On Kelly's Pond

 I was driving through town yesterday & spotted these birds all lined up on a rock, so I turned around & parked & got out to take a few photos.  the vivid setting on my camera makes this water a little strange looking--see all th estreaks of purple in it?

 Are they seagulls?  We live a few hours from the shoreline, but some do end up here.....passing through on their way somewhere else!  To my Mexico friends--doesn't this look like the black whales on Playa Norte?

So Colorful!

We had Thanksgiving dinner with friends and there was a beautiful bouquet of lilies on the appetizer table.  This color is gorgeous!

Doubles!

Another photo of butterflies at magic Wings in Deerfield, MA.  it's hard enough to get a photo of one because they flit around so much, so capturing 2 is great!

I'm Old & I'll Sleep Anywhere I want to!

 A few mornings ago I started down the stairs to the 1st floor--I was surprised to find Tuck, our 18 yr old cat ,sleeping near the top!

 It's probably a warm spot in the room with the woodstove ( though he curls up by that & puts his head under the stove!)

From the Plimouth Plantation....

Let's travel back in time to 1954 & a visit to Plimouth Plantation, Plymouth, MA.    This is my sister, Judie & me with a Pilgrim standing in front of the enclosure for Plymouth Rock!

Judie doesn't look too happy to be there, does she?

Turkeys

Gobble, Gobble! Taken on the hill behind my house; the turkeys are interesting to watch!

Not Quite a Macro Monday

 This is a photo of a butterfly ( a Blue Morpho ) at The Butterfly Place, Westford, MA.  It was a favorite place for me & my Mom to go near where she lived.  Decided to crop & enhance a little...

Used  the Lomo feature in Picnik--you don't notice quite so much that it's perched on someone's arm!

Unearthing lots of goodies!

 We are making an effort to clean alot of extraneous stuff out of our house.  After my brother & I had to clean out my Aunt's I was determined not to leave my house in the same shape.  Have been filing one bag a day.

 But yesterday I found a large bag of shells & seaglass I had to have brought home from Isla a few years ago  & somehow it ended up in the attic.  Everything was wrapped well so nothing seemed to be broken--not even the sea urchins( the big one was chipped when I found it).  And I finally looked up the names of these cone shaped shells--called Siphonariidae--i usually find quite a few of them.

it's quite a haul... this is only a small portion of it!

We're Waiting!

 Many days when I drive through town in the morning I see this orderly line up waiting ..... and waiting.
Yesterday I drove by going into Torrington & they were all still there patiently waiting when I came back an hour later.

You see, they are waiting to get let into the area where there's food! ( just on the other side of the stone wall)

Look at the billy goat on the left & the Jacob sheep  ( the horned spotted one) on the right--lots of different breeds shown here!

A favorite

One of my favorite videos from Isla--even if you don't watch--just listen to the sounds of the birds & the waves! This was taken in 2008. Watching these keeps me going til the next trip! Enjoy!

Macro Monday

Veterans Day

I'd like to say "Thank you for your service" to all veterans & those that are serving at the present time.  I found a few photos of my parents in uniform that I'd never seen before & thought I'd share.  Above is a picture of my Dad with his parents at their home.

Mom & Dad with my maternal grandparents ( Hazel & Peter) ( love my grandmother, Hazel's fur coat!)

My folks with my paternal grandparents ( Walter & Leonore).  This is a home that my grandfather built & we lived in while I was in elementary school--had a great yard!

A playful shot of the folks--these were all taken in 1945.

Both sides of the family must have been at Copeland's --looks like my grandmother, hazel peeking out the window at my parents.

Reading Challenge at the Library

 Our local library has been running a reading challenge called The National Trail System Challenge 2011.  It runs from April 10-November 12, 2011.

 The purpose of the challenge is to pick a trail & then read books to total the number of miles on the trail.  One page = one mile.  Travel the length of your favorite trail or all 30 trails by using library resources.  You can also listen to audio books ( 1 minute= 1 mile ) or walk or run ( 1 mile =1 mile on the trail)

 I am happy to say I finished all 30 trails today ( with 2 days to spare!)  The total number of miles is 50,036!  I have to confess I resorted to reading Large Print books for the last few weeks.........lots more pages in them!

The trails range from 54 miles long ( Selma to Montgomery ) to 5665 miles ( California) and of course, I left the long one til almost the end.  One nice thing about the snowstorm we just had, I was able to read alot!
And I discovered a few new authoors to read!

Out & About

 I always try to remember to carry my camera when I go out--in the yard or go out somewhere.  Spotted this one day last week.

 Love the look of the lines on the underside of the mushroom much more than the top!

 Here it is on the tree.....

And a wider view!

After the Snow

 So last week we had 18 inches of snow; it's almost all melted; it was warm enough today to work outside in short sleeves!

 And I noticed this  rose starting to bloom on one of my plants!  Kind of late in the season for flowers to be blooming here!

There are quite a few settings on my G12 that i haven't tried out, so I tried the Vivid Color setting for this photo.  Makes quite a difference in the colors!

A Remembrance

Today is the 15th anniversary of my sister, Judie's death.    The week will be especially tough because on the 9th  it's my Mom's birthday ( she would have been 90).  I know my Mom lived a long and interesting life, but my sister's life was way too short ( she was just shy of 49 when she passed).  She has missed out on  so much in the family & the world.  She would have loved to see what wonderful people her son & niece & nephew have grown up to be. 
This is one of the last photos of the 3 of us together( Lto R--me, Tom & Judie).  We have many posed photos of the 3 of us growing up.  ( that's another post in it self!)  This was taken in 1989, I think around fair time.  Look at the hairstyles..I think we also took a photo from the back--hard to tell us apart then!

Sunday Single

Just a single photo from the past week.  Rafe sitting in his path.  He doesn't do stairs much any more so I had to shovel a path around the house so he could come & go through the back door.  It's been a week & most of the snow has melted--in some of the more shaded areas there is a bit left.
Still over 100,000 people without power in the state!

In the Trees & On the Ground--All Around!

 Sunday, before the driveway was plowed I took the dog out for a walk.  We could hear the turkeys cackling to each other from somewhere--looked up & there they were!

 Tried to get some photos--not easy to stand in the snow looking straight up into the trees!

 They were "talking to one another & flying from branch to branch!  The snow was too deep for them to be on the ground!

 The close ups were all done with the zoom on my camera--the pine trees are pretty tall!

 Yesterday the snow had melted enough that they were on the ground looking for food.  I drove in & they were across the driveway--really didn't want to move so I could get in!

 But the minute I got too close they scurried into the woods!

This is our entertainment living out in the country!

More Snow Photos!

 It stopped snowing early in the morning on Sunday--we got at least 18 inches--I started out with regular winter boots on, but went to knee high rubber boots--the snow was up to my knees!  This is looking down the driveway!

 We didn't get plowed out til late in the afternoon on Sunday... not that we could go anywhere--all around here there was no power!

Alan cleaning off his truck; it's a Ford F1-150 so he could get out even though the driveway hadn't been plowed!