Spotted on Saturday

Yes, a beautiful blue sky in Connecticut.

Photo was taken from the passenger seat, as usual, as Ralph drove us to Hartford. I was happy with the photo, since I snapped it while we were going about 55 mph on I-91.

By the time we got there a half hour later the sky was no longer blue.

Back to gray.

Spring can't arrive soon enough. I'm sure most folks reading this would agree.

Silly Sunday ~ the sequel

So this is what caught the ostrich's eye last week: a rather silly-looking woman pushing a tiller, getting the ground ready for spring planting. Apparently she likes to get dressed up when she does yard work.

The fountain intrigued me as well. I would call this an eclectic collection of stuff for sale, wouldn't you? I had to take a photo as we were driving by. The scene caught my eye.

It helps to be in the passenger seat!

Last Sunday I asked people to guess what the ostrich at right was looking at ~ you can read the post here.

Will I come up with another Silly Sunday post next week? At the moment I just don't know.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ feline edition

This is Rigby.

And that was Linus!

I've posted these photos before, but not for Shadow Shot Sunday, so I thought it would be OK.

= ^ . ^ =

Visit our hostess, Tracy, at Hey Harriet to see many shadowy photos and join the fun.

Sometimes you just have to get away from it all

... and Rigby is an expert at it.

He likes to put his nose straight into the arm of the chair when he is napping. I don't know how he breathes in this position. But he does.

Looking at the Sky on Friday

And it really is Friday. And it really is s*n*o*w*i*n*g, again. I snapped these photos this morning out the front door.

Since it was so white out there, I thought I'd make one of the pictures B&W.

Go see many more photos of the sky by visiting our hostess, Tisha, that CrAzY Working Mom. And have a great weekend!

A smile from the e-mail bag today

A friend sent me an e-valentine and this was part of it. Thought I'd share a smile.

Sepia scenes ~ sci-fi?

This has to be the ugliest photo I've ever sepia-fied. The more I looked at it, the more it looked like something out of science fiction.

The bucket trucks caught my eye from the passenger seat while Ralph and I were stopped at a light.

Here is the original:

I suppose the original is a bit prettier, with its blue sky and dramatic cloud formations. It's good to experiment, right?

Visit Mary T's Sepia Scenes blog to see many more sepia-fied photos.

Tuesday thoughts

"Thinking? What's that? I'm just waiting for that squirrel to come back." ~ Linus

I usually try to keep things light and breezy on my blog, to amuse myself if nothing else. There's so much heavy stuff in the world and this is my small way of keeping things upbeat.

Today I veer toward the serious. Last week I wrote a story about the increasing need for donations at local food banks, a trend that seems to be happening in many states.

A local non-profit organization saw a drop in its collection at its annual Valentine's Day "Valley Has a Heart" food drive. You can read the story here.

Those of us who are blessed to be able to buy whatever we want at the grocery store should think about buying a little extra to donate to a food pantry. It will make a difference in someone's life.

Ruby Tuesday

(Please click to get a better look at the injuries)

My Travelocity gnome, right, and his little friend (standing in his shadow) are checking on the conditions of two injured colleagues.

The guy with the blue hat looking at the camera lost his left arm due to a snow thrower accident, as did the sad-looking chap in the center pushing the wheelbarrow. It wasn't my fault. I don't use the snow thrower. Just sayin'.

~

Check out many more photos featuring a little or a lot of red by visiting our hostess, Mary T, at Work of the Poet.

Flying into a new week

I was happy with this capture, with the bits of snow scattering off the gutter when the bird took off. I snapped this as I was taking photos of the robins that appeared in our front yard Thursday, as you can see here. Spring must be on its way..

I tried to white out some of the mildew under the house. Hope it worked.

Silly Sunday

I snapped this from the passenger seat last Sunday.

What is this ostrich looking at?

Not telling.

Stay tuned next week for another edition of Silly Sunday and find out.

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ icy

I took this in January. Brrrr....

As you can see we are missing a down spout in the back of the house. But the ice that formed here gave me a good photo opportunity on Thursday.

You can see many shadowy photos by visiting our meme hostess, Tracy, at Hey Harriet.

