Black Powder Season Has Arrived

Black Powder Season has Arrived








Black Powder season opens tomorrow in our region, and the boys are beginning to gear up.

My husband and I have already taken several hikes in the woods these last few weeks since bow season opened earlier.

We have been exploring some new places - while the boys track, I hunt down the light - looking for just the right amount for a good photo in the dark woods.

Most of the leaves have fallen so that lets in more light for photos, but it makes it noisy for hunter's footsteps.

So that means we will find the right spot - usually on a rock wall or fallen tree - and we will watch and listen.

That is when the scopes and binoculars come out so the boys can get a better view.

I use the lens on my camera to look around, but I would rather have a pair of binoculars. With the Nikon ATB Promotion that is now running, I might pick up a pair so I can get a great view too.

I am sure they would be cheaper than the lens and tripod I would like to get so my camera can capture those good views also. Besides, the woods are too dark for that kind of lens.

Perhaps Santa is listening - I will have to help him find a great deal!

ABC Wednesday - O is for OK

O is for OK.............








I'm not sure about other regions around the globe - but the hand sign above is the universal sign in the US that all is "OK".

My daughter "posed" for this - and not too willingly as I was interrupting her nap.

We were at the ocean and had spent the morning climbing on the rocks and combing the beach.

She took a seat on a huge rock out on the breaker wall, and the warm sun and a full belly after lunch lulled her off to dreamland.

When I finally caught up to her she was just coming to and was in no mood for talking, pictures, or getting up.

I reclined beside her and quickly gave into some relaxing moments too.

All she could manage to do was raise her hand and ask me "is this okay?" before the sound of the ocean against the rocks lulled her off again.

Tucking my camera securely against me, I dozed also as the boys watched over us and their fishing rods too.




This is the third round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.

Purple Pokeberries for Green Thumb Sunday

Purple Pokeberries for Green Thumb Sunday







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I took this image earlier this summer, and until just a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know what kind of berry they were. I ran across them while reading and was happy to find they are called Pokeberries.

It was the first time I have seem them, and I thought those pink stems were quite something.

The birds were scrambling over themselves to get at them and they didn't appreciate me being around so I tried to make it quick.

While I was snapping this, the boys were about 20 feet away checking out their find.

As they put it - I almost lost the both of them in one pop.

Come back next week to see what their extraordinary find was.

Wordless Wednesday - Saturday Edition - Bridge Reflections

Bridge Reflections








The boys were enjoying a few minutes of fishing in the river.

I carefully climbed down the steep side to get lower than the bridge so I could catch its reflection in the water.

It's an old one - quite rusty from years of rain - but it's character was reflected nicely in the water.

Cars use this bridge now, but years ago it was used by only trains to cross this little river.

The tracks were torn up many years ago.

This bridge is the only the evidence that they were ever there.

Deciding on A Fish

Deciding on A Fish






My sister has such a knack for maintaining the most beautiful aquarium.

The water is always crystal clear, and the fish she puts in there live for years under her care.

Of course she has names for all of them, and she knows all the specs on each one from her Black Cap Jawfish to her beloved Annularis Angel fish, and will tell any eager ear who wants to listen.

Every once in a while she will purchase a new resident for the aquarium, and this time she is looking at a Blue Spot Jawfish as she loves the color of it and it is a docile fish that will get along with her other ones.

I keep trying to talk her into one of the beautiful corals like the one above. The colors of that one are just so gorgeous, and it seems to glow from within.

She is hesitant though, as she has never had a coral in her aquarium. She has some gorgeous plants though, and doesn't know how well everyone would get along.

She assures me that she will look into it, and if it's a go, then I can choose the next resident.

I hope it's a go - I already know which one - that pretty Palythoa Polyps above!

ABC Wednesday - N is for Nest

N is for Nest.............








A little robin made this beautiful nest in one of the bushes we have growing beside the driveway.

She had already raised a family and this was a second laying that she had late in the season.

