From the e-mail bag today

Why the dog left ...

Now that is creepy.

Happy Halloween!

Thursday's moon rising

I liked this shot ~ looks like autumn to me. I added a slight vignette frame to it.

Happy Halloween!

Looking at the Sky ~ clouds at sunrise

I went out in the front yard to take photos of the sunrise last week. The kids at the bus stop nearby seemed to be wondering what I was doing. I felt like saying "just look at the beautiful cloud formations!" but I didn't.

To see many more cloud formations and sky shots, visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom.

A Halloween message

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This little poem sums ups my Halloween plans. And you?

Halloween rerun ~ still spooky though

From the 2008 archives...I posted this last October, but it's worthy of a re-post!

Linus is on the left, Rigby is on the right. They are both kwazy kitties.

Sepia scenes ~ shadowy

It's moi photographing our neighbor, Libby, in our driveway.

Our two cats, Linus and Rigby, stay indoors. We want to keep them safe and sound.

And they certainly don't like it when I interact with (pet and talk to) Libby. They watch me from the front window and seethe. At least I imagine they're seething. Sorry, guys.

For more pictures of this friendly feline, see my post from Sunday.

To see more Sepia Scenes visit our hostess, Mary T, at the blog of the same name.

Ruby Tuesday

Two for the price of one ...

I went outside Sunday to get a shot of this shadow on the house for next week's Shadow Shot Sunday meme, and was able to get a Ruby Tuesday photo at the same time.

Dying weeds make for some vibrant autumn foliage, don't you think?

To see more photos featuring a little or a lot of red, visit our hostess, Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Happy Ruby Tuesday to all ~

Fall foliage right outside our house

~ Autumn colors ~

The bright blue sky and fall colors were so pretty Sunday afternoon. Regular readers will recognize Ralph's van in the lower right-hand corner of the top two photos.

Leaf peeping from one's front yard is fun and it saves on gas. I like that!

In the next photo I used a bit of 'edge blur.'

What do you think?

Such beautiful colors. I love October!

Sunday afternoon photo shoot

Ralph went over to see our feline friend, Libby, across the street this afternoon. I called her, and was able to snap a few photos. Below she is coming over to see me.

and my favorite:

Now isn't she sitting pretty? And I love the way the fall leaves are surrounding her. I should have saved this for Shadow Shot Sunday, but I couldn't wait!

= ^. .^ =

My follow-up on saga of the abandoned cats reprinted here

(P.S. to fellow cat lovers: the blind kitten seems quite healthy and happy, as do the mama and the other kitten)

Three abandoned cats nearly ready for adoption

SEYMOUR — The three abandoned cats that ended up at Dr. Tara Nanavati’s veterinary office last month are doing much better and will soon be ready to be adopted.

Nanavati said he performed surgery last week on one of the cats that had lost both of its eyes and was left only with eye sockets. The kitten is healing well, he said.
The cat may be blind, but it doesn’t know anything different, Nanavati said.
“When they are blind I think they have a sixth sense,” he said. He tested the blind feline and found that it easily jumped into a cage with a raised edge to reach a food bowl.
Nanavati said the three cats, a mother cat, the blind kitten, and a kitten from another litter, will be ready for adoption by the middle of next week.
“I hope that they will be adopted by someone from the younger generation,” he said. “If an older person takes them, the cats could outlive them.”
He recommends that whoever does adopt them should keep them indoors to guarantee a long life. “The blind one would have to stay inside or else it would become somebody’s meal,” Nanavati said.
Publicity about the felines’ plight last month generated widespread interest among people wanting to help, Nanavati said.
The cats had been thrown from a car along Route 8. They were found in a box, and a good Samaritan took them to Ansonia Animal Control Officer Jean Roslonowski.
The surviving cats are in Roslonowski’s custody. They are being boarded at Nanavati’s veterinary office at 876 S. Main St.
“People are enthusiastic when they first hear about (animals with problems) but I need someone who is serious and ready to give long-term care,” Nanavati said. He said anyone interested in adopting a cat needs references.
For information about the cats or adoption, call 203-735-9915.

(This story appeared in the Oct. 24 New Haven Register.)

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ second submission

~ Pumpkins ~ Jack o' Lanterns ~ Hay Bales ~

Shadows!

