Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday


PATTERN(S)
I love the patterns of bare tree branches!  The large cloud and the deep blue sky add another layer of pattern.


MACHINE 
At my dermatologist's there was this machine on the wall.  Don't know what it does.  Not sure I want to know.  (no worries, just a regular checkup)


SIGNS OR LOGOS 
logo on the back of my car


ROCKS OR STONES 
a rock wall in my yard with thyme that's still blooming!


SPARKLE 
On a recent vacation to Canada, my husband and I spent some time playing around in a river.  He was skipping stones and I took photos.

This is a very fun meme hostessed by Ashley Sisk in which 5 prompts are given and one must then take a photo to illustrate each one.  Come see how others have interpreted these words HERE!  You have till Tuesday, October 30 at midnight EST to join in.

Next week's words are: 
  1. Wild
  2. Welcome
  3. Adventure
  4. Vibrant
  5. Classic

photos by me © 2012    all rights reserved

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Water


Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
very moody landscape with the silvery blue river winding into the distance and cloud covered snowy mountains in the background 


Takakkaw Falls, Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada
Flowing from the Daly Glacier of the Waputik Icefield, Takakkaw Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Canada at 1246 ft (380m).  Takakkaw means "magnificent" in Cree.



water on the windshield 


Sint Maartin, Netherland Antilles at regatta time




I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "W." 

photos by me © 2008 and 2012 all rights reserved

Friday, October 19, 2012

View

I've been so captivated by the view outside my home office window the past couple days.  The brilliant sunlit leaves light up the room with a warm yellow-orangish glow.

The trees are gorgeous this year!  I love watching how the light moves through the leaves as the day wears on and the sun drops ever lower and then fades away.


at ground level here.  On the left you can see a bit of deck and under that the pink hydrangea (that I tried to change to blue with no success so far).


looking out the window again.  In the lower middle of this photo you can see the beginning of a path into the woods.  Along the bottom on the right is the deck railing with tomato plants reaching for the last little bit of sunlight.  (Yes, still getting a few small tomatoes!  I won't take out the plants till the very last second.)

 
Birds seem to fill the air at this time of year.


The clouds provide an everchanging panoply of pageantry as well.



I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "V."  

I'm also linking up with Skywatch Friday hosted by Wren, fishing guy, Sylvia, Klaus, and Sandy.  Come join us in this awesome meme, link up, and meet folks from all over the globe

photos by me © 2012 all rights reserved

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday


WATER DROPS OR WATER  FLOWING
somewhere in Tennessee last Monday.  No, I was not the driver!   Water droplets cover the windshield as we make our way through the foggy mountains.  my favorite driving conditions.  NOT!


FAITHFULNESS
2 lifetime friends love to curl up next to each other in a sun puddle.


THEN AND NOW
The rock is ancient, has been around for a lot of "thens."  The colored and crispy-brown leaves are new.


FINGERTIPS
This praying mantis was crawling on my front door, no doubt enjoying the warm sunshine.  Not fingertips in the human sense, yet performing some of the same functions.


one item from the Fall Bucket List*: NATURE WALK
hiking on Whiteside Mountain in North Carolina  (See another photo from that hike HERE.)
*See Sarah Halstead's Fall Bucket List HERE.



This is a very fun meme hostessed by Ashley Sisk in which 5 prompts are given and one must then take a photo to illustrate each one.  Come see how others have interpreted these words HERE!  (And you'll get to see photos of Ashley's newly born baby girl!)  You have till Tuesday, October 16 at midnight EST to join in.

Next week's words are: 
1.  faceless portrait (aim for a selfie)
2.  orange or PINK in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month
3.  view from the Top
4.  cozy
5.  stacked 


photos by me © 2012    all rights reserved

Saturday, October 13, 2012

umbrage (unusual usage)

Discovering an unusual definition of a relatively unused word could be an undaunting task.
Yet here it is--umbrage.  (I like the sound of that!)

Now this word is usually used to define annoyance, offense, or utter displeasure.  for example:  I took umbrage at the politician's total disregard of facts.


Here's a meaning a little less used--the vaguest feeling of suspicion or a shadowy semblance of a vague something.

"His semblable is his mirror, and who else would trace him, his umbrage, nothing more."
~excerpt from Hamlet by Shakespeare 
 
☂          ☂          ☂           ☂          ☂          ☂          ☂          ☂          ☂          ☂                  

I don't mean to uproot your notions of this word, but here I will use umbrage with a more unusual meaning--shade or shadows cast by trees.  Umbra (from Latin), after all, means shade (and  umbrella is the diminutive of umbra).  This particular usage dates back to the mid1400s.  This was actually the original meaning of the word, morphing from this meaning to suspicion to offense.


The last object at which Elizabeth gazed when they renewed their journey, after their encountre with Richard, was the sun, as it expanded in the refraction of the horizon, and over whose disk the dark umbrage of a pine was stealing, while it slowly sank behind the western hills.
~ excerpt from The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper 


along a trail on Whiteside Mountain which is between Cashiers and Highland in North Carolina (early October 2012)


Often, after an active morning, she would spend a sunny afternoon in lying stirless on the turf, at the foot of some tree of friendly umbrage.
~excerpt from Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

LINKS:
search results for "umbrage in literature" in The Free Library 

more about Whiteside Mountain:
Blue Ridge Highlander 
Romantic Asheville



I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "U." 

photo by me © 2012 all rights reserved

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Ten Ts


twigs





tie dye
I dyed the outfit.  My daughter photographed this sweet little baby.



tree
along the trail to the hoodoos in Fairmont Springs near Kootenay



trail to top of hoodoos



view of hoodoos from below 
Hoodoos are tall, thin, spires of rock with variable thicknesses, having a "totem pole" shape.  They consist of soft stone topped by harder rock that erodes much more slowly.


tasty
chocolate covered cherry mice



top down
somewhere along the coast of Oregon


another trail
in Utah 

topography

We stayed with friends in Hurricane.   a topographical map for planning a mountain biking trip.  Notice that the gorgeous Zion National Park is nearby.



two 
 Oliver and Earnest





I'm linking up with my favorite teacher, Ms Jenny Matlock, as we work our way through the alphabet.  Please do go visit the other students, for you never know what gems you may find--humor, poignancy, information, visions of far away places, stuff you've never even dreamed of!  Check it out HERE.  You may even wish to join in yourself!  This week our letter is "T." 



photos by me © 2005 - 2012 all rights reserved

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Waterfall


along the Johnston Canyon trail, Banff National Park, Canada.  Located in the Rocky Mountains, Johnston Creek is a tributary of the Bow River.

LINK:
photos and videos of the hike can be found on this website--World of Waterfalls



Wordless Wednesday--where I linked up:


The Art and Tree Chatter of Aquarian






 


Sarah Halstead of The Naptime Momtog








photo by me © 2012  all rights reserved