I really hated to see her build her nest here - it was only about 3 feet off the ground, and we do have a few feral cats around.

She ended up abandoning this nest before the egg hatched.

I kept an eye on it for the rest of the summer, and that little blue egg stayed right there - no squirrels or blue jays disturbed it.

As the winter wore on, the nest began to deteriorate, and the sides had collapsed in the middle.

She was back this season, as she was dive-bombing me as I walked past the bush this spring.

She ended up building in a new spot this year - a year older and a year wiser!




This is the third round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.

A Lifesaver

A Lifesaver








There are times when I am close to pulling out my hair. Trying to figure out computer code is definitely one of those times.

And I thought it was pretty confusing in the beginning just learning what DOC files and JPEG files were.

Building a website is a whole new experience.

Not only is there html code, but there is also php and java to deal with - and everything about them must be absolutely perfect - otherwise all you will get are errors.

And dealing with the back-end of the website is a trip also. All those files with all those commands - I have spent hours on forums related to the programs I am running to find out what caused the errors and how to fix them.

And forget upgrading those programs - it is always a nightmare - I need lots of lifesavers then!

And sometimes it was nothing that I did - the webhost might have upgraded the php version or the mySQL version, and it upsets my programs - they don't understand and once again, the errors are all over the place.

I am still a novice with all these codes and languages and extensions, but I am not afraid to do research and ask questions to try to get things fixed.

Thank goodness for all the lifesavers out there in the world wide web!

Large Leaf with Spider for Green Thumb Sunday

Large Leaf with Spider for Green Thumb Sunday







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A couple of weeks ago I posted about a large green leaf that I photographed at a country auction.

The plant had several leaves, and on one of them, a Daddy Long Legs Spider had perched himself on the edge.

I never mind seeing these spiders, they eat smaller insects that are usually pests, so I welcome them to my gardens.

Besides, they are usually more afraid of us as they run away when they see me working in the garden.

Some spider species though are quite aggressive - and those are the ones that send me running!

The Cabin Window

The Cabin Window








These little log cabins have such character - from the shape of the individual logs that they are constructed of to the quaint old glass windows.

The log trim that frames the window beats any type of exterior shutters, and they complete the rustic appeal of the cabin.

They were constructed back in the late 1800's, and you can see the paint layers that have been added over the years.

At one time they were owned by the boy scouts. The town purchased the property many years ago, and the grounds are now open to the town residents for hiking and picnicking.

The cabins are not for public use though - they are used by the town for various activities for the kids during the summer months.

No matter what the season, it is always pleasant to stop in and enjoy what nature has to offer.

ABC Wednesday - M is for Maple Leaves

M is for Maple Leaves.............








The autumn colors in New England are in full swing right now.

When the sun comes out it lights up the leaves with a vibrant glow.

The red maple leaves are just beautiful as are the bright oranges and vivid yellows.

The full glory of these colors only lasts for a couple of days before they start fading away to the earthy browns.

Within another week, they will all be off the trees and waiting to be raked up in the yard.

We like to wait until they have dried up and are all crunchy - there's nothing like walking through them and listening to the swish and crunch beneath our feet.

They also smell really good too!




This is the third round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.

The Shadow

The Shadow








This one was taken many years ago - long before personal computers and digital cameras were even a thought.

My camera has always been at my side. As a teenager I took a lot of teasing, but it never discouraged me - "you just never know what you are going to see" has been my motto from the first day I held one.

I remember the day we took this shot. When using film, you had to get what you wanted in a couple of frames - it was too expensive to waste too many shots.

It was my husband's idea, and we had it all planned out.

First, we would find a not too traveled road at the right time of the day so it would cast a nice shadow.

Since we wanted to be moving to create the action effect on the tar, we practiced different speeds.

And I couldn't be holding on to him and the camera at the same time - it was too heavy for just one hand.

We removed our motorcycle helmets as they didn't look too great in the shadow.

As for the motorcycle jackets - I kept mine on, and he removed his so it would give us some space in between us so we didn't look like one giant blob on the bike.