To see many more shadowy photos, visit our hostess, Tracy, at Hey Harriet.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas?

Yesterday I wrote my third story in as many years about a well-shaped evergreen tree from Shelton, Ct. being cut down for use as a Christmas tree. (You can read it under the link above)

Coincidence? I suppose. Unless there is something in the soil in this southern Connecticut town that makes evergreens flourish and grow to more than 60 feet high. I wonder if someone would want to investigate that possibility?

It's interesting to watch the work crews ready the trees for transport. It's quite a process.

Have a great fall weekend. We have rain in the forecast here. Not fun.

Looking at the Sky ~

I have to get out more. I've gotten so many blog posts out of one street fair my mother and I went to last weekend that I can hardly believe it.

I snapped this as we were leaving the harvest festival. I think it came from a booth decoration. I don't think it was a bunch of balloons that accidentally flew away from a little child's hand.

That would be sad if it were the case, wouldn't it?

To view many more sky photos, visit Tisha at CrAzY Working Mom.

Sepia Scenes

This is another view of the Derby, Ct. Green, featuring the gazebo. Last week I posted a sepia photo with several flag poles on the Green and a steeple-less church that stands across the street.

Visit our hostess, Mary T, to see more sepia-fied photos at her popular Sepia Scenes.

Linus loves Rice Krispies, corn flakes and ...

Total, which is what was in Ralph's bowl this morning. How unsanitary!

Usually I just give Linus a single flake or two as a treat. But this morning he got really bold and went over to the bowl before I could stop him. Of course I had to go get the camera.

Coincidentally today was the day I gave Ralph the Garfield "I Heart Cats" mug for his coffee. haha

Impressions

I took this photo in our backyard late Monday afternoon and just got done playing with it. I think it resembles an Impressionist painting now. Monet, anyone?

Jack o' Lantern ~ vignette version

This was a child's entry into a pumpkin-decorating contest at our city's harvest festival last week.

It looks like there is a red (second place) ribbon on his pointy hat.

Confession: I didn't carve a pumpkin until about 10 years ago. I've led a sheltered life.

I wonder if I will get around to carving one this year? If I do, I'll post a picture. Stay tuned.

As you can see I'm still experimenting with the vignette application.

Ruby Tuesday ~ fall colors and seasonal riddles

On Saturday I found a few spots of red amongst the yellow berries winding their way through some forsythia in our side yard.

The picture wasn't too exciting, so I added some 'edge blur.' Ha ha.

This is through the windshield of Ralph's van..that's why it's not clear..but at least it's red. I decided not to be a perfectionist.

And below, another of those "burning bush" bushes in a 'vignette' view, as seen through the open passenger-side window:

To see many photos with a little or a lot of red in them, visit Mary T at Work of the Poet.

Q. Why did the ghost get indigestion?

A. He was goblin his treats!

Q. What do skeletons say before dinner?

A. Bone appetit!

Q. What happens when a ghost gets lost in the fog?

A. He is mist

What's it gonna be?

I've been wondering for awhile how we are going to refer to next year ... have you?

It was either going to be "two-thousand ten" or "twenty-ten." Or so I thought. On Friday I heard a broadcaster say "Oh-ten" and it kinda didn't sound right.

Then 2011 is going to be "Oh-eleven," and so on?

This is confuzzling.

Shadow Shot Sunday

This is my first foray into Shadow Shot Sunday, a photo meme that has intrigued me for a while. My husband Ralph started participating a month ago, and now it's my turn.

~

I took this last Saturday at our city's annual harvest festival on Main Street. I've been able to get a lot of blog posts this week out of the photos I took that day. Woo hoo!

To see more shadowy shots visit our hostess, Tracy at Hey Harriet.

Random childhood memories

One day a few weeks back I started recalling the names of all the dogs in my neighborhood when I was growing up. I don't know why, but I did. This was back when dogs used to run around the neighborhood with us.

My best friend Suzy's family had Gus, followed by Harry, followed by Max. Then they moved out of state and Max went with them. haha

Next door to them was a family with three girls. They had another "girl," Peggy, who was a Dalmatian.

Down the street from them was a HUGE black dog, Tuffy. We were all scared of him.

Next door to us was Charpo, followed by Leo, both black dogs. Maybe they were part-Labs.

