July 3, 2011

  • 4th of July 2011

    Happy 4th of July Xanga

    The 4th of July is a festive day here in the states and rightly so.  As it is a joyous occasion an image that hopefully gives that appearance.

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    Our bay window is a good spot to put some July 4th color.

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     The Loveland 4th of July parade began, after the police cruisers, with the Colors Guard.

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     The parade lasted for about a half hour with lots of marchers from children to seniors, many dressed in red,white, and blue.  Many beautiful horses were in this parade, some being ridden and some pulling wagons filled with people.  There were also lots of cruisers and fire trucks.

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     There is nearly always an Uncle Sam.  The young lady on the right had the winning smile, for me, in the parade.

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     Brave parents load up wagons filled with their kids waving flags and the colors are so bright you almost can’t see it all.

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     Lots of families line the streets.

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     And there was a good crowd who would go on to the park for the fireworks, after the parade.

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     Everyone was dressed in nice neat summer clothes, enjoying the day.

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     Beautiful faces, beautiful smiles, beautiful children were everywhere.  The big surprise for the day was there were not one marching band.  All music I heard was canned.  A disappointment for us, we enjoy the school bands and not a single one.  The other disappointment, and I watch carefully for photo taking, I saw not one single salute for the flag, not even for the marching Colorguard at the front of the procession.  I keep hoping its my imagination.

    4thOfJuly-7-2011_RSBlain

    From the parade, we came home and packed a picnic and drove to King’s Island for the fireworks.  They were greatly downgraded in number, began early and were over before many people got there to see them.  I hope labor day weekend will be a better display.  We did, though, have a good weekend ourselves, for the 4th.

    4th of July or Independence Day, read about it here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States and http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml

    “Freedom, in a political context, means freedom from government coercion. It does not mean freedom from the landlord, or freedom from the employer, or freedom from the laws of nature which do not provide men with automatic prosperity. It means freedom from the coercive power of the state – and nothing else.” – Ayn Rand

    Hoping everyone had a happy and safe 4th.
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May 30, 2011

  • Memorial Day



    We here in the states lose site of a lot of things we shouldn’t.  I blame most of it on a lack of education and GREED.  Both are responsible for a large part of the massive loss of memory.  Memorial Day is one of the days where the reasoning behind its existence is all but lost.  Memorial Day is not a day for celebrating.  It is a day for REMEMBERING those who died in the service of our country.  For a lot of information, see this site MEMORIAL DAY HISTORY.

    I have always felt it was sad shops open, going crazy, with Memorial Day sales.  I have never been able to equate recalling deaths of thousands of Americans with spending a lot of money.  As a child there was always a parade and wreaths of flowers were laid on the graves of soldiers from our area.  Now, stores are open, people go on picnics and to theme parks like Disneyland and King’s Island to celebrate the day.  There is cause for celebration as those who fought are responsible for the freedoms we hold dear.  But REMEMBERING is what the day was set aside for.  How does SHOPPING??? come into play?   

    Our little town of LOVELAND, OHIO – The City of Loveland Veterans’ Memorial Committee has announced that the 2011 Memorial Day program will be held on Monday, May 30.  The parade will begin at 9 AM at the Loveland Elementary School at 600 Loveland Madeira Road. The parade ends at the Veterans’ Loveland Memorial Park located at West Loveland Avenue and the corner of Riverside Drive, where a Memorial Day ceremony will presented.  I am hoping to be there taking some photos.

    4 photos from today have been edited into this entry…

    MemorialDay-2011-Flags©RSBlain

    1-TODAY Memorial Day 2011:  Some parades deserve a big shot of the happenings.  I thought today’s parade did with the Colors Flying, the parade stretched out behind.  Each section marched then space was added and the next marching section moved out.  It was a good parade with our Colors flying from end to end.

    MacDonaldsFlags©RSBlain

    1-  An older image of McDonalds.  A lot of people take issue with McDonalds.  I would be the last to say their food is the healthiest and sad to say, they will be open Memorial Day as will about every shop or restaurant in the country.  But, McDonalds is an AMERICAN company that flies our flag.  It’s amazing how many companies don’t.  That is what I take issue with.  I appreciate American companies who fly the flag, PROUDLY.

    LovelandFlags©RSBlain

    2-  This is an older photo taken across the river in Old Loveland.  Lots of flags are flown in this historic area of our little city.  They fly for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Flag day and more.  I like seeing the flag waving and take photos whenever I see it.

    OnTheRoadFlags©RSBlain

    3-  Many of our overpasses are displaying the flag in numbers.  I’m not sure when this idea came about but it is on a lot of overpass in our area.  I think it’s an amazing site.  Here is an article about one man who has something to do with it in his area, FLYING THE FLAG ON OVERPASS 

    OnTheRoad-2Flags©RSBlain

    4- This flag is flying at half mast.  Many construction companies are flying the flag from cranes.  It’s very neat to see as they are very high and hard to miss, hanging in the air.

