Beautiful Trees

The whole way to St. Louis we kept seeing the most beautiful bursts of purple color along the road.

Well, that and a bonus number of sightings while playing HAWK!

Great game - almost as good as the license pate game...

Best part was when I sighted a coyote!

I digress - the trees are Eastern Redbuds and I want one!

Nesting

No - I'm not nesting!

It's the crzay bird that built a nest in the wreath on my sister's front door!

Weather or not

I am aware that this is not my best photographic work...

But what do you want from my iPhone while moving at 60mph on the free way during a storm?

Oh stop - The Husband was driving not me!

The lightening was so spectacular the other night that I had to snap it.

Not Fade Away

Went for a crisp Fall walk in the park after Dad's talk the other day...

Wildwood Preserve in Toledo is a lovely place - walked the trails and visited the Ellen Biddel Shipman Garden near the Manor House.

But even with the beauty, I can see that Summer is over and winter is approaching

You do get the splendor of the colors

yet Winter is whispering that her turn is coming.

Took Miss Roxy for one more spin before she sleeps,

Had one more barbecue before it is too dark and too cold to enjoy it.

I guess though that you need to look for hidden wonder.

But, it snowed the other day - along with lovely hail balls

...I'm just not ready yet!

I suppose we'll just need to slide into this slowly and see where the path takes us.

Let's Pretend

The Vikings were right. Hell is a vast frozen waste land. And I may be visiting it.

It is in the single digits here in North East Ohio... I've shoveled my car out every day for the last week (or more? the days blend together in a white on white haze!) and it took an hour and fifteen minutes to do the twenty minute drive home from work today.

If I had some Calgon - I'd let it take me away.

I might be tired of this already.

But I have a plan.

I'm gonna visit Summertime.

Wanna come?

Okay.... gaze into the mystical ball...

Go over the double rainbow...

There we go!

Can you feel the sunlight yet?

Much better than winter white!

Ahhhhh... Warm...

So that's what the grass looks like!

Pop back over any time you need to escape the chilly willies!

What Do You Mean It's November?!

How did that happen!

We've done fallen back already! Let's just say that after Alice came to play for the big bash he invited us out on tour with the band and I got a bit distracted. Yes. Sure. That's what happened! Sounds way better than the boring truth about being a grown-up and life and work and chores!

I did actually go off on an adventure which I will share with you soon. And it did involve hanging with a famous person and a cool person!

Meanwhile, enjoy a few shots I took celebrating the changing seasons here in South Euclid. Remember the park all covered with snow? The new banner up top is her all dressed up in fall splendor.

And some here we have some beautiful, golden leaves.

And my buddies were back to enjoy the neighbor's apples instead of my tulips!

I had fun taking those shots in the park the other day after work. I spend a lot of time driving through it but seldom actually get out of the car. Know what I mean? And I didn't even care that there was mud on my pumps when I was done. The subject matter and composition isn't exactly original, but I loved getting out and just shooting.

I had planned a delightful Haunted Cleveland Tour for us during Posting Spooky Month... but alas it was not to be. Maybe next year! I missed out on trying the awesome "lomo-izing" site all the cool kids were using on my haunted pictures, so I decided to try altering these snaps instead. Even if you don't have a Lomo camera, you can fake the fun, saturated, slightly blurry look they produce by using the web software. I do believe I'll be back for more!

I like them... what do you think!? Not so much spooky as weathered. Kind of like the earth right now. Ready for a rest.

Sigh... I guess I must finally admit that Summer is over now.

Happy Fall Everyone!

And anyone who tells me how many shopping days until Christmas will be punished. Seriously.

Holy Hail Balls Batman!

Ah yes...

A sure sign that Summer has arrived in the Midwest! With the anvil shaped cumulo-nimbus cloud often comes thunder, lighting, and our (not so much) friend: hail!

No tornadoes today thankfully... If my sister Deb was here, I do believe we would have scooped them up, added some flavor, and turned them into a tasty frozen treat. Instead we went to DQ in between downpours.

Hope the weather is safe where you are!

For REAL This Time!

My young deer friends stayed away long enough for me see the Spring Bloom through.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

First Flowers of Spring

What? You expected to see flowers? I expected flowers too when I came home from work today. When I left in the morning, I noticed that my husband's tulips had finally popped.

One of my favorite things about Spring is watching everything come alive, green up, and bloom. All day I planned to grab the camera the minute I walked in the door and rush back outside to take some snaps.

Imagine my surprise when all the flowers were gone when I pulled in the drive. Careful examination uncovered the telltale signs of nibbling and incriminating hoof prints in the soil.

I understand - they've got to eat too and they looked darn tasty to me.

A bit later on I heard a shout from the kitchen, "They're back!"

I'm pretty sure they came to apologize.

Don't worry guys - it's all good. Happy Spring to you too.

Almost Spring?

Is it coming soon? Please? Pretty please with sugar on top? I can see some signs!

Alignment

Did you know there was an eclipse tonight? Read about it more in a Sky & Telescope piece. It's 10:15pm EST and we are in the thick of it! Here are a few shots, the first from about 60 minutes ago, the second from about 15 minutes ago. If you go over to flicker, there are probably some awesome ones taken with fancy cameras... but these are the view from my corner of the world, my own personal lens. My poor son, bless his heart, has a had a rotten few days. He keeps asking me, "Why is this happening!?" I kept saying I really didn't know, sometimes things just don't go well. No matter how kind and calm you are, and how much good karma you think you're banking up, sometimes things just get out of alignment. When I heard abou the eclipse on NPR on the way home from work... it all made sense. Maybe this alignment is what put him OUT of alignment.

