed for her. But we still laugh about her catching her flower. Spike leaves a flower for her on the shelf anyway.


----------



## Kayelle

We finally found the right spot for gardenia's, my favorite flower. Wish you could smell them.


----------



## bbqcoder

Those flowers look great.  My favorite are dahlias followed by hostas. Here's a picture of one of my dahlias from last year called "Dixie Winedot".


----------



## bbqcoder

I saw this on reddit a few days. 90 Monarch Chrysalis on a pool noodle!







The thread is a good read.
https://www.reddit.com/r/gardening/...narch_chrysalis_butterflies_coming_to_a_city/


----------



## dragnlaw

BBQ...  That's an amazing photo!


----------



## Cheryl J

Not the greatest pic...but it was a beautiful sunset this evening.


----------



## RPCookin

Sunset last night.


----------



## dragnlaw

I would move there in a flash if I didn't have family ties. 

You can literally see for miles - not another soul.  Beautiful.


----------



## RPCookin

dragnlaw said:


> I would move there in a flash if I didn't have family ties.
> 
> You can literally see for miles - not another soul.  Beautiful.



I parked my truck in the ditch and strolled up and down along the road and combination barbed wire and electric fence for nearly an hour without ever seeing another vehicle.  This spot is just a couple of miles from town, but you'd have thought I was the only person left on Earth.  I grabbed this while I was there too:


----------



## dragnlaw

Stop...  you're breaking my heart.  

Don't get me wrong - I love my farm and I might miss a lot of the green.  but...

farm country is still busy with tractors, blah blah blah


----------



## Cooking Goddess

RPCookin said:


> Sunset last night.


Gorgeous! I keep looking for a horse rider to trot in from off the edge of the image. Thanks so much for sharing with us, *RP*.


----------



## RPCookin

I spent 2 days in Rocky Mountain National Park this week.  Some shots from there:


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Once again, *Rick*, more postcard perfect photos.


----------



## bbqcoder

The second photo is probably my favorite.  Nice work!


----------



## TATTRAT

buckytom said:


> OK, we need a Tatt sighting. He hasn't posted any pics in a while.







Thanks for thinking of me, BT! Here are a few

Brugges, Belgium







Honfleur, France






Le Havre, France






Lerwick, Shetland Isles






Vik, Iceland


----------



## taxlady

Heya Tatt, good to "see" you. I love the photos. Have you been travelling?


----------



## Cheryl J

Beautiful pics, Tat and Rick.  Thank you for sharing!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Wow, *TAT*, no wonder you've been MIA. You're busy traveling the world! Wonderful pics!


----------



## TATTRAT

taxlady said:


> Heya Tatt, good to "see" you. I love the photos. Have you been travelling?



Thanks, and yes, quite a bit! Trying to pack it all in!



Cheryl J said:


> Beautiful pics, Tat and Rick.  Thank you for sharing!




Agreed, great shots, Rick! 

Thanks, Cheryl!



Cooking Goddess said:


> Wow, *TAT*, no wonder you've been MIA. You're busy traveling the world! Wonderful pics!



Yeah, it's been busy balancing work and the travel, but my company is exceptional, and I've been trying to get away every 6 months. Having 6 weeks paid a year helps in that department. Gotta do it while I can, go tired of saying "one day", and decided to make today, that day.

We've done London 2x, Southampton 2x, France, Belgium, Scotland, Iceland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Maine, NYC a bunch of times, and getting ready to head home in October for a week (Bermuda). January 2020 we will be heading to the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Honduras, Belize and 2 stops in Mexico. Plans are still being made for later in the year.


----------



## Andy M.

HI Tatt. Great pics. I envy your travels.


----------



## TATTRAT

Had an amazing storm roll through the other night, was out in Haymarket VA and had my kit with me, so flying I went.






A wider shot






Then, the night before last, we got an amazing sunset. The large shadows through the sky are cast by very far off storms.











A little closer to home, earlier that evening


----------



## RPCookin

Great photos Tat.


