blue, bears, and books

Nigella (Love-in-a-Mist) are blooming profusely in my garden. 

Long ago, I made the little bear (She needs a touch of nose surgery.), her dress, and the quilted rug.

more bears and detail of the children section of my newish bookshelves

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is  "B." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!  


Thank you, Ms Jenny, for hostessing another round!

  
photos by me  © 2014   all rights reserved

blessings

In the US we celebrate this day of counting blessings.  I feel blessed to have met so many wonderful people through the medium of blogging.  I wish health and joy for you all!
 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

~John F. Kennedy 

LINKS for some inspiration:
Huffington Post  Thanksgiving prayers, blessings, and quotes (scroll down just a little for slideshow)
Poets.org  poems about gratitude and thanks

Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week we begin the alphabet once more--with the letter  "B" of course! Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 


 
 photo by me  © 2013   all rights reserved

Animal Bridge

in Banff National Park, Canada

Wildlife crossings exist in many other countries as well.  The first of these crossings were constructed in France during the 1950s.  Studies have shown that these structures--bridges and tunnels-- greatly reduce the conflicts between wildlife and roads.  


 
LINKS:
1.  ecoducts in the Netherlands, photos 
2.  ARC Wildlife Crossing Competition 2011 design winner HNTB + Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, designed for West Vail Pass on I-70 in Colorado--scroll down to see the bridge
"The primary goals of the competition were to re-imagine how we create structures to ensure the safe mobility of humans and wildlife by allowing them to coexist, and to inspire the next generation of wildlife crossing structures."
3.  Nutty Narrows a squirrel bridge!  constucted across Olympia Way in Longview, Washington in 1963.  Check out these photos!  (Thanks for telling me about this, Cynthia!)

We've begun round 8!!
Alphabe-Thursday, hosted by Ms Jenny, is so much fun!  This week our letter is "B." Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun! 


photo by me © 2012 all rights reserved

3 Boys and a Girl

Oliver and Earnest are the resident cats.

Tigra and Bunkie came to play at Thanksgivingtime. 

Even though they met a few years ago when Tigra and Bunkie were 3 months old, they were a bit wary of each other at first.  However, they did provide mutal entertainment.  There's nothing like something new going on to captivate a cat! 

They bonded over all the cool toys provided like these wonderful little branches.  (Do you know how difficult it is to photograph a black cat who is constantly in motion?!)  Here Edward Bunk is intent upon capturing the stick. 

The red puff ball is momentarily forgotten as the waving stick comes into view.

=^..^=      =^..^=         =^..^=      

We gave them catnip, special treats (like tuna), and even made them toys out of rectangles of old sweater sewn together and filled with catnip. 

=^..^=         =^..^=         =^..^=

The 5½ days that Tigra and Bunkie were visiting were so much fun.  After they left, the resident cats spent their day in recovery!

They lay in the glorious sun resting and napping.

Alphabe-Thursday is so much fun!  Round 6 has barely begun.  This week our letter is "B."  I hope you can find all the Bs in this post.  Come visit others' submissions HERE and join in the fun!

photos by me © 2012

Black Bean Salsa

This is a fabulous recipe which I've tweaked over time.  The beauty of it is, that you can use as little or as much of each ingredient as you wish.  Every time I serve this salsa it gets rave reviews.

Ingredients 

onion, tomatoes, chilies, corn

♦2 cans of black beans rinsed and drained

♦1/4 C chopped onion (use your favorite)

♦2 ears of fresh corn, shucked (of course!) and cut off the cobs

♦@ 10-12 oz or @ 2 C chopped tomatoes

♦1/2 of a 4 oz can of chopped green chilies

cilantro from my garden

♦1/4 - 1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro (1 T more or less when chopped finely)

♦1 t olive oil
♦salt and pepper to taste

♦2 avocados, diced (ripe but still firm)

♦2 limes, zest and juice

Directions

chopped avocado marinating in lime juice

♦Dump rinsed and drained black beans into a bowl.

♦Add onion, tomatoes, corn, chilies, and cilantro. 