    ParadeFlags©RSBlain

    5-  This photo is from the 2010 4th of July Parade here in Loveland and the 4th of July IS a time for celebration.  The 4th of July is Independence Day, USA. 

    RememberFlags©RSBlain

    6-  The casket contains the remains of a cousin who served in the Army.  We are a military family.  My husband, my son-in-law, my brother in-law and both of his sons, 3 first cousins, and my sister Bunny’s son who is in Afghanistan at this time for I think his 4th trip there.  Family members are Navy, Army, Air Force and all are proud to have served. 

    MemorialDay-2011-FifeNDrums©RSBlain

    7-  TODAY:  at our local parade, a young fife and drum corp, part of the Loveland School musical instruction system.

    MemorialDay-2011-Recruits©RSBlain

    8-  TODAY:  This image is one of my favorite kinds of patriotic parade scenes.

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    9-  TODAY:  Those who have been there seldom forget to salute.

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    10-  This is earlier this year but tomorrow (Memorial Day) it goes up to wave in the breezes again. 

    TODAY, the flag is up and waving and we have enjoyed the local parade.  I am always glad I get out for it, recalling many memories of parades in a small home town that had wonderful parades we always walked to as it was only down the hill 5 blocks away and we could hear the band from our house.  We also put in some flower sets and watched some military movies, the theme of the day.  Military movies are not always accurate in their accounting but add them together and you get a broad picture of what war is like.  It’s a terrible thing, for all involved.  Everyone loses in a war.   

    There is a ton of information on the Internet about Memorial Day.  It’s worth taking a look at.

    Have a great week,
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May 22, 2011

  • Yellow is the word of the day



    Every week there is a different photo challenge at this site:  http://mywinningphoto.xanga.com/  It gives you a way to play with your photos and interact with other photographers on Xanga.  This week, the word is YELLOW.  You can see the entries for YELLOW by following the above link. 

    NEXT WEEK’S CHALLENGE IS “COOKING” however you would like to inperpret the idea.

    One of the rules, POST ONLY PHOTOS TAKEN THE WEEK BEFORE THEY ARE DISPLAYED ON THE SITE PAGES.

    Here are some older photos of mine that would have worked for YELLOW if they had been taken THE WEEK OF.  

    GuardianOfTheFamilyJewels©RSBlain

    1-  Here you see a really fun yellow gym-set at our local park, Isabella.  I might have called this photo Yellow Gym-Set but instead I thought “Guardian of the Family Jewels” was more appropriate.  Grandfather never left them for a moment and Grandmother is sitting on a bench at their far left taking in all of the activities.  I wanted to focus on grandpa and his charges so Grandmother (who is very lovely) was removed for use at some other time.

     

    JackHammer©RSBlain

    2-  This photo is nearly at my doorstep, just the other side of our hedges.  New sidewalk squares were ordered by the city on our street.  I had a great time photographing the whole business and called this one ”Jack Hammer”.  If you look carefully, you can see “Jack” inside his protected cage, hiding from all paparazzi.

     

    RainyEveningReflection©RSBlain

    3-  Most of you know I take a lot of photos from the inside of our car as we travel.  This one is not far from home and the wonderful golden yellow reflections during this evening rain were irresistible.

    Xanga is changing.  So many people seem to have gone from this wonderful blogging site.  It’s really too bad as I think it’s still the very best one.

    Have a super week people.

    Becca aka
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May 14, 2011

  • Contests at WinningPhoto on Xanga


    The contest is weekly and anyone is welcome to play.  This weeks photo challenge is Transportation in Black and White.  It’s something to do with your photos and always fun to see the photos other people take.  Go to http://mywinningphoto.xanga.com/ for rules and to play.

    There are ton’s of things on and off the road that would work for this particular challenge.  My thoughts ran from feet to skateboards.  Here are two I didn’t enter.

    Transportation-4BW-©RSBlain

    One of the rules is the image has to be taken the week of the challenge.  I have company and we were out for lunch so I was lucky and saw this bicycler and took his photo.

     

    Transportation-3BW©RSBlain

    This was taken on our street, one of the many children/young people who play there.

    Hoping all is well in your part of the world, Becca
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May 9, 2011

  • Belated Happy Mother’s Day Xanga



    A Belated Happy Mother’s Day Xanga

    My daughter wanted to share Mother’s Day photos.  I took a boatload as usual so, with the overload, it took a while to go through them, to find something from every aspect of our day -food and -the evening movie.

    We had a good day, working a little and relaxing more.

    Mother'sDay-1_2011-BFischerFr©RSBlain

    1-  Mother’s day or not, the cat gets his share of attention from John.  This was the first photo of the day.