----------



## GimmeAnotherOne

Some golf pics I took recently.


----------



## GimmeAnotherOne

Also a pic I took of my buddies bike when he stopped by


----------



## phinz

Traveled home to help attend to my uncle's estate after he passed away unexpectedly. I hadn't seen him in 34 years, but I needed to be there for my father (who hadn't seen him in about 20 years). Dinner the first night had to be at my traditional Texas haunt.


----------



## caseydog

phinz said:


> Traveled home to help attend to my uncle's estate after he passed away unexpectedly. I hadn't seen him in 34 years, but I needed to be there for my father (who hadn't seen him in about 20 years). Dinner the first night had to be at my traditional Texas haunt.



Gotta' have that _Whataburger_. But, if you got to _Whataburger_ in Aggieland, you gotta' make sure they don't give you two meat patties with a bun between them. 

Sorry, I can't resist an Aggie joke. 

CD


----------



## caseydog

Well, I set a new personal record. Until Monday, the most expensive car I ever photographed was worth between three and four million dollars. 

Blew that away on Monday. 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2600 Monza race car. Only two or three were made. They raced under the Scuderia Ferrari name. Superchaged dual overhead cam straight eight engine -- in 1933!

It is going to auction in Riyadh. The seller is hoping for $15-million. That's pretty aggressive, but possible. 

CD

.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

*FIFTEEN MILLION???*


----------



## caseydog

Hey CG, watch this video. Prepare to have your mind blown. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3dJInRflLY

CD


----------



## caseydog

Oh, I need to explain something. The "hammer price" of that Ferrari was $44-million, and the title of the video says $48-million. That higher price includes the "buyer's commission," which would have been just over $4-million. 

CD


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## GimmeAnotherOne

Wow Caseydog! Great pic too. Nice angle 

I took this one at TROG last year. Came out nice.


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## Andy M.

CD thanks for the video. That just happens to be my favorite Ferrari of all time. Has been since the 60s!


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## TATTRAT

Awesome gig, CD! Very cool!

It certainly isn't on par with the cars above, but I got to spend the week of the 4th of July with this:
















Certainly a change from the JCW I daily, a lot of straight line power, and a huge car by comparison.


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## caseydog

Nice car, TAT. That is a tough color to shoot for print. It changes dramatically when you go from RGB to CMYK. 

I had the first SRT8 in Dallas for a week, about six weeks before they went on sale to the public. I got surrounded by people everywhere I parked it. LOL

CD

.


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## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> Hey CG, watch this video. Prepare to have your mind blown...


The concept of spending $44M on a car is completely foreign to me.  Heck, the idea of having $44M to spend on anything, like a small island in an always-temperate zone, is beyond my comprehension.

Nice car, though.  I sure hope it was a standard transmission.


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## GimmeAnotherOne

Nephew pitching.


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## Farmer Jon

A couple pictures from our trip through Utah. One of our camping spot and one of our boys playing in The Salt Lake.


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## Farmer Jon

Super fancy RV resort in Idaho. My first time at a real shooting range. Out in the desert near the Oregon Idaho state line south of Boise. 
Third pic I did not care for the wine on our wine tour. I found some craft beer. It was very good.


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## bbqcoder

Nice pictures!  How was the Great Salt Lake?  Someone told me that it's not as nice to swim in as it was years ago but in your picture, it looks fine to me.

So you have a semi pulling your trailer?  I don't think I have ever seen that.  Wow!  Could your trailer be pulled by an F250 or 350? Or is it too big?


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## Farmer Jon

The salt lake water was pretty nasty but it's a once in a lifetime thing. 

As for the semi, I wanted a new pickup but this was 1/3 the price. I took the bed out and put seats in for the kids. They have way more room. I have a generator and water tanks mounted on the truck. I can dry camp just about anywhere I want. My ultimate goal is to have solar power so I don't have to run a generator.


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## bbqcoder

Farmer Jon said:


> As for the semi, I wanted a new pickup but this was 1/3 the price.