♦Mix.
♦Add oil, salt, and pepper to bean mixture and stir.

♦Zest and juice both limes.  Add zest and half of juice to bean mixture.  Mix.  Set aside rest of juice.

♦Dice avocados and pour reserved lime juice over them.  Mix gently.

♦Add avocados to bean mixture and mix gently.

(Instead of chilies, you could add chopped hot peppers or pepper powder.)

Serve with chips.

served on a bed of mixed greens with chips as an entree, garnished with a sprig of cilantro blossoms

PS:
♦I read a great way to grow cilantro is to plant it crowded together and to keep snipping off the top leaves.  This is because it goes to seed very quickly.
♦Judie says sliced radishes add zing!

A new round of  Alphabe-Thursday has begun!  This is such a fun meme!  I know that you too, dear reader, would love to join in.  So come on over HERE ---join in and/or visit others' submissions.  This week our letter is "B."
[Sorry, Ms. Jenny.  no broccoli cheese.  I hope I still get an A though.  ;-)  ]

photos by me © 2012     all rights reserved

B is for...

Bicycle, of course!

Come join me on a Bike ride....

along the Loveland Bike Trail near Cincinnati, Ohio.  (Yep, that's my Bike!  I love it!  It takes me on so many adventures.)

The trail often follows the Beautiful Little Miami (National Scenic) River.  This photo was taken from the old railroad Bridge that crosses over the river.

A little farther along, the path Blithely goes under the I-275 Bridge.

 

Lovely Autumn Blossoms sway gently in the Breeze--purple, yellow, white, and lavender.  These are asters and goldenrod.  I see a Bee Buzzing in the Bounteous nectar, but she is too quick to be captured.

Bicyclists, runners, walkers, rollerbladers, dog walkers, and horseback riders wander along the path.  Notice the carpet of Brown leaves.  Due to very little rain for months, the leaves, instead of Blazing with color, are turning Brown and crumbling off the trees.  They do make a lovely crunching sound as the wheels run over them.

See the little Bridge on the left?  There are houses up the Bank Beyond the Bridge. How wonderful to live so close to the path and the river!

Next up:  the downtown area of Loveland.  Here is the view from the Brown Bike racks--more Bikes and a Bakery on the right.  See the swing made of Boards?

a bakery with Blue trim and a Bench.

 

I've already passed two parks (Miami Scenic Park and Miami Riverview Park).  Here is a small glimpse of C. Roger Nisbet Park, looking from the green Bike racks, of course!  The Building houses an information center for the Little Miami Scenic River.
 
 
A sculpture of a Bicyclist is at the far end of the park.



A Brown Barrel holds decorations that Boast of Fall's nearness.

Beauty!  
A father is teaching his young son how to skip rocks along the water.  This is my turn-around point.  I have ridden almost 10 miles.  (click to enlarge)

Back to Loveland.  The Brick Building houses a restaurant where I have dined with friends several times in the middle of a ride.

crossing the Brown railroad tracks...The sun will be setting soon.   See the pink tinge in the sky?

Smooth Brown Boards of the picnic table glow in the late afternoon light as Brown limbs arch overhead shaking their green leaves.   (canoe rentals nearby) 

<-- Avoid the Bumps!                             Bowed head -->

Hear the BaBBling of Beech Creek?  I am almost back to my starting point.  This was a fun ride on a glorious day.  I (almost) never take my camera with me when riding, so it was a treat to capture some of the sights I often see along this trail.

This is a fun weekly meme, under the direction of Jenny Matlock.   This week we are Blatantly exploring the letter "B."   Come and join HERE.  Here is Jenny Matlock's submission, Beautiful Blue Window.

Now go visit and enjoy all the creative submissions!

Rail Trails are old railroad beds converted into trails for public use.  The first trails in this area were built in 1972.

LINKS:

Miami Valley Rail Trails   --289 miles so far and includes the Loveland Bike Trail

Loveland Bike Trail

Little Miami Bike Trail

Little Miami State Park 

Little Miami State and National Scenic River

all photos by me (taken today) © 2010