A girl who lived around the corner and down the hill a bit used to come play with us. She was kinda obnoxious, but we tolerated her. Maybe it was because she was never without her German shepherd, Hans, by her side!

I think her mother, who had some "problems" figured she could let Debbie roam the neighborhood because Hans would protect her.

And the piece de resistance: our friends across the street had Jacques as part of the family. He, of course, was a standard French poodle. The father accidentally ran over the poor guy's foot in the driveway one day. But Jacques recuperated from that horrible incident.

And moi? No dogs, but I had a parakeet named Happy when I was 5. She (he) died of some icky skin condition. My father buried Happy in a shoebox in the backyard.

A few years later I had some little green turtles. Don't remember if I named them. Then when I was older I got some tropical fish. I know I didn't name them. The aquarium leaked on my mother's dining room floor. Eeek.

Notice how I didn't have any furry creatures as pets. :-(

But I'm making up for it now, with our felines, Linus and Rigby, who were preceded by our first furry guy, Humphrey. He passed away in June 2007.

I hope you enjoyed accompanying me down memory lane today.

Looking at the Sky

Last Saturday was a beautiful autumn day, picture perfect for our city's annual harvest festival along Main Street. It was rather breezy, but I'll take that any day over the wet snow coming down here today. Snow in October is just not fair!

Visit our hostess, Tisha, at CrAzY Working Mom to see many more sky shots.

Happy weekend to all!

The eyes have it

Linus' eyes really are this color. He looks so serious, but he is completely silly.

Mystery object lands in yard

So, how is your week going?

Sepia scenes

I've been experimenting with iPhoto applications such as matte, vignette, and edge blur lately, and as you can see today is no exception. The sepia application is yellowish, so instead I used antique and was able to retain some of the color in the Stars and Stripes.

To join in or just see many more sepia-fied photos, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Sepia Scenes.

October Saturday

I snapped this Saturday when we were at our city's sixth annual harvest festival on Main Street. I like how the sky looked on a crisp fall day and decided to share, even if it's not for a photo meme. (!)

The old brick building with the "modern facade" next to City Hall once housed the daily newspaper for which I toiled for many moons.

Below you see City Hall's autumnal decorations.

Hope you enjoyed your visit to our Main Street landmark.

Ruby Tuesday ~ at the pizzeria

I have a conglomeration of reds spotted at a downtown pizza and pasta restaurant during Saturday's harvest festival along Main Street. My mother and I needed some lunch so we stopped in to eat our slices of pizza in comfort.

This friendly (and blue-ribbon winning) chap welcomed us into the eatery. Sometimes his head moved and his eyes rolled around. Creeeeeepy.

He's under a red umbrella advertising Bud and the sign next to him has red letters in it. The banner behind him has bright orange-red on the Jack o' lantern's face, and some guy standing there is wearing a red shirt. All in all, a perfect ruby find, as my husband would say.

To see more Ruby Tuesday entries, visit Mary T, The Teach, at Work of the Poet.

Not my car

This mini-Mercedes is parked in the window of a downtown insurance agency. I spotted it as I was walking around the city's annual Harvest Festival Saturday.

I used a white matte application to give it a "dreamy" quality. It would be a "dream" car for me. Except for the size. I don't think I would fit behind the wheel.

Seasonal scenes ~ and another vignette app

I took this photo yesterday of the autumn leaves along the driveway leading to our town's high school.

I photographed the same trees in April from the other end of the driveway when they were a lovely shade of pink. I'd say they're beautiful in both seasons.

Have a lovely Sunday. I'm off to teach a Sunday school lesson this morning. Woo hoo!

Playing with the vignette app

I received a few compliments on my use of the vignette application on my Looking at the Sky post, and that's all it took for me to use vignette again on this photo. LOL

I grabbed a quick shot of our lovable Rigby this week peeking out from his vinyl house. He actually doesn't use it much, so when he does I try to capture it.

Happy Friday to all ~

~ Looking at the Sky ~

Today I snapped this sky shot of swirled clouds at a shopping center in our downtown. I was going to crop out the name of the store, but the building gave some perspective to the photo so I left it as is. Free advertising, eh?

But I did add a 'vignette' application to add some interest to the picture.

Visit Tisha, that CrAzY Working Mom, to see more photos of the sky. Thanks as ever go to Tisha for hosting this fun meme.