Seems like you got a great deal or "steal".  It appears to be in very good shape.  Glad you were able to make it work for your family!


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## GimmeAnotherOne

Hershey Park


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## TATTRAT

Trying out the panoramic a mode here


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## GotGarlic

Beautiful photo.


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## RPCookin

This is a photo that I shot 8 or 9 years ago, and never could find a development process that I really liked, that worked for the subject.  It's an old cabin in the Colorado mountains.  It must have been quite deluxe at one time, and still looks interesting now.  Trees have grown large and very close to the cabin, giving some idea as to how long it must have been there.  Anyway, here it is:


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## TATTRAT

Beautiful sunset the other night. Rt.50 heading out of Fairfax City, towards the Shenandoah National Park in the far distance.


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## GimmeAnotherOne

Some golfing today


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## Farmer Jon

This is what pure happiness looks like. We found the first ear of sweet corn! Some of you will remember this little boy is the reason I joined here. He was allergic to more stuff than not. 4  years of a special diet and playing outside in the dirt.  He has been 100% allergy free for a year now.


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## taxlady

Farmer Jon said:


> This is what pure happiness looks like. We found the first ear of sweet corn! Some of you will remember this little boy is the reason I joined here. He was allergic to more stuff than not. 4  years of a special diet and playing outside in the dirt.  He has been 100% allergy free for a year now. View attachment 36251



Wow! Great news Jon.


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## dragnlaw

Fantastic!  Great "feel good" news.  

Congrats Mom & Dad!


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## Andy M.

That's the best news, Jon.


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## Cooking Goddess

That looks like one happy boy there, Farmer Jon! Glad to know he is doing so well.


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## GotGarlic

Aw, he's adorable and I'm so happy he's outgrown those allergies. I'm sure it's a great relief to you and your family.


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## caseydog

Just an iPhone photo of psycho-poodle checking on his doves. Not high quality, but I didn't have time to get a better camera. My iPhone was right in front of me, so I grabbed it, and got a couple shots before the dove flew away. 

A couple of doves have built a nest in the window box outside of my office window. At first, Teddy barked at them, but I worked with him, and now he just looks at them. 

CD


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## RPCookin

caseydog said:


> Just an iPhone photo of psycho-poodle checking on his doves. Not high quality, but I didn't have time to get a better camera. My iPhone was right in front of me, so I grabbed it, and got a couple shots before the dove flew away.
> 
> A couple of doves have built a nest in the window box outside of my office window. At first, Teddy barked at them, but I worked with him, and now he just looks at them.
> 
> CD



My dog ignores birds.  But he goes nuts over just about any other animal.  They don't even have to be live.  He will bark at the TV any time I'm watching any kind of wildlife show, or ever a commercial with a dog in it.


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## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> My dog ignores birds.  But he goes nuts over just about any other animal.  They don't even have to be live.  He will bark at the TV any time I'm watching any kind of wildlife show, or ever a commercial with a dog in it.



Teddy loves to chase squirrels. He also barks like crazy at cats he sees out of the window. I had to work with him to not scare the doves. He just looks at them now. 

Weird thing is, his best friend is a cat. My dog sitter has a cat named Voodoo, and they play together, and sleep in the same bed at night. 

CD

.


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## oldschoolkz

Spanish rice for dinner tonight
View attachment 36280


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## Cheryl J

caseydog said:


> Just an iPhone photo of psycho-poodle checking on his doves. Not high quality, but I didn't have time to get a better camera. My iPhone was right in front of me, so I grabbed it, and got a couple shots before the dove flew away.
> 
> A couple of doves have built a nest in the window box outside of my office window. At first, Teddy barked at them, but I worked with him, and now he just looks at them.
> 
> CD




Sweet pic, Casey!  We have a big dove population here.  They're not the brightest birds, and build their nests in the weirdest places.  I had a couple of doves build a nest on the top horizontal rung on my back fence the beginning of summer - the first big wind blew the nest and the 2 eggs on the ground.