     

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    2-  The day before Mother’s Day, Saturday, we carried the house plants outside.  I have them on the porch as the weather forecast says we are going to get more of the type of rain we have been getting and I don’t want them to drown.  I believe April went above 12 inches of rain.  It was amazing.  Anyway, after carrying plants out, I needed to clean out the window.  This is only part of what needs refreshing.

     

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    2b-  I nearly forgot my chickens in my window.  The fat hen is just a plastic cast I bought at the feedstore but she is sooooooo cute.  The rooster, John bought it for me for Christmas this last year.  I have a thing for Turkeys.  Chickens run a close second.  You can find lots of chickens but not many really nice turkeys so I have to feed my habit with hens and roosters I really like.  They need a good washing but I dusted the cobwebs and dried leaves from the top and middle shelves for the time being.  I didn’t want to work all day on Mother’s day!

     

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    3-  This photo is actually a couple of weeks ago.  I am sure I have more recent ones but must have put them in the wrong folder.  John does all the hard work in the yard. 

     

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    4-  We brought out all the old pots and added new ones I wanted.  Just in time for Mother’s day.  The greens between the cracks in the bricks will come out as soon as there is time.  Too bad it isn’t edible and It may get mowed for a while.

     

     Mother'sDay-5-2011-RBWOODPECK©RSBlain

    5-  We have a lot of birds at the feeder.  I take photos everyday trying to catalogue all of the ones that come to it.  This is a Red Bellied Woodpecker.  Woodpeckers have sticky or hairy tongues that help get the bugs out of dead trees.  He sticks it out when he is getting the nuts from the feeder.  He really likes the peanuts and the photos run from the difficult choices to swallowing a peanut whole.

     

    Mother'sDay-6-2011-Redpoll-3Fr©RSBlain

    6-  This is a Red Poll and is a type of Finch.  He looks a lot like a Sparrow but you can’t mistake him because of the red in his head and breast feathers.

     

    Mother'sDay-7-2011-WhiteCrestSparrowFr©RSBlain

    7-  This little bird was new to me.  I looked through my bird books and it is called a White Crested Sparrow.  He really catches the eye with those white streaks.  I noticed him  as soon as he began showing up at our feeders.  He is now, by the way, bringing his aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters and good friends to the feeder.

     

    Mother'sDay-8-2011-IsabellaFloodLakeFr©RSBlain

    8-  After we left the house, we picked up a picnic lunch at one of the Chicken places.  We carried it to Lake Isabella where we sit and people watch.  The lake is flooded and has been for a good while because of the heavy rains.  You can’t keep a good fisherman down or the kids.  Someone is always fishing and there were a lot of families out on Mother’s Day, fishing, eating, playing.

     

    Mother'sDay-9-2011-IsabellaCarParkFr©RSBlain

    9-  This is the car park we are sitting in and I always love to get photos of the Sycamore tree you see just left of center.  I love Sycamore trees.

     

    Mother'sDay-10-2011-WadingFr©RSBlain

    10-  Lots of wading going on yesterday, the weather felt warmer but I’m not sure about the water.  Usually the park doesn’t allow wading, only boating and fishing.  The ranger was running back and forth yesterday and I’ve wondered if it was because of so many kids in and out of the water.  As the water in this photo and photos 11 and 13 is up and covering the parking lot, not actually in the lake, I’m not sure it counts as “wading in the lake”.

     

    Mother'sDay-11-2011-BoatingFr©RSBlain

    11-  All of this group was in and out of the water the whole time we were there.  They had a ton of fun whether it was allowed or not.

     

    Mother'sDay-12-2011-LakeTreesNRelax©RSBlain

    12-  We are parked just to the right of this picnic area and it’s always a pleasant spot.  The lake is close enough to our home so we can grab some fast food or pack a lunch and go about any day to enjoy.  It’s a favorite spot and it worked just fine for my Mother’s Day. 

     

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    13-  I think this measures up to “the End”.

     

    I hope all of Xanga’s mothers had a wonderful day too.
    Becca
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May 1, 2011

  • May is upon us. Happy May Day



    We had a really nice Easter, rainy but nice.  The rain is still more or less with us but so far no tornadoes in our area.

    A photo contest each week at this xanga site:  http://mywinningphoto.xanga.com/ and the current challenge is FLAGS and the final uploads for this next weeks challenge is tonight and it is a word, SADNESS.

     

    I had fun with some images for Sir_Spamalot request to work with Peeps marshmallow candy.  Diorama which I knew nothing about.  Here is a LINK for images displaying what they are. 

    And the images I played with for PEEPS.

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    This is the first one I did but it was too crowded so I changed tactics.

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    Diorama’s want backgrounds so the use of them in my images.

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    Here I just had fun playing.

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    I decided I wanted a woodsy look so pulled out the Geraniums.

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    This is the one Sir_SpamALot decided to use.