Don't worry buddy, we're not getting another full one until December 20, 2010. We'll have to plan a quiet, peaceful escape somewhere that week for Solstice and try to avoid it!

Thanks for the Beautiful Sky!

Just wanted to share this beautiful sunset I saw along the Ohio Turnpike on my way to Toledo Friday night... As is often the case, the photo does not do it justice (plus I was kind of driving "65mph" when I took it!) You've got to honor beauty when and where you can find it! Thanks to all the powers that conspire to provide us such beauty.

What small but beautiful things have you celebrated today?

Distractions...

This could be the view from Santa's back porch.... hope he and the elves are not too distracted to finish making the toys and pack the sleigh! 1. DSC04876.jpg, 2. Red Aurora, 3. Nothern Lights 7, 4. Northern Lights Easter 2006 II, 5. Þingvellir, 6. Rare red auroras., 7. aurora borealis, 8. Aurora in Fog, 9. Aurora Borealis_12, 10. Fireworks from God, 11. Aurora Borealis, 12. Aurora Borealis, 13. Stars and Aurora Borealis, 14. while waiting for winter, 15. glow, 16. It´s Written In The Stars Thank you to all the wonderful folks who captured these shots and thank you to Flickr.com for helping me share them with you. What a blessing to have been in the presence of such wonder! Please do enjoy the the photos ~ but shouldn't you be shopping or wrapping gifts or baking cookies or doing something constructive? Ah yes, I must tease! Remember to savor every moment of the Holidays. After all, even the "interesting" bits could give you something to blog about!

Did you feel it?

Apparently, this morning, Sunday, September 23rd, at 5:51am, while I was fast asleep, Summer ended.

There should have been a shudder, or maybe a sonic boom. I am sorry - but no one asked me if this was okay. I had a long list of things to do this summer and I did not get to everything.

♠ I had some wonderful trips away with John: Windsor, Toronto, Milwaukee...

♠ I saw Roger Waters, John Fogerty, and Ian Hunter in concert...

♠ I stood in line with Barb to purchase the final installment of Harry Potter and read it in under 24 hours...

♠ I Walked for Wishes and went to the Cleveland Zoo....

♠ I saw the Indians play...

♠ I saw fireworks...

♠ I got to spend some time with my big sister Diana and her girls, even if it did mean that Breanna was in the hospital...

♠ I visited Denver and Minneapolis...

♠ I ate at Sonic...

♠ I went to the Geauga County Fair and John got to win me prizes at games of skill...

♠ I attended some fine Happy Owlers with my Chi Omega Sisters...

♠ We grew some peppers in the garden and cooked wonderful meals with them...

♠ I had some lovely chats with my new 'pretend online friends' and even hung out with them in person...

♠ I finally went to Hollo's...

♠ I rocked out to Custard Pie...

♠ I enjoyed the Summer television season, I love 'The Closer', and 'Monk', and 'Psych'...

♠ I started a blog...

But we were going to go fishing! And have some picnics! I was going to sit outside on the shaded patio in the warmth and the breezes and take advantage of my amazing wireless internet capability. I was going to visit my parents and my son more. I was going to read some good books. I wanted to create some art.

Do you have any idea how long and hard I had to look to find a changing leaf for the opening photo? I guess I'll put those things on the list for Fall. Plenty of time.

After all - It is harvest time right?

Millicent Bloomed

The resilience of nature is quite amazing – don’t you think? When I first moved to Cleveland and officially started my new job almost three years ago, it was the first time since 1994 that I had my own space at work with a door that locked. In the lands of prairie dogging this is a good thing. Only draw back? It is freezing in my corner of the world. On these recent days approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit – my space heater has been cranking. (May karma forgive my carbon footprint) Did I mention no window? Home sweet Cave. Back then, I sheepishly asked the Plant Man if he might have something for me and my space. (His name is really Brian – but I call him “Plant Man” and he responds back with “Hey Food Lady”…) One of the interesting quirks of working in a food production plant is that all flora must be screened and tended to by a professional. Right on schedule, Plant Man brings me a lovely plant the very next week. Since then Plant and I have been spending time together. We chat, well I chat, he listens. I feared for his happiness though – you know, he was a PLANT and we were in a CAVE. A freezing cave with limited light… I listened during botany class and I was sore afraid. Week after week, Plant Man would come to water Plant. Amazingly, Plant began to grow bigger and bigger. Plant Man and I talked about this phenomenon a while back. He commented on the growth and I said, “He really seems to like it in here!” Plant man looked at me chuckling and said, “But no! He is a she! She will bloom.” I told him I couldn’t imagine that - her living where she was… Amazingly, last week, two days before my birthday, Millicent bloomed. I am still rather in awe of her. Despite everything against it, she bloomed. I had to give her a name at that point – it wouldn’t have been fair if I didn’t. After all, anyone with a child knows that no one knows your real name any more once you become a mother. So. Lesson for today? BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. Until next time, Ian’s Mom