Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from stixandstonz is:

“What’s  on Your Feet”

When I was younger I loved matching shoes and handbag for every outfit.  Today, I have other priorities, like being comfortable.  I don’t have to please too many people so you will find me either barefoot or in toeless flipflops.  I wear them year round and paint my toenails.  If I go out I wear whatever is acceptable but kick them off when I come home.  My feet like freedom.

My feet and a few others

My comfort zone is shoe free or nearly so.

 

All of these feet belong to a Xanga friend who I have done some photo editing for.   I’ve grown quite fond of him and his family.  The children are always smiling so I picture the whole family as having happy feet, perfect for this challenge.

  

Two pairs of shoes in this image.  The large ones belong to an internet friend who periodically has me editing some of his photos.  His walking shoes graced one of his photos and now they grace my image.  John stands at the left in his similar pair of walking shoes.  There is something about those shoes which make my honey appear to me as “so darn cute”.

 

The “Yellow Brick Road” does graphic challenges with photos we share.  We did a challenge just this week where I used shoes and boots in my created theme.  You can see it HERE.

Have a great week.  Thanks always for your comments and
Keep on taking those photos.

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from furtherthoughts is:

“What’s  Cooking”

Mine is a very simple recipe and I call it a country plate.  You can vary the vegetables and the meats and you could put a sauce of some kind on it.  I like it with a tomato sauce but haven’t used any with it here.

My Photos

I get everything ready to go.  Here you see a bit of FRESH grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on the right followed with fresh carrots thinly sliced, cubed potatoes, onion more or less cubed, sweet green peppers which I love and a type of spicy sausage which I cut into rounds.

 

I put the veggies into olive oil I have peppered then toss them to coat a bit then cook them in the Microwave.  These took 6 minutes as you see them.

 

I added the cuts of meat to the veggies, tossed them then back into the microwave for 4 minutes.  The meat is precooked so I like to get it hot but prefer not to cook it a lot as it shrinks and gets tough.

 

I added a bit of dried parsley and the parmesan cheese garnish.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

This takes a very short amount of time and it’s tasty.  I fixed it for John’s lunch if that gives you a hint how quick and easy it is.

Have a great week,
keep on taking those photos and
thanks always for your comments.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from Jerjonji is:

“zOOm In”

Sometimes we don’t see the trees for the forest.  It’s good to “zoom in” for a closer look which can enhance your day physically, emotionally, spiritually and photographically.  Because of hurried/harried lives Zooming in to what is around us, but usually gone unseen, may be what the doctor ordered to give us balance on our tightrope of life. 

Some of my photos

This is a small portion of the forest, my sister’s yard after a long Winter.  The growing areas surround her home on all four sides and it contains large trees, an area for vegetables, a small running creek branch in the back, bee hives and lots of flowers.  It takes a lot of work to get it into shape after a Winter of snow, ice, wind and downed branches.

And the ZOOM’S are the trees.  This is Grape Hyacinth popping up for Spring.

And Vinca with its showy faces of purple

And Pussy Willow

And Miniature Dafodills with an Angel escort

And a cat pretending it’s a flower

And a prayer blessing the growth in this Spring wonderland to be.  

Summer will show off its floral growth as well.   Its flowers in my sister’s yard will be a new assortment I am waiting to “zOOm In” on for some future challenge.

Due to cruel and unusual circumstances I was late with the challenge this week but due to those same circumstances I was able to take the photos I have displayed.  It’s a great life.

Keep on taking those photos,

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from Assipassi  is:

 ”Fall Colours”  

 

No matter what the season is here in the U.S. I love Fall Colours.  Because of our Summer drought, we had such a dull, colorless 2007 Fall.  So, I am using older photos.

 

I grew up playing under these trees that grow in the Mt. Notre Dame Convent grounds.  Not a great image as it was near dark when I took it (October 20, 2001) but they were filled with Fall Colour. 

 

This is a Fall Colour scene (October 20, 2001) not far from us on the Little Miami River near the Loveland Canoe rental. 

 

And this image was taken on a beautiful fall day (October 21, 2001).  Fall was so colorful in 2001 we drove to Indiana for photos.  This Burning Bush, dressed in its blood red fall colors is at the Brookville Dam in Indiana.  Indiana is noted for its scenic Fall Colour drives.  See a collection of Indiana Fall Photos HERE.

 

Cemeteries are favorite photo hangouts for us.  We drive around in cemeteries because they have so many splendid scenes and Fall creates exceptional enhancements.  This little tree was the only fall color sitting at the top of this cemetery hill (November 14, 2004).  The spot looks over onto the hill of another cemetery so made an interesting shot and the two little red homes appeared as accents calling to the tree to “BE RED”. 