    Hoping all is well in your part of the world.  Becca

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April 24, 2011

  • Happy Easter 2011



    It’s wet in Cincinnati but my spirits are not as dampened as some peoples are, I have talked with. 

    Our forecast today was: 

    CINCINNATI – It’s now officially the wettest April on record and heavy rain is in the forecast through at least Wednesday night.

    More than 2.25″ of rain fell on Saturday setting a new record for April 23, smashing the old record of 1.23″ set in 1945.  The addition of this rain also pushed the monthly rainfall total to 10.67″, surpassing the previous April rainfall record of 9.77″ set in 1998.  The grass is growing, a lot, and there are wonderful tufts of it on unmowed lawns, perfect for Easter Egg hunts.

    Xanga’s Sir_Spamalot http://sir-spamalot.xanga.com/ attempted a contest this past week, with Peeps, the marshmallow Easter candy chicks and rabbits.  You can read about it on his site and you can see a few things here:  http://www.reallypathetic.com/photo.html some of his work and a photo of my own, the challenge was to put together a diorama and photograph it.  I didn’t even know what a diorama was until I did some searching on the Internet.  Anyway, it was fun and something to do with my camera.  Also I learned about another contest some of you may be interested in.  Here is the Xanga address, http://mywinningphoto.xanga.com/ and the current challenge is FLAGS.  It’s a weekly photo challenge giving something to do with your photos.  I did enter a flag photo but with as much rain as we have had I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it.  The rules say, the photo is to be taken the week of …

    Happy Easter Xanga

    Some images of the weather here in Cincinnati

    EasterCarParkIsabellaFr_©RSBlain
    This is an example of what we usually get for Easter, taken a couple of weeks ago at Lake Isabella.

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    This I did just for the fun of it, to brighten the page!

    EasterEve-2011©RSBlain
    This was about 2:00 this afternoon when we left to do some errands.

    EasterEve-2_354PM©RSBlain
    This was about an hour later and it’s been like this for a week or more.  My spring flowers are rotting but the air is as clean and as non-polluted as I’ve breathed it in, for a long while.

    I hope everyone is dry and warm and will be well fed, wherever you are for this Easter 2011 celebration.  He is risen.

    Have a wonderful Easter everyone. 

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March 17, 2011

March 2, 2011

  • Thinking Green


    I have wanted to change the look of my site page for quite a while.  It has been dressed for Christmas for months.  I wanted a Valentines Day theme which never got done because my photos are not working properly.  Today, I pulled out the html I needed, for a St. Patty’s Day look, by creating a fake entry with the photos I wanted to use.  A long way around but I gotter done.  My Photo Manager hasn’t been working right for weeks and I was hoping for a Xanga fix which hasn’t happened.  I have to wonder if the mishaps are leading more deeply into the downfall of this wonderful place.  If Xanga goes under I’ll probably not blog again, anywhere.  Of all the places I have played, Xanga is still the most rewarding for creativity possibilities and other perks.  I hope it survives.

    I jumped track when the WeeklyPhotoChallenge closed.  It is missed by more than myself.  I think though, it’s a lot to ask of someone to keep an idea or activity alive, that takes time and effort to keep it going, when so few are playing to help it survive.  Is it really any wonder it died?

    A few photos to get me back on track.  For the month of March, a bit O’Green

    1-  ThinkingGreen-Abstract_©RSBlain

    We did a challenge,Abstract, a while back given by WhatAWonderfulNewWorld.  This image is a photo taken from the television screen while watching Harry Potter.   Playing in Paint Shop Pro, I greened it up for this entry.  If you study the image you cas see Mr. Dursley’s face. 

     

    2-  ThinkingGreen-NearlyMissedJogger_©RSBlain

    This is an older photo I took at Sharon Woods, a Hamilton County Park.  It was taken with my Kodak DC4800, a really nice little camera, my first digital, purchased in 2001.  The image was taken in the fall and has lots of orange and brown in it but for St. Pats, I greened it up, leaving the jogger at the left as she was, pretty in pink.

     

    3-  ThinkingGreen-RainyDayOrig_©RSBlain

    Taken on a fall drive a few years ago, also with the Kodak, it was rainy and gorgeous with autumn color.

    4-  ThinkingGreen-RainyDayGr_©RSBlain

    Here is the change to green, done in Paint Shop Pro.

    5-  ThinkingGreen-MouseDreams_©RSBlain

    Our cat who never dreamed he would be the object of so many photos is probably dreaming of a mouse or two during a summer snooze.  The green of summer is what I imagine a lot of us are dreaming about as it’s still been pretty crisp and cool here in Cincinnati.  Today, it’s sunny and bright and the birds are singing away.  The spring colors will soon be showing up with lots of green accents.  I’m looking forward to bunches of new photos as well as bunches of spring flowers.

    Have a great week everyone.

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February 14, 2011