Going slow enough that his motorcycle boots were barely skimming the pavement's surface, my husband carefully guided us along as I snapped off two frames.

This one ended up being the better of the two, and using a slide scanner I was able to make a digital image of it.

It is a great memory!

Wordless Wednesday - Friday Edition - Nature's Curves

Nature's Curves








One of my favorite things to do at the ocean is to walk along the shore - but not the smooth beachy areas that most people prefer.

Don't get me wrong - I love the smooth beaches along the water's edge - but there are usually way too many people around.

Walking along the rockier, more untamed areas, one can find treasure - nature's gifts that are undisturbed as most people don't like the rocks, seaweed, or broken and crushed shells.

The outgoing tide left little tunnels in the sand - each little stream finding it own direction and creating these beautiful curves.

The camera cannot do justice to all the details that were there.

If it wasn't for the rocks and the little patches of seaweed, the water would have ran in a straight line right down to the ocean's edge, and this little treasure would not have been created.

And if there had been people walking around this area - one footstep would have obliterated it.

Glad I was able to catch it before the tide came back in and erased it forever.

An Old House

An Old House








Old and boarded up and not in a great neighborhood - this was the only description I could think of when reading a snippet in the newspaper last week.

A woman in Chicago won an online auction for a house in the next state over - for a whole $1.75.

There were actually eight bids on the auction, and along with the winning bid price, she also had to pay the back taxes of $850.

She was quite happy that she wouldn't have to take out a mortgage in Illinois, her home state, as they are not something that is easy to get these days.

She had no plans to move into her new home, but she was hoping to sell it and make a profit.

I got to thinking that if the house is in the condition that I am thinking it is, she may be holding it for a while - it would be hard for any buyer to get an Illinois Mortgage or one in the next state either.

She had never even seen the house or the neighborhood - and she bought it.

I love a good deal, but sometimes when they seem too good to be true, they usually are!

ABC Wednesday - L is for Love Washing Away

L is for Love Washing Away.............








My daughter was writing words in the sand as we walked along the beach.

Most of them were still intact as we walked back - all except this one.

The tide was slowly coming in, and one rogue wave had us jumping and quickly moving out of it's way.

By some very lucky chance - I was able to catch it before it completely wiped out the word of LOVE.

Her response to the wave's action was perfect for the title - Love is being washing away.





This is the third round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.

Large Green Leaf for Green Thumb Sunday

Large Green Leaf for Green Thumb Sunday







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We stopped at a country auction one Sunday afternoon, and as the boys we checking the outdoor items, I was wandering around the grounds.

Other than tons of people and lots of stuff, there wasn't too much that caught my interest until I saw the only plant around, besides the grass and trees.

In a beer barrel planter, just outside the large tent, I found a huge plant with huge, thick leaves.

There were no flowers, and there were only about five leaves, but they grew taller than me.

Their vein patterns were quite vivid, and the green color was like an artist had painted them.

I don't know what they are, and I would say it is an annual plant since the barrel looked like it had been there for several years.

I got a few sideways glances as I stood behind this plant, photographing these large leaves up close - but in my opinion, I got the deal of the day with this one!

ABC Wednesday - K is for Kilowatts

K is for Kilowatts.............








A bit boring as far as a photo goes, but it does do well as a stock image.

This little meter tracks our electricity usage and it measures that use in kilowatts.

I really hate to see that little dial in the middle spinning so quickly that you can't read it - the dollar signs add up way too quickly!

Luckily it was slow during this picture - the numbers are readable for once.

In this country we usually use the Imperial System for measuring that includes inches, pounds, and gallons.

We measure our electricity in kilos, which is part of the Metric System.

I think each of these systems work as long as one is used exclusively. I have a problem when I try to convert one to the other.

I bet most people don't even give it much thought as most of the world uses the Metric System, so there is no need for them to convert.

We will catch up someday!



This is the third round of ABC Wednesday. If you would like to join in please visit this site for the details.