 

Our favorite cemetery, Spring Grove Cincinnati (October 31, 2004), has over 40 miles of paved road and a large number of lakes on the grounds.  I love visiting and taking photos there especially in Fall. 

 

This Japanese Fan tree or Ginkgo (October 31, 2004) is one of many large specimens on the grounds.  They are the largest I have ever seen and they are really beautiful, Summer, Winter, Spring or Fall. 

 

I almost forgot this image (October 27, 2003).  Taken at a vendor stand in Indiana, it was a bit iffy in focus but they are such gorgeous Mums in thier “Fall Colours” .  Because it wasn’t the best image I played a little in PaintShopPro as they provided a Fall Colourful finish to my challenge entry. 

 

Have a super week, keep on taking those photos and thanks always for your comments.

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from stixandstonez is:

“Old Buildings”

Old buildings in the United States aren’t nearly as old as they are in Europe where structures date as far back as ancient Rome or older.  There is an exception as some ”imported stone by stone structures” from Europe, for instance the London Bridge, have been relocated here in the states.  There are ruins of old settlements like Jamestown, Virginia which dates its beginnings as May of 1607 but most of our old buildings won’t date more than a couple of hundred years.  Not being ancient makes them no less interesting as history has to begin somewhere and begin it did for every city or town spread across my country.

My Photos of
older structures in Cincinnati, Ohio

1- This is the Krohn Conservatory of Flowers entrance in Eden Park.  It is dated 1933 and Wikipedia has good information.  Wikipedia Krohn Conservatory of Flowers

2-This solid structure of stone stands at the entrance to Spring Grove cemetery and Arboretum.  The cemetery dates back to 1844.  Wikipedia is the place to read about it with lots of wonderful information.  Wikipedia Spring Grove Cemetery

3- This is one of the private mausoleums in the cemetery.

4- This is the back of the Cincinnati Art Museum founded in 1881.  They have done a lot of additions through the years.  I wanted to show off the old stone work as best I could.  Read more in Wikipedia

5- I took this shot of the Baldwin Piano Company building (1857) through the trees in the art museum parking lot.  It’s a massive old building and quite interesting to look at.  Read more in Wikipedia

6- This is the Golden Lamb Inn and it is the oldest hotel in Ohio dating to 1803.  We have enjoyed meals there but we enjoy the old ice cream parlor across the street as much and it affords the photo views I usually take of the Inn.  Read more in Wikipedia.

There seems to be a destructive movement, here in the states, targeting its very young but existent history.  Cities fight continually to protect the older structures which marked the beginnings of cities and towns.  Written history is always more complete when tangible evidence of architecture is kept up for viewing by posterity.  Why the old is continually marked for destruction to rebuild with newer and possibly interesting but seldom the quality of workmanship is a puzzlement.

Keep on taking those photos

 

 

Happy Easter Xanga

If you enjoy desktops,

find some for Spring on my LittleEgypt pages  Click Here

 

He is Risen, happy Easter.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from PhotosByCarolyn is:

I chose to use frames as in “Picture Frames”.

Frames are very personal, like a wedding dress.  Any image worthy of hanging or placing in a particular spot needs a frame projecting it’s perfect match to the lover it’s embracing.  I don’t have a lot of frames in my home but I do have many in my virtual storage.  I love making them as it’s just plain fun to do.  There are a lot of people who enjoy making frames for others to use.  Search for Paint Shop Pro frames or whatever software program you use.  I prefer to make my own frames as I get exactly what I want and have no one else to refer to for copyright.

This castle image is a photo taken by Albert_Ross.  We played with it in our Yellow Brick Road play group.  Albert donated it for use by the membership.

This is one of the graphics I made from Albert’s photo.  I am using it to display, in this challenge, some frame types I’ve created in Paint Shop Pro.

Frames can be designed from the Very Narrow

To the Wide and even W-i-d-e-r,

plain or NOT SO PLAIN as embellishments can totally change their appearance.  Even a color change makes a difference in the marriage of image and frame.

It’s fun to make a frame from an image then use the frame with it.

I can go wildly crazy and so much more not displayed here.  It only takes time and some concentration.

The above frames were newly made for this challenge but I chose as my favorite frame for this image, one of my older creations.  I like it as it subtly picks up colors and similar texture in the image.

Ultimately we would all choose something different which makes frames a perfect example of personality types as they display distinct personalities of their own.

Thanks always for your comments and have a great week.

Keep on taking those photos.

Happy Easter

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from Reed44 is:

“On The Way Home”

We had a snow storm this past friday, March 7, 2008.  I had an early appointment so driving through the early hours of the storm we took a lot of photos from the car.  I am sharing them as my “On The Way Home” entry.  Many of the images are on the dark side as the lighting was poor during the storm. I played with them in Paint Shop Pro to bring out detail, turning them into graphics.