Have a good weekend all!

Looking at the Sky on Friday

I snapped this late Wednesday afternoon as I was on the way to the Post Office. This is the church where Ralph and I exchanged our vows. Although we don't attend this church, we do live about a mile away. The church is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

I used some 'edge blur' to be a bit artsy here.

I urge you to go see many more sky photos by visiting Tisha, our meme hostess.

The joke's on me

I just figured out how to put a photo in my blog header. See above. ^

Not only am I a late bloomer, apparently I'm a slow learner.

Harbingers of an early spring?

~ Please click on photos to enlarge ~

Ralph and I were startled this morning to see not one, not two, but a bunch of robins in our front yard and across the street. I ran for the camera and took several photos.

Not sure if these were taken through the window. I tried to open the door to get a better shot, but they got scared away.

My theory is that it was so cold down South that the robins decided they might as well come back home to Connecticut. They are the state bird, after all.

Another use found for TV remote

Linus didn't mind getting a skritch from Ralph with the help of the TV remote control.

It did the trick!

Aren't kitty cats cute?

Snowy morning

Snow pictures again ~ taken through the window.

I was happy this morning when I saw online that there were no school cancellations or delayed openings. Then Ralph said, "Isn't it school vacation week?" Ugh. I can't keep up!

I have to go out. I hope the roads are plowed. They seem to take their time when school is not in session.

Sepia scenes

I snapped this through the windshield Sunday as Ralph was stopped at a light. I squinted and realized that it was a cow across from the shopping center parking lot. And is that a donkey?

The snow was dirty so I thought I'd conceal it a bit by using sepia. To see many more sepia photos, visit Mary T, our hostess, at Sepia Scenes.

Ruby Tuesday ~ relaxing

Sad to say several of my outdoor gnomes have been lost to the snow thrower. (I didn't do it!)

Luckily this guy is safe hanging out in a spider plant inside.

A gnome makes a house a home...or something like that!

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

Reflecting on snow, the van, and Linus

I took this after last week's snowfall...apparently we have another one headed our way tonight. Not fun any more!

I like how I captured Ralph's van in the window reflection, when all I was trying to do was get a picture of Linus looking out at the snow.

Happy President's Day to all, even if you don't have the day off from work! I liked it better when we celebrated both Lincoln's Birthday and Washington's Birthday. But that was a few decades ago. I must be getting old..

~ Happy Valentine's Day ~

A vintage Valentine from me to you ~ I posted this last year, but the sentiment is the same...and will be again next year!

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ snow and Valentines

I call this "After the Shoveling."

This was the first photo I posted when I started blogging in 2007.

Of course that was before Shadow Shot Sunday, and before I even knew about the fun to be had with photo memes.

I call this "Valentine Bouquet from Ralph."

To see lots of interesting shadows from all over the world, visit our hostess, Tracy, at Hey Harriet.

A Saturday smile

Ode to our felines

I call them “The Brothers Furr,”

But they’re also known as “The Boys.”

Although they often purr,

They rarely make much noise.

They’ve nearly destroyed our house,

And have yet to catch a mouse.

They never fail to lighten my mood,

Even while begging for food.

I guess it’s really not fair,

To complain of dander in the air.

Picking up fur is my task each day,

But I don’t let it get in the way.

For these cats reside in my heart,

And I promise them we never will part.

Our cat, Linus, was staring at the roof this morning ...

and I'm glad he was, or I would have missed a photo op.

"You say you want to see my 'other' side? OK."

I was happy with how these came out, since I was taking them through a sliding glass door in need of cleaning. I'm pretty sure it's a mourning dove, as seen below.

Looking at the Sky on Friday

~ I took these Thursday morning after Wednesday's snowfall ~ It was clear but still cold!

See many more sky photos by visiting our hostess, Tish, that CrAzY Working Mom, and join in the sky looking fun!

Valentine's Day display at our house

I admit I am easily amused.

Scenery after the snow

Happy winter!

I took these photos from inside shortly after 8 a.m. - we didn't get the tremendous amount of snow that had been predicted, but that's OK with me.

I took some sky photos too, which I'll post for Tisha's Looking at the Sky on Friday meme.