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## caseydog

Cheryl J said:


> Sweet pic, Casey!  We have a big dove population here.  They're not the brightest birds, and build their nests in the weirdest places.  I had a couple of doves build a nest on the top horizontal rung on my back fence the beginning of summer - the first big wind blew the nest and the 2 eggs on the ground.



Our doves really picked a perfect place to nest. It is strong, deep and it drains well. It is on the North side of the house, so never gets the hot, direct sunlight. No predators are likely to get to them. 

I have not seen or heard any baby doves, yet. 

CD


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## Cooking Goddess

caseydog said:


> ..Weird thing is, his best friend is a cat. My dog sitter has a cat named Voodoo, and they play together, and sleep in the same bed at night.


Oh my gosh, Teddy is just the cutest pup! With all of his curly hair, he could be Italian! His shiny nose, his button eyes. Such a sweetie.

Voodoo is pretty cool, too. Love those baby blues.


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## RPCookin

I ran across a old photo of myself today.  This was taken in about 1967.

Did you ever see a person growing out of the wall of a cave?  Here I am at age 20, in Ram's Horn Cave, just outside of White Sulphur Springs, Montana.  A group of us were doing some amateur spelunking in Montana's 3rd largest cave.  It's not a tourist cave.  It was about a half mile walk from the highway through open pastureland up on a hillside.  You could walk 10 feet  away and never see it, but we had a person who'd been there and knew how to find it.


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## GimmeAnotherOne




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## bbqcoder

RPCookin said:


> I ran across a old photo of myself today.  This was taken in about 1967.



Great photo!  Hopefully you're still active doing stuff outdoors.

Gimme, is that you on your bike?  What kind of bike do you have?


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## GimmeAnotherOne

bbqcoder said:


> Great photo!  Hopefully you're still active doing stuff outdoors.
> 
> 
> 
> Gimme, is that you on your bike?  What kind of bike do you have?





Sorry bbqcoder not me. Just a great pic I caught from Hersheypark area. 

Another golf course pic I took recently.


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## oldschoolkz

Picture taken while flying over Norfolk UK coast.


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## TATTRAT




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## GimmeAnotherOne

Bill the butcher headstone (from gangs of New York). Green-wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Btw he never even had a real headstone until the movie was about to come out. They bought it for him since he was going to be in a big blockbuster


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## caseydog

TATTRAT said:


>



Very nice... and no Photoshop, right? 

CD


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## caseydog

RPCookin said:


> I ran across a old photo of myself today.  This was taken in about 1967.
> 
> Did you ever see a person growing out of the wall of a cave?  Here I am at age 20, in Ram's Horn Cave, just outside of White Sulphur Springs, Montana.  A group of us were doing some amateur spelunking in Montana's 3rd largest cave.  It's not a tourist cave.  It was about a half mile walk from the highway through open pastureland up on a hillside.  You could walk 10 feet  away and never see it, but we had a person who'd been there and knew how to find it.



I went cave exploring near Fort Knox with my Boy Scout troop when I was about 13. I was small for my age, and very thin, so I could go into nooks and crannies that the others couldn't. I was fearless then, so I was eager to do it. We found this one separaton in the rock that was about 40 feet wide, 40 feet deep on a bout a 20 degree angle, and about 12 inches high. I gladly volunteered to shimmy down on my belly to see what was down there. 

At the bottom was a big cave, with water running through it. There were bats on the ceiling of the cave, and bat $--t in the floor. There was also graffiti. The others shouted down to me, "What's down there?" I replied (I don't remember the real names) "John Doe was here." 

I can't see myself doing that now, even if I could. 

CD


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## GimmeAnotherOne

Couple of recent ones.


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## Andy M.

Rick and CD: My hat's off to both of you. No way I could crawl, climb, shimmy, slide into such confined spaces.


----------



## RPCookin

Wild Sunflowers are in their full late summer glory here in northeastern Colorado.