“On The Way Home”
My Photo Story

It’s approximately 9:15 in the morning and we just hopped onto the expressway.  Snow hasn’t gathered a lot yet but it’s blowing pretty hard and visibility is iffy. 

 

Traffic is fairly heavy but moving.

 

After my appointment we stop “On Our Way Home” to get a bite at one of our favorite places.  It’s noon and we are hungry.  The man at the door had a camera in hand.  So did I.

 

Leaving Honey Baked, we discover It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

 

A veritable Winter wonderland in the making.

 

This jogger at the side of the road just kept on jogging ignoring us “On The Way Home”.

 

This downhill stretch we have to travel can be treacherous.  Notice the nice little sitting park on the right decorated with the canoe just between the up and downhill traveling cars.  During the Summer months, the canoe and the park are filled with flowers.

 

Nearing the bottom of the hill we are about 4 good blocks from our driveway.  The bank building is looking like a Christmas Card.

 

The next morning we looked like this.  Our car and our drive were cleared off one time at the end of our day out.  The birdbath at the center, looking like a birthday cake, has a good 14 inches of snow piled on.  A bit closer to the left is my strawberry jar.  Add a little sugar and you get snow cones. 

In a nutshell, the images gave you a peek into our day out, views of what we saw “On The Way Home”.

Have a great week and thanks always for the comments.

Keep on taking those photos,

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from stixandstonez is: 

 ”Feathers”

I decided to concentrate on a single birds ”Feathers”.  My choice of bird is known the world over for it’s feather display and its call.  It resides in zoos as well as on personal/private properties, decorating the landscape all over the world.  It also substitutes well as a watch dog. Any of the birds I have met personally are members of our Cincinnati Zoo and at any meeting they have been laid back and docile as well as very photogenic.  I can not say if that is always the case never having lived with or near, any.

My Photos

Hiding its long train quite well in this Zoo underbrush, the Indian Blue Peafowl or Peacock, is one of the bird families larger members.  Here in the zoo, it walks where it will at anytime of the day being free roaming within the confines of the zoo.  The Peafowl is the national bird of India.  The female called Peahen is not nearly as colorful but in fact is coloured in quiet shades of brown and gray.  Peafowl are a part of the Pheasant family. 

Whether coming or going the male in full plumage, important to the mating ritual, is an extravagant site.  His long tail feathers dotted with colorful eyes filled with shades and colors of the rainbow are the most eye catching feature as he spreads his fan of feathers wide.  Notice also, the tiny stringers of feather at the base of his tail spread.  All of this wonderful plumage is molted and regrown every year.

You don’t often see photos of the back side of a Peafowl but I found the bird to be of interest from front to back and all around.  The bony part of the tail feathers are hollow and when spread he shakes and vibrates the whole of his body, a mating dance a willing Peahen finds hard to resist as his display is his message he is more than willing to give her his utmost attentions. 

The tail feathers curve gracefully toward the front of the bird exposing an array of other feathers behind from the softest downy puff of feathers at the root of the tail feather to the rows of small laid down brown and white pattern that covers his wings which then flow gracefully into the longer wing feathers of cinnamon color.

One of the things most interesting to me was the transparent “through the spread” view.  I loved taking this photo of people taking photos of this showy bird from the opposite side.

Whether moving off to the left or

off to the right

or simply pecking around for bits of food he is graceful and dignified.

And when uprooted from his rightful position in front of the camera, the peacock waits quietly, for another turn at the runway, to bare his plumage a little more.

Read more at the Feather Site. 

See a National Geographic 30 second video HERE.

A big thank you to everyone always for your nice comments on any of my challenge entries.

Keep on taking those photos,

Weekly Photo Challenge

the subject from Assipassi is: 

“Art in Nature”

To me, all of Nature is art.  Nature is an ongoing influence in our everyday from the textures and shapes we see to Nature’s palette of colors.  As Nature is ever changing from day to day, season to season and you can see, easily, the changes in its palette of colors I decided to go with color changes as “Art in Nature” with my photos.

I am posting two sets of photos, one scene in each set, taken at different angles, times of day or season displaying a tiny fraction of the color palette in Nature’s Art. 

 

My photos were all taken at
Lake Isabella, Remington, Ohio

Set #1:  The scene viewed is the East side of the lake.

June 2007

 

May 2007

 

October 2006

 

February Ice Storm, 2007

 

Set #2:  The scene looks towards the lodge and was taken from the East looking West.

September 2001

 

November, Thanksgiving Eve 2006

 

February Ice Storm 2007

 

February Sunset, 2008

 

And the colors keep changing, affected by time of year, the rain, the temperature and ???  Amazing stuff and as many colors as we see in the Art in Nature’s palette, I’ve read some insects see even more.

Keep on taking those photos,