Fertilizer Friday

These are wildflowers (some may say weeds) out in the yard.  I can't take the credit for fertilizing them, but I guess the dogs can : )  The reason I took several shots is to try to show you just how tiny these perfect little flowers are.  That's my little finger in the one picture.

Don't you just love tiny things?  Merry Christmas.  Peace.  B : )

P.S.  Tune in on Ruby Tuesday for an update on those pomegranates.
P.P.S.  If you want to show off your flowers, click on the button on the right.

This Way ThursWay

If you would like to join in on the "signage" fun, please click on the button to the right.

While walking along the Venice Intracoastal Waterway Park, Patrice (http://martinip23.blogspot.com/)  and I came across this sign at the Senior Friendship Center.  Even though we didn't have any of the dogs with us, we decided to take a look.  It was broken.  Not very friendly of the Friendship Center was it?  Have a friendly day.  Peace.  B : )

News Flash - I think I just invented reverse bokeh - yeah, really!

This morning at around 4:00, I got the dogs all suited up in their harnesses and stuff and we stepped out onto the front porch to go for our walk - it was sprinkling.  I decided sprinkling is good, we can do it.  By the time we got down to the mail box, it was pouring.  I could do pouring - they can't, they get scared, they run under low hanging thick trees and try to decapitate me.  So we came back in.  It stopped raining.  Anyway, the point of this story is that a few hours later, when normal people are getting up, it was fresh and dewy and overcast - perfect photo ops (see I AM learning from the class I'm taking).  So I decided to go out and photograph everything that was blooming and/or interesting in the yards.  When I came back in, I had 56 pictures and that was without re-shooting the rose (see below in Ruby Tuesday) and the most gorgeous orchid that the DH picked yesterday.  I guess there are some perks to living in Florida.  Anyway, it was also a little breezy, and perhaps I was a little more shaky than usual, but a lot of the pictures are really nice and clear in the background but the focal subject (don't you love it when I talk photo) is blurry, like bokeh, only in reverse.  Does it already have a name?  You may or may not get to see those pictures, or I may go out and retake them.  I'll have enough fodder for a year of Fertilizer Fridays!  I will show you one non-bokeh picture now though.  Please don't think I did this on purpose - I went for the vine and got the rain/dew as a bonus.

That is what first year blackberry bushes look like in the Fall, in Florida - not lovely, but better than the blueberry bushes - they died : (   Anyway, I wanted a picture of curly little dried up vine, and look at the bonus just above it, the rain/dew. I wish I could say I am a brilliant photographer, but it was just a "meant to be".  Please notice, however, that the focal subject is a little to the left, keeping in mind the Rule of Thirds we learned about last night.  Have a great day. If you're in a dreary place, mentally or physically, remember you can get out of it.  Try thinking about the 56 lovely things in my yard this morning.  Peace.  B : )

Photo Hunt - Haven't done this one before

It's a good week for me to start too because it's a free week at PhotoHunt.  We don't do much for Halloween around here (GASP) - I know lots of people love it, but we don't, especially since kids stopped coming way back after 9-11.  Sad but true.  I used to work with a guy who told me he and his family loved Halloween so much they had 10 boxes of decorations and only 1 for Christmas.  We're the opposite here - I'm like the original Christmas fairy or something.  So to make up for it, here are two photos.  If you stand on your head, squint your eyes, and whistle Monster Mash, you could consider them spooky : )

This one is the sky from yesterday morning when our cold front was brewing:

I went out and took about a dozen pix and every one was different - it was a wild sky for sure.  When I started on the computer this morning it was 73 here, now it's 68, so it's really a cold front, honest.

Here is a neighbor's cat.  Keep in mind this was shot through a dirty window, a dirtier screen, and on a long telephoto lens.  He was lying up on the pool yard wall where he knows the dogs won't get him.  Smart cat.  Don't know his name.  I'll ask him next time I see him.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a happy Saturday.  Peace.  B : )

It's Time for Camera Critters Again - Yippee!!

Go to http://hootin--anni.blogspot.com/ to participate.

When we had a house full of Greyhounds (three) my DH's sister came to stay with us for a while with two very small mini rat terriers.  We never liked small dogs, but got kind of used to them.  When she left, we agreed we should get a small dog.  I found Ricky (who was Skippy then) and called DH and asked "how small does he have to be?"  Ricky was much smaller than the Greyts, but much larger than the rat terriers, but darn he was cute.  He has since come to be known as The Cutest Dog in The Whole Wide World.  Since he came into a Greyt house, he learned to be like them.  You will see pix some day of him stretched out on his back like they do.  He got to be a bit larger too (by 10 pounds I'm ashamed to say) some from Dad showing love by treats and some from those horrible meds for his allergies.  Anyway, in the interim, we lost two of the Greyts, first Josie, then our first one, Fred - won't talk about that now.  I went to see more Greyts and it was too early for that, so I found another terrier on the internet, through Canine Castaways.  I loved her look and her story, she sounded like she'd fit right in.  She's a terror.  The animal behaviorist said she's a bitch (well, yeah, scientifically, but personality-wise too) however, CiCi and I get along wonderfully.  The AB says she doesn't love me, she just thinks she owns me.  She's right too.  So, after all that, here are Ricky and his little "mini me", CiCi, waiting for yet another meal:

If you have any questions about pet adoption, animal behaviorists, Greyhounds, terriers in general, or anything really, just put them in the comments and I will answer.  Thanks for looking.  Have a happy day.  Peace.  B : )  Oops, forgot part of the story - Ricky is now being more like a terrier and Jeff is left alone as our only Greyt - ahhh but for how long???

Thank YOU So Much!!

Funny how life throws you curves - funny and fun.  When I recently started this blog, it was to join in on all the wonderful blogs made by fellow cardmakers - and I haven't posted a single card yet.  I got caught up in all  the photo challenges instead.  How exciting life can be, huh?  I want to thank all the people who have left comments on this blog.  I couldn't begin to tell you how exciting that is.  I run in the other room and tell the DH OMG I got 11 comments and I don't even know 8 of the people!! 

Just to show you how much I appreciate the comments, I am offering prizes - totally worthless but might make you happy kind of prizes.  You have a choice of (a) a good long look at Jeff, the senior dog in our house, whose biggest job seems to be relaxing:

or (b) you can gaze upon The Cutest Dog in The Whole Wide World, Ricky:

or (c) The Princess, CiCi, will allow you to look at her, but just for a second:

Now, if you have commented more than once, you may have two of the above prizes.

AND, if you do me a big favor and go to http://blindarmadilloguitars.blogspot.com/ and take a look around, leave some comments, you can have all THREE of the prizes : )  That was meant to be my husband's blog to show off his talents and drum up some interest in his magnificent hand crafted electric guitars.  But I haven't done such a great job with that one yet and need some encouragement, so comments are not only accepted, but outright solicited!  We have gathered up some photo taking props and today I start a little photo taking class (with the lovely Ricepatty from http://martinip23.blogspot.com/ ), so maybe we can put up some pix that actually do the guitars some justice.

Thanks for looking, thanks for the comments, have a happy day, peace.  B : )

This little fellow came to visit us one day.....

This is my entry for Camera Critters.  This is so much fun!  You should try it if you haven't yet.  Hop (or fly) on over to http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

It makes us very happy that critters enjoy our yard.  We made a special place at the end of the yard that we keep wild, for many reasons, the main one being a place to go when we let the dogs out : ) Ahh, the dogs; you haven't met them yet, but you will.  Soon.  Have a happy day.  Peace.  B : )