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## TATTRAT

caseydog said:


> Very nice... and no Photoshop, right?
> 
> CD



Lightroom, levels a little, but shooting into the sun really worked here. I'm really liking the Hasselblad on the Mavic 2 Pro.


----------



## Cheryl J

What wonderful pics!  Thank you all for sharing. 

Andy...same here. There is *no *way I could shimmy my way into such a tight space without having a panic attack, no matter how young I was. Claustrophobic since...forever.


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## TATTRAT

Gibbs Hill Lighthouse


----------



## Farmer Jon

Getting the planter ready for the cover crop. For perspective the tires on the tractor are just over 6 ft tall. The planter is 40 ft wide.


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## dragnlaw

and that shadow in the foreground makes the person taking the picture about 8 maybe 10? feet tall.  You one big guy Farmer Jon! 

I know exactly how big those things are...  I'm often stuck behind one on the road going to the next field!   

It's OK, that's country life.


----------



## TATTRAT

Above Horseshoe Bay


----------



## Kayelle

Great pictures everyone..thank you.


This is a lovely bouquet sent from my "Lunch Bunch" ladies and my Lladro' "Shall We Dance" figurine from my sweet Souchef.


----------



## strmanglr scott

Just a few photos about me.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Our back yard is looking a little "Winter Wonderland"ish today. [emoji813]


----------



## Cooking Goddess

A (sun)dog came out to play today.


----------



## TATTRAT

*BUMP*

I'm surprised this thread has died off...

Here's from the last socially distanced joyride to Leeyslvania State Park.


----------



## Kaneohegirlinaz

Beautiful *Tat*! 



My Sister and I being silly in a small town 
shop last Christmas.


----------



## TATTRAT

Our first "Winter Event" of 2020. Only an inch or so...just enough to be pretty. You can still see the few fall leaves barely hanging on.


----------



## Kathleen

Your photos are gorgeous, Tat!


----------



## Cooking Goddess

This little squirrel has been keeping cool by  splaying himself out in the grass as flat as he can. Not even getting up to look for food, he does the Marine crawl as he moves along. So silly.


----------



## Kathleen

My little hero!  My godson just turned two.


----------



## Rascal

Cooking Goddess said:


> This little squirrel has been keeping cool by  splaying himself out in the grass as flat as he can. Not even getting up to look for food, he does the Marine crawl as he moves along. So silly.
> 
> View attachment 47543



So cool


----------



## Bitser

A few nights since, the full moon rising through clouds.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

It was a beautiful day, and that rolled into tonight. Himself is off stargazing with his huge telescope, but I took this from our front porch with my little cell phone camera. I like the little wisps of clouds either side of the bottom edge of the moon.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Not my photo; rather, it was taken by our son a few days ago


----------



## taxlady

Cooking Goddess said:


> Not my photo; rather, it was taken by our son a few days ago
> 
> View attachment 51400



Beautiful picture, nice support of Ukraine.


----------



## GotGarlic

taxlady said:


> Beautiful picture, nice support of Ukraine.


Ditto


----------



## Cooking Goddess

I bought one little pot with one little bleeding heart plant about a decade ago. Now I have to keep an eye on things to make sure my garden bed isn't wall to wall bleeding hearts! I've given some away, I've thrown some out. Still, it just keeps multiplying. So pretty though.


----------



## dragnlaw

Gorgeous *CG*,  I'm in the process of transplanting some in my son's gardens.  Hoping they perk up and multiply a bit too.  They've been neglected and a bunch of Jacob's Ladder have been squeezing them out. 

Also trying to get out the Jacob's Ladder which has become very invasive.  Those roots are tough to dig out!

Finding tiny grape hycinths scattered all over.  So tiny, don't know if it is a variety? Have never seen them this small.


----------



## Andy M.

New arrivals in the neighborhood. New robins.


----------



## Cooking Goddess

Andy, I swear baby birds' mouths are bigger than the birds themselves!



Lunch crowd...


----------



## SEEING-TO-BELIEVE




----------

